I hope you are well. Last weekend I was in Barcelona, to speak at a conference and for a launch event for the Spanish translation of my book The Adventure. I don’t usually like big cities, but I’m very fond of Barcelona, which has a relaxed atmosphere belying its size. I had a wonderful time strolling through the old city and along the beautiful boulevards and squares. I’ve always felt that there was a special spiritual atmosphere in Barcelona, as if it’s somehow a nexus or epicentre of spiritual awakening. There is certainly a great interest in spirituality. My books have always found an appreciative audience in Spain, particularly in Catalonia. My book The Fall was very influential there and since then, almost all of my books have been translated into Spanish. I love the cover of the new book, which is below. 

I had an interesting experience on my flight home. When I was waiting to board the plane, I noticed that I was surrounded by young men, looking rough and worse for wear. From listening to their conversations, I worked out that they were travelling back from some sort of marijuana or edibles festival. They seemed to make up about half of the passengers on the plane. 'Well this is going to be quite a rowdy flight,' I thought. 'I'll just listen to music and do some writing on my laptop and ignore all the noise.' 

But it turned out to be a very mellow experience. Everyone was very sedate and friendly. How different to raucous flights with aggressive boisterous people heading home from a stag do or hen party! I'm not a marijuana (or alcohol) enthusiast myself, but It made me wonder what our civilisation would have been like if we'd chosen marijuana instead of alcohol as our socially-accepted drug.

As for me, I don’t feel the need to take drugs. I get a fantastic natural high from presence, particularly when I’m running, walking in the countryside or swimming in lakes or just looking at the sky. I can’t imagine a greater high than that. I’m not even a great advocate of psychedelics, although I think they can be very useful in providing a glimpse of wakefulness. But one glimpse is enough. The problem with psychedelics is that they show the destination, but don’t provide the transport. That is, they give a brief glimpse of enlightenment, but they aren’t a means of attaining enlightenment. As Alan Watts said, ‘Once you get the message, hang up.’

Terminal Lucidity 
 

If you're in the US, look out for my article 'The Enigma of Terminal Lucidity' in the new March/April issue of Psychology Today. As I point out in the article, my mother had an episode of terminal lucidity shortly before she died two years ago. It was a remarkable moving experience. The article is also available here, although you need to scroll down to after the first article. 

New Online Course – Returning to The Calm Center

Starting on April 13th, I am leading a new online course. It runs for seven weeks, and is loosely based on my book of poetry The Calm Center. The course is designed as a journey of spiritual awakening through poetry and meditation. We will experience many moments of stillness, presence, oneness and harmony. I will provide guidance on the journey, and share many practical exercises and spiritual contemplations that could become an important part of your life.

The course will take place on zoom, and all sessions will be recorded in case you can’t attend in person. For more information, or to enrol on the course, see here
 

If you have any issues signing up for the course, let us know as [email protected]

Talk in Brighton, UK, April 23rd

If you're in the UK, you might be interested in coming to an in person talk I am doing in Brighton on April 23rd, organised by Bright Think. I'm speaking about my new book Time Expansion Experiences. Further details here

Poems

As usual, let me finish me with poetry. The other day I was speaking with my friend Serge about the challenge of finding serenity and harmony in a crazy world. My feeling is that all spiritually awakening people are helping to create a new world. Whether we’re aware not, we are spiritual activities who are bringing love and light into the world. And sometimes we need to withdraw from the world and retreat, in order to replenish our energies and harness our powers. Here are two poems on this theme. 

Retreat

When the world is full of madness
it’s time to be still and search inside
for the deep wisdom of the soul.

When the world is full of cruelty
it’s time to rise above hurt and hatred
and harness unconditional love.

When the world is full of conflict
it’s time to withdraw and find a quiet space 
to cultivate inner peace. 

And soon we’ll be strong and luminous again
and ready to resume our mission
of turning the world's discord to harmony.

Winter Turns to Spring

Now the future seems so bleak

that even optimists are filled with despair.

Even the most passionate activists

feel weary and listless, without hope to inspire them.

It seems that the world is turning

away from the light of reason and the warmth of compassion

towards a brutal winter, where nothing grows

except cruelty and discord.

Is there nothing we can do

but steal ourselves for hardship

and try to survive as best we can?

But now, as winter takes hold

let’s withdraw and replenish ourselves.

Let’s quietly concentrate our soul-force

until we become whole again.

Let’s cultivate our innate goodness

until we become pure again.

Let’s form new connections 

until we become strong again.

And then we will wait patiently

for evil’s icy grip to loosen.

At the first sign of a thaw, goodness will erupt

from the deep ground of our being

like the great green rush of spring.

And the world will turn away from winter

towards reason and compassion

and become luminous with love.

All best wishes and blessings 

Steve