In this conversation, painter Jake Fern sits down with Claire Salerno, a unique and passionate thinker and 'culture architect' who launched her Youtube channel earlier this year after leaving a long corporate career, to talk about her life, her work and the questions that drive her. It’s a warm exchange that begins with her early childhood memories of wanting to make the world a better place, and the path that took her from studying law and classics to a senior leadership role.

Along the way they talk about growing up with both Catholic and Protestant influences, her love of ritual, and her wariness of dogma and gurus. She explains how she approaches old religious texts, looking at when they were written, what was happening in society at the time, and what the authors may have been trying to say.

The main focus is the Gnostics. She introduces the Gnostic texts and explains some of their key ideas and stories, including the Pleroma, the eons, the figure of Sophia and the Demiurge. They also discuss polarisation, dialogue and critical thinking, and the conversation ends on a hopeful note about the possibility of change.

Claire'swebsite: https://theconsciousradical.com/

Follow Claire's Substack at https://clairesalerno.substack.com/

And youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheConsciousRadical

To keep abreast of all things A Thousand Words go to https://substack.com/@jakefern

For more information on Jake Fern's art, go to https://www.jakefern.co.uk/ or https://www.therighteousbrothers