Sometimes a moment of deep presence arrives…
… an owl appearing on a nearby branch… a sudden understanding about something you’ve been holding on to… the feeling of being seen in a way that makes you soften…
And the only thing that feels true enough to hold it is one line, one image — a small poem that distills everything down to what really matters.
Across centuries, some of the clearest expressions of spiritual awakening have appeared this way — not as doctrine or philosophy, but as poetry. The ecstatic verses of Rumi and Hafiz. The expansive vision of Walt Whitman. The precise, luminous observations of Mary Oliver.
This living intersection between poetry and awakening lies at the heart of the work of author and spiritual teacher Steve Taylor, PhD.
Join Steve for a free online event where he’ll invite you to explore how creativity and awakening often arise together — and how writing even a few lines of poetry can reconnect you with meaning, your true essence, and the quiet intelligence of the moment.
Steve is the author of many bestselling books on psychology and spirituality, along with four books on spiritual poetry, including his latest book Back to Stillness. A senior lecturer in psychology and a former chair of the Transpersonal Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society, he’s spent decades exploring how spiritual awakening unfolds in ordinary life.
What makes Steve’s approach so refreshing is its simplicity. Awakening isn’t something distant or mysterious. It’s a shift in perception — a way of seeing the world more vibrantly, feeling more connected to life around you, and recognizing the deeper awareness already embodied within you.
And that’s exactly what this hour with Steve is all about.
He’ll share some of his own spiritual poetry and guide you through a meditationdesigned to quiet the mental commentary that often fills our attention. As you become more present, you’ll likely find that your vision is more vital and immediate — the way you may have experienced the world as a child, before everything was filtered through language and concepts.
Steve will introduce the ancient poetic form of haiku, originally created to capture a brief flash of suchness — life exactly as it is — crystallized into just a few words: a single image, a moment suspended. You’ll be invited to write one yourself, if you choose — not as a technical exercise, but as a simple way of expressing the absolute essence of what you’re actually living.
And, in doing so, you may discover that creativity doesn’t need to be forced. You don’t need to be a poet, or have ever written a poem before!
A poem becomes a way of embodying a moment when the world suddenly feels alive, pulsing, and more intimate — and recognizing yourself as inseparable from it.
