Congratulations to Simon Conway Morris for being awarded the 2026 Templeton Prize. To my mind, he is one of the most interesting Darwinian evolutionary biologists...
markvernon942268.substack.com/p/simon-conw...
Wonderful reflections from Mark Vernon.
The lunar trip, when back on Earth, wrecked the lives of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and several others. Fame played a part in that, but more powerful was the destabilising aftermath of the overview effect. #artemis #splashdown
markvernon942268.substack.com/p/splashdown...
New Idler magazine out now! I consider the flowers of the fields and the birds of the air…
Ancient Egypt is much associated with the origins of perceptions of God. The links between the old gods of wisdom, Thoth and Hermes, became clear, in new explorations of the Logos, not least incarnated in Christ. Continuities with modern re-enchantment.
youtu.be/8W7GuYIVitg
Human beings had lived with the infinite scroll long before the electronic version was rolled out a couple of decades back. The earlier type took the form of illuminated manuscripts and they can teach us now.
New essay at my Substack, A Golden String.
markvernon942268.substack.com/p/is-there-a...
Just finished recording these lectures. And much appreciated the plunge into #Jung once more. Something distinctive and new emerged for me…
Full details about the course @theparicenter Do join us from April 10.
paricenter.com/event/an-arm...
Delighted to join founder Sharon Blackie and Vanessa Chamberlin on this quest for the love of wisdom - that is longing, receiving, befriending, resting, and more, through myth, imagination, discernment, and the thinking that is a joining of minds. Do have a look at nostos.institute
What is the best way to deal with the rhetorical and imagistic blitzkrieg? How to survive the psychological onslaught? An unexpected clue comes from religious and wisdom traditions. For they commonly advise on the arts of war, too.
open.substack.com/pub/markvern...
Yes, we're live again at the Cockpit Theatre on March 2nd!
Joining us: @natashadevon.bsky.social @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @askwilliamblake.bsky.social @mayeroflondon.bsky.social @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social
Tickets: www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/the_lur...
Featuring the Byline Times editorial team and:
Natasha Devon @natashadevon.bsky.social
John Mitchinson @johnmitchinson.bsky.social
Mark Vernon @askwilliamblake.bsky.social
Catherine Mayer @mayeroflondon.bsky.social
James Bloodworth @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social
If you can bring the light of understanding into the darkest realms and not be overcome, and if you can tolerate the radiance of the most wonderful truths and not be overwhelmed, you transhumanize.
New essay at my Substack, A Golden String. markvernon942268.substack.com/p/transhuman...
In the UK at least, there is, right now, really only one piece of news doing the rounds, which is the arrest of the former Prince Andrew. It set me thinking about why this is such momentous news.
In a way, that’s obvious. But there’s a subtler point...
www.markvernon.com/privileged-p...
The whole sculpture is a puzzle to me - I suspect a case of Blake not truly understood…
One thing is necessary on any spiritual path, many traditions say. Or rather, that one thing is found in two ways which, at root, join together. The approaches are affirmation and negation. But which way is yours?
New essay at my Substack, A Golden String. open.substack.com/pub/markvern...
New episode @PhilosophySlam - turns out the roots of plagiarism are of civilisational significance...
That moment of joy when the Idler magazine lands on the doormat. (It can land in your shopping basket in newsagents, too). My column: on the ethical invention that now divides the world.
Happy #Valentine’s Day. 'Tis crucial in tricky times to keep thinking about #love.
New essay at my Substack, A Golden String - markvernon942268.substack.com/p/loves-know...
What is going wrong. What is striving to be born. The spiritual analysis of his times and ours. #WilliamBlake @commentmag
comment.org/the-heart-is...
There is a wealth that can bought with just a few pounds. #truevalue
A fresh journey into the worlds of ideas Philosophy Slam with me and Robert Rowland Smith. Today's triangulation points: #dust and #inspiration. youtu.be/3D0RaUjzvfU?...
Both #OwenBarfield and #RudolfSteiner much valued #WilliamBlake and having the three in dialogue brings a real edge to Blake's value to us now... New talk at my Youtube channel. youtu.be/ah9kLwZyTSI?...
I much enjoyed this conversation, pressed to grapple with #WilliamBlake's phrases such as "kissing the joy as it flies" and whether there are, in fact, connections between Blake's sunrise and Nietzsche's ecstasy. youtu.be/Hi_qQQkRKQc?...
The Conversion of Saint Paul by #WilliamBlake - showing the inner drama of arguably one of the most consequential moments in western history, when on the outside, little to nothing might apparently have happened at all. #conversionofstpaul
But “might is right” and the rules-based order are both traps! The basic, transformational point is being missed.
open.substack.com/pub/markvern...
I discuss with Rupert Sheldrake the role of the beings who are associated with churches and shrines, days and names.
Plus details of tickets for the forthcoming 100th conversation - live on 15th February at 6.15pm, in-person and live-streamed. youtu.be/pKKBw5-9vrY
Great speaking with @Hermitix about the genius of #OwenBarfield, inspiration to #CSLewis and #JRRTolkien. I don’t know a figure better able to combine clear-sighted critique of modern life and awareness of the good modern life is midwifing.
youtu.be/pq4pr8_bbP0
The 100th dialogue with @rupertsheldrake and myself is on 15th Feb. Do join us in person or online! Tickets at buytickets.at/thesheldrake...
Wonderful talking with Clare Carlisle on the back of her new book, Transcendence for Beginners. #RamanaMaharshi, #Jesus, #Jung and others in the mix. At my YouTube channel youtu.be/qKgIOumNG18.
The shift under #Galileo wasn’t really about heliocentrism but something more powerful and subtle… markvernon942268.substack.com/p/the-music-...