Spirituality

Paul’s experiences and thoughts on spirituality, particularly Christianity, Islam, theosophy, Spiritism, reincarnation and travel.

What is a crystal light treatment?

A crystal light treatment offers far more than chakra balancing: it is a transformative encounter with colour, quartz, and the…
Meditation & Healing: A Spiritist Perspective

Paul McCarthy has been a meditator since 1998 and has been facilitating meditation and healing in the Spiritist tradition since…
What is a “sacred travel” consult?

I offer guidance to advanced souls considering using sacred travel to advance their soul’s growth. This post discusses how I…
Novena to St Ignatius of Loyola

This novena to St Ignatius of Loyola offers nine days of guided prayer, from his dramatic conversion and devotion to…
Bones and holy dust – relics of the saints

Bones, skin and holy dust — the relics of the saints once drew millions of medieval pilgrims across Europe, and…
My Spiritist Meditation Protocol

This practical guide distils a Spiritist approach to meditation into precise steps for posture, prayer, and energetic receptivity. Aimed at…
Crystal light treatments for couples

Combining a crystal light treatment and meditation with a partner is an opportunity to give, receive and actively contribute to…
My top ten sacred sites

A suggested list of sacred sites from 17 countries to inspire your travels, including Christian and Muslim holy places and…
Some reading suggestions

Paul McCarthy has written two books about saints that have inspired him (St Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis of…
Meet me in the library – I love books

Let me introduce myself through my love of books. From novels that survived a flood to saints’ lives, Spiritism, Islamic…
Kyoto — thousands and thousands of blessings

Kyoto — Japan’s cultural heart, with 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines — and the final stop on my…
The island where God lives

The World Heritage island of Itsukushima — known as Miyajima, “the island where God lives” — where the entire island…
Ringing the peace bell in Hiroshima

A visit to Hiroshima’s Peace Park and the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace — 500 metres from the epicentre of…
The lovely town of Yamaguchi

Following St Francis Xavier to Yamaguchi — the quiet city where he preached in the streets, converted Japan’s first Jesuit,…
My pilgrimage to Japan begins in Nagasaki

My Japan pilgrimage begins not where Xavier landed, but in Nagasaki – the Rome of the East, home of the…
The pandemic opportunity

This is the most extraordinary time to be alive and the opportunity for growth is extraordinary. Twelve spiritual principles for…
Doughnuts with an ultra-orthodox Jew

A walking tour of ultra-orthodox Jerusalem with Kitty — bad wigs, long temple curls, charity boxes on every corner, and…
Nailing the poverty of St Francis of Assisi to the cross

A meditation on St Francis of Assisi and the spirituality of poverty — inspired by Gerard Thomas Straub’s book “The…
Pilgrimage Stops: Venice & Florence

Venice and Florence — two-thirds of the holy trinity of Italian tourism. Beautiful, extraordinary, worth experiencing once — but if…
A most extraordinary story…

Eileen O’Connor, Mary MacKillop, Our Lady of Coogee and a chain of synchronicities — the extraordinary story of a saint-in-waiting…
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

The cave where seven young Christians slept for two centuries — a rare sacred site where Christianity and Islam share…
Spiritual centre of Brasilia

Don Bosco’s prophecy, the Temple of Good Will and the quietly extraordinary spiritual life of Brazil’s planned capital. (4 min…
A Call to Loreto

Mary’s house in Nazareth, transported by angels to a hilltop in Italy — the history, the saints and the enduring…
Memories of Loyola

The birthplace of St Ignatius of Loyola, the Chapel of the Conversion, and the relic that brought tears — a…
Doing things backwards in County Clare

St Brigid’s Well, the Cliffs of Moher and the quiet spiritual geography of County Clare — where Ireland’s second saint…
Uniting nations?

The UN meditation room in New York, Dag Hammarskjöld’s vision, Bo Beskow’s painting and the question of whether shared silence…
Mexico’s island of women

Isla Mujeres — the temple of Ixchel, the divine feminine, and the particular magic of a small island dedicated to…
Serapis Bey and the Temple of Luxor

The Temple of Luxor, the Chapel of Serapis and the ascended master Serapis Bey — a profound spiritual encounter. (9…
Temple of Isis

The Temple of Isis at Philae — the goddess, the energy, and the spiritual significance of one of Egypt’s most…
Crystal sound healing course

A crystal sound healing training course in Bali — learning to play the bowls, the science behind the sound, and…
Gaia and beyond

A wellness retreat at Gaia Oasis in Tejakula, Bali — crystal sound, meditation, writing and the deep rest of a…
Love across the ditch

A long weekend in Wellington — meditation, Te Papa, Maori culture, and the strong earth energy of a city that…
Twin flames

James Twyman’s passage on twin souls — the memory of the original flame reignited when two people from the same…
Ask the angels for help

An encounter with a channelled entity called Gabriel offers guidance on vocation — and three questions worth sitting with. (3…
James Twyman’s ‘Emissary of Light”

Key passages from James Twyman’s 1996 book — on fear, separation, love, surrender and stepping through the Door of Eternity.…
From crystal sound to crystal light …

A long service leave in Sydney leads to a life-changing encounter with a crystal sharmaness and her bowls — and…
Making love to you is like riding a horse… in Greece

A head injury in Athens leads to guided meditation on Skyros, then the dream of Santorini finally realised — and…