Posts

I’ve long been frustrated by how ancient Greek philosophy, and the teaching of Plato in particular, is routinely misunderstood in the modern world. I’ve written before about the errors of assuming he opposed spirit and body, invented secular rationalism, and provided the key argument for why goodness doesn’t need godliness, as well as on the… Continue reading Philosophy as Awakening

I’ve just begun a new series of talks on inner life and seeing with the eye of the soul. The first 4 are below. More to follow in coming weeks. 1. Why spirituality? We live with a worldview that is powerfully materialistic in its orientation and has brought many benefits. But it has also lost… Continue reading How to See Spiritually

It’s become commonplace to point out that liberals are struggling to understand contemporary politics. Individuals such as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin escape rational analysis. These presidents don’t obey the rules when it comes to, say, protectionist economics or international spying. The latest book from Gary Lachman, historian of esotericism and former bassist with rock… Continue reading Trump, chaos politics, and training the imagination

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our discussions, on the nature of magic. We’ve also renamed the conversations from Science Set Free to the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues. What is magic? How does it relate to psi and animism? Is prayer a kind of magic? We explore how people have engaged with the spirited… Continue reading What is magic?

This piece was written for The Idler. Avengers: Infinity War is one of the biggest movies of all time. That’s official, after a record busting release weekend across the planet. The film is generating cash as extravagantly as its superheroes perform feats. Marvel is making billions. But why? Critics have argued that the franchise is… Continue reading Avengers: Infinity War as a dream

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our discussions, on the nature of virtue and morality. Our discussions are also available streamed and on iTunes. The subject of the virtues can be met with an inner groan, only sparking interest in relation to their shadowy opposites, the vices. It’s partly the product of… Continue reading The virtues of perception

A piece written for The Idler. This week Western Christianity celebrates just about the most profound spiritual truth that human beings have discovered, as Jordan Peterson might put it. It is that death is not the end of things but is, rather, the pathway to life. It’s not, actually, a Christian truth. It’s a universal… Continue reading The message of Easter the churches forgot

This piece was published a month back in the Church Times. ABUSIVE church leaders are in the headlines. The reports range from horrific instances of serial sexual abuse to cases of everyday bullying, manipulation, and making threats. The Church is grappling with the problem, but seems to be struggling to find ways of managing it.… Continue reading Lessons in narcissistic personality disorders

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our Science Set Free podcasts, discussing the new generation of celebrity gurus and popular intellectuals. The clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson, the historian Yuval Noah Harari and the comedian Russell Brand are three prominent examples. They command podcast downloads that run into six figures, their books are… Continue reading The Jordan Peterson effect

A piece written for The Idler, featuring the ideas of Carl Jung, who is the central figure in part 6 of An Introduction to Psychotherapy, released this week. A flurry of public intellectuals are currently promoting their version of our Big Story. They’ve been appearing on screens and in bookstores. Steven Pinker crossed the Atlantic… Continue reading Civilisations and the undiscovered self