Reflections on meaning and truth, the sacred, life and death, wisdom for living, and love, drawn from Wayne’s diaries and letters.
51 diaries · Philosophy Diaries
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2022
Finding a purpose for your work is important (Handy calls it your “golden seed”; something you can nurture and grow that is aligned to your…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2020
Superficially, when we wish someone a happy birthday, it would seem that we are wishing them to be happy on that particular day, which is…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2018
I am already convinced by the scientific evidence of extended consciousness, including abilities like telepathy, precognition and remote viewing, which has been capably synthesised by…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2017
When I started university, fresh out of school, 17 and living away from home for the first time, I was in the midst of seismic…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2016
I remember having that tug-of-war with myself; in fact, it still continues. On the one side, I am pulled by unseen forces that search for…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2015
It was Jung who came up with ideas like the collective unconscious (a kind of invisible connected consciousness, a bit like the digital cloud), archetypes…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2015
There is not only natural beauty here in Kosovo. There are also all the shadows and ghosts of the past; the ruined homes and memorials…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2015
The other thing I’ve been thinking a lot about this week is the meaning of ‘home’. Where is home? This used to be a simple…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2015
This weekend has been a chance for deep, existential reflection. It began when I bought and started to read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2015
Many a truth spoken in fiction. I think the reason so many people resonated with the Harry Potter story is because J.K. Rowling managed to…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2015
Recently I have had a few moments of serious existential crisis – a feeling of futility and meaninglessness; that nothing I (or anyone) might achieve…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2010
Truth is a vision of the whole in all its complexity, not a pedantic description of the parts in all their simplicity. Is a lie…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2007
What we call reality is simply what we are focused on at any given point in time and place. We place our picture of reality…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 2005
A book I read recently talks about how the speed of our natural (physical) evolution has not kept pace with socio-economic and ecological changes. The…
Meaning, Purpose & Truth · 1989
There comes a time upon your journey through life when you realise that the journey is indeed yours and nobody else’s; that no one else…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2024
I've decided to take up the Book Challenge on BlueSky. The instructions are as follows: Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2023
So, why do we put up Christmas lights? Of course, they are part of spreading “good cheer” and adding to the festive spirit of the…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2023
Decorating Christmas trees almost certainly has its roots in pagan traditions. For example, one element of the Roman festival of Saturnalia, predating Christianity by several…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2023
At face value, Christmas is a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus. But I think it is so much more than this. The Christmas…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2023
I often hear people complaining that buying presents at Christmas detracts from the real meaning of the celebration, although some Christians will make a tenuous…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2015
We visited the ancient cave temples of Dambulla, which are adorned with Buddha sculptures large and small and paintings on the cave walls depicting the…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2010
When I was growing up, I got a lot of pleasure from nature – especially hiking and camping – but my meaning in life came…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2008
Sometimes, my life seems surreal, and perhaps no more so than now, having visited China, which has for so long drifted like a cloud across…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2000
I led a service with the theme Hope for the Flowers, inspired by the amazing colourful little book of the same title, by Trina Paulus.…
Spirit & the Sacred · 2001
Today, I led the Unitarian service, with the theme “Experiments in Time”. I began my talk by pointing out why time was an appropriate topic…
Life, Death & Time · 2023
There is merit in reflecting on how the world changes – and even more, how our personal world changes. There are three insights I’ve gained…
Life, Death & Time · 2021
What makes it hard, I suppose, is that we have been living through a period of slow time, when getting to the end of the…
Life, Death & Time · 2018
We had a friend die unexpectedly this year. It’s like being punched and winded, shocked with disbelief, then wanting to lash out in anger, but…
Life, Death & Time · 2018
Life is suffering. And the root of suffering is attachment. At least, that’s what Buddhism teaches. I don’t fully accept that, but it’s a good…
Life, Death & Time · 2017
In my own life, which has been filled with existential angst since I was 17, I have arrived at two answers to life’s impermanence. They…
Life, Death & Time · 2015
When the heart is full and the days are long, it is hard to imagine anything else. And yet, as night follows day and winter…
Life, Death & Time · 2007
We live in the eternal present. While I am alive, the present is all that is real. Reflections on the past and speculations about the…
Life, Death & Time · 1999
Naturally enough, as the year begins to ebb, my reflective mood rises like the tide. Somehow, the psycho-numerological effect of 2000 weaves its spell on…
Life, Death & Time · 2001
This New Year marks the true beginning of the third millennium, according to Arthur C Clarke in his book, Greetings Carbon-Based Bipeds. Unlike last new…
Wisdom for Living · 2025
I’ve been reflecting on the question: How do we keep going (in the face of unbearable suffering and destruction in the world)? Answering less poetically…
Wisdom for Living · 2025
I prefer the word ‘content’, because I believe ‘happy’ is too much to hope for. Happy is a moment in time, just like ‘sad’ is.…
Wisdom for Living · 2022
I get more and more inspired by the Stoics. There are some commonalities with Taoism, but it has a more pragmatic view on how to…
Wisdom for Living · 2018
We all have our own concept of value – consciously or unconsciously – and this guides us in our life. It determines where we put…
Wisdom for Living · 2015
Here’s what I’ve learned about success and achievement. First, the desire to achieve is human; in fact, it is one of the existential drives from…
Wisdom for Living · 2015
It is always the letting go – the leap of faith – that takes us on the paths of learning and adventure. Yet most people…
Wisdom for Living · 2007
We always have a choice, and each choice always has consequences. This morning, I could take the shorter, more direct route to work, that takes…
Wisdom for Living · 2007
Sickness is seldom a welcome visitor, but it does usually come bearing gifts. It asks us to slow down, to focus our energy, to be…
Wisdom for Living · 2007
Change starts with a dream, a fantasy of what the future could look like. We have to imagine the possibilities and try the alternative realities…
Wisdom for Living · 2007
Changing our life is all about changing our habits. I want to be a writer, so I am choosing to write something (anything, no matter…
Love, Ethics & Hope · 2022
One book I love is Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost. That may sound like a strange book to be quoting from at…
Love, Ethics & Hope · 2022
The parable of the river creatures in Richard Bach’s Illusions, and the wisdom of letting go, is at the heart of Taoist philosophy, which I…
Love, Ethics & Hope · 2022
It all comes down to love – which is easy to say and hard to do. Love is such an enigma that it has puzzled…
Love, Ethics & Hope · 2016
When I was young, I found the ‘L’ word a bit scary, at least in terms of romantic love. With the possible exception of sex…
Love, Ethics & Hope · 2011
How do I define freedom? It is the ability to make choices about my life in a way that does not harm or disrespect others.…
Love, Ethics & Hope · 1992
Business organisations are social institutions and their prime function is to serve society. As such, their responsibilities should be:
Love, Ethics & Hope · 1991
Love should be at the very heart of our thinking, our decision making, and our actions; in fact, at the heart of our living and…