Dear 

I hope you are well. The main event over the last month or so for me has been the death of my father, on October 16th. His last few years were a struggle (he had been ill for a long time with Parkinson’s disease) so it was a relief that he passed away peacefully, without much pain. He was a good man and a great father to me and my brother. I thank him for the endless hours of playing football and cricket with us when we were kids! He had a traumatic early life - his mother had mental health difficulties and committed suicide when he was 15, and shortly after that his best friend (who lived next door) died in an accident. He had grown up as a massive Manchester United fan, and not long afterwards, in 1958, the ‘Munich air disaster’ occurred, when 8 players and other club officials died. So he was devastated by that event as well.

I think that after that he was searching for stability and security and really wanted to be a part of a family. That was why he loved being a father. In some ways we didn't have much in common - for example, he loved drinking and socialising and hated being on his own, while I love being alone, and don’t particularly enjoy drinking and socialising. But we  always had a good relationship. He took pride in telling his friends that we had never had an argument in fifty years!

My dad’s funeral took place last week and it was such a wonderful occasion. So many people came that there was no room to sit or stand, and about 40 people had to watch the service on a screen in the lobby of the crematorium. My brother and I and my dad's best friend Mike told some funny stories about him, then I played my guitar and led everyone through a rendition of 'Dirty Old Town.’ (which was my dad's favourite song to sing). It was celebratory and joyous - a wonderful summation of his life, with all his legions of friends together. People said it was the most enjoyable funeral they've ever been to! There was such a powerful concentration of love and gratitude that it was one of the best experiences of my life. I feel like I am carrying all that good will inside me now, and am eager to pass it on to everyone I meet!

Over the years I've become more and more sure that death is not the end, and that death can be a liberating and euphoric experience; even a kind of spiritual transformation. So for me the sadness of death is tempered with a sense that it’s the beginning of another adventure. I think of death as like emigrating to a foreign country. You gave up your friends, your job and possessions and  everything else, and embark on a voyage to a new world, where you begin afresh.

Strangely, I found out that the week before his death my dad told his friend "I know when I'm going to die - it's going to be next week." At that time he didn't seem to be anywhere near death. I would have loved to have been with him when he died, but I think he chose to die when there was no one with him. Both me and my brother had been with him a short time before.

Because of my father’s passing, I haven’t been up to much over the last month or so, but I’ll mention a couple of things.

On Nov 3rd, I had the great pleasure of speaking at the 'Beyond the Brain' conference in London.

I was discussing my book Spiritual Science, talking about how my philosophy of ‘panspiritism’ can explain the world and human behaviour. It was one of the biggest audiences I've spoken to (and one of the biggest screens - as you can see from the photo). I loved the conference - there was such a powerful positive atmosphere, with a lot of intellectual stimulation from speakers like Rupert Sheldrake and Ken Wilber. I will definitely return next year. If anyone would like a copy of my powerpoint slides, leave your email address.

The day before ‘Beyond the Brain’ I did a one day workshop in Edinburgh, which was also a wonderful experience. There was a lovely of group of people, and the workshop had a very therapeutic effect on me, helping to heal my sadness after my father’s passing.

Recently I did an excellent interview I did recently with the 'White Shores' podcast, hosted by the well known spiritual author Theresa Cheung. Towards the end, Theresa asked me some funny short questions, including "If you were a Lord of the Rings character, who would it be?" It was difficult because I don’t know Lord of the Rings. (I watched one of the films but didn’t really like it - it seemed like too much action and not enough depth). But if you have any ideas about which Lord of the Rings character I might be, let me know.

https://www.theresacheung.com/white-shores-13-awakening-to-a-new-reality-with-professor-steve-taylor/

Some good news. I’ve been contact with Eckhart Tolle and he has confirmed that he would like to publish my next book of poetic writings, The Clear Light. I originally sent him the manuscript a year ago, and when I saw him in London a few weeks ago he apologised that he still hadn't read it. Then I sent him a new version of the book and last week he told me that he really likes the pieces and would like to publish them. I love Eckhart - he’s such a gentle and generous soul. We don’t speak very often, but I always love chatting to him and feel like we could carry on talking for hours.

I’ve already received a contract for the book, and it will be published in the second half of next year.

I’ll finish with a piece from the Clear Light, which expresses how I feel at the moment, in the aftermath of my father’s death and funeral. It’s about the importance of being benevolent and kind and spreading as much good will as you can.

 

Making the Human Race Whole

 

Make as many connections as you can

so that this broken world can become whole again.

 

It’s your responsibility

to radiate benevolence to everyone you meet

to be reckless with your friendliness

and surprise strangers with your openness

on behalf of the whole human race.

 

It’s your responsibility

to turn suspicion to trust, hostility to sympathy

to expose the absurdity of prejudice

to return hatred with implacable good will

until your enemies have no choice but to love you

on behalf of the whole human race.

 

It’s your responsibility

to free yourself from bitterness

and harness the healing power of forgiveness

to repair connections and re-establish bonds

that were broken by resentment years ago

on behalf of the whole human race.

 

It’s your responsibility

to make as many connections as you can

to open up channels of empathy

through which compassion can flow

until there are so many connections

across so many different networks

that finally, like the cells of a body,

billions of human beings will fuse together,

sensing their common source

and their common core.

 

Then a new identity will emerge, an overriding oneness,

a human race that is truly whole, at last.