Dear 

I hope you are well. The lockdown continues, although it has been eased a little over the last couple of weeks in the UK. It continues to be a challenging time, but we know that challenge helps us to grow. I have always felt – partly based on my own experiences – that there are vast, deep reserves of strength and skill and resilience in human beings that we are unaware of. Sometimes we may lack self-confidence and self-esteem, thinking of ourselves as inept or weak. But if it comes to the point where are severely tested by life, we almost always find that we have the inner strength to deal with almost any challenge that life throws at us.

One of the challenges I have faced recently is clearing out my parents’ house, where my parents lived for 45 years and where I grew up. I didn't realise it would be such a massive job - 45 years of their worldly possessions and accumulations! After three weeks and numerous trips to charity shops and to the local tip, the house is finally empty. I feel pleased that I was able to redistribute or recycle almost all of the stuff. I felt quite contemplative saying goodbye to the house where I grew up, with so many imprints of the past and of my parents- but at the same time I feel liberated and less encumbered. The house was sold last week so I feel a sense of closure, and a new beginning.

Event - The Alchemy of Acceptance

INext Sunday (20th July) I have a free Zoom talk/workshp on 'The Alchemy of Acceptance.' It's a part of a series of talks on 'Corona and Beyond,' organised by the Alef Trust. Unlike the previous Zoom talk I did (which was limited to 100 people) there is no number limit. It’s in the evening in UK time, the afternoon in US time. 

Please sign up in advance for the talk here.

Here’s the summary of my talk: "Acceptance is an essential spiritual quality. Resisting the present reality of our lives – and resisting the reality of our predicament as human beings – leads to conflict and frustration. Steve’s research has shown that ‘post-traumatic transformation’ (equivalent to spiritual awakening) often occurs when a person accepts their predicament, letting go of their resistance to it. In this session, Steve will read some of his poetic reflections and lead contemplative/meditative exercises. Steve will also explain a process by which we can shift into acceptance, whether in relation to the everyday demands of our lives, aspects of our own lives, or general aspects of human life such as ageing and death."

The Clear Light

It’s not long now till the publication of The Clear Light. The official publication date is the end of September. My publisher has told me to encourage people to pre-order copies of the book, as apparently it helps books to get attention. So feel free to order it now if you like!

In the US you can order it here. In the UK, you can order it here

Extraordinary Awakenings

In the meantime, I am continuing to write my next book, and have nearly finished.  I’ve just agreed a contract for the book with my US publisher. However, they’re not keen on the title ‘Extraordinary Awakenings’ and would like to call it ‘The Shifters.’ I’m not sure! I’ll have to ponder over it.

I’ve interviewed so many interesting people for the book – about 30 people in all. Yesterday I interviewed an amazing man named Gus Hales. In his early 20s Gus was a soldier, and in 1982 he went to fight in the Falklands War, between Britain and Argentina. One day he was on the battlefield, waiting for orders, frightened to death and contemplating feigning injury so he didn't have to fight - then suddenly, in his words, 'I reconciled myself with the thought of death and there was peace. Complete peace. For a couple of hours there was no future or past. Time disappeared and I was filled with ecstasy. I was in a moment that seemed to be eternal. I realised that there was nothing to fear.' After the war, he struggled with PTSD for years, until someone gave him a book on Buddhism. He learned to meditate and had a glimpse of the inner peace he'd experienced before the battle. He became a Buddhist and found inner freedom and well-being. He has spent most of his life teaching meditation to other veterans. 

Another person I interviewed is a man called David Ditchfield, who had an incredible near-death experience. One of the remarkable things about his  experience is that afterwards he started to paint and compose classical music to try to convey his experience. I’ve just written a blog article about David’s NDE for Psychology Today which you can read here.  

The Alchemy of Acceptance

As I’m doing a talk on the The Alchemy of Acceptance next Sunday, I will leave you with my poem ‘The Alchemy of Acceptance’, which I will be reading during the session. This is the long version of the poem:

Emptiness can be a vacuum
cold and hostile, dark with danger
or emptiness can be radiant space
glowing with soft stillness
and the only difference between them is acceptance.

A task may seem tedious
a chore to rush through reluctantly
or a task may seem rewarding
a process to relish, with an attentive mind
that reveals more richness, the more present you become
and the only difference between them is acceptance.

Pain may seem unbearable
searing through you from a sharp, concentrated point
so that you have no choice but to resist
to try to escape, to push away the pain
or pain can be a sensation
that you can move toward and merge with
that no longer has a center and dissipates through your being
until it becomes soft and numb, no longer pain at all
and the only difference between them is acceptance.

Trauma can break you down to nothing
destroy the identity you spent your whole life building up
like an earthquake that leaves you in ruins
or trauma can transform you
break open new depths and heights of you
give rise to a greater structure, a miraculous new self
and the only difference between them is acceptance.

Life can be frustrating and full of obstacles
with desires for a different life constantly disturbing your mind
or life can be fulfilling, full of opportunities
with a constant flow of gratitude for the gifts you have
and the only difference between them is acceptance.

Old age may be a process of decay
that withers your body and mind
and poisons you with bitterness
as you yearn for the freshness of youth
Or old age may be a process of liberation
that enriches you with wisdom
and makes you more present as the future recedes
and lightens your soul as you let go of attachments.

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