Reflections on philosophy and spirit - The Missing Link
Updated: Aug 18, 2021
A couple of years ago, I was asked to help translate The Missing Link, written by Sydney Banks, into Hebrew.
I was chatting with Elsie Spittle, one of Syd’s old friends and students, and sought her advice, as I was finding myself too busy with a lot of work and other responsibilities.
She said to me, ‘if you have any time to give to the sharing of the Three Principles, start with helping to translate The Missing Link. If all you do is just that and never a thing more - it would be enough of a contribution for the rest of your life'.
Her words and clarity left an impression on me.
I called Aviva in Israel, whom I’d been asked to assist. ‘Let’s start and see how it goes’, I said. Little did I appreciate the journey on which I was about to embark!
In an hour we could get through a page, maybe two. At some point we would have to stop; we could only take in so much wisdom in one go.
I would sit there in awe… the wisdom, the clarity, the simplicity, the purity, the truth, the simple logic... it would affect me deeply and viscerally.
What a privilege to be spending time carefully considering this book; what an incredible gift to be doing this precious work.
I would get on with my week, but a word or sentence from the paragraph I was working on would keep coming to mind; it would show its relevance in conversation or in the direct experience of life. In sessions with clients, it would pop up as a little helper, a reference.
As the weeks went by, I would see a little more about each paragraph, each sentence, or even each word. I would start to understand where Syd was pointing and what he was trying to say; it would become clearer and start to come more alive for me.
Once a week, for months and months, this is what we would be doing; my feeling deepening, my life slowly changing; I found myself being touched by Syd’s incredibly powerful words.
You know you’re hearing truth when it keeps resonating, bringing with it deep feelings, positive feelings, feelings of gratitude, of hope, of calm, of purity, of possibility.
When we finished The Missing Link, I was intrigued. Dr Bill Pettit, a psychiatrist who’s been sharing Syd’s message for over 40 years, has been telling me for years to read Syd’s books and I would politely say, ‘yes, that's a good idea, I will at some point’.
But now, I jumped in. I started with The Quest for the Pearl, then Second Chance and Dear Liza, then The Enlightened Gardener and The Enlightened Gardener Revisited and finally, The Missing Link once again. I understood what Dr Bill had meant and I fell in love with Syd’s writing and Syd’s profound message.
The effect that reading Syd’s books had and continues to have on me, is what I want to share. You too can learn more from Syd's inspirational book by signing up to the The Missing Link programme I am running starting 13 September 2021. You will hear from Syd's students across the globe as they share what stands out for them whilst they reflect on their learning curve and some of Syd's writings.
I start reading and something new catches my attention, something I hear but can't quite get my head around; so I stop; I go back; I read it; I read it again; I stop and reflect.