Meeting Sydney Banks

I treasure the feeling of joy as I think about what I love. It’s easy now to find and be in that feeling. There was a time when I was far less peaceful. My inner sweetness grew as I understood a little bit about the power of Thought. I’m not talking just about the thinking we do. I’m talking about Thought itself, a spiritual gift, the manifestation of a formless God.

The man whose writings introduced me to Thought was Sydney Banks. I wonder if time will record Syd as one of the most influential beings to wander the earth.

“I would’ve known your smile anywhere,” he said, his Scottish brogue thick. I recognized Syd from a picture I’d seen on the cover of Second Chance, one of the books he’d written. The wood table I sat at was greyish brown, faded under hours of direct sun and days of salty spray from the gulf just below the deck of the restaurant it rested on. At the edge of the table, a saltshaker with a rusty silver cap leaned against the balustrade. Boats, sailboats, fishing boats, power boats and house boats bobbed on sun-dappled water that lapped, stirred by a slight breeze both salty and sweet with the smell of fresh pine. The air was cool, and I shivered under my down jacket. Bill and I had been waiting four days to meet this man, having made a long trip from West Virginia to Salt Spring Island.

We drove two hours from Morgantown to Pittsburgh and boarded flights to Seattle and then to Vancouver. The trip had culminated with a three-hour ferry ride from Tsawwassan, Canada to Fulford Harbor with many stops in between at the Gulf Islands. As the ferry boat slipped slowly through tunnels of heavy mist, interludes of cloudy sunshine revealed stands of tall pines observing it from rocky coastlines. This glide through the Pacific Northwest was mystical, fitting for a trip taking me to meet a spiritual teacher, an enlightened man.

Finally, he stood before me. We had called him every day since we’d gotten here, but each time he said we were too tired to meet and that we should rest and sight-see. I had grown impatient, indignant. It cost a fortune to take time from my practice of psychology and get to this island. Resting wasted valuable time.

I had read enough of Syd’s work to know he pointed to spiritual Truth. I couldn’t understand him, but I wanted to. He was neither imposing nor impressive. Hands in his pockets, he wore a brown leather jacket over a blue sweater and faded brown corduroys on a trim, medium-built frame with slightly stooped shoulders. His silver-brown hair was longish, combed back beside a bald spot from a smooth, bearded face. He looked a little faded as if he’d been gently laundered many times. His smile was wide and warm, his brown eyes were soft.

“You must be Sydney Banks,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say, except, “Bill went to the bathroom. He’ll be right back.” Syd had mentored my new husband for many years. Syd moved toward me, and I stood. His hug wasn’t perfunctory, it lingered, meaningful and present. “Hello, Linda,” he said in my ear. “I’ve looked forward to meeting you.” He said it with such feeling that tears gathered.

Copyright 2022: Linda Sandel Pettit, Ed.D.
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Linda Sandel Pettit, Ed.D. inspires intuitive-creative women healers to use their healing modalities, speaking voices, and written words to unfold and share the wisdom of the Divine Feminine. The Feminine principle embraces intuition, curiosity, connection, authenticity, humility, vulnerability, oneness, and the natural beauty of the body and the earth. Linda’s understanding of the Sacred Feminine is formed from a nonreligious spiritual understanding known worldwide as the 3 Principles. [for more information, see www.sydbanks.com.]

Linda offers sanctuaries, intimate small-group programs, to women healers who want to bring the 3 Principles into their work, and to women writers who are ready to share, get feedback, revise, and publish.

Through her Apprentice’s Way individual all-in-one mentorship program, Linda encourages her clients’ spiritual evolution, psychological health, effective writing, messaging, marketing, and content creation.

Visit www.lindasandelpettit.com to learn more about these programs and her array of masterclasses and courses.

More about Sydney Banks.