Things We Don’t Understand, Things We Cannot Comprehend.

Where/When: In person and online, through ZOOM (Meeting ID: 865 1815 1952, Passcode: 142841) and in person at Unity of Richmond, 800 Blanton Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221, on Saturday, August 15, 2026, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, with Potluck Lunch at conclusion. This is a free event. Your donations are much appreciated.

Program Title: “Things We Don’t Understand, Things We Cannot Comprehend.” Our August 15, 2026 program will feature a talk by Price Wood, a long time Richmond IONS Community Group member and spiritual seeker. Price will explore and examine the mysteries of life, the Universe and humanity’s place within it, ranging from the Big Bang to evolution to the tug-of-war between religion and science, and the infinite variety and fascination we have with the dizzying, crazy quilt tapestry of experiences, beliefs, discoveries, superstitions, hopes, fears and dreams we encounter as humans on Earth in the modern era, from the most ordinary, mundane and routine to the most extraordinary, incomprehensible and sublime.

As part of this exploration, Price will touch on apparently never ending mysteries like the conflict between the sacred and the profane, the nature of love, the origin of humanity and our place and purpose within the cosmos, the attempts of science to explain the unexplainable, to determine the foundational “stuff” of which ultimate reality is made, the mind/body problem, the nature of time and whether we can travel through it either backwards or forward, the nature of living and dying and questions relating to life after physical death, communications with departed loved ones, connections with the spirit world, reincarnation, predestination, contacts with extraterrestrials, interdimensionals, angelic beings, the present and very real threat posed by AI, the nature of the Source of all most commonly referred to as God, and, ultimately, the relative insignificance of humanity and the pale blue dot called Earth we occupy within the framework of a Universe so old, so vast and so complex as to be beyond the capacity of our most brilliant minds to comprehend it.
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About our presenter: Price Wood grew up in Richmond, attending St. Christipher’s School, Va. Tech, Univ. of Richmond, Univ. of Colorado, and Univ. of Arizona. He entered the Coast Guard and served on the U.S. Eagle sailing ship while it was on display during the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal, Canada. He taught at Va. Commonwealth Univ. in the school of business before embarking on a career in computer programming, analysis, and management. In his early 20s he bought a Volkswagen camper van and with his girlfriend, drove from Richmond to Texas and down the Pan American highway through Mexico and Central America until the road ran out (at the Darian Gap in Panama). From there they took a banana boat to Ecuador, being rowed to shore in a row boat to a town renowned for pirates. They were put off on some rocks and from there managed to find a bus to Quito, Ecuador. From there they traveled by bus, train, taxi and seaplane to the Amazon, where they took an African Queen type boat down river, ending up in Leticia, Colombia. From there they bribed their way on to a military plane to Bogota and then flew back to Panama and their van for the drive back to Richmond. After this he married his girlfriend and got a job in Iran (while the Shah was still in control). (See his book, Living in Iran Before the Shah’s Downfall.) He next got a job in London, after which he moved back to the States and worked various jobs in northern Virginia (including at the Pentagon), finishing his working career at the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information about Richmond IONS Community Group, go to richmondions.org.