Past Editions

 

Mandalas Everywhere by Jill Rawlston

On my desk is a simple coloured drawing of three concentric rings: yellow at the centre, orange radiating around it and both contained by a soft red. It glows. It has action and stillness bound together. Presence! Mandala. Read More.....

 

Where do the pictures come from?

by Dorothy Scrivener

Where would inhibited British people be without the opportunity to express themselves in paint, poetry or music? They can so easily be embarrassed by expressions of feelings and emotional outpourings. Read More.....

Rebirth of the Soul

DEEPAK CHOPRA
Quantum physics has made the spiritual worldview completely believable

PEOPLE TALK ABOUT their souls much more than they used to, and books extolling the care of the soul have become amazingly popular. I say amazingly because the 20th century did everything it could to crush the soul. Read More.....

The Creative Power of Boredom

by James Russell
First published in The Green Parent magazine (www.thegreenparent.co.uk)

"When I examined myself, and my methods of thought, I came to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." Albert Einstein Read More.....

Effortless Cool by Homespun

Easy listening? Yes, very.
But good? Yes – and the opening song Sweetness is almost too nice. But it’s the sweetness of sugar rather than saccharine and it leaves a pleasant taste while leading to a collection of tracks that have more depth. Read More.....

Bernard Samuels in conversation on Ben Hartley and writing

I’m interested in your original attraction to Ben Hartley’s work – what struck you first - the colour or the images?

Both. I found his paintings so exciting and lively. I remember very clearly the ones I first saw. In time I’ve come to grips more with his work. Quite a lot of Ben’s pictures are a bit difficult to read. Read More.....

 

Book Review: Travelling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott

Not many people have the knack of writing about faith. It's not easy, usually. I know because I often try, and fail, and I read others' attempts, which don't quite get there either. But sometimes, just sometimes, it works and then it's joyous - you find yourself saying Yes! Yes! and there's no tint of pomposity or patronage to spoil it. Read More.....

 

Banis SAD with Spring, Light and Oranges

by

Penny Stanway

The ever earlier dawn and ever later dusk are signs of sap rising. And I’m not just talking about plants. For we’re coming to the end of the dark months of the year, when one in five of us suffer from symptoms of light deficiency, and up to three per cent are disturbed enough to be dubbed as having winter SAD, meaning seasonal affective disorder. (I say ‘winter’ SAD as researchers have identified a summer type too, but that’s another story). Read More.....

A Dancing Path - talking with Mary Wood

You were a pioneer of creative dance?

I wouldn’t claim I was a pioneer – more a ‘disciple.’ In my early teaching days I saw how movement and dance could enhance the children’s development. Read More.....

The Joy of Painting by Jeffrey Pratt

I cling to the notion that painting is a Buddhist practice. For starters painting is not about making money: painting helps me find, on a good day, a place where I’m feeling fully integrated with my world, my eco system - eco not ego – setting up and painting directly from life short circuits the ego very often. Read More.....

How I Turn Rejection Into Publication by Cathy Wald

“Save it for your novel.” That was the withering advice given to me by a hard-boiled New York newspaper editor in May 1993. Read More.....

We Are All Creative by Christine Thomas

“Could you write something on creativity” I was asked. No, I thought, I cannot – I am not creative so how can I possibly write on something I know nothing about and who would care anyway. Creativity – that’s something intangible and for “arty” types. Read More.....

Eleanor Nesbitt in conversation with Jenny Hare

What do we mean by the word spirituality?

Another dimension; intuitions about death; morality, altruism, courage - all sorts of qualities. Then there is our response to aesthetics - in music, art, etc. 'Spiritual' is a word referring to all those areas. Read More.....

There are many paths to creativity - and to spirituality by The Rev. John Billam

When my wife and I enrolled for a painting course we started to look at things differently.

Asked to consider perspective, colour and tones we found ourselves climbing to new levels of awareness as we realised everything we looked at is far more complex than we’d noticed before. Read More.....

Inspiration, Silence and Films by Mike Moignard-Howarth

I am not an artist, an author or any of those things, which would give me a weighty opinion on inspiration, enjoyed by those who chatter on Radio 4’s Front Row. I am a mere observer of art and therefore like all consumers am longing for that great ‘research interview’ in the sky during which I could pontificate long and hard on my own very personal preferences. Read More.....

Paul McCartney: A Kind of Magic by Jenny Hare

Paul McCartney continues to amaze me with his multi-faceted creativity. He was one of the greatest lyric and melody writers of the 20th Century and his album Chaos and Creation carries his music forward into the New Millennium on a continuing high. Read More.....

Soul Food by Penny Stanway

We may talk of comfort food (pasta, perhaps, or honey sandwiches) or posh nosh (like lobster or caviar). We may reminisce about school dinners (my friends might remember scooping that frightful fish pie on to a ledge under the table), or natter about nursery food (for example, boiled egg and soldiers, banana custard and dripping toast – which was quite divine, but scorned by today’s food police). Or we may talk about food being filling, or appealing to the senses by smelling fragrant, tasting wonderful or having a good ‘mouth-feel’.

But just how often do we think of food as being good for our soul? Read More.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this month's articles see the main list on the home page.