SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: #Silenti

I’d never been to Brixham. Years ago, I stayed in Torquay for a night and noticed there was a ferry service between the two towns. At the time, I knew little about the nautical history of this ‘place at the end of Torbay’, and I had to be on the train back to London for an important meeting before lunchtime. But it went in … Read More Devon Drive (2) – Brixham in three photos

December 8, 2022 + #Silenti, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Higher Mind, Mindfulness, Photography

Permisson to be upset…

by Steve Tanham

(Above: An orderly bicycle. Photo and title by the author) I was watching a YouTube video the other day. Made by ‘Sadhguru’ – a favourite spiritual teacher. See end of this post for an example of one of his talks. He came out with the phrase; “I do not give you permission to upset me”. His audience fell silent. Who had upset him? And … Read More Permisson to be upset…

December 6, 2022 + #Humour, #Silenti, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

North by Northwest

by Steve Tanham

It sits over the ocean like one of the spice-navigated, space-time warping Guild Ships from Frank Herbert’s novel ‘Dune’. It’s probably an old lighthouse extended into a cafe…probably. In front of it, in futuristic letters, forged into the stone of the pier, is a giant metal compass dial, announcing to those passing that this landing space is designated ‘North by Northwest’. Which may be … Read More North by Northwest

December 4, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye School, Travel, Travel and people

Devon Drive (1)

by Steve Tanham

From the ages of two to fourteen, I lived in a small village called Ainsworth, halfway between Bolton and Bury, in old Lancashire. The streets in the new estate were named after places in Devon. The main trunk avenue, where our home was, was Devon Drive; others included Kingsbridge Avenue and Salcombe Avenue. I’d never been to Devon, and these sounded exotic. It was … Read More Devon Drive (1)

December 1, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, nature, Seasons, Four Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,, Summer Solstice, Time

What if the week didn’t exist? (2) : the planting of life-seeds

by Steve Tanham

At the close of last week’s post, we concluded that, although the ‘week’ was only broadly defined as a fraction of a moon-cycle, it had become an essential ‘container’ in our our outer lives. Our working and social existence depends on the week being in place. International travel would be unworkable unless we had agreement on which day of the week was being swept … Read More What if the week didn’t exist? (2) : the planting of life-seeds

November 29, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, Love

It’s a liquid?

by Steve Tanham

“It’s a liquid?” “Well, I’d say it’s a kind of liquid” “Because?“ “Because it’s warm and flows?” “And rises?” “Yes. Rises like a warm liquid rises.” “Could it not be a gas?” “I don’t think so…” “Why not?” Because is doesn’t feel like a gas flows, it feels like a liquid flows.” “I agree. Though I’m not sure we have the proof for that.” … Read More It’s a liquid?

November 27, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Consciousness, English Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography

Pale sun, November river…

by Steve Tanham

That moment when you look up and realise that the sun is as high as it’s going to get … and, yes, it’s the end of November. On our ‘town and castle’ walk, the Collie and I pass over this old stone bridge and gaze down at the silver-gold of the river Kent. And reflect… ©Stephen Tanham 2022 Stephen Tanham is a Director of … Read More Pale sun, November river…

November 24, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, nature, Seasons, Four Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,, Summer Solstice, Time

What if the week didn’t exist? – Part 1

by Steve Tanham

I don’t know about you, but I find the week comforting… Over the years, I’ve built up a pattern of working through things that I need to do, in order to get to the things I regard as ‘me-time’. There is the stuff of keeping an orderly house. Then the dog has to be walked… and time to visit my mother in her care … Read More What if the week didn’t exist? – Part 1

November 22, 2022 + #Humour, #Silenti, Dark Humour, English Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

Goths on the Lake?

by Steve Tanham

A mid-November trip to Keswick and one of its two lakes – Derwent Water. The last few days of the visit of our artist friend from Oz, before she leaves for a final rendezvous in Manchester and then the long journey back home to Melbourne. A week with us then she had two days with a fellow artist and his engineer wife… who happen … Read More Goths on the Lake?

November 20, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose, Travel and Photography

The bridge over the railway at Grange

by Steve Tanham

The railway made Grange-over-Sands; and part of that legacy is a wonderful but decidedly odd-looking metal bridge over the line as you’re leaving the town to the West – in the direction of Barrow-in-Furness. It’s a favourite piece of architecture – mainly for the photogenic views up the line, as in the cover shot… The giant L-shaped structure dominates this part of the promenade. … Read More The bridge over the railway at Grange

November 17, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, esoteric psychology, Mindfulness, Mystery Schools, Psychology, Silent Eye School

Representing the Invisible

by Steve Tanham

For this you were called, created, formed and made… The human mind has always sought to represent the invisible… A feeling might be represented by high art, such as Michelangelo’s marble sculpture ‘Pietà’, in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. To stand before the Pieta sculpture is to be drawn into the emotion of Christ’s mother, holding the crucified body of her son, Jesus Christ. … Read More Representing the Invisible

November 15, 2022 + #Silenti, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Silent Eye School, Travel, Travel and Photography

Orkney’s hidden jewel – the Stromness Museum

by Steve Tanham

My iPad, on which I do most of my writing, these days, threw up a random picture of a marine clock the other day. I recognised it as dating to when we made our first visit to Orkney in 2018, staying in the busy port of Stromness. Stromness has an excellent local history museum. An entire room is concerned with the town’s links to … Read More Orkney’s hidden jewel – the Stromness Museum