The Fall, History of Humanity, The Ego & Awakening

Jul 8, 2010

Steve Taylor is the author of "The Fall: the Insanity of the Ego in Human History", "Making Time" and his most recent book is called "Waking From Sleep". He has had articles and essays published in academic journals, magazines and newspapers. He taught courses on personal development at the University of Manchester for several years and has been a psychology lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University. He is now a researcher in transpersonal psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. Steve joins us on the program to talk about his book "The Fall", about the origin, history and relationship to the ego. If human history is examined from a spiritual point of view it can be argued that the ego has given rise to thousands of years of violence and oppression. What went wrong? Was it a mistake? If so, can it be fixed? Topics Discussed: psyche, consciousness, pre fall civilization, ego, history of humanity, empathy, suppression of women, origin of warfare in 4000 B.C., roots of hierarchy, environmental change, Saharasia, James DeMeo, desertification, competition, abstract thinking, roots of agriculture, golden ages, Crete, Çatalhöyük, Romans, Europeans, Indo-Europeans, Semitic people, psychological mess, Socialism, Capitalism, do we need to "get rid" of the ego?, Ken Wilbur, the origins of time, awakening experiences, awareness and more. We look closer at Steve Taylor's books "Making Time" and his latest "Waking from Sleep" in our second hour. What is the nature of time? Can we get more time by changing our perception about it? Can time be mastered? Then, we discuss "Waking from Sleep", primarily talking about how to awaken ourselves. Steve also talks about the nature of the true enlightenment and how we fall into unconsciousness without awareness. More Topics Discussed: making time, living in the present moment, perceptions, living in the future, paradox, meditative states, mastering time, falling into unconsciousness, how to wake up, personal experience, enlightenment, oneness, spiritual nature of reality, psychological integration, shadow aspects, Ken Wilbur, integral spirituality, collective unconscious, moving in unison, school of fish, new age, tragedy & trauma, catastrophe as driving evolution, breakdown of structure, science, brain chemistry, disruption of homeostasis, sleep deprivation, intensification of life energy, prost traumatic growth and more.