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 The Springfields were a British folk-pop vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland. They included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, songwriter Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, who was later repla ...

. He was later the author of more than a dozen books about spirituality, and Sufism in particular.

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. Feild was educated at Eton and served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, where he had an undistinguished career. In the early 1960s, Feild formed a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

duo, the Kensington Squares, with Dion O'Brien, later known as

Tom Springfield Tom Springfield (born Dionysius Patrick O'Brien, 2 July 1934 – 27 July 2022) was an English musician, songwriter and record producer who was prominent in the 1960s folk and pop music scene. He was the older brother of singer Dusty Springfiel ...

. When the duo added Dion's sister Mary, they became the Springfields, with Mary becoming known as

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

. The trio had minor pop hits in Britain before Feild left in late 1962; he was replaced by Mike Hurst. Feild was influenced by the spiritual teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff, P. D. Ouspensky, and others. He studied spiritual healing, and was involved with the

Alice Bailey Alice Ann Bailey (June 16, 1880 – December 15, 1949) was a writer of more than twenty-four books on theosophical subjects, and was one of the first writers to use the term New Age. Bailey was born as Alice La Trobe-Bateman, in Mancheste ...

community. In the late 1960s, he was initiated as a sheikh in the Sufi Order International by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan. Feild studied with

Bulent Rauf Bulent Rauf (Istanbul 1911 – Chisholme House, Roberton, Scottish Borders 1987) was a Turkish-British mystic, spiritual teacher, translator and author. From 1945 to the early sixties, he was married to Princess Faiza, sister of King Farouk of E ...

, a Turkish author and translator descended from a line of Sufi masters going back to the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

n mystic Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (1165–1240). He established the Beshara Centre at Swyre Farm in Aldsworth, England, in 1970. A description of events at this center is given in the books ''I, Wabenzi'' by

Rafi Zabor Rafi Zabor (born Joel Zaborovsky, August 22, 1946) is a Brooklyn, New York–based music journalist- and musician-turned-novelist. Life and work A graduate of Brooklyn College, Zabor became a jazz critic for ''Musician'' in 1977, and later beca ...

, and ''Beshara and Ibn 'Arabi: A Movement of Sufi Spirituality in the Modern World''. In December 1971, he and a group of students went to

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...

, Turkey, to meet Bulent and the

sema Sama ( tr, Sema, Persian, Urdu and ar, سَمَاع - ''samā‘un'') is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sam ...

of the Mevlevi order of

Dervishes Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage i ...

. While there, he met Sheikh Suleiman (Süleyman) Dede. In 1972 Feild resigned his role in the Sufi Order. In 1973, he resigned his role leading the Beshara Centre and went to Los Angeles, Tepoztlan, Mexico, and Vancouver Island, BC, where he taught on his own. In 1976, he was made a sheikh in the Mevlevi order by Suleiman Dede. This was a revolutionary move, as 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. In light of this, 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 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 2004 – to America and Europe, and made it available to women for the first time in recent history, as well as non-Muslim participants (i.e. 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 John Joseph Feild (born 1978) is a British-American film, television and theatre actor. He started his television career in 1999. Feild played Fred Garland in Philip Pullman's ''The Ruby in the Smoke'' and ''The Shadow in the North'' television ...

Published works

*''The Last Barrier – A True Story of a Journey into Ultimate Reality'' (autobiographical trilogy part I) *''To Know We're Loved – The Invisible Way'' (autobiographical trilogy part II) *''Going Home – The Journey of a Travelling Man'' (Autobiographical trilogy part III) *''The Alchemy of the Heart'' *''Steps to Freedom: Discourses on the Essential Knowledge of the Heart'' *''Here to Heal'' *''Reason Is Powerless in the Expression of Love'' *''Footprints in the Sand'' *''A Travelling People's Feild Guide'' *''Breathing Alive – A Guide to Conscious Living'' *''The Inner Work'' (3 volumes) , and *''Breathe for God's Sake! Discourses on the Mystical Art and Science of Breath''

References

External links

Biography of Reshad Feild at Chalice PublishingVideos of Reshad FeildChalice: A Living School – Reshad Feild's Esoteric School
Chalice Foundation
Virginia Lee, "Reshad Feild: Sufi and Healer"
''Yoga Journal'', October 1982, pp.26–32 {{DEFAULTSORT:Feild, Reshad 1934 births 2016 deaths English folk musicians English Sufis People educated at Eton College English spiritual writers English spiritual teachers Royal Navy officers People from the Borough of Waverley