News & Views
Introducing… ‘Perfect Days’ and ‘Nowhere Special’
Jane Clark watches two films with a contemplative theme
Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers and Human Nature
Richard Gault reviews a new book by one of the leading lights of the science of consciousness
An Irish Atlantic Rainforest
Peter Mabey reviews a new book by Eoghan Daltun which presents an inspiring example of individual action in the face of climate change
In Memory of Bill Viola (1951–2024)
Jane Carroll pays tribute to the acclaimed video artist, who died on July 12th 2024
Bringing More Land Back to Life
Luci Attala gives an update on the Kogi’s exciting regeneration project, Munekan Masha, in Colombia
Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You
Charlotte Maberly reviews a new book that argues that it is only by including human beings in nature that we can preserve it
Love Will Not Be Idle: Mysticism and Activism
Jane Clark reports on a conference put on by the Mystical Theology Network in March this year, and talks to its organiser, Dr Louise Nelstrop
Poems for These Times: 18 – New Year 2024
Benjamin Zepahniah | Faceless
“You have to look beyond the face // to see the person true // Down within my inner space // I am the same as you…”
Introducing… ‘Tiger Work’ by Ben Okri
Barbara Vellacott reads from and discusses a new book of stories, parables and poems about climate change
Book Review: “Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time” by Kapka Kassabova
Charlotte Maberly reviews a book about the search for wholeness, and a heartfelt plea to reclaim our spiritual, physical and emotional unity with nature
Book Review: “Work: A Deep History” by James Suzman
Richard Gault reviews a new book which takes a radical approach to contemporary work culture
Introducing… Bernardo Kastrup and Swami Sarvapriyananda
Charlotte Maberly appreciates a wide-ranging video conversation about Eastern and Western concepts of the self and mind
Connecting Threads on the River Tweed
Charlotte Maberly investigates an innovative project which explores cultural engagement as the driver of ecological change
The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth
Jane Clark | reviews a book about the effects of climate change on the great boreal forest at the top of the world
Cold Fingers
Kathy Tiernan, in the midst of a bitter winter, contemplates the history of coal and colonialism in the North of England
Reflections on the Significance of 6 May
Richard Gault explores the transcultural meanings of the date chosen for the coronation of King Charles III
Book Review: “Sacred Nature” by Karen Armstrong
Richard Gault presents a book which urges us to radically rethink our relationship with the natural world
Introducing… Fantastic Fungi
David Hyams is inspired by a documentary which presents recent research into these extraordinary beings, and proposes that they hold the key to our future on earth
Book Review: “Metaphysical Animals” by Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman
Keith Hammond reviews a book about four remarkable women who brought meaning back into philosophy
Book Review: “The Matter with Things” by Iain McGilchrist
Richard Gault reviews the magnum opus of an extraordinary thinker who lays out a detailed argument for the unity of the world
Reflections: Of the Passage through Eternal Death and Awakening to Eternal Life
Mark Vernon reflects upon the vision of William Blake and what we can learn from it in the wake of the Covid pandemic
With Tushar Gandhi In Mumbai
Robert Hirschfield | meets Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, in Mumbai
The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis by Amitav Ghosh
Christopher Ryan | reviews an insightful new book on climate change by the distinguished novelist
Poems for These Times: 17
Taras Shevchenko | Calamity Again
“Dear God, calamity again!
It was so peaceful, so serene;
We had just begun to break the chains…”
Tribute to Thich Nhat Hanh
Roland Ashby | remembers the Vietnamese Zen master, who died on 22 January at the age of 95
Review: Dante’s Divine Comedy: a Guide for the Spiritual Journey
Barbara Vellacott | reviews a new book by Mark Vernon which guides us through Dante’s epic poem canto by canto
Introducing: Firestacks: Time, Tide and Gravity
Fiona Bisset | presents a video about Julie Brook’s remarkable installation in the Outer Hebrides
Touching the Sun
David Hornsby | talks with Professor Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, about two exciting initiatives in space exploration
Thank God for Desmond Tutu
Christopher Ryan | pays a poetic tribute to the South African archbishop and human rights activist who died on 26th December
Introducing: My Octopus Teacher
David Hyams | reviews the award-winning documentary about friendship across species
Reflections: Beside Still Waters
James Harpur | contemplates St Columba, Covid and the Rainmaker, and asks: how can we make our living conditions less hostile?
In Memory of Etel Adnan
David Hornsby | pays tribute to the Lebanese writer and painter who died in Paris on 14th November at the age of 96
Introducing… Living in the Time of Dying
Jim Griffin | presents an unexpectedly life-affirming film about climate change
Introducing… Joanna Macy on ‘Climate Crisis as Spiritual Path’
Jane Clark | presents a short video by the pioneering eco-philosopher and activist
Review: The Ark in the Flood of Time
Richard Gault | reviews three epic tales from a master storyteller
Review: Finding the Mother Tree
David Hyams | reviews Suzanne Simard’s book about the intelligence and cooperative behaviour of trees
Poems for These Times: 16
Jane Hirshfield | The Monk Stood Beside a Wheelbarrow
“The monk stood by a wheelbarrow, weeping.
God or Buddha nowhere to be seen –
These tears were fully human…”
Review: Silicon
Richard Gault | reviews the autobiography of Federico Faggin, the man who invented the silicon chip, who is now putting forward a new theory of consciousness
Making Paradise: Exploring the Concept of Eden
Jane Clark | visits the Making Paradise exhibition at the Aga Khan Centre in London, which explores our notions of Eden as a place of peace and tranquillity
Reflections: Covid Refuge
Robert Hirschfield | contemplates the experience of locked-down New York
Review: The Great Re-Think
Richard Gault | reviews the latest book by Colin Tudge, which lays out a new vision for agriculture and farming based upon principles of unity and compassion
Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi / Warren Kenton
Joanna Lapage-Browne | pays tribute to a visionary thinker whose lifework was to revive the tradition of Kabbalah for the contemporary world
Poems for These Times: 15
Laurie Lee | Twelfth Night
“No night could be darker than this night, no cold so cold,
as the blood snaps like a wire
and the heart’s sap stills…”
Reflections: Wild Cycling
Kathy Tiernan | discovers the delights of wild places during the Covid-19 lockdown
The Idea of the World
Richard Gault | reviews Bernardo Kastrup’s recent book, which aims to re-instate consciousness as the fundamental principle of reality
Reflections: Staying – A Lesson from Lockdown
Andrew Watson | finds guidance in the wisdom of the Desert Fathers (and Mothers) during the Covid-19 pandemic
Reflections: The Transforming Power of Bread
Kawther Luay | contemplates the resurgence of bread-making during the Covid-19 lockdown, and offers two nourishing poems
Poems for These Times: 14
Seamus Heaney | From The Cure at Troy
“… So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that further shore
Is reachable from here…”
Poems for These Times: 13
Kathleen Raine | The Instrument
“… And it may be that soul extends
Organs of sense
Tuned to waves here scarcely heard…”
Poems for These Times: 12
Ted Hughes | A Green Mother
“Why are you afraid?
In the house of the dead are many cradles.
The earth is a busy hive of heavens…”
Poems for These Times: 11
John Milton | “Adam’s Lament” from Paradise Lost
“O miserable mankind, to what fall
Degraded, to what wretched state reserved!…”
Dante, Erotic Love and the Path to God
Mark Vernon | On the 700-year anniversary of The Divine Comedy, Mark Vernon explores a pivotal moment of transformation in the Purgatorio in which Dante gets a glimpse of the vastness of Divine Love
Poems for These Times: 10
Elizabeth Jennings | Song of Time
“Deliver time and let it go
Under wild clouds and passive moon.
Once it was fast, now it is slow…”
Poems for These Times: 9
Rainer Maria Rilke | The Tenth Duino Elegy
“Someday, emerging at last from the violent insight,
let me sing out jubilation and praise to assenting angels…”
Poems for These Times: 8
Benjamin Zephaniah | The Old Truth
“Rumour has it
Once upon a time
Dere was Peace, Luv and Unity…”
Poems for These Times: 7
Rupert Brooke | The Dead
“These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth…”
Poems for These Times: 6
Amir Khusrau | Ghazal 1836
“Green is newly sprouted
and rain comes scattering pearls
and the heart comes
to incline to fields
and flowing waters…”
Poems for These Times: 5
Jane Hirshfield | The Weighing
“The heart’s reasons
seen clearly,
even the hardest will carry
its whip-marks and sadness…
Dom Sylvester Houédard: tantric poetries
Charles Verey | A review of an exhibition of work done in the 1960s and 70s by the remarkable monk/poet, whose lifework was to develop a universal form of spirituality.
Poems for These Times: 4
D. H. Lawrence | Trust
“Oh we’ve got to trust
one another again
in some essentials…”
Poems for These Times: 3
Czesław Miłosz | Before Majesty
“It is bitter to praise God in misfortune…”
Poems for These Times: 2
Lao Tzu | Tao Te Ching, Chapter Forty-seven
“Without going outside, you may know the whole world…”
Poems for These Times: 1
Lynn Ungar | Pandemic
“What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times? […]”
Free, Fair and Alive
Michael Dunwell | This inspiring book by David Bollier and Silke Helfrich explores in depth the theory and practice of ‘The Commons’ – a new way of thinking about economics that is not based upon the individual per se, but recognises the deep connections between our own interests and well-being of others.
A Secret History of Christianity
Johnathan Sunley | Mark Vernon’s new book draws upon the ideas of Owen Barfield, ‘the last Inkling’, to give us a deeper perspective not only on Christianity but also on the way that human consciousness and spirituality has evolved. In the contemporary world, he argues, “we must be mystics”.
Consciousness and the Computer
Richard Gault | Jeremy Naydler’s book In the Shadow of the Machine: The Prehistory of the Computer and the Evolution of Consciousness is an erudite and insightful exploration of digital technology and its philosophical/spiritual meaning.
A West-Eastern Divan for our Time
Robin Thomson | In 1819, Goethe initiated a ground-breaking poetic dialogue between East and West with his tribute the Persian poet, Hafiz. This year, a new project has brought together poets from around the world to create A New Divan for the contemporary world.
Underland: A Deep Time Journey
Barbara Vellacott | Robert Macfarlane’s latest book takes us to extraordinary places deep under the earth, bringing together the physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the journey into darkness.
Works and Days: Simone Fattal at MoMA PSI
Michael Hornsby | Strength and fragility come to the fore in the Syrian-Lebanese artist’s mythology-laden retrospective in New York.
Henry Moore’s “Helmet Heads”
Johnathan Sunley | An exhibition at the Wallace Collection in London displays this remarkable series of sculptures for the first time, exploring the complex relationship between inner and outer, container and contained.
St Cuthbert of Farne
Kathy Tiernan | talks to Jane Clark about her latest book on the great Northumbrian saint and why she feels that St Cuthbert still has relevance for us in the 21st century.
Sacred Number and Its ‘Incarnation’ through Geometry
Tom Bree | The practice of geometry uses the visible forms of this world to point towards something beyond sight, bringing our rational and intuitive faculties into harmony.
Civilisations: A Personal View
Johnathan Sunley | A review of the BBC’s 2018 series. This presented a cornucopia of artistic achievement from all over the world, but in the end it failed to see “the one in the play of the many”.
Introducing… ‘Perfect Days’ and ‘Nowhere Special’
Jane Clark watches two films with a contemplative theme
Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers and Human Nature
Richard Gault reviews a new book by one of the leading lights of the science of consciousness
An Irish Atlantic Rainforest
Peter Mabey reviews a new book by Eoghan Daltun which presents an inspiring example of individual action in the face of climate change
In Memory of Bill Viola (1951–2024)
Jane Carroll pays tribute to the acclaimed video artist, who died on July 12th 2024
Bringing More Land Back to Life
Luci Attala gives an update on the Kogi’s exciting regeneration project, Munekan Masha, in Colombia
Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You
Charlotte Maberly reviews a new book that argues that it is only by including human beings in nature that we can preserve it
Love Will Not Be Idle: Mysticism and Activism
Jane Clark reports on a conference put on by the Mystical Theology Network in March this year, and talks to its organiser, Dr Louise Nelstrop
Poems for These Times: 18 – New Year 2024
Benjamin Zepahniah | Faceless
“You have to look beyond the face // to see the person true // Down within my inner space // I am the same as you…”
Introducing… ‘Tiger Work’ by Ben Okri
Barbara Vellacott reads from and discusses a new book of stories, parables and poems about climate change
Book Review: “Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time” by Kapka Kassabova
Charlotte Maberly reviews a book about the search for wholeness, and a heartfelt plea to reclaim our spiritual, physical and emotional unity with nature
Book Review: “Work: A Deep History” by James Suzman
Richard Gault reviews a new book which takes a radical approach to contemporary work culture
Introducing… Bernardo Kastrup and Swami Sarvapriyananda
Charlotte Maberly appreciates a wide-ranging video conversation about Eastern and Western concepts of the self and mind
Connecting Threads on the River Tweed
Charlotte Maberly investigates an innovative project which explores cultural engagement as the driver of ecological change
The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth
Jane Clark | reviews a book about the effects of climate change on the great boreal forest at the top of the world
Cold Fingers
Kathy Tiernan, in the midst of a bitter winter, contemplates the history of coal and colonialism in the North of England
Reflections on the Significance of 6 May
Richard Gault explores the transcultural meanings of the date chosen for the coronation of King Charles III
Book Review: “Sacred Nature” by Karen Armstrong
Richard Gault presents a book which urges us to radically rethink our relationship with the natural world
Introducing… Fantastic Fungi
David Hyams is inspired by a documentary which presents recent research into these extraordinary beings, and proposes that they hold the key to our future on earth
Book Review: “Metaphysical Animals” by Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman
Keith Hammond reviews a book about four remarkable women who brought meaning back into philosophy
Book Review: “The Matter with Things” by Iain McGilchrist
Richard Gault reviews the magnum opus of an extraordinary thinker who lays out a detailed argument for the unity of the world
Reflections: Of the Passage through Eternal Death and Awakening to Eternal Life
Mark Vernon reflects upon the vision of William Blake and what we can learn from it in the wake of the Covid pandemic
With Tushar Gandhi In Mumbai
Robert Hirschfield | meets Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, in Mumbai
The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis by Amitav Ghosh
Christopher Ryan | reviews an insightful new book on climate change by the distinguished novelist
Poems for These Times: 17
Taras Shevchenko | Calamity Again
“Dear God, calamity again!
It was so peaceful, so serene;
We had just begun to break the chains…”
Tribute to Thich Nhat Hanh
Roland Ashby | remembers the Vietnamese Zen master, who died on 22 January at the age of 95
Review: Dante’s Divine Comedy: a Guide for the Spiritual Journey
Barbara Vellacott | reviews a new book by Mark Vernon which guides us through Dante’s epic poem canto by canto
Introducing: Firestacks: Time, Tide and Gravity
Fiona Bisset | presents a video about Julie Brook’s remarkable installation in the Outer Hebrides
Touching the Sun
David Hornsby | talks with Professor Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, about two exciting initiatives in space exploration
Thank God for Desmond Tutu
Christopher Ryan | pays a poetic tribute to the South African archbishop and human rights activist who died on 26th December
Introducing: My Octopus Teacher
David Hyams | reviews the award-winning documentary about friendship across species
Reflections: Beside Still Waters
James Harpur | contemplates St Columba, Covid and the Rainmaker, and asks: how can we make our living conditions less hostile?
In Memory of Etel Adnan
David Hornsby | pays tribute to the Lebanese writer and painter who died in Paris on 14th November at the age of 96
Introducing… Living in the Time of Dying
Jim Griffin | presents an unexpectedly life-affirming film about climate change
Introducing… Joanna Macy on ‘Climate Crisis as Spiritual Path’
Jane Clark | presents a short video by the pioneering eco-philosopher and activist
Review: The Ark in the Flood of Time
Richard Gault | reviews three epic tales from a master storyteller
Review: Finding the Mother Tree
David Hyams | reviews Suzanne Simard’s book about the intelligence and cooperative behaviour of trees
Poems for These Times: 16
Jane Hirshfield | The Monk Stood Beside a Wheelbarrow
“The monk stood by a wheelbarrow, weeping.
God or Buddha nowhere to be seen –
These tears were fully human…”
Review: Silicon
Richard Gault | reviews the autobiography of Federico Faggin, the man who invented the silicon chip, who is now putting forward a new theory of consciousness
Making Paradise: Exploring the Concept of Eden
Jane Clark | visits the Making Paradise exhibition at the Aga Khan Centre in London, which explores our notions of Eden as a place of peace and tranquillity
Reflections: Covid Refuge
Robert Hirschfield | contemplates the experience of locked-down New York
Review: The Great Re-Think
Richard Gault | reviews the latest book by Colin Tudge, which lays out a new vision for agriculture and farming based upon principles of unity and compassion
Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi / Warren Kenton
Joanna Lapage-Browne | pays tribute to a visionary thinker whose lifework was to revive the tradition of Kabbalah for the contemporary world
Poems for These Times: 15
Laurie Lee | Twelfth Night
“No night could be darker than this night, no cold so cold,
as the blood snaps like a wire
and the heart’s sap stills…”
Reflections: Wild Cycling
Kathy Tiernan | discovers the delights of wild places during the Covid-19 lockdown
The Idea of the World
Richard Gault | reviews Bernardo Kastrup’s recent book, which aims to re-instate consciousness as the fundamental principle of reality
Reflections: Staying – A Lesson from Lockdown
Andrew Watson | finds guidance in the wisdom of the Desert Fathers (and Mothers) during the Covid-19 pandemic
Reflections: The Transforming Power of Bread
Kawther Luay | contemplates the resurgence of bread-making during the Covid-19 lockdown, and offers two nourishing poems
Poems for These Times: 14
Seamus Heaney | From The Cure at Troy
“… So hope for a great sea-change
On the far side of revenge.
Believe that further shore
Is reachable from here…”
Poems for These Times: 13
Kathleen Raine | The Instrument
“… And it may be that soul extends
Organs of sense
Tuned to waves here scarcely heard…”
Poems for These Times: 12
Ted Hughes | A Green Mother
“Why are you afraid?
In the house of the dead are many cradles.
The earth is a busy hive of heavens…”
FOLLOW AND LIKE US
@Beshara_Mag
——————————————
——————————————
——————————————
——————————————
——————————————
——————————————