Testimonial letter from Ann Palm

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This letter is one of a remarkable series of over 2650 letters amassed in 1983 to support Osho's attempt to get permanent resident status in the US at the time of the Oregon ranch. The image is reproduced here with the kind permission of The Oregon Historical Society. Information about their collection of these letters and other supporting material -- the "Jeffrey Noles Rajneesh Collection", named for Osho's immigration lawyer Jeffrey Noles, who compiled them in 1983 and donated them to the OHS -- can be found at this page. The wiki is grateful to the OHS for making access available for these documents. For more information and links to all the letters, see Testimonial letters.

This letter is from Ann Palm PhD. It is "Exhibit A-572" in the Noles collection.

The text version below has been created by optical character recognition (OCR), from the images supplied by OHS. It has not been checked for errors but this process usually results in over 99% correct transcription. Most apparent "errors" are correct transcriptions of typos already in the original. The image on the right in the text box links to a pdf file of the original letter, it has 2 pages.

ASSOCIATION FOR HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY
A Non-Profit Fducational Corporation
325 NINTH STREET, SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA 94103 (415) 626-2375
EXECUTIVE BOARD (1980-81)
PRESIDENT Bill Bridges
PRESIDENT-ELECT Jacqueline Larcombe Doyle
PAST PRESIDENT George Leonard
MEMBERS AT-LARGE Richard Grossman Willis Harman Al Chung-liang Huang Rick Ingrasci
Natalie Rogers Nora Weckler
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Gordon Sherman
ADVISORS TO EXECUTIVE BOARD Executive Officer: Elizabeth Campbell Journal Editor: Thomas Greening
FOUNDING SPONSORS Joe K. Adams Heinz L. Ansbacher James F. T. Bugental
Charlotte Buhler Hadley Cantril Harriett Francisco
Kurt Goldstein Robert S. Hartman
S.l. Hayakawa Sidney M. Jourard Norma R. Lyman Abraham H. Maslow
Rollo May Clark Moustakas Lewis Mumford Henry A. Murray
Ira Progoff David Riesman Carl R. Rogers Ernest G. Schachtel
Anthony J. Sutich Adrian van Kaam
Miles A. Vich Henry Winthrop
PAST PRESIDENTS
George Leonard Jean Houston
Charles Hampden-Turner Eleanor Criswell
Vin Rosenthal Stanley Krippner Norma R. Lyman Lawrence N. Solomon
Fred Massarik Denis O'Donovan Floyd W. Matson Gerard V. Haigh
Jack R. Gibb S. Stanfeld Sargent E.J. Shoben, Jr. Sidney M. Jourard
James F.T. Bugental
ADMINISTRATION Executive Officer Elizabeth Campbell
Josephine Van Grove Peggy Thomason
NEWSLETTER
Carol Guion
July 22, 1983

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh who is an internationally recognized master of Eastern philosophies and eminent scholar. He combines a deep wisdom characteristic of the sages of East and West and an unusually brilliant mind that grasps the dimensions of our Western culture.

I first got acquainted with Rajneesh during the seventies through his profound writings on such far-reaching topics as ancient religions Christianity, the early Greek philosophies and modern Western psychologies. These writings illuminated areas that were hitherto unknown to me.

After having received my doctorate in physical chemistry and physics as the second woman from the New York Polytechnic Institute, I have conducted research at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of California at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and the Space Sciences in Berkeley. During my scientific career the participation in NASA’s Apollo project which I had continued in Dallas, Texas, until 1970 had been most challenging; I also have taught at New York University and at one of the New York City Colleges. My research efforts have resulted in dozens of publications in international journals, presentations and lectures at scientific meetings and Universities and honorary membership in scientific organizations.

As circumstances in the seventies made me step back from science, I set upon exploring the humanistic and Gestalt psychologies and eventually accepted the presidency of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Association for Humanistic Psychology for three years. But soon thereafter I moved back into science, my primary vocation and avocation.

Currently, I am working on integrating modern physics, psychology and ancient teachings into a new philosophy of science for the 21st century and have a book in preparation. This integration represents a fusion of science and religion to which the work of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh contributes immeasurably. An important aspect of his direct influence on my work stems from my being able to experience his physical presence at Rajneeshpuram to which I go at least twice a year. It seems that his unique qualities as spiritual teacher elicit in everyone exposed to him their dormant energies. His serenity and total dedication to his disciples inspire them to develop their untapped resources that would otherwise not be very likely.

During the past Celebration in which I have participated, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh sat with his fifteen thousand disciples and friends on seven days in silent heart-to-heart communion. There I had experienced an extraordinary opening up to my own potentials because the impact of silent communion far surpasses that of any verbal communication. That can be readily obtained through books and tapes which are available widely at bookstores and libraries throughout the world. Another significant way by which Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh stays in daily contact with his disciples at Rajneeshpuram is via his 2PM drive-bys when deep greetings are exchanged, I personally have found these occasions most uplifting and enhancing for my inner harmony with the surroundings.

During the last year that I have become a disciple I have learned to relax and am finding greater self-trust. My friends and associates also have noted these changes in me. In addition, my work has become more focused and creative as I begin to rely on my intuition as much as on my intellectual judgments in the interweaving of science, religion and life. The principal contribution that my exposure to the teacher affords me is the understanding of the role of the scientist as a human being in the practice and direction of science. Thereby science will assume a renewed human dimension that it has lost during the past many decades and that can help to re-establish the ecological balance of the entire planet.

Also among my colleagues in the natural and social sciences I find a growing awareness of the importance of Rajneesh’s writings and of the effect his presence has on those who are priviledged to communicate with him in silence. I therefore strongly recommend that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh be permitted to reside in this country that can provide the material and technological resources necessa(?) to accomplish his dream of creating a community of self-actualized people. These in turn can contribute to the enhancement of the general welfare in their particu(?) fields of training and to the building of a positive future for all of us.

Sincerely,
[signed]
Ann Palm, Ph.D.


(Please note: We assume that the above letter is still copyrighted, but we regard its historical interest to constitute a Fair Use exception for publication in this wiki.)