Synopsis
What does solitude mean to you? Albert Einstein once said: 'I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.' In his latest book Simon Parke, author of The Beautiful Life and One-Minute Mindfulness describes solitude as the active path to inner silence and takes us on an enthralling journey there. In a world of haste and distraction he commends the way of stillness and withdrawal where we can 'recover the power of alone'. 'It's a journey to our selves and a place we can call our own, ' he says. 'It's here, away from the crowd that we reconnect with our inner knowing - so different to our outer knowing.' A capacity for silence is what distinguishes us as humans, yet many of us fear to go there. But there is nothing to fear in solitude and everything to gain. If you want to be still but wonder how, this book is the perfect friend.
About the Author
Simon Parke was a priest in the Church of England for twenty years, before leaving for fresh adventures. He worked for three years in a supermarket, stacking shelves and working on the till. He was also chair of the shop union. He has since left to go free lance and now writes, leads retreats and offers consultancy. He is also director of the mental health project, Pictures of Eden. He has written for The Independent and The Evening Standard and is currently a columnist with the Daily Mail. His weekly supermarket diary, Shelf Life, ran for 15 months in the Mail on Saturday, and he now contributes another weekly column called One-Minute Mystic. The Beautiful Life - re-issued as The Journey Home - was published by Bloomsbury in 2007. Simon has led a number of retreats around this book and speaks about it on his site. The book version of Shelf Life was published by Rider in 2009. The book version of One-Minute Mystic was published by Hay House early in 2010 and One-Minute Mindfulness followed in 2011, which has helped many into an understanding of this life-enhancing practice. Other books by Simon include Forsaking the Family, which is a refreshingly real and rather shocking look at the sacred cow of family life. This book has now been re-issued by White Crow. Simon has been a teacher of the Enneagram for 20 years. The enneagram is an ancient path of self-understanding and Simon's book on the subject, published by Lion, is called Enneagram: a private session with the world's greatest psychologist. Another Bloody Retreat is Simon's desert novel, describing events at the monastery of St James-the-Less set in the sands of Middle Egypt. It follows the fortunes of Abbot Peter and the rest of the community, when the stillness of their sacred setting is rudely and irrevocably shattered. Simon's most recent book is Solitude - Recovering the power of alone is published by White Crow. Simon was born in Sussex but has lived and worked in London for 25 years. He has written comedy and satire for TV - including Spitting Image - and radio, picking up a Sony radio award. He has two grown up children and his hobbies include football, history, the sea and running. For more information or to join his mailing list, visit his website www.simonparke.com
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