Category: Politics and Power

Four new horsemen of the Apocalypse

No-one needs reminding of the dangers we now face… ‘World War Three’ seems to be on everyone’s lips. There’s a danger of self-fulfilling prophecy about this, with images of clever told-you-sos grinning after the event… albeit it, briefly. How did we get here? I’d like to propose four new horsemen of the modern apocalypse: greed, fear, impotence and ego. There’s nothing new about any … Read More Four new horsemen of the Apocalypse

Listening – an active magic

We were having dinner at the end of one of our business trips to California. On the next table at the small restaurant were an American couple from Arizona. We struck up a friendly conversation, during which the subject of armed burglary came up. The man expressed surprise that so few of the UK’s homes had guns. He was astonished when I said it … Read More Listening – an active magic

Can’t Help Ourselves?

Over the past three years, I’ve been closely following the ever-accelerating development of robots. In an age where the use of military drones for ‘state-backed’ assassinations is not unusual, and artificial intelligence is pervasively present in household devices, it pays to be aware of the various ways in which technology and the humanities are interacting. It is also instructive to see how darkly we … Read More Can’t Help Ourselves?

Within the mud, that narrow eye…

He died when I was thirteen; but none of us knew his full story, which he refused to glorify. He lied about his age to join the Army. He survived WW1, including the Battle of the Somme, and enlisted again, for WW2. The fact that he was an Irish citizen gifted me an Irish passport, allowing me to have dual citizenship and remain a … Read More Within the mud, that narrow eye…

How connected do we need to be?

It’s a thought that began after I’d spent a full day writing in various forms: email correspondence, working on journals from our students in the Silent Eye, and preparing blogs for the week. Each of these involved an intense degree of ‘connection’ – via the internet, of course; that universal highway of data and opinion. It got me wondering at what point ordinary connectedness … Read More How connected do we need to be?

The Entered Dragon (5) : a seat in the gods

Continued from Part Four The stage is set. The feeling of expectation is deep. In the darkness of the auditorium, we cannot see those sitting beside us. The stage is dark, yet the darkness is not empty; in fact the darkness is full of that which is not yet formed, but can be. None of our senses can yet register what is happening. But … Read More The Entered Dragon (5) : a seat in the gods

The Entered Dragon (4) : the world within

Continued from Part Three I know these posts, so far, have been intense. The picture painted by Carl Jung and his Jungian successors of our linked internal and external lives is a detailed and vivid one. We began by looking at the Shadow, that suppressed ‘mind’ of parts of our psychological self (psyche) that have been pushed, by conditioning, society and personal choice, from … Read More The Entered Dragon (4) : the world within

The Entered Dragon (3) : beauty and the beast

Continued from Part Two The dream continues… We are frozen, the dragon and I. He cannot be seen, as he is mirroring my every move, behind me. My fingers explore the tip of the spear, the only movement left… I press the sharp tip into the skin of my right thumb. There is a slowing of time as the ancient metal pierces the flesh. … Read More The Entered Dragon (3) : beauty and the beast

The Entered Dragon (2) : dancing with shadows

This time the dream is different. I know the dragon is there, but can’t see it. But I can see the heavy spear on the ground in front of me… I bend to pick it up. Something moves behind me, something heated and red, but no matter how fast I turn or twist, I can’t get a glimpse of it. Until I touch the … Read More The Entered Dragon (2) : dancing with shadows

The Entered Dragon (1)

Like waking within a dream – or, at least, the point where the lucidity begins… I turn my head in the small theatre, expecting others to be smiling, if not laughing. But no-one is, because no one else is here… Just me and it…where ‘it’ is not the theatre. The curtains part and what I knew to be behind them takes centre stage. Leathery … Read More The Entered Dragon (1)

Tango in the key of sorry

As the years pass, I continue to wonder at the marvel of human communication, and the sadness of how little we use its potential… The world appears to be full of conflict and strife. But much of it is happening at the psychological level. The Trump era in America and the Brexit ‘civil war’ in the UK were both fuelled by similar (if not … Read More Tango in the key of sorry

Top Drawer

Will I layer my data, uniform, Till that obedient plateau Where the arranged and ruling desktop stamps me ‘passed’, no threat Or Shine and gripe, outrageously Refuse to corner, close or fit Until a newborn’s bloody fingers Stain the pallettes Of billionaires’ mahogany ©Stephen Tanham, 2020

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