An MP3 version of this talk is at my Talks and Thoughts via your podcast feed. I turned to William Blake seeking hope and found a remarkably accurate account of our times and his, lived during the Napoleonic Wars. Albion despairs, but Blake does not. He sees a pathway, denying nothing, towards renewed inspiration.
Tag: William Blake
Contraries and Human Existence – William Blake and Cleansing the Doors of Perception
An MP3 of this talk, though without images, can be found on my Talks and Thoughts podcast via your podcast feed. Perception is cleansed in the struggles of life, William Blake realised, as his own life was lived between heaven and hell, innocence and experience, vision and labour. Opposites are the energy that bring the… Continue reading Contraries and Human Existence – William Blake and Cleansing the Doors of Perception
William Blake and the Metaverse – The Mental Fight to be a Person
An MP3 version of this talk is at my stream Thoughts and Talks, which should be in your podcast feed. The hard problem of consciousness. Imagination as an “overheated brain”. A future in the Cloud or Metaverse. William Blake was a thinker as well as poet and artist. His prophetic punch comes from seeing through… Continue reading William Blake and the Metaverse – The Mental Fight to be a Person
From Ulro to Eternity – the place William Blake died. Walk and reflection
A MP3 version of this talk can be found on you podcast feed as my Talks and Thoughts. William Blake died in the apartment he shared with Catherine Blake on Sunday 12 August 1827. A contemporary letter reports: “He died … in a most glorious manner. He said He was going to that Country he… Continue reading From Ulro to Eternity – the place William Blake died. Walk and reflection
William Blake, London & fourfold vision – reflections from Waterloo Bridge
William Blake famously remarked in a letter to Thomas Butts: “Now I a fourfold vision see, And a fourfold vision is given to me; ‘Tis fourfold in my supreme delight And threefold in soft Beulah’s night And twofold Always. May God us keep From Single vision & Newton’s sleep!” But what does it mean to… Continue reading William Blake, London & fourfold vision – reflections from Waterloo Bridge
Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought
“Was Jesus gentle?” William Blake asks in his poem, The Everlasting Gospel. “Was Jesus chaste?” he adds. The prophet of south London is turning his ire against the image of the Christ Child that dominates at Christmas. No crying he makes? “Wake up,” Blake cries! Read the Bible. “The Vision of Christ that thou dost… Continue reading Jesus. A difficult child – a Christmas thought
Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon
An MP3 version of this conversation is on my podcast feed, Talks and Thoughts. Rupert Spira and I met for a second conversation, beginning with one of William Blake’s great exclamations of nondual awareness: “Awake! awake O sleeper of the land of shadows, wake! expand! I am in you and you in me, mutual in… Continue reading Living In Awareness – a conversation with Rupert Spira & Mark Vernon
Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
An MP3 of the talk can be found at my podcast feed, Talks and Thoughts. An article on Blake’s view of the Christ Child, viewed through his infernal method, can be found here. Here I discuss how William Blake used his infernal methods subtly to critique Christmas via his illustrations to Milton’s ode, On the… Continue reading Christmas according to William Blake – a warning
Angelology with Lorna Byrne. A conversation and inquiry with thoughts from Dante and Blake
An MP3 version of the conversation is on my podcast stream, Dante’s Divine Comedy. Dante and Otherworld Journeys was an online conference organised with the Scientific and Medical Network. This is the conversation, with extra thoughts, that I had with Lorna Byrne. I was particularly glad to compare her experience with those of other angel… Continue reading Angelology with Lorna Byrne. A conversation and inquiry with thoughts from Dante and Blake
Apocalypse Now: Arnold Toynbee, William Blake and our understanding times
An MP3 version of this talk can be found at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, that should be available from a podcast feed. The British historian, Arnold Toynbee, is currently out of fashion. The British poet and artist, William Blake, is not, though he is rarely well understood. So what might they have to say… Continue reading Apocalypse Now: Arnold Toynbee, William Blake and our understanding times