As I passed through adolescence and my curiosity grew, I became more interested in psychology and philosophy. I was given ‘Memories, Dreams and Reflections’ by C G Jung as a present by a good friend. This was Jung’s autobiography. In it I discovered that Jung had explored the religions of the world in his quest … Read more
MICRO REVIEW This is a beautiful book about Mahayana Buddhism. Like all of the books I have read by Thich Nhat Hanh, it is written in a stunningly clear and lucid prose. He deals with very complex issues in a deceptively simple way. As a Vietnamese monk living in the South of France, he captures … Read more
I like to buy magazines that I wouldn’t normally buy every now and then. It is a great way to nurture creativity and to get the brain thinking in ways that are different. Recently I bought an issue of ‘BBC Focus’ magazine, which is a science and technology magazine here in the UK, produced by … Read more
[from a new poetry sequence which I am developing] I watched the little specs of dust as they floatedIn shafts of light through the churchA voice was working its way through a sermonBut my mind was engaged in this little worldWhere the dust bits fall then spin and whirlSome micro universe where I can imagineA … Read more
[To read the other parts of this series on Buddhism, click here.] It was in my middle teenage years that I first became interested in Buddhism. I had grown up in a traditionally Christian family. My parents were both regular attenders of the village church. My older brother and I were both in the choir, … Read more
I have begun to write a series of posts for this blog about my interest in Buddhism. The posts will cover my early experiences of religion and spirituality growing up in the 60s and 70s through to my growing interest in recent years. I will look at Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism – describing my … Read more
What’s he building in there? Apologies for the prolonged break in transmission. There is an immutable law in this process which says that the longer you leave it before posting, the harder it is to get back to. This is because the expectation I place on myself that the return post should be fantastic increases … Read more
One of the key things about Gurdjieff (I posted about him a couple of days ago, here) is that at the core of his writings is esoteric knowledge. Is it any wonder then, that I should be sitting at breakfast the next morning reading, and came across an interesting fact? I was browsing through an … Read more
I am relaxing, listening to an album of chants called ‘Om Sai Ram’ which creates a gentle state of tranquility. This is interrupted only by the occasional click of computer keypad, and the sighing of the cat. Sometimes peace is the right state of mind. I have nearly finished reading ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm … Read more
After a couple of months of frozen creativity, I am back. I have been struggling with writing three journals – this online one, a learning journal I keep for work, and a personal journal which fits in my pocket. I’m trying to think through ways of integrating these – so that the learning and imaginative … Read more