--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "mainstream20016" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > A friend is having very good experiences as a brand new TM meditator. I think I recall from > an SCI Course tape that a new meditator will remain regular in his TM practise if the new > meditator is inspired by, and incorporates, a vision of his future established in higher states > of consciousness. > What would you suggest to a new meditator that might mitigate the tendency of new > meditators to abandon the practice ? >
******* By all means the things discussed in the intro/preparatory lecture ("a vision of possibilities") are good for keeping new rus regular in meditation, but the biggest factor for people maintaining the practice is whether the environment is friendly to the expansion of bliss consciousness or not, and it still is not, for the most part, although the pundits here and in India are changing that. Jesus characterized this tendency to stop spiritual seeking as analogous to a seed planted in a garden that is choked out by weeds,etc or because of a lack of receptivity: Parable of the Soils Matt. 13:123; Mark 4:120 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?" And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.' Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. * This is a brutal and unhappy world, and that influence of negativity does not allow people to be happy, so weaker meditators are crushed and stop practicing TM. The message of the possibilities of higher states of consciousness help to create receptivity to the continuing practice of TM, but that negative influence of the environment is the crucial factor for most meditators quitting the practice, although of course they are going to find some excuse for their stopping out of ignorance of the true situation.