Podcasts about William Blake

How can we understand what is happening today from the perspective of what is sometimes called salvation history? What might be struggling to be born in our times? Why is a spiritual analysis - an unfolding of consciousness - key?The talk was delivered at The School of Myth, “Wild Christ”, weekend with Martin Shaw, Rowan Williams, Heather Pollington and others.I use the insights of Owen Barfield and Rudolf Steiner, to interpret developments across 3000 years of Christianity, given the movement of spirit began a millennia before Christ. I also take their lead on the value of William Blake to perceive the significance of what Blake called a “New Age” emerging now - which we might love, too.My book unpacking Barfield's interpretation of Christianity is “A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness”.My book on Blake's prophetic analysis of the dynamics active today is “Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination”.For more see www.markvernon.com

In William Blake and The Sea Monsters of Love (4th Estate) – ‘an impassioned magnum opus celebrating Blake's star-shaken genius by discovering his lineage everywhere in the author's own crystal cabinet of artists and outlaws,' in the words of Iain Sinclair – Philip Hoare pays brilliant and digressive tribute to the maverick poet and artist and his abiding influence. Hoare, author of the classic Leviathan and Albert and the Whale, was joined in conversation by novelist and essayist Olivia Laing. More from the Bookshop: Discover our author of the month, book of the week and more: ⁠https://lrb.me/bkshppod⁠ From the LRB: Subscribe to the LRB: ⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/subsbkshppod Close Readings podcast: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/crbkshppod LRB Audiobooks: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/audiobooksbkshppod Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: ⁠⁠https://lrb.me/storebkshppod Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk

Looking through a Jungian lens, Psychologist Dr. John Price and Raghu Markus have a discussion on the mechanics of awakening.This week on Mindrolling, Raghu and John chat about:What we can learn from the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Jungian philosophy and creating balance within the psyche Attraction to the arts, music, and alternative ways of beingComparing youth and coming of age today versus in the pastThe growth and learning that happens through adversity Cultivating trust with those who are woundedMaking compassionate response our default state, especially when dealing with childrenLeaving one's culture to truly understand where we come fromVarious ways of cultivating non-ordinary statesHow society often stifles our experiences of mystical eventsThe current psychedelic revolution and therapeutic utility of entheogens Check out William Blake's The Book of Urizen for a deep dive into mystical literature“That's obviously one's religious and spiritual experience that is totally, uniquely yours. We know the definition of a mystical experience: it's ineffable, it's transitive, it's a unitive experience. I'm willing to say that most of us have had these kinds of experiences, and yet because our culture doesn't support that world view, we write them off as what you can call the ‘nothing but'.” –Dr. John PriceAbout Dr. John Price:Dr. John Price is a Jungian psychotherapist, co-founder of The Center for Healing Arts & Sciences, and host of The Sacred Speaks podcast. John's journey from touring musician to single fatherhood reshaped his understanding of human transformation. John's work bridges ancient wisdom with modern psychology—offering tools for shedding the adaptations that once saved us but now imprison us. Learn more about John's offerings on his website.“Jung would call this the inferior function given that I'm so feeling-oriented and intuitive. To actually get into the thinking and sensing function is something that I'm very much trying to counterbalance. That's my inferior function. From his philosophical orientation, it's a way to create wholeness where you counterbalance the one-sidedness of our psyche.” –Dr. John PriceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For their season finale, Graham and Chris go full‑throttle at Electric, the album that jolted Pet Shop Boys back into ‘banging and lasers' mode — and inspired the Pod Cast Boys to embrace the same rule‑breaking, high‑voltage fun. Following Neil, Chris and Stuart Price's alphabetical recording method, they present the full A–Z of Electric, diving into its wild mix of influences from Italo disco and Madonna to William Blake and Lionel Richie; duty disco doctors witnessing the birth of Elysium's unruly twin. There's the story of how Axis recharged lapsed fans, a headspin into the politics of dancing, and how freedom, faffing and freewheeling joy shaped both the record and this episode. Plus: listener memories, the x2 origin story, and Escape to the Country — a celebration of Pet Shop Boys at their most liberated.” Want to show your love for the Pet Shop Boys In Depth podcast?    Visit our new Crowdfunder - anything appreciated! Get your name mentioned in a future episode: https://gofund.me/cf16f4bc3   Check out our T-shirt store - all profits from our exclusive designs go towards supporting the podcast: https://in-depth.teemill.com   And there's additional In Depth content on our social media channels: Facebook: http://tiny.cc/3jhcvz Bluesky: http://tiny.cc/jc7h001 X: http://tiny.cc/lc7h001

William Blake fue poeta, grabador, místico y uno de los creadores más singulares de la historia del arte. En este video exploramos su obra desde sus visiones más tempranas hasta la construcción de su propio universo simbólico, donde conviven ángeles, profetas, revolución política e interrogaciones sobre la condición humana. Analizamos su poesía, sus iluminated books, su técnica de grabado y la manera en que desafió tanto a su tiempo como a las corrientes artísticas que vendrían después. También abordamos su relación con la tradición bíblica, el Romanticismo, la imaginación como forma de resistencia y la vigencia contemporánea de su pensamiento. Si te interesa la historia del arte, la literatura inglesa, el simbolismo o la figura del artista visionario, este video te dará un recorrido claro y profundo por la obra de Blake.

Thursday 27th November: The Lamb: William Blake by St Martin's Voices

Mark Vernon is an author, psychotherapist and public intellectual. His books often focus on the work of luminary thinkers such as Owen Barfield and Dante. We discussed his new book Awake! about William Blake.https://www.markvernon.com/

SOL LUCKMANIt's hardly surprising that one of the most iconic and bestselling musician biographies of all time, and the first (of a veritable “Spanish Caravan”) written about the Doors front man Jim Morrison, was titled NO ONE HERE GETS OUT ALIVE.The lyric is a line from “Five to One,” a perennial fan favorite penned by Morrison but credited officially to the Doors—and it has stuck in my mind (as it has in countless others over more than half a century since its 1968 release) like a splinter, to reference the movie THE MATRIX that also figures prominently in this book.When I was living in Paris in the early 1990s, I became obsessed with Morrison, and not just his music but his often macabre poetry as well. This was shortly after the release of Oliver Stone's uber provocative rock biopic that put to shame all other rock biopics, THE DOORS.As a birthday present, my girlfriend gave me a bilingual copy of THE LORDS & THE NEW CREATURES, Morrison's first volume of poetry replete with dark meditations on sex, celebrity, drugs, and (of course) death.While riding the Metro, sitting on the steps of Montmartre and sipping espresso at cafés, I found myself reading it alternately in English and the French translation to capture more and more nuances of Morrison's cryptic, multilayered thought.Jim had died in Paris and was buried in the city's famously lovely necropolis, Père Lachaise Cemetery. His grave—which once featured a stone bust with his big hippy hair made by a Croatian sculptor and stolen in 1988—was, and still is, a literal shrine to many tourists, fans and hipster locals making rock ‘n' roll pilgrimages from near and far.Practically as controversial in death as in life, ever since his untimely demise in 1971 that rocked the rock world, Morrison has lingered in a sort of public half-life.Simultaneously, he has been an inspiration for counterculture and music lovers; a nuisance for Parisians fed up with the incessant drinking, smoking and carousing that have turned his grave into an eternal party; and a would-be prodigal son to his home country, where a Florida politician bizarrely (and unsuccessfully) sought to have Jim's final resting place relocated to his birthplace, the Space Coast!My girlfriend—call her Kate—and I regularly visited Morrison's final resting place, and often partook in the festivities, which I must admit were exemplary displays of Dionysian behavior … if inevitably a regretted hangover source.Filled with more cemeteries, church crypts and bone-lined Catacombs than you could shake a Gauloise at, Paris invited an ongoing meditation on the afterlife. Like HARRY POTTER's Myrtle without the moaning, I regularly found myself contemplating the seeming inevitability of death.And then one overcast Parisian winter afternoon half a decade later, when I was back in town visiting a new girlfriend, while standing in front of Morrison's grave strewn with flowers and cigarette butts yet again as if no time had elapsed and nothing had changed, the doors of my perception (hat tip to William Blake and Aldous Huxley) suddenly burst wide open when a still small voice inside me asked this simply disarming question:“Does no one here get out alive?”Copyright © Sol Luckman. All Rights Reserved.

Emanuel Swedenborg was an 18th‑century scientist who claimed to travel between heaven, hell, and even other planets. Was he a mystic genius or a dreamer lost in visions? In this episode, we uncover how his strange ideas shaped spiritualism, occultism, and even modern paranormal culture.–––Emanuel Swedenborg: Mystic, Scientist… and Proto‑Occultist?In this episode, we dive into the extraordinary life and afterlife of Emanuel Swedenborg—the Enlightenment thinker who claimed to converse with angels, demons, and spirits from other worlds. His doctrine of “correspondences,” the belief that every physical thing mirrors a deeper spiritual reality, became a cornerstone for mystics who wanted to read the universe as a vast symbolic text.We explore:Swedenborg's visions of the afterlife and cosmic journeysHow his writings influenced Helena Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley, the Fox Sisters, and Daniel Dunglas HomeWhy poets like William Blake and thinkers like Ralph Waldo Emerson drew inspiration from himThe surprising role he played in the Theosophical Society, New Thought movement, and the occult revivalFrom séance parlors to cosmic philosophy, Swedenborg's influence ripples through spiritualism, mysticism, UFO lore, and modern occult culture. If you've ever wondered how Enlightenment science collided with fringe spirituality, this is the episode for you.

An interview with Mark Vernon at the Harvard Divinity School with Adam Walker.Mark Vernon's book is "Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination".Adam Walker's YouTube channel is Close Reading Poetry.

The Romantic movement is a tragic movement. In response to the Enlightenment, poets and painters sought a return of feeling but failed in one crucial aspect: to ground the vision, to make clear how it is a means of truth.The result is that, alongside the wonderful, powerful presence of reason in the modern world, runs a desire to intensify feeling is if that can bring back the meaning otherwise lost to the technological and abstract.Only, ungrounded, Romantic feeling doesn't. Instead, too often, it leads to reactionary nationalism, fundamentalism in religion, hedonism and sentimentality, and modes of inner healing that offer exaggerated experience as a proxy for transformation.William Blake spotted this tendency. He realised that Romanticism must come of age, to borrow the expression of Owen Barfield, by understanding the imagination as a way of knowing of and growing into the fundamentals of existence. In this talk, delivered to the Centre for the Study of Platonism at the University of Cambridge, I explore how Blake conveyed the crucial awareness that might redeem the tragedy of Romanticism, so damaging alive in the modern world.For more on Mark, and his book about Blake, "Awake!", see www.markvernon.com

This episode explores the Gnostic worldview, flourishing in the first centuries of the Common Era, which offers one of religious history's most radical apocalyptic visions. It is founded on a profoundly dualistic  understanding of reality: the material cosmos is a prison, and humanity is a tragic hybrid—a divine spark of light trapped in corrupt flesh and matter. The influences of Gnostic thought are traced in a succession of artists and visionaries from William Blake to D.H. Lawrence. For those who want more information on booking for the Archetypal Constellations workshop "Resourcing Our Future", led by Richard Olivier, here is the link:  https://www.wholepartnership.com/booking/resourcing-our-future-a-masterclass-on-archetypal-constellations-with-richard-olivier/  

HAPPY BAROQUE B-VERSARY TO ALL THOSE WHO CELEBRATE! I know we certainly do! This year we're doing it up BIG with one of the most SPOOKY haunty painters/engravers/printmakers/poet of all time... the illustrious WILLIAM BLAKE! Yes this man definitely knows how to make evil SEXY and we're going to get into all of it... after all you can't have good without EVIL! Xxoxoxoxox The BB's Music: We source our music from Epidemic Sound and pay for the rights to use the songs in our show. For this reason, music may not be easily found on regular streaming services.  Visualize: The Forgotten Rusty Carousel - Stationary Sign  Outro: Brain Spook - Mike Franklin

At a time of renewed interest in the spiritual, what could challenge the uninspiring notion of ‘cultural Christianity'? One answer is by embracing the esoteric. William Blake, the painter and poet, has become a model for a new kind of rebellious spirituality. Though he spent his life in poverty and obscurity, Blake's radical vision of the divine is now a cornerstone of modern mysticism. Psychotherapist and podcaster Mark Vernon, author of ‘Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination', and religion researcher, Esmé Partridge, talk in a masterclass, hosted by Unherd in London, on the meaning and mythos of Blake.0:00 What world Blake was responding to2:15 What did Blake mean by Newton's sleep?5:28 How did Blake see the natural world?8:30 Why did Blake react against the Christianity of his day?11:50 Understanding “The Garden of Love”13:50 Understanding “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”16:50 Blake against the ills of today: sentimentality and unforgivingness18:40 The road of excess and erotic desire21:47 Navigating the contrary tensions of life25:15 Blake's mythological figures29:30 What about Los and Jerusalem?32:30 What about Blake's view of politics and revolution?36:50 How do you cleanse the doors of perception?40:20 So in what way was Blake Christian?43:46 How did William and Catherine support themselves?46:52 How do we distinguish between imagination and fantasy?49:51 How can Blake be helpful to modern psychology?52:30 How can Blake help us reach for the eternal?56:10 How can Blake bring meaning to life?57:30 What would Blake make of Nietzsche?1:00:00 What would Blake make of Spinoza?1:01:30 Can we diagnose Blake and his visions?1:03:20 What about Blake and cultural Christianity today?1:05:30 What did Blake make about violence?1:07:43 Can you say more about Catherine Blake?1:09:30 Blake's wit about his visions1:10:54 Can you comment on Blake and Englishness?

A psychotherapist, philosopher and writer drawn to the wellsprings of both ancient and modern philosophy and the illumination of the inner life. His work moves between the timeless and the modern, exploring friendship and belief, wellbeing and wonder, and the quiet art of living with depth in a restless age.His recent books trace paths through the visionary landscapes of William Blake, the awakening of spiritual intelligence, the pilgrimage of Dante's Divine Comedy, and the Christian imagination as seen through Owen Barfield — the Oxford Inkling and close companion of C.S. Lewis.You can find out more about Paul via his website - www.paulwilkinson.co.ukYou can find out more about Mark via his website - www.markvernon.com

Albion redeemed from his fall into illusion and nihilistic despair by the work of Los. The renunciation of the natural self and “natural religion” for the true Christianity of the imagination. Against illusion, the arts and sciences. Against vengeance and love of war, the forgiveness of sins.

Blake's culminating epic, on the work of Los, the imagination, to redeem the fall of Albion, the universal divine-human figure. Chapter 1 of 4: the great debate of Los with the Spectre of Urthona, the selfish and despairing part of all of us. The struggle of Los to keep faith in a time of despair like our own has great dramatic power, as it is a struggle within every person.

Episode SummaryOn this Backstage Bay Area episode, host Steven Roby sits down with Afro‑Indigenous singer and composer Martha Redbone to talk about her Harlan County roots, Brooklyn upbringing, and the call‑and‑response spirit she brings to the stage. We cover the stories behind her blend of Appalachian folk, gospel‑soul, blues, and jazz; the community‑minded ethos she calls “congregational music”; and what San Francisco can expect when she and her sextet turn Miner Auditorium into a Sunday‑night revival.What You'll HearMartha shares how family traditions, elders' stories, and a lifetime of listening shape her songwriting and live shows. She discusses collaborations with her husband and musical director Aaron Whitby, honors the often‑overlooked legacy of Black coal miners in Appalachia, and reflects on music as a tool for healing and togetherness. Expect singing, call‑and‑response, and a band built for groove and communion.GuestGuest: Martha Redbone is an award‑winning vocalist, songwriter, and composer of Cherokee/Choctaw and African American heritage. Her acclaimed projects include The Garden of Love: Songs of William Blake and original music (with Aaron Whitby) for the Broadway revival of  For colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. She tours nationally, leads workshops, and advocates for the preservation of culture.LinksTickets — SFJAZZ: Martha Redbone at Miner Auditorium: https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/25-26/martha-redbone/Artist — Martha Redbone (official site): https://martharedbone.com/Venue — SFJAZZ Center: https://www.sfjazz.org/Podcast — Backstage Bay Area: https://backstagebayarea.com/Call to ActionEnjoy the episode? Please follow/subscribe and share with a friend. If you're in the Bay Area, grab tickets and join us at Miner Auditorium.Hashtags#MarthaRedbone #SFJAZZ #MinerAuditorium #BackstageBayArea #AmericanRoots #IndigenousPeoplesDay #LiveMusicSF #GospelSoul #Appalachia #Brooklyn

The Quantum Life: There Is a Better Way to Live by Dr M Teri Daunter https://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Life-There-Better-Live/dp/1639453652 The Quantum Life is provocative, intellectually and spiritually challenging. It will trigger you and it will awaken you because it demonstrates how you live in a world that is psycho-spiritually crippled. You are sleeping imprisoned it informs. You are so bound to the dumb conformity built from deceptive tricks that you hardly perceive your bonds. Normal is not healthy. Normal is neurotic. You have been chained and hampered and living a life of fiction Dr. Daunter exhorts. The Quantum Life illustrates how you span two dimensions simultaneously. It teaches the reader to operate from a much larger computer with infinite information. It teaches you to release blocked creativity, endow your life with meaning and give you the opportunity to see yourself in the bigger scope of life by connecting to your Infinite Creative Intelligence. The Quantum Life provides you the longest vision in the room and awakens you to a profounder self-knowledge. This fascinating book examines the idea of The Quantum Life -a way of approaching life that empowers one to realize that the true purpose of life is to be an active creator in a universe that is both conscious and connected. In fact, consciousness is at the center of what is known as The Quantum Life. The book's introduction describes this belief as presenting an "inherent psychology of Consciousness." The beginning of the book offers the theory that orthodoxy has brainwashed the masses. Calling it a disease, which merely shackles through "collective hypnosis and conditioning," Daunter continues her argument that Quantum Spirituality sees the individual as a finite-infinite being with endless potential and endless possibilities. She recognizes C. G. Jung's clinical research concerning the collective unconscious and how it affects one's spirituality, physical health, and decision-making "as the seed from which Quantum Spirituality grew." Daunter offers up an intriguing premise presented in an easily comprehended manner. She is undoubtedly passionate about the prospect of the human capacity to live The Quantum Life achieving full consciousness. The author's passion for her subject and her unwavering belief in the human ability to transcend the confines of orthodoxy make this a concept one might wish to explore. Daunter's book presents unorthodox ideas about life in an easy-to-understand and enthusiastic manner. Readers from all religious and philosophical backgrounds may find much food for thought in this work. US Review of Books by Kat Kennedy There are frequent mentions of the work of Carl Jung in these pages. Alongside these are exhortations which ring both contemporary and true, such as "Be the CEO and guardian of your soul." This book is ultimately hopeful, a welcome departure from passive belief systems. The book calls for the awakening of mankind to its true calling, namely achieving selfhood and discarding false worship. Dr. Daunter writes, "Heaven and hell are states of consciousness in which you live." This is evocative of the best of another spiritual whistleblower, namely William Blake. - David Allen, Pacific Book Review

Everyone is chasing more... more money, more success, more status. But what if, as William Blake said, “more, more is the cry of the mistaken soul”? In this powerful conversation, psychotherapist and author Mark Vernon joins Jack Frimston and Zac Thompson to explore why so many of us never feel like we have done enough, and how Stoicism, philosophy, and spiritual intelligence can help us break free from the treadmill of modern life. We cover: ✅ Why Stoicism surged during the pandemic ✅ How breakdowns often spark spiritual awakenings ✅ William Blake's warning about endless accumulation ✅ The role of myths, stories, and religion in shaping meaning ✅ Whether free will actually exists (and why it matters) ✅ Practical first steps if you are feeling lost or burnt out If you have ever asked yourself, “When will enough be enough?” this episode is for you.

Milton, inspired by the Bard's Song, returns and enters Blake, who is thereby united to Los, the imagination, resulting in a vision of nature redeemed by imagination. Then Milton confronts his Selfhood and renounces it, reconciling with his Emanation Ololon, a kind of renewed marriage witnessed by the married couple William and Catherine Blake in their garden.

“Man has no Body distinct from his Soul,” declared William Blake. “Nature is imagination itself!” The human face is the “countenance divine”.Inspiring, yes. But what can we make of his sayings?Mark Vernon sat down with poet Malcolm Guite to discuss how Blake's ideas about the imagination challenge modern ways of perceiving the world. They stress that dismissing Blake's converse with angels dismisses the radicality of what he has to offer. They explore how the division between the subjective and objective, which Guite calls “epistemological apartheid”, is false and has terrible consequences for human beings, personally and politically. They argue that theology needs a revival of the imagination as the way we apprehend truths that put the fire into rational comprehension.For more on Mark's book, “Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination” see www.markvernon.comFor more on Malcolm Guite see https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com0:00 Ways of knowing01:46 Don't medicalise Blake!3:30 The senses are inlets of soul5:25 A fundamental, false division12:07 Imagination makes real not makes up16:35 Demystifying the imagination20:48 Eternity in the present and particular26:58 Reason the bound of energy: Geoffrey Hill on Blake32:09 Blake's aphoristic philosophy33:20 The renewal of Christianity42:56 The generative teaching of Jesus 44:46 Energy and the Holy Spirit: Barfield on Blake48:17 Albion crucifies the imagination54:21 Contraries that create not conflict58:29 Selfless perception

Mark Vernon returns to discuss his new book, “Awake: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination,” presenting Blake not […]

How can William Blake's vision of imagination help us see life in a new way today? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with Mark Vernon on his new book Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination. Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio Affiliate!  https://www.kmet1490am.comMark Vernon is a writer, psychotherapist and former Anglican priest. He contributes to programmes on the radio, writes and reviews for newspapers and magazines, gives talks and frequently podcasts. His books cover themes including friendship and God, William Blake and Dante, ancient Greek philosophy and wellbeing. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology.  https://www.markvernon.comFor more show information visit: https://www.mariannepestana.com/

Note: This upload is a correction to the previous file uploaded under this title!The imagination is often regarded as a valuable but fanciful capacity. But what if imagination were not an optional extra, or even the possession of human beings alone, but a fundamental feature of reality?In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon draw on the ideas of William Blake to explore Blake's insistence that “nature is imagination itself!”. They discuss how the understanding of the imagination has contracted in recent times, though also how modern science is a remarkable exercise in the imagination. They consider matters from how the Platonic notion of ideas relates to cosmic and evolutionary novelty, to whether angels can be said to be imaginative and creative. Mark's new book is "Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination". For more information see https://www.markvernon.com/books/awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-the-imagination.

This episode marks the turning point between The Great Disfarmament (Parts 1 - 6) and The Great Disarmament (Parts 8 - 13). We look back across centuries of agricultural violence—fertilizer bombs, chemical dependency, and genetic control—and begin to see a new story taking root. We recap key voices: the ecological grief of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the defiant poetry of William Blake, the wartime witness of Erich Maria Remarque, the prophetic science of Rachel Carson, the double-edged legacy of Norman Borlaug, and the braided wisdom of Robin Wall Kimmerer. The Great Disarmament didn't begin with a summit or a ceasefire. It began when people said no. When they composted control. When they made peace in the soil. Next episode, we follow that thread—into Spears & Surrender.

We begin an overview in four podcasts of Blake's two final and definitive poems, Milton and Jerusalem. Milton is in two books. In the first, Milton returns to the fallen world to achieve the clarified vision that eluded him in Paradise Lost. He wrestles with Urizen, who tries to oppose him, and enters Blake's left foot to inspire him.

In this episode of The Poetry Space_, we explore the power of persona poems. We dive into Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper," Nikky Finney's "Red Velvet," Margaret Atwood's "Pig Song," and James Tate's "The Motorcyclists." What happens when poets speak through masks, giving voice to dukes, children, pigs, and even storms? Join us as we unpack how persona reveals hidden truths, sparks empathy, and complicates the line between poet and speaker.At the Table:Katie DozierTimothy GreenJoe BarcaDick WestheimerBrian O'Sullivan 

Martha Redbone is acclaimed for her powerful performances as a singer, as well as her prize-winning song-writing, composition and arranging. For over 30 years she's been in a successful collaboration with her partner Aaron Whitby and we talked about some of their new theatrical projects including Black Mountain Women, The Sex Variants of 1941, and Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks. Throughout this episode you'll be hearing clips from Martha's powerful album The Garden of Love which sets the poetry of William Blake to the diverse music of Appalachia, written with Aaron and John McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Many people think of the music, culture and history of Appalachia in terms of the blend of white settlers in the area, but Martha's family heritage from Harlan County Kentucky includes African American, British, Chickamauga-Cherokee and Mississippi Choctaw. She shared her experiences growing up with her grandparents as part of a coal-mining family, as well as the dramatic changes she has witnessed in Brooklyn over several decades.In this wide-ranging episode, you'll also hear Martha's great advice for self-care, maintaining boundaries and working collaboratively. We started this conversation with Martha's collaborations with clarinettist Tasha Warren and cellist Dave Eggar and if you missed my interview with Tasha last year it's linked to this one below.You can also watch this on my YouTube and I've also linked the transcript on my websiteMartha Redbone websiteThe Garden of Love albumBuy me a coffee?Podcast Merch Newsletter sign-upOther episodes you'll love:Tasha Warren Shakura S'Aida, Chuck Copenace, Jah'Mila, and Vahn Blackphoto: Christine Jean Chambers(00:00) Intro(02:56) Tasha Warren, Dave Eggar clip Black Mountain Calling(09:06) Black Mountain Women, clip of A Poison Tree(13:12) history Black people in Appalachia(16:06) mixed Black Indigineous family history(25:00) Carnegie project, The Garden of Love with clip of The Garden of Love(32:30) John McEuen, David Amram clip of Sleep, Sleep, Beauty Bright(37:47) telling broader story(42:47) learning Indigenous culture, Brooklyn(48:02) other episodes,(48:53) musical influences (music clip On Another Sorrow)(54:01) Brooklyn(58:15) bell hooks(01:02:59) The Sex Variants of 1941, Stephen Trask, Steve Cosson, LGBTQ+ history(01:07:53) Aaron Whitby

A journey of both past and future, of the natural world and metaphysical realms, Philip Hoare guides us through a dreamscape slipping through time and space with the unpredictable guide of William Blake. From William's visions of angels to his radical approach to artistic creation, from his anarchic and seditious writing to the enchanting and democratic force of his art, from his belief in the holiness of every living creature to his staunch opposition to slavery, William Blake was an artistic genius far ahead of his time. And as Philip reveals, William had always known that he would not find appreciation among his contemporaries who thought him mad. In this whirlwind conversation, Philip illuminates this incredible mind and its enduring cultural legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it mean to think impossibly? How do paranormal events, mystical visions, and encounters with the unknown reshape our understanding of what it means to be human? In this episode, host Dr. John W. Price sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Kripal — J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, and one of today's most daring scholars of religion — to explore the borders between the possible and the impossible. Together, they trace the line where scholarship meets the mystical, where imagination bends into healing, and where our deepest worldviews determine what we are even able to see. From UFOs and near-death experiences to William Blake, dual-aspect monism, and the future of spirituality, this is a wide-ranging conversation about living at the edges of reality. Be sure to check out Jeff's latest book, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else. Key Takeaways Embracing the impossible expands not just our knowledge, but our capacity for awe, healing, and transformation. Worldviews — personal and cultural — filter what counts as “real,” shaping how we encounter extraordinary experiences. Paranormal phenomena aren't just curiosities; they are symbolic invitations into deeper practice and meaning. Thinking impossibly is less about belief and more about orientation — a way of living that opens us to mystery. Dialogue at the borderlands of science, religion, and imagination may hold the key to the future of spirituality. In This Episode (00:00) Introduction & Guest Bio (01:59) Housekeeping & Announcements (05:13) The Origins of “Thinking Impossibly” (09:52) Stories of the Impossible (13:16) The Role of Worldviews (16:34) Religion, Science, and the Paranormal (22:14) Healing, Suffering, and Transformation (28:32) The Power of Story & Magic (35:12) Teaching the Impossible (42:39) The Future of Spirituality (46:06) Closing Reflections & Resources Connect: Jeffrey: https://jeffreyjkripal.com John: https://www.drjohnwprice.com

In this episode, we turn to the radical vision of William Blake with brilliant scholar and psychotherapist Mark Vernon. Mark argues that Blake isn't just a historical curiosity—he's a guide for rewilding our humanity in an age of spiritual flatness. We explore how Blake saw the collapse of cultural imagination coming 200 years ago, offering us a way out of what Mark calls the "narrow deadening" of modern life. Blake's answer isn't to retreat from the world, but to cultivate what he calls "innocence"—not naivety, but a kind of perceptual openness that can see angels, spirits, and the infinite in a grain of sand. We talk about his critique of the mechanistic worldview, his understanding of imagination as something that has us rather than something we have, and his deeply orthodox yet mystical Christianity that treats Jesus as the imagination itself. Mark shows us how Blake's "hermeneutics of energy" offers a different way of relating to money, love, death, and the divine—one that moves from possession to participation, from control to collaboration with the creative force of reality itself. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube. Mark Vernon is a scholar, psychotherapist, and public intellectual who bridges the worlds of ancient wisdom and contemporary life. He works as a psychotherapist while writing extensively about philosophy, spirituality, and the intersection of psychological insight with religious tradition. His latest book Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination presents William Blake as a prophet of re-enchantment for our disenchanted age. You can check out his previous visit to the podcast here.  UPCOMING ONLINE CLASS - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The God of Justice: Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Contemporary Longing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This transformative online class brings together distinguished scholars from biblical studies, theology, history, and faith leadership to offer exactly what our moment demands: the rich, textured wisdom of multiple academic disciplines speaking into our contemporary quest for justice. Here you'll discover how ancient texts illuminate modern struggles, how theological reflection deepens social action, and how historical understanding opens new possibilities for faithful engagement with our world's brokenness and beauty. Join John Dominic Crossan, Peter Enns, Casey Sigmon, Aizaiah Yong, & Malcolm Foley As always, the class is donation-based, including 0. INFO & Sign-Up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.FaithAndPolitics.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theology Beer Camp ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is a unique three-day conference that brings together of theology nerds and craft beer for a blend of intellectual engagement, community building, and fun. Guests this year include John Dominic Crossan, Kelly Brown Douglas, Philip Clayton, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Jeffery Pugh, Juan Floyd-Thomas, Andy Root, Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Noreen Herzfeld, Reggie Williams, Casper ter Kuile, and more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get info and tickets here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. _____________________ This podcast is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Homebrewed Christianity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production. Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Homebrewed Christianity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theology Nerd Throwdown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Rise of Bonhoeffer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 70,000 other people by joining our⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Substack - Process This!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get instant access to over 50 classes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.TheologyClass.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the podcast, drop a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, send ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member of the HBC Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination is now available worldwide.To celebrate, Mark Vernon and Robert Rowland Smith discuss all things Blake from angels and images, to poetry and prophecy.For more on the book see https://www.markvernon.com/books/awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-the-imagination

I very much enjoyed speaking with Jason Whittaker, a profound lover of Blake, because we have our differences about how Blake speaks to us and, I hope, that is illuminating.We discussed Blake the visionary and mystic, and resisting forcing Blake through the sieve of more recent psychology. We thought about how Blake speaks to us now, as a poet and analyst of the modern spirit. We examined the significance of the imagination and the nature of God for Blake.For more on Jasons's work see - www.jasonwhittaker.co.ukFor more on Awake! and Mark's work see - www.markvernon.com0:00 Introductions1:36 How Blake speaks to us5:35 Mystic or visionary?7:45 On not psychologising Blake9:40 Reading Blake's poetry11:54 Blake as a prophet of now15:40 Understanding Blake's characters19:20 The significance of the imagination in Blake23:12 Blake and God27:03 Why deism matters32:55 Infinite perception37:46 Against the church43:05 Dialogues and the expansion of perception

Why is the mechanical view of reality so strong? Why does billiard-ball atomism remain the default popular metaphysics? William James was horrified by such “nothing buttery” and the way it substituted bare concepts for rich phenomena.A.N. Whitehead famously – or perhaps not famously enough – described the problem as the “fallacy of misplaced concreteness”.William Blake is another critic. “General Knowledge is Remote Knowledge. But General Forms have their vitality in Particulars. It is in Particulars that Wisdom consists & Happiness too.”We should care about what Blake called “single vision and Newton's sleep”. The antidote is to reestablish a relationship with presence. Poetry and imagery evoke the lived moment of experiencing and the fluid dynamics of that perception. Regain contact with that, regain contact with life.This is the promise of Blake and others.For more on Mark's book, Awake!, and more of his work see - www.markvernon.com

Ian welcomes back author Ben Beard to discuss his latest, best, and most personal book, Four Horses, Seven Seals!Continuing his tradition of mixing autobiography with the pop culture that helped shape his life, Ben's latest work examines three bizarre totems from the year 1990: DC Comics' The Sandman, Depeche Mode's "Violator" album, and Adrian Lyne's film, Jacob's Ladder (which the guys review in moderate depth).While investigating the odd connections between these three works, Ben delves further into his own troubled journey to adulthood and falling out with religion. He also discovers cosmic coincidences involving the rise and fall of Elvis Presley's stepbrother, the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, and the twisted celestial visions of William Blake--all with the author's trademark blend of humor, horror, and relatability.In this wide-ranging interview, Ian and Ben talk about book's three main pillars; getting creative with chapter notes; the controversy surrounding Sandman author Neil Gaiman; and how 1990 presaged the next millennium's splintering of our collective consciousness!Four Horses, Seven Seals is now available on Amazon. This is your not-at-all-subtle prompt to buy it now! Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon, watch us on YouTube, and follow us at:XLetterboxdInstagramFacebookBlueSkyShow LinksKeep up with all things Ben at his website.Read Ben's blog, "Simone and the Silver Surfer".Watch Ian's previous interviews about Ben's books:The Bad Class (2023)The South Never Plays Itself (2020)

Send us a textMark Vernon is a British psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest. He is the author of the new book: Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination.I wanted to speak to Mark to learn more about William Blake and understand how tapping into our spiritual side more, and our creative side, can aid us in our pursuit of faith in God.Some highlights from this episode include what Blake really meant by 'dark, satanic mills,' why imagination doesn't just mean daydreaming, and what Blake would have thought about our modern technology.--You can find more of Mark's work at the following links:- https://www.markvernon.com/books/awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-the-imagination- https://www.youtube.com/@UC4WL1Pbg-dwtG9C85TAkZ2w Follow For All The Saints on social media for updates and inspiring content:www.instagram.com/forallthesaintspodhttps://www.facebook.com/forallthesaintspod/For All The Saints episodes are released every Monday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and more:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVDUQg_qZIU&list=UULFFf7vzrJ2LNWmp1Kl-c6K9Qhttps://open.spotify.com/show/3j64txm9qbGVVZOM48P4HS?si=bb31d048e05141f2https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/for-all-the-saints/id1703815271If you have feedback or any suggestions for topics or guests, connect with Ben & Sean via hello@forallthesaints.org or DM on InstagramConversations to Refresh Your Faith.For All The Saints podcast was established in 2023 by Ben Hancock to express his passion and desire for more dialogue around faith, religious belief, and believers' perspectives on the topics of our day. Tune into For All The Saints every Monday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.Follow For All The Saints on social media for daily inspiration.

Welcome to Episode 176 of the TRANSFORMA TU INGLÉS PROFESIONAL podcast!I'm your host Daniel Smith.Today we have an amazing show lined up for you and by the end of it you will:Know all about William Blake and his famous line: "England's green and pleasant land"Understand why that sentence is NOT correct at the momentLearn 5 expressions with the word "land" in themAnd some amazing listener feedback as usualThis podcast helps you push your business English communication skills to the next level so that you can grow professionally and achieve your international career goals!

Mark Vernon provides a fresh route into Blake, taking him at his word. Exploring his writings, artwork and life, Vernon illuminates Blake's vivid worldview and shows how his thinking is still relevant for us today.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L'Abri Fellowship.

In the 200 years since Blake's death, the visionary artist, poet and writer has become a household name, often beloved. Yet many struggle to comprehend his kaleidoscopic ideas; how they speak to human longings and the challenges of living in anxious times. Philosopher and psychotherapist Mark Vernon provides a fresh route into Blake, taking him at his word. Exploring this brilliant thinker's passionate writings, arresting artworks and fascinating life, Vernon illuminates Blake's vivid worldview. Like us, he lived in a tumultuous era of war, discontent, rapid technological change, and human estrangement from nature. He exposed the dark sides of political fervour and social moralising, while unashamedly celebrating love and liberty. But he also conversed with prophets and angels, and was powerfully, if unconventionally, religious. If we take this seriously--not easy, in secular times--then Blake can help us to unlock the transformative power of imagination. Written for both longstanding fans and unfamiliar readers, Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination (Hurst & Co., 2025) reveals Blake as an invigorating and hopeful guide for our modern age. Mark Vernon is a London-based psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest. A keen podcaster and a columnist with The Idler, he speaks regularly at festivals and on the BBC. He has a PhD in Philosophy, and degrees in Theology and Physics. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

In the 200 years since Blake's death, the visionary artist, poet and writer has become a household name, often beloved. Yet many struggle to comprehend his kaleidoscopic ideas; how they speak to human longings and the challenges of living in anxious times. Philosopher and psychotherapist Mark Vernon provides a fresh route into Blake, taking him at his word. Exploring this brilliant thinker's passionate writings, arresting artworks and fascinating life, Vernon illuminates Blake's vivid worldview. Like us, he lived in a tumultuous era of war, discontent, rapid technological change, and human estrangement from nature. He exposed the dark sides of political fervour and social moralising, while unashamedly celebrating love and liberty. But he also conversed with prophets and angels, and was powerfully, if unconventionally, religious. If we take this seriously--not easy, in secular times--then Blake can help us to unlock the transformative power of imagination. Written for both longstanding fans and unfamiliar readers, Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination (Hurst & Co., 2025) reveals Blake as an invigorating and hopeful guide for our modern age. Mark Vernon is a London-based psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest. A keen podcaster and a columnist with The Idler, he speaks regularly at festivals and on the BBC. He has a PhD in Philosophy, and degrees in Theology and Physics. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In the 200 years since Blake's death, the visionary artist, poet and writer has become a household name, often beloved. Yet many struggle to comprehend his kaleidoscopic ideas; how they speak to human longings and the challenges of living in anxious times. Philosopher and psychotherapist Mark Vernon provides a fresh route into Blake, taking him at his word. Exploring this brilliant thinker's passionate writings, arresting artworks and fascinating life, Vernon illuminates Blake's vivid worldview. Like us, he lived in a tumultuous era of war, discontent, rapid technological change, and human estrangement from nature. He exposed the dark sides of political fervour and social moralising, while unashamedly celebrating love and liberty. But he also conversed with prophets and angels, and was powerfully, if unconventionally, religious. If we take this seriously--not easy, in secular times--then Blake can help us to unlock the transformative power of imagination. Written for both longstanding fans and unfamiliar readers, Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination (Hurst & Co., 2025) reveals Blake as an invigorating and hopeful guide for our modern age. Mark Vernon is a London-based psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest. A keen podcaster and a columnist with The Idler, he speaks regularly at festivals and on the BBC. He has a PhD in Philosophy, and degrees in Theology and Physics. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

In the 200 years since Blake's death, the visionary artist, poet and writer has become a household name, often beloved. Yet many struggle to comprehend his kaleidoscopic ideas; how they speak to human longings and the challenges of living in anxious times. Philosopher and psychotherapist Mark Vernon provides a fresh route into Blake, taking him at his word. Exploring this brilliant thinker's passionate writings, arresting artworks and fascinating life, Vernon illuminates Blake's vivid worldview. Like us, he lived in a tumultuous era of war, discontent, rapid technological change, and human estrangement from nature. He exposed the dark sides of political fervour and social moralising, while unashamedly celebrating love and liberty. But he also conversed with prophets and angels, and was powerfully, if unconventionally, religious. If we take this seriously--not easy, in secular times--then Blake can help us to unlock the transformative power of imagination. Written for both longstanding fans and unfamiliar readers, Awake!: William Blake and the Power of the Imagination (Hurst & Co., 2025) reveals Blake as an invigorating and hopeful guide for our modern age. Mark Vernon is a London-based psychotherapist, writer and former Anglican priest. A keen podcaster and a columnist with The Idler, he speaks regularly at festivals and on the BBC. He has a PhD in Philosophy, and degrees in Theology and Physics. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The author of the acclaimed introduction to the practice of Jungian psychology, Boundaries of the Soul, June Singer draws from personal and professional experience to discuss the importance of dreams, those gifts from the unconscious which profoundly imbue our conscious lives. This program provides an excellent introduction not only to Jung's dream theory, but also its application in psychoanalysis—from one of the masters of the art. June Singer, PhD was a major figure in the development of the Jungian movement in the United States.  She earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Northwestern University and completed training as a Jungian analyst in Zurich, Switzerland.  During the 1960′s, Dr. Singer founded the Analytical Psychology Club of Chicago, which eventually became the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago, in order to provide interested individuals an opportunity to study the works of Carl Jung. June Singer was a gifted analyst and a distinguished author and lecturer.  Her text, Boundaries of the Soul, is considered to be one of the best introductions to Jungian thought. She also wrote two books about sexuality, and a Jungian study of the poet William Blake.   Link to June Singer's lectures on jungchicago.org You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all. This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.Executive Producer: Ben LawHosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, Raisa CabreraMusic: Peter Demuth

Mark Vernon provides a fresh route into Blake, taking him at his word. Exploring his writings, artwork and life, Vernon illuminates Blake's vivid worldview and shows how his thinking is still relevant for us today.Please note that the ideas expressed in this lecture do not necessarily represent the views of L'Abri Fellowship.For more resources, visit the L'Abri Ideas Library at labriideaslibrary.org. The library contains over two thousand lectures and discussions that explore questions about the reality and relevance of Christianity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit englishlabri.substack.com

In my book, I want to draw out two facets of William Blake, which I think get routinely sidelined now. My conversation with Jane Clark and Nikos Yiangou enabled us to explore these dimensions.One is that Blake was a very sharp thinker. He had a very accurate and clear critique of the ideas that were beginning to bed down in his time and have really shaped our times in the modern Christian West. A second is that he is a religious figure, which gets sidelined in two ways. He lived daily with perceptions of angels and other entities: the divine, the dead. I don't explain that away by pathologising Blake. He is also a clear Christian mystic, a very important voice in Western Christianity since the Reformation - connecting us back to a mystical core, which again is very often sidelined.For more about my book, Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination see - https://www.markvernon.com/books/awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-the-imaginationFor more about Beshara Magazine see - https://besharamagazine.orgA transcript is online here - https://besharamagazine.org/podcast/mark-vernon-awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-imagination/0:00 Introductions1:57 Blake as thinker and mystic5:20 The power of the imagination14:40 Blake and science21:12 The interconnection of music and poetry26:04 Innocence and wisdom32:29 Blake's Christianity39:57 Blake the philosopher

Mark Vernon is a British psychotherapist and writer In this episode we discuss his book Awake! William Blake and the Power of the ImaginationBook link: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/awake/Vernon's site: https://www.markvernon.com/---Become part of the Hermitix community:Hermitix Twitter - ⁠⁠ / hermitixpodcast⁠⁠ Hermitix Discord - ⁠⁠ / discord Support Hermitix:Hermitix Subscription - ⁠⁠https://hermitix.net/subscribe/⁠⁠ Patreon - ⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/hermitix⁠⁠ Donations: - ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.me/hermitixpod⁠⁠Hermitix Merchandise - ⁠⁠http://teespring.com/stores/hermitix-2⁠⁠Bitcoin Donation Address: 3LAGEKBXEuE2pgc4oubExGTWtrKPuXDDLKEthereum Donation Address: 0xfd2bbe86d6070004b9Cbf682aB2F25170046A996

Episode Summary:Growing up evangelical required a preoccupation with external behaviors and moral performance, or what I now understand as sin management. My spiritual life was fear based. Behaviors like sexuality, masturbation, swearing, or drinking were litmus tests of spiritual maturity. The more you controlled, hid, or projected your external behaviors onto others, the closer you were to God. Behavior modification, external conformity, and the avoidance of sin was my ticket out of Hell. In evangelicalism, I was a problem to be fixed, not a person to be loved. What an anemic and harmful understanding of spirituality.Leaving white evangelicalism meant finding deeper streams of spiritual wisdom. Instead of this hyper-fixation on what I was doing, inner Christianity helped me recognize God's eternal presence at the core of my being, no matter what I was doing. God isn't some external deity I need to placate, God is the lover of my soul. As I spiritually mature, I'm coming to realize the importance of cultivating my inner life instead of worrying about external behaviors. Or as Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “The only journey is the one within."External Christianity is about salvation in the afterlife. Inner Christianity is about personal transformation in this life. Contemplative or inner spirituality doesn't ignore sin—it just approaches it differently. Instead of managing sin, it invites us to be still, to listen, and to let God transform us at the root. “Christ did not preach a mere ethical or social gospel but an uncompromisingly spiritual one. He declared that God can be seen, that Divine perfection can be achieved,” writes Swami Prabhavananda in his seminal work The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta. Where does this leave us? How do we cultivate our interior life instead of focusing so much on externals? How do we focus on roots instead of fruits? I rarely quote Augustine, but he's on point about this. "Do not look outside; return to yourself. In our interior the truth resides.” I'll give that an amen. In this final episode in season five, I'm honored to be joined by psychotherapist, philosopher, and mystic Dr. Mark Vernon. Mark is a writer, psychotherapist and former Anglican priest. He contributes to programs on BBC radio, writes and reviews for newspapers and magazines, gives talks and frequently podcasts. His books cover themes including friendship and God, William Blake and Dante, ancient Greek philosophy and wellbeing. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology. Dr. Vernon's writings and teachings are deeply rooted in the inner life, exploring how we can cultivate spiritual depth and meaning in the modern world. You can connect with Dr. Vernon here!Thanks for listening!Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don't hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials

Philip Hoare on William Blake, revolution, and swimming in the dark.

Today's poem, introducing the counterpart to “Songs of Innocence,” is a dialogue that immediately deepens the mood of the more “mature” lyrics that will follow. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe