Dear 

I hope you are all well. I want to thank you all for the many lovely messages I received about the passing of my father in October. It’s lovely to be on the receiving end of so much kindness and empathy. In fact, one of my main feelings in the aftermath of my father’s death has been an intense awareness of the benevolence and compassion of human beings. There was so much love and joy at his funeral, and it has remained inside me ever since then.

There has been a sad aspect though. My brother and I have been clearing out my father's house and have found some unexpected items amongst his possessions. When we were kids, my brother and I were told that our grandmother (my father's mother) had died of a heart attack when he was 15. Later on, my dad told us that she had actually committed suicide (by jumping from a balcony at a hospital), after a long period of mental health problems (and severe headaches that were never diagnosed). We found a small envelope with some newspaper cuttings from 1955, and some notes that had been written by my grandmother to my grandad, from the hospital - not exactly suicide notes, but describing how terrible she feels. And there were three newspaper stories, describing what happened in a sensationalist way - 'Woman with Nervous Disorder Jumps off Hospital Balcony.' It made me feel very very sad...It's a shame I never got to know her, but I'm sure that something of her is living inside me now.

Speaking of family, one of the things I really enjoy at the moment is going to my mother’s residential home to play music. Every week or two, I take my guitar there and lead her and the other residents through a singalong of songs from the 1960s and 70s (lots of Beatles, Neil Diamond, Abba and such like). It has a great effect on them - everyone really comes to life, and starts smiling again. I love it too, as it feels great to create such a positive effect. It’s a great illustration of the healing and enlivening power of music. I think if I wasn't a university lecturer, I would spend my week touring around old people's homes, singing and playing. (Maybe something for the future!)

The Calm Center Online Course (as a part of the Zen Lifestyle Superstack’)

If you're thinking of a Christmas present, allow me to recommend The 'Zen Lifestyle Super Stack.’ It’s a collection of 37 spiritual and self-development tools. A publisher asked me a while ago if they could include my online course The Calm Center in it, and there are 36 other courses, ebooks, audio downloads, guided meditations and so on. It's very reasonably priced at £35 or $50 (the whole thing is valued at over £3000). (I'm buying it for my wife for Christmas, but don't tell her.)

You can check it out here: https://stevetaylorauthor--infostack.thrivecart.com/zen/

New Articles

I've had quite a few articles published this month. I'm very pleased that I've been asked to write some blog articles for Scientific American - that has to be a good sign, as it's such an esteemed mainstream publication! Here is my first article, arguing in favour of free will, and against the idea that decisions are made by the brain before we become conscious of them. You can read it here

If you’re in the US, you can find an article of mine in the Nov/Dec issue of Psychology Today magazine, with a short profile of me at the front.

I’ve also written a topical article for The Conversation website, about our culture’s attitude to work. I've always had an 'ambivalent' attitude to work. When I was younger my main aim in life was to avoid any kind of job or profession because I wanted to spend all my time writing and playing music. I didn’t get a ‘proper’ job with a regular salary until I was 37, when our first child was born. But even once I started to work I made sure that I never worked more than 3 days a week, and lived a simple and basic life to make it possible. You can read it here

Finally, here’s an article I wrote on spiritual experiences for my Psychology Today blog. I love acronyms, and I've come up with a new one: ISE, for Intersubjective Spiritual Experiences. It's when we have a spiritual experience with a powerful element of love, compassion or union with others. Please let me know if you’ve had this type of experience! You can read it here

 Retreat

 

If I withdraw into myself

and seem to be retreating from reality

it’s not because I’m frightened of the world

or because I think it’s an illusion -

it’s because I am replenishing myself

and reconnecting to my essence.

 

I'm like an animal hibernating

waiting for spring to come

when I will emerge from my quiet lair

full of fresh vitality, a new born soul,

ready to embrace the world

more passionately than ever before.

 

all best wishes and blessings for Christmas and New Year!

 

Steve