Marilyn Ferguson: Difference between revisions
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A founding member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Ferguson published and edited the well-regarded science newsletter ''Brain/Mind Bulletin'' from 1975 to 1996. She eventually earned numerous honorary degrees, served on the board of directors of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and befriended such diverse figures of influence as inventor and theorist [[Buckminster Fuller]], spiritual author [[Ram Dass]], Nobel Prize-winning chemist [[Ilya Prigogine]] and billionaire [[Ted Turner]]. Ferguson's work also influenced Vice President [[Al Gore]], who participated in her informal network while a senator and later met with her in the White House. |
A founding member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Ferguson published and edited the well-regarded science newsletter ''Brain/Mind Bulletin'' from 1975 to 1996. She eventually earned numerous honorary degrees, served on the board of directors of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and befriended such diverse figures of influence as inventor and theorist [[Buckminster Fuller]], spiritual author [[Ram Dass]], Nobel Prize-winning chemist [[Ilya Prigogine]] and billionaire [[Ted Turner]]. Ferguson's work also influenced Vice President [[Al Gore]], who participated in her informal network while a senator and later met with her in the White House. |
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⚫ | Ferguson was born in [[Grand Junction, Colorado]]. After graduation from Grand Junction High School she studied at Mesa College and, later, the [[University of Colorado]]. As a young adult she worked as a legal secretary and became a published author of short stories and poetry in such national magazines as ''[[Cosmopolitan]]''. Later she wrote freelance articles for [[''Time'']] and other publications. After living briefly in Houston, Texas, she moved to California with her second husband, Mike Ferguson, in 1968. That year, she published her first book, on home economics, with her husband as co-author. Soon after, she developed an enduring interest in what came to be known as the "[[human potential]]" movement, and particularly the latest research on the potential of the human [[brain]], with its implications for learning, creativity and wellness. |
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== ''The Brain Revolution'' and ''Brain/Mind Bulletin'' |
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⚫ | This inspired her to write ''The Brain Revolution'' (Taplinger, 1973), a well-regarded popular summary of these discoveries, and later to launch ''Brain/Mind Bulletin'', a newsletter that served as an ongoing forum for her interest in cutting-edge scientific ideas. At its peak in the 1980's the publication had a worldwide base of some 10,000 subscribers, ranging from academics and intellectuals to schoolteachers and storekeepers, and helped to popularize the ideas of such notables as Prigogine, neuroscientists [[Karl Pribram]] and [[Candace Pert]], physicist [[Fritjof Capra]], psychologist [[Jean Houston]] and many others. |
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⚫ | Ferguson was born in [[Grand Junction, Colorado]] |
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⚫ | This inspired her to write ''The Brain Revolution'' (Taplinger, 1973), a well-regarded popular summary of these discoveries, and later to launch ''Brain/Mind Bulletin'', a newsletter that served as an ongoing forum for her interest in cutting-edge scientific ideas. At its peak the publication had a worldwide base of some 10,000 subscribers, ranging from academics and intellectuals to schoolteachers and storekeepers, and helped to popularize the ideas of such notables as Prigogine, neuroscientists [[Karl Pribram]] and [[Candace Pert]], physicist [[Fritjof Capra]], psychologist [[Jean Houston]] and many others. |
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In an early commentary in the newsletter Ferguson described her first glimmers of what she called "the movement that has no name" - a loose, enthusiastic network of people from almost every discipline who seemed committed to creating real and lasting change in society and its institutions. This eventually coalesced into ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' (J.P. Tarcher, 1980), her attempt to compile and synthesize the patterns she was seeing. |
In an early commentary in the newsletter Ferguson described her first glimmers of what she called "the movement that has no name" - a loose, enthusiastic network of people from almost every discipline who seemed committed to creating real and lasting change in society and its institutions. This eventually coalesced into ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' (J.P. Tarcher, 1980), her attempt to compile and synthesize the patterns she was seeing. |
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== ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' == |
== ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' == |
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The book's title led to some confusion, having to do with astrology only to the extent of drawing from the popular conception of the "Age of Aquarius" succeeding a dark "Piscean" age. The word ''conspiracy'' she used in its literal sense of "breathing together," as one of her great influences, the philosopher [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]], had done before her. |
The book's title led to some confusion, having to do with astrology only to the extent of drawing from the popular conception of the "Age of Aquarius" succeeding a dark "Piscean" age. The word ''conspiracy'' she used in its literal sense of "breathing together," as one of her great influences, the philosopher [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]], had done before her. |
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In one of the most telling observations, religious scholar [[Jacob Needleman]] predicted that the book would help to make "New Age" thinking "more understandable and less threatening" to the general public in America. This was borne out by its success, as "The Aquarian Conspiracy" steadily climbed to the best-seller list and its viewpoint began seeping into the popular culture. Before long the book was being credited as "the handbook of the New Age" (''[[USA Today]]'') and a guidepost to a philosophy "working its way increasingly into the nation's cultural, religious, social, economic and political life" (''[[New York Times]]''). The book was eventually translated into some 16 foreign languages, and Ferguson became a sought-after speaker across North America and around the world, eventually traveling as far as Brazil, Sweden and India to convey her hopeful message. |
In one of the most telling observations, religious scholar [[Jacob Needleman]] predicted that the book would help to make "New Age" thinking "more understandable and less threatening" to the general public in America. This was borne out by its success, as "The Aquarian Conspiracy" steadily climbed to the best-seller list and its viewpoint began seeping into the popular culture. Before long the book was being credited as "the handbook of the New Age" (''[[USA Today]]'') and a guidepost to a philosophy "working its way increasingly into the nation's cultural, religious, social, economic and political life" (''[[New York Times]]''). The book was eventually translated into some 16 foreign languages, and Ferguson became a sought-after speaker across North America and around the world, eventually traveling as far as Brazil, Sweden and India to convey her hopeful message. |
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== Religious and Other Criticism == |
== Religious and Other Criticism == |
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⚫ | Such validation did not come without a price. Ferguson was attacked in some quarters for her very optimism. Others alleged that her "new" ideas were merely a repackaging of old ideas about positive thinking, and some saw the "New Age" (a term Ferguson herself seldom used) as merely extending the self-absorption that had marked much of the 1970s. Most persistently, some religious groups contended that the “conspiracy” was an attempt to subvert Christian views. This view, most notably expressed by author [[Constance Cumbey]] in her 1983 book ''The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow'', was restated as recently as 2007, when one online essayist wrote that the Christian church “rightly discerned the New Age movement, as outlined in Ferguson’s book, to be demonically inspired in anticipation of the ultimate unveiling of . . . the antichrist.” <ref>Jackie Alnor, SymphonyofScripture.com, 8/7/07.</ref> It was inaccurately alleged that Ferguson, herself raised and confirmed a Lutheran, had written the book at the behest of the Stanford Research Institute with the goal of overtaking western culture with Eastern mysticism. |
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⚫ | Such validation did not come without a price. Ferguson was attacked in some quarters for her very optimism. Others alleged that her "new" ideas were merely |
||
== Impact and Reissue == |
== Impact and Reissue == |
||
⚫ | Indirectly supporting both Ferguson and her critics, the New Age movement, as popularly understood, did thrive in the 1980s and into the 1990s, though this was partially through such pop-cultural manifestations as the autobiographical works of actress [[Shirley MacLaine]] and the “[[Harmonic Convergence]]” festival of 1987. While the period was marked by undeniable evolution in the fields of politics, education and medicine, many other ideas and practices, such as biofeedback and "channeling," were transitory. Through it all Ferguson remained an optimist who considered herself to also grasp the depths of the difficulties society faced. Commenting in advance of the 1988 presidential election, she noted that “there is no panacea for our social maladies” – but there remained the power of belief. “Our ‘foolish illusion’ that we can effect change fosters in us the capacity to act – and therefore to bring about change.” ("The Great Depression . . . The Great Schizophrenia," ''Brain/Mind Bulletin'', October 1988.) |
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⚫ | In 1987 ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' was reissued, featuring a new introduction by another of her allies, futurist-author [[John Naisbitt]] (''[[Megatrends]]''). While slowly developing a followup work, Ferguson returned her primary focus to reporting on scientific research in ''Brain-Mind Bulletin''. There she continued to explore the links between body and mind and new theoretical models in neuroscience, physics, psychology, education and health until the newsletter ceased publication, in part due to competition from popular media, in 1996. |
||
⚫ | Indirectly supporting both Ferguson and her critics, the New Age movement, as popularly understood, did thrive in the 1980s and into the 1990s, though this was partially through such pop-cultural manifestations as the autobiographical works of actress [[Shirley MacLaine]] and the “[[Harmonic Convergence]]” festival of 1987. While the period was marked by undeniable evolution in the fields of politics, education and medicine, many other ideas and practices, such as biofeedback and "channeling," were transitory. Through it all Ferguson remained an optimist who considered herself to also grasp the depths of the difficulties society faced. Commenting in advance of the 1988 presidential election, she noted that “there is no panacea for our social maladies” – but there remained the power of belief. “Our ‘foolish illusion’ that we can effect change fosters in us the capacity to act – and therefore to bring about change.” ("The Great Depression . . . The Great Schizophrenia," Brain/Mind Bulletin, October 1988.) |
||
⚫ | In 1987 ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' was reissued, featuring a new introduction by another of her allies, futurist-author [[John Naisbitt]] (''Megatrends''). While slowly developing a followup work, Ferguson returned her primary focus to reporting on scientific research in Brain-Mind Bulletin. There she continued to explore the links between body and mind and new theoretical models in neuroscience, physics, psychology, education and health until the newsletter ceased publication, in part due to competition from popular media, in 1996. |
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== Aquarius Now == |
== Aquarius Now == |
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The long-planned ''Aquarius Now'', after near-publication in several previous forms, appeared in 2005. The book, published by Red Wheel/Weiser, was well-received, though less commercially successful. Following its release Ferguson continued to develop projects, share ideas and advise other authors. In 2007 she moved to [[Banning, California]], near her son and his family. |
The long-planned ''Aquarius Now'', after near-publication in several previous forms, appeared in 2005. The book, published by Red Wheel/Weiser, was well-received, though less commercially successful. Following its release Ferguson continued to develop projects, share ideas and advise other authors. In 2007 she moved to [[Banning, California]], near her son and his family. |
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== Death and Reaction == |
== Death and Reaction == |
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Ferguson died unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack on October 19, 2008. Her death was widely noted in the national and international media. The ''Los Angeles Times'' described her as a "galvanizing influence,"<ref>Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times B10, 11/2/08.</ref> and quoted her U.S. publisher, Jeremy Tarcher, who described his own personal epiphany when he first met with Ferguson and recognized the potential of the information she had collected. The ''New York Times'' called ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' "the Bible of the New Age," and mused that the once-radical ideas of her "benign conspiracy" may now seem commonplace.<ref>William Grimes, New York Times A33, Wednesday, 11/5/08.</ref> |
Ferguson died unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack on October 19, 2008. Her death was widely noted in the national and international media. The ''Los Angeles Times'' described her as a "galvanizing influence,"<ref>Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times B10, 11/2/08.</ref> and quoted her U.S. publisher, Jeremy Tarcher, who described his own personal epiphany when he first met with Ferguson and recognized the potential of the information she had collected. The ''New York Times'' called ''The Aquarian Conspiracy'' "the Bible of the New Age," and mused that the once-radical ideas of her "benign conspiracy" may now seem commonplace.<ref>William Grimes, New York Times A33, Wednesday, 11/5/08.</ref> |
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Divorced in 1978, Ferguson was subsequently married to Ray Gottlieb from 1983 to 1991. She retained the last name of her second husband, with whom she had three children: Eric Ferguson (born 1964), Kristin Ferguson Smith (born 1967) and Lynn Lewis (born 1969). Her eldest grandchild, Katherine Harrington, is a student at St. John's College in Maryland. |
Divorced in 1978, Ferguson was subsequently married to Ray Gottlieb from 1983 to 1991. She retained the last name of her second husband, with whom she had three children: Eric Ferguson (born 1964), Kristin Ferguson Smith (born 1967) and Lynn Lewis (born 1969). Her eldest grandchild, Katherine Harrington, is a student at St. John's College in Maryland. |
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==Books by Marilyn Ferguson== |
==Books by Marilyn Ferguson== |
Revision as of 07:27, 11 November 2008
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Mferguson.jpg)
Marilyn Ferguson (April 5, 1938 - October 19, 2008) was an influential American author, editor and public speaker, best known for her 1980 book The Aquarian Conspiracy and its affiliation with the "New Age" movement in popular culture.
A founding member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Ferguson published and edited the well-regarded science newsletter Brain/Mind Bulletin from 1975 to 1996. She eventually earned numerous honorary degrees, served on the board of directors of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and befriended such diverse figures of influence as inventor and theorist Buckminster Fuller, spiritual author Ram Dass, Nobel Prize-winning chemist Ilya Prigogine and billionaire Ted Turner. Ferguson's work also influenced Vice President Al Gore, who participated in her informal network while a senator and later met with her in the White House.
Youth and Early Writing Career
Ferguson was born in Grand Junction, Colorado. After graduation from Grand Junction High School she studied at Mesa College and, later, the University of Colorado. As a young adult she worked as a legal secretary and became a published author of short stories and poetry in such national magazines as Cosmopolitan. Later she wrote freelance articles for ''Time'' and other publications. After living briefly in Houston, Texas, she moved to California with her second husband, Mike Ferguson, in 1968. That year, she published her first book, on home economics, with her husband as co-author. Soon after, she developed an enduring interest in what came to be known as the "human potential" movement, and particularly the latest research on the potential of the human brain, with its implications for learning, creativity and wellness.
== The Brain Revolution and Brain/Mind Bulletin
This inspired her to write The Brain Revolution (Taplinger, 1973), a well-regarded popular summary of these discoveries, and later to launch Brain/Mind Bulletin, a newsletter that served as an ongoing forum for her interest in cutting-edge scientific ideas. At its peak in the 1980's the publication had a worldwide base of some 10,000 subscribers, ranging from academics and intellectuals to schoolteachers and storekeepers, and helped to popularize the ideas of such notables as Prigogine, neuroscientists Karl Pribram and Candace Pert, physicist Fritjof Capra, psychologist Jean Houston and many others.
In an early commentary in the newsletter Ferguson described her first glimmers of what she called "the movement that has no name" - a loose, enthusiastic network of people from almost every discipline who seemed committed to creating real and lasting change in society and its institutions. This eventually coalesced into The Aquarian Conspiracy (J.P. Tarcher, 1980), her attempt to compile and synthesize the patterns she was seeing.
The Aquarian Conspiracy
The book's title led to some confusion, having to do with astrology only to the extent of drawing from the popular conception of the "Age of Aquarius" succeeding a dark "Piscean" age. The word conspiracy she used in its literal sense of "breathing together," as one of her great influences, the philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, had done before her.
Unabashedly positive in its outlook, the book was praised by such diverse figures as philosophical writer Arthur Koestler, who called it "stunning and provocative," commentator Max Lerner, who found it "drenched in sunlight," and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Robert Muller, who described it as "remarkable" and "epoch-making." Psychologist Carl Rogers credited her with having "etched, in unforgettable vividness, the intricate web of changes shaping the inevitable revolution in our culture," and said the book "gives the pioneering spirit the courage to go forward."
In one of the most telling observations, religious scholar Jacob Needleman predicted that the book would help to make "New Age" thinking "more understandable and less threatening" to the general public in America. This was borne out by its success, as "The Aquarian Conspiracy" steadily climbed to the best-seller list and its viewpoint began seeping into the popular culture. Before long the book was being credited as "the handbook of the New Age" (USA Today) and a guidepost to a philosophy "working its way increasingly into the nation's cultural, religious, social, economic and political life" (New York Times). The book was eventually translated into some 16 foreign languages, and Ferguson became a sought-after speaker across North America and around the world, eventually traveling as far as Brazil, Sweden and India to convey her hopeful message.
Religious and Other Criticism
Such validation did not come without a price. Ferguson was attacked in some quarters for her very optimism. Others alleged that her "new" ideas were merely a repackaging of old ideas about positive thinking, and some saw the "New Age" (a term Ferguson herself seldom used) as merely extending the self-absorption that had marked much of the 1970s. Most persistently, some religious groups contended that the “conspiracy” was an attempt to subvert Christian views. This view, most notably expressed by author Constance Cumbey in her 1983 book The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow, was restated as recently as 2007, when one online essayist wrote that the Christian church “rightly discerned the New Age movement, as outlined in Ferguson’s book, to be demonically inspired in anticipation of the ultimate unveiling of . . . the antichrist.” [1] It was inaccurately alleged that Ferguson, herself raised and confirmed a Lutheran, had written the book at the behest of the Stanford Research Institute with the goal of overtaking western culture with Eastern mysticism.
Impact and Reissue
Indirectly supporting both Ferguson and her critics, the New Age movement, as popularly understood, did thrive in the 1980s and into the 1990s, though this was partially through such pop-cultural manifestations as the autobiographical works of actress Shirley MacLaine and the “Harmonic Convergence” festival of 1987. While the period was marked by undeniable evolution in the fields of politics, education and medicine, many other ideas and practices, such as biofeedback and "channeling," were transitory. Through it all Ferguson remained an optimist who considered herself to also grasp the depths of the difficulties society faced. Commenting in advance of the 1988 presidential election, she noted that “there is no panacea for our social maladies” – but there remained the power of belief. “Our ‘foolish illusion’ that we can effect change fosters in us the capacity to act – and therefore to bring about change.” ("The Great Depression . . . The Great Schizophrenia," Brain/Mind Bulletin, October 1988.)
In 1987 The Aquarian Conspiracy was reissued, featuring a new introduction by another of her allies, futurist-author John Naisbitt (Megatrends). While slowly developing a followup work, Ferguson returned her primary focus to reporting on scientific research in Brain-Mind Bulletin. There she continued to explore the links between body and mind and new theoretical models in neuroscience, physics, psychology, education and health until the newsletter ceased publication, in part due to competition from popular media, in 1996.
Aquarius Now
The long-planned Aquarius Now, after near-publication in several previous forms, appeared in 2005. The book, published by Red Wheel/Weiser, was well-received, though less commercially successful. Following its release Ferguson continued to develop projects, share ideas and advise other authors. In 2007 she moved to Banning, California, near her son and his family.
Death and Reaction
Ferguson died unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack on October 19, 2008. Her death was widely noted in the national and international media. The Los Angeles Times described her as a "galvanizing influence,"[2] and quoted her U.S. publisher, Jeremy Tarcher, who described his own personal epiphany when he first met with Ferguson and recognized the potential of the information she had collected. The New York Times called The Aquarian Conspiracy "the Bible of the New Age," and mused that the once-radical ideas of her "benign conspiracy" may now seem commonplace.[3]
Offering a tribute on the website beliefnet.com, best-selling physician-author Deepak Chopra described Ferguson as "a one-woman movement for hope." He recalled being a young doctor who was studying meditation when he came across The Aquarian Conspiracy in the early 1980s, and realized the book had instantly unified a movement that otherwise seemed to be resigned to the fringes. At her death, Chopra wrote, Ferguson could rest in the knowledge that "a watershed had been crossed," and that her "leaderless revolution" had steadily gained force around the world in the generation since the book was written.[4]
Divorced in 1978, Ferguson was subsequently married to Ray Gottlieb from 1983 to 1991. She retained the last name of her second husband, with whom she had three children: Eric Ferguson (born 1964), Kristin Ferguson Smith (born 1967) and Lynn Lewis (born 1969). Her eldest grandchild, Katherine Harrington, is a student at St. John's College in Maryland.
Books by Marilyn Ferguson
- The Brain Revolution: The Frontiers of Mind Research (Taplinger, 1973), ISBN 0800809610, ISBN 9780800809614, ISBN 9780800809614, ISBN 0800809610
- The Aquarian Conspiracy (JP Tarcher, 1980; 1987) ISBN 0312904185, ISBN 9780312904180, ISBN 9780312904180, ISBN 0312904185, ISBN 0874771161, ISBN 9780874771169, ISBN 9780874771169 ISBN 0874771161
- PragMagic: Ten Years of Scientific Breakthroughs, Exciting Ideas, and Personal Experiments That Can Profoundly Change Your Life (Pocket, 1990) ISBN 0671668242, ISBN 9780671668242, ISBN 9780671668242, ISBN 0671668242
- Aquarius Now: Radical Common Sense and Reclaiming Our Personal Sovereignty (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2005) ISBN 1-57863-369-9
External links
- Biographical information
- Interview by Daniel Redwood
- Quotations 1
- Quotations 2
- Excerpt
- Additional links
- [1]
- [2]
- [3]
- [4]