<snip> > > > > For those who find belief in gods and goddesses untenable, there's no > > real need to cling to such stories. In terms of modern psychology and > > neuroscience it would be easier to say that certain sounds have > > certain effects on the brain, which have the potential, over time, to > > awaken certain propensities in the brain and then for those changes > > to be integrated into the human personality.
That may be true. I find it hard to believe that earlier cultures were able to figure this out rather than just going with their religious meanings in choosing sounds. It seems like a difficult thing to test. That's why I like Swami > > Rama's approach: it was practical and honest, without a need for > > magical thinking. I checked out his place in Honesdale Pa but never met him. I was very afraid of meeting guys like him when I was in TM. I thought they would put the "wammy" on me! I also thought that I was a special and desirable human that other masters would want to steal from Maharishi! Teachers had told me that other masters valued us and would be after us. More "prison of specialness." > > And rife with the potential for suggestion and placebo effects. I didn't notice any difference in my meditation once I knew the meaning of my mantra. I'm not sure this is necessarily true. Otherwise you are saying that everyone who learns in India from a Hindu background would be "rife" with whatever. > > MMY's approach is more Zen-like. Which is why some Zen monks in Japan> are apparently dabbling in TM these days. I don't know what aspect you are comparing here, they seem pretty different to me. > > > Lawson >
