The Heart of The Telling
The Telling evokes experiences of awakening into ones own life.
The reader can energetically participate through the words, that are spoken in a way the soul naturally recognizes, because it understands when the soul is being truly seen.
The dialogues are a sacred oral exchange in the ancient Griot tradition scribed into a permanent document as a “living record”.It’s open-souled dialogic mode rides ‘the edge’ allowing for new information to spontaneously emerge that generates a larger shared space.
The sub-title “dialogues at the edge”, refers to the edge Dove and Jon fearlessly traverse between everyday human life and a greater life variously known as the unknown, freedom, the unified field, nature, the implicate order, death, the mystery or the divine.
Jon fearlessly brings his “edges” from the everyday life circumstances that has a dual function – it “grounds” the dialogue in ordinary circumstances of a real human life in “real time”, which in turn, serves to bring through universal principles to which many can relate.
Dove serves as a clear witness to the subtlest soul level that Jon is willing to explore. His steadiness as a witness builds unswerving trust in Jon allowing doors to open between them to startlingly original territory.
The Telling dialogues unfold naturally from ordinary everyday circumstances as a series of inspired vignettes. Each one can be read as a stand alone dialogue.
The Telling is evidence of our natural impulse to share and our collective ability as humans to retrieve ourselves. Souls can get lost or isolated by reacting to or accepting culture, without discretion. This is particularly relevant at a time when there is a sense of threat as old systems are eroding.
The Telling is an internet-based modality using the power of words to directly address the human condition and the despair in these modern times.
The dialogues embrace the celebration of living through recognizing that every soul has it’s own unique destiny and innate intelligence that transcends convention, dogma, model, method and system.
The Telling was born from the natural convergence of two lives. Dove mastered living in full connection with life. Jon steadfastly kept searching for meaning for 55 years. In the ensuing master-initiate relationship there was a mutual recognition that something larger than both of them was emerging between them. From the outset Jon was inspired to record what was being spoken in their weekly meetings. A year later, a growing impulse to share resulted in the establishment of The Telling.
Scribing of The Telling
The word-for-word, pen-to-paper nature of the scribing captures the experience of awakening, which in turn, can be re-experienced by simply reading The Telling.
Jon scribed every word because according to Jon, Dove’s words “fall from his lips in perfect measure, returning me more fully to myself in a spontaneous bottomless adventure.” Like jazz, a dialogue develops where words can emerge slowly, quickly and sometimes from multiple directions. They can end abruptly and take turns digressing down fresh pathways like a “bob-sled” in shifting rhythms. The scribing sets a pace for the interaction between Dove and Jon to hold the edge, allowing a precise account that captures the “essence of the expansion”.
Jon comes to Dove weekly with the ‘edges’ he is exploring which initiates the dialogue and has a dual function – it “grounds” the dialogue in specific circumstances, which in turn brings universal principles through to which many can relate. Dove serves as a clear witness to the sublest soul level that Jon is willing to explore. In the Griot tradition, Dove’s responses exemplify an extraordinary ability to accurately “wrap words” around the subtlest of realities many consider unutterable, with “perfect pitch”, making the “extraordinary accessible in ordinary ways”.
Jon then returns to his everyday life in a clearer state. Over the ensuing week, 2 or 3 more ‘edges’ emerge for the next session. Dove and Jon have met weekly for more than 2 years in a cafe in San Diego. They continue to meet weekly on the same day for 2 to 4 hours where mostly “every appointment has been kept”.
The Telling takes on a life of its own. The chapter headings were inspired individually by a later reading of The Telling and a natural story line was revealed. The Telling follows the timeline of the meetings and we continue to learn from The Telling. Some minor editing from the original scribing was undertaken for the purpose of clarity. The art is conceived and rendered by Dove and placed in the chapters by Jon. The image on the home page is by permission of Doc Ross.
Michael Dove
Dove is a new kind of spiritual master for our unique times. With Dove’s mentoring process your soul is empowered to remain in charge at all times. He was born with a connection to spirit which was allowed to stay intact and he has carried it into adulthood as a guide for the soul. His parents nurtured and supported his spirituality and creativity, as did accomplished spiritual teachers who recognized his connection.
“Dove is a capable spiritual architect and carpenter of the loving world we all long for.”
Dr. Jesse Mills
He fulfils the potential of his mystical lineage through his embodiment of the African-American wisdom tradition. Dove has been associated with esoteric schools in Europe including experiences with Eastern European psychics. The International Community of African and Caribbean Healers recognize him as an Elder, and traditional Medicine People, especially of the Two-Spirit orientation, have stated their respect for his work.
“I have met Michael, his energy looms large with his compassionate nature. He is a master incarnate sharing with the World his gift.” Deshanta Atman, Southern California Healer
Dove has dedicated his life to addressing the human condition and suffering as well as revealing, celebrating and uplifting the magnificence of the human soul. He has worked with the dying and those with life threatening illnesses. He is a pioneer and innovator using multimedia to bring spiritual teaching to the world and teaches apprentices around the world. The confluence of his life’s work resulted in his “Evenings For The Soul” where Michael and Jon crossed paths.
John Kingsmill
Discovery has been the central theme of John’s life. At a tender age his father and mother allowed him to freely explore his neighborhood unsupervised, sometimes for hours and miles from home. This opportunity set a course for freedom that allowed him to say “yes” to the world. John encountered both bright roads and darker roads including: a near drowning where he was rescued by a dog; the testing of life threatening edges; periods of substance abuse and a near fatal heart failure. Good fortune included a Philosophy degree at a world-class university where he learned about the power of words and truth. He gained a trade as a decorative plaster artist and has risen to the top of his field over the past 35 years. He has been blessed by and challenged to grow as a husband and as a father.
At the age of 36 John had a pivotal near death experience and was graced with a second start, which was recorded and published as a part of a book called The Fiery Muse, by Teri Degler. This experience left him disoriented and set him on a dedicated course of daily writing to “safeguard” and to “direct” his future. He sharpened these skills for 22 years and has become a fine poet.
John developed an insatiable appetite for learning, worked extensively with gifted spiritual teachers and read voraciously.His resonance with writings of Sufi mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan, led him to the exploration of sound and mysticism through the Native and Mayan flutes resulting in an album called From The Silence. He founded and ran a non-profit for three years called Talking Flutes, a “success-oriented” program focused on sound, emotional intelligence and “meeting the true self” with 9 widely divergent populations. These experiences “teed him up” for meeting Dove at “an evening for the soul” where he pressed a poem into Dove’s hand at the end of the evening after being “Engaged by a Master” (see The Telling-series1, chapter1).
