ANNE DURRUM ROBINSON 1913-2005
Intuition guru followed hunches till the end
Anne Durrum Robinson, who died Tuesday, hosted the 'Hunch Bunch at Lunch' to teach people to tap their unconscious thoughts
By Denise Gamino, American-Statesman Staff
Anne Durrum Robinson was in a hurry the past two months. She finished her last writings. She recorded seven CDs of stories and advice. She even asked a friend to bring her husband of five years to lunch so she finally could meet him.
It was as if Robinson knew her time was short. She must have had a hunch.
Robinson died Tuesday after suffering two heart attacks in the past week. She was 92 but ageless in her enthusiasm for life and zest for teaching others how to read their subconscious. She had taught a creativity class just hours before the first heart attack.
Robinson was an intuition guru with a worldwide reputation and the disposition of a fairy godmother.
For 30 years, she taught creative thinking classes in Austin and at international conferences. More recently, she turned her home near the University of Texas into a sort of brain salon, open to anyone interested in learning how to boost the mind's ability to recognize and use unconscious thought.
She called it the "Hunch Bunch at Lunch" and she presided over it from her wheel chair while wearing her trademark colorful muumuus and outfits with matching jewelry. Her giggles and gentle wisdom put everyone at ease, and participants adored her.
"She really believed in the power of intuition, people's hunches, and trusting that. And that we've gotten away from that over the centuries as human beings, and that the more complicated the world is, the faster the pace, and the more information there is, the more the need is to really return to that trust," said Phil Coleman, a computer systems trainer at the Texas Workforce Commission and a Hunch Bunch regular.
Robinson was ahead of her time, in some ways. Current American culture is recognizing the importance of intuition-note Malcolm Gladwell's No.1 New York Times best-seller, "Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking"-but Robinson had pushed the power of intuition for decades.
Mary Howerton, director of instructional technology at St. Edward's University and another Hunch-Buncher, said it was a gift to be in Robinson's presence. "What she always said was, 'We're born with intuition and creativity, and then we kind of get it hammered out of us.' "
Robinson graduated with a journalism degree from what is now Texas Woman's University and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas. In college, she interviewed Bonnie Parker before Parker and her outlaw lover, Clyde Barrow, were killed in a police ambush. She also interviewed Frances Perkins, secretary of labor under Franklin Roosevelt and the country's first female Cabinet secretary. Robinson never forgot Perkins making a point by poking her in the chest with such force that she fell backward.
Early in her career she worked as an editor for Lady Bird Johnson's Austin radio station, KTBC. Other jobs included secretary, office manager, copywriter, magazine editor, broadcaster, account executive for advertising agencies, university teacher, building manager, and national and international speaker. She also wrote and performed on radio, TV, film and stage.
A celebration of Robinson' life will be held Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Mabee Ballroom of the Ragsdale Center at St. Edward's University. 3001 S. Congress Ave, Visitation with family will begin at 2 p.m.
Robinson is survived by her husband of 60 years, Harold, daughter and son-in-law Lear and Scott Weaver of Columbia Falls, Mont.; five grandchildren; two great grandchildren; one niece and two nephews.
Austin American Statesman, June 9, 2005, http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/obits/9robinson.html
Obituary http://www.legacy.com/statesman/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=14196298
Guest Book http://www.legacy.com/statesman/Guestbook.asp?Page=Guestbook&PersonID=14196298
Anne Durrum Robinson, who died Tuesday, hosted the 'Hunch Bunch at Lunch' to teach people to tap their unconscious thoughts
By Denise Gamino, American-Statesman Staff
Anne Durrum Robinson was in a hurry the past two months. She finished her last writings. She recorded seven CDs of stories and advice. She even asked a friend to bring her husband of five years to lunch so she finally could meet him.
It was as if Robinson knew her time was short. She must have had a hunch.
Robinson died Tuesday after suffering two heart attacks in the past week. She was 92 but ageless in her enthusiasm for life and zest for teaching others how to read their subconscious. She had taught a creativity class just hours before the first heart attack.
Robinson was an intuition guru with a worldwide reputation and the disposition of a fairy godmother.
For 30 years, she taught creative thinking classes in Austin and at international conferences. More recently, she turned her home near the University of Texas into a sort of brain salon, open to anyone interested in learning how to boost the mind's ability to recognize and use unconscious thought.
She called it the "Hunch Bunch at Lunch" and she presided over it from her wheel chair while wearing her trademark colorful muumuus and outfits with matching jewelry. Her giggles and gentle wisdom put everyone at ease, and participants adored her.
"She really believed in the power of intuition, people's hunches, and trusting that. And that we've gotten away from that over the centuries as human beings, and that the more complicated the world is, the faster the pace, and the more information there is, the more the need is to really return to that trust," said Phil Coleman, a computer systems trainer at the Texas Workforce Commission and a Hunch Bunch regular.
Robinson was ahead of her time, in some ways. Current American culture is recognizing the importance of intuition-note Malcolm Gladwell's No.1 New York Times best-seller, "Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking"-but Robinson had pushed the power of intuition for decades.
Mary Howerton, director of instructional technology at St. Edward's University and another Hunch-Buncher, said it was a gift to be in Robinson's presence. "What she always said was, 'We're born with intuition and creativity, and then we kind of get it hammered out of us.' "
Robinson graduated with a journalism degree from what is now Texas Woman's University and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas. In college, she interviewed Bonnie Parker before Parker and her outlaw lover, Clyde Barrow, were killed in a police ambush. She also interviewed Frances Perkins, secretary of labor under Franklin Roosevelt and the country's first female Cabinet secretary. Robinson never forgot Perkins making a point by poking her in the chest with such force that she fell backward.
Early in her career she worked as an editor for Lady Bird Johnson's Austin radio station, KTBC. Other jobs included secretary, office manager, copywriter, magazine editor, broadcaster, account executive for advertising agencies, university teacher, building manager, and national and international speaker. She also wrote and performed on radio, TV, film and stage.
A celebration of Robinson' life will be held Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Mabee Ballroom of the Ragsdale Center at St. Edward's University. 3001 S. Congress Ave, Visitation with family will begin at 2 p.m.
Robinson is survived by her husband of 60 years, Harold, daughter and son-in-law Lear and Scott Weaver of Columbia Falls, Mont.; five grandchildren; two great grandchildren; one niece and two nephews.
Austin American Statesman, June 9, 2005, http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/obits/9robinson.html
Obituary http://www.legacy.com/statesman/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=14196298
Guest Book http://www.legacy.com/statesman/Guestbook.asp?Page=Guestbook&PersonID=14196298
posted by Paul Schumann @ 9:20 AM
3 Comments:
At 10:48 AM,
Anonymous said…
Butterfly
Butterfly wake from your sleep
The world you once knew.
Engorge your wings with your
body fluids.
Unfurl your wings and fly.
Imbibe the nectar from the
flower.
And paint your exotic colors
across the sky
You are the flicker of two forms
And you are the delicate flicker
Of our imagination, the becoming
Of what we dream. Like you I
can creep before I fly.
And I can sprout invisible wings
To take me high.
My nectar comes from everyone.
And what I imbibe does not harm
the flower.
Oh to freely give like the
flower.
The beautiful to the beautiful.
Harvey Mathason - Annie
loved Butterflies and how
their metamorphasis
symbolized creativity
At 4:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
Dear Annie's Loved Ones,
I regret that I cannot be with you to celebrate Annie's beautiful life. My family and I recently settled in New England. I will be with you in spirit. I'd like to show you a Mind Map of Annie. In the center is a giant SUN.
The first stem is INSPIRATION. She brought brightness and depth to our corporate worlds and touched countless people in personal ways.
The next stem is FAMILY. Annie never had a lunch with me without talking about her beloved family and the uniqueness and gifts of each of them. Annie was always interested in my family and always inquired about my life as a true friend and "chosen family" would. The third stem is LOVE. Annie knows what is most important in life. The fourth stem is GRACE. Annie carried on her life with a beauty in everything from her lovely hair to her style in her chair to a great margarita.
Another is HUMOR. What a treasure you are Annie in the ability to help us laugh and learn the importance of it. Another is TALENT. Annie had talent and shared her gifts with us. She also helped all of us find our talents and aided in helping us thrive. PERSEVERENCE is Annie too. I'm thrilled she had the hunch to put her books on CD. It's faster and now we all have a treasure from Annie to keep. UNENDING is Annie and my Mind Map. I will forever hold Annie alive in my heart and I know you will too. Annie's a gem that created a giant spark in our lives and will be so lovingly cherished always. Until we meet again.... Lovingly, Diana
Diana Elliott (Pepperell, MA )
diana_elliott@charter.net
At 3:18 PM,
Anonymous said…
I had the great fortune of finding Anne Robinson about a year ago. The last time that I saw her, we had lunch at the Snow Pea and chatted for over two hours. We had so much fun that we did not want it to end. At one point, she said the "...next time we have lunch together---we WILL meet for lunch again?"
I looked her straight in the eye and said, "You bet we will meet for lunch again!" In that moment, as we looked at one another, we knew the truth, but pretended to ourselves, and each other, that it would happen.
Over the next couple of months, a string of synchronicities began occurring for me personally. Beginning in April, and running through April and May, I kept encountering, seeing, and experiencing circumstances around the Lakota Legend of the White Buffalo. It was very strange, and I even kept a log of all the strangeness that occurred with me and and the old Native American Legend. The week before Anne passed, I had written her an email that some very unusual things were going on with me, and that I couldn't wait to see her again and tell her all about it. I still do not know if she ever read that last email, but I never received a response.
Reading of her death in the newspaper saddened me greatly, but on that same day she left a gift for me during my morning walk, a perfect little bird egg, in an unlikely place. I knew that she was with me in spirit, and always would be. That was, however, not the end of it. A few weeks later, I decided to "google" her name and just see if there was any new informaton, tributes, or memorials to her on the Internet. One of the first tributes I found was on the American Creativity Association's web site. I was absolutely floored when I read the brief tribute written by a man named Barry Silverberg. There, in bold print, were the words "You Mean You Can't See the White Buffalo?" It turns out that "You Mean You Can't See the White Buffalo?" was a compendium of her work published by Mr. Silverberg for a local non-profit organization. Until that moment, I never knew that Anne had any connection to the White Buffalo.
To the Lakota, and many other Native Americans, the White Buffalo is probably the most sacred thing there is. The birth of a white buffalo calf is a sign that White Buffalo Calf Woman, the one who taught the Lakota how to live, as well as the 7 sacred ceremonies, will soon return. When White Buffalo Calf Woman returns she will purify the world, bringing back harmony and spiritual balance to the world.
Yes, Anne, I can see the White Buffalo!
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