Post by Joyce Hopewell
Packed with so many good things to savour, I enjoyed and relished this newly-published book Meetings with Amazing People by Will Parfitt. Will has a long association with APA and his 2003 book, Psychosynthesis: The Elements and Beyond, is recommended reading for those studying our published Diploma Course in Astrological Psychology.
Will has packed his latest book – semi-autobiographical, part novel, part fantasy – full of honest, engaging, interesting and enlightening experiences drawing on his encounters in earlier life with significant people who had a profound effect on his own life’s journey and spiritual quest. From the first encounter with the mysterious Anandapuran, the Messenger who sets the journey in motion, I was hooked. Will encounters a variety of people who offer different approaches to spiritual growth, each described in a down-to-earth, readable way. The essence of the times of these meetings is captured beautifully – hippie times, times of taking lsd trips, times when Will is just getting on with life, brewing tea and moving house. There is even a talking dog.
Seventeen year old Will meets a pot-smoking Buddhist who encourages him to “Learn to do good things and be clean in your heart”. In the late 1960s he meets Seamus, who teaches him about Earth Magic. Seamus tells him, “We all live in paradise and are surrounded by abundance.” That resonated strongly with me as a wake up call and reminder about what we forget. Taking a gap year before entering university Will encounters Subud, a discipline I’d not heard of before, which aligns with surrendering to divine will – in astrological psychology sometimes associated with the energies and qualities of Pluto at the highest level.
Will’s journey is enriched by meetings with people who reveal different pathways, such as Christianity, Shamanism and Kabbalah. Reading his story I was reminded of some lines from T.S.Eliot’s Four Quartets:
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time”
This is a short and very readable book (128 pages), packed full of enriching and thought-provoking insights, rather like a small treasure chest. It set me remembering and thinking about the people I’ve met who have had a lasting effect on me and the path my life has taken.
