I hope you are well. Over the last few months, I've been doing a lot of events and interviews about my latest book Time Expansion Experiences. Talking about the book has been interesting because it's one of my more mainstream books (as opposed to one of my more spiritual books) so I've encountered a lot of people who wouldn't consider themselves spiritual, and who might even consider themselves secular and sceptical. I enjoy speaking to those kinds of interviewers and audiences because I feel I can make them aware of the spiritual dimension and help them to accept it, and even make them aware that they’ve had spiritual experiences without recognising them as such. 

For example, last week I travelled to Brighton to give a talk to a group who used to be called the Brighton Sceptics. I thought they might be a little hostile to my ideas but they were very receptive. I think I helped them understand that spiritual experiences (and I include term expansion experiences in that category) happen to people who are not religious or even spiritual in the traditional sense. 

There were about 70 people at the talk and when I asked him if they had ever had a time expansion experience, most of them put their hands up. They all agreed that the experiences were otherworldly, with a heightened awareness, intense presence and a strange sense of calm well-being. They all agreed that the experiences were a glimpse of a different reality, and that they were real experiences that happened in the moment, rather than an illusion of memory (which some psychologists have suggested).

I feel that part of my role to take spirituality out of its traditional context and open it to a more mainstream audience. I'm trying to integrate spirituality into the modern world, to help people realise that it’s an ever-present aspect of life that isn’t confined to religions or traditions. That’s why I often say that many people have spiritual experiences – and even experience spiritual awakening – without knowing anything about spirituality. Here’s a photo of me at the event in Brighton:

My Book About the Beatles
 

I had some good news a couple of weeks ago. I'm delighted to have found a publisher for my book about the Beatles! The book is provisionally titled Cosmic: Understanding the Genius of the Beatles. It might seem like a departure from my usual books, but there will be strong elements of spirituality and transpersonal psychology. There are so many uncanny esoteric and spiritual elements about the Beatles, including their embrace of meditation and spirituality, which they helped to popularize during the late 1960s. Their whole career was a sequence of astounding synchronicities, as if it was all meant to be. Their prolific creativity was amazing too. How did they manage to record 220 songs in 7 years, covering such a wide variety of styles and with so many creative leaps and evolutions? 

Those are some of the topics I'll be writing about. I have already written about half of the book, and can't wait to write the rest this summer.

Talk at Broughton Hall, Yorkshire

On May 10^th I’m giving a talk at one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in the UK - Broughton Hall, near Skipton in Yorkshire. The hall is nearly 500 years old, and is in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. I’m excited to be speaking about my book The Fall, which was originally published in 2005 (with a new edition published in 2018). Since it’s twenty years since the book’s publication, I’ll be discussing its continued relevance, and how recent evidence suoports its claims. 

Most of all, I’ll suggest that, despite all of the challenges we face in the present day, there are reasons to be optimistic. There is evidence of a ‘trans-fall’ movement beyond separation. The first signs were the development of ancient spiritual traditions that formulated practices and paths towards connection and oneness. More recently – over the last 250 years or so – a number of significant cultural changes suggest a move towards increasing empathy and equality, openness to sex and the body, and – most significantly of all – increasing interest in spirituality. As more and more people engage in spiritual practices and undergo spontaneous spiritual experiences and transformations, we may be heading towards a collective awakening, and the next phase of our evolution as a species.

To book at ticket for the event, see here

Final Online Talk about Time Expansion Experiences

I mentioned above that I’ve done a lot of events relating to my book – I’ve now reached the final event! This is an online talk (with meditations) about the book, for a wonderful charitable organization called The Fintry Trust. Details here

Poem

As usual, let me finish me with poetry. Over the last few months, I’ve been regularly connected with the wilderness, going for long walks and cold swims. I’ve felt the therapeutic power of nature very strongly. I've often felt that contact with nature is the ideal therapy for depression and other psychological ailments. In fact, ecotherapy is a growing area, and more and more clinicians are recommending it as a treatment. It’s practically impossible to feel depressed when you walk for a few hours in the countryside, or when you just spend a few minutes swimming in cold water. This is a poem that describes that therapeutic effect. Let me know if you enjoy it. 

Natural Therapy

The best therapy is simple. 

You don’t have to pay, or even make an appointment. 

The therapist is always available, for unlimited sessions. 

She doesn’t need to know your condition or symptoms.

You don’t have to talk about your childhood or your relationships.

There are no strategies to follow, no techniques to learn. 

You don’t even have to pay attention to the therapist. 

You can daydream in her presence

chat to your companions, barely even glance at her. 

But still her therapy heals you.

You just need to climb her hills or mountains

walk through her fields and woods 

swim in her lakes and tarns

for long enough to absorb her radiance. 

Her healing is so subtle 

that we don’t feel her touch as she massages us. 

We don’t hear her voice as she soothes us.

But all the time, her healing energy

flows gently through our being.

She awakens us to the present 

so that the past and future stop disturbing us.

Her radiance spreads through our inner space 

so that shadows of fear and worry fade 

and love and hope and gratitude rise 

and meaning reveals itself around us 

like the beauty of a landscape at dawn. 

And at the end of the day 

we are purified, refreshed

reconnected to our source

reattuned to natural harmony.

All best wishes and blessings 

Steve