An Interview with a Mindful Man…
…with Caspar Walsh about his new book “The Mindful Man: Words from the Earth”, published in the June / July 2018 edition of Reconnect magazine.
Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us Caspar.
Where were you when you first had the idea to write the book?
I’d been given the book, Mindfulness and Surfing. Think I was reading it in the bath. It was the first time in a long while I’d held a book that looked and felt beautiful. I thought, ‘this is a publisher I could write for’.
The book isn’t a novel, it’s set up like a manual for the mind, with mindfulness exercises, and a travel through guide to feelings and emotions. What inspired you to present it that way?
I see it more as a manual to be human, how I dealt with an early life trauma and the ensuing madness that followed. For me, becoming truly whole is all about the relationship between mind, body and how we connect to the natural world. I walked, talked and meditated on what is important to me and broke that down into areas that I feel help us become human and whole.
It also contains a host of quotes, and prayers from luminaries down the ages. Which one is your favourite?
I spent days sourcing the quotes. They frame the ideas of the book. This one is a cracker: “In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Beloved.” Toni Morrison, winner of The Nobel Prize for Literature.
If you could only offer one piece of wisdom from the whole book to our readers, that you are most proud of having written, what would it be, and why?
No pressure! To see myself as wise? Not sure about that. Maybe at times, in a curb tripping kind of way. How about this: They (books) can be keys to the door, for sure, but reading alone won’t walk you through the peaks and valleys of life. Books are tool kits, manuals for self-discovery and understanding. They are not the answer. You are.
It must have been quite an exercise to complete, who are you most grateful for supporting you on your journey, and what do you remember them doing that most motivated you when you felt at the lowest point?
Without a doubt, Amber, my loving and tenaciously patient partner. If I’d known it would be as challenging to write as it turned out, I’m doubtful I would have started. She encouraged me to rest, take my time and not buckle under the pressure of seemingly endless edits. To remember that my life as a writer is a small part of who I am and what I offer the world. To loosen and lighten up!
If you were to describe the book in one sentence what would you say?
Feels like a ‘this is what I did next’ after my memoir ‘Criminal’, how I made it through, made sense of the madness, found peace and did something meaningful and adventurous with my life. It’s about how I got back home.
Read more about Caspar’s new book: www.wordsfromtheearth.co.uk