Easter Sermon: How Dante teaches us the power of now

This piece is published by The Idler. (Use code, “dantemv”, to get £10 off my Divine Comedy course at The Idler and click here.) If there were one big lesson that Dante learns as he struggles through hell and up Mount Purgatory it would be this. The present moment, right now, is the only moment… Continue reading Easter Sermon: How Dante teaches us the power of now

Descent is Ascent – How the road up is the road down in Dante

Making sense of why Dante had to travel through hell, what was going on in purgatory, and how that’s all linked to the destination of heaven, comes with appreciating how, in the spiritual life, descent and ascent are profoundly linked. Dante explores the links between virtues and vices, moving beyond the literal, high places are… Continue reading Descent is Ascent – How the road up is the road down in Dante

Dante in love

Use this code, “dantemv”, to get £10 off my Divine Comedy course at The Idler via this link. The year was 1274, May Day to be precise. The young lady Beatrice was walking the lovely streets of Florence and she approached a youth called Dante. She smiled. Instantly, he was besotted. Little did he know… Continue reading Dante in love

Longing for the Infinite – 7 key features of Dante’s transhumanism

The word transhumanism was coined by Dante to capture his realisation of divine life in paradise. It has been colonised today by technologists dreaming of utopias. I explore 7 key differences to recover Dante’s vision from the Divine Comedy, in the 700th anniversary year of the great poet’s death, which is also to explore the… Continue reading Longing for the Infinite – 7 key features of Dante’s transhumanism

Dante, awakening, and erotic love

Dante’s journey is all about erotic love, through ugly possessiveness, and powerful passions, to the realisation that love is usually experienced as an ignorance about what we desire, to which he awakens. The Divine Comedy is, therefore, a crucial resource for understanding this energy that surges through us. The poem is rare in the western… Continue reading Dante, awakening, and erotic love

Dante 2021 – Top 10 Spiritual Insights

We will learn a lot about Dante’s language, love, politics and humanism in 2021, the 700th anniversary of his death. But perhaps not so much about the spiritual insights he felt charged by heaven to communicate in his Divine Comedy. My top 10 spiritual insights are: 10. Comedy transcends, not excludes tragedy 9. Morality gets… Continue reading Dante 2021 – Top 10 Spiritual Insights

Dante’s Divine Comedy. The boxset

I’ve just completed the last of 100 YouTubes/podcasts, one for each of the 100 cantos of Dante’s masterpiece, The Divine Comedy. The complete YouTubes series is here. The complete podcast series is here, and on other podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. This year, 2020, marks the 700th anniversary of its completion. Next year,… Continue reading Dante’s Divine Comedy. The boxset