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Superdirector.Com Saturday, March 27, 2004 Sunnie D. Kidd: the "Unsung Scholar" and the Spirit of Humanity Sijou B. L. Miyoko , Senior Fellow, Research Professor, Writer, Journalist, Translator, Art Critic, Foreign Policy Studies, International Relations, China, Taiwan, United States of America "Some one had passed away, but still lives on our hearts". This modern Chinese poem perfectly depicts the reality of Sunnie D. Kidd, who passed away two years ago before all her works were published and fully recognized among academia around the world. For those people who personally know Sunnie during her life, Sunnie is a shining example as a perfect human being, a beloved teacher and a kind friend, reliable and helpful colleague. For those readers who only come to know Sunnie from the news story in Superdirector.com, and through her posthumously published works in the Seattle Forum on Superdirector, Sunnie is a great person to enlighten millions of mind and should be remembered for the day she passed away, because it was not only a sad day for her friends and family, but also a sad day for the whole academia and the whole world. Sunnie Kidd, the "Unsung Scholar" "Although Sunnie Kidd had never ever received an official Ph. D. degree from any institute of higher learning, her major academic achievements in philosophy and human civilization should not be underestimated in academia as well as in all aspects of life." Said Mr. Peterson B. Zhou, the Executive Editor-in-Chief of Seattle Forum, where Sunnie Kidd served as advisor, supporter and one of the major contributors for the last few years. Three years ago, when Sunnie Kidd was recommended by Dr. George Sun, the editor did not fully realize the value of her work because Sunnie did not advertise any published works after she was ridiculed for doing so and for the fact that she had no an official degree. She did have what she called a "Summary Vita" but it was lost along with her address book when her computer was cleaned off. Fortunately, Sunnie Kidd was first recognized as a scholar by her scholar friends like Drs. George C.H. Sun (Suncrates), Ramakrishna Puligandla and Peterson B. Zhou. Superdirector.com and thomehfang.org have been the only organizations to recognize her academic endeavors since her passing. Just a few months before her passing, she was recommended and appointed as an advisor to the Advisory Board of Supredirector.com and worked closely with Peterson B. Zhou on US Court legal projects related to employment justice cases. Thankfully, most but not all of her unpublished articles were rescued after the Editorial Board decided to accept and publish her whole works. It is the primary goal for Seattle Forum to promote this "unsung scholar" because of the quality of her work, because of her influence as a scholar and a person. Sunnie’s Academic Works and Influence Based on Sunnie's colleagues in University of San Francisco, and studies conducted by Seattle Forum senior fellows, there were a number of theses, dissertations, and books published utilizing Sunnie's research method in last three decades. Here are a few that she was fond of quoting: Jose Arisoto Coelho, who did a dissertation and published a book on Spirituality in India; Peggy Thayer, who did a dissertation and published a book on The Experience of Being Creative as a Spiritual Exercise; and Eva Wolfram, a professor at the Freudian Institute, Vienna, Austria, who did a dissertation and published (and teaches) Sunnie's method; Deirdre Carney’s thesis on Inspiration in Work and Life. Perhaps her greatest achievement is that she was so gifted in philosophy, yet never flaunted it and remained an "unsung scholar". "If I could be remembered for anything it would be Inbetweenness." Sunnie Kidd used to say to her student and husband , Jim Kidd, a teacher at University of San Francisco. It is quite true that Sunnie's unique major contribution to the academia lies in her framework in "Inbetweenness" and her four outstanding themes. During Sunnie's memorial ceremony at University of San Francisco, Jim put it this way, "When I think of Sunnie four themes stand out: Intelligence; Sense of Humor; Quick Read of Character and Stubbornness, all within a certain Style of Pleasantness." Sunnie began reading Taoism in 1970. From then on she read mostly Chinese and Indian thought. Since she was not a formal philosopher she called herself a "Lover of Philosopher." She said: "I am in love with philosophy. This way I can be with it rather than practice it." In her later years she also read a lot of physics. It was Suncrates, a scholar friend of over 20 years, who introduced her to Superdirector. In 2001, Sunnie began working with Peterson B. Zhou on U.S. Court documents a few months before her passing. Peterson B. Zhou,another superdirector fellow who used to deliver a keynote speech at China's national academic conference in early 1990's said: "the term 'Inbetweenness' coined by Sunnie in 1970's is quite similar to the term of Tao in Taoism developed by Lao Tzu in ancient China. We are very honored and fortunate to publish Sunnie's work, and introduce her works to our readers around the world through Internet." Based on the rules and regulations of the Seattle Forum, the policies to accept articles and papers are among the highest professional standard because the average admission rate for the contributors is only 0.5 %, only one article out of every two hundred is accepted, it is even lower than the US Supreme Court review rate. For Sunnie, however, Seattle Forum decided to publish all of her works as a due recognition because the Board truly believe the academic value and the impact of her works is among the greatest of all works published and printed ever since the beginning of human history. No wonder one of our advisors gave immediate feedback on Sunnie and other professors' work published in Seattle Forum. We are very excited to know that tremendous readers around the world, especially professors and researchers from universities worldwide send us positive comments about Sunnie and other contributors. Xiamen University Professor Le Aiguo, a senior fellow in Chinese philosophy in Seattle Forum and distinguished expert on Taoism said: "We scholars in China wish to exchange with the Western scholars on Chinese philosophy and civilization. Sunnie Kidd's work is of invaluable to the treasures of Chinese culture and civilization. As a scholar in Taoism and Confucius myself, I am surprised to discover the widths and depths of Sunnie's original research in Lao Tzu and Confucius. I know the tremendous value of Sunnie's work and I would recommend my Chinese colleagues and my students to read Sunnie in the Seattle Forum". Former Cornell University Professor, Dr. Poznanski commented, "This is a very knowledgeable and respectable group of intellectuals." Dr. Poznanski also serves as advisor to the Board of Seattle Forum. Dr. Huang Shunli, a visiting scholar in University of Washington said: " I am very excited, and honored to know Sunnie Kidd through her papers. Chinese philosophy is hard to understand, even to Chinese. As a Western scholar, Sunnie Kidd's research help to enhance the cultural exchange between the East and the West, and help world people to understand Chinese culture and civilization. It is very unusual for Sunnie to obtain such remarkable achievements under such unusual circumstances. She is a real scholar who deserves our due respect." Huang Shuli is a noted Chinese historian who serves as a doctoral advisor in Chinese history of thoughts and Ideas. He also serves as Director of the Graduate School of Xiamen University, one of the top universities in China. Dr. Huang's remarks are not at all exaggerated. Most recent studies by Seattle Forum researchers surprisingly discovered that some research methods developed by our staff researchers and advisors have been widely studied, applied and re-tested and supported by researchers around the world. Our research in Qigong Meditation, Personality traits, Longevity, Chinese Philosophy and East West Dialogue are ranked as top and most sophisticated in academia world wide. For instance, the qualitative research in the humanities by using metaphysics and phenomenology developed by Sunnie D. Kidd and her student/husband Dr. James Kidd in late 1970's of the Twentieth Century is still regarded as a powerful tool in social science research. (New York: Peter Lang, 1990). Sunnie’s approach and theory are much quoted in dissertations. Other research reveals the importance of the Chinese ancient philosophy and the cosmic views in modern world. Such views are invaluable for social scientists and medical doctors to conduct research that lead to breakthrough discovery, and bring tremendous benefits to all human being. To cite a few of recent researchers in Qi-Gong, Le Aiguo in Xiamen (Seattle Forum Staff Researcher and Advisor), China; Peterson B. Zhou in Seattle, USA; Yvonne Leung in Toronto, Canada; Haruhiko Murakawa in San Francisco, USA; Frances V. Gaik in Chicago, USA; Randall L Waechter and Laren Sergio in Toronto, Canada etc. This research has great implication in humanity and health care. In today's world, there are unofficially estimated that over 600 million people suffer from depression. According to World Journal on June 18, 2003, in USA alone, about 30 million people (around 16% of U.S. population) suffer from depression, which caused the loss of $30 billion value of productivity a year. By applying the philosophy developed from Sunnie Kidd and other researchers, it is possible that depressed people can find a way to recover from depression, and continue with their normal and healthy life. Some of the staff in Superdirector used to suffer from severe depression. After reading about the story of Sunnie Kidd and her works published in Seattle Forum, they finally found a true outlook of the world and turned the negative energy into positive Qi. Seattle Forum and Online Art Gallery in Superdirector is such a greatest miracle as a result of anti-depressant spiritual maneuvers through alternative means. Sunnie Kidd and Her Personality One can truly see that Sunnie was an "unsung scholar" during her life, because the only award she was given a "Merit Award" by her employer University of San Francisco. There have been no awards whatsoever for her academic works. The people she worked with in the School of Education planted a tree in Sunnie's honor after her passing. The State of California recognized her only when she paid taxes for the last three decades. Friends and people, however, remember Sunnie Kidd not only for her works, but also for her great personality through her life. "Perhaps her greatest achievement is that she was so gifted in philosophy, yet never flaunted it and remained an 'unsung scholar'. She lived as she talked - more attentive to helping establish connections with and between others than in seeking fame for herself." Said Sr. Jeanne Hagelskamp, S.P. Director of Teacher Education, School of Education in University of San Francisco. " Sunnie was truly a gift for all of us, and if each of us could live like she did, world peace would be a reality!" According to Jim who has been teaching teachers in the Bay area of San Francisco, Sunnie showed him the possibilities and then helped make it happen. Knowing what it means to be helped, to this day he tells teachers in his class that he is there to help. On Sundays Sunnie would drive around San Francisco and have Jim hand out canned goods to the homeless. There was (is) one person named Keith, to whom she would take hot food each day. Sunnie knew him for 15 years. He lives on the corner of Judah and Lower Great Highway. The day she passed away she brought Keith food. "I'll remember Sunnie for her even temper, cool nature, her smile, laughter, and helpfulness. She was gentle and caring. She is missed," remarked John Bansavich, Director of the Center for Instruction and Technology, University of San Francisco. Both Sunnie and Jim are extremely self-effacing. Despite their philosophical prowess, humility has been a keystone of their personality. Both Sunnie and Jim are quiet and unassuming. Their first concern is others, not themselves. According to Peterson B. Zhou, Jim even declined the offer to be promoted in Seattle Forum Advisory Board. Sunnie's "Inbetweenness", the Beginning of New Academic Exploration Sunnie once wrote: "Inbetweenness is the absolute wholeness that is the fundamental ground giving rise to the relatedness of the universe...Entities exist, but not discretely, waves have individual existence but are continuous with each other and with the ocean that gives rise to them and in which they emerge. Every wave is simultaneously every other wave, inseparable in time and space. This is inbetweenness, an indivisible wholeness of movement and vibration...Elsewhere, beyond time and space and causation, beyond future and past is the absolute field of inbetweenness. This is a plane of being, not a place." Sr. Jeanne Hagelskamp, S.P., who participated in this interview on Sunnie describes Inbetweenness in terms of Spiritual, Philosophical and Physics. It is a spiritual and theoretic view that Sunnie felt was at the highest dimension for the Cosmos. Those of us who ascribe to a "process" type of theology would propose that in the beginning, there was an "Infinite Energy and Boundless Potentiality", a God-Spirit, that could not be contained. That "singularity" erupted in a quest to be in relationship, and in that moment, the waves, light, time, and space emerged, and the universe was born. The heat was so intense and the collisions so violent, that most of the particles were annihilated in a split second...cooling the universe and reducing its matter to one billionth of the original matter. Yet Boundless Energy, Boundless Wholeness, the energy of inbetweenness, as Sunnie called it, endured and continued to be transformed, and new life emerged. This inbetweenness united protons and neutrons in enduring relationships, forming atomic nuclei. Over and over, the energy of relationship - the energy of inbetweenness - gave birth and the galaxies were born. And the life, death, and resurrection cycle continued...gravitational attraction sucked in all the clouds of helium and hydrogen - a black hole. But in that darkness, the energy of inbetweenness could not be contained, and self-imploding centers gave birth to the brilliant light of the first stars, and light and darkness became one. These photons of light, both wave and particle, refused to submit to a single nature. Still, Infinite Energy abounded and the universe continued the creation story, each more sophisticated and complex than its predecessor. Even now, energy continues to yield to matter, and matter dies and yields to energy, and new, more complex life evolves in a cycle of differentiation, renewal, and communion. We would submit that all life forces are interdependent and interrelated; cooperation and co-creation (the energy that Sunnie called inbetweenness) are their energetic forces. Fields continue the process of creation, contributing to new forms of behavior, forming a kind of collective memory. In a very real way, each part contains the Whole, and the Whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We humans, mere infants in the evolutionary cycle, contain the whole of creation that begot us. But with humankind, a consciousness was born that gives birth not only to awareness, but also to an active choice to enter into relationship. By our birthright, we are in relationship with one another and with all of creation. The story of the universe opens our minds to look for the God-Spirit within, the Spirit who continues to reveal Infinite Energy through each of us and from within the cosmos, calling us and all creation to live in "Inbetweenness" by unleashing the Potential that is waiting to be released as creation evolves in our day. The challenge before us is a quantum leap - to live in right relationship with each other and with all of creation - to reverence the energy of Inbetweenness that continues to beat, as we take our rightful place as co-creators of the universe of the future. Sijou B. L. Miyoko can be reached at: editor@superdirector.com or smiyoko@superdirector.com **

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