1961
Every now and then we are fortunate to receive an interesting letter from one of our classmates that is long enough to give us a good understanding of what he has been doing and an appreciation of the people and the events that have impacted his life. This month we have such a letter written by John White in Palo Alto, Calif. It is a pleasure to turn this column over to him.
"Since August 1972 I've been working with Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell. He retired a few months later from the military to set up an organization for research and education in the processes of human consciousness. The organization is called The Institute of Noetic Sciences, and it's located in Palo Alto. California. My title is director of education. As Mitchell's first employee. I've been in on the planning and organizational development of a very exciting effort. Noetics is the study of consciousness and mind-body interaction. We re concerned with the full spectrum of mental processes, from the normal ones of learning, memory, etc. through psychic phenomena to altered states of consciousness involving meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, etc.
"Our belief is that civilization is in a critical state and mankind is at an evolutionary crossroad. On one hand, problems and conflicts have arisen that are global in scale and have brought society to a condition of escalating planetary crises. On the other hand, man s potential for creative change, fulfillment and benevolent control of his environment have never been greater. The key to solving the problems and unlocking the potentialities is consciousness. There simply will never be a better world until there are better people in it. That means we've got to bring all our resources to bear on the problem - our objective/scientific and our subjective/intuitive aspects. We hope to help bring science and religion closer together and narrow the gap between tacts and values.
“We've already done some spectacular research involving the Israeli psychic Uri Geller, who can demonstrate psychokinesis, telepathy and clairvoyance in a scientifically acceptable manner. In fact, we've got it all on a film which we rent to scientific organizations and institutions of higher learning. We've also got a huge book called Psychic Exploration coming out in the spring, which I edited. It's an up-to-date, encyclopedic look at the full spectrum of psychic research and findings. The Institute itself is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization with membership open to the public. I invite any and all to drop me a line if they'd like more info about any of this.
"I was recently in Chicago, where I spent an evening with Arthur Bloom and his wife Rena. They've just had their first child - a daughter - and it was really mellow to see how the Blooms are blooming. Art is chairman of the drama department at Loyola University, and is deeply engaged in theatrical production as well as teaching.
"I also spent a weekend with Dick Sax in Los Angeles. Like me, Dick is a recent transplant in California. He's finished medical training and is working as a neurologist on the staff of 16 (!) hospitals. Dick and I took an extension course on meditation at UCLA because it's becoming quite clear that meditation's benefits for physical and mental health are enormous. Incidentally, one of my forthcoming books, WhatIs Meditation?, surveys this marvelous experience, and shows what scientific research exists to support that claim. Another book I've just finished is called Frontiers ofConsciousness, and is the first comprehensive survey of noetic research, all the way from consciousness in plants to the possibility of extraterrestrial forms of higher intelligence. Both will be published this spring."
Thank you, John, for this most interesting letter! Those of you who would like to contact John for more information on his research and his books should use this address: The Institute of Noetic Sciences, 575 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, California 94301.
Secretary, 14 Glen Road Winchester, Mass. 01890
Treasurer, R.R. 2, Windsor, Vt. 05089
