Published in 2003, & follows a 1989 document engineered by the current Pope when he was the Grand Inquisitor; which warns against New Age and/or Eastern types of meditation. TM of course would be included though I don't know if it was specifically mentioned. ... The TMO's proponents seem to have a propensity to appropriate the teachings of various non-TM forms of meditation by including the latter in the guise of the quest for "Pure Consciousness". This won't work since: (a) a brief search in Wiki under "Christian Meditation" makes it clear that Jesus Christ is the focus of such meditation, not the realization of the impersonal Absolute. Of course, this could be a fatal flaw in the Grand Inquisitor's viewpoint since a reading of the works of such people as Aquinas, St. John of the Cross, and others; appears to include a recognition of the impersonal Self along with devotion to Jesus. ... More specifically, wrt LEVITATION, a reading of the works of famous levitators such as St. Francis, St. John of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Avila points to their Mystical Union with Jesus as the key ingredient in Ecstatic states of Rapture in which the Soul becomes elevated above the physical body, at times pulling the body upward off of the ground, resulting in physical levitation. The bottom line: it appears that successful true levitation may require other ingredients besides realization of "Pure Consciousness"; and it's typical of the ongoing dispicable dishonesty of various authors associated with the TMO to compare TM with SOC's associated with the famous levitating Catholic Saints. In short, the latter universally practiced Christocentric meditation on the Person of Jesus, being the key ingredient that catapaulted their "Souls" above the physical, at times physically elevating the physical body above the ground, as if pulled up by a Supernatural Force. Thus, levitators should look to the source of this Sidhi in a Supernatural Force, not the unmanifest Absolute. If mere Self Realization were a sufficient cause for true levitation, then we would see the many Advaitins such as Adyashanti, Gangaji, Eckhart Tolle and others in numerous Youtube presentations elevated in mid air, notwithstanding Hagelin, Jerry, Bevan, and MMY himself. ... Here's part of the Wiki entry:
The document has 6 main sections, as well as an appendix, and glossary of New Age terms.[2] The main sections are: 1. What sort of reflection. This section discusses the context and timing of the document. It states that the Third Millennium, two thousand years after the birth of Christ, is a time when astrologers believe that the Age of Pisces is drawing to a close. Hence a time when the public is bombarded with the New Age message may be the right moment to offer an assessment of why it is not consistent with the Christian message. 2. New Age spirituality: an overview. This section provides an overview of the New Age Movement and its history. Referring to Harmony and Good Vibrations, it criticizes the approach of being in tune with nature or the cosmos, claiming that it blurs the distinction between good and evil and creates the mindset that "we cannot condemn anyone, and nobody needs forgiveness". [my comment...this part on forgiveness is of course incorrect since New Agers don't claim any such thing]. Golden living: The document claims that New Age practices can be associated with other practices, listing acupuncture, biofeedback, kinesiology, homeopathy, iridology and various kinds of bodywork, polarity massage, meditation and visualisation, psychic healing, healing by crystals, metals, music or colors, and twelve-step programs. Wholeness and dualism: The document states that the New Age encourages that we should overcome dualisms, such as Creator and creation, the distinction between man and nature, or spirit and matter. Central themes of the New Age. The document claims that the New Age is not a religion, but is interested in what is called "divine". Some common points in the New Age movement are: The cosmos is seen as an organic whole, animated by an energy, soul or spirit Credence is given to the mediation of various spiritual entities Humans are assumed capable of ascending to invisible higher spheres A "perennial knowledge" pre-dates and is superior to all religions and cultures People are encouraged to follow enlightened masters. 3. New Age and Christian faith. The document states that for Christians, the spiritual life is a relationship with God.[i.e. the Personal God, Jesus as part of the Trinity,...not "Brahman"] It criticizes Eastern meditation and states that all meditation techniques need to be purged of presumption and pretentiousness.[again wrong since presumption and pretentiousnes don't play a role in the correct practice of TM, which "takes it as it comes"]. It states that Christian prayer is not an exercise in self-contemplation, stillness and self-emptying, but a dialogue of love, one which "implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from 'self' to the 'you' of God".["God" in the Catholic sense, of course, not "Pure Consciousness"]. 4. New Age and Christian faith in contrast. This section criticizes several elements of the New Age practices. For instance, it claims that New Age practices are not really prayer. [not quite correct but we get their point]. 5. Jesus Christ offers us the water of life. The document re-iterates that the Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, who is at the heart of every Christian action, and every Christian message. It refers to the Gospel of John's account of the Samaritan Woman at the Well as "a paradigm for our engagement with truth". [right...the TMO might in its typically dishonest fashion subvert this part by exchanging the word "Jesus" with "The Christ"; and then equating "The Christ" with pure Consciousness. This tactic won't work since the main focal point of attention as stated by by St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa (two famous levitators); was Jesus Christ, the Personality. Should a realization of Pure Consciousness be interpreted in the writings of such Saints, as a true reflection of their writings, it should also be stated that the goal of such Saints was a form of Mystical Union with Jesus, not "The Absolute - pure Consciousness"; although the latter type of Union could and probably did occur in some cases, as a peripheral adjunct to their main goal].
