I don’t know if Kate Tempest would describe herself as a bodhisattva, but to me she’s the perfect embodiment of what that would look like in the form of a performance poet. Here she is at Glastonbury in 2015, more than holding her own (full set here): “Know the wolves that hunt you, in time,… Continue reading Hold Your Own – Kate Tempest – a bodhisattva in action
On the night of creation, I was awake Busy at work while everyone slept. I was there to see the first wink and hear the first tale told. I was the first one caught in the hair of the great imposter. Whirling around the still point of ecstasy, I spun like the wheel of heaven.… Continue reading Beyond Words: a commentary on Rumi by Andrew Harvey
In this fascinating interview, Philip Pullman talks about His Dark Materials and some of the ideas in the books, including: loss of innocence, religion, William Blake, the oral tradition and why fairy tales differ from novels, plus a little dig at CS Lewis and Tolkien. Recorded at the Durham Book Festival in October this year.… Continue reading His Dark Materials: interview with Philip Pullman
I’ve been watching the unfolding calamity of the refugee crisis in Europe, searching for a response – how to process the grief and not turn away from the darkness that I’m seeing. Then I found this beautiful poem by Rilke (from Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29) and it helped. I hope it helps you too…… Continue reading Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower
How does a part of the world leave the world? How does wetness leave water? Don’t try to put out fire by throwing on more fire! Don’t wash a wound with blood. No matter how fast you run, your shadow keeps up. Sometimes it’s in front! Only full overhead sun diminishes your shadow. But that… Continue reading Shadow and Light Source Both
On a dark night, Inflamed by love-longing- O exquisite risk! Undetected I slipped away. My house, at last, grown still. Secure in the darkness, I climbed the secret ladder in disguise- O exquisite risk! Concealed by the darkness. My house, at last, grown still. That sweet night: a secret. Nobody saw me; I did not… Continue reading Songs of the Soul
The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi grew from a series of lectures given by Andrew Harvey at the California Institute of Integral Studies in 1993. The lectures celebrated Rumi’s work as mystic, poet and prophet. Before giving the lectures, Harvey had a dream where he asked an old man in a mosque how he… Continue reading The Way of Passion: Book Review
