Walter Russell

I received the book The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe by Glenn Clark for Christmas. It's a short little book first published in 1946 describing the life of Walter Russell, who with his wife Lao, founded the University of Science and Philosophy. I breezed threw the book pretty quickly and was pretty impressed with the late Walter Russell. He was an accomplished musician, sculptor, painter, philosopher, teacher, architect, and figure skater. Quite the resume.

While I have only a minimal understanding of Russell's theories and philosophy, in a nutshell, he thought the whole world was basically run on electrical energy - you, me, the whole universe. If you take the gift of God's electrical energy and work with it rather than oppose it, you can accomplish all kinds of things. I don't know for sure but I would guess that the whole New Age thing started with the Russell's. Because his philosophy is of the New Agey sort, statements like: "Very often, sexual repression will reverse ones polarity" might be a little difficult to make sense of but the following quotes give you something to think about:

I believe sincerely that every man has the consummate genius within him. Some appear to have it more than others only because they are more aware of it than others are, and the awareness or unawareness of it is what makes each of them into masters or holds them down to mediocrity. I believe that mediocrity is self-inflicted and that genius is self bestowed. Every successful man I have ever known, and I have known a great many, carries with him the key which unlocks that awareness and lets in the universal power that has made him into a master.

Every successful man or great genius has three particular qualities in common. The most conspicuous of these is that they all produce a prodigious amount of work. The second is that they never fatigue, and the third is that their minds grow more brilliant as they grow older, instead of less brilliant. Great men's lives begin at forty, where the mediocre man's life ends. The genius remains an ever-flowing fountain of creative achievement until the last breath he draws.

Since genius is self bestowed and they all produce a prodigious amount of work, I think I'll hold off on bestowing myself with the title of genius, 'cuz then I'd have to produce. But on the other hand, if mediocrity is self-inflicted, I need to do something. I'm pretty sure this isn't what the Buddha had in mind for the middle path ,though. Maybe I need to sign up for the Russell home study course. Seriously though, some interesting ideas presented by the Russell's. Worth a deeper look.