--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "sparaig" <LEnglish5@> wrote: > > > > "Stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand, whether is > > is caused by, or results in, pleasant or unpleasant conditions. Stress as > > such, like temperature as such, is all-inclusive, embodying both the > > positive and the negative aspects of these concepts." -Hans Selye > > > > > > "Stress is anything that distorts the normal, natural functioning of the > > nervous system." -Maharishi Mahesh Yogi > > > > IOW, anything that takes us away from the pure consciousness + > > waking/dreaming/sleeping status of cosmic consciousness is stress. > > > > The two definitions converge. > > > > L > > You, like Maharishi are ignoring the positive aspect of stress in Selye's > work. Seeing it only as negitive, is a misconception in the full context of > his understanding. It is a serious flaw in Maharishi's use of the term. He > was using it superficially for marketing without regard to how Selye meant > it. > > You obviously see what you are missing here in this comparison, even within > the quote you isolate, let alone in the more full context of understanding > that you probably have read. > > That perplexes me. The concept is so much more interesting with its nuances > than Maharishi's misconception to me.
Well, you see, I think it is YOU who are missing MMY's nuances here. Certainly stress can have good and bad qualities (eustress and distress). However, anything that pulls one away from the quality of functioning of the nervous system where pure consciousness is always present, is stressful. That doesn't mean that it can't be fun, beneficial in its own way etc. only that it isn't pure consciousness. Of course, the point of the TM *program* is to alternate meditation, which approaches the state of pure consciousness, with regular activity, which is inherently stressful, so that eventually one can be in a state where pure consciousness is never lost. This doesn't mean that activity will cease to be stressful in the western sense, only that the nervous system has become strong enough to maintain pure consciousness, at least during relatively stressful activity. In a sense, you could say that all activity has become eustress-ish, though, of course, some activity is more inherently eustressful than other activity. L.
