It is said, "expectations reduce joy." Alternatively, from another angle one might say: "expectations produce fear." - (the fear that the expectation won't be met - born of rajo- guna no doubt. )
We have all experienced this, yes? (he, he). I imagine the subtler the expectation is during a specific sutra, the more powerful it is in terms of inhibiting the natural outcome of that sutra. Just as we eventually learn that effort in meditation reduces progress toward the transcendent, and that there can be various subtle levels of effort - both conscious and unconscious, perhaps the same is true for sutra practice. (Or put another way, as we learn how the subtle manifestations of rajas and tamas guna are reflected in our consciousness as expectations and fear we can learn to favor the the "I Am" awareness - the clear satvic stream by just dropping - taking a neutral attitude towards - the fear.) First one becomes aware of subtle layers of expectation and fear, and then one naturally drops them one by one. Now real progress can be made. Congratulations! After all isn't samsara just the attachment to an outcome? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Llundrub" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I was just doing the sidhis and noticed that there does seem to be a current of hope and fear that is created. I wonder if anyone else notices this? Hope that a sidhi is born and fear that it wont be. I therefore have to agree with Vaj on this one, the sidhi practice seems more samsaric than plain TM. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Alex Stanley > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:03 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Samadhi in CC, GC or UC [was: This stuff never gets old...Maharishi vs. the movement] > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > On May 6, 2005, at 7:45 AM, Alex Stanley wrote: > > > > > I don't assume that just because a view is traditional, it > > > is correct, especially with respect to ideas about > > > spirituality and consciousness, which are, by their very > > > nature, subjective. > > > > Didn't say traditional--I said "pure". > > How is purity determined? A quick Google search says Patanjali lived > somewhere between 200 BC and 200 AD. How does one determine whether > one interpretation of an ancient religious scripture is more pure or > correct than another? The idea of locking down something as > free-flowing as spirituality into a box of rigid dogmatic purity > strikes me as silly as trying to herd cats. > > > The problem is, IMO, that whenever you decide to "sell" > > something, you have to polish it up for the marketplace. > > Hide it's flaws and tout its benefits. That's great for > > "product", but it also means you're hiding part of the > > truth. Hiding the truth in "product" is commonplace, but > > it has no place in spirituality where you are trying to > > uncover truth. > > On the other hand, the McMeditation Marketing Model made meditation > widely available and visible to those who would have otherwise not > even thought of seeking it out from an obscure tradition steeped in > "purity". The Lord works in strange and mysterious ways! > > > "Think" on that and then "think" on what would happen if > > you figured out that the "product" that everyone wanted > > and was really attached to was "enlightenment". > > I think it's likely that people will ultimately be drawn to a > suitable spiritual tradition, no matter where they start. In my own > case, I never understood or cared one whit about concepts of > enlightenment. My brother came back from TTC and taught me TM when I > was 13 years old. For me, TM was never anything more than a stress > reduction technique. But, ultimately, my involvement with TM set the > stage for my finding Waking Down, which is perfectly suited to who I > am. With my own strong tendencies toward self-destructive behavior, I > probably wouldn't even be alive today if not for TM. > > Alex > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! Groups Links > > a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > > b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
