How Oneness Leads to Goodness: The Spiritual Source of Compassion and Altruism

with Dr Steve Taylor

Based on his new book, ‘DisConnected’, Steve Taylor explains how human goodness – including qualities like compassion, altruism and justice – is related to connection. Conversely, what we think of as ‘evil’ is related to a sense of separation, resulting in a lack of empathy and a desire for power.

He suggests that connection is fundamental to human beings and that our sense of separation is superficial and aberrational. As his philosophy of panspiritism suggests,  human consciousness is a manifestation of a more fundamental universal consciousness. When we experience our interconnection, we feel empathy and compassion, which leads to altruism. The main goal of spiritual practices and paths is to transcend separateness and attune to our fundamental oneness. In this way, spiritual development is intimately linked to altruism and social justice. Steve will include meditations and poems to illustrate the reality and the power of connection.

Photo credit: Remy Steiner

Steve Taylor PhD is the author of many best-selling books on psychology and spirituality including Extraordinary Awakenings, The Leap, and Spiritual Science. His books have been published in 20 languages, and Eckhart Tolle has described his work as ‘an important contribution to the shift in consciousness which is happening on our planet at present.’ Since 2012, he has appeared annually in Mind, Body, Spirit magazine’s list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. He is a senior lecturer and researcher in psychology at Leeds Beckett University. For a full list of his publications, including DisConnected: The Roots of Human Cruelty and How Connection Can Heal the World. (Iff Books 2023) see his website: www.stevenmtaylor.com.