Latest Posts
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The will to live
Throughout recorded history, thinkers and natural philosophers have commented on the innate, energetic spark that is imbued within all living things. Eastern and Western civilisations have simultaneously described a will to live, an internal life force, a spirit, or soul,… Continue reading
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What should life be like?
What should life be like? What can we reasonably expect from our existence? I’m not referring to those ultra people, with extreme lifestyles, who live as monastic monks or who have blue blood and live in palaces. I’m also not… Continue reading
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Draw Like a Boss
In this interview, author Ashley Edge and Paul Carney explore the purpose of drawing and learning to draw, including explicit instruction. Ashley Edge is a Lake District based artist and the author of the Draw Like a Boss series of… Continue reading
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It’s Life Jim!
Some scientists now believe the chances of life emerging on Earth by itself are too remote. In a very honest, refreshing, (but complex), scientific paper, Robert Endres of the Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College, London in December 2025, explored… Continue reading
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Finding God in an age of reason
What evidence is there that God exists? In my opinion, the likelihood of the universe springing into existence by itself, for no reason, is so remote as to be non-existent. The mathematics of this universe forming event are mind-bogglingly extreme.… Continue reading
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The Blob
A short story. The blob floated mindlessly in the darkness. It had no eyes, or senses, save the ability to touch. To feel. It had no explicit conscious thoughts as such. But, driven by impulse, it knew what it wanted.… Continue reading
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One in a billion
In the Big Bang, when the universe was formulated, there should have been a blinding flash of radiation as these opposing forces cancelled each other out. But that is not what happened. By the order of one particle in a… Continue reading
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Welcome to the spirit world.
A short story. It had been another excellent meeting, Wendy thought, as she tidied her props away into her handbag and picked up her phone. Her back was killing her from sitting on a hard seat all night, but she… Continue reading
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Stephen Hawking: Is there a God?
“One could define God as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of as God. They mean a human-like being, with whom one can have a personal relationship.” Hawking refers to… Continue reading
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Beyond Words
All of our thinking is through words, all of our actions, all of our science, all of our literature, all of our history, all our technology, all our kingdoms and empires. All of it stems from language and communication. And… Continue reading
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Pure awareness is heaven
What are your thoughts on life after death? Where do you think we go when we die? Perhaps you think you’ll live eternally in a heavenly paradise surrounded by your loved ones. Maybe you don’t believe any of that stuff… Continue reading
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Movie Night
‘Where the hell am I?’ she muttered to herself, as the vortex gave way to a dimly lit room, complete with brightly-coloured, patterned furnishings and the kind of Jamaican, cultural furnishings she was familiar with from her childhood. ‘Oh wow,… Continue reading
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Roads to Happiness
Two eastern mystics with profound insights into the nature of existence and how to lead happier lives are Sri Ramana Maharshi and Thich Nhat Hanh. Maharshi was a Hindu sage who lived around eighty years ago in India, while Hanh… Continue reading
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How can an inanimate force become a God?
When we think of a force such as the quantum field, we don’t think of an omnipotent, personified being, we think of an abstract mass of crackling energy; a bubbling froth of excitable forces, where a myriad of particles might… Continue reading
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The axis of evil
Aristotle’s geocentric model of the universe, with earth in the centre, fitted with western Biblical ideologies and so stood for two thousand years until Copernicus upset the apple cart and proclaimed the sun was at the centre of things. Despite… Continue reading
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True Survivor (the pom-poms)
Harry woke up before the alarm and instinctively woke his wife, Jacinda, too. ‘Hey Jac, come on, you’ve got a long day today, you’re on lates.’ ‘What? Huh, oh God, my head hurts.’ ‘I’ll let you go in the shower… Continue reading
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The grand coder
A computer coder creates a virtual world which replicates our ‘real’ world, and the characters have a form of artificial intelligence. Characters in this world have the ability to sense their environment, and assume what they experience is real. In… Continue reading
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An odd thing to find
‘Tonight, we bring you a special report on the mysterious phenomena known as sea pyramids – the strange, glowing triangular prisms that have washed up on the beaches of Japan and the Philippines in recent months. ‘Professor Richard Binks, a… Continue reading
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The True Self
The true Self is the spiritual self. The true Self is the single self; it is not scattered, disorganised or divided. The true Self has no ego. The true Self does not crave attention, fame, status, wealth, or ambition. The… Continue reading
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The Secret of Life
There is a secret to life that is so simple, yet so elusive, and it is this: all the life that has ever existed, in every corner of the universe, has one primary purpose – to find happiness. What is… Continue reading
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An Origin Story
A young girl was seated alone in a plush café, talking into her friend through her smartphone. The friend was on speakerphone, and the girl, although clearly distressed, made no attempt to hide her conversations. The girl sobbed and wailed… Continue reading
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Last Night in Middlesbrough
The old man winced in pain as he leant forward to pull the flimsy blanket over his calloused, gnarled feet. Even thick, thermal socks weren’t enough to keep out the icy cold depths of winter. It wouldn’t be long now,… Continue reading
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Dragged kicking and screaming
Do you trust your instincts? Everybody talks about the good old days, the good old days, right? Well, let’s talk about the good old days. As bad as we think they are, These will become the good old days for our children. Gladys Knight… Continue reading
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The Fundamental Spirit
Reality has a fundamental layer that pervades and connects all things. The Hindus call it Brahman; the invisible essence that permeates the whole universe. The Chinese call it the Tao. Buddhists call it the Dharma. Scientists might call it the… Continue reading
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An Almighty state of being
God for me, isn’t a being in the sky, but a creative life force all around me, present in all things. As my regular readers will know, I’ve been on a journey of self-discovery over the last year and an… Continue reading
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Finding Patterns
Pattern Is religion just the brain seeing patterns in things? Human beings have a tendency to attach supernatural meanings to everyday phenomena. Seeing faces in clouds (pareidolia), believing there is a pattern in random events (like in gambling), or confirmation… Continue reading
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Believing in Nothing
No one believes in a God who does nothing,” G. K. Chesterton Something rather than nothing It seems obvious to me that something, rather than nothing, created the universe. Proving it, however, is extremely difficult, if not impossible. It is… Continue reading
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If everything that exists has a cause, who or what is the cause of God?
Preface: Some people associate God with that described in religious texts, others like me simply say that God is an unknown higher power. The cosmological argument for the existence of God says that nothing exists without a cause. The universe… Continue reading
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The Ouroboros
How are you feeling right now? “The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” Carl Jung For me, one of the hardest aspects of having ADHD is emotional dysregulation. I’ve struggled… Continue reading
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An Atheist Rebuttal
A rebuttal of a New Scientist article by atheist Victor J. Stenger In his 2012 New Scientist article, the God Hypothesis, Victor J. Stenger focusses on the Judaic-Christian-Islamic version of God, and then looks for empirical evidence for it. Here… Continue reading
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Melding our Minds
A mind meld is a fictional, telepathic link that the character Spock was able to perform on other organisms to connect their minds. But could it possibly be a real ability? Might we be able to connect our thoughts with… Continue reading
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Part of something greater
If the Earth were a hydrogen atom, and I looked out from my window at the electron whizzing past in the air above, I might be tempted to think that this was all there was. After all, I wouldn’t know… Continue reading
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What is the purpose of our existence?
Reading time 10 minutes For the majority of the world’s population, God is the purpose of their existence. According to the 13th-century Italian scholar Thomas Aquinas, the ultimate goal of human existence is to attain a supernatural union with God,… Continue reading
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A universal SATs exam
What are you curious about? I’m curious about God. I’m pretty sure God exists, but I’m also pretty sure there is no Divine Intervention. This is because I have enough evidence to say that the universe creating itself is highly… Continue reading
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A Spiritual Journey
What are your future travel plans? Life is taking me on a journey at present and it’s one I didn’t seek. Of course, all life is a journey, but this is something completely different. These last few years, I’ve felt… Continue reading
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Near Death Experiences
I’ve been reading an old book about Near Death Experiences called Life After Life by Dr Raymond Moody. It very much relates to a topic I wrote about a while ago Where Do We Go When We Die? in which… Continue reading
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The effects of infinity on finite systems
“Imagine you had a perfectly sealed box. Nothing can come in, and nothing can escape. Into this box you placed an apple and sealed it shut. If you waited long enough, the apple would go through various states of decomposition.… Continue reading
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Life and time
Which activities make you lose track of time? Einstein showed that, rather than there being a single unified time, time is relative, and so every phenomena has its own time. There isn’t a single entity of time, there are numerous… Continue reading
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Why Isn’t Life Easy?
Why isn’t life easy? If a God created life, why make it so difficult? I mean, if you were omnipotent, and you were designing life, surely you’d make it so that things ticked over nicely, you’d want them to purr… Continue reading
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Splashing in Puddles
So many of us are finding the world overwhelming these days. The constant hostility on social media, the lack of empathy and tolerance for other people’s’ views, not to mention the depressing news stories, climate change and soaring crime, it’s… Continue reading
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Was the world made for us?
Imagine there was a safari park, complete with big cats, monkeys, zebras, giraffes etc. Now, imagine that the human keepers became extinct and the park was left to its own devices, with all the cage doors left open. There would… Continue reading
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Explore Paul Carney’s Two Unique Albums
Paul Carney has released two albums, “Dying Days,” produced by Mike Franklin in 2008, featuring a tribute track for his late mother, and “Suspicion,” recorded in his home studio in 2010. He also performed covers with the band Red Book.… Continue reading
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Hand of God?
Many years ago I had a marine fish tank which took a lot of hard work to keep. I had to make sure it was always at the right temperature. I had to check the pH levels and ensure the… Continue reading
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The Spirit Within Me
How important is spirituality in your life? I define the spirit as the living essence of a person, which includes consciousness, and the bioelectrical life force within all living things. In this way, the spirit is my mind and my… Continue reading
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Beyond Words
All of our thinking is through words, all of our actions, all of our science, all of our literature, all of our history, all our technology, all our kingdoms and empires. All of it stems from language and communication. And… Continue reading
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Valuing our Values
Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny. Mahatma Gandhi We all have values that mould and shape our… Continue reading
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How to lead a good life
What are the most important things needed to live a good life? Dear Margot Here are five life lessons I’ve accumulated over the years. I hope they will help you become happy and healthy when you grow up. There are… Continue reading
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I Believe…
Beliefs are the foundations upon which we build our sense of self. They are pivotal to our well being and happiness. But our beliefs are also personal, insecure and subjective. That’s partly because of the nature of knowledge itself, but… Continue reading
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Get away from it all
It’s hard to be happy if you’re constantly looking inward. When we focus on ourselves too much, when we live inside our own heads, or even when our ailments occupy more of our time than they should, we suffer. It’s… Continue reading
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Paul’s music on Youtube
Here are some tracks I wrote and produced around 2010: This track, Miss You is a poignant, self-penned, autobiographical song I wrote when my Mam died in 2008. It’s a real heartbreaker. From my second album Suspicion, this next track… Continue reading
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K2-18b, a planet with 97% certainty of alien life
Scientists have detected a molecule called dimethyl sulfide, or DMS for short, which is the gas that gives beach areas their distinctive smell. The gas is produced by phytoplankton on Earth, and is estimated to be thousands of times stronger,… Continue reading
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Mind Control
Oh, how I wish I had the ability to control my thoughts like a meditation master. Bad thoughts would occur, and I’d simply swat them away, able to resume my super-controlled, zen-like mental state without a care in the world.… Continue reading
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Reality is a load of balls
It is easy for imaginative humans to slip into science-fiction, or non-evidence based beliefs, simply because they fit our own world view and yet the reality is just as interesting. At the heart of everything we see, hear, feel, and… Continue reading
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Come on down, try your luck on Fortuna’s Wheel of Fortune!
If physicist Sabine Hossenfelder is right, then it means we live in a Predetermined Universe – everything that can happen has already happened, we just don’t know it yet. Hossenfelder then goes on to say that information cannot be destroyed,… Continue reading
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Star Trekking
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why? As a huge Star Trek fan, I would be Captain James T. Kirk for the day. I’d lead a mission to go boldly where no… Continue reading
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Here’s some flowers for you…
Some examples of my most recent paintings I’ve been doing. These are hand-painted and a return back to traditional media for me. I’m loving it! Continue reading
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False Perceptions
Perceptions, the Buddha said, are very often false, which leads to suffering. We see people as threats, we weave fake narratives, we create all kinds of imaginary perils. We internalise our fears, which only compounds them, elevating them to be… Continue reading
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Classroom Catastrophes
If there were a biography about you, what would the title be? I wrote a collection of funny short stories about my life as a teacher under the pseudonym Peter Carling. It’s called Classroom Catastrophes and is available from Amazon… Continue reading
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Old man Hokusai
How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life? “From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of… Continue reading
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Bhagavad Gita
What books do you want to read? Books I’m reading at present: The Ethics of Aristotle The Bhagavad Gita the Upanishads The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James Concentration & Meditation Swami Paramananda Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu The Complete… Continue reading
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Find your inner creative
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say? Find your inner creative. Being creative, in whatever form that takes, is a powerful way to make meaning in your life. It is fun, enjoyable and stimulating. It enhances brain… Continue reading
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The Hench
A short story An emaciated young girl, wearing ragged, filthy clothes, scurried quickly between the shadows, darting from place to place, eyes constantly alert. She was hungry. So hungry she was prepared to risk her life to find food. Not… Continue reading
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How to be creative
How are you creative? There’s a common misconception that creativity is only an artistic pursuit, which is wrong. Throughout my career as a teacher of art, I regularly had to correct people who would state that they weren’t creative. We… Continue reading
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Best of Friends
Who are the biggest influences in your life? In previous posts, I’ve outlined how I didn’t have any older male role models to look up to and guide me through life’s challenges, but I certainly had the best of friends.… Continue reading
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Love Conquers All ❤️
What skills or lessons have you learned recently? I’m learning philosophy at present, which I’ve been studying since last year. It’s a huge topic, of course, and though I’m mainly focusing on Western philosophy, I have also been reading Chinese… Continue reading
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One, two, three, four, five…
Share five things you’re good at. I would rather describe 5 things I enjoy doing. Whether I’m ‘good’ at them is a matter of opinion. These are 5 things I do fluently: Art – here is one of my recent… Continue reading
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I Wish
What is one thing you would change about yourself? Where do I start? Only one thing? No way, there’s a list a mile long: I wish I was fitter, and stronger, and just liked sports and physical activities in general. … Continue reading
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Because there’s night again
Are you more of a night or morning person? This was originally posted as Because the Night for the prompt: what’s your favourite time of day? My favourite time of day isn’t day at all, it’s nighttime. Some are early… Continue reading
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Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a philosopher who advocated the rich, elite and powerful and was against the mechanisms of the church who he saw as shackling people with guilt and shame. His ideas and beliefs have been manipulated and absorbed… Continue reading
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Anchored and empowered
Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why? I’m not sure you can call the peaks of the Lake District mountains, but if they qualify, then I’d always go for them over the ocean. The huge, colossal size of mountains… Continue reading
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Transcending Time
Do you need time? Time. We all know it. We all feel it’s passing and are bound by its earthly laws. Time is integral to every culture, every place, every epoch. It is known by many names: Father Time, Chronos,… Continue reading
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Dark Matter
As the early universe expanded, dark matter clumps formed. However, the dark matter didn’t expand as quickly as the universe, leaving a sprawling cosmic web of dark matter strands and filaments behind. The intense gravity within the filaments dragged in… Continue reading
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Gratitude
What could you try for the first time? I’m struggling to think of anything I’d like to try that I haven’t already. Which tells me that I’ve lived a privileged life and that I should be very grateful for what… Continue reading
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