"WHO AM I, but just one more of those who, since time began, have walked the hills and gazed upon the stars? When we, with heart outstretched, feel close to God, it's safer to be humble than to think we know. Experience, however, is given to be shared. While others receive otherwise, each part unique, though incomplete, contributes to the whole." John Butler has been practising meditation for over 50 years. In these conversations with Phil Shankland in Bakewell Parish Church and in locations around Bakewell he addresses questions arising from his books and questions from viewers.
All content for Spiritual Unfoldment With John Butler is the property of Spiritual Unfoldment With John Butler and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
"WHO AM I, but just one more of those who, since time began, have walked the hills and gazed upon the stars? When we, with heart outstretched, feel close to God, it's safer to be humble than to think we know. Experience, however, is given to be shared. While others receive otherwise, each part unique, though incomplete, contributes to the whole." John Butler has been practising meditation for over 50 years. In these conversations with Phil Shankland in Bakewell Parish Church and in locations around Bakewell he addresses questions arising from his books and questions from viewers.
Depression afflicts many of us at some stage in our life. John is no exception. In this video he reflects on his own experience of depression and whether, in fact, depression can be our teacher. Being half-Russian also gives John a deeper insight into the nature of depression - not only at a personal level but maybe as part of a national psyche. He tells us how he unexpectedly started a degree in Russian Studies at Nottingham University aged 51 and, after graduation, spent 5 1/2 years in Russia - "One of the most fulfilling and interesting times of my life". As he explains, "Accustomed to being half-different, Russia showed me a world where the 'difference' belonged. It made me completely happy
Whence comes this longing for the stars? Even the stars aren't big enough. It's a longing for the infinite beyond. I did see it. That's what changed my life. I knew that's what I wanted and nothing in this world could match it.
Jesus said "the kingdom is within you." What does that mean? How can we experience the kingdom of God for ourselves? In this conversation with Phil Shankland in Bakewell parish church John Butler - organic farmer and mystic - reflects on what 50 years of meditation has taught him about seeking first the kingdom of God.
What is an angel? Something that does the will of God without question? Anything that accepts and fulfils the will of God? What is not angelic? Me. I’ve sung my song and been taken to ... completion. Just This. It comes to This!
Many viewers have asked for a 'John Butler guide to meditation'. Here it is. You may be surprised at the simplicity of this 'common sense' guide when there are so many alternative methods trumpeted about. Here, step by step, John talks you through the meditation practice he learned when he was a young man and has been practising for 60 years. This simple practice has gradually revealed to John what we all long for. Freedom.
Ben from Nomad Season chats to John in Chakra about the nomad life they share. "I never really felt I belonged in this world. I had my years in a motor caravan – not always happy ones – but I remember them with affection. I am a nomad in my heart."
In these two pocket-sized, companion volumes of 180 pages each, John presents the dawning of Oneself – our One complete existence, in all considered separate or lost today. His clear sighted, simple words, written directly from experience, encourage us to seriously receive those spiritual ‘Treasures in Heaven’ which bring enlightenment to worldly life and accompany the soul beyond the grave …
If you have been on a retreat with John Butler, you will know that he hosts impromptu chats after breakfast each morning. In this, the first at Cliff College, he addresses:
making the world a better place
what are thoughts?
sin as absence from the presence of God
what man is/is not
thinking is mindache
judge not
what am I here for?
the humility of failure
YouTube viewer Rowan Daly asks John Butler, "If there are so many people alive right now, then how does what we do as individuals matter?" John answers from his own experience as a young man who wanted to "Make the world a better place". Through long periods of loneliness and failure, he's continued to meditate and eventually find "Infinite completion."
One of the principal questions that human beings have wrestled with since time began - why do we suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people? John, too, wrestles with the answers.
"In this impromptu chat at a Cliff College retreat John reflects on:
what is God?
the real teacher is Presence
what is substantial?
to make whole be whole
the body is crystallised Spirit
what is Jesus?
everything is perfect as it is
in Truth nothing matters; in Ignorance everything matters
the sunshine of unconditional love
the Prodigal Son
John discusses being called ""Mr Nothing"", organic farmer and his discomfort with the title ""mystic,"" although he acknowledges its embrace of the unknowable
"In this impromptu chat, the second at Cliff College, John addresses:
differences between Eastern and Western Christianity
origins of 'The Jesus Prayer'
on Russia - ""These people are my people""
in the real world there is no death
when present we are 'in love' and free from fear
why love affairs go wrong
in the real world there is only one time - eternity
pure and impure, divine and demonic
meditation is the practice of letting go attachment to our separate identity
we can never not be in Jesus
be determined for freedom
how to deal with thoughts
whatever you attend to expands and seems more real
practical exercise in the use of 'The Jesus Prayer'
In this intimate portrait of his life as a farmer, traveller and spiritual journeyman, with reference to his upcoming new books, John Butler takes us on a journey of a life spanning the English Fens to the Russian tragedy of Revolution and its aftermath - all teaching us how to "bear an unbearable world." It includes clips from the newly available 1975 BBC documentary 'Three Acres at Bicker Fen'.
"After nearly a year’s immersion in the wide open spaces of Australia and the wonder of a long sea voyage it was very hard to come back. In fact, I don’t think I ever have come back to what you might call conventional life.“
"WHO AM I, but just one more of those who, since time began, have walked the hills and gazed upon the stars? When we, with heart outstretched, feel close to God, it's safer to be humble than to think we know. Experience, however, is given to be shared. While others receive otherwise, each part unique, though incomplete, contributes to the whole." John Butler has been practising meditation for over 50 years. In these conversations with Phil Shankland in Bakewell Parish Church and in locations around Bakewell he addresses questions arising from his books and questions from viewers.
