Earthrise (19 page)

On March 1, 1971, Alan, Stu, and I, and our wives, were invited to the White House for a formal dinner with President Nixon and his wife, Pat. The president awarded us NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, and in a moment of levity, he gave Alan a plaque titled the “Distinguished Order of Lunar Duffers,” in honor of his famous Moon golfing. It was all in good fun.

The three of us were often in the spotlight; it seemed like we were always being interviewed for television, the radio, or the press. I wasn’t used to all this attention, but we wanted to get the word out about the exciting Apollo 14 mission.

Big Changes Ahead

After coming back from the Moon I knew I would never be the same again. I felt like a changed man. I had grown and expanded in so many ways, and I was sure my life was about to lead in a whole new direction.

One of the first things I did after returning to Earth was to contact the two doctors and two psychics who had participated in my deep-space ESP experiments. I was very eager to compare notes.

It was exciting to learn that we had all written down a significant amount of similar numbers and symbols at the same time even though we were thousands of miles apart. The experiment persuaded me that ESP could happen, and these results were later published in a scientific journal. I also learned that the results of our ESP experiment were similar to those of science experiments on Earth that had already shown telepathy was a real possibility. But most important, my deep-space ESP experiment had planted a life-changing seed in my mind about how the mind works, and I wanted to learn a lot more about human consciousness.

A Million Questions

I was also extremely curious to figure out what had happened to me during the ride home in the Command Module. It was an extraordinary experience and I had a burning desire to learn more. I talked with a number of other astronauts and learned that they had also experienced similar feelings during their missions in space.

OUR PERSONAL PREFERENCE KITS

Most of us like to take personal items with us when we travel. Even astronauts. NASA allowed astronauts to bring along personal items and mementos in small beta cloth bags called Personal Preference Kits, or PPKs.

On the Apollo 14 mission, Alan brought along his famous golf balls in his PPK, and I brought along a small chart for my ESP experiments and a set of microfilm cards of the
King James Bible,
on behalf of Reverend John M. Stout, director of the Apollo Prayer League. Two previous missions, Apollo 12 and Apollo 13, had tried to land the Bible on the Moon, and we were finally able to do so during Apollo 14.

Stu Roosa brought along hundreds of tiny redwood, loblolly pine, sycamore, Douglas fir, and sweet gum tree seeds. Stu had a love of trees and the outdoors, and before becoming an astronaut he worked for the US Forest Service as a smoke jumper. Stu would parachute out of airplanes to fight forest fires that were raging in areas that were difficult to reach. During Apollo 14, he was curious how his tree seeds would fare in space and if they would grow normally once planted back on our planet. After returning to Earth, Stu’s many Moon Tree seeds were germinated in labs for nearly four years and then planted all over the world. These trees serve as long-lasting and living reminders of the courageous astronauts who ventured to the Moon.

I began to read and read and read. I wanted to get my hands on anything that would help me understand what happened to me while peering out the Command Module window, and I felt compelled to unravel this cosmic mystery. I started to question what I’d learned in my science classes and especially in quantum physics. I wondered if there was more to life than I’d ever expected, and whether the world as I’d known it wasn’t quite as it appeared.

At first I talked with scientists and asked them about my experience. But when I didn’t get answers that I felt explained what I had experienced, I turned to people who studied in different fields such as religion, spirituality, and mysticism. Suddenly I wanted to know a lot more about the cosmos, the origins of creation, human beings, and consciousness.

One idea that caught my attention was a concept called “metanoia.”
Metanoia
is an ancient Greek word that means a change of mind or a change of heart, and it relates to the concept of transformation. I finally realized that this was what I had experienced in my spacecraft coming home. I had actually felt a transformative change of heart and mind.

I also discovered that many mystical traditions have similar words for metanoia. For example, in Zen Buddhism the word
satori
describes what happens when someone has a sudden spiritual awakening and enlightenment. In Hinduism, the Sanskrit word
samadhi
describes a sudden awakened state of consciousness. In the West, some individuals call this experience the “ecstasy of unity,” which is a shift in consciousness and a shift in awareness.

New Beginnings

In 1972, about one year after I returned from the Moon, I decided to retire from a 20-year career in the navy where I had achieved the rank of captain. I also decided to retire from NASA and the Astronaut Corps. I was 42 years old and felt like I had a whole new life ahead of me. I realized that after my Apollo 14 journey, I had gone from “outer space to inner space” in a matter of months, and I now wanted to devote the rest of my life to the exploration of the mind.

Louise wasn’t thrilled with my new direction. For many years she had been very patient and supportive of my career. She’d already been through a lot of changes while I was in the navy, and the demanding schedule of my work as an astronaut was intense. Suddenly I was very excited about a whole new career path studying the mind, and Louise found this difficult to accept. Sadly, we began to part ways.

But I felt compelled to pursue this new direction and couldn’t wait to get started. In 1973, two years after I returned from the Moon, I founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). The word
noetic
comes from the ancient Greek word
nous,
which refers to an intuitive and expanded consciousness, and a person’s inner knowing. The institute was first briefly located in Houston, and then it moved from Palo Alto to Sau-salito, California, before finally moving to the current location near Petaluma, California.

The metanoia I’d had in space was life changing. It occurred to me that if this experience happened to many people around the world, science could investigate and document things such as a metanoia, satori, samadhi, or ecstasy of unity. So, with the help of many dedicated individuals, IONS became dedicated to advancing our understanding of science, consciousness, and the human experience. Many new frontiers have been explored, such as the bridge between science and spirituality, the healing arts, consciousness, and human behaviors such as love, forgiveness, gratitude, and compassion. For nearly 40 years, many individuals have worked with IONS to help humans learn to love one another by knowing that we’re all in this together and that we’re all one. This is the noetic message, and it’s what transformation and enlightenment are all about.

Our Incredible Spaceship Earth

Many astronauts have said that if our world leaders could see Earth from deep space, we would have completely different political and economic systems on this planet. I agree. Going to the Moon helped me appreciate the magnificence of our world. When I could see Earth through the window of the Kitty Hawk or while standing on the Moon, I suddenly saw our planet in a whole new light. I could see how incredibly beautiful our blue-green Earth looked against the black sky. It was my home.

I suddenly felt very protective of Earth and started to see everything on the planet in a more sacred way. Even though I had been in the military, I now felt a strong aversion to war and I became a peacenik. I also started to learn about the practice of meditation, which is a way to quiet the mind and focus one’s thoughts inward. I still practice meditation today and it helps me reduce negative thoughts as well as have inspirational ideas.

I even began to rethink the foods I eat. As a farm boy, I learned firsthand about where our food comes from. But my experience of going to the Moon and back expanded my way of thinking to include a greater appreciation of the foods I consume.

I’m encouraged that many people today are rethinking everything from what we eat, to where we live, to how we get around, and to how we treat others. Scientists, engineers, and many individuals are working hard to create a healthier, more sustainable world with cleaner air, cleaner water, and new sources of cleaner, alternative energy such as wind or solar power.

Futurist and writer Buckminster Fuller made an important point when he said that Earth is like a gigantic spaceship and we, as humans, are like the crew. Fuller encouraged people to find ways to get along on our very special “Spaceship Earth.”

Earth is a spectacular place and I feel fortunate to live here. I believe that each one of us is connected to all of life on this planet, as well as throughout the universe. It’s my hope that “peace on Earth” isn’t simply wishful thinking but will be a reality one day.

Exploring New Worlds

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

—Robert Frost

A
fter I graduated from Carnegie Tech in 1952, I had looked forward to finding work in the growing field of industrial management. But instead my life took a new turn, and I eventually became a modern-day space explorer. It has made all the difference.

Being an explorer is part of who I am because I come from a family of pioneers. Nearly 150 years ago, my great-grandparents traveled from the state of Georgia to Texas in search of a better life. With only their simple belongings and a few head of cattle, they forged across hundreds of miles of wilderness in covered wagons. They courageously braved harsh weather, difficult terrain, and the constant threat of danger with the hope of finding fertile land, clean water, nutritious food, a favorable climate, and a friendly community to earn a living and raise a family.

But getting there wasn’t easy, and each new day brought challenging unknowns. I’m sure they wondered,
Will we be safe? What will the weather be like? What will we encounter along the way? Will there be enough food and water?

It’s not easy to be a pioneer. It takes the willingness to tackle the unknown and the courage to risk one’s life. Yet the exploration of Earth’s land, waterways, and skies, and even of space, has been so important in our changing world. When American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out in canoes in 1804, they traveled nearly 7,500 miles of uncharted territory from the Midwest region of the United States to the Pacific Northeast. At the time both men were young, skilled frontiersmen: Lewis was a captain in the army, and Clark was a former commanding officer. The two men were good friends, and their willingness to explore the unknown was enormously beneficial to the future growth and success of this country.

Evolving Perspectives

As humans have observed and explored this planet, different theories have been developed to explain the basic shape of our world and its place in the universe.

In ancient times it was thought that the world was a flat disc and not a round orb. People came to this conclusion when they looked out at the horizon. They observed that the distant land looked flat and would seem to drop off at the horizon. At the time this seemed to be a logical conclusion—the Earth looked flat, so it must be flat.

Many people also believed, long ago, that the Earth was the center of the universe and the other celestial bodies orbited around it. As people looked up at the sky, it logically appeared that the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars revolved around the Earth on a daily basis. In astronomy this theory is called the “geocentric model,” and it was a predominant theory in ancient Greece.

For centuries, people continued to believe that the Earth was flat and was the center of the universe. But with the exploration and discoveries of well-known astronomers such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, these concepts began to change.