The Big Bad Wolf, the Human Capacity to Deceive, and the Case of Jimmy Savile

In recent weeks many of us have been shocked by the case of Jimmy Savile and the BBC, and wondered how someone who did so much good in the world could turn out to have such a dark side. The case of Jimmy Savile should make us all look with new eyes at the cultContinue reading “The Big Bad Wolf, the Human Capacity to Deceive, and the Case of Jimmy Savile”

Beyond The Scream of Edvard Munch, into Reflections on Identity

The other day I was reading through the typescript of the novel I wrote about my university life, finished a few years after I graduated:  it was called “A Degree Without Honour“. I had some astonishing shafts of self-knowledge from it… things I was entirely unconscious of whilst writing it. I was trying to seeContinue reading “Beyond The Scream of Edvard Munch, into Reflections on Identity”

Childhood Imaginary Worlds

When I was a little girl, my friend Alison and I created imaginary worlds. One of these was the land we named “Coneland”. We wrote stories about the royal family of this land; at the bottom righthand corner of the map is the palace and the royal park, situated of course in the capital city,Continue reading “Childhood Imaginary Worlds”

Special Time, Ordinary Time, and the Time the Weeping Angels Snatch

Who’d have thought there’s a connection between emigrating to a far country, and being snatched by one of Doctor Who’s greatest foes: the Weeping Angels? But I believe there is. The Weeping Angels played a vital role in the plot of the latest Doctor Who Episode, “The Angels Take Manhattan”, during which we, and theContinue reading “Special Time, Ordinary Time, and the Time the Weeping Angels Snatch”

A World of Wonders at Leavesden Studios

On a recent visit to the Harry Potter tour at the Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden, I was moved. Not simply by the moment when I and my two children first stepped into the Hogwarts Great Hall, or by the moment when I first came upon the model of Hogwarts Castle, or when I firstContinue reading “A World of Wonders at Leavesden Studios”

“Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 7 – Arriving Where You Started and Knowing The Place For the First Time

Throughout this series, mountains have been an important image for me. And now we arrive at the end of my mini-series, we find ourselves on a mountain again. And this mountain is on the opposite side of the world to the mountain where I had my first childhood experience – in Australia. I’ve told thisContinue reading ““Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 7 – Arriving Where You Started and Knowing The Place For the First Time”

Promises of Freedom and a World That Refuses To Be Healed

I’m off on holiday for a week. While I’m taking a break from my laptop my blog will be quiet. However there’s a post or two in the pipeline for when I get back – but you can expect a delayed response to any comments etc. Meanwhile, though, consider this thought from an excellent bookContinue reading “Promises of Freedom and a World That Refuses To Be Healed”

“Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 6 – An Inspiring Project in Brisbane, Australia: The Relaxation Centre of Queensland

In Australia I found a unique Centre – located in Brisbane, and run by an Englishman. 35 years ago, LIONEL FIFIELD, formerly an accountant, set up an organisation called The Relaxation Centre of Queensland, using premises in Brisbane. I spent nearly five years living in Brisbane, and during that time I must have tasted everyContinue reading ““Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 6 – An Inspiring Project in Brisbane, Australia: The Relaxation Centre of Queensland”

“Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 5 – Secret India: The Land of the Gods and Neel Kanth, Mountain of Light

Does an experience of joy and spiritual upliftment only count as a mystical experience if it changes your life? I believe these experiences gather significance cumulatively, over the course of a lifetime, through the repetition of events grouped around a similar theme – just as in a recurring dream. And for me the recurring themeContinue reading ““Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 5 – Secret India: The Land of the Gods and Neel Kanth, Mountain of Light”

Mystical Circles – Is Everything Really As Perfect As It Seems?

For those who’ve been following my series on “Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” you may recognise this as the perennial question – unspoken – in the mind of anyone on the spiritual journey I describe. And it’s certainly the question behind much of my exploring. My heroine Juliet explores this too – in anContinue reading “Mystical Circles – Is Everything Really As Perfect As It Seems?”