Oliver Seligman

Oliver Seligman was born in sunny Inverness in Scotland in 1975. He won a creative writing scholarship to an all boys' boarding school in 1988. Despite experiencing the chronic emotional shutdown which usually accompanies such an education, he emerged relatively unscathed. He somehow found himself working as a trader for a huge investment bank in London. He hoped to make a few million quid, buy a house on a beach in Thailand, find peace and live happily ever after. However, he hated life in the...See more

Oliver Seligman was born in sunny Inverness in Scotland in 1975. He won a creative writing scholarship to an all boys' boarding school in 1988. Despite experiencing the chronic emotional shutdown which usually accompanies such an education, he emerged relatively unscathed. He somehow found himself working as a trader for a huge investment bank in London. He hoped to make a few million quid, buy a house on a beach in Thailand, find peace and live happily ever after. However, he hated life in the rat-race, and discovered his cunning plan was a little on the naive side. Being unhappy in order to find happiness did not make much sense. So, stressed out and bored, he quit his job and went off in search of the elusive happiness and meaning he craved. At one point he was encouraged to learn to meditate, but smiled, nodded, and thought, "not a chance in hell". It took four brushes with death before he finally realised it would be a good idea to learn, so he did. Much to his suprise, meditation did the trick, and a year later became an Ishaya monk. With his new found peace his creativity flourished. So, he started to write again. See less