Steve Taylor - The Clear Light: Spiritual Reflections and Meditations

Praise for The Clear Light From the opening poem, a loving invitation to meet in the purity of presence, to the closing parable of the wave that falls in love with itself and forgets its the ocean, Steve Taylor has gifted us with a collection of illuminating, heartful incantations, meditations, reflections, and above all, direct pointers to our nondual spiritual nature, in which all our unhealed suffering and trauma resolve in the clear light of the present. This is a book to dip into and savor again and again. Stephan Bodian, author of
Wake Up Now and Beyond Mindfulness Each poem in this book offers us a beautiful piece of wisdom. Steve Taylor writes with the quiet, humble assurance of a Zen master and also with sparks of the passion of Rumi and Hafiz. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone on a spiritual path in need of guidance on how best to live their daily life with mindfulness, heart, and equanimity. The gift of The Clear Light is that it gently wakes us up.

I guarantee that if you spend a few days simply allowing Steves words to percolate into your heart, you will find that your consciousness expands. Serge Beddington-Behrens, author of
Awakening the Universal Heart and Gateways to the Soul In this time of anxiety about the future, Steve Taylor brings us the gift of poetic meditations to rest deeply in the living, loving now. He invites us not just to rest but also to be openly compassionate and to live courageously. Keep The Clear Light close by to nourish your spirit. Loch Kelly, author of
The Way of Effortless Mindfulness THE Clear
Light Also by Steve Taylor Out of TimeThe FallMaking TimeWaking from SleepOut of the DarknessBack to SanityThe MeaningNot I, Not Other Than I: The Life and Teachings of Russel WilliamsThe Calm CenterThe LeapSpiritual Science THE Clear
Light Spiritual Reflections
and Meditations STEVE TAYLOR Foreword by ECKHART TOLLEAn Eckhart Tolle Edition New World Library
Novato, California

An Eckhart Tolle Edition www.eckharttolle.com

New World Library 14 Pamaron Way Novato, California 94949

Copyright 2020 by Steve Taylor All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Taylor, Steve, date, author. Title: The clear light : spiritual reflections and meditations / Steve Taylor ; introduction by Eckhart Tolle. Description: Novato, California : New World Library, [2020] | An Eckhart Tolle edition | Summary: A collection of brief lyric poems about meditation, spiritual enlightenment, and the search for transcendence.-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020025512 (print) | LCCN 2020025513 (ebook) | ISBN 9781608687121 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781608687138 (epub) Subjects: LCGFT: Poetry. Classification: LCC PR6120.A97 C57 2020 (print) | LCC PR6120.A97 (ebook) | DDC 821/.92--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025512 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025513 First printing, September 2020 ISBN 978-1-60868-712-1 Ebook ISBN 978-1-60868-713-8 Printed in the United States on 30% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

New World Library is proud to be a Gold Certified Environmentally Responsible Publisher.

10987654321 Contents And God said, Let there be light,
and there was light. 10987654321 Contents And God said, Let there be light,
and there was light.

According to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the creation of light preceded even the creation of the sun and the other celestial bodies. In fact, this light appears to be a prerequisite for the creation of the cosmos (a Greek word that translates as order). It is clearly the case, therefore, that the word light is used here to refer to something much deeper than that which can be perceived by our sense of sight. It is a word derived from the realm of sensory perception, but it points to a mystery that is prior to and beyond the world of appearances and manifestation. Perhaps we could describe it as the organizing principle that guides the evolution of life throughout the universe, an infinite, eternal, and transcendent consciousness that gradually expresses itself more and more fully in the dimension of space and time. This would imply that the creation of the universe is by no means finished yet, but is a process that is ongoing, and that humans, too, are a work in progress.

There is an evolutionary impulse that drives all life-forms toward greater consciousness, toward enLIGHTenment! When Jesus said, You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), he was speaking to every human being. He was able to make this assertion because he had realized this reality within himself and was therefore able to state unequivocally, I am the light of the world (John 8:12). Similarly, in Mahayana Buddhism, the term clear light is synonymous with luminous mind, which refers to the Buddha-nature that is the essence deep within every life-form. Steve Taylors The Clear Light is not only a book of inspiring spiritual and poetic reflections, but also a powerful and invaluable guide to the realization of who or what you are beyond the conditioned mind. If you read this book slowly, attentively, and repeatedly, it can take you beyond identification with the content of your mind and into the clear light of present-moment awareness. This book will show you how every situation you encounter can become an opening into the state of presence.

Performing a routine task is suddenly experienced as deeply fulfilling; you discover magic in ordinary, everyday objects; being present in nature gives you a glimpse of sacredness and self-transcendence; and even stress, conflict, and suffering can bring about a spiritual awakening. If used rightly (and if you are ready), this book can transform your state of consciousness as you read. You then no longer derive your sense of identity from your personal history, but from a much deeper place, and you realize that you are, indeed, the light of the world. Eckhart Tolle, author of
The Power of Now and A New Earth Lets meet without pretense without hierarchies of status or artificial shows of respect without trying to impress each other with our knowledge or charm or humor. Lets meet without fear of exposing our vulnerabilities without being embarrassed by our need for love or pretending to be self-sufficient. Lets meet without the past without letting our urge to connect be obstructed by old resentments without letting our natural empathy be blocked by hard, fixed prejudice.

Lets meet without insecurity knowing that we dont have to prove that were worthy of each others affection since love doesnt need to be earned or gained but simply allowed to flow. Lets meet without intentions without any designs or goals knowing we dont have to try to relate to each other because were already related knowing that theres nothing we need to do except allow ourselves to be. Lets meet purely in presence without any conditions or concepts knowing that in essence we are the same and that in being we are one. There is nothing that cant be undone no past injury that cant be healed no past mistake that cant be corrected in the clear light of the present. Every past action that arose from spite can be redeemed by kindness in the clear light of the present. Every action that arose from ignorance can be redeemed by wisdom in the clear light of the present.