Susan Blackmore Archives

Am I Conscious Now?

January 6, 2020January 21, 2020 Vanessa Able

"What does it mean to ask a question? Is there some magic in the inquisitive brain?" Susan Blackmore's lifelong investigation into consciousness encompasses Zen practice and the recurring question: Am I conscious now?

Seeing Into the Reality of Emptiness
Zen Master Tangen Harada Roshi on how understanding the truth of emptiness can reveal Original Mind.
The Problem With Business As Usual – On Interconnectedness and the Climate Crisis
Inspired by the work of the Dalai Lama and Greta Thunberg, Susan Bauer-Wu's book is her personal expression of concern for the earth.
Orhan Pamuk on Writing By Hand
Orhan Pamuk's hand-writing habit hasn't budged, despite the conventions of our time.
How We Live Is How We Die: Pema Chödrön on Preparing for Death Here and Now
Pema Chödrön on what the Tibetan approach to living and dying can teach us about liberation in the present moment.
The Path that Goes Nowhere – Barbara Brown Taylor on the Practice of Labyrinth Walking
Barbara Brown Taylor reflects on her own experience of Labyrinth-walking and the significance of the path without a destination.

Sahar Fathi – All-the-time Home
Iranian-American poet Sahar Fathi offers a discourse on longing and nostalgia with her incredibly poignant poem "All-the-time Home".
Corinne Hughes – Cullen Island, Anacortes
In "Cullen Island, Anacortes" poet Corinne Hughes reveals brash and radiant liberation from the unwelcome masculine darknesses of the past.
Christine Andersen – Breaking the Rules
Christine Andersen's "Breaking the Rules" reveals the release and healing to be found blooming and flowing in the wild places of the earth.
Amanda Niamh Dawson – Prayer for a Mantis
An encounter with a praying mantis on a doorstep becomes a lesson in compassion and gratitude in Amanda Niamh Dawson's "Prayer for a Mantis".
Betsy Fogelman Tighe – My Spiritual Practice
Through the lens of nature, poet Betsy Fogelman Tighe reveals a practical and inclusive form of worship in "My Spiritual Practice".