Chair: Dr. Steve Taylor, Leeds Beckett University, author of Spiritual Science and The Leap, chair of Transpersonal Section of the BPS
Eventbrite organizer: Professor Ho Law, Chartered & Registered Psychologist; Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine
The events are open to both BPS members and non-members. If you need further information, please email the Eventbrite organizer: [email protected]
Science and Spirituality: One Day Workshop
Science and spirituality are often seen in dualistic terms, as fields which cover different aspects of human experience and offer different perspectives on the world. This workshop will suggest that they can be integrated, and be of mutual benefit. From a ‘transpersonal’perspective, spirituality refers not to religion but to expansive ranges of human experience, in which a person’s view of reality is transformed. The speakers will show that a spiritual perspective can actually enhance a scientific understanding of the world, while a scientific approach can add validity to spiritual concepts and experiences.
Dr. Oliver Robinson: Exploring the Complex harmony of Science and Spirituality
Dr. Robinson (University of Greenwich, author of Paths Between Head and Heart)will present a model of science and spirituality as complementary domains of enquiry that feed off and balance each other, and share the values of modernity such as innovation, pluralism, experience-based knowledge, and the empowerment of the individual. This complementary relationship between science and spirituality can be conceived via a number of polarities, which illustrate how science and spirituality relate. Transpersonal psychology (and indeed psychology more generally) sits at the intersection of these two traditions, and draws from both as a valuable space of integrating the head and the heart strands of our culture. www.oliverrobinson.info
Dr. Steve Taylor: Spiritual Science: How a ‘Panspiritist’ Perspective Can Help to Make Sense of the World
It’s often assumed that there are two ways of interpreting the world: a rational scientific way, or an irrational religious way. Dr. Taylor will describe a third alternative: a spiritual perspective that transcends both conventional science and religion. The standard materialist model of science has had little success in explaining such areas as human consciousness, the connection between the mind and the body, altruism and ‘anomalous’ phenomena such as near-death experiences and spiritual experiences. Steve will describe how a ‘panspiritist’ perspective can help to make sense of these phenomena, and provide a more holistic vision of reality. www.stevenmtaylor.com
Dr. Tamara Russell: Tools to Transform: A Brainwise Approach to Embodied Mindfulness
Dr. Russell (Clinical psychologist and Director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence)will describe tools to Transform are a series of embodied mindfulness practices that support transformation in any domain. They are not specific to any spiritual or psychological orientation but draw inspiration from Eastern theories of change (tai chi and bagua), contextualized within a Western Science neurocognitive framework. This talk will demonstrate how working with the brain in mind can help to support the development of awareness in any setting, at a pace and stage that is determined by the individual. You will have a chance to practice one of the tools as part of the presentation. www.drtamararussell.com
Agenda
10:00 Registration
10:30 Dr. Oliver Robinson – Exploring the Complex harmony of Science and Spirituality
11.45 Break
12:00 Dr. Steve Taylor – Spiritual Science: How a ‘Panspiritist’Perspective Can Help to Make Sense of the World
13.30 Lunch (not provided)
14.15 Dr. Tamara Russell – Tools to Transform – A Brainwise Approach to Embodied Mindfulness
15. 45 Break
16.00 Panel Session, with questions from audience
16.30 Workshop Close
Please note: All speakers, timings and content are subject to change. Lunch will not be provided at this event. However, hot drinks and biscuits will be provided at breaks.
Cost: £40 + VAT + Eventbrite charge
