PSST, Doug! TM is not supposed to be a religion. Why would it need to
be practiced religiously?
On 08/06/2015 04:12 AM, dhamiltony...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife] wrote:
OTP: 'On or off the program' depends a lot on who you are talking with
here in Fairfield, Iowa. Meditation and gradations of being 'on or off
the program' in Fairfield, Iowa, culturally this works as a nuanced
communal question around meditating Fairfield, Iowa. ..Do you meditate
[TM] or not? Are you regular in your practice of meditating? Do you do
the TM-Siddhis? Regularly? Do you have a valid Dome badge or not? Do
you go to the Dome? Are you a re-certified TM teacher, or not? Not?
Not? Om no, ..you must be 'off the program'. Context is everything in
the judgment. re:419364
Geezer writes:
Me: So you were in Chicago seeing another guru? SO off the program!
And what, exactly are "serious meditators"?
You: Well, met several old TM’ers at these meditations too. Found an
old TM teacher from San Francisco who was at MIU in Santa Barbara
meditating here too. These are long meditations that draw serious
meditators to this retreat. Lot of people and a lot of different
paths. New Jersey is far enough rom Iowa that there are not so many
Fairfield meditators that traveled here. Not like last month in
Chicago where there were a few hundred Fairfield meditators at
Ammachi’s meetings or earlier in the year when Fairfield traveled to
be with Mother Meera.
Geezer writes:
I dunno man, that sounds WAY off the program and hardly Dome-worthy!
back_formore writes:
Is there still a "program"? Does "a program" only exist in FF? What is
"a program"? It's been so long I don't remember and perhaps "programs"
have changed since I was doing anything faintly TM'ish - like 30 years
ago. Are you still on "a program"?
Re: 'Off the program'. I met a person at the recent Karunamayi silent
meditation retreat who at the end of the retreat commented that
friends would 'freak out' and be quite 'upset' with this person if
they knew this person had come to the retreat. There were a lot of
people from the greater NYC/New England area from different spiritual
practices and movements at the retreat. I asked this particular
individual what they meant and how the 'friends' with their spiritual
group would 'language' that this person was coming to a meditation
retreat and being with another teacher.. (?)
The answer given was there would be a judgment of being
“irresponsible” and a “failing in completion” of their personal work
as taught by their group. The young Nityananda has been around the NY
metro area for some time and has a following there. In contrast this
summer this individual went to public meetings with Karunamayi and
then Ammachi too in NYC. This person has been part of the Nityananda
group for many years, been to India with them, and has a network of
long friendships within that group. This person in reflection was
saying to others at the meditation retreat to have never had a
meditation or experiences like what was going on with the retreat.
The Nityananda thing evidently is not meditative and is a lot
psychological. Evidently a straying “off the program” was becoming..
'Irresponsible' and 'Failing in Completion'. ..'Off-the-Program'! or
an awakening of sorts.
-JaiGuruYou
And, the movement hosted a Guru Purnima too in Fairfield.
Displaying
In looking, it seems times are changed noticeably from during the
1990’s and the 2000’s where organizations of the maha-saints and
spiritual teachers were often fleshed out by TM’ers/ the TM community.
Altruistic TM’ers seemed to have had the ready know-how in training
and and experience in volunteering to help 'make' gurus and spiritual
movements then. s/Mothers, chopra, Shri-Shri, Meera and others. It
often used to be that the people up front in these spiritual
organizations were of old TM.
Now in looking it is fairly evident that others have come along in to
being the organizing workhorses of different spiritual movements. You
see many fewer TM’ers up front running things at events or in the
crowd or on the organizing committees. Other folks coming along of
more of a middle-age demographic now do more of the facilitating of
the spiritual movements and tours. Also compared to earlier times
some of the groups now have a more solid showing of the Indo-American
community culturally showing up and running things in a way that was
not there so long ago. And there a is now a smattering of spiritually
lit millennials in the crowds. Times change. -JaiGuruYou
Well, met several old TM’ers at these meditations too.Found an old TM
teacher from San Francisco who was at MIU in Santa Barbara meditating
here too. These are long meditations that draw serious meditators to
this retreat.Lot of people and a lot of different paths. New Jersey is
far enough rom Iowa that there are not so many Fairfield meditators
that traveled here.Not like last month in Chicago where there were a
few hundred Fairfield meditators at Ammachi’s meetings or earlier in
the year when Fairfield traveled to be with Mother Meera.
Geezer writes:
I dunno man, that sounds WAY off the program and hardly Dome-worthy!
*Went to a Guru Purnima group silent meditation in suburban NJ the
other evening –Summit, Shorthills, Maplewood, Chatam area.Gathering of
people from a couple different yoga studios for an evening meditation
as a group.Eclectic gathering of different mature meditator folks for
a nice group silent meditation.Really nice field effect in an amalgam
of someGurumayi meditators, chopra meditators, oprah, Quaker,
centering, Buddhist, meditators, and a couple people who learned
meditation in recent times through TM center in the NJ area.Ecumenical
silent meditation together in a room for a long meditation one evening
after the workday.*
*Also Looking in now on a guru Purnima meditation retreat hosted by
Karunamayi also in NJ just across from NYC.About 400 practiced
meditators from New England and Canada with some coming from the West
also.Mature eclectic demographic of practiced meditators for a several
day retreat practicing in long silent meditations as a group... it's a
nice cultivated spiritual group effect. *
*Demographics of both these groups meetings are middle-aged and at
least middle-class.Not many millennials to see in the group though the
meditation retreat does cost money and afforded some time including a
weekday workday to go to, but are not many millennials to be seen.
Both groups age-wise were generally younger (middle-age) than what we
more commonly see in our Fairfield meetings of older greying baby-boom
meditators.** -JaiGuruYou*
