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January 8, 1992
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RUSSELL2.ASC
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of :
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The TESLA BBS...300,1200,2400...(8,N,1)
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(719) 486-2775 Data
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(303) 824-6834 Voice
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TESLA, Inc.
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820 Bridger Circle
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Craig, CO 81625
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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Article From Solstice Magazine, Issue #36 May/June 1989
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201 E. Main St. Suite H, Charlottesville, VA 22901
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(804) 979-4427
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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WALTER RUSSEL ARTICLE: SIDEBARS
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AN EARLY WARNING
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August, 1954. "It will not take many years to utterly destroy
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the . . . encircling protective walls which surround this planet and
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protect the earth from burning up by the sun's hot rays."
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Walter and Lao Russell,
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Newsletter of the University of Science and Philosophy.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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April 6, 1989. "Scientists reported yesterday that for the
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first time they have detected an increase in "biologically relevant"
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levels of ultraviolet radiation reaching the ground as a result of
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the ozone hole over the Antarctica. This is the first indication
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that the depletion of ozone. . . is beginning to cause the
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potentially harmful effect that has long been predicted."
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(Washington Post)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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A RIDDLE WRAPPED IN AN ENIGMA
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In a way, the abrupt emergence of Russell's astonishing
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hypothesis is in keeping with the peculiar tradition of the ozone
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Page 1
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story, a tale rife with riddles and ironies. "One of the most
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||
striking features of the ozone controversy [is] the extent to which
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'outsiders' played a crucial role in identifying the threats to the
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ozone layer." (The Ozone War, page 11.)
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It was James Lovelock, now famous as the author of the
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controversial Gaia Hypothesis, who first found CFCs persisting in
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the stratosphere. Making the historic measurement required an
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ultra-sensitive device. Unable to obtain any funding for the
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research (he was dismissed as a "crank"), Lovelock built the
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delicate tool himself, using his family's "grocery money."
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Ironically, Lovelock thought the chemicals might serve as
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useful "tracers" for atmospheric study, and said they posed "no
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conceivable hazard." "I boobed," Lovelock frankly admits. "It
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turned out I was sitting on a time bomb." (The Ozone War, page 9.)
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Sherry Rowland, who while on a "fishing trip for new ideas"
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happened to hear early rumor of Lovelock's measurements at a
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conference coffee klatch, was no more a part of mainstream ozone
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research than Lovelock. In fact, he was not an atmospheric
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scientist at all, but a chemist specializing in, of all things,
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the chemistry of radio-isotopes. He and Molina, a young research
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assistant fresh from receiving his PhD, never imagined that their
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study would plunge them into the eye of a national cyclone of
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controversy.
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If Russell is right, and manmade nuclear reactions prove to be
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at the root of stratospheric ills, then Sherry Rowland's involvement
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provides one further irony: prior to his becoming interested in the
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fluorocarbon work that led to the ozone finding, he was funded by
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the Atomic Energy Commission. His area of research? -- the
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chemistry of atoms produced in nuclear reactions.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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RUSSELL THE ARTIST
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The story of how Dr. Russell came to sculpt his famous bust of
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Edison is an example of his legendary versatility. At the age of
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fifty-six, Russell had been an accomplished painter, but had never
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handled clay in his life. As President of the Society of Arts and
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Sciences, he felt compelled to make good on a commission for the
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bust, which a fellow artist had accepted but was unable to complete.
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He promptly got some clay and wired Mrs. Edison that he would go and
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do it himself -- akin to a great conductor suddenly picking up the
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violin for an unrehearsed recital.
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"It was a very unwise thing to do, perhaps, because with such a
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great man as Edison as my subject, I might not have survived a
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failure," he later remarked. "But I never let the thought of
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failure enter my mind. . . .The inspired belief that I should do
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this thing as a demonstration of my belief in man's unlimited power
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made me ignore the difficulties that lay in the way. So I went to
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Florida with a mass of clay, but on my way down, I spent the entire
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time absorbed in inspirational meditation with the Universal Source
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of all inspiration."
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The resulting sculpture was to be one of the great mileposts in
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his career; other commissions followed immediately, producing busts
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Page 2
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of Franklin Roosevelt, General Douglas MacArthur, Thomas Watson,
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George Gershwin and Leopold Stokowski, and finally a twenty-eight
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figure monument to Mark Twain and the famous "Four Freedoms.
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||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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RUSSELL THE SOCIAL REFORMER
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Founded 20 years earlier as an "ethical and moral movement to
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bring culture, character and the Brotherhood of Man principle into
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world human relations," the New York-based Twilight Club brought
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||
together a network of such luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark
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||
Twain, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Walt Whitman, Edwin Markham and Alexis
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||
Carrell. (Alexis Carrell wrote Man The Unknown -- a perennial
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||
favorite in macrobiotic circles -- during his association with
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||
Russell and the Twilight Club.)
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||
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Russell's long collaboration with Thomas Watson, another
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Twilight Club member and the founder of IBM, led to the introduction
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of moral standards and ethical principles in the world of business.
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In his first of many meetings and lectures for IBM personnel,
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Russell said he was "shocked" with the "jungle philosophy of every
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man for himself" that then permeated the business world, and he
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||
effectively replaced the philosophy of "business is business" with
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||
the concept "that equal interchange of goods and services between
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buyer and seller is the keynote of tomorrow's business world." (The
|
||
Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe, p. 24-25.)
|
||
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During the Depression years when so many businesses failed, IBM
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continued to thrive. When asked the secret of their success, Watson
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replied, "Go talk with Walter Russell."
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Abandoned during the WWII years, the Twilight Club was later
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revived as the University of Science and Philosophy at Swannanoa,
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Virginia. After Russell's passing in 1963, his work was carried on
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at Swannanoa by Lao Russell, his co-equal partner in work as in
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marriage.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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A LIVING AND DYING UNIVERSE
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Walter Russell often asserted that God's universe "is a two-
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way, not one-way universe." The death force or "winding down"
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||
principle is familiar to us as the force of entropy, the famed
|
||
Second Law of Thermodynamics. The Law of Entropy states that all
|
||
systems gradually lose energy (that is, energy becomes less
|
||
organized and therefore unavailable to perform work) through
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||
dispersal of heat; hence, the universe is destined to die a "heat
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death."
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Russell disagreed, and detailed the mechanics of an opposite,
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balancing force -- the life-organizing force, which he also termed
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"generoactive." This force is the answer to the riddle of Newton's
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apple, to which Russell alludes in his 1930s Times letter. (Years
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||
later, Buckminster Fuller coined the term "syntropy" to describe
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entropy's complement.) Russell also likened these twin forces to
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the charging and discharging of a battery, or the winding and
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unwinding of a spring.
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How rapidly or gradually a system unwinds after reaching
|
||
|
||
Page 3
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||
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||
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||
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||
maturity depends on a variety of factors, principally its degree of
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||
balance within its local environment. Thus the relaxation and
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||
dissolution of life may occur as slow fermentation, decay, a burst
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of flame or an explosion.
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||
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||
"We do not say that a decaying tree, which takes fifty years to
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go back into the ground, is exploding. If you burn it, however, the
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||
flame is a series of quick explosions which will do in two hours
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what Nature intended should take fifty years."
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(Atomic Suicide?, page 23.)
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Central to Russell's scientific conclusions is this
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||
observation: the state of rest, the source from which all life
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arises and to which it ultimately returns, is the "normal" state (to
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which Russell often refers as God, Mind or Magnetic zero.) In other
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words, it takes increasing effort to "wind up" into greater density
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(to live), while it takes literally no effort at all, once a system
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reaches maximum compression, to unwind again -- to die. Most
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||
significantly, the force of the unwinding/death phase is
|
||
proportionate to the total effort expended in winding up to that
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||
point.
|
||
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||
For example, it may take many years of consuming steak and ice
|
||
cream, perhaps along with exposure to chemical contaminants, to
|
||
reach the condition disposing one to bowel cancer. The effort
|
||
expended by the individual, the food industry, the chemical
|
||
factories and even the cattle involved, are considerable; at the
|
||
point of maximum compression (when the body cannot hold itself
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||
together any tighter) that mass of effort reverts into a forceful,
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||
effortless unwinding. What goes in, must come back out.
|
||
|
||
To arrest the course of the disease at this point requires a
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||
tremendous, renewed exertion of compression and life effort,
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||
commonly observed as the "will to live" factor or, in macrobiotic
|
||
thought, as the capacity to self-reflect and change one's personal
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||
habits.
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||
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||
In the case of human illness and dying, such a reversal through
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||
renewed compression is often possible, just as it is possible to
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||
arrest the burning of a tree with cold water, or to slow
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||
fermentation with salt. It is not so easy to halt the unwinding
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||
process of gunpowder, an electrical short-circuit -- or the decay of
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radioactivity.
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||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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THE SPIRAL OF ELEMENTS
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As in the life of his contemporary Georges Ohsawa, the modern
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founder of the macrobiotic movement, Russell was absorbed in his
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later years with both the cosmic meaning and the immediate dangers
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of atomic science. Also like his Oriental counterpart, Russell
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vividly and brilliantly expressed his grasp of universal dynamics in
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a spiral chart of the elements.
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Russell's atomic charts placed all the atoms as points along
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a continuous spectrum of increasing compression, much like the notes
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of an ascending musical scale. The musical simile is not casual:
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||
Russell's atomic scale is harmonically organized in octaves, with
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the inert gases (helium, neon, argon etc.) acting as the "keynote"
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Page 4
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of each octave. (Not surprisingly, Dr. Russell was also an
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||
accomplished composer.)
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Russell held that the hydrogen octave, far from being the
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beginning of the atomic scale, was in fact preceded by three
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"inaudible" atomic octaves, yielding a full spectrum of nine
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octaves. These first three octaves, involving wavelengths too vast
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||
to measure, would be beyond the threshold of physical sensing (that
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||
is, beyond detection by normal instruments of science). It was the
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||
lack of this knowledge, Russell contended, and the misconception of
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||
hydrogen as the first element that forced scientists to view
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deuterium and tritium (which he had originally called Ethlogen and
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Bebegen -- now well-known as components of the "heavy water" used in
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||
today's nuclear reactions) as isotopes of hydrogen instead of true
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||
tonal elements in their own right. ("Isotopes" might be compared to
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||
the "accidentals" -- sharps and flats -- of single musical notes.)
|
||
On the other hand, he asserted, that many of the higher octave
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||
"elements" in fact are but isotopes of higher-octave versions of
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||
carbon.
|
||
|
||
Carbon, lying in the center of the fourth octave, is held to be
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||
the balance point of perfect stability and the mature expression of
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||
the entire spectrum, and as such serves as the basis for organic
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life. Russell pointed out that roughly 98 percent of organic life
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forms are composed of carbon and four other elements (hydrogen,
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nitrogen, oxygen and silicon) which all are grouped together with
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||
carbon in the fourth octave (except silicon, a transmutation of
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||
carbon in the next octave up, which forms the basis of the Earth's
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||
crust and of soil). In a sense, the "purpose" of the entire atomic
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||
spectrum is to create carbon life forms.
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||
|
||
The further one compresses past carbon, the more readily will
|
||
the pressure and heat of compression explode into decay. The
|
||
supercompressed elements of the 7th, 8th and especially 9th octaves
|
||
(radium, plutonium, etc.) are simmering at the breaking point --
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||
hence the tremendously explosive pressures of the radioactive
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metals.
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||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
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ENCOUNTERING THE RUSSELLS
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On a quiet afternoon in 1979, I sat in a coffee shop preparing
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||
my Kushi Institute lecture for that evening. As I sipped my coffee
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||
-- I was allowed to, after all, I was a teacher -- I was interrupted
|
||
by two friends, both "senior" teachers. (This particular coffee
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||
shop served as a hangout and meeting place for macrobiotic
|
||
teachers.) They joined me and began discussing the usual topic of
|
||
the day: How to get everyone else to eat macrobiotically so as to
|
||
establish one peaceful world. One of the seniors noticed my
|
||
recently acquired book, Dr. Walter Russell's The Secret of Light,
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||
lying on the table beside me; and they asked me who Dr. Russell was
|
||
and what the book was about. After the first few sentences of my
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||
reply, they both proceeded to criticize both the book and its author
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||
for a good half hour.
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||
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||
In the Boston macrobiotic community where I lived at that time,
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||
I soon learned, to mention the Russells and their work was like
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||
admitting that you did not understand the unique principle of
|
||
macrobiotics. The philosophical and scientific works of the
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||
|
||
Page 5
|
||
|
||
|
||
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||
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||
Russells were (and perhaps still are) considered unclear, confusing
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||
and impractical. I, like my fellow students and teachers, certainly
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||
did not want confusing or "foreign" philosophical ideas to disrupt
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||
our established belief system concerning the nature of macrobiotics.
|
||
As far as we were concerned, the macrobiotic truth existed here, and
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||
only here, in our little community. The sun flag was raised high,
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||
and I was dedicated, loyal, stubborn and very confused. So, I laid
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||
the Russells' work aside, along with all else that did not fit into
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||
my small world of dogma.
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||
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||
Several years later, being a little older, not necessarily a
|
||
little wiser, but a whole lot more curious and frustrated with
|
||
apparent inconsistencies and impracticalities in my own
|
||
understanding of macrobiotics, I secretly began to explore the works
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||
of Dr. and Mrs. Russell. At first I became more confused and found
|
||
myself resisting, especially when I read such bold statements as,
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||
"Opposites do not attract," or "Like attracts like." Wait a minute,
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||
I thought. Maybe my macrobiotic friends were right about Russell --
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||
there do seem to be inconsistencies here. I soon discovered that
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||
the inconsistencies I was encountering were not in their works, but
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||
in the limitations of my own prior understanding. Gradually a new
|
||
comprehension began to open up.
|
||
|
||
Their words penetrated deep into my soul. They were honest
|
||
words, words of wisdom, of love, and they were steeped in the
|
||
unifying principle of macrobiotics. Their expression was extremely
|
||
clear and to the point. The message was practical and not at all
|
||
confusing. There was nothing there to instill guilt or fear.
|
||
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||
They spoke of the difference between knowing and thinking, and
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||
how we all know all there is to know, yet do not always admit it to
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||
ourselves. Dr. Russell was a perfect example of one who knew. He
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||
had very little formal education, and used this to his advantage.
|
||
Through inspiration he became an accomplished scientist,
|
||
philosopher, artist, sculptor and musician.
|
||
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||
They spoke of how we as human beings can reinspire others, yet
|
||
can only be inspired by the One. And most of all, for me, they
|
||
explained the mechanism and process of the logarithmic spiral -- the
|
||
foundation of macrobiotics. The more I absorbed their
|
||
understanding, the more it seemed to add to rather than detract from
|
||
or conflict with my prior macrobiotic learning.
|
||
|
||
Through the years that followed I began to incorporate their
|
||
understanding of macrobiotics into my own teaching and counselling,
|
||
always with the thought that I would meet Mrs. Russell some day.
|
||
For the past eight years I traveled throughout the United States,
|
||
teaching and encouraging people to study the Russells' works, and
|
||
giving out the address of the University of Science and Philosophy.
|
||
During this period I had not once contacted the University to
|
||
introduce myself. Why? I have no idea. In 1987 I moved to
|
||
Charlottesville, Virginia from New York. Why? I have no idea,
|
||
other than it seemed to be the proper move for me. I soon learned
|
||
that the University of Science and Philosophy was only a twenty
|
||
minute drive away.
|
||
|
||
I called the University and introduced myself, and said I would
|
||
like to meet Mrs. Russell; I was given an appointment. Days later,
|
||
I drove out to Swannanoa with John Mann, who had recently relocated
|
||
|
||
Page 6
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Solstice from upstate New York to Charlottesville. [Editor's Note:
|
||
Why had we abruptly relocated? We had no idea.] Arriving at the
|
||
requested time, I introduced myself to the staff and they said they
|
||
would inform Mrs. Russell that I was there. I stood among a group
|
||
of approximately twenty other visitors and watched as the most
|
||
elegant lady I have ever met began to descend the carpeted stairs.
|
||
|
||
We had never met, yet she recognized me in the crowd
|
||
immediately, and invited me upstairs. As we sat, she proceeded to
|
||
tell me my life story in detail, from the beginning to the present.
|
||
She spoke as if she knew me when I was a child. She did! And that
|
||
wasn't all she knew -- for she, too, was a living example of her and
|
||
her late husband's philosophy.
|
||
|
||
We spoke for a few hours on many subjects. She told humorous
|
||
stories about Dr. Russell and herself as if he were still alive.
|
||
"He is!" she said, "You can never die!" She spoke with a simple,
|
||
quiet conviction that was utterly disarming, and I felt as if I were
|
||
in the presence of honesty incarnate. Meeting Mrs. Russell was an
|
||
experience I will cherish forever.
|
||
-- Steve Gagn<67>
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
Editor's Note: Mrs. Russell was a perceptive person. Early in
|
||
our conversation, she looked straight at us again and said, "This
|
||
started in 1954." She was referring to the '54 University
|
||
Newsletter, no doubt; but she spoke so emphatically, Steve and I
|
||
could not help glancing at each other -- could she have known that
|
||
we were both born in 1954? She smiled. Later, she abruptly turned
|
||
to us and nonchalantly commented, "You know, Dr. Russell never
|
||
smoked cigarettes or drank coffee." Bingo, I thought. -- Ed.
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
RESOURCES
|
||
|
||
"Atomic Suicide?" (1957, 304 pp.), discusses the nature of matter
|
||
and its relation to the world of spirit. It also provides a broad
|
||
introduction to Russell's general cosmology. One fascinating
|
||
section is devoted to excerpts from the contemporary popular media
|
||
about the dangers of nuclear power. A lengthy introduction by Lao
|
||
Russell includes a biographical essay on Russell's life.
|
||
|
||
(Solstice Library)
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
"The Secret of Light" (1947, 288 pp.) is a thorough exposition of
|
||
Russell's cosmology, more completely and systematically presented
|
||
than in Atomic Suicide?
|
||
|
||
(Solstice Library)
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
"The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe," by Glenn Clark
|
||
(1953 edition, 57 pp.), is a short, highly accessible biography.
|
||
|
||
(Solstice Library)
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page 7
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
"Home Study Course." Available from the University, this is a
|
||
thorough, comprehensive course of study of the Russells' work in all
|
||
its dimensions.
|
||
|
||
(See ad this page for the Home Study Course
|
||
and other Russell books.)
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
RELATED BOOKS AND LITERATURE
|
||
|
||
"Holoscene" (formerly "Spiral, Lord of Creation"), by Jerry Canty;
|
||
144 pp. Canty's most thorough explanation of Russell's work to
|
||
date. Available directly from Canty in photocopy for $25 ppd.
|
||
Jerome Canty, Box 5256, Chico CA 95927.
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
"The Atomic Age and The Unique Principle," Georges Ohsawa. Written
|
||
towards the end of his life, The Atomic Age presents Ohsawa's most
|
||
incisive perspective on the atomic frontier and the 20th century
|
||
challenge. (Solstice Library)
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
"World Crisis Solutions Foundation Newsletter," issues 1-4. Written
|
||
by Dr. Tim Binder, these four newsletters contain brief overviews of
|
||
some of Dr. Russell's insights and Dr. Binder's efforts to pursue
|
||
the radiation/ozone-depletion connection. The Newsletters also
|
||
contain condensed articles on a variety of other vital health and
|
||
environmental issues. $20 for set of four. NW 169 Blodgett Camp
|
||
Road, Hamilton MT 59840 (406) 363-4041.
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
"The Ozone War," Lydia Dotto and Harold Schiff, Doubleday & Co.,
|
||
1978. A fascinating account of the discoveries and controversies
|
||
surrounding Sherwood Rowland's work with the Ozone Hole.
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
"Protecting the Ozone Layer," Chapter 5 of The State of the World
|
||
1989, Worldwatch Institute, NY
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
|
||
as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
|
||
Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
|
||
Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
|
||
|
||
Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
|
||
Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
If we can be of service, you may contact
|
||
Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
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|
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|
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Page 8
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