SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Christianity and modern mysticism

(-900 words; a ten-minute read) Not ‘typing’ in the sense of my fingers tapping across this keyboard. Something else is conveyed, here: the idea that although we are each a unique example of walking, talking protoplasm, we exhibit patterns of behaviour that are so strong they can be ‘collected’ into groups – ‘types’. Astrology is good example with which to explore the idea. The … Read More In the world but not of it (3) : True to Type

December 14, 2023 + #Photography,, #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, Photography

Metanoia and Light from Darkness

by Steve Tanham

This Sunday (17th December) sees the last of our Silent Eye Explorations zoom meetings for 2023. It’s been a fascinating year, and we mean to end it with a special event which will combine a guided mediation on the subject of ‘metanoia’ with a visualised, mental and emotional odyssey to two sacred places on the mystical and ancient Orkney islands. We’re going to supplement … Read More Metanoia and Light from Darkness

April 9, 2023 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, English Lake District, esoteric psychology, Photography, Silent Eye School

Death and Resurrection

by Steve Tanham

For the mystic, Easter is about symbols… Being doesn’t break through the barriers into normal life very often, though it is the very substance and energy of its existence. The journeys in the gospels are those of the individual soul, learning the fundamental truths of their own existence – which then expands to be existence, itself. For me and many others, Easter is about … Read More Death and Resurrection

September 6, 2022 + #Silenti, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography

The Endurance of St. Paul’s

by Steve Tanham

There was a time, not long ago, when my livelihood – and that of 25 other employees of the software company I established in the late 1980s – depended on our continued involvement with the plans of some large city institutions such as the Bank of England, Euroclear and various of the high street banks also headquartered in the (old) City. For a company … Read More The Endurance of St. Paul’s

April 14, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Gurdjieff, Mindfulness

Aligning with Gods

by Steve Tanham

When we encounter the word ‘Gods’, we think of entities related to ancient views of the world; of ages before science threw the ‘definitive light’ of repeatable and numeric method onto our subjective experience of the world. In other words, we think of an outdated symbol system; one that describes natural events, and which seemingly lost its relevance to modern man a long time … Read More Aligning with Gods

February 17, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Child of Light, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, esoteric psychology, Mystery Schools, Myth

The mystery of the soul-child

by Steve Tanham

One of the most enigmatic mysteries in spirituality is the idea of a ‘soul-child’ – the finding within us of a spiritual figure whose characteristics are those of purity and youthfulness; untainted by the world, yet somehow immature within it… To approach a deeper understanding of this – one beyond the fanciful – we need to consider the words ‘soul’ and ‘child’, and set … Read More The mystery of the soul-child

December 23, 2021 + #Silenti, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, Magic, meditation, Mystery Schools, Silent Eye School

The nothing of tasted darkness

by Steve Tanham

“It’s a good time to meet nothing at the darkness cafe,” she said. It was many years ago and I had no idea what she was talking about… It was nearly Christmas and we were working on some of the initial Silent Eye lessons. Our topic of conversation was the power of the winter solstice to invoke new feelings, new experiences… and new ways … Read More The nothing of tasted darkness

August 24, 2021 + #Poetry, #Silenti, Alchemical Poetry, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, Mystery Schools, Mystical poetry, Photography, Silent Eye School, Spirit

Fruit of the Giver

by Steve Tanham

©Stephen Tanham 2021 Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, a journey through the forest of personality to the dawn of Being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog

June 3, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness

The Mysterious Road to Tain (4): a simple man

by Steve Tanham

The young missionary – a peregrini, meaning one on a life-pilgrimage – wore two crosses; but not around his neck nor on his simple, woven robe. The Celtic designs were tattooed onto his eyelids so that, when he slept, the original Cross of Christ was projected from both his sleeping eyes into the world… Truth never sleeps. A Christ that he had reached out … Read More The Mysterious Road to Tain (4): a simple man

May 27, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness

The Mysterious Road to Tain (3): the protectors

by Steve Tanham

“Saints don’t just disappear!” Bernie was getting a little exasperated with my poor attempt at stringing together a viable theory to account for the cultural disappearance of St Duthac. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation… we just have to find it.” I’d already found it, But I wasn’t letting on. It’s not that I’m cleverer than she is, but one of the sources I’d been … Read More The Mysterious Road to Tain (3): the protectors

May 20, 2021 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Celtic Christianity, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness

The Mysterious Road to Tain (2): the demi-god of Ross

by Steve Tanham

“You’d have thought they would have looked after it, better!’ Bernie can be highly critical on these occasions. Mind you, we had trudged all the way around the small town of Tain to find it. The original chapel of St Duthac. The priest to whose church three Scottish kings travelled to pay their respects, sits as an unmarked ruin in the middle of the … Read More The Mysterious Road to Tain (2): the demi-god of Ross

November 5, 2020 + #Silenti, Ancient Sacred Sites, Christianity and modern mysticism, Consciousness, mystical travel, Photography

Two journeys, one destination (9) : Dunrobin Castle

by Steve Tanham

The beautiful vision of the ‘fairytale’ Dunrobin Castle, seen here from across the bay during our visit to Portmahomack, had tantalised us with the reported splendour of its architecture and gardens. Now, we had arrived at the gateway of its estate. (1800 words, a twelve minute read) (Above: Dunrobin Castle through a long lens…) Dunrobin Castle is the most northerly of Scotland’s great houses … Read More Two journeys, one destination (9) : Dunrobin Castle