Rod
Rees (volunteer from Sept. 10 '06)
Born a small town
midwesterner, I'll soon
turn 65. My undergrad degree was from the Design Department at Southern
Illinois University (1965). This was a radical program in its day,
emphasizing
a generalist approach to problem solving. Our star professor was
Buckminster
Fuller, so you could say that early on I was indoctrinated in the
Fulleresque
way of looking at the world.
My doctorate was from Brown University
in experimental psychology (1970), specializing in learning in
non-human
primates. My training during those years was hard-core behavioral
research, and
I got involved in some of the early uses of lab computers
in
psychology. My minor field was sensation & perception.
My next 20
years were spent in
a smallish west coast state university. Within a few years I was
teaching
courses primarily in sensation/perception/states-of-consciousness, as
well as
statistics (ANOVA) & research design. My favorite course was the
History of
Psychology which allowed me to range freely over the story of
consciousness. My
research interest was the experiential exploration of self-hypnosis,
delving
into what we called "mutual trance states."
Since
retiring in 1990 I've
had a low-key lifestyle pursuing a wide variety of interests, including
two
years in Costa Rica.
Living now in southwestern New
Mexico,
I find my life filled to the brim with the sorry state of affairs in U.S.
politics; with hiking; with digital photography; and with yet another
attempt
to codify my world view in a way that satisfies me. (Rod's entry round)
Heloisa (volunteer from Oct. 11 '06)
Born in South America,
I was exposed to a European culture in my family and
spoke English and French from a very early age. As a result, my
interest
towards traveling and learning about different cultures was greatly
stimulated.
In my adult life, I lived and took extensive trips to Europe, Africa
and Asia.
My marriage to an American
brought me to the United
States, where I got my training and
completed my graduate work in clinical psychology. My master’s thesis
was among
an Indian group in Brazil
and consisted of a study of the effects of acculturation on the
responses to
non-verbal “culture-free” intelligence tests. My doctoral dissertation
was
about the effects of migration on the family structure of low-income
Brazilian
families that migrated from the rural to urban areas.
I specialized in family therapy
from a system’s perspective and have been in private practice for many
years.
Parallel to my work in psychology, I was mesmerized with the dream
world and
spiritual dimensions of our lives. As I got deeper in my spiritual
practices, I
became aware of the importance of taking those dimensions into account
in the
understanding of all levels of our bio-psycho-social continuum. In my
clinical
work, I have been attempting to apply a systemic intrapsychic model
that takes
those dimensions into account, to the understanding of the dream world.
This
work has made a strong impact on some clients and in several instances,
became
a turning point in the therapeutic process. I have been writing
articles and am
gathering material for a book on this topic. (Heloisa's
entry round)
Maria Yung (volunteer from Nov. 6 '06)
I was born in Taipei,
Taiwan and moved to Hong Kong when I was 6 years old. My family
immigrated to
the United States
when I was
9 years old and I have lived in California,
Bay Area, since.
After
receiving my undergraduate degree in
Economics from UCLA, I worked for 6 years in commercial real estate,
managing
various office buildings in downtown San Francisco. The job was demanding
and not quite
satisfying. I couldn't see myself in that career for the rest of my
life. When
I turned 30, I decided to fulfill a childhood dream of traveling and
living
abroad in various countries. My trip took me to Europe, Northern
Africa, Middle
East, and finally Asia.
It was on
this trip that I became interested
in spiritual matters and took special interest in Buddhism. I studied
for 6
months with various rinpoches in Nepal and read works from
different
Tibetan, Indian and Chinese masters.
Upon
returning to the U.S.,
I studied
acupuncture and Chinese medicine. To me, this was a return to my family
roots
as my grandmother, aunt and uncle are all in this field. Currently I
have a
clinical practice in Oakland,
CA specializing in pain
care and
woman's health. (Maria's
entry round)