The Fairfield Mental Health Alliance continues its community work to help improve mental health in the communities of Fairfield. One sub-committee at a request of some Rajas are collecting case-studies from the meditating community as data-points of cultural dissonances that have exacerbated mental health in the meditating community. Collecting not opinions about the movement's culture but people's first-hand experience with it. Experiences are actively being called for collected and edited in to a larger report as data-points that can allow for strategic planning in policy changes. The data-points fall in to categories and some lot of movement has already happened from the work. This particular review of the movement's culture in looking at cultural dissonances as data-ponts within the movement has been the ongoing work for about six months now of this particular committee. We're still interested in collecting people's first-hand experience. If anyone here would like to add to the data-base I would be glad to forward that to the committee. I noticed these comments written here on Fairfieldlife of some people's relationship/ experience with the movement. These are good and important anecdotal experiences to work with too. -JaiGuruYou!
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : Culturally, for you when did the movement change? More case-studies.. Mdixon writes: I've never been kicked out or disciplined by the TMO, I still get weekly notifications of group Meditations and seasonal celebrations from the local center. However, because I find the *organization* so FUBAR, for my own peace of mind, I choose to keep my distance from it, otherwise I would get kicked out. Quite frankly, I find the TMO to be the antithesis of what it claims TM does for the individual. It's not efficient, creative or compassionate. That is a façade. I've found TM leaders to be spiritual bullies and power trippers. "Oh Maharishi wouldn't want that" (I know because I'm in perfect tune with his thinking). I find them lazy(oh Nature will organize that) and their fragile little egos get offended easily if you offer constructive criticism or a better idea (oh, you're just being negative). Don't rain on my parade attitude. I Like TM and think of the results in longer terms and I love Maharishi, although I realized he is just a man with human faults and not the God I once seemed to worship as. As for the TMO, I find it to be an embarrassment. I think the straw that broke the camel's back for me was telling me I had to give the TMO another $2,000.00 to keep teaching, assuming I wanted to. I will not be black-mailed. I was never re-certified. I hadn't taught since the mid seventies and had no plans to resume teaching and I'd be damned if I was going to give them $2,000.00 to maintain credentials I had no intentions of using, at least for the time being. I looked at it as blackmail. Their services are no longer needed by me as well. FFL 413630 BTW, Bruce Beal, who was the Houston Center manager at one time, demanded that I make a monthly contribution to the center from my Job at UPS. He kept me from getting the Sidhis for years because I wouldn't supplement his income from mine! Others gave contributions to build an PK clinic and were to receive PK discounts. The clinic was never built and money never returned. They were thieves as well. Oh shit, you got me started! Let it go and take it as it comes, let it go and take it as it comes , let it go..... LOL FFL-413361 It's a Potemkin village all the way down, Mike. -Serious_Richard FFL-413629 ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : accruing: In FFL 413626 Bhairitu writes: I wasn't kicked out either. [ ] As I've mentioned many times, I walked away disgusted that the TMO would charge $185 for what was essentially an intro lecture on ayurveda I could have given myself. That was in 1985. Edg writes: Never was kicked out of the movement, left it mindfully. .. From Maharishi's arrival in the West in the later 1950's TM as a developing organized movement in those times during the 1960's and 1970's was primary focused on teaching meditation to individuals also based then on the accruing scientific research on meditation up to the early 1970's. By the mid-1970's the TM organization transitioned over towards facilitating groups of individuals in to groups for communal practice of meditation as a form of direct-action for creating a better world. That change of theme then became a common core theme to many of Maharishi's activities from that time up until the end of his life in 2008. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : also a large format book entitled, Inauguration of the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment (1975). These three volumes taken together give a good snapshot of the Transcendental Meditation movement at that time up to the mid-1970's. For context, this third book has the following quotes: “As a result of scientific research conducted during the past decade(s) on Transcendental Meditation, the practical aspect of the Science of Creative Intelligence, at more than two hundred universities and research institutes in different countries, including Germany, England, Canada, United States, Holland, India, South Africa, and Australia, involving the trends of life of about eleven hundred million people in the vicinity of eleven hundred World Plan centres in over eighty-nine countries on all continents, as endorsed and proclaimed by legislators, governors, mayors, educators, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, organizations, and individuals, and as a result of his successful world-wide activities, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Science of Creative Intelligence, through the window of science, saw the coming dawn of the Age of Enlightenment and inaugurated it for the whole world in Switzerland on 12 January 1975” Text transcribed from the 1975 book: “. .Through the window of Science we see the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. Good time for the world is coming. Now, a few people in any country will be able to change the destiny of their nation for all good. One percent of the population will be sufficient to design the direction of time for all happiness, progress, and fulfillment everywhere. I see the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. In this scientific age, it is no longer necessary for any nation to continue living with problems. This is the time of the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment. I am only giving expression to the phenomenon that is taking place. One percent of the people in any country can herald the dawn of a new age for the whole nation by devoting only fifteen minutes of their time twice a day. With such a little demand for such a great offer it is not conceivable that the world will go any longer in the footsteps of suffering. It is in the hands of a few individuals in every country today to change the direction of time and guide the destiny of their nation for all harmony, happiness, and progress. It is my joy to invite everyone to come in the light of the knowledge and experience that the Science of Creative Intelligence provides and enjoy participating in this global awakening to herald the Age of Enlightenment. -Maharishi 12 January 1975 ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : Memo: Accompanying this are two volumes, Celebrating the Dawn (1976) and Creating Ideal Society (1976) on Transcendental Meditation. These relate particularly to a transition in the activities of the larger TM movement that was taking place in the mid and late 1970's that are the precursor of themes in TM activism in the 1980's and beyond. From Maharishi's arrival in the West in the later 1950's TM as a developing organized movement in those times during the 1960's and 1970's was primary focused on teaching meditation to individuals also based then on the scientific research on meditation accruing up to the early 1970's. By the mid-1970's the TM organization transitioned over towards facilitating groups of individuals in to groups for communal practice of meditation as a form of direct-action for creating a better world. That change of theme then became a common core theme to many of Maharishi's activities from that time up until the end of his life in 2008. In gathering source publications I am seeing that the earlier 1970's were different from the late 1970's, the 1980's and to the present. The theoretical framework of the TM movement became re-formatted and re-enforced by the scientific research then being performed on meditation which drove policy implications for the organization of the TM movement from that period. For instance, Paper 98 in Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program Collected Papers, Volume 1 provides a good insight in to an impetus of the re-alignment of priority for the TM movement from then. The period of the mid 1970's was then a time where more developed [revolutionary and millenarian] themes and subsequent campaigns came about within TM. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : By e-mail: “The main phenomenon I would point to regarding this is that culturally we promote practices that create an uncomfortable or hostile environment for people who are seekers, critical thinkers, and more developmentally mature. These individuals receive negative reinforcement from the community to the extent that they believe they don't belong in the movement whereas the individuals that are more "devout" and "dedicated" to Maharishi's teachings receive positive reinforcement.” discussion: This is an extremely pertinent, succinct and very well said e-mail and it should not be lost track of in all of this. Again, it goes back to a nature of character in the leadership within this and what we have now as the TM communities. Thanks for taking the time to put this point together. Thanks also for being there coming along attending to and doing this work on behalf of our meditating communities. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <dhamiltony2k5@...> wrote : “The problems and the solutions for the TM movement are in the first three sutras: Friendliness, Compassion, Happiness.” -A friend who is successful in life, an old meditator who moved to Fairfield, Iowa in retirement observes. ..when did the movement change? Reminisces: More distinctly it changed in 1977 with the coming of the Vedic Atom re-organization and the wholesale sweeping out of a corporate order of national leaders and coordinators then who had used metrics of numbers of initiations to guide the movement up to that point. From then the movement became sidhis-centric, it overlooking entirely the teaching of TM, it overlooked the meditators, and the new administrators adjudicated based much less on merit and metrics and much more by their sense in fealty of a faith and belief in Maharishi and Maharishi's teaching using a one-way, “never do we entertain negativity, never do we denounce anyone”. There was a change in the cultural esprit de corps in teaching of TM from then to being more of a faith-based organization. From the moments of the Vedic Atom creation a lot of the most experienced and effective TM teachers were left out with no place to return to 'out in the field' within the movement. These were the experienced field teachers who themselves were still on courses in Europe or just then going over to courses and not in sync in that free-for-all creation of teams made up of just anyone and going out in usurpation. I was there and saw this, eye-witness. It was like witnessing the decapitation of the whole officer corps of a standing army then. Chaos ensued out in the field and autocrats tried to control it from on top at a distance. It was quite sad to watch what happened to people. It was something that happened. Even great leadership makes mistakes in history. Years later now in TM, scientist CEO's, administrators, with some who are effective teachers by character being more in charge the teaching movement now is getting back to metrics of performance and evaluation in the teaching of TM. We may yet wait for the remaining old-guard Plutarchs to get out of the way and in to their retirement or die, whichever can come first. An alarming message for change within sent by some retrogressive element in this more recently was in honors granted in a re-appearance and rehabilitation of the Wilsons, Neil Patterson, Abramson and some others being brought up and placed seated on stage at the 40th anniversary celebration of MIU. Is that a movement that people would come back to, going forward? # ..when did the movement change? Bhairitu writes: After the AE courses. Some teachers came back and assumed being "TM Gestapo". Most of them were very mediocre souls probably lifetimes away from attaining any permanent state of enlightenment. They were rude and mean to other teachers and made pronouncement as if they had a stick up their butt. That's when folks started fleeing elsewhere. ..I've been away from the TMO since 1985 but I seem to recall some of them got drummed out themselves. They never bothered me but I sure heard stories from people who were their victims. Sometimes what goes around comes around. # Are any of them still in charge of anything:? L Discussing: “One thing which is interesting here is that this movement was founded by people who had a distinct lack of the first list and an abundance of the second list. To take a year off college and go to a 3-month TM TTC in 1972 required a great lack of obedience, compliance, conformity, discipline and adherence; and a great abundance of authenticity, self-direction, self-expression, appreciation of diversity, critical analysis, and playfulness. When did we change?” ..when did the movement change? As the culture of the movement became TM-siddhis centric. Back when the metric changed from numbers of meditators and the teaching of TM over to groups of people practicing TM-yogic-flying. The friendly, compassionate, and happy movement became something else under a new administrative leadership with a different mission from then. Discussing: “Specifically, our community culture highly values: obedience, compliance, conformity, discipline and adherence. These values go directly against the grain of: creativity, authenticity, self-direction, self-expression, appreciation of diversity, critical analysis, and playfulness which are generally the characteristics of later stages of development.” ..Discussion: I feel this is a very powerful way of analyzing. ..examples of our community culture valuing “conformity,” for example? LEnglish5 wrote : I think you're wrong all the way across the board in your conclusinos, even if you make partially valid points. The TM organization appears to be thriving, and on the verge of being 100x laster than it has ever been, while being recognized by the largest organizations in the world as being important. Of course, that last may never happen, but what if does? L Yes, granted that in places the TM movement is progressing. That evidently depends though on people and a character of the people involved how it is going. In Latin America pretty obviously it is happening because of the integrity of the person there leading it. Elsewhere the TM movement is pretty small. They guy in Latin Am. is way inclusive in language and nature, sort of like the new pope, and simply teaching TM. At the level of the Global Country of World Peace it evidently is way exclusive as a faith-based organization. Their GCWP is a very small organization actually. It is some numbers of hundreds. It seems is not out of the woods yet, post MMY: 'All chiefs and no indians', as the old saying went.. And certainly no young leaders on the stage or at the microphones yet at important functions. The Global Country is about 30 Rajas and some 'Ministers' like Bevan and Neil holding fast to the movement tiller and microphone. Lot of the Rajas evidently bailed in various ways. A meditator community observer here with a valid Dome badge watching their meetings and videos comments, 'they should look and see if anyone is following'. By contrast, I was up at Mayo Clinic last week. Consistently rated at the top in healthcare, their contrast in organizational culture of ease, fluidity, collaboration, graciousness, mission of service, focus and outcome is spectacular by contrast with the halting organizational cultural of fears endemic within organizational TM. anartaxius wrote : I suspect Michael, that Maharishi as a young spiritual groupie was much like the people who eventually surrounded him, with that bright naive sense that everything would be grand. And then the reality of the world, the incapacities of the people, began to set in. Nothing goes the way you think it will go (though statistically there are always a few people who are on the lucky end of the curve). He did acknowledge there would be a flaw that would derail the whole thing. But there is always more than one way for something to come off the rails, and it can come from inside oneself just as well as from outside. Creating an organisation, especially a large one, is one way to bollix up the works because resources that might have been used to supposedly enlighten people have to be diverted to support and sustain the organisation. The organisation then becomes a vampire that sucks its supposed beneficiaries dry in order to sustain itself. Anyone at the head of such an organisation who has personal issues or flaws in relation to its stated mission becomes a major distorting factor in its growth, along with the flaws of all the rest who become part of it. Add to that that enlightenment offers nothing in the end except the knowledge that there was nothing to get in the first place and cuts you loose to live your life independently means those few who do 'succeed' in getting what this truly odd business of 'spiritual' growth is about are not usually going to be enthusiastic about being surrounded by spiritual cretins and their inept dreams of a utopia. mjackson74 wrote : Too bad he was a damnable liar. From: "email4you mikemail4you@... [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com> To: Cc: Sent: Monday, April 6, 2015 5:32 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] ~~~~~~~~~~ about friendship ~~~~~~~~~~~ [1 Attachment] [Attachment(s) https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=1m3eulnvn0j8u#TopText from email4you included below] I will fill the world with Love,
