Dear ,
I hope you are all well. I thought I’d begin this newsletter by telling you about an
experience I had last week at a train station in my home city, Manchester. I was on my bicycle and rather foolishly left it unlocked by the door of a shop when I went inside to buy a music magazine. I was standing by the magazine shelves and the shop assistant said to me, 'Is that your bike by the door?' 'Er, yes,' I said, looking around and realising that there was no bike there anymore. 'Well someone's just rode off on it,’ the assistant told me.
I sprinted outside and saw a guy about 30 metres in front of me on the bike. I chased after him and must have broken my fastest ever 100 metres record. I thought he was losing me until he foolishly decided to cycle up a hill, which slowed him down. 'Hey, that's my bike,' I shouted. 'Stop!' He stopped and said, 'Sorry mate, I thought it was one of those bikes that you can
just take.' 'But it doesn't look anything like those bikes,' I said.
The guy was obviously homeless, looked like a drug addict, so I didn't feel any anger towards him. I felt pleased that he gave the bike back straight away without any confrontation. He walked off, repeating, ‘Sorry mate, I made a mistake.' I said, ‘Alright then - no problem.’
Then he walked back towards me, with his hand outstretched, saying ‘Here you go - no hard feelings.’ ‘Don’t worry about it - all the best,’ I said, and shook his hand.
I decided to cycle back to the train station to thank the shop assistant and let him know I'd got it back and about five people shouted things like, 'Hey well done - you got it
back!' and 'Wow, that was some sprint!' so I felt like a returning hero. The only negative tone was one guy who said to me, 'What did you shake his hand for? If it was me, I would have chinned him.’ (In case you don’t know, ‘chin’ is English slang for punch.)
When I wrote about the incident on Facebook some people criticised me for ‘letting the
guy off the hook’ and effectively condoning his theft of my bike. But I was just reacting instinctively. And I didn’t feel any anger towards him, partly because he was obviously going through a hard time and I felt sorry for him.
What good does it serve to get angry? It’s more effective to form a bond with people, an empathic connection that reminds them that you are human, and creates a sense of respect. It reminds
me of studies showing that most effective way of rehabilitating young criminals is not to punish them but to bring them together with the victims of their crimes (or relatives of their victims), which gives them an empathic sense of the suffering they have caused.
A Buddhist friend of mine gave me some good advice too. He said ‘You have to act
in the way that is best for your karma.’
What do you think?
The Meaning of Life at the 'How the Light Gets In' Festival
At the end of May I participated in a Philosophy and Music Festival called ‘How the Light Gets in’ in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. I participated in two debates, and also led a’ Philosophy Breakfast’ discussion on the meaning of life. I enjoyed the experience immensely. There was a warm and vibrant atmosphere and a lovely openness to esoteric and unconventional perspectives, including spiritual ones. There was a very warm reception to my ideas too - there was a book signing session
afterwards and the bookshop immediately sold out of copies of The Leap!
I met a lot of interesting people, including the great Rupert Sheldrake, whose work I have admired for a long time. I found him a cheerful and friendly chap, with an almost child-like quality of innocence and enthusiasm. I also met a very interesting novelist called
Joanna Kavenna, who is - like me - a great admirer of authors like D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller and Knut Hamsun. So I am looking forward to reading her own novels too.
In the photo below, you can see myself (far left), Joanna Kavenna, philosopher Julian Bag-gini, and performer Helen Lederer debating the Meaning of Life.
Return to Harmony
As mentioned in my last newsletter, my Return to Harmony audiobook/audiocourse has
just been released. To coincide with its release, I took part in a podcast interview with Tami Simon of Sounds True, on 'The Evolutionary Impulse to Awaken.’ You can listen to it here. As a further note about the audiobook, there is a great offer on audible at the moment, where you can get the course for free, if you create a trial audible
account. So if I were you, I would just set up a trial account, download the audio course, and then close down the account! You can do that here.
Spiritual Science
My new book Spiritual Science has just gone off to the printer’s. It
feels a bit like a child leaving home. After sharing my life for the last year or so, the book is off to make its way in the world! It's a little sad to let it go, but I will enjoy my new freedom.
This book is very different to my previous ones, so it will be interesting to see what kind of response it receives. I’m pleased with it because it feels like the culmination of years of thinking and feeling and
writing down one particular avenue. I feel that my creative and spiritual life has several different strands that have been developing throughout my life, and this is one of them - that is, science and the worldview that informs it.
Deepak Chopra has just sent a great endorsement for the book: 'With elegance and lucidity, Steve Taylor explains why spiritual science is the only hope for humanity. A science
based on the superstition of matter as fundamental reality could lead to our extinction but a science grounded in the understanding of consciousness as a fundamental reality - as described by this book - could be our saving grace.” Thanks Deepak!
Here is the final cover of the book, with Deepak’s quote included:
The book should be available shortly - probably by the beginning of August.
Events
On Saturday 30th June, I’m speaking at the Mindful Mann Well-Being Festival on the Isle of Man. If you’ve never been to the Isle of Man, it’s a beautiful magical place, and this could be a great opportunity to visit. More details here.
I have also just arranged a one day workshop in Glastonbury on Saturday 27th October, in the Avalon room at the Glastonbury Experience. This is still a long way off but there are only 30 places, so if
you would like to reserve one, let me know at [email protected]. The cost is £45.
Finally, let’s return to the story at the beginning of this newsletter, and the topic of empathy. Here’s a poem I wrote recently about
it:
Empathy Poem
If you have no empathy, you see enemies everywhere -
when others come close, you sense danger;
so you strengthen your defences and protect your
resources
afraid they might steal what’s rightfully yours.
But if you have empathy, you see brothers and sisters;
when others come close, you sense kinship;
so you welcome them, embrace them, open your life up to them,
knowing they’re entitled to share what’s yours.
If you have no empathy, you feel incomplete
and the goal of your life is to accumulate -
to build an empire of achievements and possessions
to try to make yourself whole.
But if you have empathy, you don’t feel a sense of lack
and the goal
of your life is to contribute -
to alleviate suffering, to help heal the world
and so strengthen your connection to the whole.
If you have no empathy, you see a world full of boundaries
and the closer you look, the more distinctions you see
and the more autonomous the different parts become
until, right at the
bottom, there’s nothing but tiny, solid particles.
But if you have empathy, you know that boundaries are illusory
and the closer you look, the more absurd distinctions seem
until they dissolve away, and at the deepest point,
there’s a vast space of formless oneness.
If you have no empathy, other human beings are objects -
machines with no inner life, who only have value
if they can help you satisfy your desires
and who can be discarded once they have no more use.
But if you have empathy, every person is a
universe -
a precious manifestation of spirit,
full of infinite space, deep with unknown forces,
rich with the radiance of being.
If you have no empathy, your soul is hard and constricted
and you see the world as if through the window of a cell
and your isolation fills you with a frustration
that makes you rage with
hatred at the world.
But if you have empathy, your soul is soft and fluid
and you’re part of the world, as the world is part of you;
and through your openness, like a river through a channel.
But
if you have empathy, your soul is soft and fluid
and you’re part of the world, as the world is part of you;
and through your openness, like a river through a channel.
there’s an endless flow of love.
All best wishes and blessings, Steve
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