iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Fraggs Photography 📸🦊🦉🦋🦔 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @fraggenstein.bsky.social · 3h

'Millions of human beings have laboured to create this civilization on which we pride ourselves to-day. Other millions, scattered through the globe, labour to maintain it. Without them nothing would be left in fifty years but ruins' (Peter Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread, Chapter 1).

000

Reposted by Ben Wood

Today's Alt #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LongBeak, birds with long beaks set by @robcrank68.bsky.social for @alan678.bsky.social - Have to go with another of the beautiful close-up shots of the Kingfishers recently at Magor Marsh - South Wales 😍 😍🪶🦉 #birdingwales #ukbirding #ECK

31329

Reposted by Ben Wood

ContempraInn 🌹 @contemprainn.bsky.social · 5h

Foroglio, Ticino, Switzerland 🇨🇭

320227

Reposted by Ben Wood

🇨🇦JOY 🇨🇦 @joycomes.bsky.social · 17h

Great spotted woodpecker 20-24cm Ireland, UK, Scandinavian countries, Mediterranean, Asia, North Africa Male and female work together excavate a new nesting cavity in a tree each year, and they share the responsibilities of raising their chicks Wedging a chestnut into a crack so it will not slip!

1042085

Reposted by Ben Wood

Stuart Masters @stuartkmasters.bsky.social · 2h

As humanity stands on the precipice...perhaps it is only the deepest form of surrender and the spiritual empowerment and fearlessness that this can bring, which will enable us to make the right choice. Tangled Roots: Navigating the Complex Legacy of Early Quakers, p.83.

The image includes the quotation below, along with a picture of the "Tangled Roots" book cover:

As humanity stands on the precipice, facing what might well be the final and ultimate choice – between heaven and hell, peace and war, compassion and destruction, perhaps it is only the deepest form of surrender and the spiritual empowerment and fearlessness that this can bring, which will enable us to make the right choice. It seems clear that without this kind of fundamental transformation, humanity and most other species will not survive.

Tangled Roots: Navigating the Complex Legacy of Early Quakers, p.83.

012

'Subsisting on alms, [the Buddha] taught contempt for wealth & power, love for all men, friends and enemies alike; he taught sympathy for all living creatures, he preached kindness, & recognized the equality of all classes, including the lowest' (Peter Kropotkin) ☸️🕊️

000

Reflecting on the lives of Buddha, Socrates, Confucius; & Jesus, Jaspers writes: 'All four know silence & lay stress on it. They conceal nothing, but their profoundest truth can be communicated only indirectly even to themselves. They speak in parables, [&] fall silent at certain times...

'There is one mind common to all individual men. Every man is an inlet to the same & to all of the same. He that is once admitted to the right of reason is made a freeman of the whole estate. What Plato has thought, he may think; what a saint has felt, he may feel' (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

Andy Brown @andybrown1951.bsky.social · 4h

Reposted by Ben Wood

Despite all the campaigns privatised water companies are still pumping sewage into British rivers. Enjoy falling off your paddleboard and getting a mouthful of bacteria. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

‘It’s shocking really’: Devon community tracks River Dart sewage spills

Citizen environmentalists create online platform that flags spills in real time and highlights repeatedly polluted spots

25832

Reposted by Ben Wood

Ben Wood @cosmichope.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

1/2 In his study of Socrates, Buddha, Kong Qiu, & Jesus, Karl Jaspers concludes that each of these innovators were possessed by the same insight, that our words are little shrunken things, tools unable to encompass the vast Life we are part. When words give out, & silence intrudes, Truth springs up.

122

Ben Wood @cosmichope.bsky.social · 10h

'In philosophical thought man awakens from his bondage to practical needs. Without ulterior purpose he contemplates things, the heavens, the world, & asks, what is all this? Where does it come from? From the answers to his questions he expects no profit but an intrinsic satisfaction' (Karl Jaspers)

Ben Wood @cosmichope.bsky.social · 18h

I would be an absolutely terrible politician. I can't stand the adversarial rhetoric, the endless hyperbole & the performative outrage for clicks, the implication that your tribe alone has a monopoly on wisdom. I hate the buzz words, the appeal to vibes, & seeming inattention to rational argument.

140

Reposted by Ben Wood

Woodbrooke @woodbrooke.bsky.social · 18h

This course introduces the radical and subversive vision of Jesus at the heart of Luke’s Gospel. What do we see when we look at Jesus through Luke? What might Luke’s Jesus have to say to us today? How can we learn from Luke’s message? Book your place: ow.ly/yuFR50ZQyfb

Jesus in Luke’s Gospel 26 November - 17 December £48 with Tim Ashworth

023

Reposted by Ben Wood

Mark D Russ @markdruss.bsky.social · 23h

Back on the radio again doing BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. This time I'm sharing my love for Howard Thurman, who speaks so beautifully about the mystical life. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... #Quaker #spirituality @quaker.org.uk

bbc.co.uk

Pause For Thought - Mark Russ: "Be a better listener" - BBC Sounds

Mark Russ on this week's theme 'Someone who inspires me'.

035

Reposted by Ben Wood

Dr Ellie Chowns MP @elliechowns.bsky.social · 20h

While ordinary families struggle to afford the essentials, the super-rich continue to grow their wealth to ever-more obscene figures, propped up by our unfair tax system. I've written to the Chancellor pressing him to follow the Green Party's example and take urgent action to tax wealth fairly.

45126

Reposted by Ben Wood

Petra Michaela @petramichaela.bsky.social · 21h

In spiritual traditions and elemental magic, water is often linked to the unseen realm of feelings. The emotions we carry beneath the surface. The dreams that speak in symbols. The grief we try to swallow. The intuition that arrives before logic can explain it.

Reposted by Ben Wood

Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 22h

Change doesn’t happen because those in power suddenly decide to be bolder - it happens when. Greens push them to be better. And on climate, that couldn’t be more urgent. Vote Green to keep fossil fuels in the ground, where they belong

119865

Ben Wood @cosmichope.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The politics of housing is absolutely crucial to the electoral future of all three progressive parties. One of the most useful things my party has done, is put rent controls back on the agenda. They're not "pie in the sky". They're used all over the world by Centre Right & Centre-Left governments. 💚

share.google

Green Party leader backs rent controls after new research finds 2024 freeze would save government £2bn a year

New research has found that a freeze in private rents at 2024 levels would save the government at least £2bn a year in spending on housing benefit.

031

Ben Wood @cosmichope.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Doing some historical digging this morning. The Liberal Party Manifesto of February 1974 committed to a freeze on all residential property rents for "at least a year". When the minority Labour government got back in later that same year, they introduced a more limited freeze on rents.

bbc.co.uk

Zack Polanski to call for three-year cap on private rent rises

In his speech to his party's conference, the Green leader will frame housing as a key issue of generational fairness.

043

Reposted by Ben Wood

Stuart Masters @stuartkmasters.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

…I am only slowly learning to dwell in the place where leadings come from. That is a place of love and joy and peace, even in the midst of pain. The more I dwell in that place, the easier it is to smile, because I am no longer afraid. Gordon Matthews, 1987 (Quaker Faith & Practice 29.01)

051

Reposted by Ben Wood

Cody⁺ @cebmplus.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed. I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world. —Adrienne Rich, ‘Natural Resources’ in THE DREAM OF A COMMON LANGUAGE (1978)

0112

This is also true for tea. People make far more tea than they actually drink. Do you think the act of constantly making tea is some kind of unconscious coping mechanism?

Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 01/10/2026

Reposted by Ben Wood

EXC: British govt is searching for a UK alternative to Palantir, as the PM’s “buy British” push triggers hunt for homegrown replacement for the controversial US software group in NHS and MoD w/ @chris-smyth.bsky.social & @laurahughesft.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/9a6e...

ft.com

Andy Burnham searches for UK alternative to Palantir

Prime minister’s ‘buy British’ push triggers hunt to find replacement for controversial US tech group awarded health service and defence contracts

710740

Reposted by Ben Wood

Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Elephant twins are born just 1% of the time. After a 22 to 24 month pregnancy, carrying two 100 kilo calves takes a huge toll, so the herd steps in to help raise them both.

593107481

Reposted by Ben Wood

Natty @Natasha02783807 @natasha02783807.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

October in Montreal, Quebec 🍃 🍂 🍁

1927952

There'll be a retirement age? I knew it, another starry-eyed optimist! 🤣

031

Too long on Zoom today! Send help.

070

Sunrise Crab on a Golden Beach

'Where the cosmic self is, there is no more self-consciousness... [The Sun] in the physical world is the allegory of the true [cosmic] self. The worshiper must adore the Sun, he must saturate himself with sunlight, & take the physical Sun into himself' (Edward Carpenter, 1889).

static.klipy.com

ALT: Sunrise Crab on a Golden Beach

Landon Steele Photography @wildatheartphoto.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

"Abandoning the quest & the glorification of the separate isolated self we have to return to the cosmic universal life. It is the blossoming indeed of this 'new' life in the deeps of our minds which is salvation...' (Edward Carpenter, "Pagan and Christian Creeds", 1921). 🕉🙏

051

Reposted by Ben Wood

A woman visits a neighborhood Shinto shrine ⛩️ in Kyoto, Japan.

A woman dressed in black with a red shopping bag walks under a Torii gate towards a Shinto shrine ⛩️ in Kyoto.

0492

Reposted by Ben Wood

Unseen Japan @unseenjapan.com · 18/06/2025

The Association of Shinto Shrines has taken up right-wing causes for years, actively opposing LGTBQ rights in Japan and engaging in discrimination against women. That's led some larger shrines to ditch the Association entirely. buff.ly/otriNEY

unseen-japan.com

Why Shinto Shrines Are Abandoning Their Controversial Association - Unseen Japan

Since 1969, the Association of Shinto Shrines has overseen most shrines in Japan. But ongoing controversies are driving some away.

16812

Reposted by Ben Wood

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto. #ToriiTuesday #Shinto

A path leading through a row of red torii (gates).

112431

Reposted by Ben Wood

Dr Florence H R Scott @florencehrscott.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

the medieval theological conception of heaven as both a place and a state of being is easy to understand when you're from Yorkshire

3407

Reposted by Ben Wood

Alliance for Yorkshire @yorkshirealliance.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Localis warns Burnham's "rewiring" sidelines councils. The fix isn't more mayors. Germany's 11,000 municipalities work because strong Länder sit above them. Yorkshire has four mayors and no government. We need a #OneYorkshire government. #empowertheregions www.localgov.co.uk/Devolution-p...

localgov.co.uk

Devolution plans threaten councils' existence, Localis warns | LocalGov

Devolution without decentralisation of decision-making powers risks marginalising local government to the point of an existential threat, warns Localis.

021

Reposted by Ben Wood

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was a Japanese storytelling game popular during the Edo period. These gatherings were held on summer nights and to begin 100 candles or lamps were lit. Participants then took turns to tell 100 ghost stories (kaidan). After each story, a candle was... #MythologyMonday 1/3

People in a house being visited by a collection of spirits and yokai.

315349

Reposted by Ben Wood

We're Right Here @right-here.org · 01/10/2026

Once a year, politicians leave Westminster for party conference. Power gets on the train to Liverpool but never leaves the conference centre. Communities need power in their hands all year round. Don't take your foot off the gas, Andy. The next stop for devolution: community power. 🧵1/2

195

Reposted by Ben Wood

Woodbrooke @woodbrooke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

What might change if we saw ourselves as creatures among creatures? In this session, theologians David Clough and Rachel Muers invite us to rethink what it means to be justly human within a shared, more-than-human world. Book your place: ow.ly/E2nK50ZOG5V

Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Creatures Among Creatures: Animals, Food, and Faith Monday 30 November 19:30-21:00 (UK time) Pay as Led

021