Dear SMN members and friends,

We will be having our June meeting next Sunday the 29th, at Jean and David’s home. Once again thank you to them for being generous hosts.

Sandy will be presenting on Buddhist consciousness. I am looking forward to that and seeing all of you who can make it.

Kindest regards to you all,

Roger

Dear SMN members and friends,

The next SMN-Sydney meeting is scheduled 6th April 2008. Roger and Helen Rawlinson will present on “U Theory”.

A slightly new format for our meetings is envisaged:
1. 14:00 to 15:15 The presentation with questions;
2. 15:15 to 15:45 Afternoon tea break;
3. 15:45 to 17:00 Open forum with emphasis on personal experiences.

Hosts: David and Jean Ingman
Location: 5 Donegal Road, Killarney Heights, NSW 2087
Time: 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

Dear SMN Members and visitors,

**update**

Roger has asked that the next meeting be scheduled Sunday 10th February, 2008 at Roger's house in Penrith.

Location details:

Dr Roger McMaster-Fay
2 Nepean Street
Emu Plains NSW  2750
Tel. 02 4735 4900

**Update: This meeting has been rescheduled from November 18 to December 2nd.

[previously]

Dear SMN Members and friends,

Dr Johanna de Groot's talk scheduled for this meeting is 'The Hermeneutical Circle of Text, Author and Interpreter Versus Bible and Koran'.

As I joked with Jo, I have no idea what the heck that might mean, but Jo has promised to provide more explanation.

Dear SMN members and friends,

Our next meeting is scheduled 28th October. Lindsay Mell is to provide a talk on the role of Paradox in our lives.

Hosts:	David and Jean Ingman
Location	5 Donegal Road, Killarney Heights, NSW 2087 Google map (opens in new window)]
Time:	2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

At the meeting following the 28th October -- scheduled for Sunday November 18th -- Jo de Groot is to provide a talk on a comparison of religions, based on commentary in a book by an author who is an atheist.

More details soon.

Report on meeting 9th September held at David and Jean's:

We welcomed three guests, Helen Rawlinson, Derek Keogh and Simon Bull. Simon (later in the meeting) shared with the group some of his comprehensive views on using biological cells as a model for sustainability in societies. I believe Simon's ideas -- which were rich in such key concepts as fractal systems, scalability (all the way up from the cell to the cosmos), self-organising systems, quantum nonlocality and connectedness -- all found deep resonance with the group.

Dear Members and friends,

David and Jean have welcomed us to enjoy our next meeting at their beautiful home, on Sunday 9th September, 2007.

Details:

 

Hosts:	David and Jean Ingman
Location	5 Donegal Road, Killarney Heights, NSW 2087 Google map (opens in new window)]
Time:	2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

 
Agenda is relatively open at this stage. David and Jean will share their recent conference experiences.

I look forward to the next meeting. See you there.

Warm regards,
Steaphen Pirie
Sydney Coordinator
Scientific and Medical Network

"A Still Point in the Turning World: Contemplation in Action"

Speakers include:

Dr Carol Lee Flinders, Dr. Andrew Newberg, Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia, Dr. Camille Adams Helminski, Professor Les Lancaster and an Interview with Professor Sir John Tavener

CO-CHAIRS:

DR. PETER FENWICK is Emeritus Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Maudsley Hospital and Honorary Consultant Neurophysiologist, St. Thomas’s Hospital. He is President of the Scientific and Medical Network and President of the Horizon Foundation.

DR. ANDREW POWELL is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who formerly held consultant and senior academic appointments in the Health Service. He is coauthor with Dr. Bisong Guo of ‘Listen to your Body - the Wisdom of the Dao’. Andrew was founder chair of the Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group in the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

DAVID LORIMER is Programme Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Executive Vice-President of Wrekin Trust. He recently edited Thinking Beyond the Brain and Science, Consciousness and Ultimate Reality and his book on the Prince of Wales’s philosophy and work -Radical Prince - was published in 2003.

Location:

Bath Spa University
U.K.

I have brochures available for those who might be interested in attending (I'll bring some to the next meeting on August 5th).

You can download a pdf of the brochure (700KBytes).

Best regards,
Steaphen Pirie
Sydney Coordinator
Scientific and Medical Network

Dear SMN members and friends,

At our recent meeting (on Sunday June 24th) consensus was for the next meeting to be held on Sunday 5th August, 2007.

Alex Reichel offered to host the meeting at The Academy of the Word, and he also offered to provide a talk "Science and Culture." Prior to retirement from academic life, Alex was an Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney (further details below)

Meeting details.

Sunday 5th August, 2007
2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
The Academy of the Word
Level UB, 133 Liverpool St,
Sydney NSW [ Google map ]
Phone (02) 9268 0635

Parking is available in the building (advisable, due to limited street parking). Please email me via the contact form (if you're not on the SMN email list) to obtain security details for gaining entry. He'll need your car registration details.

The Academy is close to Museum Station and a couple of blocks from Town Hall. Come to the door of 133 Liverpool St and call Security (wall installation). Take either of the first two lifts in the foyer to level UB.

See you there.

Best regards,
Steaphen Pirie
Sydney Coordinator,
Scientific and Medical Network
(Mob. 0415 637 532)

Brief background: 

Alex Reichel M.Sc., Ph.D., Dip.Ed., FRAS.

Retired in 1992 after 38 years in academic life - Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of Sydney

Foundation Director of the Centre for Human Aspects of Science and Technology, University of Sydney.

Founder of St. Francis Community for work amongst the mentally ill and marginalised in the inner city of Sydney.

The Academy of the Word was conceived as a University for marginalised people but is now of interest to many others.

Member of SMN since 1990 and has addressed three Annual General Meeings in England and Sweden.

** Update** 9th July, 2007

At the next meeting (Sunday August 5th) I hope to have a fairly complete draft of the first part in my forthcoming book. The working title (of Part One of the book, not the book's title) is "The Detailed Rationale for a supportive, interconnecting, interpenetrating (‘Holographic’) Spiritual Reality." It'll be a fairly full-on technical rationale based on quantum physics principles that are congruent with some easy observations we may make about everyday life.

Those who are interested in critiquing the work, please email me or contact me and I'll arrange a copy to be given you at the meeting.

Dear SMN members and visitors,

I have confirmed that Dr David Millikan will speak at our next meeting which has been changed due to member feedback to June 24th.

There is an overview of David and his work at this ABC Queensland website (example excerpt: "Joining a cult is essentially a thing of the mind," he says. "You have got to hold before a person some glittering prize, some hope of salvation or some hope of healing, some tangible hope such that they are prepared to make quite extraordinary sacrifices in terms of their own well-being.")

As far as the venue is concerned, Roger has offered to host the meeting at his beautiful historic home in Emu Plains.

His address details:

Dr Roger McMaster-Fay
2 Nepean Street
Emu Plains NSW  2750
Tel. 02 4735 4900

I'll have more details of David's talk soon.

Warm regards,
Steaphen Pirie
Sydney Coordinator
Scientific and Medical Network

Tel. (02) 6331 6011
Mob. 0415 637 532