Tag: meditation

Presence: seed and flower (1)

Our Silent Eye Explorations group meets online via Zoom on the third Sunday of the month at 8 pm UK time. For April, our topic is Presence. We live in an age that takes a lot of ideas lightly, professing a working familiarity with such things as meditation, mindfulness and the idea of presence. Are these separate, or do they overlap and even interact? … Read More Presence: seed and flower (1)

Two fools on the Hill

Like many who write on psychological or spiritual topics, I often wonder about the nature of time. Does it have an existence or is it solely a product of our interaction with a world that we consider to be ‘out-there’? Out-there is an interesting notion, for it immediately creates an ‘in-here’. What is the content of that? Does it have any substance? One of … Read More Two fools on the Hill

Ben’s Bit, part 15 – Bolero

Ben’s Bit, part 15 – Bolero At first, I think it’s a memory of a dream – of that night when knowledge of the unknown Miss Goodnight, soon to be Golding, came into my life. The heels on the concrete corridor this time are tapping a slower rhythm. It passes my cell door, rendering me fully awake, then diminishes as she walks further along the corridor. … Read More Ben’s Bit, part 15 – Bolero

Ben’s Bit, part 14 – A Pruning of Normality

“Tell us about normal, Ben?” asks Dr Grey, looking like a man rejuvenated, as he glances sideways for approval from the silent Governor. “In your own words, of course…” I try to stay calm. The three people in the room are transmitting a mixture of emotions at me. I’m very sensitive to that. It’s probably what led me to study spirituality. You can’t always … Read More Ben’s Bit, part 14 – A Pruning of Normality

Ben’s Bit, part 13 – The White Hot Blade of Separation

“And then there are the moments when the white hot blade of separation comes into your life, and everything changes. In the presence of such instantaneous power, you realise that the human view of transformation is impoverished by a lack of true experience at the edge, while your former life is separated from the now with a cut of such precision that it is … Read More Ben’s Bit, part 13 – The White Hot Blade of Separation

Ben’s Bit, part twelve – Cold Governance

Ben’s Bit, part twelve – Cold Governance There’s something about the door that terrifies me. I suspect that it’s still unlocked. But I won’t try it to see. To try it would risk some fragile things.  If it were locked and I had maintained my belief that Roger Sylvester, my new gaoler, being a good man, had left it open as a rebellious gesture against a system … Read More Ben’s Bit, part twelve – Cold Governance

Ben’s Bit, part eleven – Aspects of Power

Ben’s Bit, part eleven – Aspects of Power “Ben, I’ve got some good news and some bad news…” The Governor of Bakewell Gaol is enjoying himself, but there’s a deadly edge to the calm exterior manner. We are sitting in the ‘interview room’. We being the redoubtable Dr Grey, looking smug; his sexy assistant, Miss Goodnight of the Heels – nee Golding, who is not … Read More Ben’s Bit, part eleven – Aspects of Power

Ben’s Bit, part 10 – Six Faces of Fear

There is fury in Bakewell Gaol. Outside my cell, doors are being flung open, tables are being thumped and voices are raised in what serves as the interview room. Despite pressing my ear to the shuttered grill, through which Yellow Eyes often studies my incarcerated movements, I can never quite make out the details of the heated conversations. They wouldn’t be that stupid… How … Read More Ben’s Bit, part 10 – Six Faces of Fear

Ben’s Bit, part 8 – The Shimmering Hand

“I’m not your enemy, Ben …” Miss Goodnight looks calmly back along the line of my gaze which is focussed on the beautiful skin of her throat, where my second attempt to generate the flush of passion has just failed miserably. “I would really like to get to know you better,” she says, unconsciously running the capped end of her fountain pen over her bottom … Read More Ben’s Bit, part 8 – The Shimmering Hand