I remember my opening thought was ‘how am I going to convey the size and beauty of this place with mere photographs!?’ I had never heard of the Gouffre Géant
Category: #Silenti
Shooting the FairiesShooting the Fairies
I’ve always had an open mind on the reality of ‘fairies’ – earth elementals to magical folk, and a very real presence to many in our woodland, and particularly landscapes with streams.
Bigness…Bigness…
Some landscapes are just so ‘big’ – in several ways – that you can feel your self being drawn out from your body and into them. There to ‘fly around’,
The Last PieceThe Last Piece
The power of the jigsaw Can only come through When all the pieces Are correctly aligned. What seemed academic Is revealed as the key To a higher understanding… ———- ©Stephen
The Mystery of Intelligent Inner FireThe Mystery of Intelligent Inner Fire
There is a mysterious fire within the human being. All of us have it, and it’s waiting to serve us … but in most, it is left dormant. The Alchemists named it
Darkness and her brotherDarkness and her brother
We often hear the phrase, ‘there’s always light and dark’: two things that stand in polarity – opposition, even – but do we ever stop to let the mind and
Where the rocket fuel is…(1)Where the rocket fuel is…(1)
We could liken ourselves to a tall rocket, layered into functions. At the top would be the most sophisticated ‘computer’ the world has ever seen – the human brain. Below
Trailing clouds of gloryTrailing clouds of glory
(Above: the southern tip of Grasmere Lake, one of Wordsworth’s favourite places. The February colours will change, dramatically, soon…) It’s February; cold and wet, now… But in a few month’s
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,
The touch of experience (3)The touch of experience (3)
(📩700 words, a ten-minute read, final part) In Part Two, the ‘Apple’ became a friend that helped us quieten the mind’s focus on concentration (of things) and created a ‘light
The touch of experience (2)The touch of experience (2)
(📩740 words, a ten-minute read) We were last seen staring at an apple; an apple that had become the enemy… The ‘habitual mind’ had objected to our creation of a
The touch of experience (1)The touch of experience (1)
(📩740 words, a ten-minute read) To enter a process of mystical training is often considered an intellectual experience, with limited connection to everyday experience. In practice, the opposite is true.
In the world but not of it (3) : True to TypeIn the world but not of it (3) : True to Type
Not ‘typing’ in the sense of my fingers tapping across this keyboard. Something else is conveyed, here: the idea that although we are each a unique example of walking, talking
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
In the world but not of it (2) : Holes in the SoulIn the world but not of it (2) : Holes in the Soul
It has been a thing of joy to me that most of the writers and teachers who have a desire to communicate the ‘mysteries’ of the human soul use the same
Be in the world but not of it (1)Be in the world but not of it (1)
There is a famous phrase, attributed to the Sufi tradition: Be in the world but not of it… The sentiment refers to how an individual views their life, and also
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.
Shells from an Inner Sea (1)Shells from an Inner Sea (1)
The German girl was speaking. “It was as though I was picking up shells in a stream by a beach … where every shell pointed back to another, until I
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:
The hidden waterways of Bolton-le-SandsThe hidden waterways of Bolton-le-Sands
It’s like a Dutch canal system in miniature. It’s usually freezing cold, and seems to go dark quicker, there, than anywhere else we visit. Welcome to the hidden gem of
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
00Self00Self
This Sunday is the third of the month, and we have our SE-Explorations talk over Zoom; linking a growing group of people across the world in friendly yet deep explorations