> <snip> > > > Those I know personally who do the full > > > > program do not show me that they are any different > > > > in positive ways. > > > > > > Different from what, in what ways? > > > > They just did not seem any different,
This discussion interests me. I have gone through these stages of thinking; Sidhas have developed more subtle, aware minds through their practice. (obviously when I was doing them!) Sidha are deluded and are being distracted from real thinking by a mind-numbing practice. (When I first left the movement) People's self awareness and capacity for genuine introspection is a completely separate development from any "spiritual" practice. Some people develop it and some do not. (New improved by FFL version) Now I believe that thoughtful people can extract meaning and value from any experience. But using a non-intellectual process as a substitute for the activity of thinking produces a person who lives in an intellectual world of cliche, thought-stopping phrases. I have noticed that the people here whose perspective I seem to gain the most from have either kept the movement conditioning at arms length,(Judy and sometimes Lawson as examples), or followed other POVs deeply enough to be forced to think about the concepts outside the structured phrases of the belief system. (Kirk's recent post comes to mind, but many posters here have this skill) So I can't say that I believe that people who practice meditation or sidhis do develop any cognitive skills that seems like anything on the brochures. I don't think it automatically diminishes any cognitive abilities either. Reports of results on sidhis are mostly the kind of results that a developed imagination can cook up, especially in the fluid and generative meditation state. You only get an occasional report of something happening that other people could verify outside their mind. With the exception of the flying sidha in the recent video who flew into the sky with his "tits forward!" It probably helped to stabilize his magical flight. > > I'm still not clear on this: different from what? > Different from the way they used to be before they > started practicing the TM-Sidhis? Different from > people who don't practice the TM-Sidhis? > > <snip> > > People often describe "ah ha" experiences they have, where in > > an instant something is made clear. I had the clear experience > > of suddenly looking outside myself to what was happening on the > > course and knowing deep inside that it was delusion. > > Just out of curiosity, if you remember, at what > stage of the course was this? Do you recall what > specifically triggered this experience? > > > I still find it interesting that I came to the practice with the > > expectation of being charmed and you came with the opposite > > expectation and we ended up in totally different places. > > Yes, even with regard to the "delusion" thing. > I have had that sense many times throughout my > involvement with TM, and did on the TM-Sidhis > course as well at one point or another, but on > a more superficial intellectual level. Then in > some cases, specifically having to do with > experiences, I suddenly "knew" deep inside that > it wasn't delusion at all. > > > And maybe that is just fine. The older I get the more > > comfortable I am with the mysteries. > > And a good thing too. ;-) >
