Books by Steve Tanham

my books

The Life behind the books . . .

Most of the time, I'm busy being one of the three people who run the Silent Eye School. I am the primary author of the School's distance-learning course - a three year, experiential journey into the nature, origins and possibilites of transformation of what we view as our 'Self'.

Because of this commitment, I have to make sure that what I do for the School can also serve other purposes. The two books I have published so far (with a lot of help from Sue Vincent) are the result of weekend workshops we run. These are designed to deepen the mystical and magical experience of those attending by immersing them in a ritual drama in which they "play" a single character for the whole weekend in an evolving story. These are not your average workshops! But they are gently managed and loved by those whose lives have been enhanced by the experience; and whose testimonials and personal stories form an important part of the books below.

We're definitely not "fluffy" . . .

The Books

The Song of the Troubadour

Kindle and Amazon Paperback (135 pages)

The Song of the Troubadour was the name of the Silent Eye's inaugural workshop. The book contains both a transcript of the ritual dramas; and the personal experiences of those attending who played the various roles. Held in April, 2013. It tells the story of two Troubadours - travelling spiritual minstrels who journey in search of a mysterious King. They are given a strange child to look after - one whose cynical adult self has never developed and who can 'see' in ways which are normally veiled by the usual development of Ego and Personality.

The troubadours find themselves trapped in a snowstorm, high in a moutain pass, along with a varied group of other travellers also seeking refuge. They come across an ancient monastery, whose 'Keepers' - a mystical order sworn to protect those who pass from the land of Andasola to the high land beyond the peaks, are highly attuned to the psychological and spiritual needs of their guests.

The Keepers recognise that the eclectic group sheltering under their roof have arrived for a spiritual reason, and set about letting that purpose become known to their guests, despite much initial resistance on their part. The outer layers of personality are stripped away as the Keepers, aided by the adept Troubadours, weave a strange magic - one centred on the mysterious child.

The climax of the drama sees the leading figures among the travellers accept their destiny, working together to bring a great opportunity to fruition.

The story of the Troubadours is used to illustrate the spiritual principles of the Enneagram, a mysterious nine-sided figure brought to the West by Gurdjieff in the early years of the last century. The Enneagram is one of the core teaching symbols of the Silent Eye School.

Teaching via guided meditative journeys and dramatic, acted stories are two of the main methods used by the School. Learning by this approach - in conjunction with illustrated theory techniques, invokes the emotional intelligence as well as the power of the mind.

Real spiritual development begins with a change of perspective. In this book, we reveal how that can be achieved via ritual drama, within the loving and holding context of a real School of the Soul.

The book also opens a window onto the workings of a modern Mystery school, sharing the accounts of some of those who attended the weekend as well as the detailed script of the powerful ritual drama. If you have ever wondered what really goes on... this book is for you.

The Land of the Exiles

Kindle and Amazon Paperback (179 pages)

The interstellar starship Hawk has crash-landed on the planet Idos. The crew awake from cryogenic sleep to find that their captain is missing and the ship has been taken over by a cyborg, named Setaxa, who bends them to his will, making them play out the stories of the ancient gods of Egypt as it seeks to understand what it is to be human.

Their only hope of survival lies in the strange touch of the Mindstream, and their own inner hearts. Land of the Exiles is practical guide to a fully scripted ritual workshop from the Silent Eye, a modern Mystery School. With contributions from Sue Vincent, Stuart France and some of the Companions of the Hawk… those who shared the ritual… who give a glimpse of how such a workshop really works.

This unusual book not only tells the story of the ritual dramas for the Silent Eye's 2014 workshop, but, between each transcript, reveals the inner psychological and spiritual workings of what lies beneath the storyline. The book concludes with a vivid first-person account of the crumbling mind of the cyborg, Setaxa, as he realises that he has been inbued with both human and cybernetic elements - and that, despite his cruelty to the crew, the human elements are winning and something lost is emerging in the depths of his artifical psyche.

The Land of Exiles reveals some of the deeper workings of the modern Enneagram, a mysterious symbol brought to the West by Gurdjieff in the early years of the last century, and now used as a map of psycho-spiritual development by a growing tradition of down to earth spiritual teachers.

Real spiritual development begins with a change of perspective. In this book, we reveal how that can be achieved via ritual drama, within the loving and holding context of a real School of the Soul.

2010 - present

Ben's Bits: The Ballad of Bakewell Gaol

A graphic novel on Amazon Paperback and Kindle (38 pages)

What do you do when two of your best friends put you in gaol for a crime the three of you carried out... and leave you there?

The characters of Wen, Don and Ben in the Doomsday series by Stuart France and Sue Vincent are not-so-loosely based on the three people who run the Silent Eye School. Imagine, in real life, joining the other two one day for lunch and being told that you were being thrown behind bars... well, not you, exactly, but your character, Ben...

Not being the author of said books, you have little say over this, other than to object and take your proverbial bat home...

But, when the 'terrible twins', as Sue and Stuart have come to be known, then buy you a carefully engraved pocket watch and a copy of Oscar Wilde's 'Ballad of Reading Gaol' for your birthday, the plot thickens. The gifts come with a request: to create a three-part poem in classic ballad style, as used by Wilde in what is considered his greatest work. Each segment to be used as the opener for their next three books in the new series Lands of Exile... the cheek of it!

Soon, though, the creative possibilities begin to emerge. Take a modern, if relatively trivial crime - the relocation of an ancient saxon monument to where it originally stood. Add the incarceration of one of the three guilty parties (Ben - me); the other two having successfully fled the scene of Ben's arrest. Then mix in the spectrum of emotions that a 'successful businessman' (Ben) would feel at his imprisonment, awaiting trial... it's a heady mix and not for the faint-hearted.

So, after several, sulkily-extracted pints of Guinness, I agreed to do it.

The result is Ben's Bit: The Ballad of Bakewell Gaol, with apologies to Oscar Wilde, of whom I am a big fan. In the creation of it I tried to stay as true to the pathos and horror of Wilde's own incarceration as Ben searches for spiritual meaning in his lengthening imprisonment.

But Ben is not a passive character - he would not have been a 'successful businessman' in the first place, had he been so. He quickly passes through the first stage of the poem, entitled "Rage" and begins to explore the potential to create divisive polarity between those who control his fate. Soon, it becomes obvious that his harsh treatment has been engineered to make an example of him, to have him 'pilloried' in the local press as well as in the town which is the scene of his symbolic denial of liberty.

His new life, denied expression in the free world, can be seen as symbolic of the journey of the soul, 'imprisoned' in the world of matter.

'So maggot - former pillar tall

Of their community

Examined, tried, and now your kind

Demand they end your liberty

A pillory they have prepared

For public’s careful scrutiny'

Ben moves from the impotent early state of 'Rage' to the discovery that there are powerful forces at work in the local community, forces that vie for alternative exploitation of the prisoner. One, the authoritarian force, seeks to lengthen his imprisonment by implication of insanity; the other wants to use his knowledge of the esoteric and ancient nature of the relocated stone to further it's own questionable purposes... Stage two of the poem begins the consideration of the latter, under the heading, 'Mage'.

"The second force is subtly bred

As wealth and stealth extend their leach"

By stage three, 'Sage', Ben has run out of options, and the psychological darkness is closing in on him. Like the often referred to 'Dark night of the soul', Ben must face the potential of the loss of everything; seemingly abandoned by his friends, and facing a dark future, having refused the implied help of the questionable forces operating in his dreams and visions.

And then... from the most unlikely source, something wonderful happens; something that lifts his state of mind. The flickering candle of his life grows stronger, though his body is still a prisoner in the Victorian cell of Bakewell Gaol.

"With single candle lit and says,

“It is The Will, this dark descent,”

A modern story set in the conditions of long ago, The Ballad of Bakewell Gaol sets the scene for a gripping and tense tale of a man with no alternative but the face the truth about himself... and the new shape of his life.

The three of us were pleased with the result. Part one of their new series 'Lands of Exiles - But 'n' Ben' is now published and includes the first segment of the above ballad. I had not expected anything further in terms of publication. We met last week in the Derbyshire hills, in our regular monthly location not too far from where poor Ben languishes... and Sue and Stuart presented me with a lovely early Christmas present: they had - a total surprise to me - published my Ballad in the form of a graphic novel - a format the Silent Eye Press has had success with in the form of Mr Fox, a graphical story of the Langsett Fire Dancers.

Ben's Bit: The Ballad of Bakewell Gaol is a graphic novel, in poetic style, of 38 pages, written by me, Steve Tanham and designed and produced, in colour, by Sue Vincent and Stuart France. It is available in both Amazon paperback and Kindle formats.

The only thing that could make me happier is if a few folks bought a copy... all proceeds to the 'Bakewell Gaol abandoned and lost souls' Christmas fund, of course...

Thank you to Stuart, Sue, the much-abused and lovely town of Bakewell .... and anyone else who buys the Ballad of it's gaol.

The full novel of Ben's Bits - A Journey though Darkness, will continue to be serialised in this blog in the new year and released as a Kindle and Paperback book in the Spring.