The Writing Itch

Writing is sometimes described as both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because of the enjoyment and all the benefits that come with a writing practice, and a curse because, as many writers know, it can feel like an itch that always needs to be scratched. When not writing, or there’s a writing project…

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The Embrace of Jungian Ideas in New Age Culture

Jungian psychology is highly popular in New Age culture, and this is for several reasons, some perhaps quite obvious, and others less so. I would like to detail these connections between New Age spirituality and Jungian psychology mainly as an effort to show how particular models of reality and mind lead to an embrace of…

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Has AI Spoiled the Use of the Em Dash and Semicolon?

A client recently gave me some feedback on an article I wrote, and they picked up on my use of en dashes (in this piece, mostly to offset parenthetical information) and thought it best to avoid them, as these dashes are now associated with AI-generated content. It’s true – these dashes (the one I just…

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Psychedelics and Apeirophobia: Can Altered States Evoke a Fear of Eternity?

While one of the main recognised benefits of psychedelics is a lessening or elimination of the fear of death (particularly in those with a terminal illness), this effect is not universal. Indeed, a 2025 study published in the journal Death Studies found that many people experience an increase in death anxiety after psychedelics. This possible…

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A Slice of British Anxiety: Mike Leigh and His Eccentric Characters

I recently watched Mike Leigh’s 1971 film Bleak Moments – his directorial debut. And while watching it, I again felt something about Leigh’s characters (or at least some of them), which I’ve felt watching some of his other films: they have a caricature-esque level of eccentricity. Others have drawn attention to this too, such as…

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