--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "matrixmonitor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > ---You worked at the W. LA Center? Which one: Pacific Palisades > or the one on Santa Monica Blvd? I hung around there until 1981.
The phone poll was done when I was working at the center at 1015 Gayley in Westwood. That would have been back around 1974-75. I also taught out of the Pacific Palisades center (National Center) for a while, but never out of the one on Santa Monica Blvd. By the time that one opened I was already on my way out, and pretty much stopped having anything to do with the TMO after my siddhis course in 1977. > The people it (TM - or any other meditation technique) works for are > IMO those with some meditation experience in previous lives. While I don't disagree with you at all (in fact, I think it's very true), that's a tough sell to those who don't believe in past lives. > This may include a strong background as a Buddhist, Hindu, or > Monk in the Christian Tradition. Or, perhaps a Kaballist. Or just someone who had experienced meditation and transcendence before, and thus found it easier to access and appreciate when they found a new "route" to it. I found the same thing when teaching other forms of meditation -- some folks "eased into it" and didn't experience much, and others experienced full-blown samadhi in their first session. What can really explain that except familiarity with meditation in the past? > But this creates a difficult situation analogous to the > requirement of having job experience before getting a job. > What about those with no prior experience in any past life? > What would be the appeal? The appeal to most Americans was as a cure to some- thing *wrong*, not as a way to achieve something positive. People wanted to learn TM to "reduce stress" or lower their blood pressure or whatever, not for any spiritual reasons. I would venture that this was true of 80-90% the people starting TM back in that era. Those who developed more "spiritual" feelings about TM were the ones who started attending the weekly lectures and residence courses and being indoctrinated with the "teachings." > MMY's simplistic argument that they should meditate because > the mind seeks a field of greater happiness don't > quite match reality. Indeed. Interesting insights. Thanks. > In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "ruthsimplicity" > > <ruthsimplicity@> wrote: > > > > > > I am getting lost in the "grievances" thread and thought I would > > > start a new topic so I can find my post later on. Judy got me > > > thinking about the rewards of TM when we were talking about > whether > > > a technique of effortless transcending would have been prevalent > in > > > the ancient world. > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> > wrote: > > > > > > > In my view, the basis for plausibility is how easy > > > > it is to meditate effortlessly, and how easy it is > > > > as well to get off the effortless track. Seems to me > > > > something so easy and rewarding would have likely > > > > spread like wildfire once it was discovered, just as > > > > TM did in its early days; but almost as quickly, the > > > > "knack" of effortlessness could have been forgotten > > > > in a few generations. > > > > > > How rewarding is TM for most people? We don't know, but we can > > > speculate. My speculation is that a large number of people > > > learned to meditate and most quit. Meditation was not rewarding > > > enough to continue. > > > > I can't speculate on the population as a whole, > > but based on two "phone polls" we did at two TM > > centers when I was still a TM teacher (Toronto > > and West Los Angeles), we called everybody we > > had records of who had started TM and lived in > > the area. We were calling to invite them to a > > big social event (NOT a fundraiser...this was > > long before that embarrassing period in TMO > > history) and to offer them a free meditation > > check if they wanted one. In both cities over > > 80% had stopped meditating within three months > > of having started. > > > > > I really would love to know how many people were taught TM > > > and what was the dropout rate over time. > > > > It's not a statistic that the TMO would be inter- > > ested in knowing, much less publicizing. > > > > > Although this has no validity for > > > statistical purposes, a number of my friends and family > > > learned TM about the same time. None of the 2 times 20 > > > people now meditate. Five went on to take the Siddhis. > > > One became a TB and still is one. Another does her > > > program irregularly. > > > > > > Could it be that the simple TM technique just doesn't > > > work for a lot of people? > > > > I would certainly say that this is the case. > > > > If TM "reguires" regular attendance at "advanced > > lectures" and regular meetings and residence courses > > to make it "work," then it doesn't work. Simple as > > that. > > >
