Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and author; he wrote books about Spiritual Intelligence, Dante, Owen Barfield and the evolution of Christianity, and in his new, highly acclaimed work, about the poet, painter and mystic William Blake. But his book “Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination” is not just a biography or reflection on Blake’s work, it is following the artists inquiry into what he called “Divine Imagination”. For Blake, imagination was not merely an individual capacity that we have access to in our own mind, but rather we exist in the wholeness of a spiritual world filled with imagination.

Mark Vernon says about Blake’s relevance for today’s world: “Like us, Blake lived in a tumultuous era of warfare, discontent, rapid technological change, and a deepening estrangement of humanity from nature. He exposed the dark sides of political fervour and social moralising, while unashamedly celebrating love and liberty. But he also conversed with prophets and angels, and was powerfully, if unconventionally, religious. If we take this seriously—not easy, in secular times—then Blake can help us to unlock the transformative power of imagination, key to his importance in today’s world.”

In this episode of Radio evolve we speak with Mark Vernon about a deeper understanding of imagination and its relevance for our time.