Tag: William Blake

“I give you the end of a golden string” – Blake, the Gita and God

I’ve notice a tendency to downplay the divine element in accounts of William Blake, and to reduce his understanding of the imagination to a human artefact, from its true status as a supernatural capacity that he knew. In this talk I consider 5 ways in which this can be resisted: – Blake’s insistence that “there… Continue reading “I give you the end of a golden string” – Blake, the Gita and God

Identity Crisis – on culture wars and the spiritual self

My column from The Idler, Nov/Dec 2020. Cancel culture or keep culture? Where do you stand? Third positions seem excluded when it comes to these intense disputes, which inflame public debates over everything from gender identity to national history. Only, there are alternative responses, and an important option is found in wisdom traditions. Ancient philosophers… Continue reading Identity Crisis – on culture wars and the spiritual self

Owen Barfield: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 3

Having considered the insights of William Blake and Carl Jung in the first two talks of this series, I now turn to those of Owen Barfield. He presents the biggest possible story for the imagination, integrating it into nothing less than our creation and return to the divine. What is fascinating is that he arrived… Continue reading Owen Barfield: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 3

William Blake: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 1

William Blake argued that the imagination is the key human faculty for knowing fourfold vision, life to the full, and our divine destiny. But he also knew it needed cultivating, training, discerning. In this talk, I look at Blake’s images that can become part of such a training. I also describe the schema of Ulro,… Continue reading William Blake: Imagination and Spiritual Sight, Pt 1