I don't 'believe' in anything, but am interested in the cultural influences and historical origins of the following, their use of pattern and their observation of natural things:

· ancient Chinese philosophy

particularly the Taoism of the Tao Te Ching; the Book of Changes (I Ching) with its phenomenally beautiful binary construction (which inspired Leibniz); and the use of symbolic number patterns, like the order 3 magic square of the Pa Kua. Such patterns are an antidote to the inner and outer disorder I can unconsciously create;

· Theosophy

the original 'new age' movement of the 19^th century - a mixture of deep insight and the occasional misappropriation of then-current science that first attempted to combine eastern and western philosophies, influenced Kandinsky (amongst others); and which is often plundered and corrupted by current 'new age' populism;

· astrology

in new forms that emphasise patterns, symbolism, psychology and recent statistical research, and as a symbolic map to ease the journey through human complexity;

· ritual magic

the colours, forms and precisely detailed correspondences of symbolic magic - built up over centuries from a wide cultural spread - have fascinating permutations and uses.

I have been obliged to accept that the only constant is change and, for me, surfing it is the best method of survival. Over the years, this has evolved into a kind of living practice, much of which is informed by Taoist philosophy. Any spiritual or experimental (rather than rational) ideas I hold are a combination of experience and a rolling series of working hypotheses about unusual states of being, maintained in a state of rational vigilance. For instance, I simultaneously receive an out-of-body experience as a psychic phenomenon, while also considering that it may be driven by extreme depersonalisation.