The Russell Museum features a replica of the 30-foot Christ of the Blue Ridge statue that stood in the garden of Swannanoa until 1998. Photo: Clover Carroll.

The new Russell Museum at 518 W. Main St. in downtown Waynesboro held a festive grand opening on November 1, followed by a Homecoming Conference titled “The Power of Mind in Action.” 170 local dignitaries, residents, and University of Science and Philosophy members gathered for speeches, gallery tours, live music including bagpipe, harp, and violin, wine from Barren Ridge Vineyard, hors-d’oeuvres by Franklin’s Catering, and a fundraising auction of Russell memorabilia such as signed books, miniatures, art replicas, and a recorded lecture series from the 1950s.

“I do this in the spirit of raising consciousness, which this planet so desperately needs,” said chairman of the board and president emeritus Michael P. Hudak before cutting the ribbon to officially open the new museum. “Our mission is to contribute to the uplift of humanity as a whole,” added current USP president Matthew Presti. “As Nature expresses God to Man, so Man expresses God through Art.”


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Contribute to the Russell Museum by visiting the following link at http://www.Philosophy.org/fundraiser

The following video contains excerpts and post event interviews from the University of Science and Philosophy's Grand Opening event which occurred on November 1st, 2019. Also included, are detailed accounts of the move that began one year prior to the event and the set-up along the way. The USP truly appreciates all those who helped to make this dream a reality. A remarkable team of individuals contributed to this monumental endeavor. Thank you to everyone who helped the University in this historic effort.

For more information on the Russell Museum visit http://www.philosophy.org/museum

Video Editing and Green Screen Production - Matt Presti, President, USP

Camera at Grand Opening - Shallel Ken Inglima

Music Credits:

Cory Davis - Falling Leaves (Rendition of Walter Russell Piano Piece) - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=1

Matt Presti - The Divine Iliad - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=60
13 Steps - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=351
Inside In - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=513
Going Home - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=740
Sentient Being - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=925 http://mattpresti.com

Paul Tucker - Morning Song - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=1153

Constance Demby - Hallelujah - https://youtu.be/0N-Qx1V72Ks?t=1718

HOMECOMING 2019 - THE POWER OF MIND IN ACTION - REBIRTH OF THE RUSSELL LEGACY
This 3 day event starts Friday November 1st, 2019 at 6pm EST and runs through Sunday November 3rd until 5pm EST. ONLY 100 TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Tickets (individually numbered) to the Grand Opening/Homecoming will be emailed to you. Name Badges will be available at the store counter on Saturday, November 2nd prior to conference start.

***Includes entry to the Grand Opening of the Russell Museum, November 1st, 6pm-9pm EST.  Tickets are limited!***

Saturday: November 2nd, 2019
9:00am – 10:00am – Meet ‘n’ Greet - Light Breakfast/Coffee Break
10:00am – 12:00pm – Bob & Linda Bennett – “Healing - Whatever the Mind can Conceive and Believe”
12:00pm – 1pm – LUNCH (On Your Own)
1:00pm – 2:30pm – Swannanoa Palace Tour (Tickets Sold Separately at Palace)
3:00pm – 5:00pm – Buddy James Dougherty – “Sonobiology: Fractals – Filaments - Frequencies”
5:00pm – 7:00pm – DINNER (On Your Own)
7:00pm-10:00pm – Private Party for Participants Only (Open Mic and Entertainment)
 
Sunday: November 3rd, 2019
9:00am – 10:00am – Meet ‘n’ Greet - Light Breakfast/Coffee Break
10:00am – 12:00pm – PMH Atwater – “Walter Russell: The Unusual Pattern of His Near-Death Experiences and How They Prepared Him For Cosmic Consciousness”
12:00pm – 2:00pm – LUNCH (On Your Own)
2:00pm – 4:00pm – Darren Colomb – “The True Nature of Atomic Structures”
4:00pm – 5:00pm – Social Hour - Museum Open

ORDER TICKETS HERE

DISCLAIMER: The USP does not necessarily agree with the views, opinions or interpretations of the guests, presenters, or speakers featured in Homecoming 2019. Walter and Lao Russell inspired the lives of many individuals worldwide, and the 2019 Homecoming serves as a presentation platform for attendees to enjoy these unique and personal accounts.

100% of the proceeds help support and maintain The Russell Museum and its associated operational costs.

The University of Science and Philosophy is pleased to announce our first guest speaker, Scott Hiegel.  Scott will speak on October 30th, 2019 at 7pm EST at the USP Russell Museum meeting room.  Seating begins at 6:30pm.  Ticket prices $20.00.

ORDER TICKETS HERE

The Stunningly Hopeful News of Kundalini, Higher States of Consciousness, and a Natural Science based on the Law of Love.
 
Gopi Krishna (1903-1984) said "Imagined in the context of the potentialities present in Kundalini, the vision of the future is so alluring, so full of beauty and majesty, so replete with astounding achievements and possibilities for the race, that it is not possible to draw even a distant image of it.” Kundalini is the doorway to a higher capacity of our minds, provides a window into eternal life, and will lead eventually to a united world.
 
Walter Russell (1871-1963) advanced the concept of a Natural Science, based upon a law of love, and like Gopi Krishna, believed that human beings have the potential to develop both the genius state of mind, and higher states of consciousness. He believed this is a universe of mind, rather than a universe of matter and substance. Furthermore he believed that acceptance and implementation of this Natural Science would one day lead to the transmutation of elements and what he called the age of transmutation.  He stated this would eventually lead to the ability to produce unlimited amounts of free hydrogen as an energy source and also result in solar radiation being turned into solar energy generation in unlimited amounts. This would help solve humankind’s clean energy problems and assist in the development of new metals and other natural resources.
 
Gopi Krishna as well as Walter Russell and his wife Lao, believed that humanity's development of a higher faculty of the mind, the near zenith of which they termed Cosmic Consciousness, was critical in order for humanity to transcend its current troubles, and reach a more peaceful, unified, and higher level of civilization based on love and service. They believed the Cosmic Conscious mind might represent what has been referred to metaphorically in the spiritual, religious, and secular literature of the world as Paradise, Bliss, Samadhi, Nirvana, the Holy Grail, the Fountain of Youth, and finally the Treasure Within.
 
Today, humanity is on the brink of taking a deeper step into a whole new world, a fascinating inner universe of our minds; a universe which in size and intrigue dwarfs the physical universe. New answers to our present day problems as well as new hope and possibilities lie concealed within this unseen, unbounded universe.
 
Like the different acts of a play, Scott will:
 
1) Talk about important life segments of his journey to a higher state of consciousness (narrative and some short poetry readings accompanied by music);
 
2) Share some of his experiences that comport with some of  Gopi Krishna's and Walter Russell's key conceptual points and higher consciousness experiences and;
 
 3) Describe how his surprise entrance into the world of Kundalini opened up a whole new view of creation as well as understanding of the meaning, purpose, and unity of life.
 
Gopi Krishna experienced the Cosmic Conscious state of mind and put forth the concept that Kundalini represents a divine-like biological mechanism and potential in the body of all human beings, and is responsible for the further evolution of the human brain and the development of this new faculty of the mind. Krishna stated that there is a preordained divine destination for human beings - the Cosmic Conscious state of mind.
 
Walter Russell, who also experienced Cosmic Consciousness, advanced the concept of a divine-like Natural Science based on what he termed a Law of Love, which Scott believes could represent the science behind this higher faculty of mind - and is a super science that subsumes our current physical science and quantum physics. Most importantly, both Mr. Krishna and Dr. Russell felt that their concepts could be proven in the laboratory of science, and higher states of consciousness could be proven by individuals in the laboratory of their own experiences.  
 
Scott sees their concepts as complementary in some key areas and will point out some of the most important similarities and synergies between their work, as well as some of the key differences. He believes the concept of Kundalini provides key support for Walter Russell's groundbreaking Natural Science which provides a hopeful, lasting, and harmonizing scientific view of the universe's workings and future. Scott will discuss how these two great men came into his life and what influence their teachings have had on him.
 
Finally he believes the concepts put forth by Gopi Krishna and Walter Russell, collectively, represent a bridge from an uncertain and dangerous present to a bright future for the human race.
 
Biography:
 
Scott Hiegel (Madison, WI) runs an entrepreneurial consulting business called Solquest. He has a BBA from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from UCLA. He is a former CPA, CFA, Vice President of Corporate Finance, and entrepreneur. He has written several books which describe his experiences with Kundalini, and his lifelong roller coaster and, at times, perilous search for inner peace, the Divine, Love, and higher consciousness. Through speaking, outreach, film, poetry, and other creative expression, his goal is to entertain and inform people about the gifts and profound importance of Gopi Krishna's work, Kundalini, higher states of consciousness, as well as key aspects of Walter Russell and Lao Russell's natural science and work. His interests include visiting museums and historical sites, traveling, listening to holiday music and oldies, and going to movies. He enjoys sports, hiking, and attending 12 step meetings. His greatest love is his daughter.

Cindy Lewis, shipping manager, and Matt Presti, president, stand at the University of Science and Philosophy in downtown Waynesboro on Wednesday, July 10th, 2019.
-MICHELLE L. MITCHELL/THE NEWS VIRGINIAN

The Russell Museum, featuring the works of Walter Russell, is now open in downtown Waynesboro.

The museum houses dozens of paintings, sculptures, sketches and other works by Russell, an American artist, architect, author, composer and philosopher of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection occupies space in the three-floor, 32,500-square-foot building at 518 W. Main St., the former site of G&W Motorwerkes Ltd., a Porsche dealership that moved to Staunton.

The Russell Museum is connected to the University of Science and Philosophy, founded by Russell and his wife, Lao, in 1948. The curriculum teaches the science of man, mind and character development as a means of “unfolding” one’s innate potential.

For most of its history, the university — which does not offer accredited coursework — and Russell’s art were located at Swannanoa Palace in Afton, until the institution’s lease ended 20 years ago. The art had been kept in storage in Crimora and the university functioned through its online curriculum.

Russell, born in Boston in 1871, became renowned as portraitist at the turn of the 20th century. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt commissioned Russell to sculpt “The Four Freedoms,” based on FDR’s 1941 speech in which he stated everyone in the world desired the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship God in their own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

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Matthew Presti, President of USP, stands beside a self-portrait bust of Walter Russell in the upper gallery of the Waynesboro art museum. Photo: Clover Carroll.

You will soon be able to commune with lifelike busts of Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt—among others—at a new art museum coming to downtown Waynesboro. Housed in the former Porsche dealership across the street from the Wayne Theater at 518 W. Main St., the University of Science and Philosophy (USP) is preparing to open soon. In addition to the university headquarters, it will house the impressive collection of Walter Russell’s paintings, sculptures, illustrations, books, archives, even hand-carved furniture —which have been in storage for 20 years since the university vacated Swannanoa in 1998. The opening was originally planned for May 3, the 70th anniversary of the university’s dedication in 1949, but the recent discovery of the need for an expensive repair to the sprinkler system may delay that. Another possible date is May 19, the anniversary of Russell’s birth.

“Our mission is to preserve Walter Russell’s legacy,” explained Matt Presti, president of the USP—a tall, fit young man with a black beard and a piercing gaze. “But we also hope to inculcate character. Cell phones should be turned off when you visit; we want people to take the art into their souls, not their cell phones.” After a career as an audio engineer for various Fortune 500 companies, Presti is moving his green-screen A/V studio here.

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A sculpture of Mark Twain and several other figures will be part of the trove of paintings, woodwork and sculptures done by Walter Russell to be displayed at the new location of the University of Science and Philosophy in downtown Waynesboro.
BOB STUART

WAYNESBORO — The University of Science and Philosophy, once in Afton, will move its headquarters to the former G&W Motorwerkes Ltd. building at 518 W. Main St. in Waynesboro.

President Matt Presti said the vast trove of art owned by the university will be moved into the three-floor, 32,500-square-foot building in time for the opening around the first of May.

“This is a chance to interact with the public and to display the 40-plus tons of artwork,” said Presti. Since the university’s lease at Swannanoa Palace in Afton ended 20 years ago, the art has been in storage and the university has functioned through its online curriculum.

Presti said the university has held periodic homecoming events, including one a year ago at the Wayne Theatre. But he said the new location will allow for many functions. The third floor can accommodate corporate meetings, as well as displays of local and traveling art.

Additionally, the university will offer guided tours, classes on fine art, presentations and monthly speakers.

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Join us on Facebook this coming Friday for our annual Missouri class. This year we’ll be conducting a Q&A session on the Home Study Course as well as updates for the USP from 2018 and our goals for 2019. Our fundraising goal during this class is $1000.00 (to go toward the Museum and Art fund). See you then!