Dear ,
I hope you are well, wherever you are in the world. Here in the western hemisphere, we’ve been through a cold snap, and I've been living pretty quietly, spending most of my time indoors. It’s the time of hibernation after all. We human beings sometimes forget that we are animals, but our animals instincts are always operating, even if we’re not consciously aware of them (and even if we try to suppress them!). Life is always much easier
when we accept - and live in harmony with - our animal instincts.
As a result of my hibernation I don’t have much to write about. I enjoy travelling and doing talks and workshops, but it’s been nice to have a break from them. Now they are picking up again - I’m writing this in London, where I am about to give a talk on The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening. The talk has been sold out for a while (although only 100 tickets), which is encouraging. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be doing talks in
Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and again London. (Further details below).
Another Synchronicity
In my last newsletter I wrote about synchronicities. Funnily enough, another occurred soon after I wrote it. As you know, I am a poet. I was told a while ago that my book The Calm Center has been one of the best-selling books of poetry in the US over the last three years. So I guess you could say that I’m a ‘successful’ poet. So what are the chances of sitting next to another successful poet on a train? I was taking the train
from Manchester to Leeds, and when we stopped at Huddersfield, a tall, floppy-haired man entered the carriage and took the seat next to me. I recognised him straight away - one of the UK's best known (maybe the best known) poets, Simon Armitage. After a few minutes, I said to him, "You're Simon Armitage aren't you?' He nodded and I continued, 'I really like your poetry and I've read a couple of your other books.' We proceeded to have a conversation about his books, about playing music
in bands, and his meeting with Morrissey and so on. He was chatty and friendly. He didn’t know me though, and the only thing I didn't do was tell him that I'm a poet too, and talk about my own books - the conversation didn't head in that direction, and then I had to get off at my station. Maybe I will write to him and send him The Calm Center. It seemed like a nice coincidence anyway. And yesterday I read in the newspaper that Simon Armitage has just been awarded the Queen’s Medal for
Poetry - the highest honour a poet can achieve in this country. I’ve also heard that he will probably be the next Poet Laureate.
My Next Book of Poetic Reflections
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been putting together my next book of poetic reflections (or poems, you could call them). I’ve just sent it off to my US publisher, New World Library. (It may be published as an Eckhart Tolle edition, like the Calm Center.) The provisional title is The Flow, but I’m considering some alternatives, like The Gift, The Clear Light of the Present, The Longing, The Wave (all titles of
individual poems). Let me know if any of them stick out as particularly good!
A Film About Russel Williams
A week ago, I had an e-mail query from a film producer who wants to buy the rights to and make a film of Russel Williams' book, Not I, Not other than I. How strange! I can imagine Russel's life making a wonderfully moving and dramatic film but am not sure how he would respond to it. He would probably laugh very heartily! I wrote back asking for more details but haven’t had a response yet. Obviously it would need to be discussed with
Russel’s wife Joyce, and other members of Russel’s group.
Serge's Retreat
Serge Beddington Behnrens is a good friend of mine, who lives in Mallorca, Spain. He’s a spiritual psychotherapist who leads beautiful retreats on that beautiful island, and has one coming up, called The Art of Living Abundantly, from the 23rd of March to the 30th of March 2019. I would wholeheartedly recommend it - and wish I could go! More details here.
Events
As mentioned above, I have a few events coming up over the next few weeks. These are all talks organised through Funzing. I’ve been doing talks for them since last September, and really like the way they operate. One interesting change is that I’m doing a talk on the ‘Psychology of Time Perception,’ based on my book Making Time. That book was published in 2007, and it’s a long time since I’ve talked about it. But there seems to
be some renewed interest in the book, as a result of which it’s being reprinted soon.
Feb 26th, Liverpool – ‘The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening.’ Details here.
March 19th, Manchester, The Psychology of Time Perception (based on my book ’Making Time.’). Details here.
March 28th, Leeds. The Science of Spirituality. Details here.
Return to Harmony Audio CDs and copies of 'El Salto'
By the way, I have some copies of my six-CD ‘Return to Harmony’ Audio course, with almost seven hours of my teachings and poems. They retail for £45 or $50, but I am happy to sell them for £10 (or $15 or €15) plus postage.
Also, I have some Spanish copies of The Leap (El Salto) which I am happy to sell for €10, plus postage. I will sign them too of course! Let me know if you're interested.
I was sad to learn recently of the passing of the great American poet Mary Oliver. She found the meaning of life in the beauty of moment to moment experience. She was spiritual without any connection to traditional spirituality.
And she has left so many beautiful gifts behind.
I had an interesting experience shortly after hearing about her death. I was meditating and felt connected to her. After my meditation, I wrote some of the lines down, but made the mistake of turning my attention to some of the chores I knew I had to do, instead of going further into my inspiration. Then I remembered Mary Oliver saying that when inspiration arises, you have to forget everything else, and dive into it completely, letting
it take you over, otherwise you're neglecting your muse. This is the poem which came to me:
For a Moment (for Mary Oliver)
Forget the demands of your day
for a moment.
Ignore the bullying thoughts
that remind you of what needs to be done.
Step aside, and let the world rush forward without you
for a moment.
Why give yourself to the future?
Give yourself to the nowness
of sunshine and reflections and shadows.
and the humming of household appliances
and the smooth animal motions of your body
as you walk or eat or wash.
Why give yourself to busyness?
Give yourself to the stillness
of furniture and plants and ornaments
and of the space that fills your room.
There is no urgency.
Nothing will be lost
if the world has to wait a little longer
for your contributions.
There is nothing that needs your attention
as much as your experience of now.
There is nothing that you need to do
as much as you need to be.
All best wishes and blessings, Steve
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