Glastonbury author Tim Freke wins Kindred Spirit award

The Glastonbury writer has been named Mind, Body and Spirit Writer of the Year 2020.

Mr Freke said: “I feel very honoured to win Writer of the Year in Kindred Spirit magazine, especially as it was decided by reader’s voting."

He has also been voted no. 50 in the 2020 Watkins list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in the World.

At just 13-years-old Mr Freke wrote a play. He explained that he had a desire to “communicate about things that mattered” from a young age, particularly after his “deep awake” experience.

“I was 12 years old, and I was thinking about some big questions that fascinate me: Why are we here? What's the purpose of life?” he said.

“I was convinced that I'd been born on the wrong planet because I felt I clearly didn’t belong here.

“Then, unexpectedly, something happened and I experienced what I call the ‘deep awake’ state for the first time. It felt as if the top of my head has just come off and the sky has poured in.

“I felt overwhelmed by breath-taking wonder. I felt utterly happy for no reason at all, and certain beyond doubt of the goodness of all that is.

“This moment changed everything. It was the seed form which my life as a writer and explorer of spirituality has grown.”

Now, a pioneering philosopher, Mr Freke is the author of 35 books, translated into 15 languages.

“I write because I fall in love with ideas that seem beautiful to me and worth sharing with others,” Mr Freke added.

“It takes huge commitment to finish a book I am happy with, so it can be challenging, but I want to contribute something to the human adventure and this is what I can offer.

“I feel my greatest achievement has been sharing the ‘Deep Awake’ state with people from so many different cultures all over the world at my Deep Awakening retreats, so that people can experience the wonderful oneness and all-embracing love directly for themselves.

“I don’t have a conventional definition of what success is.

“For me life is an extraordinary mystery and I’ve set out to understand it as deeply as I can and to share whatever I find of value with as many other people as I can.

“I’m very grateful to have been more successful in that than I could have imagined.”

Recently, Mr Freke has released two books – Deep Awake and Soul Story.

Deep Awake by Tim Freke

An extract from Tim's book, Deep Awake: Wake Up To Oneness and Become a Lover of Life:

DEEP AWAKE

Chapter 1

What we experience depends on how conscious we are. When we only pay attention to the surface of life we’re only superficially awake, but when we look deeper we can become deep awake. This feels like waking up from a semi-conscious trance and remembering we are alive. We become conscious of how profoundly mysterious life really is. We feel present in the moment and filled with wonder. Then, if we really immerse ourselves in the deep awake state, life becomes WOW!

Recently I dreamed I was standing on a stage about to talk to a large audience about becoming deep awake, as I often do in my waking life. Before I started to talk I paused, because I couldn’t find the words to express how wonderful it feels. Then suddenly I knew what to do, because I remembered that I could fly! So I simply said, ‘Being deep awake feels like this’ … and I soared up into the air … dancing ecstatically in the emptiness of space … swooping up and down in effortless abandon.

I wish I could swoop and dive for you right now, to convey how it feels to be deep awake, but I haven’t worked out how to fly in waking life. And this is a book so you wouldn’t see me anyway. That means I’ll have to describe it in words for you as best I can. I know that won’t be easy, but I’m going to give it a go.

When I am deep awake it feels as if I’m dissolving in an ocean of love. There’s an awe-inspiring sense of oneness with the universe. My sensual body comes alive. The search for meaning is resolved into a wordless ‘understanding’, which is so deep it must be felt not thought. There’s the silent certainty that all is well. And such a feeling of relief … like coming home.