The Learning Project: Rites of Passage (Becoming Supergenius: Creativity and Transformation) - Softcover

Stoller, Lincoln

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1775288005 ISBN 13: 9781775288008

Publisher: Mind Strength Balance, 2019

Synopsis

The central question in all of our lives is how to live, and—one way or another—we find ourselves on this path, on a journey toward an answer. Here, thirty-five exceptional survivors who are either starting, in the middle, or nearing the end of their life’s path tell of the secrets they’ve found.

Nothing prepares you for life. No schooling asks the big questions, and you will find no direction outside yourself. Some of us look for meaning in the mind, others in nature, family, community, or work, but the only place you’ll find it is in your heart. The heart can only be lived; it can’t be explained. When you reach the end of your life—and all of us will at some point—what things you’ve picked up have given your life meaning?

All of the people, through these rites of passage, are being drawn toward, are now immersed, or have spent their lives working more deeply toward a greater appreciation of themselves. The first love of your life can only be yourself: who you are, what you’ve been given, what you can offer, and what you are becoming.

These are not sanitized versions, self-help aphorisms, pigeonholed people, or bedtime stories. These are authentic rites of passage, unfiltered, and unfolded by layers. Lives like yours: confusing, complex, uncertain, and in the process of finding their roots.

Some will guide you toward all you want, others explore horrors you can only hope will never call. Some have changed our world, others are doing so now or will in the future, and still others tell secrets you’ll never learn unless you join them here, in The Learning Project.

“In a society deeply committed to time-wasting, Lincoln Stoller has given us something of a miracle in his Learning Project, a window out of our claustrophobic darkness into the consciousness of others, a momentary intimacy with the essences which animate flesh.”
— John Taylor Gatto, twice New York State Teacher of the Year; recipient of the Alexis de Tocqueville Award for Excellence in Education.

“The Learning Project provides a Rosetta Stone for living a self-made, satisfied life; an intuitive understanding worth more than its weight in gold… I highly recommend this book to anyone in the process of pursuing their dreams—that should mean everyone.”
— Alexander Khost, founder, and facilitator of Voice of the Children NYC

“This is a wonderful collection of choices, risks, doubts, struggles, failures, and triumphs from widely differing backgrounds, personalities, chosen paths, and ages—from 15 to 93—of remarkable, adventurous lives… I recommend this book to anyone, but especially to people thinking about how they themselves might leave a well-worn path for something new and heartfelt.”
—Peter Grey, PhD, President of Alliance for Self-Directed Education. Author of Free To Learn.

“The sheer diversity of the stories in this massive work, from individuals who forged their own trails, shows there are so many more ways to learn than the model our culture currently supports… Message to all: accept yourself as you are, take yourself seriously, and keep going!”
— Wendy Wolosoff-Hayes, psychotherapist, energy healer

“I have never read a book like this. The author allows the individuals interviewed to explain their learning/cognitive processes. The result is profoundly intimate and illuminating. As an ‘educator’, traditionally trained, I appreciate this unique format… A wonderfully humane book!”
— from an Amazon Reader Review

“I absolutely love this book!… It helped me appreciate the choices I've made, the directions I've taken, and how unique and individual each of our lives truly are, yet how similar… I can't even describe all the ways I have benefited from this book.”
— from an Amazon Reader Review

About this title

About the Author

Lincoln Stoller grew up around and was mentored directly by the colleagues of Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander Calder, Buckminster Fuller, and Albert Einstein. As a teenager, he traveled the world climbing mountains and, in the process, fell 1,000 feet off the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, swam across the arctic sea, crashed his airplane, collapsed his horse, stepped in quicksand, survived a major earthquake, was buried in an avalanche, and became a cultural ambassador to families in Central America, Mongolia, and the Caribbean.

During this time he attended seven colleges, got a doctorate in Quantum Mechanics, and founded a software company. Building on his interests in physics, neurophysiology, psychology, culture, education, spirituality, and culture Lincoln is now a physicist/therapist living in British Columbia, Canada, where he works with clients locally and remotely. He has two wonderful ex-wives, and two wonderful sons. Committed to supporting intuition and the feeling mind, he can be contacted through his web site at mindstrengthbalance.com.

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Learning Project
"In a society deeply committed to time-wasting, Lincoln Stoller has given us something of a miracle in his Learning Project, a window out of our own claustrophobic darkness into the consciousness of others, a momentary intimacy with the essences which animate flesh. What learning project could match this one?"
-- John Taylor Gatto, twice New York StateTeacher of the Year, Alexis de Tocqueville Excellence in Advancement of Educational Freedom award, author of Dumbing Us Down, and TheUnderground History of American Education

"The Learning Project provides a Rosetta Stone for living a self-made, satisfied life; an intuitive understanding worth more than its weight in gold. With brilliant glimpses into fascinating lives, Stoller shows life's answers lie in people. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the process of pursuing their dreams - that should mean everyone."
-- Alexander Khost, founder and facilitator, Voice of the Children NYC

"This is a wonderful collection of choices, risks, doubts, struggles, failures, and triumphs from widely differing backgrounds, personalities, chosen paths, and ages - from 15 to 93 - of remarkable, adventurous lives. Lincoln Stoller has a great knack for inviting the revelation of basic life truths, and the learning that has occurred along the way. I recommend this book to anyone, but especially to people thinking about how they themselves might leave a well-worn path for something new and heartfelt."

-- Peter Gray, PhD, Department of Psychology, BostonCollege, and President of Alliance for Self-Directed Education. Author of Psychology, and Free to Learn

"The Learning Project is an powerhouse of intellectual and humanistic insights from special individuals of all ages and backgrounds... An intimate look at what it means to be human, masterfully captured by a brilliant curator. An amazing book, well worth reading more than once."

-- Kate Jones, Founder and President of Kadon Enterprises, Inc.

"Anyone interested in the actual mechanics of lifelong changes, success, and growth will realize that The Learning Project offers an unprecedented, invaluable key to achievement that no growth-oriented learner should bypass."
-- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

From the Inside Flap

When I was a boy I was interested in science but didn't know what it involved. So I went to speak to the best scientist I could find: Eugene Wigner, 1963 Nobel Laureate in quantum physics. He was tremendously excited to hear from me, though he'd never heard from me before. He took me under his wing, and from him I began to learn the usefulness of good advice; 45 years later I appreciate how important good advice is... and it's largely unavailable.

The Learning Project gives good advice from a full spectrum of elders who have been there, and from just as many "youngers" who are on their way.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mind Strength Balance
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1775288005
• ISBN 13: 9781775288008
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 418