More Photos of Vuokko
(Thanks for Hazel Salminen & Karelia Jarva) 

Vuokko and I first made contact on the World Futures Studies Federation email distribution list. Both of us were members of the WFSF. Vuokko had read my books on the future, specifically The Evolution of Future Consciousness and Contemporary Futurist Thought  and in her early emails expressed a strong interest in philosophical topics and the study of consciousness, two recurrent themes in both books.

Of special note though she was very encouraging and proactively helpful in facilitating my visiting Finland -- specifically the Finland Futures Research Center . With her continued support, as well as others at the Center, I was finally able to visit the Center in Turku in 2015, participating in the World Conference of Futures Research.  Sadly though, Vuokko could not come to the conference.

Also, as another important connection between her and me, Vuokko and I became actively engaged in a very lively and sustained exchange on the WFSF mailing list-- involving many WFSF members--on the topic of consciousness. Vuokko volunteered to summarize and edit the dialogue (including many of my thoughts on consciousness), which appeared in the Journal of Futures Studies as: An Invigorating Dialogue on Consciousness  (Thanks to Victor Motti for  tracking down the article.)

When I first started communicating with Vuokko on email, and discovered that she was Finnish, I told her that one of my favorite composers was Sibelius. She wrote back and exclaimed, why do people so frequently bring up Sibelius as the first association they have with Finland! As she explained to me, there is much, much more to Finland than Sibelius; Sibelius, according to her, took many of his melodies from Finnish folk music and never acknowledged credit where credit was due. (Vuokko had a great interest in music, both from her own national heritage, as well as numerous other global sources.) Having now visited Finland, I obviously observed that there was much more to the country, its culture, and its people, than simply having produced one of the greatest twentieth century composers. But when Jeanne and I were in Finland we made it a point to visit the Sibelius Museum.

As with the case of conversing on Sibelius, one thing I discovered about Vuokko was that she engaged. She came at you and wrote what she thought and what she felt. Her emails were outpourings of ideas. Over the years we had many extended email conversations on numerous topics both personal and abstract, and futuristic and historical. She expressed herself with great emotion and force-- on a number of occasions I had the feeling I was arguing with her--maybe/maybe not--and yet she frequently was equally very kind and loving in her comments to both Jeanne and me. Vuokko came at the world with passion and it seemed to me a deep desire to understand reality and to advocate for human justice.

On the other hand with Janice, in my initial conversations with her I noticed how many times she used the word "wonderful". Everything was fantastic, marvelous, and wonderful. She effused optimism and positive energy; she was like a fountain, bubbling over with radiant chromatic vibrations (her hair was bright orange-red). You could not help but feel "up" after talking with her. Jeanne and I would get together with her at coffee shops and she was truly one hell of a psychic boost for one's ego and attitude toward life. Physically, Janice was very thin and tiny, and she practiced ballet everyday; Janice was a set of precise and harmonic notes of Romantic music, sort of like a Sibelius symphony.

In the final analysis, personhood (the conscious self) is a mind-boggling unique radiance within the cosmos -- a radiance that both illuminates and communicates, and draws in and synthesizes. Both Janice and Vuokko absorbed a lot and gave back even more to the world, fashioned in highly distinctive patterns of feeling, philosophy, and behavior. I wish I could have met Vuokko in person -- as I had the opportunity with Janice. I wish they could have met each other. I believe if they had met, electrical sparks would have populated the air surrounding them. For all I know, perhaps Flammarion is listening and planning to arrange such a meeting, or perhaps he is waiting for me.

Bon voyage Janice. Bon voyage Vuokko.