Jack Rauhala was born and raised on a farm on the outskirts of Sudbury, Ontario. After graduating from high school, Jack began his thirty-five years of employment with the International Nickel Company [INCO] of Sudbury. At age fifty-five he retired on the earliest possible eligible date.
Through Jack's union activity, during his employment, he won a full scholarship from the United Steelworkers of America [USWA], to the Labour College of Canada and graduated in 1966. He then began teaching trade union subjects at the United Auto Workers [UAW] one-week summer schools in Port Elgin, Ontario. Many weekend teaching assignments with the Ontario Federation of Labour and for the United Steelworkers of America [USWA.] followed. This in turn led to his successful career as union organizer with the USWA and later as an effective political organizer and campaign manager with the New Democratic Party [NDP]. All of these assignments were through leaves of absence. Jack refused promotion with INCO choosing to remain unfettered.
In 1972 Jack began a five year intensive period of "open learning", with professor Dr. Placide Gaboury of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Sudbury. Their co-operative study focussed on the "Origin of World Religions". They were both initiated into Transcendental Meditation [TM] at that time. Placide was his first coach and mentor. Later he attended a silent weeklong Vipasanna retreat with Buddhist Jack Kornfield.
Jack was a founding member of the Kundalini Research Network [KRN] and attended their conferences and meetings in Ontario. Most recently, he participated in "The Society for Scientific Exploration" conference in Kalispell, Montana. Jack is currently subscribed and contributes to several web site discussion groups including the Anunda Forum, Kundalini discussion groups, IONS and Global Self. The essay titled, "Darwin" which is the postscript of his book is archived on the Global Self web site. This essay has been endorsed by Dr. Eugene Carpenter, a forensic scientist and Dr. Matti Pitkanen a mind-brain researcher.
To stay up to date Jack does frequent research in several quantum physics and mind-brain web sites. He keeps himself very well informed by closely following the research on the subjects discussed in his book. The two most important books that he has read recently are, "From Science to God", by Peter Russell and the "Physics of Consciousness", by Evan Harris Walker.
Having meditated and studied continuously for twenty-eight years Jack enjoys mystical states of consciousness regularly.Though reluctant to claim any status or wisdom, there are six people who have appointed Jack as their guru. He accepts the responsibility for "awakening" several others.
Jack credits his wild variety of life experiences, his eclectic studies, his thirty-year meditation practice and the experiences of frequent mystic states, for his progress on the "path."
Jack was married for twenty-three years but divorced shortly after he awakened. He has two children, a boy and a girl who are now adults. Jack enjoys a thirty-year common-law relationship with his soul mate Joanna and lives happily in a state of thanksgiving on Vancouver Island.
Jack's life-long "material" hobbies are designing and building furniture and prospecting. He has designed and built most of the furniture in their home. His prospecting has been successful and has provided a good profit. Jack still holds promising mining claims in the Sudbury District.
As you are aware, there are many books in this very popular genre. This one is different in that although Jack's book, "Find Your God," parallels and reaches many of the same conclusions, as does author Peter Russell, it is explicit in defining and demonstrating the multiple levels of consciousness and the methods of reaching them. Written in plain language it contains many examples and descriptions that everyone will understand. The many different levels of consciousness are demonstrated in several pieces of writing by the change in style, syntax, grammar and his "voice" in these compositions.
"Find Your God" will aid in removing the mystery from mysticism. It will revitalize and help to awaken the innate spirituality of everyone who reads it. It is about "bootstrap" spiritual evolution. Jack demonstrates to you, that if he did it, anyone can!
A poem, the essay Darwin and a short story from the book have been published previously.