Dear ,
I hope you are all well. You're probably aware by now that my friend and spiritual mentor Russel Williams died on April 9th. The
funeral took place the following week and it was a glorious occasion. There was an atmosphere of radiance and serenity just like one of Russel's meetings. It wasn't like a funeral at all - rather a celebration of an amazing life and an amazing man. There wasn't the feeling of sadness and departure I've had at other funerals - there was a strong sense that Russel's presence will still remain amongst us.
I feel so grateful to have known Russel for more than 20 years. My life and my being were so enriched by his teachings and his presence that I feel like he is part of me. Now that he has passed on I feel that in some way I'm even closer to him, and I feel more inspired to follow his teachings and his example. I'm so glad that I helped Russel to write a book to leave a record of his teachings and
his life. There are plans to create another book in the near future, based on recordings of his meetings over the past year or so. The older he became, the more profound and inspiring Russel's teachings became. Partly encouraged by the many new people who came to the meetings after reading Not I, Not other than I, he explored new, deeper areas and brought more powerful insights and guidance.
I was asked to speak at the funeral, to tell the story of Russel's life. Afterwards Paul Shambrook - who is the chairman of the Buddhist Society of Manchester, and spoke about Russel's spiritual teachings - co-wrote a tribute to Russel, which you can read here. Portugal
I've fallen in love with Portugal! I went there for the first time last October, for a transpersonal psychology conference at beautiful medieval town called Tomar, two hours north of Lisbon. And I was there again two weeks ago, to give a one day workshop (based on my book The Leap) organised by my friend Mario. I had such a wonderful time there, and saw so many beautiful sights and met so many lovely people. On Friday I borrowed a bike and cycled
for miles along the coast, surrounded by mountains and sand dunes, with spectacular views over the ocean. Every landscape and country has a certain spirit, and I felt strongly that the spirit of the landscape there was very energetic and benevolent. And I felt that that was why most of the people I encountered were so easy-going and cheerful. And I loved swimming in the sea, looking out at the sunlight flickering and flashing on the waves (even though, being the Atlantic, it was rather
cold.)
On the evening after my workshop, Mario took me to see his favourite beach, a half an hour's drive from Cascais. It was a tiny beach circled by towering rocks, and I had a real peak experience, walking along the soft sand staring out the wild crashing waves, and looking up and seeing thousands of stars glimmering out of a pure black sky. It
felt timeless, thousands of years in the past and thousands of years in the future, a landscape that existed above and beyond human beings.
So Portugal is definitely a place that I'm going to revisit - hopefully regularly. Spiritual Science
Over the last few weeks I've been busy
preparing my book Spiritual Science for publication, going through the editing and copy editing processes. I have to admit it's been rather laborious, but the book has turned out very well. While re-reading it, I've had a strange feeling of 'Did I actually write this?' And also 'How did I manage to write this?' I think that's because it's very different to anything else I've written, and because whilst writing I got into a state of flow, and a lot of material came through me that I wasn't
expecting. It will be interesting to see what reaction it gets - especially from conventional science community. I have a feeling that I might end up on the receiving on end of some rancour - but we will see!
Below is the final front and back cover of the book. I particularly like the summary on the back, which
runs as follows:
Is it possible that the biggest mysteries in the world can be solved not through science or spirituality alone, but through an approach that combines them both?
In this groundbreaking book, Steve
Taylor offers a new vision of the world that is compatible with both modern science and ancient spiritual teachings. Spiritual Science reveals Taylor’s “panspiritist” view of reality, one that transcends both conventional science and religion, and answers many of the riddles that neither can fully explain. The standard model of science has had limited success in explaining many phenomena, including human consciousness, the connection between the mind and the body, altruism and “anomalous”
phenomena such as near-death experiences, psi phenomena and spiritual experiences, to name just a few. But from a “panspiritist” perspective – which sees spirit or consciousness as a fundamental essence of reality – it is possible to make sense of all these things. Drawing on the insights of philosophers, physicists, mystics, as well as spiritual traditions and indigenous cultures, Steve Taylor makes a compelling case for a spiritual vision of reality. He presents a worldview that is
compatible with both modern science and ancient spiritual teachings – a vision of a sacred and interconnected world, and of a meaningful and purposeful human life.
Debates on the Meaning of Life
On 25th/26th May I'm taking part in debates at 'How the Light Gets in', a music and philosophy festival at Hay on Wye. On the 25th (Friday evening) I'm taking part in a debate on 'The Meaning of Life' with the philosopher Julian
Baggini. The following morning I'm leading a 'Philosophy breakfast' and taking part in another debate about Narcissism. I've never done anything like this before, so it should be interesting.
If you're interested in attending (and you can just attend for individual debates without buying a ticket for the whole festival) let me know, as I can get
tickets at a reduced price.
One Day workshop in Transpersonal Psychology On Saturday June 16th, I’m leading and speaking at a one day workshop in London, organised by the British Transpersonal Psychology section. (In case you don’t know, transpersonal psychology is the field of psychology which looks into spiritual experiences and spiritual traditions.) There will
be three speakers, including myself and Gloria Dura-Vila (who will be speaking about The Dark Night of the Soul). I’ll be speaking about the relationship between psychological breakdown and spiritual transformation. There will also be some practical information and exercises designed to help those who are going through spiritual transformation.
For more information, or to sign up for the workshop, see here. Practising Presence through Different Senses Rather than ending this newsletter with a poem as usual, I'm going to offer you a practice I've been using recently at workshops and courses (and also following myself, when cycling and walking around.) It's based on the acronym SLOTA (standing for Smelling, Listening, Observing, Touching/feeling, and All together.) The idea is that it's much easier to be mindful through
individual senses, rather than through all five senses at the same time. These are the guidelines:
Be mindful through each four senses individually for around 1 or 2 minutes at a time. First, give your whole attention to what you can smell, then your whole attention to what you can hear, then what you can observe, and then what you can touch and
feel. And finally, bring all four senses together, just allowing yourself to be open to your experience without any mindful effort. And then begin the process again, for as many times as you like.
Through this activity, you'll be aware of how each sense works powerfully and independently - and how rich and real your experience becomes when you give
conscious attention to it. You'll also become aware that there are no units of individual experience - there are no individual sounds or sights or smells. Everything is a flow of experience, arising and expressing and then fading away.
All best wishes and blessings, Steve |
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