FOR THE RECORDJan.14, 1943--in the midst of WW2--at 13, I began my teen years. That was on Bell Island (10,000 people), NL, then famous for its iron-ore mines and what happened on and near the island during the war.
Having experienced two deadly attacks by enemy subs in 1942--piers damaged, the sinking of 4 iron-ore carriers with the loss of 69 lives--from then on to the end of the war (may 1945) we lived with blackout-shutters and the fear of invasion. For the full story check out
http://www.bellisland.net. BTW, my three older brothers and others were told, because of the need for iron ore to serve the needs of war, to build ships and the like, they were more needed as miners (2,100) and for home defence--both dangerous jobs. Ironically, during the war more of miners were killed or wounded, per capita, than of those who volunteered for overseas service. Just after the war, I earned my first dollar working on the "picking belt" picking rock out of crushed ore. This I saved to help pay my way, when I later got accepted at university
http://www.mta.ca Briefly, back to the war: Over the war years, there were many explosions, in and around the mines, that killed and wounded many miners. Saboteurs perhaps? Near the end of the war, captured enemy submariners admitted that they often went ashore, dressed as local merchant seamen. There, they made friends easily, enjoyed themselves, went to the movies, restaurants, and generally had a good time. But they also did the damage for which they were trained. One morning, we actually found German rifles--of course with the bolts missing--in a ditch near our house.
Be patient! What I really want to talk about is the work of Ken Wilber and about what he calls INTEGRAL THEORY (IT).
In my opinion, understanding
IT, and how
IT works, could really help each of us become the creative kind of person we really want to be. Furthermore,
IT could help us work together and thus build the kind of integral kind of society we vision IT could become--one INTEGRAL whole.
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When I was 13, despite the gap of 10 years, I was very close with my next older brother, Ern, then 23. Despite his lack of a formal education, Ern was very interested in reading things that challenged him with new ways of doing things, and of thinking. He loved reading POPULAR MECHANICS, including the interesting adds about mind-expanding ideas, hypnotism and the like.
One day he said: "Take a look at this about MENTALPHYSICS". Apparently, the idea is still with us. Here is the latest information:
http://www.mentalphysics.netBriefly--Ern was not all that wealthy at the time--he agreed to send for the correspondence course. We read it, together. I give this experience credit for helping map out my future plan of education. Were he alive today, he would be 94. Thanks Ern ! [More on this, later.]
