sign in sign up
<<
Home , Parapsychology, Rusty Schweickart

/*

JAMES L. HICKMAN 3105 WASHINGTON STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94115 (415) 563-4731

February 13, 1983

Mr, John Edwin Mroz, President Institute for East-West Security Studies 304 East 45th Street , New York 10017

Dear John:

During our January 6 meeting at the Institute, you expressed interest in a project that I proposed on the uses of space in strengthening Confidence Building Measures. This letter describes my idea for the study in greater detail.

For the past 13 years I have been meeting with Soviet scientists to discuss issues related to development and communication. In 1979 I established ’s Soviet-American Exchange Program as a non- government initiative to develop innovative interactions between Americans and Soviets that could help reduce suspicion and misperception. Participants in our Exchange Program are selected for their influence in scientific and political circles and their common committment to building confidence through long-term communication. Two such projects which I direct are currently underway. They are designed to enhance mutual understanding and security through space cooperation.

In August 1982, former Rusty Schweickart and I met in Moscow with members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR, leading space scientists, and cosmonauts to discuss arrangements for regular meetings between people who have flown in space. Having achieved an agree- ment for Soviet participation, we returned to Moscow in April 1983, with former Michael Collins and for a planning meeting with four cosmonauts. This process has led to a cooperative project to establish the Planetary Congress of Space Explorers, a forum for astronauts and cosmonauts to exchange views on substantive issues related to outer space and global security. I am the Project Coordinator for the American delegation. On a parallel track I have initiated a series of live two-way interac- tive satellite teleconferences between large groups of people in the US and the USSR. Political leaders and scientists have used this medium for face-to- face conversations on topics such as the impact of space technology on educa- tion and the biological effects of nuclear war. Negotiations are in progress for a three year collaborative research program to assess the impact of such communications on US-Soviet perceptions, cooperation and security.

I have recently been engaged in the study of more traditional approaches to confidence building, specifically what actions can be taken by the US and to help reduce the liklihood of surprise attack. I am interested in using my experience in US-Soviet communication to address the subject of Confidence-Building Measures in the traditional . I that in the process, ideas will emerge as to how one reconciles the broad concept of confidence-building favored by the WTO states with the narrower, more tech- nically oriented concept preferred by NATO members. This issue will be of particular interest to me during my participation in the CBM discussion group at your Annual Conference "Approaches to Arms Control in Europe" in Iglis this March.

The three year CBM project at your Institute offers a unique forum for exposure to broad-based expertise in this field. Following the Austrian conference I would like to continue participating in this program in some affiliate capacity - perhaps as a Visiting Fellow if that is possible. For my research, I propose to initiate a study on the uses of space in streng- thening Confidence-Building Measures. My approach over the next 12 months would be:

(1) to assess the space technology available to "monitor and verify the observance of agreed committments" as suggested in the French proposal to the Madrid CSCE in 1980;

(2) to interview Soviet space specialists (including cosmonauts) on their perceptions of space and CBMs and to present the first summary of their ideas in this area; (3) to identify possible areas of Soviet-American collaboration in outer space matters;

(4) to describe uses of space technology that could expand CBMs into political and cultural realms, i.e., face-to-face dialogues through satellite teleconferences.

I propose to achieve these goals by establishing the following procedures:

(1) I would spend one week per month and one month every six months at the Institute in New York City to work with the Fellows including a review of my research and writing with the Fellows and staff;

(2) I will hire a graduate student from the Arms Control and Security Studies Program as my research assistant for this project; and

(3) I will agree to produce a quality research paper for publication by the Institute as a Monograpn or Occasional Paper. I understand that such a product must be reviewed and approved by Committees of the Institute.

There is very little emphasis on space in the CBM literature. My access to the Soviet space community affords a unique opportunity to bring their views to the Institute’s discussions. There is still an opportunity to integrate CBMs into the expanding space race but the issue must be addressed now- In discussions with my Soviet colleagues I have been given assurance of their cooperation in this endeavor. Dr. Seweryn Bialer and Rusty Schweickart have each offered to assist me with this project as well. As we discussed there are possibilities for financial support of this project that I have explored. We would need to discuss such matters in detail. I would like to meet with you and Dr. Larrabee soon to discuss this entire matter. I will be in NYC from February 27 - March 5 and will contact your office to arrange an appointment.

As we discussed, this project may provide another useful channel of contact for the Institute with the Soviets. I look forward to our discussions on this matter.

Respectfully, /n 77t James L. Hickman cc: Dr. Seweryn Bialer Rusty Schweickart Dr. Jerry Waletzky James L. Hickman is Director and a founder of the Esalen Institute Sov ie t-American Exchange Program. He is a research psychologist who specializes in political , human development and communications. For ten years he has been arranging exchange projects between American and Soviet academics and professionals, Hickman"is a consultant to American corporations and educational institutions dealing in international affairs. As a salaried employee of the Exchange Program he is responsible for fund raising , project creation and development , maintaining dialogue with Soviet and American advisors and participants, and consulting organizations and individuals interested in improving Soviet-American relations. On behalf of the Exchange Program, he has developed working relationships with the W. Averell Harriman Institute at Columbia University, various University of California campuses, and some of Americans leading journalists and specialists in the field of American-Soviet affairs. Hickman is coordinator of the Astronaut/Cosmonaut Dialogues project , a private initiative that has established regular meetings between Soviet and American space explorers. He negotiated and produced the first live interactive satellite link-ups between large groups of people in the and the Soviet Union. He is on the Boards of the Institute for Soviet-American Relations and Search for Common Ground.

Hickman has published numerous articles in scientific journals , including Simulation and Games and Gifted Child Quarterly. With Michael Murphy, he established the Transformation Project Archive of scientific studies concerned with extraordinary psychophysical capacities that appear in sport , meditative practice, the performing and healing arts and other disciplines , Hickman earned a M.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Sonoma. )

JAMES L. HICKMAN

Professional Background

1983 to present Board of Directors - Institute for Soviet-Araerican Relations, Washington, DC *

1982 to present Board of Directors - Search for Common Ground , Washington, DC. 1982 to present Business consultant on US-Soviet relations. 1979 to present Director - Esalen Institute Soviet-American Exchange Program , San Francisco, California.

1976 to 1981 Research Director - The Transformation Project Archive, San Francisco, California.

1973 to present Research Director - Washington Research Center, San Francisco, California. 1975 to present Consulting Editor - Psychoenergetic Systems and New ) . 1975 Technical Director - SEARCH Exhibition, California Museum of and Industry (Los Angelos) and Smithsonian Institution.

1973 to 1976 Instructor - California State College, Somona, California: "Parapsychology & Altered States of ", "Creativity and Consciousness", "Parapsychology and the Healing Experience", "Parapsychology & Psychotherapy" , " , Sorcery, & Parapsychology" , and "Contemporary Parapsychology".

1972 to present Invited lecturer International Conferences: Tbilisi, USSR, 1980 (Sport Psychology); , 1979 (Trans- personal Psychology); Tbilisi, USSR , 1979 (Psychology); Toronto , 1978 (Sport Psychology); Monte Carlo , 1975 (Psycho- tronics and Parapsychology); Visakhapatnam, India, 1974 (Humanistic Psychology); Prague, 1973 (Psychotronics and Parapsychology); Moscow, 1972 (Bio-); New York, 1972 ().

1970 Research Assistant, Maimonides Dream Laboratory, , New York; Fellowship recipient. u Publications

" Author "Track. II Diplomacy with the USSR , Political Psychology, in press; "Survey of Western Research in Maximum Human Capacities", Proceedings of The First World Congress on Sports and Society, Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR, 1980; "Sizing Up Excercise” , New Realities , 1979; "How to Elicit Supernormal Capabilities in Athletes", Coach, Athlete, and the Sport Psychologist , 1979; "Ancdotal Reports During Manning's Bay Area Visit", "An ESP Experiment with Mathew Manning", and "Plant " Growth Experiments with Mathew Manning , A Month with Mathew i Manning, Washington Research Center, 1979; Evolutionary Transformations of the Human Body, Washington Research Center , 1978; "A High-Voltage Photography Experiment with ", Research in Parapsychology 1976, 1977.

Consulting The Search for Power, Hammond , Bantom, New York, 1975. Author

Co-Author "Electrical Field and Temperature Measurements", Washington Research Center, 1979; "The Future of Bodily Transformation", AHP Newsletter , 1979; "You Are What You Think", Runner's World , 1977; "Beyond The Physical Limits", Runner's World , 1977; "Psychophysical Transformations Through & Sport", Simulations & Games, 1977; "Preliminary Physical Measurements ) of Psychophysical Effects Associated With Three Alleged Psychic Healers", Research In Parapsychology 1976, 1977; "West Meets East: A Parapsychological Detente" , Psychic , 1974; "Photography by Means of High-Frequency Currents" , The Osteopathic Physician, 1972; "Clairvoyant Perception of Target Material in Three States of Consciousness", Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1972.

Education

M.A., Psychology, University of California at Somona, 1980.

B.A., Psychology, University of California at Somona, 1974.

Personal Information

Born: October 11 , 1947, Wichita , Kansas. Social Security number: 228-64-8379