March 26, April 24, May 22, 2002 and July 27-Aug 1, 2002
REDEFINING REALITY (a three-part series)

Part One: Redefining Reality

The overall theme of the evening is, in the words of Richmond Mayo-Smith, a board member of The Marion Foundation, “reality is up for grabs.” Our present understanding of “reality” is being challenged-and even changed-by advances in the sciences, medicine, planetary and space exploration, consciousness studies and other vital areas of inquiry.

Despite the fact that the human concept of reality has evolved over millennia, and continues to evolve, each generation mistakenly believes that its limited conception of reality is reality. Moreover, throughout our history, each era punishes, in one way or another, those who question or reject the dominant conception of reality. Ours is no exception. By holding uncritically and rigidly to erroneous conceptions of reality, human beings cause a great deal of harm to themselves. This broad theme will be deepened during the evening as we examine specific, crucial aspects of our society such as:

The Social Contract: A comparison of the European Union and the United States reveals many illusions Americans have about daily life in these different democracies.

The Radioactive-Chemical-Biotech Assault on Life: An assessment of the impact on our lives of life-negative science, which is broadening and deepening at an ever more rapid pace.

The Militarization of Space by a New Space-Faring Species: A review of our space activities and their implications for on life on earth and life beyond earth, in particular the introduction of nuclear reactors and weaponry to space. Why are we letting “Space” be turned into a new “theater of war?”

These and other aspects of our lives will be looked at in an attempt to understand:

• what we think is happening vs. what is actually happening in our world;


• who we humans beings really are vs. our idealized picture of ourselves;


• the new knowledge emerging about the nature of the Universe, including the existence of other intelligences in the universe, and our place in it, as we begin to explore beyond earth.

Part Two: Sexuality and Social Change

Few perceive the intimate connections between sexual repression and our present authoritarian social order. Many seek to “change things” but can there be fundamental social change without radical change in our understanding of human sexuality and in our sexual lives?

The dominant human view of sexuality can be characterized as a mix of moralism, sentimentality and pornography. Although one or another of these three factors plays a major role in the individual, all three elements are present in each person to some degree. This leads to deep inner conflicts in individuals and society concerning the sexual lives of infants, children and adults. This conflict is evident in movies and on TV, in advertising, in the arts, in religious pronouncements and in political programs.

Among the questions we will examine are:

• What is the origin of our present-day sexual structure and social order? Is it of genetic or biological origin? If so, is fundamental change therefore impossible?


• Does the present authoritarian, anti-life social order arise from social conditions that can be altered? If so, what needs to be changed and in what manner?


• Is there a natural sexuality that is basically different from the prevailing conceptions of sexuality? If so, how would this manner of sexual functioning help bring about life-positive social change?

Join us for a vigorous discussion of some explosive issues.

Part Three: What Is Life?
Our two major ways of knowing, mechanistic science and mystical metaphysics, singly and in combination, have brought us to a dead end in which we are destroying ourselves and Life on our planet. It is obvious to increasing numbers of people that our understanding of Life is incomplete and that our actions based on faulty beliefs are endangering our very existence. But what is Life? Many answers to that question have been offered over the millennia and we will look at the exciting contributions to this inquiry from ancient times to the present.

However, despite intense study, the question “What is Life?” remains, unanswered. Why have the efforts of serious searching souls for millennia not led to an answer to this basic question? Because the nature of Life is functional, and not mystical or mechanistic. Therefore, Life Itself has eluded those using the tools of mechanistic-mystical thinking.

What does this mean? To find out more, join us for a discussion of “the next step” in our evolution on Earth: the practical comprehension of the Cosmic Life Energy and its potential to transform all aspects of our lives.

“...free, self-regulated behavior fills people with enthusiasm but at the same time terrifies them.”
—Wilhelm Reich, The Function of the Orgasm

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of great experimentation in education. All across America, parents, students and educators—from small co-operative kindergartens to major universities—were exploring new ways of teaching and learning. One such attempt at a new form of education led to the creation of Bensalem, The Experimental College. Although it was founded by an Oxford scholar and a Jesuit priest, and was a full college at conservative, Catholic Fordham University, Bensalem was called by LOOK Magazine “the farthest out college in the U.S. today.”

The founders of Bensalem envisaged “a little Oxford” in The Bronx where the atmosphere of the ancient Greek polis and colloquia would be recreated. However, the founders of the experiment understood neither the nature of American adolescents circa 1967 nor the depth of the social upheaval at that time. Students and faculty had equal votes in deciding such important issues as the governing structure of the school, the faculty to be hired and the students to be admitted.

The contemporary school that the young people at Bensalem created bore little resemblance to the classical dreams of its founders. Word spread quickly in the educational community about the unique experiment underway. Although the students and faculty were unaware of it, daily life in Bensalem became a living example of what Reich called “self-regulation.” This crucial biological function often was evident as much by its absence as by its presence.

Each person in Bensalem had an opportunity to help create the school, actively shape his or her educational experience, and become his or her authentic self. For example, each person in Bensalem found himself or herself in an environment where it was possible to live an active sexual life openly, whether one was 17 or 70, single or married, heterosexual or homosexual. It was also possible for a student’s educational experience to consist of traveling around the world, making a movie, forming a theater company or starting a magazine instead of attending conventional classes.

Some embraced these opportunities; others turned from them, taking a more conventional route. Still others angrily tried to deny these possibilities to fellow members of the experiment. The experimental college was a living example of Reich’s observation that “…free, self-regulated behavior fills people with enthusiasm but at the same time terrifies them.” A large percentage of those who came to Bensalem experienced deep, unexpected anxiety while at the school because they did not have the capacity to function in an open environment. Many could not admit this to themselves and sought scapegoats whom they could blame for their difficulties.

Educators, students and journalists came from all over the country and the world—Europe, Asia, India, South America—to see for themselves if what they had heard about Bensalem was true. And what had they heard? Stories of the sexual openness that existed at the school; the radical politics of the students and faculty; and the innovative educational approaches being tried.

And what did they find? Young people living sexually active lives that differed greatly from monogamous marriage; adults and children living in new family structures that were the antithesis of the authoritarian family; students and teachers forming communes and living in an economic structure that contrasted sharply with our capitalist consumer society. And they found a social institution in which no person had power over any other person. At Bensalem, each student was responsible for evaluating his or her education. There were no requirements, test or grades. No one could be expelled, except for committing crimes that violated the laws of the larger society.

Join author, and Bensalem graduate, Michael Mannion, for an exciting look at a tumultuous time for American life in general and for an American educational experiment in particular, one in which much was revealed about the possibilities and limits of self-regulation in our authoritarian society.