There is a well-known Taoist parable, of which the great Carl Jung approved. During a time of great drought, a Taoist master is invited to a village to help make rain; on his fourth day, rain comes, but he says he has not caused it. “I was concerned only to restore my own inner harmony,” he said, “the rain came on its own”. Jung had an enduring fascination with what he called ‘synchronicity’; the relationship between certain, apparently unconnected events.
Restoring our inner harmony is a routine task for us all; some of us relate to our God; some to music; some consume substances; some, like myself, tend a garden. I suspect we all share an intuition, that our personal consciousness is only a glimpse of a greater whole – with access to larger universal rhythms. What if, throughout history, there have been individuals empowered by an extraordinary attunement to the universe.
Do I believe that a Taoist mystic, in pursuit of inner harmony, connecting to ‘larger universal rhythms, can change weather patterns – no I don’t – but I don’t totally disbelieve it. While mysticism doesn’t cause the rain to fall, in a mysterious way, our inner attitudes can seem inseparable from external events. While there is no rational explanation for this, Jung believed that modern humans overvalue critical reason at the expense of our primal ‘mythic’ self: “For it is important and salutary” he said, “ to speak also of incomprehensible things”.
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As July ends, this will be my final mention of money. To date, 104 readers have donated circa £3500 and I’m confident ‘late-comers’ will make up the balance. My sincere thanks to every one of you, who, quite literally, make distribution possible. See fundraising page.
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My puzzlement at the influences which govern our contemporary UK , has reduced somewhat by reading this article on the Byline Times by Geoff Mulgan (remember Demos?). He says that the most powerful clique in the UK at the moment, congregates around The Spectator magazine; that their power derives from the Conservative Party itself, and the strong support of the ‘offshore establishment’ of media barons. Johnson and Gove are journalists by profession – but journalists of commentary not investigation. The Spectator attracts talented, witty writers but doesn’t do action or ideas, let alone solving problems. If we believe Mulgan, the Spectator view – that of ageing, privileged white men – is in charge.
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This Conversation article is headed: ‘Islamophobia report reveals Scotland not quite as tolerant as it likes to think’. It’s not often I take issue with the Conversation, but this piece lacks their usual rigour – makes too many assumptions from an online survey. Yes, there is racism in Scotland, but we should not minimise our exceptional support for refugees.
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In contrast, Lesley Riddoch’s well-researched article in Monday’s Herald demonstrates, that after decades of good practice, Scotland is a world leader in the integration of refugees. In the next UK Parliamentary session, Priti Patel will probably get a majority for her new (hostile) bill on refugee protocols. Will Holyrood be prepared to defy Westminster on this one.
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English company, Rockhopper Exploration, bought a licence in 2014 to drill for oil of Italy’s Adriatic coast. Such was the volume of climate change protest that the Italian Govt has since moved against fossil fuel extraction and Rockhopper is suing for loss of profits. There is an urgent need for legislation to keep pace with the emerging global intent to end exploration
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Scots historian and land campaigner, Jim Hunter, has a moving piece in the Press and Journal this week. reminding us that community ownership in the Highlands and Islands helps to right historical wrongs. He tells the story of Rosal in Sutherland, totally cleared by the Duke in 1813, but now being considered for community ownership.
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I enjoy Mark Haddon’s books—I loved his tribute to our NHS in the Guardian.
“ I love the NHS because we pay for it with our taxes, and the care we receive is the same whether we’ve paid a million pounds or nothing. If we want to save the NHS, we need to celebrate tax. We need to think of it not as money the Government steals from us, but as our contribution to a safe and just and healthy society. It’s thanks to the NHS that my wife and youngest son are still alive. But the true worth of the NHS is not that it saved my family. It is that it would make to same effort for every family, even if that family were destitute. The true worth of the NHS is that those of us lucky enough to pay tax can go to sleep at night, knowing that we have helped make that radical kindness possible”.
