> > She seems pissed that the course was so expensive. Assuming
> > this was really a standard TM initiation, she seems to have
> > confused the introductory lectures as being part of having
> > already learned meditation before getting the mantra. In
> > other words she has a confused memory. Or, more likely in my
> > opinion, she has given a spin to the article to ward off
> > others who might want to learn.
> >
authfriend:
> Well, that's a given. But I've read any number of articles
> with that same spin that described the course accurately.
>
Yeah, as far as the cost, it's no more than your average
college tuition, where you get a lot less. In fact, the MMY
and the TMO are about as benign as Scout cookies. So, it just
seems puzzling why people like Doughney and Wright seem so
obsessed with the MMY's comings-and-goings. Go figure.
Sometimes, I wonder what's up with that and these guys -
they don't seem able to move on with their life like other
people do. Are they just trying to bring us all down or
what?
Maybe we're in a much better position to discuss MMY's
ideas than they are, since we're still on the program and
they are not. They're making things up, so all I'm saying
is let's discuss some ideas about how to cure them of making
things up. Why can't they just be honest and forget all
the trolling? LoL!
> Here's what she writes:
>
> -----
> During the free intro, I heard a lot about scientific reports on the benefits
> of TM, like reducing stress and releasing creativity. It sounded reasonable
> enough, and I was impressed that the people in the room looked pretty normal.
> The instructor didn't go into any religious stuff and could have easily fit
> into a corporate office with his clean-cut appearance and fondness for graphs
> and charts. The technique, he assured the class, was easy to learn and could
> provide a lifetime of benefits for both mind and body. We were invited to
> consider taking a beginner course, after which we would have access to a
> lifetime of "free followup and support." Then came the kicker: the price of a
> beginner course was $2,500.
>
> I gulped. That was quite a pricetag. But at this point, I was already looking
> forward to my transformation. Wasn't inner peace worth it? I rationalized
> that people paid far more than this for therapy in New York City, and after
> all, I had hard evidence from my boyfriend that the technique could have
> long-lasting effects. I had just landed a lucrative ghostwriting contract,
> and if learning TM would make me less stressed and more productive, it would
> be worth it, right? My inner skeptic was silenced. I went for it.
>
> 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.
>
> "I know something about you," he said, staring meaningfully into my eyes.
> "And that's why I'm giving you this particular mantra." I was no longer a
> student in a class, but an initiate into a special order of enlightened
> beings. I was invited to attend group meditation sessions where the combined
> force of our effort would increase harmonic vibrations of the universe and
> contribute to global peace. Or something like that.
> -----
>
> I don't think she ever took the course. She's obviously not
> confusing the intro stuff with the actual instruction, but
> she has the order of instruction reversed, with initiation
> coming at the end ("graduation"). Whatever other details
> have been wrong in other articles, I've never seen one that
> has put the most memorable part of the instruction last
> rather than first, or suggested that students were taught
> how to meditate without a mantra.
>
> And she doesn't even mention the puja, which is arguably the
> most potentially off-putting element of personal instruction
> (apart from the fee, which she deals with extensively
> elsewhere in the article).
>
> Could all be severe memory problems, I suppose, but a
> responsible journalist would have realized her memory was
> hazy and checked things out before writing the article.
>
