Allow me to introduce you to John Butler. The description on his website says that he “follows no particular teaching”, but it’s clear from the venues of his meditation and the content of his talks that he’s been profoundly influenced by Christianity, and in particular the mystical Christianity of the Desert Fathers.

John Butler went viral on the internet at first because of the qualities of his voice, which makes his speech uniquely calming and peaceful. But what really expanded his appeal was the quality of his perspective on life. One Youtube commentator effused, “this is the closest thing we have to a Jedi master”… which I find somewhat amusing since the comment might lead one to believe that the only point of reference to spirituality in the West is a Sci-Fi trilogy (epic as it was)… But I digress. Superficially, John’s message is about noticing your surroundings and paying attention. More profoundly, it’s about how each of us relates to the world, what it is to be human, finding peace, and our relationship with God. So basically the most important things in life, which rational thought or science or reason is completely inept at describing let alone giving us guidance on.

John is a simple farmer, and didn’t have much understanding or interest in the internet. He would’ve likely lived the rest of his days humbly and in obscurity. But someone at his local church, the beautiful All Saint’s Church in Bakewell, noticed that he spent several hours in the morning and in the evening in prayer and meditation and advised the host of a YouTube channel, Conscious TV that he would be a good candidate for an interview. The two part series on Conscious TV led to a his own channel, called Spiritual Unfoldment. And the rest as they say, is history.

I don’t need to expound on his philosophy here. The philosophy herein is the same and his presentation is probably more appealing anyway. But if you’re at all interested in finding true fulfilment — not the superficial kind that comes from having expensive stuff, or a job with a lot of power, or a big family — but pursuing a profound peace, check out his website or Youtube channel. If you’re willing to do “The Work” as John puts it, for however long it takes, you will have Spiritual Unfoldment.