Dear ,
Greetings! I hope you’ve been enjoying the summer. I’m just back from a family holiday in southern Spain. It was great, but very very
hot. I don’t completely at home in very hot weather, as I was born and brought up in the misty rain and grey skies of Manchester, UK. But one thing I really do enjoy is swimming in the sea. I feel a tremendous sense of ease and at-home-ness in the sea, and once I’m in I find it difficult to get out. Most days I was in the sea for more than an hour at a time. I sometimes think it’s because the sea is where life forms originally emerged, so it really is our primal home. Also, when you step into
the sea, you’re immediately a part of a body of water that covers more than two-thirds of the planet, so there’s a powerful sense of connection and oneness with the whole Earth…Well, I can’t really explain the spiritual feelings I have when I’m in the sea - only that I feel ecstatic and very comfortable.
Another of my favourite things is to go to
the shore of the ocean at night time, and look up at the stars. I did this every evening in Spain, sometimes paddling in the tide and walking for a long time. There’s something so powerful about seeing a clear night sky with hundreds of stars and at the same time listening to the roar of the ocean and watching the waves roll in. I felt that I lost myself in them and became aware of the whole of the planet, spinning in space, covered with this giant body of water breathing in and out over the
beach. (While in Spain, I wrote a poem to try to describe the experience, which I’ll include at the end of this newsletter.)
Also in Spain, my wife and kids and I went horse riding. It’s only the third time I’ve been riding in my life, and I loved it. It was the first time for my kids and they loved it too. I felt a strong bond with my horse - an
Italian stallion called Nero - and it felt such a privilege to be carried by him. It felt so natural and instinctive, and I was surprised at how confident I felt after the first hour or so. It’s definitely something that we’re going to continue with back in England. My New Book
I haven’t been writing many poems recently, because I’ve been devoting a lot of
time to my new book, which is due out about this time next year. It was called ‘Spiritual Science’ but now I’m thinking of calling it ‘The Spiritual Universe: Reconciling Science and Spirituality.’ I’ve written about half of it so far (about 30,000 words) and have got a quiet three months ahead of me, so I will hopefully finish it by the end of this year. It’s dealing with subjects I’ve never written about in my books before, so I’m really enjoying writing it, and looking forward to its
publication. It’s really fulfilling to express ideas and viewpoints that I’ve had inside me for many years, but never written about before. I’m a modest kind of guy, but I do think this book is going to be great!
Steve's Monthly Meditation On Sunday August 27th, I’m holding my next live online monthly meditation. This will be at 8.30 pm UK time, or 3.30 pm EST, or
12.30 pm PST. This session will be on gratitude. I’ll be briefly discussing the importance of gratitude, reading a poetic meditation on the theme, and then leading a gratitude meditation. Join me if you can! Events in London
I’m doing a one day workshop through Alternatives in London on Saturday September 9th. I’m really looking forward to this, as my recent talks and workshops have gone wonderfully well. I'm going to share some of the findings of my research into spiritual awakening and we're going to cultivate some of the main
characteristics of wakefulness, like presence, acceptance, misidentification from the ego, gratitude and dissolving psychological attachments. You can book a place for that here.
Transpersonal Psychology Conferences It’s the conference season for academics, and I’ve been helping to organise the annual British Transpersonal Psychology Conference. (If you don’t know about it already, transpersonal psychology is really spiritual psychology, and it’s a field I’m deeply involved in.)
This year is the 21st anniversary of the transpersonal psychology section, so it’s a special occasion, with some very special speakers, including Jorge Ferrer and Stanley Krippner, who are two of the most well known transpersonal psychologists. I’ll be speaking there too, about some of my recent research into awakening experiences. It’s also at a beautiful venue, in the coastal countryside of Yorkshire. If you’re interested in attending, you can find out more here.
New Poem
So let me leave you with the poem I wrote in Spain, describing my night-time experiences on the beach:
Alone on the Beach at Night
The tide reaches out to touch me.
Cool foam swells around my sandy feet.
Then the tide recedes, like an unfolding embrace.
Waves roll in from the darkness
roaring and crashing and kissing me again.
I wade in deeper, and it feels like a consecration
as the water splashes higher against my skin:
the ocean has accepted me into its oneness.
How could I ever comprehend
the immensity of the ocean
and the infinity of the night sky?
Both of them are alive -
the sky gently radiant and benevolent,
the ocean awesome and dangerous, like an angry god.
Once I would have felt overwhelmed
in the face of such immensity
but now, as I stare into endless space,
I feel that I’m contained in it.
How can I be threatened, when I’m not separate?
How can I be overwhelmed, when I’m not outside?
I’m not an observer, I’m an opening
through which the whole
world flows.
All best wishes and blessings, Steve
|
|
|
|
