SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: #Silent Eye

May 29, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Consciousness, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Scotland

Seven Splendours

by Steve Tanham

The first week of our Scottish Highland trip is over. At the time of writing, I’m sitting in the back of the car, headed for Ullapool; the gateway to the Outer Hebrides. The ferry will take three hours to transport the four of us to Stornaway,, the capital town of the linked island of Lewis and Harris. I’m glad to be moving on. The … Read More Seven Splendours

May 26, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Photography

Heroes in a Landscape (3) Learning from Nature

by Steve Tanham

Continued from Part Two… My phone wasn’t dead – it looked perfectly bright against the dark landscape, but it wasn’t responding to any finger gestures. And it contained my copy of the script, now locked away by the storm. I reached into my ‘Fool’s’ kit bag, a sturdy old canvas friend that I’ve used for years. Often in the run up to workshops, I … Read More Heroes in a Landscape (3) Learning from Nature

May 24, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Collie dogs, humour, Pet Heaven, Photography

A Poolewe diary (1)

by Steve Tanham

A what? I can hear you think… I’d never heard of it, either. Poolewe is a small lochside community between Ullapool and Gairloch in the far north-west of Scotland. If you were to sail due west – which you can’t because the loch points acutely north-west, bordered on both sides – you’d come to the island of Lewis and Harris, the major part of … Read More A Poolewe diary (1)

May 17, 2022 + #NightMoves, #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography

From beneath

by Steve Tanham

Photographs are meant to be taken from above, except…. Except when they’re not, and there’s some compelling reason to take them from beneath. Often, I walk the collie in the early evenings. It’s impossible in the winter, except with a flashlight; and then you get strange looks. But in spring and summer, you can still find strong evening sunlight – full of golds – … Read More From beneath

May 10, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, humour

Spirituality in Transition

by Steve Tanham

There are times when you know that a particular world is changing. By ‘world’ I mean a specific part of life, not the whole world, though that could be said to be in a state of apparently chaotic change, too… The ‘world’ I mean is that of spiritual teaching; and the challenges to its present methods come in various forms: The major one is … Read More Spirituality in Transition

April 21, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, enneagram, esoteric psychology, Higher Mind, meditation, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, Photography

Shaping the unshapeable

by Steve Tanham

We had a lively discussion the other night; ten of us linked at 8:00 pm, English time, across the planet… On these occasions, it’s hard not to be moved by the sheer wonder of technology in making the impossible possible. The ten of us – the number varies from month to month – are part of what we call SE-Explorations; ‘SE’ for Silent Eye, … Read More Shaping the unshapeable

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

April 7, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, Lake District, landscapes, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye Workshops

The preparation of Magical Landscapes (2)

by Steve Tanham

You begin with an idea; in this case an entire workshop held outdoors, in the vivid landscape of the English Lake District. It’s vast and wild… and you have no control over the weather, not even in May. The goal is for those attending to experience themselves in a new way. In these dramatic surroundings, and in the midst of warm companionship, we can … Read More The preparation of Magical Landscapes (2)

April 5, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, nature, Photography

Yellow and Blue

by Steve Tanham

I’ve always been a bit artistic, but more of an illustrator than a painter. Sue Vincent was our painter, and a very good one – though she was modest about her achievements. In the early days of the Silent Eye, Sue and I worked together to create a version of the Silent Eye’s enneagram – seemingly, a nine-pointed star, until you look deeper – … Read More Yellow and Blue

April 3, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Esoteric Meaning of Myth, Lake District, landscapes, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye Workshops

The preparation of Magical Landscapes (1)

by Steve Tanham

There’s no ‘But what is it’, today. The series will continue for a few weeks, restarting next Sunday. Three of us have been busy doing a ‘dry run’ of the plans for our ‘Journey of the Hero’ workshop 6-8 May, centred in Keswick. We’ve been crossing lakes, walking up hills and following rivers to mysterious stone structures… Oh, and a quick visit to a … Read More The preparation of Magical Landscapes (1)

March 31, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Initiation, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools

Reaching Realisation

by Steve Tanham

The purpose of language is to convey meaning. We cannot convey meaning directly because it exists in an invisible mental realm unique to the individual. We all live in slightly different worlds, based on our own experience. As a tribe, society or country, we each agree to subscribe to the inherent values present in that shared group. We use language to pass meaning to … Read More Reaching Realisation

March 15, 2022 + #Poetry, #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, landscapes, Memories, Mystical poetry, Photographic techniques, Photography

Rivers of the Sun

by Steve Tanham

And did we dare, upon these rugged Yorkshire hills. To dream we could, then frame in would, then do… Life mirrored in the human word, embracing those who spoke it With commitment and with love That, flowing into what was seen up high, in heather heaven Became, like sparkling stream in winter, a promise. -;–;–;- Then, eight circles later of the Sun, you left … Read More Rivers of the Sun