Dear ,
I hope you are well. I’m just heading back from Krakow in Poland, where I was asked to give a talk. I told the organisers I didn't
want a fee, but asked if they could organise travel and accommodation for me and my family - so we have been for a nice family break. It was my first time in Poland, and I loved it. I found the people very friendly and felt strangely at home (almost as if I had been many times before!). For some reason it didn’t feel like a foreign country at all, even though I couldn’t speak or read the language. The people and the buildings and the general atmosphere seemed very familiar. Who knows - perhaps I
lived in the city in a previous incarnation!
Krakow is a very beautiful city, although I felt a definite tinge of trauma and sadness in the air, probably because we were staying close to the old Jewish quarter. (And it's also close to Auschwitz.) It's sickening to contemplate the atrocities and tragedies that took place in this area 70-80
years ago. But yesterday we visited Oskar Schindler's factory, which was a reminder of the heroism of the human spirit. It was very moving to see photos of the people he saved (as they were in later life), and to read the quote from the Talmud: 'He who saves one life, saves the whole world.'
It reminded me of when I went to see the film ‘Schindler’s
List’ 20 or so years ago, when I was living in Germany. If you haven’t seen it, it’s such a powerful film - incredibly moving and poignant. It captures the horror and heroism of the events so perfectly, without any sensation or sentimentality. But what was even more powerful was the atmosphere at the end of the film. The whole audience of hundreds of people walked out of the cinema in complete silence, stunned. It was eerie, but somehow perfectly apt as well.
We desperately need heroism in the world today. I'm not a particularly political person, but I find behaviour of some present world leaders worryingly reminiscent of psychopathic and narcissistic dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Franco and Mussolini. That's not to say that the present leaders have perpetrated the horrors of the older ones, but it’s easy to see how
they have the capacity to, and how similar their personality types are. Political power is naturally very attractive to psychopathic and narcissistic personality types - and we should do everything we can to rein them in, and even to prevent them from attaining power in the first place.
Spiritual Science
I've been doing a lot of travelling recently, mainly because of the recent
publication of Spiritual Science. I’ve done a couple of talks in London, which have gone down very well. I feel like people are very receptive to the message of the book, and that it is tuning into the Zeitgeist. I feel sure that there is a cultural shift underway, a movement away from the old materialistic view of the world, towards a more holistic and spiritual perspective. My previous book The Leap was about the spiritual aspects of this, while Spiritual
Science is about how this shift is manifesting itself in science, and how human behaviour and the world as a whole only make sense when science is founded on spiritual principles.
Reviews of Spiritual Science On the subject of Spiritual Science, I was very pleased to receive some recent feedback on the book from the authors of two of my favourite books, Irreducible Mind and Beyond Physicalism. The psychologist Michael Grosso - one of the co-authors of both books - wrote that “In clarity of style, range of argument, and sense of urgency and importance, this is the best book on the mind-body problem I have yet to read. If you care about the plight of the
human condition, and ever wondered about the mysteries of the human mind, this is a book not to be missed.” Similarly, Edward Kelly - the main author of Irreducible Mind - he told me that the book had “fulfilled its purpose admirably” and that it he was it wold achieve the wide readership it deserves.
My publisher has just reminded me of
the importance of asking people to write reviews online. So if you have enjoyed reading the book, it would be great if you could post a review on amazon, or whichever online bookseller you have used. I would really appreciate your help!
Spiritual Science Interview
And one final thing
about Spiritual Science…I’ve recently done a large number of radio interviews and podcasts about it. There are too many links to share here, but the best interview I have done is with the Inspire Nation show. It’s my second interview with them, and I felt that bonded strongly with the host, Michael Sanders, who asked me some great questions. Watch the interview on Youtube:
Special Offer Event - One Day Workshop in London with Rupert Sheldrake
On Oct. 28th, I’m taking part
in a one day event with the Weekend University, in London, with Rupert Sheldrake and Tamara Russel. Anyone who buys a ticket (which costs £45) for the event will receive a free copy of Spiritual Science. Information and tickets
here.
Other Events I have a few other events coming up over the next month or so.
Oct. 27th, Glastonbury - 'Making the Leap: Five Steps towards Spiritual Awakening’ in the Avalon Rooms, Glastonbury on Sat. 27th October 2018 (10.30 - 5pm). Cost £45.) For
further information or took a place, contact me at [email protected].
Nov 17th, London - One Day Workshop on 'Waking Up - Awakening through Presence, Gratitude and Acceptance.' Nov 27th, Manchester - ‘The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening.’ An evening talk based on ‘The Leap.’
Events in/near Los Angeles:
November 7th, Venice. LA - a free talk/book signing called ‘Making the Leap’ (based on my book The Leap) at the Mystic Journey bookstore.
A Poetic Piece - The End Times
We are living in a time of crisis. I am certain that our present model of reality - and the state of being which creates that model of reality - has to undergo a shift if we are to survive as a species. Our present problems are the direct result of human beings’ normal
state of separation and discord. Particularly when you look at the potentially catastrophic environmental issues we are facing, it is difficult to be optimistic about the future.
Nevertheless I do think there are some positive trends that are counteracting the present negativity. I think there is a process of collective awakening underway, which is
gathering momentum. The idealogical divisions and conflicts that fill our world at the moment are a challenge between the burgeoning values of wakefulness and the old values of sleep (patriarchy and egocentricity). The old values are resisting the rising tide of wakefulness. This is a poetic piece I wrote recently about this issue…I say ‘write’ but it was one of the pieces that emerges spontaneously, without any
forethought:
The End Times
How can our lives have meaning
when we’re living through the end times?
How can we find fulfilment
with catastrophe
hovering us?
Why should we keep building
when structures are collapsing all around us?
Why should we keep trying to contribute
when nothing may remain to receive our gifts?
Why should we keep striving
when our goals seem to be dissolving, like mirages?
But look inside yourself - can’t you feel your soul aching
with a new yearning for change?
Can’t you feel the impulse to surrender
to a transcendent new goal, that is rising like a wave?
Our personal goals are fading
so
that a collective cause can take us over
as we turn to face the end times.
Our vision is becoming clearer,
our minds becoming more focused,
against the background of the end times.
The
superfluous is being stripped away,
our lives are being pared down to their essence
by the urgency of the end times.
This isn’t the time to be despondent,
but the time to transcend fear
and abandon every doubt and inhibition.
This isn’t the time to sleep
but to redouble our efforts to awaken -
to harness
every quantum of our latent higher selves
and send out waves of transformation into the world
so that the darkness and chaos of the end times
can give birth to a new beginning.
All best wishes and blessings, Steve
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