This page gives a guide to the main themes relevant to a spiritual society, with links, (for other articles click on Blog Index here, or underneath Blog Introduction in the main menu). This page is the simplest and best means of access. On a smartphone the articles may not be easy to find; they are available to the right of the list under the menu item Articles Index. On some tablets clicking on Articles Index in the main menu does not work if you merely touch on the screen; you may have to click on it with a keyboard attached. Even on a desktop, the whole dropdown menu may not be visible. In all cases, click on the links from this page.
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Latest: On 27/9/21 I was interviewed by Anders Bolling for his Mind the Shift podcast. We talked about quantum physics, the reunification of science and religion, spiritual awakening, reincarnation, Jungian psychology, the relationship between spirituality and politics, and astrology. You can watch it on Youtube, click here.
There are four sections on this page: Spirituality and Politics, Consciousness, Christianity, and Astrology.
LONG-READ: In June 2019 I gave a talk in Leeds (England) entitled: Time for a New Paradigm, the Reunification of Science and Religion. There are two versions on Medium.com, one short and one longer. Click here for a link to choose which to read. For a review and summary of the whole conference click here.
There are two other articles not on this website but on Medium.com. Another long-read is called The Paranormal as a Force for Positive Transformation (click here). This is a transcript of a talk which I gave in February 2021, which brings together many of the ideas found in my articles here, should anyone be interested. The second is called 10 Books Which Changed My Life (click here), the title being self-explanatory.
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SPIRITUALITY AND POLITICS
There is an introductory section, containing four articles, where I outline the possible foundations of a spiritual society:
1) Metaphysics in a Spiritual Society
4) Raynor C. Johnson: The Imprisoned Splendour
There is then an article entitled Headline Policies, which summarises what is to come. There is also a more detailed summary of Education policies. In that section there is a series on fairy tales, which I believe should be an essential ingredient in young children’s education: 1. The Importance of Fairy Tales, 2. Fairy Tales and Feminists, 3. The Story of Psyche, 4. The Story of Psyche – Interpretation, and 5. Concluding Remarks.
Also important in education is an understanding of mythology. A common visionary story, such as that found in ancient mythologies, has the power to bring people together as a force for change. I have written a long series of articles which attempts to create such a new mythology. See under Mythology near the bottom of the Blog Index page.
I then argue for politics of the centre, a balance of left and right, firstly from a Taoist perspective (click here). I follow this up with a further article on the same there (click here). There is also a blogpost on the centrist SDP party.
On the same theme I argue against Socialism as a way of changing the world, preferring a spiritual perspective (click here).
The next main article is entitled The Role of the Citizen in a Spiritual Society, which has an appendix Reflections on Eastern and Western Spirituality. There are three articles preparatory to this: The Superorganism, a Challenge to Materialist Science, Is the Earth a Superorganism?, and Humanity as Part of the Superorganism. There is also a blogpost following on from all of those: The Earth as a Superorganism – Further Thoughts.
The next article is intended to follow on from the last section, and is called A Vision for a Spiritual United Kingdom Outside the European Union. This has been prepared by a series of blogposts which argue for leaving the European Union (click here).
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CONSCIOUSNESS
This topic is considered important for politics and education, because every person should have an understanding of who they truly are.
There is a NEW series on the Hard Problem of Consciousness. See under Religion and Spirituality on the Blog Index Page.
In addition to the articles below, see also four articles under Religion and Spirituality on the Blog Index Page, describing the work of Stanislav Grof.
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Consciousness and the Brain – the Transmission Model
There is a series called Is the Self an Illusion? There is a brief introduction, with links to earlier blogposts on the same theme, and four articles:
Neuroscience, Gurdjieff and Buddhism,
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The next series is The Hidden, Deeper Self. There are six articles:
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CHRISTIANITY
Why is this subject important on a website called Spirituality in Politics? In the United Kingdom our Establishment is closely linked with the Church of England; our Head of State is its governor. In the USA it is frequently reported that nobody could become President if they declared that they didn’t believe in God, which obviously means the Christian God. So both nations are steeped in Christianity. What if the whole thing were an illusion? (I’m not saying that it is. We do, however, need to understand exactly what it is.) Surely we would then want to build a society on stronger foundations.
There is a new series on Christianity in the Blog section. It explores the question of the Historical Jesus and the mythicist arguments against this, and also the origins of Christianity. See under Religion and Spirituality on the Blog Index page.
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There is another series of articles called Why Christianity Must Change or Die. (On that theme, on Easter Sunday 2024 I was in conversation with Tim Wyatt of the Leeds Theosophical Society. We discussed a new Reformation for Christianity, and parapsychology, click here.)
There is an Introduction.
There is an article discussing what Christianity might have become if Gnosticism had not been suppressed by the Catholic Church, focussing upon the life of Carl Jung. Click here.
There will also be a series within a series called Significant Moments Within Church History; click here for the Introduction, and for the first in the series The Council of Nicaea.
Following on from that, before the second significant moment, there will be a series considering the question Was Jesus Divine?
At the moment there is:
the Introduction
part 1 The Adoptionist Problem part 2 The Jewish Messiah part 3 The Eschatological Prophet
part 4 Shakespeare’s Heretical Play part 5 The Resurrection of Jesus – part 1
There then follows a summary with conclusions of the material so far.
Then there is: part 6, Was Jesus Married? part 7 Was Jesus Married? – part 2 part 8 Was Jesus Married? – part 3
See also the blogpost Christianity and the Perennial Philosophy.
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The second significant moment is The Anathema Against Origen. A follow-up to that is Reincarnation and Christianity. See also the blogposts Reincarnation – Memories of Past Lives, and Reincarnation – an Interesting Anecdote
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There is also a series of articles not here, but on Medium.com:
What do the First Three Chapters of Genesis Really Mean? (click here). This is a discussion of the work of the scholar Fabre d’Olivet and his Sufi follower Shabaz Britten Best.
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ASTROLOGY
I have also written a book exploring the possibility that there might be something meaningful in Astrology, called Homage to Patric Walker. It is not published on this website, but you can find it at Medium.com. Click on each entry, or chapter number, for links.
Introduction, part 1 Introduction, part 2
chapter 1: “Astrology is Bunk, Just Ask Any Scientist.” (some evidence that scientists are not necessarily the best judges)
chapter 2: What Do These ‘Charlatans’ Believe?
chapter 3: “How did you do it? How did you know?” (this discusses sun-sign, newspaper astrology)
chapter 4: Aspects, Horaries, Tee-Squares, Trines
chapter 5: Mapping Light Years of Inner Space
chapter 6: All Things and All Moments Touch at Every Place
chapter 7: Simultaneity, Synchronicity, If It’s Good Enough for Sting, Then It’s Good Enough for Me
chapter 8: Are the Planets Good Hooks for our Projections?
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Part 2
chapter 9: A Spiritual Perspective on Astrology (how Astrology might work)
chapter 10: Existentialist Astrology. This is a general critique of Michael Harding’s book Hymns to the Ancient Gods. His understanding of Astrology is completely opposed to mine, as outlined in chapter 9. He is advocating astrology without any spiritual dimension.
chapter 11: Archetypes and Synchronicity. Here I go into much more detail about Michael Harding’s book, and defend these two Jungian concepts.
chapter 12: Synchronicity — Some Bizarre Coincidences Investigated. The title is self-explanatory. I’m discussing whether astrology is a possible explanation, and concluding on the whole that it isn’t.
chapter 13: Can Mythology and Psychology Help? A discussion of mythology and its relationship with astrology and Jungian psychology.
There follows another article, which was originally an Appendix. It discusses the work of astrologer Dennis Elwell, who disagrees with the modern tendency to connect Jungian ideas with astrology, click here. I suggest that he is closer to Jung than he thinks.
chapter 14: Can We Resolve This Tortuous Debate? Here I discuss many examples of bizarre patterns and coincidences, trying to ascertain what is the best explanation for them, astrological or otherwise. I am trying to finally dispose of the idea that Michael Harding’s Existentialist Astrology is an adequate theory. This long chapter was also published as separate sections on Medium.com:
1. Introduction, discussing the general issues
4. Astrology and the Cosmic Loom. Here I discuss the ideas of Dennis Elwell and some examples of astrological patterns he provides.
5. All Sorts of Gemini – coincidences involving twins
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chapter 15: a conclusion and summary of my critique of Michael Harding’s existentialist approach to Astrology.
chapter 16: called The Inner Planets, a discussion of how Astrology might be understood in terms of the inner universe of the collective psyche.
chapter 17: here I discuss the issue of fate and free will in relation to Astrology.
chapter 18: here I discuss the ideas of astrologer Geoffrey Cornelius, who rejects the conventional approach and believes that Astrology is essentially a form of divination. This concludes part 2.
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Part 3
introduction to part 3: here I offer some quotes which sum up the approach of the various astrologers I discussed in part 1.
chapter 19. This is divided into two parts (for reasons of length). In part 1 (click here) I discuss the possible relationship between Astrology and the Perennial Philosophy. In part 2 (click here) I discuss the implications of that.
chapter 20: here I discuss the role of Astrology in a potential reunification of science and religion.
chapter 21: here I show how the worldview that Astrology requires was believed by ancient peoples and indigenous tribes.
chapter 22: here I give some modern examples of ancient beliefs which are now dismissed as superstition – divination, spirits, curses.
chapter 23: entitled Life, the Universe, and the Evolution of Consciousness as Spirals. That should be self-explanatory.
chapter 24: continuing my discussion of the implications if Astrology is true. This is divided into 3 parts. In part 1 (click here) I discuss economics and medicine. In part 2 (click here) I discuss education and politics. In part 3 (click here) I discuss the ideas of physicist Danah Zohar as expressed in her book The Quantum Society.
chapter 25: What is Preventing Astrology From Flourishing? Here I discuss the attitudes of science and religion to astrology.
chapter 26: The Reunification of Science and Religion, Including Astrology— What Does the Oracle Say? Here I consult the I Ching to ask it about the meaning of a solar eclipse, therefore the astrology of it.
chapter 27: the last chapter. Here I offer some final thoughts on what has preceded, some apparent synchronicities during the process of writing, and some conclusions.
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What was originally an appendix, now published as: Reflections on the Birth Moment
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While you are here, here a few great pictures.
