I hope you are well. Last week I had a heart-warming experience. I was walking to my local supermarket and saw two boys ahead, about 8 years old, one of them holding a stick and the other throwing water from a paper cup. I thought they looked a bit mischievous and wondered if they were going to splash me with the water. Then one of them shouted to me, 'Excuse me - can you help us save this bee? Do you know how to give it sugared water?' The bee was on the stick. shrivelled up and looking dead. The other boy was holding a spoon, so I said, 'Maybe if you put a little of the water on the spoon, then get the bee on to the spoon.' The boy put some water on and gently pushed the spoon towards the bee. To my surprise, the bee came to life, stretched its antennae on to the spoon, and started drinking. Then it opened up its wings, as if ready to fly, although it stayed on the stick. The boys were so excitedly happy, jumping up and down. 'We've saved a bee!' 'We've saved a bee's life!' They put the bee down in the grass and as I walked on, they were still shouting. 'Mum - I've saved the bee!' 

It was a wonderful lesson in making false assumptions – me thinking that the boys were mischievous when they were actually performing a beautiful act of kindness. It was also a glimpse of the natural altruism that exists in children, which is often socialised out of them by the competitive and selfish ethos of our societies. I firmly believe that human beings are naturally altruistic, because at our deepest level, we are all interconnected. We have the capacity to feel each other’s suffering and joy, because ultimately we share the same being. We are all channels of the same fundamental consciousness. When we sense other people’s suffering, or sense that they are in danger, we feel a natural impulse to help them. That’s why there are so many examples of spontaneous heroism in crisis situations, such as terrorist attacks. 

I wrote an article about this for Psychology Today magazine a couple of years ago. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/articles/202309/inside-the-mind-of-a-hero

Of course, sadly in many people that natural altruism is obstructed, and becomes lost in selfishness and even cruelty. But it is always there as a potential, beneath the egoic mind. 

My Book on the Beatles - 

Across the Universe 

If you’re an author, one of the best experiences is when you first see a physical copy of your new book. There’s a feeling of fulfilment – it’s the realisation of years of effort and preparation. Something which originally existed as an idea and an intention has now incarnated into its final form. A few days ago I saw the first copy of my new book Across the Universe – I had a meeting with the book’s publicist, and she brought along a pre-publication copy. I was quite thrilled – even more so, because the book is so well produced and has such a striking cover. 

The book is officially out in September, in hardback. You can pre-order it here for the UK and here for the US. 

It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction it has. The Beatles are undergoing a new wave of popularity at the moment, so I’m sure there will be some interest. My focus is on the Beatles’ creativity and spirituality. I suggest that the only way to truly understand their prolific transcendent creativity and their cultural impact is on a spiritual or transpersonal level. 

Steve and Serge's 'Fierce Grace' Podcast

As you may have read in my previous message, my friend Serge and I have just recorded our second dialogue, in which we discuss the major question of why there are so many corrupt and narcissistic spiritual teachers and gurus. Of course, there are some benevolent ones too. Serge discusses his years with Ram Dass, while I discuss the 20 years or so that I regularly visited Russel Williams. 

You can watch it here (you can also subscribe to the youtube channel)

Or you can listen on spotify here

Or on apple itunes here 

French Translation of Time Expansion Experiences

Another rewarding aspect of being an author is receiving translations of your books. It’s nice to think that your books are reaching people in different countries around the world. Here is the French translation of my recent book Time Expansion Experiences, retitled Expériences extraordinaires du temps. For any French or French-speaking readers of this newsletter, you can see the book here. 

Poems

Since I began this newsletter on the theme of kindness and oneness, let me share two short poems on that theme. The first is from my book The Clear Llight, the second from my new book Back to Stillness. 

We Are Each Other 

We’re not ghostly entities

marooned inside our mental space

with personal pain and suffering 

that can never be shared or understood.

We’re not machines full of selfish genes

scheming to outdo each other 

who only ever show kindness 

if there’s some benefit to ourselves.

We are each other.

We feel compassion because we’re connected.

We sense each other’s suffering 

because we share each other’s being. 

We risk our own lives to help others 

because there is only one life.  

We help and heal and love each other 

because we are each other.

One Life  

When you look into a stranger’s eyes

and see yourself staring back 

and they return your gaze, surprised 

to see themselves staring back 

When you gaze at the sky on a clear spring day 

and its endless space shimmers inside you 

When you swim between wild ocean waves

and the sea absorbs you into its oneness

Then you’re no longer a solid separate entity 

but a soft and flowing unity 

no longer living your own life 

but living as part of one life.

all best wishes and blessings, Steve