Thanks for this. I enjoy RSAnimate and agree with Ehrenreich. And I think a lot of TMers have misinterpreted Maharishi on this topic of never entertain negativity. Speaking on the role of entertainment with comedian Andy Kaufman Maharishi explains, and here I'll paraphrase, that entertainment means to hold within. My logical guess is that on the topic of negativity, Maharishi was saying that it's best not to hold negativity within, not to dwell on it unnecessarily. I agree with this. And I think there is a big difference between dealing with negativity, dwelling on it and entertaining it.
If one gets a paper cut, say ouch and move on; if one get a bleeding cut, apply antiseptic and bandaid and move on. If one's finger gets caught in a door and the tip is dangling by a tendon, then rush to the ER and have a hand specialist sew it back on. IOW, the severity of the negativity or problem determines the amount of attention that is needed to deal with it adequately. What I'd really like to see are brain scans when someone is truly smiling and when someone is fake smiling. Because I have read that smiling releases endorphins into the body. In my own experience, a true smile and a fake smile have very different energetic feelings, as does grounded positivity vs. what I call hyperpositivity. Somehow this video also brings to mind Susan Cain's book on introversion called Quiet. BTW, on Batgap someone mentioned that her TED Talk on the same topic was the quickest to reach a very high number of hits. Anyway, note that I'm not equating introversion with pessimism. And I'm definitely not equating extroversion with optimism, though the two can appear very similar, especially in the corporate world. In Quiet Cain suggests that the book How To Win Friends and Influence People greatly influenced and continues to influence the corporate world in the sense that everyone was and is being encouraged to be outgoing. Cain points out the problems with this and I think they are very similar to the problems that Ehrenreich discusses. ________________________________ From: turquoiseb <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 2:27 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] RSA Animate - Smile Or Die This one just *nails* the problem with "The Secret" and other forms of "positive thinking," not to mention the TMO's "never entertain negativity" and its tendency to excommunicate anyone who interjects a note of reality into its pronouncements of unreality. They're delusional. They're a form of social control. And they're dangerous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo
