On Dreaming

To die, to sleep –To sleep, perchance to dream, ay there’s the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life. Hamlet, William Shakespeare The above quote, which will be familiar […]

Continue Reading

Dealing with Dichotomies

In a previous blog I mentioned the problem outlined by religious historian, Karen Armstrong, in interpreting religious writings. She maintained that there was always tension between Logos and Mythos. Much of the wisdom of the world has been transmitted by myth, fable, allegory or parable (Mythos). When we get into trouble is when we start […]

Continue Reading

What’s Love Got to Do with It?

In our little book republished as The Myth of Nine to Five, the late Dr Phil Harker and I argued that despite the illusion we have of free will, in fact the only real choice human beings have is whether to choose to live with a worldview of fear or a worldview of love. (If […]

Continue Reading

The Primacy of Consciousness

As I sit here in my office I can see the small tree in the front yard. It is a favourite place for the bull-finches to sit before they venture down to the bird bath. This might seem to be just the start of a casual conversation but it has already introduced many philosophical concepts. […]

Continue Reading

Australia’s Renewable Energy Dilemma


Just as Anthony Albanese was touring the Great Wall of China, kowtowing to President Xi and walking away from our military alliance with the United States, Chris Bowen was in Germany seeking to bolster his case for green hydrogen and other green energy boondoggles to foist upon the long-suffering energy consumers of Australia. But the […]

July 27, 2025

Of Time and Mind


As I have written before, time seems to be the greatest paradox our minds have to grapple with. The great Western interpreter of Eastern wisdom, Alan Watts, once remarked: Paradox is just the truth standing on its head to gain attention! Well I don’t know about you, but I can certainly affirm that the paradox […]

July 16, 2025

Augustus and the Prince


Augustus and the Prince “What cannot be seen with the eye, but that whereby the eye can see: know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit, and not what people here adore. What cannot be heard with the ear but that whereby the ear can hear: know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit, and […]

July 4, 2025

Love vs Fear


The Essential Phil Harker Some weeks ago I published a tribute to Phil Harker. I thought it might be useful to outline some of his key beliefs. As we travelled on this journey of discovery together, his philosophical understandings and psychological insights had a beneficial effect on my life. It is likely they might be […]

June 23, 2025

Australia’s Looming Electricity Catastrophe


The overwhelming victory by Labor in the recent Federal Election will have many flow-on effects. One of the more disastrous will be Labor doubling down on its renewable energy policy. Chris Bowen is already claiming the victory as a mandate to continue his reckless pursuit of renewable energy. It is an assertion that is pretty […]

June 2, 2025

A Last Salute to the Good Dr Phil


  My friend of 40 years has now departed this earth. Dr Phil Harker my long-time associate and mentor has left his body and gone to a better place. The world is diminished with his passing. I first met Phil sometime around 1986 when he was part of a selection panel assessing applicants to be […]

May 23, 2025

The Creation of History


My long suffering readers will be aware of my fascination with time. It seems indisputable that, no matter how you construe time, the only reality is “now”. No sentient being is able to access any time other than the present. In essence we reconstruct the past and we imagine the future. Mind you some of […]

May 4, 2025

Make Australia Great Again!


It’s not hard to make the argument that on many fronts Australia has regressed in recent years. Our standard of living in real terms has diminished over the term of the Albanese government. Whilst our GDP, masked by record migration might have increased, our percapita GDP has fallen. We have endured high levels of inflation […]

April 20, 2025

Breaking Through the Woke Barrier


Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist. In his 1979 book Distinction, Bourdieu introduced the concept of symbolic capital. In contrast with more conventional notions of resources, such as wealth and material assets, Bourdieu argued that symbolic capital is the resource available to an individual on the basis of prestige, celebrity status and public recognition. A […]

April 11, 2025

The Palestine Dilemma


On 7 October 2023, Hamas terrorists emerged from Gaza to commit an horrendous atrocity against Israeli civilians. This deadly incursion has been well documented so I won’t elaborate on the gruesome details. Inevitably Israel responded with deadly force in order to deter further aggression and to rescue the civilian hostages that Hamas had kidnapped during […]

March 27, 2025