Blog#34: Feeling Normal, Anyone?
Part One
A few weeks back, I took a short trip down south. In this case, 'down south' consisted of biggish city Glasgow, and far smaller city Perth, both in Central Scotland.
Just a few days. I travelled incognito. Sometimes you want to go away and visit people, socialise; other times you go quietly, anonymous, just to . . .
Life Story#34: Whose Dream?
Part One
Early one Saturday morning I woke up in a state of extreme anxiety. I pulled on my clothes, rushed out of the front door, and headed for the nearest point with anything like a view. The urban landscape stretched as far as I could see - hard as I tried, I could see nothing beyond an infinity of concrete grey; no green, no nature, . . .
Blog#33: Trains and Boats and Planes
Part One
They're back! After pretty much a two-year hiatus, the visitors from abroad to the Highlands of Scotland are back. And, from what I see, they are here in their droves.....
In contrast to the absence of foreign visitors, the summers of 2020 and 2021 saw a goodly number of tourists from 'down south' in England and Wales, many . . .
Life Story#33: The Great Renunciation
Part One
I don't know if it happens to other people. But in my life it turns out that the times I thought were the finest, the most glorious, the most noble, are precisely those that, in retrospect, are the worst, the most embarrassing, the ones that make you cringe. It's a dynamic that parallels one which Jung described in . . .
Blog#32: The Fool
Part One
I guess that I first came across Tarot in any meaningful way during my early days in the commune. I soon bought a pack of the cards, the classic Rider-Waite Tarot: there was not too much choice in those days.
I took to Tarot immediately; it seemed to speak to me, and I felt at home with it. I used it for . . .
Life Story#32: West of Lhasa
Part One
I could barely contain my excitement as I thumbed my way up the length of England, from Oxford to the southern perimeter of the Lake District. Conishead Priory, the newly-acquired residence of the recently formed Manjusri Institute. The retreat with the Western Buddhists was still fresh in my mind. It had been so enjoyable, so . . .
Blog#31: The Ancient Game
A second piece using material originally intended for appendices to the 'life story'.
Part One
It is an ancient game indeed. By the time of the Roman Empire it was certainly in full swing. Since then, the details have changed and it has gone more fully global, but the face has remained the same.
Just how far . . .
