In the early 1930s a boat carrying 107 mostly British communists arrived in St Petersburg. These were starry-eyed immigrants determined to unite with the - said to be - glorious Soviet Union. These were the Fuzzy Heads. And they're still aroun

A Feeling Beyond Feeling

Jan 27th, 2021 8m 55s

There is a level of awareness that Fr Anthony Bloom calls "a feeling beyond feeling." You could call it a refined level of feeling. In itself, says Jacob Needleman, this level of feeling is "an instrument of knowledge." This talk explores this

Where's the Heat?

Sep 24th, 2020 14m 55s

In the mythology of the poet, William Blake, there is an image of a frightening god he calls Urizen. In every generation there are not a few who align themselves with the cold and barren climates that Urizen creates. Those bound by Urizen are t

Recovering the Inner Fire

Sep 24th, 2020 8m 57s

A comparison between two ancient characters, the wealthy, Lydian King, Croesus and the wise man, Solon. What were their lives about? What's your life about? Are you known for the wealth you've built up or the quality of your soul life? With reg

A god too Small

Aug 8th, 2020 11m 5s

Daniel N. Robinson wrote about a knowledge that is perhaps best described as "an introspective activity, a communion with the cosmic mind." This is a very deep and transforming level of knowledge - knowledge as a power or force that could chang

Soulfulness - its Presence or Absence?

Aug 8th, 2020 7m 1s

At the end of my life will I find that my soul is empty or full? Will I able to say then that it is well with my soul. Reflections

Follow the Upward Shift

Jul 10th, 2020 7m 37s

Wondering about what the future held, I determined some years ago to chant the Guru Gita (an ancient East Indian chant) to get myself into an optimum state to consider the possibilities. It was one of the best things I ever did. The consequenc

Hobby Horse Theorizing

Jul 1st, 2020 14m 14s

A challenge to think long and hard about what we think lest we fall into espousing abstract and vacuous theories that amount to being no more than empty hobby horse theorizing. As millions were suffering and dying under Stalin, many in the Wes

Amusing yourself to Death

Jun 10th, 2020 8m 15s

Amuse yourself to death, or find integrity by the contemplation of higher things. Choose between the noble path that leads to joy versus that sordid path that leads to idiocy.

A Specific Sort of Suffering

Jun 8th, 2020 24m 57s

The Socratic effect is a cataclysmic eruption of the soul. It's an inner upheaval that puts you into a very deep state of self-interrogation. It can feel like both a blessing and curse at one and the same time.

A Horror of Confinement

Jun 6th, 2020 8m 8s

The poet, Rilke, was said to have a horror of confinement. Here are reflections on breaking free.

A Feeling that Never Quite Goes Away

Aug 9th, 2019 8m 19s

"The truth is that there remains in you - the most hard-boiled atheist, the most vehement physicalist or avid materialist - a noble instinct, which is that level of awareness that resists all reductionistic philosophies."

What it Takes to Resist the Collective

Aug 6th, 2019 11m 58s

Standing tall & firm against the herd.

The Awakening of Intelligence

Jun 20th, 2019 8m 13s

Says John O'Donohue: The search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment." (Anam Cara: A book of Celtic W

Your Absolute Desire Is?

Jun 10th, 2019 13m 22s

David Bergman, a retired philosophy Professor at Trinity College, Dublin writes that there is nothing more important than to “work out what your absolute desire is and then to go in that direction”

Frightfully Normal, as if Sprayed with Fairy Dust

Jun 1st, 2019 13m 7s

This is a re-expression of a 2014 podcast called "Everyday Consciousness is a Liar."

Ordinary Consciousness is a Liar

Jun 1st, 2019 20m 30s

I created this in 2014 but think it's worth putting out there again. Its subject is what Colin Wilson calls the frightfully normal condition. In that state, he says, your ordinary consciousness cannot be trusted, for it will lie to you.