Al McGee Meditation & Philosophy

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 around!

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 inner dimension and what it is leading towards.

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 truly chilled folk. The contrast is the experience of those who have tasted infinity and who thrive on being in a right and enlivening relationship with God. I make reference here to the inspirational writings of not only William Blake, but Rabindranath Tagore, and Colin Wilson. My suggestion is to heed these voices for spiritual heat is generated by what they have to say.

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 regard to the latter, the highest wisdom is to nurture your own soul, to kindle the inner fire.

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 change your life forever.

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

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 consequences have been enormous for myself personally and for my family...

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 West refused to see it. They chose instead to ignore that reality as they clung to their patently false narratives. The same is happening today. I hope it's not too late to wake from being woke.

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.

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.

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

"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."

Standing tall & firm against the herd.

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 Wisdom

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”

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

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.

For the sake of your tradition, said Jesus, you make void the word of God.

When Darth Vader’s mask came off, an exceedingly vulnerable man was revealed - an open man - a real one.

Reflections on Plato’s cave with reference to Evelyn Waugh’s classics teacher in a private school.

The Power of Myth