The other day I was at an inspirational concert in a village church in Warwickshire, Hatton Church, listening to a small choir called Amici sing a mixture of early music and contemporary music. They sang a capella music by such composers as William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Ralph Vaughan Williams. On one occasion the conductor pointed outContinue reading “Harmony, the Music of the Spheres and Glimpses of Eternity”
Tag Archives: glimpses of eternity
Why I Believe Mankind Can Never ‘Own’ the Moon
Nobody Owns the Moon. On Friday morning January 10th 2014 I heard Mishal Husain interview Ian Crawford and Nicola Triscott on this topic on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. Nicola Triscott has mounted an exhibition on London’s South Bank called Republic of the Moon. She has transformed The Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf intoContinue reading “Why I Believe Mankind Can Never ‘Own’ the Moon”
Sacred Spaces in the English Landscape and Places of Inspiration: Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral
Throughout the English landscape there’s evidence that our ancestors shaped the land, to conform to their own mythological landscape. I’ve written before about sacred spaces. In that article, I looked at some renowned locations in England where people have felt they’re in touch with something bigger than themselves – a sense of the numinous. AllContinue reading “Sacred Spaces in the English Landscape and Places of Inspiration: Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral”
The Heavenly Choir, Voices of Lothlorien, and Glimpses of Eternity
The most profound emotions, the deepest experiences of the human spirit may be evoked by the sound of a heavenly choir. There has often been debate about which is the greatest musical instrument. And of course each of us will have different favourites. It has been said, for instance, that the grand pipe organ isContinue reading “The Heavenly Choir, Voices of Lothlorien, and Glimpses of Eternity”
“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”
“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 Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 4 – Cottingley Fairy Photographs and Esoteric Teachings
I want to be a very serene loving being in tune with the universe. So said a fellow-member of my study group at The Theosophical Society, at 50 Gloucester Place, London W1. She spoke those words in answer to a question from my next inspirational figure. He had asked, “Why are you here? What doContinue reading ““Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 4 – Cottingley Fairy Photographs and Esoteric Teachings”
“Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 3 – Sir Laurens Van Der Post, Explorer of the Spirit
We shall not cease from exploration wrote TS Eliot in his poem “Little Gidding”. And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. These words seem very appropriate for author and explorer Sir Laurens Van Der Post (1906-1996), whom I first cameContinue reading ““Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 3 – Sir Laurens Van Der Post, Explorer of the Spirit”
“Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 1: Stirred By A Scientist to Share a Childhood Religious Experience
What’s the difference between nature or music appreciation… and a mystical experience? When does “being moved by something beautiful” become a religious experience? Surely the criterion for a mystical experience is that it changes your life? In my case, it did. My early childhood mystical experiences ultimately led me on a spiritual journey of manyContinue reading ““Mystical Experiences and Glimpses of Eternity” Mini Series Part 1: Stirred By A Scientist to Share a Childhood Religious Experience”