Does the idea of a guiding or protective force have any meaning in your life?
Not really. In my late teens and early twenties I got interested in Tibetan Buddhism, but more as a philosophical system than for the Tantric side, the protective deities and so on.

What about the Buddhist philosophy’s ideas of mind, rebirth, seeds of karma?
I guess the idea of karma is quite believable. The concept of a consequence to the things I do, and that things come around in unexpected ways, makes sense to me. So to that extent, I could take those ideas on, but in a limited way.

What about synchronicities and coincidences: are events in life random or part of a larger reality?
I do believe in synchronicities and coincidences because they have happened in extraordinary ways in my own life. But I do not attach them to any divine principle. I just think it is the way the world works. I see it as an automatic process.

Is there a specific purpose to your life?
The nearest thing I have to that idea is the sense of having an ability as a writer. If I do not use it, I am wasting a talent which you could call “God given”. I basically feel an obligation to put this ability to good use. If a few months go by and I have done very little work, I do sometimes think that being so lucky as to write for a living, I should be doing it thoroughly!

... contd.