Articles in Magazines

Writing for local magazines
In the past articles in magazines have been quite impersonal and a bit ‘PR’ ish. There is nothing wrong with this style as it may suit some media. However, for a local magazine it might be better to send in a personal story as local or parish magazine editors do like a good personal story. A few people have started sending in their own personal pieces and many are being published. In our community we have had quite a few different articles published in a local magazine. The editor is happy to continue to publish them as long as we pay for an ad to go on the same page. The response has been quite good with people coming to the info centre as a result.

For the more personal stories the advice is keep it real, short and personal. Email queries re a possible article gettingsupport@hotmail.co.uk . An example of the more personal type of article is below and there are also quite a few articles to be found on the TPRF website which are of a less personal nature:

The Gift of Existence
Life has been an interesting journey. Childhood was as childhood should be – my mum’s kind hands on grazed knees or hugs for hurt feelings, building tree houses at the bottom of our huge garden, playing in streams in the woods. And as an older child in wild places in Yorkshire I felt moments of peace and of a promise – that my heart’s longing could be and would be fulfilled. The promise seemed to be held in the song of a bird, in the wind in the trees, in the still waters of the small lake by my favourite magical place. Life to me was surely a gift in itself, something to be enjoyed in its essence, but how did one do that?

I spent the earlier part of my teenage years doing what all young girls do, getting drunk a little, chasing and being chased by boys a little and when I had to, doing my homework a little. But still the promise remained, sometimes at the forefront of my heart, sometimes pushed to the back of the wardrobe of my mind, whilst other more immediate things filled up my time. By the time I was 19, my heart was tugging at me, I wanted to find out if that original promise, that unknown quest to be in touch with something more, something deeper, could be answered.

I feel I have been one of the lucky ones. I was not allowed somehow to forget the original quest and I searched and searched to see if there was a way of fulfilling it. I felt in my bones that it had to be something practical, not merely a lifestyle or a belief. After several misses, I heard about Prem Rawat and the possibility that he offered of going inside and feeling peace.

Now in his 50s, this remarkable man has been offering a practical way to achieve peace and contentment to those who want it since he was a child. Not only that but his words provide inspiration for many people across the world. His recorded talks are broadcast in many countries including the UK. He speaks about the possibility of knowing one’s own true self, of living in the moment, with each breath, as it comes.

“I help people understand that there is hope and that there is a bigger purpose in life than all the mundane things we find ourselves caught up in. I tell people that the answer to the need they have felt in their lives has always been inside...”

“The inside is where I can help. I show people how to turn inside and find peace within. Without that, what I say would be philosophy. It would be meaningless - a lot of good words, but meaningless. What I offer is a practical way to be in peace within.” (Prem Rawat)


Since then I have lived a life with some material possibilities fulfilled, some not, with all the usual ups and downs, married and divorced twice, four lovely and well-loved children, a successful career in later life as a research consultant, and a new business which I hope will provide some retirement security.

Through it all, I have appreciated the gift that I have been given, as it has enabled me to be in touch with a very special place, a ‘beyond time and space’ place, a feeling inside me that can give me my heart’s content. It does not come from outside of me. It comes from inside of me. Am I happy all the time? No, but knowing that I have the capacity for that original potential, that original promise to be fulfilled, I try to be, actively looking for the good and trying to exist in the moment called now, as it’s all I really have.

So how does one go about fulfilling one’s own promise? That’s a very personal thing and not easy to fit into a few words in a magazine article. I think it starts with the recognition of one’s own longing for it to be fulfilled. And then the search for something that by its very nature is beyond words and logical understanding. All I can say to people is that if you still have that longing for that promise to be fulfilled, then it can be. And, if you possibly can, don’t waste a moment longer in fulfilling it.