In this episode, John welcomes Mark Vernon to discuss his two books, 'Dante's Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey' and 'Awake: William Blake and the Imagination'. They explore the profound psychological, philosophical, and spiritual insights offered by Dante and Blake, touching upon topics like pilgrimage, the imaginal, and the role of the imagination in renewing perception. Mark shares his experiences and how these works resonate with contemporary cognitive science and spirituality. The conversation delves deep into understanding the connections between ancient wisdom and modern thought. Mark Vernon is a writer, psychotherapist, and philosopher whose work explores the meeting point of spirituality, psychology, and philosophy. Based in London, his background in physics, theology, and psychotherapy shapes a multidisciplinary approach that bridges ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary understandings of the mind and meaning. Learn more about Mark Vernon’s work: markvernon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/platospodcasts/?hl=en Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/mark-vernon-b6291719/?originalSubdomain=uk Awake: William Blake and the Power of Imagination — by Mark Vernon: https://markvernon.com/awake-william-blake-and-the-power-of-imagination-a-conversation-with-jane-clark-and-nikos-yiangou The Divine Comedy — by Dante Alighieri: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/8800 A World in a Grain of Sand — William Blake’s poem reference (“Auguries of Innocence”): https://poetryfoundation.org/poems/43650/auguries-of-innocence — — Ideas, People, and Works Mentioned in this Episode Pilgrimage as a Meta-Practice Beyond Human and the More-Than-Human World Ecology of Practices and Sacred Participation Reverence, Humility, and Inner Transformation Chronos, Kairos, and Aion – Layers of Time Tourist, Explorer, and Pilgrim as Archetypes Meta-Noetic Passage and Transformation Relevance Realization and Cognitive Science Integration and the Covenant of Return Threshold and Passage as Spiritual Acts Sacredness, Mystery, and the Practice of Presence Ian McGilchrist – The Master and His Emissary Francis Weller – The Wild Edge of Sorrow David Whyte – Everything Is Waiting for You Byung-Chul Han – The Scent of Time Christos Yannaras – The Freedom of Morality William Desmond – Philosopher of the Between Charles Taylor – A Secular Age Hartmut Rosa – Resonance and Modernity Thich Nhat Hanh Wa– lkt” Hajime Tanabe Levinas Martin Buber Maximus the Confessor and Norman Russell Vanessa Machado de Oliveira Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12 – The Faces of God Camino de Santiago and Shikoku Pilgrimage Philosophy, Ecology, and Spiritual Renewal — Follow John Vervaeke https://johnvervaeke.com/ https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke — Thank you for watching!