on 8/25/06 2:46 AM, TurquoiseB at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:FairfieldLife%40yahoogroups.com> , off_world_beings <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>
> Why is john Hagelin a coward???
> What is he afraid of???
>
> ...that I AM NOT AFRAID OF???!!!
>
> Why is john Hagelin a coward???
> What is he afraid of???
>
> ...answer this
Ah, a perfect opportunity to re-emerge after my shorter-
than-expected vacation.
It's been fascinating being away from the fray, traveling
about and being around normal people most of the time. :-)
On returning from my Road Trip, I spent about an hour
"catching up," and I thank those who encouraged me to stick
around. I've decided to take you up on the offer, at least
for a little while, and with some self-imposed restrictions.
I plan to spend a maximum of 20 minutes a day :-) reading
FFL, and then to do so very, very selectively, reading only
what catches my eye, and avoiding those posters whom time
has proven a waste of time. If I post, it will be as an
exercise in writing, not as a prelude to or an invitation
to argue.
One of the spiritual teachers I worked with used to say,
"Writers write because they're trying to figure things out."
For the record, that's all I'm doing...trying to figure
things out. These raps are not my idea of What Is True,
and I'm not trying to sell the ideas in them to anyone
or convince anyone that they're "true" or "right."
I post the comments as what they are, Just My Opinion. I
will not respond to any comments others make about them,
and to be honest can't even promise to read the followups,
if there are any. Unlike many of the people here, I don't
really feel any need to defend my opinions as anything other
than what they are -- just my opinions, made at a particular
point in time, possibly changing at another point in time.
If others want to comment on them, that's their business.
The posts themselves are the only comments I have to offer.
Here's the first of them:
************************************************************
Reading some of the FFL posts from the last month, pretty
much at random, I came across a few (both the opinions of
FFL "regulars" and quotes from others in the TMO) that
suggest to me that TM has degenerated into a path in
which the few lingering True Believers are acting out
of a profound fear of CC.
No, not Cosmic Consciousness. I'm talking about Cosmic
Cooties.
Over the decades, the TM faithful have been told, by
Maharishi directly and by those he trained to parrot his
words, that certain things in life contain Cosmic Cooties,
and that to come in contact with these things is to chance
getting the cooties on yourself.
To doubt the infallible Truth of the TM dogma is definitely
courting cooties. There can be no question of this -- all
you have to do is watch and see what happens to those in
the TMO who give _expression_ to their doubts. They are
whisked out of sight and quarantined as quickly as a leper
would have been chased out of a medieval village. Doubt
cooties are *contagious*, after all, and you can't allow
those who have them to mingle among the uninfected.
The other thing that definitely is infected with these
highly contagious cooties is being open to knowledge from
or representatives of other spiritual traditions. The
attitude could be emblazoned on a T-shirt: SEE A SAINT,
GET COOTIES!
Such is the fear of Cosmic Cooties at this point that
the official TM organization won't allow anyone who has
*admitted to* any contact with either of the cootie-
infested behaviors to be part of civilzed...uh, I mean
evolved...company. They are weeded out and sent off to
the hell world that the TBs have been trained to believe
awaits them.
I believe that this is a really sad phenomenon. Not just
for the organization that espouses it, but for the indi-
vidual seekers who buy into this dogma of fear as Truth.
What it creates in them is a path based on self hatred,
because *they* have doubts, and cannot admit them. And
*they* are still curious about spiritual experience in
other traditions, and they cannot admit that, either.
The True Believers who have been trained to be terrified
of Cosmic Cooties have also been trained to LIE -- not
only to the organization they belong to (which is sad
in itself), but to *themselves*, which is heartbreaking.
*EVERYONE* who has ever pursued a spiritual path has had
doubts. Mature spiritual traditions accept this, and
accept that these doubts are a natural and a positive
aspect of the spiritual process. They have mechanisms in
place so that seekers within their traditions can safely
express their doubts. If the doubts grow strong enough,
these traditions have no problem with wishing the seeker
well on his or her Way as they take a leave of absence
to explore them, and then they are always willing to
welcome the doubter back into the fold when they have
come to some sense of balance about them. This strikes
me as sound spiritual policy, one that has its roots in
a legitimate desire that the students really evolve,
not stay the same out of a sense of shame and fear.
*EVERYONE* who has ever been attracted to one spiritual
tradition strongly enough to devote decades of his or
her life to it *also* is curious about the experiences
of and the teachings of other traditions. Again, it's
natural, and mature traditions actually *encourage*
their students to see other teachers and read books
from other disciplines. There is none of the "Don't
do that...you'll get cooties!" fear-based dogma one
sees in the TMO.
I find the position adopted by many of the TBs really
sad, because of what it does to *them*. You can see the
fear in their writings, and hear it in their "voices"
in the things that they say. They are TERRIFIED of
cooties. And in almost every case, they know that they
already HAVE them. They *do* have doubts, but feel so
paralyzed by self hatred and fear of exposure that
they cannot bring themselves to express them. They
*are* curious about other techniques and other forms
of spiritual practice, but they can't admit it,
to others or to themselves.
So they react angrily, vehemently, expressing their
distaste for this "disgusting" behavior on the part
of those who *can* admit it. But who is it that they're
really disgusted at?
I think it's themselves. They have bought into this
fear of cooties for so long -- all the time knowing that
they themselves are closet cootie carriers -- that their
form of spiritual practice has become self hatred. The
anger you hear in their words is really aimed at
THEMSELVES. The disgust you hear in their voices is
at THEMSELVES. They *have* cooties already, and they
know it, but rather than deal with this shadow side of
their own being, they project it at those who are more
honest than they are, those who have left the FOC
(Fear Of Cooties) operating system behind them.
I suggest all of this as a way to help the more
balanced posters here feel more compassion for some
of the more strident voices among them. The angrier
these voices get, the more they demonize others who
think for themselves and are honest about their doubts
and their "extracurricular" interests, the more angry
they really are at themselves. The more they demonize
these cootie-infested individuals, the more they
internally demonize themselves.
These are really sad people. Yeah, I know that they're
strident and nitpicky and obnoxious, but that's just
because they're treating others in their words the way
they treat *themselves* in their inner thoughts. IMO
these people really *hate* themselves, for the crime
of being NORMAL. That's really what this FOC operating
system is all about. Those who have bought into it only
consider mythically-perfect enlightened beings worthy
of their respect. Normal people have cooties, and thus
are to be despised.
Well, that's not the way I see it. I say LONG LIVE
COOTIES! Don't resist them, don't demonize them, don't
rail against them -- EMBRACE them. Your cooties -- your
natural doubts and your natural curiosity -- are your
strengths, not your weaknesses. As the Buddha told us,
only normal people ever realize enlightenment. Those
who hate their own normality, and project that hatred
of normality onto others, are hating their own enlight-
enment, and pushing it further away every day.
COOTIES RULE. Doubt and curiosity are the cornerstones
of a successful spiritual practice. Hate them and you
end up hating yourself, and spirituality itself.
************************************************************
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