RE-EDUCATING MYSELF an introduction to a new civilization

This epic search for a new civilization has been called a "heroic journey." In 1955, Harvard student Bob Gebelein saw the threat of nuclear annihilation as proof of total systems failure. He was the American dream come true, but he wasn't happy. He saw "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot as his world. So he turned his back on the culture and set out to design a new civilization - new values, new beliefs, new ideals, new goals, a new standard of living, a new way of thinking, and a new way of life. RE-EDUCATING MYSELF is the story of his search and the answers that he found. His methods were psychotherapy, withdrawal from the culture, and dream analysis, taking advantage of the self-steering process. This is "the road less traveled" traveled, and beyond, to discover a transition point in human psychological growth where "human nature" itself changes, from competitive self-interest to compassion and altruism. If a majority of people reached this point, we would have a new civilization.

Second Edition, retyped in digital form with language updated and a Preface added. Originally published in 1985.

Bob Gebelein graduated from Harvard with a BA in Mathematics in 1956, and had a legendary career as a computer programmer and creator of software systems. But the main effort of his adult life was something else. Because of the threat of nuclear annihilation and other cultural problems, he turned his back on the culture in 1955 and set out to design a new civilization. His methods were psychotherapy, withdrawal from the culture, and dream analysis. He succeeded in his quest by discovering how "human nature" itself can be changed, from competitive self-interest to compassion and altruism. If a majority of people reached this point, we would have a new civilization. His books, Re-Educating Myself and The Mental Environment, describe this experience. His original songs, on Uncle Bobby's Record, have had an international following. His original concepts make him a step ahead of the present culture.Chairman, Department of Philosophy, Morgan State University