Posts

It’s been noted that the human experience of life has changed over time, and that during an “axial age”, in the middle of the first millennium BCE, a consciousness that is akin to our own first began to emerge. It’s why, in the west, we feel that philosophy began with figures like Socrates who lived… Continue reading Lecture on the evolution of consciousness and Owen Barfield

This piece was written for The Idler magazine. One of things that happens when countries, organisations and individuals fall into crisis is that they lose the power to imagine how things can be different. They feel that there’s no happy way forward, that the only option is to stay trapped. It’s as a good definition… Continue reading Confronting a crisis the idle way

“I feel nervous if I’m called a Christian. It feels like being boxed in. But I can also see that buried within Christianity lies a transformative wisdom. But what is it, and how might it work? Well, take the figure of Thomas.” My Lent Talk on BBC Radio 4, The Uncertainty of Thomas, is broadcast… Continue reading BBC Radio 4 Lent Talk

This article was written for Christian Today in response to the publication of Angels: A Visible and Invisible History by Peter Stanford. Angels are popular. Many people believe in them and, for a supposedly secular age, a surprising number of individuals have seen them. They’re even present to about seven per cent of those who… Continue reading The presence of angels

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our dialogues, on pilgrimage. Millions of people around the world make pilgrimages. In a supposedly secular Europe, the spiritual practice is booming too. We discuss the revelatory experiences that people have when engaging with shrines and megaliths, temples and springs in this way, and talk about… Continue reading Pilgrimage – a discussion

I’ve put together an introduction to Owen Barfield’s life and ideas, from the soul of words to the evolution of consciousness, running through these questions: Who was the last Inkling, Owen Barfield? Why did C.S. Lewis call Barfield his “anti-self”? So Barfield began to think that words have soul? What did he mean that words… Continue reading Owen Barfield – new FAQ intro

I hugely enjoyed this conversation on Radio 3’s, Free Thinking, particularly picking up the parallels between religious and secular icons with my fellow interlocutors. Much can be explained by remembering how religious icons exceed themselves – they’re material objects speaking of immaterial reality; in time conveying the eternal; seen but somehow seeing – and so… Continue reading Icons, religious and secular

Failing already at your New Year resolutions? I’ve a piece published here on why that could be a blessing. In short: willpower is a trap. It perpetuates the fight between the parts of you at odds with one another. But compassion and self-acceptance offer a more radical move, opening a path to transformation and liberty.… Continue reading Smile at New Year resolution slips