I hope all is well with you. Apologies that I didn’t send out a September newsletter. It was mainly because I’ve been doing quite a lot of travelling. I went to three conferences in September. Two weeks ago I was invited to give a talk at the annual conference of the Society for Psychical Research. One of my heroes, the great American psychologist and philosopher William James, was very involved in the society when it formed in the late 19th century, so I felt honoured to participate. I spoke about my research on awakening experiences. At the end of my talk an elderly man came up to me and told me that he had three awakening experiences in his life. He said, 'Just to have had one experience like that makes the whole of your life worthwhile.' How beautiful!

Last weekend I was at the European Transpersonal Psychology conference in France, near Paris. I have never encountered so much positivity and openness and benevolence in one place before. I met so many fascinating and friendly people that it was almost dizzying. It was great to connect with so many people around Europe and the world who are devoting their lives to exploring the depths and heights of the human soul and healing the collective spiritual crisis which afflicts the human race. It made me feel that I am part of an important movement.

 

 

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. I'm interested in psychological disorders like narcissism and psychopathy because they are the polar opposite of spiritual wakefulness. Whereas spirituality is all about connection and expansion, those psychological disorders are about separation and contraction. Going right back to my book The Fall, I've been examining the terrible personal and cultural consequences of ego-separation. Unfortunately, throughout human history - right up to the present day - there has been a tendency for people with those disorders to rise into power. This article of mine discusses this issue, with reference to the present UK government, here 

I have also published a number of articles  (3 this month) on the High Existence website, which is a great resource for articles on alternative viewpoints and spiritual and esoteric topics. You can read my recent articles (and all my articles, 20 in total) at this link 

New Poem

 Probably the most popular poem I’ve written over the last four years (since The Calm Center was published) is ‘The Alchemy of Acceptance.’ But when I reread the original version, I realised that I missed out two very important aspects of life where acceptance is essential, so I’ve written an ‘Alchemy of Acceptance’  part two. I’ll follow it with a short little poem I wrote about a team meeting we had recently at my university.

 

The Alchemy of Acceptance (2)

 

Old age may be a painful process of decay

that withers your body and mind

and poisons you with bitterness

and makes you yearn for the freshness of youth.

 

Or old age may be a process of liberation

that enriches you with wisdom

and lightens your soul as your attachments dissolve

and makes you more present as the future recedes.

 

And the only difference between them is acceptance.

 

Death may be a cold black emptiness

that mercilessly devours your ego

and makes everything you own seem valueless

and everything you've achieved seem meaningless.

 

Or death may be a perfect culmination -

a soft twilight at the end of a long summer’s day

when you’re filled with heavy tiredness and ready to sleep

and know that you will wake up again, to a bright new dawn.

 

And the only difference between them is acceptance.

 

All best wishes and blessings, Steve