(Born: November 6, 1904 - Refolded: May 5, 1988)
Lao Russell (born Daisy Grace Cook, November 6, 1904 – May 5, 1988) was an educator, philosopher, artist, and author whose life’s work centered on the transformation of human relations through spiritual understanding, universal law, and living philosophy.
Born in Buckinghamshire, England, Lao was a precocious and ambitious child who entered into business at a young age. Her entrepreneurial instincts led her to great financial success. She later married her business partner, Lionel Stebbing, and together the two built a fortune. When the marriage deteriorated, Lao entered a period of personal searching. She spent several years traveling, meeting influential thinkers, reading voraciously, and seeking deeper meaning in life.
As World War II swept across Europe, Lao left England and immigrated to the United States in 1940, settling in Boston. There she devoted herself to volunteer work, formed lasting friendships, continued her spiritual studies, and even experienced a brief mystical revelation. She became involved with the Boston Home of Truth, a New Thought center led by Eleanor Mel, and it was during this time that she read Glenn Clark’s biography of Walter Russell—a discovery that changed the course of her life.
In 1946, moved by a profound inner prompting, she telephoned Walter Russell. The connection was immediate and life-changing. Walter recognized her as his “soul mate,” and the two married in 1948, at which point Daisy Grace Cook adopted the name Lao Russell, inspired by the Chinese mystic Lao-Tzu.
Together, Lao and Walter became partners in every dimension—intellectual, creative, and spiritual. They co-authored books, lectured, taught universal principles, and shared a unified vision for the upliftment of humanity. In 1957, they co-founded The University of Science and Philosophy, a pioneering home-study university dedicated to teaching the nature of man and the universe through Universal Law, Natural Science, and Living Philosophy. From their mountaintop estate, Swannanoa in Afton, Virginia, Lao and Walter built a global reach that continues to influence spiritual seekers, artists, scientists, and philosophers.
Lao Russell was also a bestselling author in her own right. Her books, God Will Work With You But Not For You and LOVE; A Scientific and Living Philosophy of Love and Sex, express her profound insights on human potential, personal responsibility, and the sacred power of love.
Throughout her life, Lao Russell remained a passionate educator, philosopher, artist, and humanitarian. Her legacy lives on through the University of Science and Philosophy and the enduring message she championed: that love, knowledge, and inner illumination can transform the world.