Dear ,
I hope you are well. I’m on holiday with my family at the moment, on the beautiful island of Mallorca, Spain, staying at a farmhouse belonging to a friend of mine, Serge. It's wonderful to be surrounded by mountains, and to see countless stars filling the sky at night. We’re about twenty minutes from the coast, and I’ve been swimming in the sea. It’s one of my favourite things to do - once I’m in the sea, I can’t get out again, no
matter how cold it is. Yesterday the sea was rough, and I could only swim for a short time between each wave. But I really enjoyed being bashed about by the waves. I find swimming in the sea an ecstatic experience. There’s a sense of becoming one with the sea, and with the planet as a whole. (I wrote a poem about this feeling in The Calm Center.)
As I’m on vacation, I’ll keep this newsletter fairly short. I don’t want to be sitting in front of my computer when I could be walking in the hills or swimming in the sea!
Article in Philosophy Now
I was very pleased to me see my article 'What is Panspiritism?' in the new issue of Philosophy Now magazine. I develop the philosophy of panspiritism in my book Spiritual Science but here I write about it in a more conventional philosophical context and relate it to other philosophical approaches, like idealism and panpsychism. I've always been interested in philosophy, so it’s nice to develop my ideas in his
context. You can read the article online here.
Spiritual Science
In connection to Spiritual Science, a week or so ago I received my first sales statement for the book. I was expecting low sales because, as a friend of mine put it, 'Spiritual people don't like science, and scientists don't like spirituality.' But to my surprise, the book has had a very good start. It seems to be picking up momentum, after some great reviews and comments from well known figures in the field of spirituality and
philosophy. Another friend of mine told me it was 'your best book since The Fall,' which is fine with me! I’m usually quite modest, but I really do think that this book has an important message, and expresses it very clearly. (You can read some of the latest comments here.)
At the moment the book is on special offer on kindle for just £0.99 in the UK, or $1.30 in the US. This offer only lasts for a short time, I believe. 99p for a book which took me several years to research and write is a good deal!
Italian and Arabic Editions of The Leap
Meanwhile, my previous book The Leap, has now been translated into several foreign languages.. I’m very pleased that an Arabic edition has appeared, as it’s the first of my books to be published in that language. (I’ve also just heard that Out of the Darkness will be published in Arabic too, and published in Lebanon.)
A couple of years ago, I met a woman from Oman at one of my workshops. She told me that in her country - and in other middle Eastern countries - there was a lot of interest in spirituality and in authors like Eckhart Tolle, but people didn’t speak about it much publicly, as it would be seen as unIslamic. She told me that a lot of people pay lip service to conventional religion, but there is a big ‘underground’ spiritual scene. That was
nice to hear, and hopefully my books will contribute to it!
It was also lovely to see that the Italian edition of The Leap has been published, and even reached the best seller lists! It is available to buy here.
Talks
On 26th May - I’m doing a session of ‘Spiritual Science’ at the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival in London. Details here.
Signed Copies of Books
By the way, if anyone would like signed copies of my books The Leap, Spiritual Science or Making Time, let me know. As they are author’s copies, I can sell them at a cheap price. They would cost £8 (10 Euros or 10 dollars) plus postage - postage is £2 in the UK, €8 in Europe or $12 in the US.
Russel Williams
It’s hard to believe that it's now been a year since my friend and mentor Russel Williams passed away. I often have the feeling that somehow he's still around, in a subtle but tangible way. One of things that made Russel so unusual and special was that there was nothing to him. He was an open space, full of acceptance, and free of desires. I guess that's another way of saying that he had no ego. Below is a poem I wrote to try to
describe this...Also below is the last photo taken of Russel, a few weeks before his death
Nothing Except Everything - a Poem for Russel Williams
Human beings are so complex -
so many different needs jostling for attention,
so many hidden agendas and so much buried pain -
that we can’t understand ourselves, let alone each other
And human beings are so cluttered -
so tightly packed with concepts,
so clenched up with aversion and greed -
that we can’t sense our true nature, or the nature of others.
But you were so simple that you were transparent.
With one glimpse we could see right through to heart of you.
You were so open that spirit could flow right through you
and fill you with unconditional love
There were no agendas to bypass, no barriers to break through -
nothing except the pure white light of consciousness
shining through your emptiness.
Nothing except the universe
speaking through your stillness
All best wishes and blessings, Steve
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