October is an interesting month for me because, among other things, it is the month of my birthday. Each birthday summons some degree of contemplation which I have found is somewhere on a spectrum from Woo Hoo! to Oh dear. I have found that as I have progressed through time the sensation is more often a healthy combination of both – an interesting balance between natural deterioration on one hand and experiential enrichment on the other.

I am pleased to find that my curiosity seems indefatigable, that’s a good sign. With that foundation, my fascination and wonder about the idea of person responsiveness as a fundamental approach for therapy and a fundamental organising principle for life has prompted me to explore it with a PhD. Let’s see what emerges from that experience!

My annual contemplation and the focused attention that generates can feel much like a trance and so I am excited that our feature article is from my dear friends and colleagues Jan Dyba and Kathryn Rossi. They present us with some deep and rigorous work on this fascinating phenomenon in A Deep Trance Phenomena Structural Model: Nature, Induction and Therapeutic Utilization.

We then have another of our Conversations With series. In response to questions coming from readers of our book, Matt has a conversation with me about Epigenetics and Methylation – a refresher. This is an opportunity for me to reflect and expand on the chapter in our book that is dedicated to DNA, what it is and what it does, when it does well and when it goes wrong.

Matt also contributes as an author as he contributes another episode of his ongoing series examining Iain McGilchrist’s book The Matter With Things. This episode explores the topic of Perception.

We finish with another fascinating book reflection from Gunnel Minett who looks at Zero To Birth: How The Human Brain Is Built by William A. Harris and published by Princeton University Press (2022).

If you are enjoying a birthday celebration this month, I send you my best wishes and delight that we are sharing this annual event together. Regardless of when you celebrate your birthday, may you all have many more to come.

RICHARD HILL | EDITOR