--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "feste37" <feste37@...> wrote: > > This paragraph from near the beginning of her article is so > muddled and confusing that I can't take anything she says > seriously.
And oddly enough, this woman is one of AlterNet's senior editors, so she presumably has plenty of article-writing, even expose-writing, experience. If this article is the best she can do in terms of accuracy, I don't know whether anything else she writes can be trusted either. > "Over several courses, I learned to sit with my eyes closed and just let my > thoughts flow until I began to feel a sense of peaceful awareness come over > me. There was no need to concentrate or sit in any particular way, or refrain > from scratching my nose. A steady flow of references to scientific studies > promising increased intelligence and emotional development padded what was > otherwise a pretty straightforward lesson on sitting still and chilling out. > After the completion of the course, there was a special "graduation" ceremony > in which students were given individual mantras to use in our practice. This > was the first real whiff of spirituality. I was told to bring an offering of > flowers to meet the instructor, who now appeared wearing a robe. He solemnly > told me that he had a special word to give me that was mine alone and would > be the key to my successful practice of TM." > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <authfriend@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > <snip> > > > As for the "end of the course" thang, > > > that is how a number of people I've taught thought of > > > the two introductory lectures, as "the course," the > > > rest being (for them) something else, maybe the part > > > where they actually got taught something that cost > > > money. :-) This author may have thought similarly. > > > > Nuh-uh. The "graduation ceremony" at which she was > > given her mantra, according to her, came *after* > > she'd attended the intro, paid her fee, and sat > > through several days of instruction in how to > > meditate. > > > > Apparently you read the article; how could you have > > missed that? At least it took her 10 years to forget > > what happened; took you less than a day to forget > > what you'd just read. ;-) > > > > > > http://www.alternet.org/economy/transcendental-meditation-how-i-paid-2500-password-inner-peace > > >
