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To listen to the 30 minute interview please use the audio player above.
Steve's research looks at how humanity suddenly changed from being peaceful to war like from around 6000 years ago. Humanity suddenly had an ego explosion where people became more individualistic and separate. Also in his new book "Out of the Darkness" Steve discusses a number of cases where people were going through some of kind of inner turmoil to then suddenly transform into an enlightened state of awareness. Where the ego collapses and allows a higher awareness of consciousness to shine through.
Listen to Steve's fascinating interview and learn about his popular books on the subject.
Hello and welcome to the Spirit Guides.co.uk Network Radio Show, with your host, Mark Chatterton. Our guest tonight is well known author and lecturer, Steve Taylor. Steve currently lectures at Leeds Metropolitan University on Transpersonal Psychology and Peace Psychology. He is also carrying out research into Spiritual Transformation at Liverpool’s John Moores University. He is the author of several books, including “The Fall”, “Waking From Sleep” and the just recently published, “Out of the Darkness”. So a warm welcome to you Steve.
We give thanks to Steve for persevering with us after our first attempt to record the show failed. The new software we used to hook into Skype’s audio stream failed to record anything, thankfully we fixed the issue. We appreciate Steve’s professionalism in giving us a 2nd chance to discuss his thought provoking books.
Bio from Steve's website:
Steve Taylor is an author and lecturer whose main interests are psychology and spirituality. He is the author of Waking From Sleep, The Fall, Making Time and his new book Out of the Darkness. His books have been published in 11 languages, including Dutch, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Spanish and French. Steve is a lecturer in psychology at Leeds Metropolitan University and a researcher in transpersonal psychology at Liverpool John Moores University.
Steve's articles and essays have been published in over 30 academic journals, magazines and newspapers, including The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The Journal of Consciousness Studies, The Transpersonal Psychology Review, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, The Scientific and Medical Network Review, Psychologies, Soul and Spirit, Resurgence and The Daily Express. His work has been featured widely in the media in the UK, including on BBC Breakfast, BBC World TV, Radio 4 and 5, and in The Guardian and The Independent.
Steve regularly gives workshops and talks and is a member of the Scientific and Medical Network. Steve lives in Manchester, England with his wife and three young children.
Questions:
I’d like to start by asking you, how did you get involved in the academic world in the first place? And why the subjects of psychology and spirituality?
Before we go on to talk about your two most recent books, I’d like to mention briefly your 2005 book, “The Fall”. Now in “The Fall” you say that there is strong archaeological evidence for a shift in people’s attitudes to each other approximately 6,000 years ago. This is the point at which a “fall” happened, with fighting and wars taking over from peace and harmony before that point. What in your opinion caused the Fall?
If there was inde
Out of the Darkness
ed a Human Fall, was there not also one for animals? As nature itself is very cruel with animals hunting and killing each other.
Moving onto your previous book, Waking From Sleep, you talk about individuals waking up and becoming aware of the world in a different way. You call this wakefulness. Is this the same as the classic notion of Enlightenment as in the Far eastern tradition? Or is it something more?
What is consciousness?
Would you say that there is a difference between consciousness and the Soul? Or are these the same thing?
Your latest book, Out Of the Darkness, looks at how particular traumas, such as suffering, illness, addiction and near death experiences have affected people and brought about enlightenment in their lives. I would like to ask, is it really necessary for people to have to undergo some sort of trauma to achieve this sense of peace or oneness. Surely we should be able to achieve this without the suffering?
So potentially, all human beings can achieve this state of being if they want to. But why do some achieve it and some don’t ?
You have interviews with some well known spiritual teachers in the book, including Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie and Catherine Ingram. What is it that we can learn from them that our own life experiences don’t teach us?
In the book, you mention a man called Russel Williams, who has been a great influence on you. Could you tell us what it is about him that makes him so special?
Do you have any views on the whole Consciousness Shift belief and in particular, 2012 being a pivotal year?
Would you argue that when an individual says, “my Spirit Guide told me”, or “My Angel told me”, or “My Higher Self told me”, or indeed “God told me”, these are all different names for the same energy force? And what would you call this energy force?
What are your thoughts on belief in reincarnation?
Finally, what have you got next in the pipeline? Do you have any more books planned for the future?
Steve’s new book,
Out of the Darkness
has recently been published by Hay House. It can be bought from the following websites:
Hay House:
http://www.hayhouse.co.uk/books/1848502540/out-of-the-darkness
Cygnus Books:
http://www.cygnus-books.co.uk/out-of-the-darkness-steve-taylor.html
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1848502540/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
Steve’s website is:
http://www.stevenmtaylor.com
He also has a blog at:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness
His Facebook page is :
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001239434555
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