SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: nature

January 21, 2020 + #ShortWrytz, #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz – Intricate Outlines

by Steve Tanham

Winter offers the photographer a challenge – to be creative with what little colour there is… One way around this is to look for the most contrast to be found. In this shot, taken on a walk in the mid-afternoon, the pale sun was already falling towards the horizon, filling the shadows with a rich, inky darkness. Lovely! I walked for a while until … Read More #ShortWrytz – Intricate Outlines

November 12, 2019 + #ShortWrytz, #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz – Bare Ash

by Steve Tanham

It’s a view I get every morning, letting the pets out before making the first cup of tea. The beloved ash tree – almost certainly doomed to fade away when the ‘die back’ virus finally gets this far north Today, with the strong wind stripping away the last of its leaves, I had a deep and poignant moment when it seemed to face me … Read More #ShortWrytz – Bare Ash

November 9, 2019 + #ShortWrytz, #Silenti, Consciousness, nature, Seasons of the year, Seasons, Four Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,, Spirituality

#ShortWrytz – Heysham Village

by Steve Tanham

Heysham Village on the Lancashire Coast. I love the way the autumn colours cling onto the year, knowing that Christmas will bring its own brief riot. And then the season of long grey days, unbroken, will begin, again… ©Stephen Tanham

October 22, 2019 + #Silenti, Mystical poetry, nature, Photography, Poetry, Powers of the Mind, Silent Eye School, soul in body, Spirituality, Stream of Consciousness, Understanding Fear

The Opening

by Steve Tanham

I know the words The long-learned words With which this view is framed These slats of wood I crafted round The Opening… ➰ Yet there it lies, unshut before me The rawness of the world Behind my words I kneel, now Afraid to stop their flow’s intent In widening my wood ➰ One day the words will be unspeakable The splinters brushed aside By … Read More The Opening

October 9, 2019 + humour, nature, Seasons, Four Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,, Solar Year

Landing on a lid near you!

by Steve Tanham

From somewhere overhead In the tree beneath which I was Eating Kendal Creamy cheese And coffee Sharing the cheese with the collie You took flight, bounced with percussion And – unlikey, I know – remained atop See! Good job I’d finished Or our worlds would not Have intersected… They’ll never believe you Either Back at the base… ©Stephen Tanham

October 8, 2019 + #Poetry, #Silenti, nature, Poetry, Spirituality

Out Along the Song

by Steve Tanham

And so we meet again Bright blaze of flaring life A green defiant in its going Ashamed of nothing in its flowing Up to the crispy end it sings With melody of screaming joy So far beyond our space and time And out along the song To where there is no right and wrong ➰ And when the crisp is mush And when the … Read More Out Along the Song

September 24, 2019 + #Silenti, Consciousness, Egregore, esoteric psychology, Mystical poetry, nature, Photography, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

Big Bubbles

by Steve Tanham

Once there was an ocean A bright blue ocean That shone shimmering gold As its waves crested and fell And the bubbles danced with joy ➰ Then a bubble grew bigger And gathered other big bubbles We’re not bubbles they cried We’re a cluster of bubbles And they rose to the top of the waves And flew off into the bright sky ➰ Higher … Read More Big Bubbles

September 12, 2019 + #Silenti, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, nature, Seasons of the year, Silent Eye School, Spirituality

The cycle of life

by Steve Tanham

The approach of the autumn always makes me reflect on the nature of life; in particular the way the mysterious essence of life takes form and shape, ‘living’ for a while, then giving up its life and surrendering the elements of that form back to the earth from which it arose. We all feel the poignancy of life’s seasons, but it’s useful to align … Read More The cycle of life

August 27, 2019 + #Poetry, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Higher Mind, landscapes, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, nature, Seasons, Four Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,, Spirituality

Mellow, then Naked

by Steve Tanham

With gentle care, my drunken head Is upwards tilted, facing Sun I glimpse pale gold in summer’s field To trace, already, winter’s dread As hues of autumn’s failing now revealed ➰ Too soon! Unready heart implores! But she, intent and moistened scent Upon the harvest’s fulsome bliss Inscribes my name on deeper lands- Baptising wordsmith with her kiss ➰ This is my chosen task–her … Read More Mellow, then Naked

August 19, 2019 + Ancient Landscapes, Collie dogs, Consciousness, English Lake District, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Photography, Places and Prose, Silent Eye School, Silent Eye Workshops, Travel and people, Travel and Photography, Your inner wolf

Above the Lion and the Lamb (part three)

by Steve Tanham

It was past four in the afternoon. We had been walking for over five hours. Despite our best smiles – and Joh’s chocolate – we were tired, very tired. We were desperately looking for something – a path that should have been climbing up towards us from the steep lower slopes of the glacial corrie below. But paths – this far into a landscape … Read More Above the Lion and the Lamb (part three)

August 13, 2019 + Ancient Landscapes, Collie dogs, Consciousness, English Lake District, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Photography, Places and Prose, Silent Eye School, Silent Eye Workshops, Travel and people, Travel and Photography, Your inner wolf

Above the Lion and the Lamb (Part Two)

by Steve Tanham

We were on the Helm Crag plateau, about to climb up and beyond the Lion and the Lamb rocks to reach the start of the ridge. When you’ve just done a steep climb, it’s natural to feel that you’re ‘at the top’. In our case, this assumption was to prove expensive… It was time to say goodbye to the glorious views of Grasmere – … Read More Above the Lion and the Lamb (Part Two)

August 6, 2019 + Ancient Landscapes, Collie dogs, Consciousness, English Lake District, Lake District, landscapes, nature, Photography, Places and Prose, Silent Eye School, Silent Eye Workshops, Travel and people, Travel and Photography, Your inner wolf

Above the Lion and the Lamb (Part One)

by Steve Tanham

We were delighted to meet up with some friends from the UK who had emigrated to New Zealand many years ago. Bernie went to school with Kathryn and the couple had kindly collected and put us up in Auckland – their home, now – at the end of our short cruise from Sydney, last November. Jon is a keen walker, and has fond memories … Read More Above the Lion and the Lamb (Part One)