Steve Taylor's March Newsletter |
Dear I hope all is well with you. Thanks to all of you who wrote messages of condolences after I wrote about my mother’s recent
passing. I was very touched. There were far too many messages to respond to individually, so let me express my gratitude collectively! It’s going to be a slow process to adjust to mum’s absence, but I always feel that when loved ones die, they pass on their life-force to us, so that we become stronger and deeper.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been pondering over human nature. There’s a lot of discussion about the “evil”
and destructive aspects of human nature, but I believe that human beings are essentially good. This is why:
Nearly 6 years ago, there was a terrorist attack in Manchester, my home city. Waiting in the foyer at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande, a 22-year-old man detonated a bomb strapped to his chest, killing twenty-two people (including himself) and injuring over 500.
Just recently, there was an enquiry into the incident, which found that police and emergency services responded poorly. However, one of the most striking things about the report was the numerous stories of heroism it described. The report commented on “hundreds if not thousands of acts of individual bravery and selflessness.”
Members of the public worked with police officers to carry out injured people on metal
railings. Stewards formed a human wall to stop people going towards the smoke. A woman who saw crowds of confused and frightened teenagers running out of the venue guided around fifty to the safety of a nearby hotel. Taxi drivers across the city switched off their meters and took concertgoers and other members of the public home.
As a paramedic named Dan Smith who was at the scene commented, “There was an unbelievable amount
of people doing what they could to help...I saw people putting together in a way I have never seen before…The thing I will remember more than any other is the humanity that was on display. People were catching each other’s eye, asking if they were okay, touching shoulders, looking out for one another, saying thank you.”
In fact, these heroic acts are always a feature of crises and emergency situations. When a person’s life is
endangered, it’s common for witnesses or bystanders to act impulsively to try to save them, even if this involves risk to their own lives. This applies to small-scale individual incidents - such as attempting to save someone from drowning or jumping down from a train platform to save someone who has fallen down on to the track - and also to major disasters such as earthquakes or airplane accidents.
To me, it suggests that altruism
is impulsive and natural to human beings. It’s only usually when we have time to think that we start to become selfish. Beyond the level of mind, there is a spiritual connection between us, which enables us to sense each other’s pain. We feel the impulsive to alleviate other people’s danger and suffering just as we feel the impulse to alleviate our own suffering - because ultimately we are all one. We are essentially good because we are
one.
DisConnected
Book Launch I discuss some of the issues in my book upcoming book DisConnected, which is out in a month or so. I have just arranged
an official online launch for the book. As well as discussing the book, I will include meditations and poems to illustrate the reality and the power of connection. You can buy tickets (and also order the book itself) here Dialogue with Serge Beddington-Behrens On Tuesday April 4th, I'm holding an online dialogue with my friend Serge Beddington-Behrens. We'll be discussing 'From Disconnection to Oneness', with meditations, questions and perhaps a song or two from me! It’s something of
a prelude to my book DisConnected, as we will be discussing some of its themes. More information at this link Psychology Today Article on End of Life experiences I’ve just published an article for my Psychology Today blog, about unusual experiences around the time of death. It was inspired by my experience after my mother's recent death, as described in my last
newsletter. Unusual experiences are very common around the end of life, both for the person who is dying and their friends and relatives. Let me know if you’ve had such an experience. Link is here Poem on Oneness Continuing the theme of oneness, here is a poem from my book The Clear Light that expresses the link between goodness and oneness. As I’m sure you are aware, there is no greater illusion than that of
separation. We Are Each Other
We’re not ghostly entities
marooned inside our mental space
with our personal pain and suffering
that can never be shared or understood.
We’re not machines full of selfish genes
who are always scheming to outdo each other
and only ever show kindness
if there’s some benefit to ourselves. We are each other.
We feel compassion because we’re connected.
We sense each other’s suffering
because we share each other’s being. We risk our lives for others
because there is only one life.
We help and
heal and love each other
because we are each other. All best wishes and blessings, Steve
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