JOHN HARRISON

JOHN HARRISON

Biography of a Poet I was born at home in a thunderstorm in April 1955,in West London ;my father Alan owned a Confectionary Store,worked hard and sent myself and my brother Dave, to good private schools.Although not academic,despite my dyslexia , I won a Literary Prize for Verse in 1971 . I began writing poetry in 1968,and later songs,articles,and have since self published 2 books,related to my career as a therapist and palmistry counsellor . My other main interests were religion,music and swimming .Because I have been spiritually gifted since childhood ,I studied esoteric philosophy ,was Chairman of the Theosophical Society[Olcott Lodge]in the late 1970’s ,then began practicing Yoga and Tai Chi Chuan;eventually training in Reiki Healing, as well as advanced forms of Chi Kung, such as Yi Jin Jing and Zhuang Zhong. After working in my father’s Confectionary Store for 12 years ,I trained in Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy .Then I created the profession of palmistry counselling ,wrote articles, lectured internationally ,and worked at Mind Body and Soul Exhibitions for 35 years. During this long period of time , I belonged to a number of spiritual paths,and practiced meditation,seeking the Path to Spiritual Enlightenment. I experienced 2 “samahdi’s” ,which expanded my consciousness ,and received a number of Initiations into Light and Sound. Early on, I had become a renunciant ,given up drinking alcohol, and becoming a vegetarian ,in order to purify my body ,so as to obtain insights and realisations in my practice . My earlier poetry ,focused on nature,my hatred of war ,and my love of God,expressed through my naive beliefs in a united peaceful humanity. Certain poems for me, stand out as representing those suppositions . In Nobody’s Fool,the IQ Zoo ,and the Thunderstorm Kid, the realities of school life and my early career show my disillusionment with education,and later the capitalist system,with its emphasis on greed,that almost brain washes people to act as automatons,for a mostly corporate industrial machine. Whilst employees and professionals ,receive monetary rewards,by which they can buy homes, cars and have a superficially luxurious life-style ,their souls are disregarded,and their happiness undermined by disillusionment,as their consciousness remains static and unchanging .This is conveyed in poems such as White Power and the Absolute Folly ,The Still Small Voice and Splashed Earth . Similarly , my War Poems ,such as “The Futility of War” and “Firework Night” focus on the futility of such suffering ;how the ordinary man is press ganged and brain washed by patriotic idealism ,to fight for God and Country,when God would never sanction war’s,as solutions to conflict. We all have only One World ,and One God ,and should live in peace and harmony ,with other races,or those belonging to differing religions. Sports and other forms of games, can assuage aggressive tendencies, and diplomacy can prevent conflict .More practically Treaties can safeguard our freedoms, where the withdrawal of commercial trade,can impact the supposed enemy ,bringing them swiftly back to the negotiating table . In nature poems such as Autumn and The Path not Taken and spiritual poems , such as From the Unreal ,lead me to the Real, Crown of Gold and especially Radiant Earth ,I endeavour to show that beauty and serenity, as well as love and harmony, exists for the committed spiritual aspirant. Humour is often added ,as in The Date,Cat Chess , and The Smokers Temptation .I have also included some of my Song Lyrics such as Mother Nature,Time up Gents ,A Girl called Arizona and Jesus Loves You . Lastly ,the astute observer may discern an underlying narrative shown in my poetry ,reflecting the passage of time from youth to old age . Poems such as White Dove,Fallen Angel ,and Splashed Earth, reference my thinly veiled flirtations with the music industry ,especially wild parties and the rave culture of the 90’s ,when I overindulged in soft drugs and herbal ecstacy !These mirrored my shamanic journeying ,before and after abstinence,and combined with genuine mystical raptures. For good of ill, there has always been a strong addictive tendency towards “highs” ,either artificial or grounded in meditation. Fortunately ,by the millenium year, I had largely conquered my addictive tendencies by giving up all alcohol,drugs and mind expanding substances, thereby finding peace , serenity a happiness, which is echoed in my poem about my soul mate Teresa,in Star Lover . Enjoy my poems ,and feel free to keep in touch with me ,if you chose,provided that such rapport is friendly .Whilst constructive criticism is welcomed, abusive correspondence , would remain unanswered ! E Mail address :- smile4u2024@yahoo.co.uk .

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