Beyond the Veil
Spiritual and Near-Death Experiences across Faiths
Reading Minster
Friday 27 March
7:00 pm.
Dr Marianne Rankin, author of An Introduction to Religious and Spiritual Experience, will explore what profound spiritual and near-death experiences can teach us across different faith traditions.
Drawing on decades of research and personal encounters across cultures – including many years in the Far East – Dr Rankin reflects on powerful spiritual experiences and what they reveal about faith, humanity, and our shared search for meaning.
✨ New Release: A Quiet Day: Do You Ever Want to Stop the World and Get Off? ✨
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I often find myself yearning for stillness—a chance to step away from the noise and reconnect with my inner self.
A Quiet Day is my invitation to you to join me in this pursuit. Through a series of thoughtful questions and quiet reflections, I’ve crafted a space for deep introspection, spiritual awareness, and mindful presence.
Whether you choose to read this book in one sitting or savour it slowly, it’s meant to be a peaceful companion for anyone seeking clarity, stillness, and a deeper connection with themselves and the world around them.
If you’re looking for a way to find calm amidst the chaos, I hope A Quiet Day can offer you the peace you’ve been searching for. It’s available now in hardback, paperback, and Kindle formats.
✨ Find your moment of peace.
✨ Rediscover the art of being present.
✨ Order your copy today.
Available Now:
I invite you to take this journey with me.
You can also contact me directly to order your copy and begin your path to stillness and self-discovery.
Making the Unseen Seen
Exploring real stories of spiritual experience through photography, reflection, and education.
Expanding on Dr Marianne Rankin’s research, this project transforms decades of observation, analysis and insight into a visually immersive study, featuring a Book, Website, and Workshops.
Meet Dr Marianne Rankin
BA (Modern Languages, French and German, Leeds);
MSt (Study of Religion, Oxford);
PhD (Fruits of Religious and Spiritual Experience, Warwick).
Former Director of Communications, Alister Hardy Trust
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Publications:
A QUIET DAY Available on Amazon
An Introduction to Religious and Spiritual Experience (2008, Continuum (Bloomsbury)
An Introduction to Religious Experience (2005) Occasional Paper, RERC
Dame Cicely Saunders, Founder of the Modern Hospice Movement by Shirley du Boulay (added new chapters) (SPCK, 2007)
Editor of Occasional Papers published by the RERC
Translation of papers for Pali Text Society
Author of APA Travel Guide to Singapore;
Translations from German to English of other guides
Freelance writer and contributor to Singapore Visitor magazine of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board
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Exploring real stories of spiritual experience through photography, reflection, and education.
Expanding on Dr Marianne Rankin’s research, this project transforms decades of observation, analysis and insight into a visually immersive study, featuring a Book, Website, and Workshops.
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Warwick University
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Book Marianne here
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Book Marianne here
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Speaker on Spiritual Experience to Interfaith and Spiritually-based Groups and to A level students
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Registered Translator and Interpreter with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Singapore
Tuition, Translation and Interpreting available here
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Tuition, Translation and Interpreting available here
Université de Lyon, France Diplôme de la Langue et Civilisation françaises
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Director of Communications for the Alister Hardy Trust
Dr Marianne Rankin
Dr Marianne Rankin is an author, academic, and experienced communicator with a passion for exploring religious and spiritual experiences.
She is the author of An Introduction to Religious and Spiritual Experience (Bloomsbury, 2008) and the recently released A Quiet Day: Do You Ever Want to Stop the World and Get Off?.
Her work focuses on helping individuals reconnect with their inner selves, offering a gentle invitation to step away from the noise of daily life and into quiet reflection. Through her thoughtful approach, she encourages deep introspection and mindful presence—perfect for those seeking clarity, stillness, and a deeper connection with themselves and the world around them.
Dr Rankin has also updated the biography of Cicely Saunders, The Founder of the Modern Hospice Movement by Shirley du Boulay, written a history of St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester, and illustrated Hal French’s acclaimed Zen and the Art of Anything.
Beyond her personal work, Dr Rankin is collaborating with her daughter, the renowned photographer Eleanor Dailey, on Contemporary Religious & Spiritual Experience: An Illustrated Guide. This initiative documents diverse religious and spiritual practices, combining photography, personal narratives, and academic insights to explore the profound connections between faith, belief, and human experience. The project aims to showcase the richness of contemporary spiritual life and to promote interfaith understanding.
Marianne was Director of Communications for the Alister Hardy Trust, which supports the Religious Experience Research Centre at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Lampeter. Her academic journey includes a Master of Studies in the Study of Religion from the University of Oxford and a PhD from Warwick University. She also lived in the Far East for almost twenty years, where she worked as a teacher, translator, interpreter, and freelance writer.
In addition to her writing and academic work, DrRankin enjoys leading Quiet Days of spiritual reflection and gives talks in schools, colleges, and various community groups.
An Introduction to Religious & Spiritual Experience
An Introduction to Religious & Spiritual Experience
“A remarkably comprehensive global survey of types of religious and spiritual experience
... fascinating in its range and lucidity of expression.”
Keith Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus, University of Oxford.
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