Category: Life and Death

Personality: friend or foe?

When reading many modern books on mystical development, you might think that the personality was now viewed as negative; a foe to be overcome on the way to the real self. There is much truth in this, but it is incomplete and spoken from an ‘immature’ perspective. That partial vision of it misses the finest potential of what we have loving crafted of ourselves … Read More Personality: friend or foe?

Led by Bent Metal #Phoetry

Voice of war from a wizened tower Orchestrating irony, avoiding boulders An iron stave of howling notes Issues forth. And throws its force of straightening iron, Slick by rocks that tear and sands that grind To arm the ninety, ready soldiers of the right Angled mage-like, she guides her seeing out to sea And does not deign to turn and watch the curves Of … Read More Led by Bent Metal #Phoetry

A Farewell to Sue Vincent

Today will be the funeral of our dear friend and fellow Director of the Silent Eye, Sue Vincent. Many words have been said over the past two weeks… Today is a simple goodbye for a few family and friends. For those who might wish to know what is happening today, we include, above, the two pages of a simple tri-fold ‘Order of Service’ document, … Read More A Farewell to Sue Vincent

Deepest Night

We are creatures of cycles; the smaller fitting within the increasingly larger. We may have little conception of the very largest, but the effects of that level of creation trickle down to remind us of our true natures… (750 words, a five-minute read) We live in cycles within cycles. Every day, we wake up to a period of brightness which is essentially the same … Read More Deepest Night

Dr Joy’s Garden

A poignant return visit to Alnmouth, a beautiful coastal town in Northumberland. A memorial garden dedicated to a very special woman… Read Dr Joy’s garden here…

Fear and Love in the High Peak (2) – “I want a posset!”

The first visit of the Silent Eye ‘Rites of Passage: Seeing Beyond Fear’ weekend was to the Derbyshire village of Eyam (pronounced Eem) – The Plague Village. Our family has a personal connection with Eyam and the terrible events of 1665-6, when bubonic plague, newly arrived in Derbyshire from London, took the lives of 260 of its occupants: over seven-tenths of its population. No-one … Read More Fear and Love in the High Peak (2) – “I want a posset!”

Fear and Love in the High Peak – part one

It’s not the best of photo resolutions, but the above image says it all. Briony saluting the Derbyshire landscape in her own way at the end of three days of the Silent Eye’s Tideswell-based workshop: Sue and Stuart’s creation; and a wonderful experience for the group of souls who braved the provocative title for the weekend… Rites of Passage: Seeing beyond Fear …and decided … Read More Fear and Love in the High Peak – part one

The Talking Darkness #writephoto

This is in response to Sue Vincent’s #writephoto ‘Frozen’ and the photo above. He chose his moment to appear at the edge of the dark forest; the forest through which they had come on their murderous journey. The few that knew him used his ancient name: the Talking Darkness…. Anyone in the dark green shadows looking out to the approaching night would have seen … Read More The Talking Darkness #writephoto

Land of the Heart

This is a self-help exercise I developed recently. I call it ‘Land of the Heart’ It’s an exercise that involves the surrender of the small self that feels so much pain and anguish, especially at a time of national division, such as we have on both sides of the Atlantic, today. It’s an exercise that addresses that feeling of helplessness that many of us … Read More Land of the Heart

Vexed by the Tribe (part two) – the fabrication of complexity

We’re visiting relatives. It’s friendly. We have a light meal and some cake to follow. But then someone mentions Brexit and a cold frost descends on the room… My wife and I bite our tongues, knowing our hosts are firm believers that Britain’s post-colonial destiny lies in a renewed ‘Little England’ reborn from some poster of decades ago. Until my wife’s uncle says, “Besides, … Read More Vexed by the Tribe (part two) – the fabrication of complexity

Vexed by the Tribe (part one)

I am vexed… It’s a word you don’t hear much, now. Old English, I believe. It describes an agitated state of mind – and possibly body – when something nagging can’t be solved. What I’m vexed about is the entrenchment of nationalistic opinion across the world, in the face of much more important issues – like the world’s climate problems and the undermining of … Read More Vexed by the Tribe (part one)

Primal screen

Somewhere in the frontal cortex of our brains there’s a very special junction – a place where we learned to do something truly different with our minds… Let’s call it the Primal Screen… Our spines can be considered the highway of our historical evolution: the inherited paths of form and energy that developed from single cells in oceans, through fish, lizards and apes. At … Read More Primal screen