Reshad Feild
Reshad Feild | |
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Born | Richard Timothy Feild 15 April 1934 |
Died | 31 May 2016[2] Devon, England | (aged 82)
Nationality | English |
Other names | Tim Feild |
Alma mater | Eton College |
Occupation(s) | Author, musician |
Known for | books on Sufism, musician of the Springfields |
Children | JJ Feild |
Reshad Feild (born Richard Timothy Feild; 15 April 1934 – 31 May 2016) was an English mystic, author, spiritual teacher, and musician, who, as Tim Feild, originally came to prominence as a founder member of folk-pop group the Springfields. He was later the author of more than a dozen books about spirituality, and Sufism in particular.[3]
Life and career
Feild was born in Hascombe, Surrey, England, the son of publisher Armistead Littlejohn Feild (1891-1937) and Violet Esmé (1898-1986), daughter of Henry Cumberland Bentley, a brewery director.[4] Feild was educated at Eton and served in the Royal Navy, where he had an undistinguished career. In the early 1960s, Feild formed a folk duo, the Kensington Squares, with Dion O'Brien, later known as Tom Springfield. When the duo added Dion's sister Mary, they became the Springfields, with Mary becoming known as Dusty Springfield. The trio had minor pop hits in Britain before Feild left in late 1962 and was replaced by Mike Hurst.[5]
Feild was influenced by the spiritual teachings of
In December 1971, Feild and a group of students went to
In 1976, he was made a sheikh in the Mevlevi order by Suleiman Dede, which was a revolutionary move, because a Dede of the Mevlevi Order had never bestowed the title of a Sheikh before – Only a Chelebi Efendi, the head of the Mevlevi Order, could bestow such a title.[7] In light of that, Feild's presence as a Mevlevi Sheikh would not have been acknowledged by the central governing of the Mevlevi Order, and could be best viewed as a transformatory off-shoot of the Order.
After receiving the rank of Sheikh, Reshad Feild moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he started a small centre. In Boulder, Reshad assisted in introducing the sema ceremony – which was declared a cultural world heritage activity by UNESCO in 2004 – to America and Europe, and made it available to women for the first time in recent history, as well as to non-Muslim participants, such as students.
Later, Feild taught on the essence of the universality of Sufi teachings, making them available to people of all religious and spiritual backgrounds. He published more than a dozen books, some of which have been translated into many languages. In his autobiographical novel, The Last Barrier, he gave a fictionalised account of how he met Bulent Rauf.
He was the father of the actor JJ Feild.
Published works
- The Last Barrier – A True Story of a Journey into Ultimate Reality (autobiographical trilogy part I) ISBN 978-3-942914-03-1
- To Know We're Loved – The Invisible Way (autobiographical trilogy part II) ISBN 978-3-942914-07-9
- Going Home – The Journey of a Travelling Man (Autobiographical trilogy part III) ISBN 1-85230-878-8
- The Alchemy of the Heart ISBN 1-4208-3110-0
- Steps to Freedom: Discourses on the Essential Knowledge of the Heart ISBN 0-9625412-1-4
- Here to Heal ISBN 978-0-89556-157-2
- Reason Is Powerless in the Expression of Love ISBN 0-9625412-0-6
- Footprints in the Sand ISBN 1-85230-027-2
- A Travelling People's Feild Guide ISBN 1-85230-003-5
- Breathing Alive – A Guide to Conscious Living ISBN 1-85230-050-7
- The Inner Work (3 volumes) ISBN 978-3-942914-01-7
- Breathe for God's Sake! Discourses on the Mystical Art and Science of Breath ISBN 978-3-942914-08-6
References
- ^ Feild, Reshad, A Travelling People's Feild Guide, Element Books, 1 May 2006. Cf. page v.
- ^ "Original "Springfield" Tim Feild has died". Dusty Day. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Tributes to Reshad Feild". beshara.org. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ "Microsoft Word – Generation 3+ – Descendents of WFH – Jane Walker Hoyle Hoy" (PDF). Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ Denning, Mark. "The Springfields Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ Beshara moved to Scotland in 1975. Cf. www.beshara.org.
- ISBN 978-9751028280.
External links
- Biography of Reshad Feild at Chalice Publishing
- Videos of Reshad Feild
- Chalice: A Living School – Reshad Feild's Esoteric School, Chalice Foundation
- Virginia Lee, "Reshad Feild: Sufi and Healer", Yoga Journal, October 1982, pp.26–32
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