(📩 650 words, Travel musings, photography, a five minute read) There’s something defining about the tall wooden figure facing off across the busy harbour-front road with its opponent: the icy
Category: photography
Long Naked DivisionLong Naked Division
Stark, naked, the long cold night of winter Draws my will to live in shapes Whose beauty lies in number, Unseen to hands that touch My rough and dusty bark…
Structures of UnfoldingStructures of Unfolding
(📩100 words, a one-minute read) The sky lit bright with promise The dark earth sodden and soft The tree – the form returning life will use to shape itself. Like,
Signing off for 2023 – Happy Christmas!Signing off for 2023 – Happy Christmas!
With this post I’ll be signing off for the rest of 2023 and the first week in 2024. I’m sure we all need a recharge, and I find the festive
SoddenSodden
Sodden, like a soldier’s backpack hauled across the final freezing mile. The face of one determined To outlive, within an icy smile. A green chord, stroked arpeggio Denied its solemn
Shells from an Inner Sea (3 of 3): the inner flowShells from an Inner Sea (3 of 3): the inner flow
When we find that the process of inner inquiry described in the last two posts actually works, and we see that ‘finding out’ things about our inner lives is both
The surrender of final beautyThe surrender of final beauty
Sometimes, the moment just is … in all its beauty. The leaves, their work done, let go the link to their sustenance and fall through space to an unknown place, where their
Shells from an Inner Sea (2) A fresh look at the ‘now’Shells from an Inner Sea (2) A fresh look at the ‘now’
We are urged by spiritual writers to ‘live in the now’. We might reasonably ask how we might live anywhen else, but that would go against the spirit of such good advice.
What hollow world lies hidden?What hollow world lies hidden?
—-//—- What hollow world lies hidden Within these solid forms, Inviting me with eyes and mind to follow? How would I live as leaf or twig Or fruit as berry:
Notes from Explorers (2) the mystery and magic of identityNotes from Explorers (2) the mystery and magic of identity
On the third Sunday of every month, the Silent Eye hosts a Zoom-based discussion to explore one of the core topics of modern mysticism. This series of ongoing posts features
A Donegal Journey (4) : The Ring on the HillA Donegal Journey (4) : The Ring on the Hill
The wind howled at us as we left the car park to climb the strange hill to The Grianan of Aileach. It’s in the Republic of Ireland, near the border with
Beyond the Silver ShoreBeyond the Silver Shore
And will we weep while mammon rages. Beyond that silver shore. Heated words in anguished cages Fading, falling, dew so slow Reflecting endless sea With mind that longs for other
Gold and GreyGold and Grey
I love that moment – when summer sun and dark clouds fight to cover the land below in a fast-moving and alternating patchwork of colour and it’s absence. If there’s
Wet Summer LightWet Summer Light
Ulverston on a June day. Immediately after a dowsing in one of the rainstorms that have ended two solid months of sunshine and blue skies here in the extreme north-west
#Phoetry – Being in Sunshine#Phoetry – Being in Sunshine
Soft paw from softer body rises Warm tongue licks away the dust A scrawl of cables underlines the difference Between the self contained- The loving organic And human objects of
Where Seagulls DareWhere Seagulls Dare
(Unseen… till later, The whirling seagulls) Didn’t know they were there until I was reviewing the photos later – the seagulls. A whole flock of them whirling overhead, back right
Long and winding roadLong and winding road
(Above: passing through the Cumbrian village of Skelsmergh) The small village of Skelsmergh lies at the end of one of the long, twisty lanes that follow the valley of the
Wildflower MeadowsWildflower Meadows
Perhaps the loveliest we’ve ever seen. Any guesses where? Post update 19:00 Tuesday 13 Jun. The location was Hampton Court Palace, next to the River Thames. Several people guessed correctly,
Lines on the mirror…Lines on the mirror…
Eagles album: Hotel California ©Stephen Tanham 2023 Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, a journey through the forest of personality to the dawn of Being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog
Water-Circle+Cross (3) Roof of the WorldWater-Circle+Cross (3) Roof of the World
(Above: the beauty of Lake Windermere in the May sunshine. The day had begun well…) The Saturday morning of the Silent Eye’s 2023 ‘walking workshop’ – Circle-Water+Cross, began in glorious sunshine.
Lancaster’s canal – a local photo tourLancaster’s canal – a local photo tour
Just down from the extensive Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI), and passing under the busy A6 road from the south, there begins one of the most attractive sections of the old
One god of twoOne god of two
One god of two, she chooses From the young faces at the bar While he, her husband? To be or not… Long, lean and known to her every wish Smiles
Water+Circle+Cross (2) “…a spell that changed my life.”Water+Circle+Cross (2) “…a spell that changed my life.”
In 1930, a 23 year old accountant from Blackburn arrived by train for a holiday in the small town of Windermere, high above the lake that shares its name. He
Sunrise at AmlwchSunrise at Amlwch
Each May and November, we like to spend a few days on the Welsh island of Anglesey. It’s hard to say what draws us back, year after year, but there
Water-Circle+Cross (1) Coffee under the old woman’s claifeWater-Circle+Cross (1) Coffee under the old woman’s claife
What’s a claife? Actually a Claife… we’ll get to that. The Silent Eye’s spring workshop (SE23) began in glorious May sunshine, as those attending – our companions – began to