About twenty years a dear friend told me about Gitta Sereny and her powerful biography about Albert Speer. In my attempt to understand man's inhumanity to man, I read it - all 800+ pages of it. It is a masterpiece of patient, methodical and compassionate interviewing to discover how and why one man did what … Continue reading Moving On – Gitta Sereny
We must be listened to: above and beyond our personal experience, we have collectively witnessed a fundamental unexpected event, fundamental precisely because unexpected, not foreseen by anyone. It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere. I spent a … Continue reading Moving On – Primo Levi
I move, therefore I am Huraki Murikami The basic premise to Built to Move by Kelly and Juliet Starrett are 10 steps or habits. Or as the back blurb states: The answers lie in a simple formula for basic mobility maintenance: 10 tests + 10 physical practices = 10 ways to make your body work … Continue reading Built to Move
Ahhhh, my King Arthur phase! It coincided with my Pre-Raphaelite phase, and as you can see by the covers above, the two passions regularly came together. The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends (1993) by Ronan Coglan was a Christmas present to self back in 1993. I loved reading through this book, pouring over the artwork, … Continue reading Moving On – King Arthur
My summer holidays, during my teaching years were often taken up with some 'serious' reading projects. 1994 was dedicated to Charles Darwin (1992) by Adrian Desmond and James Moore. If you haven't come across this biography before, it it 700+ pages long with very small, closely formatted font. It was only ever going to be … Continue reading Moving On – Charles Darwin
In my twenties I became aware that I had had very little in the way of religious education. A little bit of Sunday School when I was young and parents who believed in a higher being but never went to church. Grandma was a regular church-goer but Nan & Pop only went on special occasions. … Continue reading Moving On – Religion
Back in 1998 I gave full rein to my fascination in evolution, early man and paleoanthropology when I bought Ancestral Passions (Simon & Schuster, 1995). It was the first full biography of Louis, Mary and Richard Leakey. I was hooked from page one. I have kept this book ever since in the hope that one … Continue reading Moving On – Fossils
Originally published on my old blog in January 2020. I've been attending mediation classes on and off since I was about 19. The idea of creating inner calm and peace by letting go suffering and anger has been a lifelong journey. Early on I was resistant to many of the Buddhists idea around suffering being … Continue reading Meditation
Oh how I wish I had used these books more. During my twenties and thirties I had all sorts of aspirational reading and intellectual plans. I wanted to be the kind of person who read and understood lots about different philosophies. In 1998 I finally read and enjoyed Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World (1991). I loved learning … Continue reading Moving On – Philosophy
Certain losses remain with us; they are part of our history and our karma....We need to find ways to peacefully coexist with our sadness. After the death of a dear friend suddenly in 2003 due to acute myeloid leukemia, I needed more help than my close friendship group and colleagues at that time could provide. … Continue reading Moving On – Lama Surya Das
Around 1998 I watched the BBC documentary television series In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great written & hosted by Michael Wood. It was love at first sight! Wood was entertaining, informative, passionate about history and very easy on the eye. Image source By 14 November 1998 I had a copy of the accompanying book in … Continue reading Moving On – Michael Wood
The Illustrated Guide to Classical Mythology | A R Hope Moncrieff (Studio Editions, 1992) Purchased: 18 August 1992 Bathurst "This volume is an abridged version of H R Hope Moncrieff's Classic Myth and Legend. As the author states in the original preface, it 'deals with the famous legendary fictions of Ancient Greece that have furnished … Continue reading Moving On – Mythology
During the 1990's I purchased a LOT of books that catered to my love of history, especially ancient history. I spent hours reading them and pouring of the illustrations and maps. They are books that have survived several moves because I considered these books reference books that I would dip in and out of over … Continue reading Moving On – Ancient History
The Oxford History of the Classical World | John Boardman, Jasper Griffin & Oswyn Murray (Oxford University Press, 1994) Purchased: 30 August 1995 "The subject of this book is enormous. In time it covers a period of well over a thousand years, from the poems of Homer to the end of pagan religion and the … Continue reading Moving On – Ancient Greece & Rome
Around 1997 I began to practise yoga. I had been teaching for seven years or so and often found the work quite stressful and exhausting. Over the years, many different things were recommended and tried by me to alleviate or reduce the stress. Yoga and meditation have been the two things that have stayed with … Continue reading Moving On – Stephen Cope
(This) Authentic Life 
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