Beyond Mind - Steve Taylor's February Newsletter

Published: Tue, 02/27/24

Steve Taylor's February Newsletter

Dear

I hope you are well. This month I’ve been very busy with the publication of The Adventure. A couple of weeks ago, I travelled to London for a launch event for the book, and last weekend I led an online launch event. In London, I was speaking at the Rudolf Steiner Centre - you can see me below with a bust of Rudolf Steiner behind me! I'm not an expert on Steiner, but find his ideas intriguing and wise. I especially appreciate his ideas on education. So it was great to feel his presence in the room while I was speaking!

The events were wonderful, especially the in-person event in London. After the lockdowns, when all events transferred to Zoom, it still feels like a treat to speak to people in person. Online events can be powerful - sometimes in a transcendent way, that allows us to connect deeply with another across space and time. But I love the dynamic, interconnective energy of real events. It’s very enlivening and uplifting. I also love talks because I always meet inspiring people - often people who’ve undergone spiritual awakenings after challenges in their lives, and other seekers who’ve devoted their lives to spiritual exploration. At my talk in London, there were two people who undergone awakenings after a diagnosis of cancer, and it was powerfully moving to listen to their stories.

I visit London quite frequently and always enjoy it, although I’m usually glad to leave again, because it’s so crowded and frenetic. There are so many different areas of London that, even though I’ve probably been there a hundred times, I feel I’ve hardly got to know the city. Last time, I spent most of the day doing research for my book on The Beatles, which I’m hoping to return to soon. I went to the famous Abbey Road studios, where the Beatles recorded almost all their songs. When I arrived for my evening event at the Steiner centre, there was a grand piano in the hall. So of course I sat down and played 'Because' by the Beatles: “Because the sky is blue, it makes me sad…Love is old, love is new/ Love is all, love is you.” (My fantastic son Hugh, who lives in London, was at the event, and took these photos.)

Interviews

When a new book is published, there are always interviews to do, and articles to write. As a fellow author remarked, “It’s not enough just to publish a book - you have to get out there and let people know that it’s published.” Some authors find promotional activities a dreary chore, but I don’t mind. I accept it as a part of the process of publication, and it leads to a lot of interesting encounters. Here's an interview and article that were recently published.

Interview

Article

The Adventure Eight Week Online Course

Beginning on April 7th, I’m leading an eight week live online course based on The Adventure. (All sessions will be recorded. in case you can't make the actual time.) Each week we will focus on one aspect of spiritual awakening, using meditations, contemplative exercises, and other practices for catalyzing spiritual transformation, as well as poems and inspirational stories. Each session will last for around 1 ¼ hours, with a Q and A at the end. We will find that wakefulness (or enlightenment) is a natural state which is accessible to everyone.
Details here: https://www.stevenmtaylor.com/online-courses/

DisConnected

At this time of focusing on my new book, it’s easy to forget that it was only last May that my previous book, DisConnected, was published. A couple of weeks ago I heard the excellent news that DisConnected has been awarded a prize by the Scientific and Medical Network for the best books published in 2023.

A link to the book on my webpage here

New Poem

As usual, let me finish with some of my poetry. This time I’ll include two short poems.

All is Well

You have to remember that all is well

even if you feel overwhelmed by the chaos of the world

and menacing dark thoughts swirl through your mind.

You have to remember that all is well

even if you feel encircled by enemies

and your life seems a futile struggle.

You have to remember that all is well

beneath your turbulence and confusion

like the deep stillness of the ocean

beneath roaring, surging waves.

You have to remember that all is well.

Then your faith will sustain you.

Your confidence will strengthen you.

The radiant stillness of your soul

will calm the turmoil of your mind

and guide you through the darkness, like a compass.

And soon the chaos and stress will subside.

You’ll return to natural harmony

sensing that all is well.

Beyond Mind

No matter how much knowledge you gain
it will never be enough.
No matter how clearly you understand
it will never be enough.

The pithiest phrases
the clearest expositions
the most salient reminders
the most powerful affirmations
can only touch your surface self
like wind that sweeps over waves
but leaves the deep ocean unchanged.

Words are only signals –
they can direct you but can’t transport you.
Nothing that comes from the mind
can take you beyond the mind.

Enlightenment emerges
in the space between thoughts
before and after words.

all best wishes and blessings, Steve

Calverley Building, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds West Yorkshire LS1 3HE
UNITED KINGDOM

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