Speaker: Conrad P. Pritscher

Lessons From A Student of Life

Long time member of ServiceSpace community, Conrad Pritscher recently sent out a note to his friends: "I was recently in the hospital for a week, first being diagnosed with pneumonia, then being diagnosed with lung cancer. After more tests, we discovered that my lung cancer is not operable. And I have decided to go with the flow and to do nothing other than take each day as it comes along, with painkillers when I need them. Having lost 20 pounds in the last 2 months, I am now very weak and have low energy. From my point of view, though, I am accepting everything that comes. Thank you for contributing to the great life I have had and will have for a few more months. Doctors project I will probably be gone by the end of January, and I have no complaints of any kind in my heart. In place of get-well cards or phone calls, I would prefer that you continue practicing things as they are. As a Zen Buddhist, I believe we are born and die each moment. I look at myself as a wave in a vast ocean. Eventually, the wave merges into the ocean. My wave is now accelerating a bit faster than usual toward becoming the ocean, but life is sure to reconnect us in the ocean."

In honor of Conrad's remarkable life, we are having a very special call to learn about the most important insights he has learned through his diverse experiences as a student of life.

Conrad has been a life-long student: high-school in Illinois, Bachelor's degree from St. Mary's in Minnesota, Masters from Depaul, PhD in philosophy of education in Ohio, postgraduate psychology program at Gestalt Institute in Cleveland.  As if that was not enough, he started attending a Zen Temple in his 40s, and that has continued to give him insights into his own nature.  Husband of Kay, father of 4 children, and grandfather to his grand children, his family has brought him some of the happiest moments of his life.
 
Over the course of his tenure in science research, he held the role of President at Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society and Chairman of the Bowling Green State University Human Relations Commission.  Along the way, he authored seven books including: Einstein and Zen, Re-opening Einstein’s Thought: About What Can’t Be Learned from Textbooks; Quantum Learning: Beyond Duality; and (co-authored with George David Miller) On Education and Values.

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