--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Buck" <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "salyavin808" <fintlewoodlewix@> > > wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long <sharelong60@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Your comparing mindset of TMO to the Inquisition which > > > > > included physical torture and killing says more about > > > > > the truth of your extreme and unresolved feelings about > > > > > the TMO than it does about the truth of the TMO. > > > > > > > > No, in actuality your comment says a lot about your > > > > ignorance of the Inquisition and how it worked. I'm > > > > somewhat of a scholar on this subject, having studied > > > > it for many years. > > > > > > > > Very *few* of the activities of the Holy Inquisition > > > > involved physical torture or murder. What they specialized > > > > in was *mental torture* and the use of psychology to create > > > > an atmosphere of fear in the people. The purpose of the > > > > torture, when it occurred, was NOT to get people to "confess." > > > > They were already guilty the moment they were called before > > > > the Inquisition. The purpose of torturing them or getting > > > > them to "confess their sins" was to create an effect *in > > > > the people watching from the sidelines*. This is written > > > > about in some depth by the Inquisitors in the manuals they > > > > wrote for training purposes. > > > > > > > > In other words, they wanted the people they brought to > > > > trial to rat on other people, to create an atmosphere > > > > of fear in those other people, and proactively keep them > > > > in line. They also wanted the ones they tried to serve as > > > > examples of "what's going to happen to you" if you don't > > > > toe the line. > > > > > > > > I would submit that the TMO's policies are *very much* > > > > designed to do exactly the same things. > > > > > > When the TMO set up its first village in the UK people > > > naturally started hanging out together and going on > > > walks etc. I know someone who was asked to report back to > > > the directors what sort of things people were talking about. > > > > > > Most inquisitive, very cultish and shocking (to me at least). > > > Maybe people's surprise at this depends on how much they > > > believed that you don't have to change your beliefs when > > > you learn TM. If, like me, you stay pretty much true to your > > > questing yet sceptical principles then anyone checking up on > > > what you think about *anything* is a massive affront. > > > > > > The crap people put up with just to avoid being banned from > > > the dome or from courses amazes me as this sort of controlling > > > behaviour isn't really what I expected from a "coherent" group, > > > the rise in positivity is supposed to be spontaneous people! > > > > As I've said before (but not for some time), these trends > > were already in evidence back when I returned to the US > > from my TM-sidhi course in 1977. Up to that point I'd been > > a fairly TB TMer, but I came back from six months away to > > see what the TMO in L.A. had become in my absence. Prior > > to that time I had been a State Coordinator for Oregon and > > Washington, and had been ordered by "International" on > > occasion to tell TM teachers who had been seen "seeing > > other teachers" (in one case, going out of curiosity to > > see the Dalai Lama in a public meeting containing several > > thousand people, and sitting hundreds of yards away from > > him). When asked to do this, I passed along what I had > > been told to say (that they were no longer welcome in the > > TM centers and that their names were now mud when it came > > to going on courses), but then followed it up by saying > > how much I hated having been put in the position of saying > > it, and that I disagreed with the policy vehemently. > > > > But when I returned from my sidhis course, most of the > > more sane and moderate elements had already moved on, and > > what was left in their place were the worst kinds of > > Bliss Nazis. I attended a couple of Inquisitions (that > > really *is* the word for them) at the L.A. center in > > which people applying to go to TTC were grilled by the > > cabal that had taken over the L.A. center. These fanatics > > were more fundamentalist than any Christian preacher you > > have ever heard about. They literally forced these poor > > meditators to stand there in front of them while they > > grilled them about their sex lives, their marital status, > > whether they lived "out of wedlock," and -- most insane > > from my point of view -- whether they read any Off The > > Program books. > > > > I saw several people told that they were "unworthy" of > > becoming TM teachers because they admitted to having > > read "Autobiography of a Yogi" or the Carlos Castaneda > > books. This was particularly galling because I had been > > to the houses of most of the people saying this, and > > had seen all the *same* books on their bookcases. It > > was as blatant an example of fundamentalist hypocrisy > > as I've ever seen. > > > > I also saw the *snooping* and "detective work" that > > these fanatics did, going 'round to anyone who knew > > the course applicants and grilling them to dig up dirt > > on the applicants. I saw several instances of these > > reluctant "informants" being threatened *themselves* > > with "never being allowed to go on a course again" > > if they didn't tell everything they knew about the > > intended victims of this Inquisitorial snooping. > > > > So do I shirk from comparing the TMO -- back then or > > now -- to the Holy Inquisition of the Catholic Church? > > I do not. I know a great *deal* about the Inquisition > > and how it worked, and about the only difference I see > > in the two organizations is the amount of power they > > had to wield. For the Inquisition, they literally had > > the power of life and death over everyone in Europe. > > Being "named" by the Inquisition was a death sentence; > > only a handful of people in history were ever called > > before an Inquisitional "trial" and walked away. > > > > The TMO didn't have that kind of power. They had to > > rely on cultivating an atmosphere of fear in those > > who had already been convinced that in many ways being > > excommunicated from the TMO was *worse than death*. > > I saw TM teachers telling meditators that on resi- > > dence courses, and that "the worst karma you could > > possibly incur is to not do everything that your > > teacher tells you to do." People were told by the L.A. > > cabal of teachers that going on TM courses was the > > only way that they could *ever* become enlightened, > > and that if they didn't do exactly what they had > > been told to do they'd never be able to go on another > > course in their lives. So the victims of these self- > > appointed Inquisitors were being told that their very > > possibility of becoming enlightened was dependent on > > doing what they were told to do by these bullies. > > > > It took only a few months of seeing what the TMO had > > become for me to become so disgusted by all of this > > as to walk away from it. I've never regretted that > > decision for an instant since. > > > > Do I know *exactly* what goes down on a day-to-day > > basis in Fairfield? Absolutely not. Have I heard a > > huge number of stories from people who live there > > that lead me to believe that very little has improved > > in the days since 1977, and that in some ways the > > situation has grown worse? Absolutely. > > > > At the same time, are there people who have managed > > to lead very productive lives there in Fairfield > > and refuse to be intimidated by the modern-day > > versions of these Bliss Nazis? Absolutely. As far > > as I can tell, there are a number of them who post > > from time to time on this forum. I have respect > > for these individuals. > > > > But there are obviously a larger number who live > > there and choose to both submit to "rules and > > regulations" that have never been written down, > > that are often immoral and in many cases actually > > illegal, and who not only submit to them willingly, > > but defend these policies as if they're sane. Them > > I have no respect for whatsoever. They're not > > part of the solution; they're part of the problem. > > If more of them stood up to these Bliss Bullies > > and told them that they have no right to do these > > things, within a very short time these things > > would no longer be done. > > > > Yep, Turqb is absolutely right about these things. There are very few > TM-virgins and we got two Domes full of people who are there meditating in a > fear of their status. Fearful in meditation. Of course the long history of > administration has used the guidelines for participation to coerce people. > And the effect has been of their own creation: that they can't reliably get > even 350 men in the Dome to meditate together or a similar number of women > over in the women's Dome. > The odds are manifestly that they will not get 2,000 westerners meditating in > the Dome until they do something to reconcile with the larger community of > people that have long been spurned. That is the reality of their > administrative creation. Things will not change until people come boldly > forward and ask for it. People came here for a large group meditation. > Where has it gone? People like Bevan and Craig Pearson, and some defenders > of the old like Feste37 and Raunchydog here need to come forward and actively > reconcile with the community. Make an offering. A progressive offering. > Not just hope that people will be nice and come back. Folks are gone and > would need to be invited back with some empathy in a reconciliation with all > that has gone on that they would come to. Our administrators and their > people in charge have not even started to work on this. > > The immediate urgent priority for national and world peace is to join the > Invincible America Assembly at MUM. Only 2000 Meditators in Fairfield will > bring security to America and defuse the precarious escalation of conflict in > the world. > > Yours in Peace and Reconciliation, > -Buck >
Well, Buck you're entitled to your opinion. You've raised several issues and lumped them all into one pot of problems vs. solutions. I don't know where to start to unravel all of what you say to make sense of it and at the moment, I'm not up to the task of doing so. Perhaps another day. Peace, brother.
