Encounters with an Enlightened Man: The Early Years with Sydney Banks

Encounters with an Enlightened Man reveals Linda Quiring's experience in a mental institution where she was told she would need to be on medication and receive periodic shock treatments for the rest of her life. Soon, her personal spiritual journey led her and her husband Bill to move to Saltspring Island in early 1974. Her search for that 'guru who appears the moment a student is ready' led to the door of Sydney Banks, who had also just moved to the Island after having an enlightenment experience. At their first fortuitous meeting, Syd articulated a desire to write about his very recent experience, and suggested that Linda, an avid reader and writer, work with him. After listening to Syd she became 'cured' without any further medication or treatments. The next year saw more students appear, and within five years, hundreds of students had moved to the Island to follow this quiet man and his startling revelations into the nature of life. With Island of Knowledge selling thousands of books, and another on the way, Syd's path led to the wider world, where he would write books, work with psychologists and other professionals and disseminate his teachings. Linda's journey however, led to settling into a normal life on a small farm, where she and Bill raised their son Gary, made artisan soaps for a living, and kept chickens and bees. A heartfelt desire to write, and surprised by the outflow of love and interest in those times, Linda was encouraged to write about The Early Days. Still friends after four decades with other very early students, she included their stories as well, making for an enthralling look into the beginnings of a now worldwide movement in higher consciousness as experienced and taught by Sydney Banks. About the Author: Linda Quiring and her husband Bill live on a small farm on Saltspring Island, British Columbia where they grow heritage apples and keep bees. Recently retired after 35 years making Artisan soaps and body care products, Linda is the author of Island of Knowledge, Beyond Beliefs: The Lost Teachings of Sydney Banks, Encounters with an Enlightened Man: The Early Years with Sydney Banks, and continues to write.