A READER'S GUIDE TO 'THE GOSPEL OF SILENCE: POEMS FOR THE LIVING ONE'
An inside look at the ideas and influences behind the book.
Acts 1:11 quote – I find it interesting that the passage of the Bible that references the ‘Second Coming’ occurs at 1:11, especially when you’re familiar with some of the more esoteric interpretations of what this event actually is. Coincidence, or was it placed in that particular verse by design?
A Dedication – A poem I wrote in 2008 after my first spiritual (‘peak’) experience occurred on the local seafront. It seemed fitting to include it at the beginning of this collection as the major themes are awakening and rebirth.
Faith – We start with the line ‘So, this is the Second Coming’, alluding both to the prophesied event and the famous W.B. Yeats poem of the same name. Rather than waste time dwelling on the terror and chaos of ‘the end of the world’, the poem quickly moves to the ‘silence’ (enlightenment) that comes after. In a way, this opening poem sums up the rest of the collection.
The Shift – We jump ahead to the end of the narrative, in prophetic fashion…
Tat Tvam Asi – ‘You Are That’ – And then go back to the ‘beginning’ in this poem adapted from the Chandogya Upanishad.
The Prophet – Now, our character ‘the Poet’ is introduced, having undergone some kind of injury that has spurred him on to look outside of the everyday world, and into the realms of the Prophetic.
Where The River Meets The Sea (i.) – And here is one of his poems, inserted into the narrative.
The Beast – Now we go back to the narrative strand introduced in the first two poems, and meet ‘The Beast’, again a reference to the W.B. Yeats poem ‘The Second Coming’ (‘And what rough beast, its hour come round at last / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?’) As in the Yeats poem, The Beast here is the embodiment of the dysfunction of the human ego, which must be redeemed and re-birthed for 'The Second Coming' to occur.
Aeon – Another poem from the Poet.
The Children of Babylon – A poem to introduce the Beast’s effect on the world he has enslaved, narrated by the mysterious ‘You’ the Poet has been writing to. The ‘You’ and the ‘Me’ becomes a kind of spiritual dialogue throughout the collection – a call and response with higher consciousness.
The Names of Rivers – Another poem narrated by Divine Consciousness.
Channels – A reinterpretation of the Biblical miracles. It’s here we find out where ‘Christ’ has been hiding, which sets up the later poem 'Ascension'…
The Daughters of Jerusalem – Now we come to a series of poems about divine intoxication, this one reminiscent of the Free Love of William Blake…
Crown – Here we meet The Goddess for the first time. This poem is narrated by the Goddess in her fallen (or ‘whore’) aspect.
Wine – A poem based on the work of Mirabai, again showing a kind of intoxicated and ecstatic spirituality.
Where The River Meets The Sea (ii.) – Another poem from The Poet.
Thomas – A poem based on the Gnostic 'Gospel of Thomas'. Here, the Poet becomes a Seer, or Prophet, channelling the voice of the Divine. This is the poem around which the collection pivots, as we finally meet 'The Living One'. We also get a clue as to the injury which rendered the Poet speechless, hinted at in the earlier poem 'The Prophet'.
Twelve Houses – Loosely based on astrology, the ‘Twelve Disciples’ have become the ‘Twelve Houses’ of the heart.
An Inquiry – The Prophet continues to align himself with Higher Consciousness (‘The One’).
Monad – The dance between Christ and the fallen Goddess, reminiscent of Shiva and Shakti. 'Monad' is a Gnostic term, which indicates a single or indivisible entity.
Pleroma – The Prophet surrenders to the Divine. 'Pleroma' in Gnosticism alludes to the spiritual universe as the abode of God and of the totality of the divine powers and emanations (in this collection, 'The Twelve'). In mystic Christianity, it is the totality or fullness of the Godhead which dwells in Christ.
Pray – Another of the Prophet’s poems. Prayer here becomes not a way of supplicating or looking outside of yourself for hope, but a way of turning within and becoming centred in the oneness of what is.
The Lotus – And another of the Prophet's poems…
Sophia – Here, the Goddess is given a name, and found. Sophia is the lost goddess of early Christianity, who was written out of the Biblical narrative as the tradition became institutionalised.
Disciples – The Twelve Houses become the attributes of the Spirit, or divine emanations, alive in every heart.
Throne – Another poem by the Prophet.
Master – Now, we return to our main narrative, as the Prophet's internal fight is elevated to the battlegrounds of eternity, ala The Bhagavad Gita.
The Key – The voice of the Divine, as we prepare for battle…
Signs of the Times – The Beast seems to be victorious, but there is the promise of some kind of redemption hidden in his victory.
Revelation – Now Christ joins with the Goddess, who here symbolises ‘the body’ of creation. I was thinking in terms of the Tantric dance between Shiva and Shakti, Shiva being the purity of consciousness and Shakti representing the forms that fill it. The Divine Masculine joins with the Divine Feminine, in preparation for the war with the Beast.
Gnosis – The Prophet sees Divinity directly, in a moment of Cosmic Consciousness, or Gnosis.
Apocalypse – The battle with the Beast. The Beast falls when he is made to realise that the whole of creation is Divine. ‘Resurrection’ becomes the One Eternal Being, without beginning or end, that we all partake in. All is subject to endless rebirth.
Ascension – Now we return to the Acts 1:11 quote, but here it is revealed that rather than going ‘up’ into Heaven, Christ went ‘within’ to wait for a time when humanity would achieve a greater degree of awareness, and embody their Divine potential.
One Son – The ‘One Son’ of God, is the ‘One Body’ of creation.
Truth – The Dead are before the Throne, a reference to the Book of Revelation, and are redeemed in the hearts of those who see through the eyes of the Spirit.
A New Earth – And now we return to the ending, previously hinted at in 'The Shift'. The dividing lines of the mind are broken down and resolved back into the oneness of Love/God/Being. The idea of consciousness as a singularity first appeared in my work back in 2017, in one of the poems included in 'The Stranger', the first book of Where Words Are Yet To Be Spoken. As with many of the ideas and themes in The Gospel of Silence, I feel like the idea of 'the singularity' re-appeared in this collection and led to a culmination of all my writing so far. It's an end that signals a new beginning, which leads directly into the last poem...
Spirit – The Prophet has the final words, as the call and response between the ‘You’ and ‘Me’, Divinity and Mankind, collapses into a feeling of oneness, and his voice takes on a Christ-like aspect. We return to the opening line ‘So, this is the Second Coming’, which here takes on a different context. By elevating his consciousness, the Prophet's rebirth has made it possible for others to follow in his footsteps. ‘The Second Coming’ then becomes not an event in time, but an awakening to the Divine nature of creation, and everything within it. In keeping with the title, this big revelation actually happens in a moment of quiet illumination. From the silence, ultimately, a new way of being is born. As one world ends, another begins...
​
​
​