Each time I sit down to write the monthly musing for Smoke Trails From The Ashes, I am never quite sure what’s going to emerge. I hope you enjoy reading about my relationship with blood cancer through the lens of psychedelic experience.

The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air, And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need Of aid from them—She was the Universe. — Lord Byron This month’s Smoke Trails has me musing on the creativity that is offered to us in the… https://t.co/IMhO2dWllR

“What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still” — Arthur Rimbaud My monthly musings for June... https://t.co/HLlrR1gHHs

When I spoke with poet Thomas R. Smith recently, I was blessed to have him recite his renowned poem, “Trust”. This image of Thomas smiling lovingly at his late friend and mentor Robert Bly in the twilight of his life seemed a particularly potent backdrop… https://t.co/23LT60iZL2

In advance of poet Thomas R. Smith joining our Men's Elder Wisdom Circle this Sunday morning at The Fifth Direction, I had the opportunity to sit down with him for a chat via Zoom. Thomas was once described by his great friend and… https://t.co/3s4mYtXvuG

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“Whether it is in poetry, music, art, architecture, or the garden whatever your form: the images you eat are as important as the food that you eat.” — Marion Woodman This is a lovely little quote that I found in the biography of o… https://t.co/gBpWRPdt57

Our The Fifth Direction online program, The Wild Soul, is now available as a standalone and self-led course. This means you can go at your own pace, with lifetime access to the resources and alumni discussion group, along with a… https://t.co/IOi29J3u6n

Our The Fifth Direction online program, The Wild Soul, is now available as a standalone and self-led course. This means you can go at your own pace, with lifetime access to the resources and alumni discussion group, along with a… https://t.co/DHzNauWPfo

Child's Smile. Father's tears. Pure Love. May's newsletter at The Fifth Direction discusses father-son relationships, AI and Hemingway's six-word story form. https://t.co/sPj7vZIvN0

“This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it’s a feather bed.” — Terence McKenna With Australia preparing to reclassify MDMA and psilocybin as presc… https://t.co/YcsAR54qd2

If I should wake & the Ark the Ark already gone. These are the opening lines to the beautiful poem ‘Waterline’ by Ocean Vuong, invoking the grief of all that is lost in the midst of any ‘great flood’ in our lives. The piece arriv… https://t.co/FGYSr11voy

“The poet lives and writes at the frontier between deep internal experience and the revelations of the outer world. There is no going back once this frontier has been reached; a new territory is visible and what has been said cannot be unsaid.” I remembe… https://t.co/mUfR4eGlvd

As always, I throughly enjoyed conversing with Dr Edward Tick last week. Dr Ed is a depth psychologist, author and poet, with decades of experience in ancient Greek healing traditions. We talked about Asklepios, the Greek god of m… https://t.co/64yKWZGYE8

There’s a soft glow in the centre of my chest after some days strung together on Bruny Island, Tasmania, with a gathering of strong and beautiful men. Stories were told, life was shared. We walked, breathed, meditated, wrote, spoke, sung, laughed and cri… https://t.co/AiYVrIGg4P

Well, this is exciting. I started talking to Uma Neave about re-imagining the stories of Inanna and Gilgamesh together well over a year ago, but the spaciousness required to do so has never quite emerged. Until now. Those familia… https://t.co/tqxlTdledA

Do not sink into Sadness, because Noah is your captain. Do not sink into sadness, even though the mysteries Of the other world sometimes slip past you entirely. There are plays within plays that you cannot see. - Hafez February's 'Smoke Trails From the… https://t.co/nfss1j29wo

Smoke Trails From The Ashes: The Art of Slowing Down

The wonderful Al Jeffery returns to The Fifth Direction this Friday night to continue our exploration into queer ways of being and whole humanhood through the mythopoetic lens of soul. Among much else, these sessions began as a way for men to explore the… https://t.co/uoovUibKLW

There’s still a couple of places left for my upcoming Bruny Island Men’s Retreat on the weekend of February 17-19. This is an opportunity for us to step outside our ordinary routine, listen deeply to the land and steep ourselves i… https://t.co/nJhv8V1TkR