About
Originally from Melbourne, Australia, I came to the UK in 1972 and have never left. I now live in north London.
Diploma & D.Phil research, University of Oxford : sacred symbolism, Zoroastrianism.
Writer & Speaker in traditional mythology, symbolism and meditation
Meditation instruction: western oral tradition.
Founding member of Saros Foundation for the Perpetuation of Knowledge, and High Peak Meditation.
These are the bones of my bio. If you put in Lucy Oliver with words like Meditation or Saros into an AI search, you will find out anything you need to know!
My books are described on this website.
Many articles, and writing past and present, is now on Substack.
Please browse!
Contact email:
Lucy Oliver meaningbydesign@hotmail.co.uk
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Books
An unusual and fascinating account which interweaves memoir, biography, wisdom teaching and metaphysical philosophy to present a rare illustration of how an oral tradition of Knowledge can be transmitted in modern Britain under the guidance of an extraordinary Sage. This book is the first direct and personal account of over forty years under the direction of this inspiring authentic Teacher, who insisted on obscurity while he lived.
Life around such an individual is never dull. Through anecdote and lively description, the book embodies and brings to life some founding principles of spiritual teaching, removing some of the mystique and superstition which have encrusted traditional esoteric work. It also fills in the background to the author’s The Meditator’s Guidebook which is a classic of the meditation genre for its clear and profound approach to meditation from the same lineage of oral transmission and was originally published over 30 years ago.
Tessellations. Patterns of Life and Death in the company of a Master
This valuable guide explains the basic process that is initiated when someone seriously begins to learn meditation in any tradition or with any technique. Whether the objective is relaxation, enlightenment, or union with the Divine, the three most obvious results of meditation can be summarized as calmness, power, and insight; together, they represent the refinement and development of our physical, emotional and intellectual levels of being.
The author describes with precision the benefits and pitfalls of meditation....She clarifies the basic techniques and principles involved in the skill of meditation and shows how sustained practice can unlock our innate creativity. Just as nourishment is assimilated by the body and transformed in the process of physical growth, meditation is a catalyst for transforming the substance of life in our consciousness and deepening our contact with the creative dimension of existence.
The Meditator's Guidebook Lucy Oliver
This unusual autobiography is an intimate chronicle of soul-search from the diaries of a young woman living and studying in the university town of Oxford in the late 1970’s. For fifty years the diaries lay forgotten in a trunk, until rediscovered by her at the age of 72. The diaries cover six years of an intense maturing process to find and articulate a meaningful framework for life and loving.
Aided by the wisdom of hindsight, the interwoven commentary by herself as an older woman reflecting on her younger self makes these diaries much more than just a trip down memory lane. The voices of Youth and Age intertwine throughout the narrative, and create a profound and sometimes searing portrayal of love, loss and spiritual growth, catalysed by a combination of academic learning and direct perception.
Oxford itself, the "town of dreaming spires" is an evocative backdrop, almost a protagonist in its own right, in this fresh and poetic evocation before the sprawl of modern developments and the impact of mass tourism.