Welcome to the Knoxville IONS Community Group web page!
Next Meeting
The Knoxville IONS Community Group was formed in January, 2004, by members of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) living in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area.
The vision for creating the Institute of Noetic Sciences came in 1971. Nations throughout the world had galvanized around the exciting frontier of space exploration. The potential for scientific understanding of our world seemed unlimited to a naval air captain named Edgar Mitchell. He was a pragmatic young test pilot, engineer and scientist; a mission to the moon on Apollo 14 was his "dream come true." Space exploration symbolized for Dr. Mitchell what it did for his nation as a whole — technological triumph of historical proportions, unprecedented mastery of the world in which we live, and extraordinary potentials for new discoveries.
But it was the trip home that Mitchell recalls most. Sitting in the cramped cabin of the space capsule, he saw planet Earth floating freely in the vastness of space. He was engulfed by a profound sense of universal connectedness-an epiphany. In Mitchell's own words: "The presence of divinity became almost palpable, and I knew that life in the universe was not just an accident based on random processes. . . . The knowledge came to me directly."
After his safe return "home," Mitchell sought out others who likewise felt the need for an expanded, more inclusive view of reality. They resolved to explore the inner world of human experience with the same rigor and critical thinking that made it possible for Apollo 14 to journey to the moon and back. In 1973, this small group of explorers founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences-derived from the Greek word nous, meaning something close to "intuitive ways of knowing." (Dr. Mitchell's story is told in the book The Way of the Explorer: An Apollo Astronaut's Journey Through the Material and Mystical Worlds).
Community Groups are self-organizing, self-directing, voluntary associations of members. While IONS assists these groups in many ways, each one operates independently of the institute and is legally and financially responsible for its own activities.
Although it is not a requirement to be a member of IONS to attend our meetings, we do encourage support of IONS through membership. Signing up for a free membership couldn’t be easier. Just click here, and provide us with your name and email address.
When you sign up you can:
receive IONS eNewsletters
participate in our expanding global community
engage in discussions on this website
create a free member profile
update your contact information securely online
and you will receive a free audio download as a thank you gift!
If you are also a Supporting Member of IONS, free online membership provides access to some of the benefits of supporting membership.
For information about the Knoxville IONS Group, contact Stephen Anthony at OASIS Institute, telephone 865.588.7707, E-mail oasisinstitute@oasisinstitute.org.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Knoxville IONS Community Group will be Saturday, May 25, 2013, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, OASIS Institute.
At our next meeting, we welcome Dr. Quinton Wacks back to our forum. Dr. Wacks is Professor and Program Director of Psychology at Lincoln Memorial University, and a frequent presenter at IONS. The title of his presentation is KEN WILBER & PSYCHO-SPIRITUALITY 101.
Many members of the IONS and OASIS community have expressed serious interest in and some frustration with the theories and philosophy of Ken Wilber and Integral Theory. Few are accustomed to trying to understand “a grand theory of everything” or attempting to read 25 or so books. Even fewer are able to see or feel the person behind or beyond Wilber’s great intellect and some would say large ego. Yet what is usually missed by many with Wilber is his genuineness and realness, his deep caring and compassion for humankind, his strong ego that supports and balances his spiritual teachings, his spiritual intelligence and experience (able to lecture (beta) while in deep delta brain wave sleep), and his ability to speak personally of higher states and stages of consciousness such as witnessing and non-dual, readily available to him.
In this IONS program, we will briefly cover the 5-6 major tenets of his theory, i.e. AQUA: quadrants, levels/stages, states, lines, and types. We will then watch a DVD of Wilber explaining the tenets in more detail, and afterwards be introduced to the elements of Integral Life Practice. Finally, we will be guided through two of the practices for back home use.
Dr. Wacks has taught psychology and personal growth from a psycho-spiritual or transpersonal perspective for over 30 years. He has been a student of Ken Wilber since the mid-seventies, and met him at the Integral Institute’s Conference this past January. He will be offering a future program on mystical or Integral Christianity later in the year.
Please join us for this presentation, Saturday, May 25, 3:00 - 5:00 PM.
Suggested donation for the IONS Community group $5.00.
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