Dear ,
I hope all is well with you, and that you’ve been enjoying the summer (at least if you're in the northern hemisphere). I’ve just returned from a vacation in Germany. We spent most of our time on the north coast of Germany, where there are many pretty seaside villages with beautiful beaches. The sea is very clear and shallow, and not so cold, and so perfect for swimming (except for some jellyfish). I swam in the sea twice every day. As I
think I’ve said before in a newsletter, swimming in the ocean is one of my favourite activities. I can’t explain why I love it so much - apart from a feeling of being at home and at one with nature. In Germany, people are fond of naked bathing, and every beach has a designated ‘naked area.’ So I had a naked swim in the sea too, which was even more invigorating. I felt very connected to my body and my animal nature.
I lived in Germany for four years in the 1990s, and learned to speak German fairly fluently, so I enjoy going back to practise my language skills. We found out that there were free yoga sessions on the beach near where we were staying, and it was interesting to listen to yoga instructions in German. One of the sessions was at five o’clock in the morning, and we watched the sun come up during the session, which was a beautiful experience
I loved seeing my three young sons all doing yoga together. They don’t do it very often but they love it. And of course, being young, they stretch themselves into all the asanas much more easily than me!
New Books
I finished my ‘autobiographical novel’ about three weeks ago. At the beginning I wondered if I had enough material for a full length book, but it ended up as 65,000, which is fine for a novel. I’ve contacted a few mainstream publishers and agents, and one publisher showed some interest, which will hopefully come to fruition. Now I’ve gone back to working on my new book of poems, which I have decided to publish myself, as an experiment.
I’ve looked into the process, and it seems fairly straightforward, so once I’ve decided which poems I want to include, it should happen quite quickly. So hopefully ‘The Clear Light’ (follow up to the Calm Center!) will be published later this year!
New Articles
My new academic article, 'Two Modes of Spiritual Awakening', has just been published in the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. It’s based on my research which suggests that sudden spiritual awakening can occur in two different ways. Read it here.
An important concept I've become aware of recently is ‘Pathocracy,' which is when people with psychological disorders occupy positions of power, and constitute governments. It's been one of the biggest problems throughout human history - and is very pertinent now, when you look at the present US and UK governments, and also
figures like Viktor Orban, Putin and Erdogan. This article of mine explores the issue, and suggests what we can do to stop pathocracy. Read it here.
Eben Alexander on 'Spiritual Science'
I am very grateful to Eben Alexander, author of Proof of Heaven, for some kind words about my book Spiritual Science. He calls the book "a world-changing opus, a great work... Spiritual Science expertly argues the evidence for the primacy of consciousness. Highly recommended!' I know how much time it takes to read a book and prepare an endorsement so I am very grateful to him!
There are many fantastic comments about the book on its page on my website. It has probably been the best-received of all of my books.
Paradoxically, it hasn’t sold as well as my other books! I think that’s because it has fallen ‘between the cracks’ of both science and spirituality. Spiritual people are often a little suspicious of science, and scientists are often rather suspicious of spirituality.
New Videos
Here is a link to a video of my lecture last year on Spiritual Science at the Weekend University in London. The lecture was interesting in that my train was very late and I arrived at the venue literally one minute before my lecture was due to start, in a sweaty and out of breath state, and without any preparation. But it was one of the best lectures I've done!
Watch the lecture here.
Also, here is a great dialogue between myself and the psychotherapist and author Mark Vernon on the evolution of the self and consciousness. I really enjoyed talking again about my first book The Fall, and to hear how Mark's views resonated with my own. Watch the dialogue here.
Upcoming Events
30 Aug - 1st September, in Scarborough, Yorkshire: I’m taking part in the annual conference of the British Transpersonal Psychology Section. I’ll be chairing the conference, and also leading a workshop on ‘poetry and presence’ The theme of the conference is ‘Transpersonal Psychology and Creativity’ so it should be a great experience. The conference is open to everyone, not just members of the transpersonal section. More details here.
October 12th, Cambridge: a one day event with Peter Fenwick, on Spiritual Transformation and the Evolution of Consciousness. Details here.
Nov 2nd – a one day ‘Return to Harmony’ workshop in Edinburgh (my first ever event in Scotland!). Details here.
Nov 3rd – I am speaking at the ‘Beyond the Brain’ conference in London, along with Ken Wilber and others. Details here.
Neo the Cat
Let me finish with a photo of our cat Neo. We have two cats, Neo and Coco, two brothers whom we took home from an animal sanctuary last year (after our beloved old cat Mitzi died). Recently Neo went missing for two days and two nights. We trekked around the nearby streets several times searching for him and shouting his name. One the second day, me and my kids starting posting 'Missing Cat!' posters to lampposts in our
neighbourhood. We were interrupted by a sudden torrential downpour that meant we had to run back home. On the way, my son Ted shouted 'There's Neo!' He was sitting on the window ledge of a neighbour's house, wondering what all the fuss was about. I think the neighbour adopted him because he's so cute. When he was back home, Neo had a well deserved rest.
This reminds me of a little poem I wrote about cats a couple of years ago:
If only
If only human beings could sit like cats
in perfect oneness with themselves
and with the space they occupy.
with no need to be elsewhere.
If only human beings could wait like cats
suspended outside time
without any thought of the future
to fill them with frustration.
If only human beings could rest like cats,
deep in spacious stillness,
content to be, or to be nothing
until time begins again.
All best wishes and blessings, Steve
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