Robert S de Ropp

Robert S. de Ropp (1913-1987) was an academic in bio-chemistry, who became a prominent author in the general fields of the realization of human potential, and the search for spiritual enlightenment.

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De Ropp grew up in London and gained a PhD in plant physiology at the Royal College of Science in London. He was active in plant physiology and cancer research. In 1939 he was at The Research Institute of Plant Physiology at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London and by 1945 was a Research Officer of the Agricultural Research Council at the Rothamsted Experimental Station. He wrote a number of research papers relating to plant pysiology and tumours and wrote a book in that field for the general reader: Drugs and the Mind.

His avocational interests grew from his being strongly influenced by P. D. Ouspensky whom he met in 1936. He went regularly to Lyne Place for work weekends from 1936 to 1945 and was particularly attached to Madame Ouspensky. By 1945 the Oupenskys were in the United States, and de Ropp joined them there but became disillusioned about the work. His professional life included a stay at the Rockefeller Institute as a visiting investigator. His research was centered on cancer,mental illness, and drugs that affect behavior. He met G. I. Gurdjieff during his final visit to New York. De Ropp became an independent teacher and set up a community in Santa Rosa California around 1967 ^[1]

Among his most influential books concerning spiritual development are: The Master Game and Warrior's Way: The Challenging Life Games. The first of these stands as his report on what he has learned from his teachers and from the writings of similar figures as well as more main-stream psychologists, psychiatrists, and researchers into fields such as religion and the spiritual life. The second was written near the end of his life and in a very personal way gives his evaluation of the characters and contributions of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, Madame Ouspensky, and other major figures in the field of teaching those engaged in spiritual quests. He spares neither the false gurus nor the merely pompous, while expressing genuine gratitude for those whose efforts he believes have enriched human life.

Publications

(Sample list of Academic Papers)

• R. S. De Ropp The Effect of Preliminary Soaking of the Grain on the Growth and Tropic Responses of the Excised Embryo of Winter Rye Studies in the Vernalisation of Cereals. Annals of Botany 3: 1939 243-252
• R. S. De Ropp Studies in the Physiology of Leaf Growth: III. The Influence of Roots on the Growth Annals of Botany 10: 1946 353-359
• R. S. de Ropp The Growth-Promoting Action of Bacteria-Free Crown-Gall Tumor Tissue Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1948), pp. 45-50
• R. S. de Ropp The Interaction of Normal and Crown-Gall Tumor Tissue in in Vitro Grafts American Journal of Botany, Vol. 35, No. 7 (Jul., 1948), pp. 372-377
• R. S. de Ropp The Action of Some Chemical Growth Inhibitors on Healthy and Tumor Tissue of Plants Cancer Research 11, September 1, 1951 663-668,
• R. S. de Ropp and Doris McKenzie The Transplantation of Small Numbers of Tumor Cells Cancer Research 14, September 1, 1954, 588-590
• R. S. De Ropp and Elizabeth Markley The Correlation of Different Aspects of Auxin Action Plant Physiol. 30(3): May 1955 ; 210–214.
• E. Jack Davis & R. S. De Ropp Metabolic Origin of Urinary Methylamine in the Rat Nature 190,(13 May 1961) 636 - 637

Books by Robert S. de Ropp

• Drugs and the Mind (1957)
• Man Against Aging (1960)
• Science and Salvation (1962)
• The Master Game (1968)
• Sex Energy: the Sexual Force in Man and Animals (1969)
• The New Prometheans (1972)
• Church of the Earth (1974)
• Eco-Tech (1975)
• Warrior's Way: The Challenging Life Games (1979)
• Self-Completion: Keys to the Meaningful Life (1988)

References