Photo courtesy: Godfrey Devereux.

When my very old friend Godfrey got in touch to say he’d be in London for a night and needed a bed before flying to Italy, I didn’t hesitate. I hadn’t seen him in years, but some friendships just stretch quietly across time. Of course I said yes.

Godfrey Devereux is more than just a friend. He’s a sage of sorts, particularly in the field of somatic intimacy, which he has been developing for over forty years. Though grounded in early development and Oriental medicine, this is blended into his own Dynamic Yoga, Somatic Meditation, Slow Tantra, and what he calls Radical Ecology. ‘Together,’ he writes, ‘they address the full spectrum of human nature: biological, sexual, social and spiritual.’

Never lacking the all-important overview, like all good lighthouse keepers, he has also written:

‘We are living in challenging times. The world as we knew it, both natural and socio-political, is collapsing rapidly. Nobody knows how, when or if this collapse will resolve itself. On every side our political and natural resources are crumbling. Democracy is eroding into authoritarianism. Habitats are collapsing under a combination of human waste and global heating. Our biological resilience is being challenged by the same. Never have we so badly needed the courage and fortitude to face this multidimensional crisis with dignity and grace.’

We go way back—even before all of that. Before........

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