A Quest for Wisdom

David Lorimer, MA, PGCE, FRSA is a writer and editor who is a Founder of Character Education Scotland, Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and former President of Wrekin Trust and the Swedenborg Society. Originally a merchant banker then a teacher of philosophy and modern languages at Winchester College, he is the author and editor of over a dozen books. He is a founding member of the International Futures Forum and was also a Trustee of the St Andrews Prize for the Environment and a Churchill Fellow. He is the creator of the Inspiring Purpose Values Poster Programmes, which have reached over 300,000 young people.

• CONTENTSFOREWORD xviiPREFACE xxiDr Peter FenwickFORMATIVE BACKGROUND xxiiiPHILOSOPHY, SPIRITUALITY AND MEANINGVictor Frankl and the Human Search for Meaning 3 The Absurd and the Mysterious 13 John Moriarty Memorial Lecture—Rhythmica Mythica: Separation and Union, Exile and Homecoming 29 The Principles of Love and Wisdom in Swedenborgand Beinsa Douno (Peter Deunov) 45Beinsa Douno (Peter Deunov, 1864–1944)—a Prophet for our Times 55 Tao and the Path towards Integration 63Cultivating a Sense of Beauty 75The Encounter of Eastern and Western Cosmologies—Speculations on Radhakrishnan and the “Implicate Order” 85Consciousness and Spirituality: Widening the ScientificPerspective 101CONSCIOUSNESS, DEATH AND TRANSFORMATIONThe Challenge of Death 115 Religious and Scientific Implications of the Near-deathand Related Experiences 119 Aspects of the Near-death Experience in the Light of the TibetanBook of the Dead and the Experiences of Swedenborg 127 Swedenborg and Survival 135 Swedenborg, the Soul and Modern Consciousness Studies 151 The Near-death Experience and the Perennial Wisdom 159TAKING RESPONSIBILITY—ETHICS AND SOCIETY A Life as an Argument: The Plight of the Individualin Modern Society 173 The Ethic of “Reverence for Life” and the Problem of Peace 183 The Ethical Mysticism of Dag Hammarskjöld 195 Religion, Society and Spiritual Renewal in Radhakrishnan 209 Ethics and the Nature of the Human 217 Beyond Fanaticism—the “Pneumatocratic” Perspective 227 Voltaire and Russell—the Crusade against Dogmaand Fanaticism 235 The Spiritual Perspective and Political Responsibility 247 Fear of Freedom 257 Some Aspects of the German Democratic Republic 263 Towards a Culture of Love—an Ethic of Interconnectedness 269AFTERWORD 279BIBLIOGRAPHY 285INDEX 305