William Wordsworth and Spiritual Awakening - Steve Taylor's April Newsletter

Published: Sun, 04/19/20

Steve Taylor's April Newsletter

Dear

I hope you are all well and not too badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. It’s a difficult time for many people, but I can see some positive aspects too, particularly in the long term. I think we may well experience what psychologists call ‘post-traumatic growth,’ both as individuals and communities. When the crisis and the lockdown are over, the world will not be the same place. I've just written an article about this for Scientific American, which you can read here:

Spiritual Awakening in Prisoners

In connection with this, over the last month or so I’ve been writing my new book ‘Extraordinary Awakenings’, with two chapters on spiritual awakenings in prisoners. I’ve been reading so many accounts of prisoners who have had awakening experiences that I think I could write a book on that topic alone!

I’ve always been an admirer of the Indian philosopher-guru Sri Aurobindo but only recently remembered that he had a spiritual awakening in prison. He describes it in his beautiful little book, Tales of Prison Life. When he was first put into solitary confinement, Aurobindo was anxious, as he wasn’t used to solitude and inactivity. (He had been a political activist until then.) After a few days he felt that he was losing control of his mind, but then a shift occurred:

'A great peace descended upon my mind and heart. A cooling sensation spread over my entire body. The restless mind became relaxed and joyful. I experienced a state of indescribable bliss. I felt as if I was lying on the lap of the World-Mother just as a child does, with a sense of complete security and utter ease. From that very moment, my suffering in prison evaporated.'

I think the transformational effect of prison is partly due to the solitude and quietness of confinement, which allows people to enter into themselves in a way they would not normally do. There is also a letting go of our normal sense of identity. When our normal sense of identity dissolves away, there is an opportunity for a new, higher-functioning identity to take over. This applies in a lot of cases of sudden spiritual awakening, when identity is often broken down by a long period of suffering and turmoil.

So again, this is another potentially positive aspect of our present crisis, since most of us are living in confinement.

William Wordsworth

I’ve always been a lover of poetry. Poetry has always been used as a way of conveying spiritual experiences - and I partly use it in that way myself. My favourite poets are D.H. Lawrence, Walt Whitman, and William Wordsworth, who were all (in their different ways) spiritually awakened, and conveyed their experiences very beautifully in their poems. (I also love the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa.)

Two weeks ago it was the 250th anniversary of the birth of the great poet William Wordsworth, who wrote so many descriptions of his spiritual experiences in the natural world. He didn't know anything about the Indian Upanishads but some of his descriptions are exactly like how brahman (or Spirit) in the Upanishads.

I've just written an article to express my appreciation of Wordsworth, explaining his significance in terms of spiritual experiences and the evolution of consciousness.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/202004/the-greatness-william-wordsworth

High Existence Online Event

Also, in connection with the coronavirus, let me invite you to an online event at which I am speaking. It’s a three day ‘retreat for empowerment, resilience and meaning’ organised by HighExistence. My session is called ‘Tansformation Through Adversity: Harnessing The Potential In Crisis’ and takes place on Sunday 26th April at 5pm UK time, or 12pm EST.

The whole three day event is free, although you can make a donation if you wish. You can sign up:

https://highexistence.com/metamorphosis

Audio Book of Spiritual Science

If you're looking for some listening material during the period of confinement, the audiobook of my book Spiritual Science has finally been released - only 18 months after the book itself!

You can find it here

The Kindred Spirit Awards

The UK spirituality magazine Kindred Spirit has kindly included me in its annual awards. I've been nominated as 'author of the year.’ It’s nice to have some recognition. I have no interest in success for its own sake - only in the sense that of having more opportunity to help people and bring about change. I feel that the purpose of my life is to contribute to a shift in consciousness in the human race. Obviously the more people my work reaches, the more I can contribute to the shift. It's also great that another author I admire, and who I am friendly with, Tim Freke, has also been nominated. Perhaps you can vote for us both!

https://kindredspirit.co.uk/ksawards

Midnight Walk (After William Wordsworth)

Returning to the topic of William Wordsworth, about 18 months ago I had an awakening experience while I was walking in the countryside at night. I had been reading a lot of Wordsworth at the time so I decided to write a description of it in his style. I'll finish this newsletter with the poem.

I wandered through the country lanes
immersed in silent darkness
with trees standing completely motionless
as if they had not moved for centuries
forming strange jagged shapes all around me,
almost sinister in their stillness.

The only disturbance was my thoughts
chattering away nonsensically.
But soon they began to settle
and slowly a silence grew inside me
and merged with the silence outside.

Then the darkness became so deep
that it almost seemed to glow
with its own kind of being.
The silence became so dense
that it seemed to be vibrating
with a subtle energy.

And then I looked up
and was suddenly showered with a million stars.
The whole sky was shimmering softly
like a luminous ocean, deep and wide.

I never thought the night sky
could hold so many secrets.
I never thought the darkness
could contain so much light.
Every point of light was like a reassuring kiss
across the radiant blackness of space.

And I knew for sure
that I was not alone.
I knew for sure
that the universe is alive.
And I knew for sure
that life is full of bliss
And I knew for sure
and the world is full of meaning
in its darkness and silence and light.

All best wishes and blessings, Steve