“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves. I wish for all this to be marked on by body when IContinue reading “The richness of lovers and tribes”
Tag Archives: spirituality
Unusual augurs of thunder in medieval England
In times of yore ( yore occurring around 1389) the appearance of thunder was a mixed bag. Thunder during January augured bumper crops, along with war when it crackled over the sky. However, thunder in December heralded abundant fruit trees, provisions and harmony among people. Harry the Hayward’s Thunder Prognostication Chart (1389) Sources: The BodlieanContinue reading “Unusual augurs of thunder in medieval England”
Book Review: The Mindfulness Survival Kit by Thich Nhat Hanh
This is a handy guide for mindfulness for busy people living at full throttle in the world. It’s a gentle calling to slow down and to heed the five mindfulness training precepts which are: not to kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, or take intoxicants. These are the basic ethics and morality in Buddhism. Zen masterContinue reading “Book Review: The Mindfulness Survival Kit by Thich Nhat Hanh”
Vladimir Nabokov on butterflies and timelessness
Vladimir Nabokov on butterflies and timelessness
Mind-expanding books that opened up the world to me as a teenager #Booktag
Some books help you as a teenager to move beyond the claustrophobic and limited world you were born into. We can’t help where we were born or who our family is. However, when we are young, if we read the right books, we may just be able to transcend challenging beginnings and see the worldContinue reading “Mind-expanding books that opened up the world to me as a teenager #Booktag”
Book Review: The Art of Gratitude by Jeremy David Engels
This book totally blew my mind and exploded everything I thought I knew about the nebulous concept of gratitude!
The Art of Gratitude is intellectually rigorous, challenging and fascinating. Instead of a new agey spiritual and vague approach to ‘being grateful’, this book traces the history and origins of gratitude in all of its shady forms.
Film Review: Corpus Christi (Boże Ciało)
*Contains no plot spoilers 4.5 stars Readers of this blog will know that I do love Polish culture and Polish films. Here’s another great Polish film that has come out recently and is currently nominated for an Oscar for best international feature film. Corpus Christi, or Boże Ciało as it’s known in Polish, is a blackContinue reading “Film Review: Corpus Christi (Boże Ciało)”
Strange Victorian Journeys Into the Fourth Dimension
The last gasp of Victorian spirituality infused cutting-edge science with old-school mysticism. Theosophy was all the rage; Many weird and and wonderful ideas being developed at the turn of the century around death, ghosts, the fourth dimension filled the Victorians with a palpable sense of possibility.
Ancient word of the day: Kraken
A Kraken is a mythical behemoth. A man-eating and fearsome gigantic cephalopod that drove fear into the hearts of sea-going Scandanavians. The word kraken comes from the Swedish word “krake”, which means twisted. Seen traditionally as a beast to be feared and respected, it also embodied a sense of deep oceanic magic and mystery. KrakenContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Kraken”
The Enlightenment of Everyday Objects
In ancient Japanese tradition, when a treasured household item reaches the end of usefulness, it is given the proper funerary send off that it deserves. This unusual ritual harks back to two ancient philosophies. The Shinto Animist philosophy that all things alive or otherwise have a soul. And the Nichiren Buddhist philosophy that when aContinue reading “The Enlightenment of Everyday Objects”
Content Catnip 