[FairfieldLife] Re: What others want us to believe that Putin said
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, peterklutz peterklutz@ wrote: Too bad about McCain. I've always considered the guy to have street credibility. Not anymore. He's gone over to the dark side. Yep- I thought so too at one time, but have seen him as a rank political opportunist for several years now. He apparently learned nothing from his POW experiences. Either that or he is sooo hungry to be Prez. I think his step over happened quite recently, after he had publicly gone against Bush on the war in his former down-to-Earth style. Then something happened, it was like someone took him aside and explained a few things to him - after which the guy switched sides and started to sound and look like all the other liers on Capitol Hill, who struggle to keep a straight face while feeding the world bullshit. What happened? What can possibly anyone say to intimidate or change the mind of a person who and volontered for several in north vietnamese pow camp and made personal integrity his trademark?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. If you were a TM teacher, did you ever say in lectures, as you were taught to do, that it is impossible to transcend via concentration? Or that TM was the best, most effective method of meditation in the world, without having ever tried any other types of meditation, much less all of them? Was that logical? The claim of logic tends to be the lipstick that True Believers (of any ilk) put on the pig of their unsubstantiated yet deeply held beliefs.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shukra69 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I was wondering if someone might mention this. I have seen it many, many times. With eyes open everything can dissolve into a grey field. Also happened notably when I was invited to a Shiva temple on Shivaratri - when I was pouring milk onto the murthi. I have no idea what your experience was, but in other traditions, seeing or experiencing the color grey (gray?) is associated with having tapped into the astral field, not with any higher state of consciousness. Gray or the experience of grayness is one of the defining characteristics of the lower astral.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shukra69 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. And Dr. Robert Svoboda is enlightened? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Patrick Gillam jpgillam@ wrote: Hey, for the people here practicing the TM-Sidhi program, what are you getting from your practice these days? When I do it I mostly space out. In the early days of my practice I got some flavors, and they seemed to firm up the experience of pure consciousness. But these days it's just flatness and daydreams. I'm sure I could use a tune-up, but I'd have to attend a course for that, and a course is not in the cards. Just wondering. I just did the whole show first time for quite a long while. At the end of Flying I changed to a Sanskrit version of the suutra. To my surprise, it became rather hard, if ya know what I mean... ;) Probably been uurdhva-retas for a bit too long, or stuff! I never understand this need to experiment with these things. Perhaps I'm just too boring for my own good.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. If you were a TM teacher, did you ever say in lectures, as you were taught to do, that it is impossible to transcend via concentration? Or that TM was the best, most effective method of meditation in the world, without having ever tried any other types of meditation, much less all of them? Was that logical? The claim of logic tends to be the lipstick that True Believers (of any ilk) put on the pig of their unsubstantiated yet deeply held beliefs. I'm 99.% certain that what you call transcend via concentrative techniques is NOT what TMers call transcend, regardless of how it feels to you.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Patrick Gillam jpgillam@ wrote: Hey, for the people here practicing the TM-Sidhi program, what are you getting from your practice these days? When I do it I mostly space out. In the early days of my practice I got some flavors, and they seemed to firm up the experience of pure consciousness. But these days it's just flatness and daydreams. I'm sure I could use a tune-up, but I'd have to attend a course for that, and a course is not in the cards. Just wondering. I just did the whole show first time for quite a long while. At the end of Flying I changed to a Sanskrit version of the suutra. To my surprise, it became rather hard, if ya know what I mean... ;) Probably been uurdhva-retas for a bit too long, or stuff! I never understand this need to experiment with these things. Perhaps I'm just too boring for my own good. I guess in my case it's the typical(?) Asperger's curiosity about details of things... :) Otherwise it's hard for me to understand why I e.g. enjoy, sort of, reading Whitney's Sanskrit Grammar, huh! For an ordinary person that might seem almost, well, necrophiliac, LOL!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
On Feb 12, 2007, at 4:10 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shukra69 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I was wondering if someone might mention this. I have seen it many, many times. With eyes open everything can dissolve into a grey field. Also happened notably when I was invited to a Shiva temple on Shivaratri - when I was pouring milk onto the murthi. I have no idea what your experience was, but in other traditions, seeing or experiencing the color grey (gray?) is associated with having tapped into the astral field, not with any higher state of consciousness. Gray or the experience of grayness is one of the defining characteristics of the lower astral. It can also mean a preponderance of karma from one of the sub-human realms--and a sign to purify that karma. It's definitely a gate you'd want to close off in this lifetime.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't think this is what Sam is challenging. He is one of the few skeptics who validates transcendent experiences. The experience is real, and he has had them too. What he is challenging is what people conclude after the experience involving what the experience means. Bingo. The experience itself is transcendent, indescribable (if it *is* describable, it cannot be classed as 'transcendent' in the sense in which MMY uses the term). But how do you *interpret* that indescribable experience and *describe* it mentally and in words after the fact? There is a great deal of evidence within the study of the history of religions and spirituality that we ascribe 'meaning' to such experiences *as we have been taught to*. Very, very few approach such experiences (or interpret them later) with what Harris calls a clean glass. Experiencing the feeling of being one with the universe doesn't give anyone the epistemological authority to claim that they know that Jesus died for their sins, or that the Vedic recitations contain the blueprint of creation. Actually, it does. In the sense that subjective experience is pretty much All We've Got in this domain. They have the authority to 'take a stand' (which is what epistemology means) as to what their experiences mean to them; that's a matter of personal belief. It's just that they do not have the authority to declare those beliefs cosmic truth and impose them on others *as* cosmic truth. The exception to my last sentence above is...uh... pretty much all of human history. People in every age and every culture have *given* themselves the authority to declare their beliefs cosmic truth and impose those beliefs on others. That is precisely why it is so difficult to approach one's *own* subjective experiences with a clean glass -- we've been forced to drink from Other People's Glasses since the day we were born. He is advocating that we start our inquiry into the study of human consciousness with humility rather then as a knower of complete knowledge. That we know the differences between what we know and what we have decided to believe from stuff we have heard or read, or even imposed onto our abstract experiences as their meaning. A noble quest. If it were so, the study of the history of religion and spirituality probably wouldn't be so synonymous with the history of oppression and war. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. To follow up on what I said on this earlier, I don't believe that logic has anything to do with it. I'm a *huge* fan of subjective experience and basing one's beliefs and assumptions about life on it. I personally go so far as to trust my subjective experience more than the theories about it or interpretations of it from any external authority. *Any* external authority. However, I do not for a moment call my beliefs truth. I don't even know if they're true. And I probably never will. They are just what this particular self chooses to believe at a particular moment in time. They may change tomorrow, or sooner. They have done so so many times that I'm no longer particularly attached to the beliefs. They're just things that come and go, like leaves blowing by on the winds of autumn. You enjoy the leaves as they pass, but they *do* pass. So what's to be attached to? Having such an attitude towards my personal beliefs -- that they come and go and that I have no way of declaring any of these transitory beliefs truth -- is in a way a *reliance* on humility. To declare any of them some kind of eternal, cosmic truth would be the opposite of humility.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig sparaig@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Patrick Gillam jpgillam@ wrote: Hey, for the people here practicing the TM-Sidhi program, what are you getting from your practice these days? When I do it I mostly space out. In the early days of my practice I got some flavors, and they seemed to firm up the experience of pure consciousness. But these days it's just flatness and daydreams. I'm sure I could use a tune-up, but I'd have to attend a course for that, and a course is not in the cards. Just wondering. I just did the whole show first time for quite a long while. At the end of Flying I changed to a Sanskrit version of the suutra. To my surprise, it became rather hard, if ya know what I mean... ;) Probably been uurdhva-retas for a bit too long, or stuff! I never understand this need to experiment with these things. Perhaps I'm just too boring for my own good. I guess in my case it's the typical(?) Asperger's curiosity about details of things... :) Otherwise it's hard for me to understand why I e.g. enjoy, sort of, reading Whitney's Sanskrit Grammar, huh! For an ordinary person that might seem almost, well, necrophiliac, LOL! A random sample from Whitney: 430. a. The stem /ahan/ n. /day/ is in the later language used only in the strong and weakest [inflectional - card] cases, the middle (with the nom. sing., which usually follows their analogy) coming from /áhar/ or /áhas/: namely, /áhar/ nom.-acc. sing. /áhobhyâm/, /áhobhis/, etc. (PB. has /aharbhis/); but áhnâ etc. /áhni/ or /áhani (or áhan),
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Patrick Gillam [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One reason I ask is because the question below relates to another question about the connection between pure consciousness and the relative world. The MMY line is that creation arises out of consciousness. I was wondering what sorts of experiences people are having that validate that hypothesis. I have the experience of my consciousness reaching to infinity and existing as seperate from me but being seperate from and also the engine for creation at the same time, and it's rather nice I have to say. But does it validate the unified field theory of consciousness? Who knows, it's impossible to be sure as it's totally subjective and therefore impossible to test for. I've always thought that similarity between certain mental states and some (by no means all) interpretations of quantum physics is an analogy because it seems too great a leap to make for what is a completely personal experience. Add the fact that it's impossible to prove, raises far more questions than it answers and can be explained more simply puts the UF theory in the realm of very bad science. But does that mean it's not true? Not at all, it just means that, to accept it, we would have to completely change our view of reality, losing most of what we now consider recieved knowledge and all on the say-so of a couple of mystics like me! Anyhoo, I don't think explanations matter as we don't change reality by wishing it was something else. Just enjoy it that's what I say, whatever it turns out to be.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Direct perception and innocence are the keys here. Not intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Just as images of the universe from the Hubble space telescope are the result of innocence and direct perception, so is it possible to have such descriptions of our inner universe. And just as the Hubble had to be launched into space in order to produce its images free from the distortions of earth's atmosphere, so must we travel deeply into inner space to have direct and profound experiences, beyond a sense of silence, or a moment of peace, to the direct and unvarnished universe within, as vast and infinite as anything seen through Hubble. Your choice of metaphor is interesting, Jim. Do you remember the *history* of the Hubble telescope. It was delivered into orbit with astigmatism, its main mirror suffering from spherical aberration such that its perceptions of the universe were useless. It took a service mission to correct the problem so that the photos it took had anything whatsoever to do with reality. You speak of traveling into inner space to have unvarnished experiences, free of intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Do you feel that your experiences are of this variety? To come back to a simple point, the importance of which you still have not gotten, when you declared that Buddha believed that God is love, was that an unvarnished experience, free of intepretation or conclusion or imposition, or could it possibly be a limited self imposing its belief in God upon someone whose whole philosophy of life was founded upon not acknowledging the *existence* of such a God? I'm suggesting that your mirror is as abnormal as any other, and that its reflections of the universe are as distorted as anyone else's. Can you accept that, in...dare I use the term...humility, or do you hold that your perceptions reflect some kind of truth? Just curious...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- hugheshugo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have the experience of my consciousness reaching to infinity and existing as seperate from me but being seperate from and also the engine for creation at the same time, and it's rather nice I have to say. Ramana Maharishi to hugheshugo: Find out who's having this experience. No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin jflanegi@ wrote: Direct perception and innocence are the keys here. Not intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Just as images of the universe from the Hubble space telescope are the result of innocence and direct perception, so is it possible to have such descriptions of our inner universe. And just as the Hubble had to be launched into space in order to produce its images free from the distortions of earth's atmosphere, so must we travel deeply into inner space to have direct and profound experiences, beyond a sense of silence, or a moment of peace, to the direct and unvarnished universe within, as vast and infinite as anything seen through Hubble. Your choice of metaphor is interesting, Jim. Do you remember the *history* of the Hubble telescope. It was delivered into orbit with astigmatism, its main mirror suffering from spherical aberration such that its perceptions of the universe were useless. It took a service mission to correct the problem so that the photos it took had anything whatsoever to do with reality. You speak of traveling into inner space to have unvarnished experiences, free of intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Do you feel that your experiences are of this variety? To come back to a simple point, the importance of which you still have not gotten, when you declared that Buddha believed that God is love, was that an unvarnished experience, free of intepretation or conclusion or imposition, or could it possibly be a limited self imposing its belief in God upon someone whose whole philosophy of life was founded upon not acknowledging the *existence* of such a God? I'm suggesting that your mirror is as abnormal as any other, and that its reflections of the universe are as distorted as anyone else's. Can you accept that, in...dare I use the term...humility, or do you hold that your perceptions reflect some kind of truth? Just curious... A demonstration of just how illusory our perceptions can be: http://web.mit.edu/persci/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html?gray or http://tinyurl.com/2rsnow
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
On Feb 12, 2007, at 1:27 AM, shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. A quote please? I studied under Robert and I'd never heard this. There IS a danger for people who don't know how to integrate or correctly work with a kundalini awakening, as such imbalances tend cause problems with identification rather than integration with an expanded consciousness.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
Yeah, this quote coming from a supposed ayurvedic technician doesn't inspire much confidence. Lots of Svoboda stuff especially from the kundalini book is stupid and patently fictitious except to someone who hasn't ever studied the tantras. People who live by erroneous beliefs, only have themselves to blame for never testing things out. From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vaj Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 7:00 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist On Feb 12, 2007, at 1:27 AM, shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. A quote please? I studied under Robert and I'd never heard this. There IS a danger for people who don't know how to integrate or correctly work with a kundalini awakening, as such imbalances tend cause problems with identification rather than integration with an expanded consciousness.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip Your choice of metaphor is interesting, Jim. Do you remember the *history* of the Hubble telescope. It was delivered into orbit with astigmatism, its main mirror suffering from spherical aberration such that its perceptions of the universe were useless. It took a service mission to correct the problem so that the photos it took had anything whatsoever to do with reality. Fact-check time: Actually the Hubble pre-repair was far from useless. It was *limited*, but still able to perform certain types of very useful observations with little difficulty. Interestingly, the mirror repair involved not fixing the flawed mirror, but installing new mirrors with the *opposite* flaws, so that the flaws in the first mirror were canceled out. What that may have to do with the appropriateness of Jim's metaphor or the validity of Barry's comment, I leave as an exercise for the reader...
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
Yeah, i agree. That is a really moronic statement. Pseudo biology at its best. --- llundrub [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yeah, this quote coming from a supposed ayurvedic technician doesn't inspire much confidence. Lots of Svoboda stuff especially from the kundalini book is stupid and patently fictitious except to someone who hasn't ever studied the tantras. People who live by erroneous beliefs, only have themselves to blame for never testing things out. From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vaj Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 7:00 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist On Feb 12, 2007, at 1:27 AM, shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. A quote please? I studied under Robert and I'd never heard this. There IS a danger for people who don't know how to integrate or correctly work with a kundalini awakening, as such imbalances tend cause problems with identification rather than integration with an expanded consciousness. Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
In fact, one of the most powerful transcendence practices is any Garuda practice which is where one totally identifies with awakened power as manifesting transcendence to all sentient beings, and it's main function is that it eradicates cancers and other hard to cure illnesses. See the Palyul website under practices for averting sickness and death. -Original Message- From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Peter Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 8:20 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist Yeah, i agree. That is a really moronic statement. Pseudo biology at its best. --- llundrub [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yeah, this quote coming from a supposed ayurvedic technician doesn't inspire much confidence. Lots of Svoboda stuff especially from the kundalini book is stupid and patently fictitious except to someone who hasn't ever studied the tantras. People who live by erroneous beliefs, only have themselves to blame for never testing things out. From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Vaj Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 7:00 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist On Feb 12, 2007, at 1:27 AM, shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. A quote please? I studied under Robert and I'd never heard this. There IS a danger for people who don't know how to integrate or correctly work with a kundalini awakening, as such imbalances tend cause problems with identification rather than integration with an expanded consciousness. Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- Vaj wrote: On Feb 11, 2007, Gillam wrote: The MMY line is that creation arises out of consciousness. I was wondering what sorts of experiences people are having that validate that hypothesis. If that's the experience you're told you should have, then people will eventually begin reporting those experiences. You'd think, but I can't say as I have had some concrete experience of creation arising out of consciousness, beyond having a desire fulfilled spontaneously. And as noted earlier, my sidhis practice is nowheresville.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip However, I do not for a moment call my beliefs truth. I don't even know if they're true. And I probably never will. They are just what this particular self chooses to believe at a particular moment in time. They may change tomorrow, or sooner. They have done so so many times that I'm no longer particularly attached to the beliefs. They're just things that come and go, like leaves blowing by on the winds of autumn. You enjoy the leaves as they pass, but they *do* pass. So what's to be attached to? Some beliefs, it would seem, take a great deal longer to pass than others. You've held the same beliefs about the TMO, MMY, and TMers for at least the past 12 years, for example. If one hadn't been told they were just passing autumn leaves, one might think they'd been welded onto your brain.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
Rick Archer wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. this is not a bad thing, imo... a soul real close to enlightenment will probably come back to the earth plane right away, and now he gets to finish the job with a brand new body.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
Sam Harris is such a great conversation starter! I think my statement was an epistemological assessment of the claim that one can have a subjective experience that can then make you confident that you know that Jesus is Lord. Of course people do it all the time. But in the systems of modern epistemology that I studied, this connection is not valid. If you are a pure rationalist or even a solipsist, you can make this case, but neither of those positions have survived as supportable philosophical positions for decades. They do continue in the form of archaic philosophies like the Vedic tradition. Perhaps my statement lacked a bit of the humility that I claimed was needed! I think Sam's point is that cultures that follow this type of philosophical tradition need the same epistemological oil change that has dominated the development of liberal democracies. These ideas need to be challenged the same way we challenge a claim that someone is selling a magic pill that keeps you from ever dying. It is taboo in society to challenge the basis on which someone asserts that they know that Jesus is Lord., and even worse, what that means about how other people should behave. I think we are shaped by the religious societies that we live in. I don't know how that influence could be avoided by a child not raised by wolves. I know a few non religious parents who end up having to take their kids to church so that they can fit in with the cultural expectations. One sweet little 6 year old walked by a huge statue of Jesus in a garden center with lawn art and said I wonder how he died? It got her mom thinking she needed to fill in some gaps! As long as our money has In God We Trust on it and out president invokes the name of God as a political tool, I feel pretty confident that these ideas are going to shape a person's subjective experiences if they fall into one of the cooler transcendent subjective states. To say I know this may be a stretch, I agree. I agree with your connection of MMY's term innocence as less loaded than humility. I don't think he pulls off his own goal because he always combines the experiences his techniques invoke with a detailed understanding. But in the context of meditation is seems like a useful term. The fact that Sam is provoking this discussion in as wide an audience as he does makes me really happy. Sullivan's willingness to discuss it makes him cool in my book. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: I don't think this is what Sam is challenging. He is one of the few skeptics who validates transcendent experiences. The experience is real, and he has had them too. What he is challenging is what people conclude after the experience involving what the experience means. Experiencing the feeling of being one with the universe doesn't give anyone the epistemological authority to claim that they know that Jesus died for their sins, or that the Vedic recitations contain the blueprint of creation. How can you possibly know that? Isn't it an epistemological statement in itself that you can't possibly back up? Who are you to put limits on what a person can know on the basis of inner experience? Harris dismisses Sullivan's assertion that he always believed in God and insists Sullivan's parents told him God existed when he was very young. But Harris can't possibly know that. I've read many accounts, from ordinary people as well as spiritual luminaries, that their earliest memories were infused with a sense of God's presence. In some of these cases their parents weren't even religious. They can't *prove* their memories are accurate, of course, but neither can anyone else prove they aren't. And obviously even if their memories *were* valid, it wouldn't prove God's existence. But Harris is very wrong to claim all such memories are really culturally inspired. He is advocating that we start our inquiry into the study of human consciousness with humility rather then as a knower of complete knowledge. I don't think anybody starts such an inquiry with that idea. Sullivan in particular is quite open in saying that there is a great deal that he not only does not know but *cannot* know. (And it strikes me that what is being called humility in this context is almost certainly the same as what MMY calls innocence. I'll bet he considered and rejected the term humility because *it* has more cultural connotations than innocence. You can get into heavy moodmaking with humility, but it's a lot harder with innocence.) That we know the differences between what we know and what we have decided to believe from stuff we have heard or read, or even imposed onto our abstract experiences as their meaning. But this is just what Harris claims to know on behalf of others!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
I'm glad you responded too Turq. There is so much in this material. I will have to think about the line between how we use tools for being confident in our knowledge in philosophy and how we use them in our personal belief systems. At first I thought I just disagreed with you about what we can be confident about in our knowledge from subjective experience, but then I felt like you were making a different distinction concerning how we form our own beliefs. It is quite a vigerous dance with a lots of stomped toes! No one lives any pure ideal of though and even if they did, there are so many systems let alone people's personal mix of ideas. I'm just glad these topics are getting discussed outside thoughtful forums like this one. Of course people on this type of forum has given these topics a lot of thought, but Sam Harris and Andrew Sullivan are broadening the discussion in society. I think we really need it. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: I don't think this is what Sam is challenging. He is one of the few skeptics who validates transcendent experiences. The experience is real, and he has had them too. What he is challenging is what people conclude after the experience involving what the experience means. Bingo. The experience itself is transcendent, indescribable (if it *is* describable, it cannot be classed as 'transcendent' in the sense in which MMY uses the term). But how do you *interpret* that indescribable experience and *describe* it mentally and in words after the fact? There is a great deal of evidence within the study of the history of religions and spirituality that we ascribe 'meaning' to such experiences *as we have been taught to*. Very, very few approach such experiences (or interpret them later) with what Harris calls a clean glass. Experiencing the feeling of being one with the universe doesn't give anyone the epistemological authority to claim that they know that Jesus died for their sins, or that the Vedic recitations contain the blueprint of creation. Actually, it does. In the sense that subjective experience is pretty much All We've Got in this domain. They have the authority to 'take a stand' (which is what epistemology means) as to what their experiences mean to them; that's a matter of personal belief. It's just that they do not have the authority to declare those beliefs cosmic truth and impose them on others *as* cosmic truth. The exception to my last sentence above is...uh... pretty much all of human history. People in every age and every culture have *given* themselves the authority to declare their beliefs cosmic truth and impose those beliefs on others. That is precisely why it is so difficult to approach one's *own* subjective experiences with a clean glass -- we've been forced to drink from Other People's Glasses since the day we were born. He is advocating that we start our inquiry into the study of human consciousness with humility rather then as a knower of complete knowledge. That we know the differences between what we know and what we have decided to believe from stuff we have heard or read, or even imposed onto our abstract experiences as their meaning. A noble quest. If it were so, the study of the history of religion and spirituality probably wouldn't be so synonymous with the history of oppression and war. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. To follow up on what I said on this earlier, I don't believe that logic has anything to do with it. I'm a *huge* fan of subjective experience and basing one's beliefs and assumptions about life on it. I personally go so far as to trust my subjective experience more than the theories about it or interpretations of it from any external authority. *Any* external authority. However, I do not for a moment call my beliefs truth. I don't even know if they're true. And I probably never will. They are just what this particular self chooses to believe at a particular moment in time. They may change tomorrow, or sooner. They have done so so many times that I'm no longer particularly attached to the beliefs. They're just things that come and go, like leaves blowing by on the winds of autumn. You enjoy the leaves as they pass, but they *do* pass. So what's to be attached to? Having such an attitude towards my personal beliefs -- that they come and go and that I have no way of declaring any of these transitory beliefs truth -- is in a way a *reliance* on humility. To declare any of them some kind of eternal, cosmic truth would be
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
On Feb 12, 2007, at 11:26 AM, george_deforest wrote: Rick Archer wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. this is not a bad thing, imo... a soul real close to enlightenment will probably come back to the earth plane right away, and now he gets to finish the job with a brand new body. But of course this depends on many many factors, one of which is if he had acquired the skills to navigate between life times or if he had the propensity for another type of incarnation (other than human). There's been a lively discussion offlist on the topic of kundalini disorders, blockages, imbalanced awakenings, the TM sidhi practices, etc. and just what this means for this life, enlightenment and dying/rebirth. It's not always a good picture. Given what I'd seen of purusha back in the late 80's, these were not healthy or spiritually vital looking guys, so I do have to wonder what their incarnational prospects are.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. Bill had neuroplasty (brain surgery) about a year ago, an attempt to remove the cancer. He probably was one of the first members of Purusha. Earlier, he was a very high-level MIU administrator, rather quiet and focused, yet very sharp when called upon by Bevan or Lennie in public to give practical suggestions to respond to issues of concern brought to the attention of the leadership of MIU. He was recently a regular visitor to the Annapurna Dining Hall. I got to know him there. His personnae had mellowed considerably since his MIU Administrator days. He seemed to be enjoying everyone around him. I hope he died in peace. Thanks, Rick, for sharing the news of his passing.
[FairfieldLife] Age of Aquarius?
from the 1969 rock opera Hair by Galt McDermott Lyrics for: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (recorded by 5th Dimension) When the moon is in the seventh house, And Jupiter aligns with Mars ... Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars. Chorus: This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius. Aquarius, Aquarius! Harmony and understanding, Sympathy and trust abounding. No more falsehoods or derisions, Golden living dreams of vision. Mystic crystal revelation ... And the mind's true liberation: Aquarius, Aquarius! Let the sun shine. Let the sun shine in, Oh sun, shine in! it so happens, in the Jyotish zodiac (not Western), the Sun is moving into Aquarius ~this evening~ (2/12/07), [Sun = our sense of truthful identity and purpose] And in addition, we have Jupiter in Scorpio, a Mars-ruled sign; and Mars in Sagittarius, a Jupiter-ruled sign: this is referred to as a Mutual Exchange of planetary energies. according to my friend, San Francisco jyotishi Sam Geppi: Jupiter = our philosophies, guiding principles and social duties, Mars = our courage and vital strength thus, the current Mars/Jupiter exchange is quite favorable: it unites our courageous and powerful actions with a worthy, uplifting goal. = a very good time for aggressive spiritual practises, like Invincible America! it does not surprise me that the song lyrics from Hair seem quite accurate (according to the above jyotish insights). i happen to be from Staten Island, and so does Galt McDermot. Not that anything too great comes from Staten Island, (other than the worlds largest garbage dump, lol) but it so happens i knew his son Vincent McDermot, because we both went to the same TM Center! pretty cosmic, huh? its all connected ... aham brahmasmi!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
curtis writes snipped: At first I thought I just disagreed with you about what we can be confident about in our knowledge from subjective experience, but then I felt like you were making a different distinction concerning how we form our own beliefs. It is quite a vigerous dance with a lots of stomped toes! Tom T As Byron Katies asks, How do I know any of this is true?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin jflanegi@ wrote: Direct perception and innocence are the keys here. Not intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Just as images of the universe from the Hubble space telescope are the result of innocence and direct perception, so is it possible to have such descriptions of our inner universe. And just as the Hubble had to be launched into space in order to produce its images free from the distortions of earth's atmosphere, so must we travel deeply into inner space to have direct and profound experiences, beyond a sense of silence, or a moment of peace, to the direct and unvarnished universe within, as vast and infinite as anything seen through Hubble. Your choice of metaphor is interesting, Jim. Do you remember the *history* of the Hubble telescope. It was delivered into orbit with astigmatism, its main mirror suffering from spherical aberration such that its perceptions of the universe were useless. It took a service mission to correct the problem so that the photos it took had anything whatsoever to do with reality. You speak of traveling into inner space to have unvarnished experiences, free of intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Do you feel that your experiences are of this variety? To come back to a simple point, the importance of which you still have not gotten, when you declared that Buddha believed that God is love, was that an unvarnished experience, free of intepretation or conclusion or imposition, or could it possibly be a limited self imposing its belief in God upon someone whose whole philosophy of life was founded upon not acknowledging the *existence* of such a God? I'm suggesting that your mirror is as abnormal as any other, and that its reflections of the universe are as distorted as anyone else's. Can you accept that, in...dare I use the term...humility, or do you hold that your perceptions reflect some kind of truth? Just curious... I remember the repair of the Hubble telescope. In the response I gave I was not speaking solely about my inner experience, though my opinion on the subject is influenced by my experience. Why do you insist I respond to your query about Buddha or that I admit that my perceptions are flawed, as a sign to you that I am humble? If you see me living in a fool's paradise, then think about why you think that, rather than insisting I conform to your vision of the world.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I think it would be hard for anyone to know what Sam has experienced through his meditation practice. It might be more than a sense of silence or a moment of peace. Perhaps, like me, he has had experiences like the kind of detail you are describing and decided not to attach the same meaning to it that you have. The strength of our experiences and our beliefs are not an indication of their accuracy. No matter how compelling. On the other hand, if you do have specific knowledge about the structure of the constellations that could be verified with the knowledge gathered from the Hubble telescope, that would be great. That is a testable claim about reality outside ourselves. Once we make claims about how the world actually is outside our own inner experiences, we are bound by the detailed rules that have guided mankind out of the dark ages of knowledge. We owe it to the experience to allow it to benefit from all that mankind has learned about how to be confident in our knowledge. Some humans have been wrong about things that they felt absolutely certain about. I sure have. Of course everyone is certainly free to attach any meaning to their inner experiences that they choose. Sam's only point is that some people have gone deep within and their God tells them that the absolutely right and correct thing to do is to strap on some bombs and go to a crowded place to blow themselves up. And they are absolutely certain that they are they are doing what is right. Absolutely certain. I agree with you 100%. I have long had an adage that I have lived by with regard to my inner experiences, that they are true until they are not. Period. There is no hanging my hat on them or building further constructs from them. They just are what they are, until further knowledge proves them otherwise. Of course this is a slower process with the suicide bomber since they must wait for another cycle of life to judge whether or not what they did was the word of God. What this entire question does is reaffirm the reality that we as humans will believe what we want and do what we want until circumstances make it impossible to continue doing so. There is no amount of logic that can convince us to do otherwise. Each of us is on our own soul journey to learn our own specific lessons, and whether we choose to discern the truth of the moment by logical inference or by direct experience or brainwashing, that is the truth we must honor until our reality changes for us, and we then believe something else.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin jflanegi@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: I don't think this is what Sam is challenging. He is one of the few skeptics who validates transcendent experiences. The experience is real, and he has had them too. What he is challenging is what people conclude after the experience involving what the experience means. Experiencing the feeling of being one with the universe doesn't give anyone the epistemological authority to claim that they know that Jesus died for their sins, or that the Vedic recitations contain the blueprint of creation. He is advocating that we start our inquiry into the study of human consciousness with humility rather then as a knower of complete knowledge. That we know the differences between what we know and what we have decided to believe from stuff we have heard or read, or even imposed onto our abstract experiences as their meaning. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. Direct perception and innocence are the keys here. Not intepretation or conclusion or imposition. Just as images of the universe from the Hubble space telescope are the result of innocence and direct perception, so is it possible to have such descriptions of our inner universe. And just as the Hubble had to be launched into space in order to produce its images free from the distortions of earth's atmosphere, so must we travel deeply into inner space to have direct and profound experiences, beyond a sense of silence, or a moment of peace, to the direct and unvarnished universe within, as vast and infinite as anything seen through Hubble. Of course, those beutiful images are enhanced and manipulatedin many ways before we ever see them. Everything I have heard and read says the raw images are very boring unless you're an astronomer. Ha-Ha- Yes, just as the inner experiences can be boring unless you're a meditator...
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shukra69 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I was wondering if someone might mention this. I have seen it many, many times. With eyes open everything can dissolve into a grey field. Also happened notably when I was invited to a Shiva temple on Shivaratri -when I was pouring milk onto the murthi. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin jflanegi@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Patrick Gillam jpgillam@ wrote: One reason I ask is because the question below relates to another question about the connection between pure consciousness and the relative world. The MMY line is that creation arises out of consciousness. I was wondering what sorts of experiences people are having that validate that hypothesis. This was an experience I had at the local TM center in 1992-ish in Maryland. After doing 20 minutes of TM, I opened my eyes and saw several items in the room, including the TM teacher, as vibrating bundles of grey shiny metallic atoms forming the shape of those objects. As my consciousness continued to ripen into my senses turned fully outwards, a covering of texture and color sprang out of my eyes and rendered everything as we conventionally see them. I've mentioned this before, though it seems to fit well Maharishi's line that creation arises out of consciousness. It was not that everything dissolved into a grey field- rather that the objects in front of me had the same conventional shapes they always do, only instead of the hair, the skin, the wooden tabletop having color and texture appropriate to what they typically have, they appeared to be made up of tightly clustered, vibrating, shiny dark grey atoms or BBs.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom Nice description of integration Tom! Thanks for the sign post.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, george_deforest [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Rick Archer wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. this is not a bad thing, imo... a soul real close to enlightenment will probably come back to the earth plane right away, and now he gets to finish the job with a brand new body. Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. And the doctor's explanation above is absurd. Cancer is the body attacking itself, not losing identification with its individual components. Enlightenment is about seeing others as more like ourselves. It is a unifying process, not an alienating one. Less identification on the way to enlightenment has to do with attachment, not attacking and alienating.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
Nice quote, I think that Sam's point is that the line has been crossed in society from mind your own business about my personal beliefs to a need to challenge the type of beliefs that is supporting some pretty hideous actions. There are too many tribes of monkeys for this to work but it makes me feel sane to see these issues raised. Today some car bombs killed 71 in Baghdad. Does anyone else think that the guys who did it believed that this action would be rewarded in heaven? In fact I'll go further, these guys knew this fact was literally true so compellingly that they bet their lives on it. Think of the congruence of a belief that would allow you to calmly drive to a public area and ignite a bomb. With all of our social programming not to kill each other, they knew it was the right and moral thing to do to blow innocent people to bits. The clusters of beliefs that had to be in place to make this happen, against the natural instinct for self-preservation is mind boggling! We have watched people oppress women because it was their right to religious freedom and the religious moderates said we couldn't attack their beliefs protected by the concept of religion. Now it is time to say I don't care where you got this idea,, scripture, mystical experience or tradition, it is barbaric and wrong. In most cases slippery slope arguments are so lame, but in this case we are already all the way down the slope! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: curtis writes snipped: At first I thought I just disagreed with you about what we can be confident about in our knowledge from subjective experience, but then I felt like you were making a different distinction concerning how we form our own beliefs. It is quite a vigerous dance with a lots of stomped toes! Tom T As Byron Katies asks, How do I know any of this is true?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
On Feb 12, 2007, at 12:31 PM, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom I hope you use tissues.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mainstream20016 Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 11:09 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife%40yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. Bill had neuroplasty (brain surgery) about a year ago, an attempt to remove the cancer. He probably was one of the first members of Purusha. Earlier, he was a very high-level MIU administrator, rather quiet and focused, yet very sharp when called upon by Bevan or Lennie in public to give practical suggestions to respond to issues of concern brought to the attention of the leadership of MIU. He was recently a regular visitor to the Annapurna Dining Hall. I got to know him there. His personnae had mellowed considerably since his MIU Administrator days. He seemed to be enjoying everyone around him. I hope he died in peace. Thanks, Rick, for sharing the news of his passing. LB Shriver told me yesterday that a few weeks ago, Bill approached him in Revelations and expressed his appreciation for the contributions LB had made to MIU as student body president. LB said that was when he began to leave the TMO orbit, because he was such an iconoclast. Seems like Bill felt like reaching closure with some people before he checked out.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
Vaj wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 12:31 PM, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom I hope you use tissues. Of course as you konw Vaj siddhis as well as mantras work on the principles of the physics of sound or known as the science nada yoga. I suppose at a very low level they might effect the DNA. It is just sad that in these discussions there is an ignorance of this important yogic science. To me it is very clear: the mantras resonate with my nervous system and then modify it until it sustains that experience and thus you have mantra siddhi. It is the same law of physics that makes a glass vibrate when it is at a resonant frequency. However the glass does not have the flexibility to adapt to the vibration and if too intense shatters.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Age of Aquarius?
george_deforest wrote: from the 1969 rock opera Hair by Galt McDermott Lyrics for: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (recorded by 5th Dimension) When the moon is in the seventh house, And Jupiter aligns with Mars ... Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars. Chorus: This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius. Aquarius, Aquarius! Harmony and understanding, Sympathy and trust abounding. No more falsehoods or derisions, Golden living dreams of vision. Mystic crystal revelation ... And the mind's true liberation: Aquarius, Aquarius! Let the sun shine. Let the sun shine in, Oh sun, shine in! it so happens, in the Jyotish zodiac (not Western), the Sun is moving into Aquarius ~this evening~ (2/12/07), [Sun = our sense of truthful identity and purpose] And in addition, we have Jupiter in Scorpio, a Mars-ruled sign; and Mars in Sagittarius, a Jupiter-ruled sign: this is referred to as a Mutual Exchange of planetary energies. according to my friend, San Francisco jyotishi Sam Geppi: Jupiter = our philosophies, guiding principles and social duties, Mars = our courage and vital strength thus, the current Mars/Jupiter exchange is quite favorable: it unites our courageous and powerful actions with a worthy, uplifting goal. = a very good time for aggressive spiritual practises, like Invincible America! it does not surprise me that the song lyrics from Hair seem quite accurate (according to the above jyotish insights). i happen to be from Staten Island, and so does Galt McDermot. Not that anything too great comes from Staten Island, (other than the worlds largest garbage dump, lol) but it so happens i knew his son Vincent McDermot, because we both went to the same TM Center! pretty cosmic, huh? its all connected ... aham brahmasmi! Of course by astronomy and proper astrology the Age of Aquarius is quite a few years off. :)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 12:31 PM, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom I hope you use tissues. You know, I don't really believe that Tom's perception is valid, though of course I might be wrong, but I didn't bother to challenge it because, of course, I couldn't--it is HIS experience, afterall. OTOH, you felt a need to attack it by making some silly little joke. Why is that?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
On Feb 12, 2007, at 2:29 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Of course as you konw Vaj siddhis as well as mantras work on the principles of the physics of sound or known as the science nada yoga. I suppose at a very low level they might effect the DNA. It is just sad that in these discussions there is an ignorance of this important yogic science. To me it is very clear: the mantras resonate with my nervous system and then modify it until it sustains that experience and thus you have mantra siddhi. It is the same law of physics that makes a glass vibrate when it is at a resonant frequency. However the glass does not have the flexibility to adapt to the vibration and if too intense shatters. I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law).
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, jim_flanegin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, george_deforest george.deforest@ wrote: Rick Archer wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. shukra69 wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. this is not a bad thing, imo... a soul real close to enlightenment will probably come back to the earth plane right away, and now he gets to finish the job with a brand new body. Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. And the doctor's explanation above is absurd. Cancer is the body attacking itself, not losing identification with its individual components. Enlightenment is about seeing others as more like ourselves. It is a unifying process, not an alienating one. Less identification on the way to enlightenment has to do with attachment, not attacking and alienating. Trying to make analogies is silly in this case. Cancer occurs when a normal cell goes haywire but the body's defenses do NOT recognize it as haywire, so it isn't destroyed as defective. Two things happen at the same time: the cell malfunctions AND the immune system fucks up.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mainstream20016 Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 11:09 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife%40yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer rick@ wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. Bill had neuroplasty (brain surgery) about a year ago, an attempt to remove the cancer. He probably was one of the first members of Purusha. Earlier, he was a very high-level MIU administrator, rather quiet and focused, yet very sharp when called upon by Bevan or Lennie in public to give practical suggestions to respond to issues of concern brought to the attention of the leadership of MIU. He was recently a regular visitor to the Annapurna Dining Hall. I got to know him there. His personnae had mellowed considerably since his MIU Administrator days. He seemed to be enjoying everyone around him. I hope he died in peace. Thanks, Rick, for sharing the news of his passing. I don't know about his final days, but not too long ago some friends of his went by his trailer and found him unable to get out of bed, lying in his urine, not having had food or any care for a few days. The friends apparently alerted MUM who started some sort of care for him prior to his dying. That's what I've been told. Any other info on this? It's becoming a more common problem within the mov't. There's apparently a recert gov. in the field who's in the hospital with cancer with no family or friends there to help take care of her. My wife has taken care of a couple MDs who got cancer and had to leave the MD course. IT's a huge hassle as they tend to have poor relations if any with their biological family, no money and no insurance.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating. ???SO much for integration of mind and body...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
Vaj wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 2:29 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Of course as you konw Vaj siddhis as well as mantras work on the principles of the physics of sound or known as the science nada yoga. I suppose at a very low level they might effect the DNA. It is just sad that in these discussions there is an ignorance of this important yogic science. To me it is very clear: the mantras resonate with my nervous system and then modify it until it sustains that experience and thus you have mantra siddhi. It is the same law of physics that makes a glass vibrate when it is at a resonant frequency. However the glass does not have the flexibility to adapt to the vibration and if too intense shatters. I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law). But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of sparaig Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 1:41 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife%40yahoogroups.com , Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 12:31 PM, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom I hope you use tissues. You know, I don't really believe that Tom's perception is valid, though of course I might be wrong, but I didn't bother to challenge it because, of course, I couldn't--it is HIS experience, afterall. OTOH, you felt a need to attack it by making some silly little joke. My question is - DNA is a chemical structure found only in biological systems. How can all of creation have DNA? And if you are seeing the DNA are you literally seeing the double-helix structure, as you would under an electron microscope? If necessary, could you identify its components? More on DNA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating. ???SO much for integration of mind and body... And thus why you hear about gurus and such (including MMY) getting sick. I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. I think that one may have an opportunity to keep their bodies in better shape with enlightenment like a fine tuned sports car but they may not put their attention there. I think that would depend on the individual and what knowledge they already possess such as ayurveda would be a plus. However Robert Svoboda in one of this books on ayurveda tells a tale of a major ayurvedic instructor who came down with cancer and one would have thought that he would have caught it at its earliest symptoms.
[FairfieldLife] Re: was: 'It comes from...' now - Dome Air System is Great
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, mainstream20016 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, peterklutz peterklutz@ wrote: The air in the men's Dome is a spiritual version of the Nazi gas chambers. They will remain so until someone installs several industrial strength ventilators and makes it mandatory for visitors to have a thorough shower before the program and wear only clean clothing. Then there is all the coughing, farting, sneezing, and walking about - end what else the Hell is going on in there.. The Dome Air Ventilation System is Fabulous. It quietly yet effectively moves copious amounts of gentle fresh air continuously, seemingly 24/7. The Ventilation System in the Dome helps to make program there wonderful. There was a time, early 80s, when at liftoff, large, industrial-strength fans kicked in, producing noise and harsh breezes. The pre-lift-off ventilation was inadequate, and the lift- off ventilation was overkill. No longer. Thankfully, improvements were made, and someone deserves great credit for them. Program in the dome is really great now. Your mouth and keyboard are just as full of shit on this subject as the air in the Dome is bad. Maybe you should reinstall these industrial strength fans again, and maybe your sense of smell and brain, both apparently shut down, might awaken again.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Age of Aquarius?
yah, quite so, i succumbed to a little mood-making ;-) its just the dawning of the ~month~ of Aquarius (sidereal solar transit) ... with Jupiter aligned with Mars. but, i do like that song (nostalgia!) and here is a video link to it: 5th Dimension, on TV way back then http://www.evtv1.com/vidsensep.asp?itemnum=591 Bhairitu wrote: Of course by astronomy and proper astrology the Age of Aquarius is quite a few years off. :) george_deforest wrote: from the 1969 rock opera Hair by Galt McDermott Lyrics for: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (recorded by 5th Dimension) When the moon is in the seventh house, And Jupiter aligns with Mars ... Then peace will guide the planets, And love will steer the stars. Chorus: This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius. Aquarius, Aquarius! Harmony and understanding, Sympathy and trust abounding. No more falsehoods or derisions, Golden living dreams of vision. Mystic crystal revelation ... And the mind's true liberation: Aquarius, Aquarius! Let the sun shine. Let the sun shine in, Oh sun, shine in! it so happens, in the Jyotish zodiac (not Western), the Sun is moving into Aquarius ~this evening~ (2/12/07), [Sun = our sense of truthful identity and purpose] And in addition, we have Jupiter in Scorpio, a Mars-ruled sign; and Mars in Sagittarius, a Jupiter-ruled sign: this is referred to as a Mutual Exchange of planetary energies. according to my friend, San Francisco jyotishi Sam Geppi: Jupiter = our philosophies, guiding principles and social duties, Mars = our courage and vital strength thus, the current Mars/Jupiter exchange is quite favorable: it unites our courageous and powerful actions with a worthy, uplifting goal. = a very good time for aggressive spiritual practises, like Invincible America!
[FairfieldLife] was: Relax. Response precipitated Sidhis? now: TM instruction only settings
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mainstream20016 Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 7:51 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] was: Moments of movement now: Relax. Response precipitated Sidhis ? The widespread popularity of TM probably led Benson to research TM Somehow Benson linked up with Keith Wallace to do the early research. I forgot how they met. and the creation of the generic RR technique. The popularity of TM definitely inspired him to do that. Benson never learned TM, because he claimed that he wanted to remain objective. But for a while he was a TM spokesman. One time I drove up to Cambridge from Connecticut to drive him down to Yale for a lecture, and then back to Cambridge. Benson's claims of RR technique's equality with TM coincided with the development of the TM-Sidhi program (earliest development of TM-Sidhi courses in late 1975). Might the development of the Sidhis program been a premature reaction to the competition from the RR technique? Might have been. Benson tried to follow suit for a while, or at least made some initial investigations. He travelled to Tibet to find yogis who could perform sidhis. He did find some who could do more than any TMer I've ever met. He observed a group of monks who could dry wet clothing in 10 degree weather by generating body heat. This adventure inspired him to write Beyond the Relaxation Response - http://tinyurl.com/2goac8 The development of the Sidhis caused a huge inward stroke in the TM movement's organization, and a corresponding decreased presence in the market - the field TM teachers vacated the market in favor of attending long rounding courses that taught the teachers the Sidhis. It also scared away a lot of celebrities like Mary Tyler Moore and professionals like Dr. Charles Glueck head of The Institute of Living who had become a supporter. I'm curious to hear any suggestions as to how the TM movement might have thrived with just the basic TM instruction remaining as its only product, rather than what actually happened with the introduction of the Sidhis as the product that represented the movement. My guess is that if MMY had stuck to his core message of TM, and conducted himself sensibly and with compassion for his teachers, the movement would be much more mainstream than it is today. It still wouldn't be in the schools because of the puja and other Hindu associations, but far more people would have become participants than have. Claims of flying, Rajas, etc., put TM far outside the mainstream, and although the movement tries to put up a public façade which hides these things, anyone who becomes more than mildly curious discovers them and most steer clear. How might the TM movement today offer instruction of just the basic TM technique? Might a fully certified branch organization be created that would have as its mission to teach only the TM technique, residence courses, and SCI, and nothing else? Perhaps if a certified yet distinctly independent organization were created, the general public might be secure in approaching such a setting where just basic TM instruction occured --a setting where the basic experience of transcendence was considered self- sufficient to generate maximum well-being, and where one would never be enticed to consider acquiring additional products or services? How might such an arrangement be created today, to the benefit of all ?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating. ???SO much for integration of mind and body... And thus why you hear about gurus and such (including MMY) getting sick. I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. I think that one may have an opportunity to keep their bodies in better shape with enlightenment like a fine tuned sports car but they may not put their attention there. I think that would depend on the individual and what knowledge they already possess such as ayurveda would be a plus. However Robert Svoboda in one of this books on ayurveda tells a tale of a major ayurvedic instructor who came down with cancer and one would have thought that he would have caught it at its earliest symptoms. There's enlightenment and there's enlightenment. FULL enlightenment requires the ability to perform any and all sidhis perfectly. I recall a lecture by Keith Wallace many years ago where MMY challanged people to come up with a clear sign of physical immortality. Keith's answer was the one MMY latched onto: the ability to float. If your Unity is at THAT level of integration, then all of your immediate environment naturally reflects this state. Immediate environment includes body and mind.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of sparaig Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 1:41 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife%40yahoogroups.com , Vaj vajranatha@ wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 12:31 PM, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: For me the Sidhis are now known to be part of my DNA. I have seen them there vibrating. I also know my DNA to be the DNA of all creation. I can no longer do them or find them as they are now me, who I am. As are all of the mantras/advanced techniques. My meditation consists of sitting in silence savoring the vibratory quality of my DNA. Tom I hope you use tissues. You know, I don't really believe that Tom's perception is valid, though of course I might be wrong, but I didn't bother to challenge it because, of course, I couldn't--it is HIS experience, afterall. OTOH, you felt a need to attack it by making some silly little joke. My question is - DNA is a chemical structure found only in biological systems. How can all of creation have DNA? And if you are seeing the DNA are you literally seeing the double-helix structure, as you would under an electron microscope? If necessary, could you identify its components? More on DNA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA I think he was using DNA as a metaphor. In a sense, the Vedas could be seen as the DNA of the universe, and I think that MMY uses that analogy at times: the entire bluepritn of nature contained in the ultimate compact form that unfolds itself into all of manifest creation.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. Then you need to straighten MMY out on this point cuz he uses it in his sales pitch all the time. Perfect health and immortality, or was it perfect wealth and immorality? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating. ???SO much for integration of mind and body... And thus why you hear about gurus and such (including MMY) getting sick. I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. I think that one may have an opportunity to keep their bodies in better shape with enlightenment like a fine tuned sports car but they may not put their attention there. I think that would depend on the individual and what knowledge they already possess such as ayurveda would be a plus. However Robert Svoboda in one of this books on ayurveda tells a tale of a major ayurvedic instructor who came down with cancer and one would have thought that he would have caught it at its earliest symptoms.
RE: [FairfieldLife] was: Relax. Response precipitated Sidhis? now: TM instruction only settings
I'm teaching a group of stoners how to cross over with Tara Mantra and they will live in a group and get stoned and radiate Tara vibes. How awesome they are!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
curtisdeltablues wrote: I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. Then you need to straighten MMY out on this point cuz he uses it in his sales pitch all the time. Perfect health and immortality, or was it perfect wealth and immorality? More likely the latter but then that really didn't work for folks either. ;-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating. ???SO much for integration of mind and body... And thus why you hear about gurus and such (including MMY) getting sick. I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. I think that one may have an opportunity to keep their bodies in better shape with enlightenment like a fine tuned sports car but they may not put their attention there. I think that would depend on the individual and what knowledge they already possess such as ayurveda would be a plus. However Robert Svoboda in one of this books on ayurveda tells a tale of a major ayurvedic instructor who came down with cancer and one would have thought that he would have caught it at its earliest symptoms.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
On Feb 12, 2007, at 3:37 PM, Bhairitu wrote: I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law). But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Well, I agree and I disagree. Yeah, there is a type of siddhi that relies on sound (mantra) and that mantra effects the subtle body which projects change in the outer. But there are other types and styles of siddhi. For example you can produce siddhi through the use of demons or various spirits or various sacrifices (yagyas), etc. It is interesting, in this same vein, Paul Mason recently posted an article on the Tm-Freedom blog discussing two types of siddhi: one sought by cultivating siddhi (e.g. samyama formulae) and that from devotion to ones ishta-devata. SBS recommended the later and not the former. Siddhi via the ishta is a by-product of union/love/samadhi (although as we both know you can also use karma/action mantras to direct the mantra-siddhi) and is supportive of evolution. Samyama taps the dalas via a non-culminating route, which does not lead to union/bindu. Although it does produce a rather addictive kind of bliss and illusory experiences.
[FairfieldLife] Re: was: Relax. Response precipitated Sidhis? now: TM instruction only settings
Perhaps MMY's real achievement to date is his original target of multiplying himself. He has not bothered with fostering a mass movement but has focused on thoroughly embedding his own idiosyncratic vision on maybe a few hundred thousand die hard supporters. He is now leaving the Movement with a more complete elaboration of his initial philosophy, espoused in the Science of Being, and presumably believes that even without a mass movement he can achieve the whole range of effects on individual and society his Vedic tradition aspired to. Moreover because his approach so often seemed so insane, and he was no real threat to the establishment - spiritual or political - and has therefore managed to minimize resistance. The really interesting thing now is that in THEORY at least his philosophy is the only one (as far as I know) that offers a comprehensive antidote to the range of intractable problems facing individuals and societies at the present time - from individual stress to collective madness in the form of terrorism or climatic change. The need for his programme is at its height and the Movement is united and primed to respond, should a breakthrough opportunity emerge. Given that so many idiotic movements in the world have managed, undeservedly, to gain acceptance and support in the past there is a good chance that sooner or later a breakthrough for MMY, or his heirs, will surely come. I just hope by then they will remove the embarassing music and voiceovers in their video presentations - although in fairness that would be a small price to pay for world peace etc etc. Even if the reality in practice never matches the glory of the theory I'd see it as one of those noble, glorious failures that just HAD to be tried out. Nevertheless it could all have worked equally had there been a secular branch of TM, just teaching the technique and getting mass support, and a more esoteric branch of the Movement for those so inclined, much like the Buddhist enjoy viz the Benson researchers the CBT psychologists in Massachussets. But then even this way MMY has proved himself a maverick odd-ball. Interesting to see whether he'll just manage to do enough now to die a hero too... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, mainstream20016 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mainstream20016 Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 7:51 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] was: Moments of movement now: Relax. Response precipitated Sidhis ? The widespread popularity of TM probably led Benson to research TM Somehow Benson linked up with Keith Wallace to do the early research. I forgot how they met. and the creation of the generic RR technique. The popularity of TM definitely inspired him to do that. Benson never learned TM, because he claimed that he wanted to remain objective. But for a while he was a TM spokesman. One time I drove up to Cambridge from Connecticut to drive him down to Yale for a lecture, and then back to Cambridge. Benson's claims of RR technique's equality with TM coincided with the development of the TM-Sidhi program (earliest development of TM-Sidhi courses in late 1975). Might the development of the Sidhis program been a premature reaction to the competition from the RR technique? Might have been. Benson tried to follow suit for a while, or at least made some initial investigations. He travelled to Tibet to find yogis who could perform sidhis. He did find some who could do more than any TMer I've ever met. He observed a group of monks who could dry wet clothing in 10 degree weather by generating body heat. This adventure inspired him to write Beyond the Relaxation Response - http://tinyurl.com/2goac8 The development of the Sidhis caused a huge inward stroke in the TM movement's organization, and a corresponding decreased presence in the market - the field TM teachers vacated the market in favor of attending long rounding courses that taught the teachers the Sidhis. It also scared away a lot of celebrities like Mary Tyler Moore and professionals like Dr. Charles Glueck head of The Institute of Living who had become a supporter. I'm curious to hear any suggestions as to how the TM movement might have thrived with just the basic TM instruction remaining as its only product, rather than what actually happened with the introduction of the Sidhis as the product that represented the movement. My guess is that if MMY had stuck to his core message of TM, and conducted himself sensibly and with compassion for his teachers, the movement would be much more mainstream than it is today. It still wouldn't be in the schools because of the puja and other Hindu associations, but
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- Bhairitu wrote: But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Bhairitu, if I may ask, what results are you getting from your TM-Sidhis practice?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- markmeredith wrote: I don't know about his final days, but not too long ago some friends of his went by his trailer and found him unable to get out of bed, lying in his urine, not having had food or any care for a few days. The friends apparently alerted MUM who started some sort of care for him prior to his dying. That's what I've been told. Surely Jefferson County has visiting nurses, and perhaps hospice care. As strapped for funds as those organizations are, they generally provide care regardless of the patient's ability to pay - which is one reason they're always strapped. I'm sorry to hear Bill Crist may have had a difficult time of it at the end. My dealings with him were always at arm's length and in his official capacities, but he dealt with people with dignity.
[FairfieldLife] Book on Heisenberg's uncertainty principle
But the real uncertainty principle is more precise than that. It states that while some phenomena produce a definable range of possible outcomes, it is impossible to infer from the outcome which single unique event actually produced it. This has evolved, Mr. Lindley says, into a practical, workaday definition of the uncertainty principle that most physicists continue to find convenient and at least moderately comprehensible as long as they choose not to think too hard about the still unresolved philosophical or metaphysical difficulties it throws up. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/books/12masl.html
[FairfieldLife] Pt II -- EMF advice from Global Good News
Counterbalancing electromagnetic radiation in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda buildings - Part II by Global Good News staff writer Global Good NewsTranslate This Article 12 February 2007 Continuing the discussion presented by Global Good News on 10 Februaryabout counteracting the harmful effects of electrical emissions in buildingsthe following further information may be helpful when designing Vastu buildings and in making workplaces, areas for the practice of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation, and homes more safe and comfortable. Maharishi Sthapatya Veda homes and other buildings are designed in accord with total Natural Law: they are the Constitution of the Universe in concrete form. Designing these structures according to Maharishi Sthapatya Veda ensures that one is always in the most uplifting possible place, in a Vastu home or building. Therefore one should never allow any impure influence or interference, however subtle, into this sanctuary. This is where most people spend over 90 per cent of their timeand where those who practise Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying are cultivating the invincibility of the nation and their own personal enlightenment. Having their meditation halls and sleeping areas in these buildings, people should exercise all vigilance in keeping these areas pure. Bau Biology, which has found wide acceptance in Europe and the USA, has standards of safety for all emissions. For electricity, there are 5 types of electromagnetic emissions for which they have standards. The World Health Organization has, for some years, been researching projects to evaluate the health effects of all electromagnetic fields. In the case of cellphones, evidence is becoming quite strong that: 1. the very delicate barrier which prevents the blood from going into the brain is disturbed with the use of cellphones, and 2. cancer is a result. One solution is to use an ear-plug extension. With digital cordless phones, the radiation peak value on many cordless phones is even stronger than on a cellphone base station placed near a residential builidngso this is quite a strong radiation to have in one's home. There are two main types of mechanisms in cordless phones: 1. DECT 2. CTPlus CTPlus is somewhat safer than the DECT type. While people are still trying to understand the full effects of electricity, the different types of electromagnetic fields and how they work, what is safe and what isn'tit is wise to take a precautionary approach. Copyright © 2007 Global Good News(sm) Service
[FairfieldLife] Buddhist Geek: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science
Buddhist Geeks 4: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science. In our second podcast with Alan Wallace, he presents a new model for “professional” contemplatives. Instead of trying to transplant the monastic model to the West, Dr. Wallace suggests that contemplation become an actual profession. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/29/buddhist-geeks-4-get-a- phd-in-contemplative-science/
[FairfieldLife] Buddhist Geeks: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha
Buddhist Geeks 2: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha. In our first podcast featuring scholar-practitioner B. Alan Wallace we asked Dr. Wallace to give us the low-down on his spiritual journey, as well as describe the stages of deepening relaxation and vividness of attention leading to the culmination of an attainment he calls shamatha. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/15/buddhist-geeks-2-alan- wallace-on-achieving-shamatha/
[FairfieldLife] Right wing nut job behind 24
the maker of this Fascist cartoon: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070219fa_fact_mayer
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
Vaj wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 3:37 PM, Bhairitu wrote: I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law). But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Well, I agree and I disagree. Yeah, there is a type of siddhi that relies on sound (mantra) and that mantra effects the subtle body which projects change in the outer. But there are other types and styles of siddhi. For example you can produce siddhi through the use of demons or various spirits or various sacrifices (yagyas), etc. I don't perform those types of siddhis. Our siddhis are mantra based (so far). We can say though they are in English the TM-Sidhis are sort of a mantra. It is interesting, in this same vein, Paul Mason recently posted an article on the Tm-Freedom blog discussing two types of siddhi: one sought by cultivating siddhi (e.g. samyama formulae) and that from devotion to ones ishta-devata. SBS recommended the later and not the former. Siddhi via the ishta is a by-product of union/love/samadhi (although as we both know you can also use karma/action mantras to direct the mantra-siddhi) and is supportive of evolution. Samyama taps the dalas via a non-culminating route, which does not lead to union/bindu. Although it does produce a rather addictive kind of bliss and illusory experiences. The tantric mantras are much more used as tools for healing and solutions people may need for problems.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Pt II -- EMF advice from Global Good News
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Counterbalancing electromagnetic radiation in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda buildings - Part II by Global Good News staff writer . . . This [their home or sanctuary] is where most people spend over 90 per cent of their time... I rest my case. Shut-In Syndrome. How many of you spend 144 minutes a day or less outside your home? These people think that's how most people live their lives. Probably because that's how they live theirs, stuck inside, afraid to leave...and now even afraid of the sanctuaries they're hiding in. Life's sure fun in the Age Of Enlightenment, eh?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
Patrick Gillam wrote: --- Bhairitu wrote: But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Bhairitu, if I may ask, what results are you getting from your TM-Sidhis practice? I no longer practice the TM-Sidhis but I did get some fairly good results from some of them. The siddhis I am practicing now are tantric.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
On Feb 12, 2007, at 6:18 PM, Bhairitu wrote: The tantric mantras are much more used as tools for healing and solutions people may need for problems. I agree completely and for my own practice that's all I use action mantras for: physical or emotional healing, subjugation or pacification.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Pt II -- EMF advice from Global Good News
On Feb 12, 2007, at 5:19 PM, TurquoiseB wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Counterbalancing electromagnetic radiation in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda buildings - Part II by Global Good News staff writer . . . This [their home or sanctuary] is where most people spend over 90 per cent of their time... I rest my case. Shut-In Syndrome. How many of you spend 144 minutes a day or less outside your home? These people think that's how most people live their lives. Probably because that's how they live theirs, stuck inside, afraid to leave...and now even afraid of the sanctuaries they're hiding in. Not to mention that these bulletins, which I expect that someone somewhere out there may find scintillating, are otherwise the best thing since Sominex. Even the titles are usually enough to cause glazed-eye syndrome. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Pt II -- EMF advice from Global Good News
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante no_reply@ wrote: Counterbalancing electromagnetic radiation in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda buildings - Part II by Global Good News staff writer . . . This [their home or sanctuary] is where most people spend over 90 per cent of their time... I rest my case. Shut-In Syndrome. How many of you spend 144 minutes a day or less outside your home? These people think that's how most people live their lives. Not even Barry could be *that* mentally disturbed as to believe that's what this sentence says. Which means he's trying to mislead *other readers* to believe this is what it's saying by not only quoting out of context but adding the erroneous material in brackets, hoping nobody remembers what the rest of it actually said. I don't know, maybe that's even *more* disturbed. How many of you think Barry just accidentally overlooked everything that came before the sentence he quoted (and altered with his helpful editorial interpolation)? And if he did, what does that say about the coherence of his thinking versus his compulsion to slam TMers?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Pt II -- EMF advice from Global Good News
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 5:19 PM, TurquoiseB wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante no_reply@ wrote: Counterbalancing electromagnetic radiation in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda buildings - Part II by Global Good News staff writer . . . This [their home or sanctuary] is where most people spend over 90 per cent of their time... I rest my case. Shut-In Syndrome. How many of you spend 144 minutes a day or less outside your home? These people think that's how most people live their lives. Probably because that's how they live theirs, stuck inside, afraid to leave...and now even afraid of the sanctuaries they're hiding in. Not to mention that these bulletins, which I expect that someone somewhere out there may find scintillating, are otherwise the best thing since Sominex. Even the titles are usually enough to cause glazed-eye syndrome. Well, Barry sure managed to fool Sal.
[FairfieldLife] Medieval help desk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRjVeRbhtRU
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Vaj wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 3:37 PM, Bhairitu wrote: I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law). But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Well, I agree and I disagree. Yeah, there is a type of siddhi that relies on sound (mantra) and that mantra effects the subtle body which projects change in the outer. But there are other types and styles of siddhi. For example you can produce siddhi through the use of demons or various spirits or various sacrifices (yagyas), etc. I don't perform those types of siddhis. Our siddhis are mantra based (so far). We can say though they are in English the TM-Sidhis are sort of a mantra. It is interesting, in this same vein, Paul Mason recently posted an article on the Tm-Freedom blog discussing two types of siddhi: one sought by cultivating siddhi (e.g. samyama formulae) and that from devotion to ones ishta-devata. SBS recommended the later and not the former. Siddhi via the ishta is a by-product of union/love/samadhi (although as we both know you can also use karma/action mantras to direct the mantra-siddhi) and is supportive of evolution. Samyama taps the dalas via a non-culminating route, which does not lead to union/bindu. Although it does produce a rather addictive kind of bliss and illusory experiences. The tantric mantras are much more used as tools for healing and solutions people may need for problems. Cool, where do I get some?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
Ramana Maharshi died from the big c, you know. When Gurdjieff died doctors said his internal organs were so deteriorated that he should have been dead a long time ago. When the ambulance finally carted him off to the hospital about a week before, he was wearing the most gaudy striped pajamas imaginable. He then tipped his hat to the crowd and, with a fat cigarette hanging out of his mouth, cheered bravo! shukra69 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Dr Robert Svoboda has commented that there is an increased danger of cancer of those close to Enlightenment because as the individual identifies less tightly with his own ahamkar the individual cells of his body can have an less close indentification with each other. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Bill Crist died today from brain cancer. He was on Purusha for decades. - Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by Green Rating at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Right wing nut job behind 24
bob_brigante wrote: the maker of this Fascist cartoon: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070219fa_fact_mayer Interesting article. For those who love the guilty pleasure, 24 is two episode tonight.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
For us householders, as we get older its usually our kids and ESPECIALLY AN EMPATHICALLY CONFRONTATIONAL SPOUSE that force the issues on us. Is that support of nature? Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom I think that is one problem when one becomes enlightened, they start neglecting the body because they experience no attachment to it. I bet quite a few here who have been meditating for years and have some degree of enlightenment keep trying to remind themselves to look into some medical problem even if it is just a toothache because they only witness it and it is not as overwhelming as it would have been before they were meditating. ???SO much for integration of mind and body... And thus why you hear about gurus and such (including MMY) getting sick. I think to propose that people will have perfect health just because they are enlightened is a bit ludicrous and probably displays a misunderstanding of what enlightenment is about. I think that one may have an opportunity to keep their bodies in better shape with enlightenment like a fine tuned sports car but they may not put their attention there. I think that would depend on the individual and what knowledge they already possess such as ayurveda would be a plus. However Robert Svoboda in one of this books on ayurveda tells a tale of a major ayurvedic instructor who came down with cancer and one would have thought that he would have caught it at its earliest symptoms. - Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
peterklutz wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Vaj wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 3:37 PM, Bhairitu wrote: I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law). But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Well, I agree and I disagree. Yeah, there is a type of siddhi that relies on sound (mantra) and that mantra effects the subtle body which projects change in the outer. But there are other types and styles of siddhi. For example you can produce siddhi through the use of demons or various spirits or various sacrifices (yagyas), etc. I don't perform those types of siddhis. Our siddhis are mantra based (so far). We can say though they are in English the TM-Sidhis are sort of a mantra. It is interesting, in this same vein, Paul Mason recently posted an article on the Tm-Freedom blog discussing two types of siddhi: one sought by cultivating siddhi (e.g. samyama formulae) and that from devotion to ones ishta-devata. SBS recommended the later and not the former. Siddhi via the ishta is a by-product of union/love/samadhi (although as we both know you can also use karma/action mantras to direct the mantra-siddhi) and is supportive of evolution. Samyama taps the dalas via a non-culminating route, which does not lead to union/bindu. Although it does produce a rather addictive kind of bliss and illusory experiences. The tantric mantras are much more used as tools for healing and solutions people may need for problems. Cool, where do I get some? http://realtantrasolutions.com
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I think it would be hard for anyone to know what Sam has experienced through his meditation practice. It might be more than a sense of silence or a moment of peace. Perhaps, like me, he has had experiences like the kind of detail you are describing and decided not to attach the same meaning to it that you have. The strength of our experiences and our beliefs are not an indication of their accuracy. No matter how compelling. snip ++ If you drive off the road and hit a tree, you would have a strong expierience- would you not be qualified to have an accurate comment on it? N.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Medieval help desk
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRjVeRbhtRU Hilarious! Thanks-
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 3:37 PM, Bhairitu wrote: I draw a distinction between the coincidental spontaneity of mantra siddhi and consciously sought after siddhi. In the case of the latter, shakti is aroused up a path other than the sushumna and directly awakens certain dalas, the petals of the sahasara, giving bliss and experiences at first but it does not have access to bindu, underlying oneness, through this pathway. It's a dead end. Mantra-siddhi coincidentally awakened is the will of the ishta-devata put into action which remains untainted by ego or I (and therefore remains an expression of natural law). But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Well, I agree and I disagree. Yeah, there is a type of siddhi that relies on sound (mantra) and that mantra effects the subtle body which projects change in the outer. But there are other types and styles of siddhi. For example you can produce siddhi through the use of demons or various spirits or various sacrifices (yagyas), etc. It is interesting, in this same vein, Paul Mason recently posted an article on the Tm-Freedom blog discussing two types of siddhi: one sought by cultivating siddhi (e.g. samyama formulae) and that from devotion to ones ishta-devata. SBS recommended the later and not the former. Siddhi via the ishta is a by-product of union/love/samadhi (although as we both know you can also use karma/action mantras to direct the mantra-siddhi) and is supportive of evolution. Samyama taps the dalas via a non-culminating route, which does not lead to union/bindu. Although it does produce a rather addictive kind of bliss and illusory experiences. Of course it does...
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. If you were a TM teacher, did you ever say in lectures, as you were taught to do, that it is impossible to transcend via concentration? Or that TM was the best, most effective method of meditation in the world, without having ever tried any other types of meditation, much less all of them? Was that logical? The claim of logic tends to be the lipstick that True Believers (of any ilk) put on the pig of their unsubstantiated yet deeply held beliefs. ++ You are right - I should have said It doesn't make sense or, it's BS. N.
[FairfieldLife] Bank Robbery in Fairfield
Just off the scanner in FF, the bank got robbed today. what were the dome numbers today?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geek: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Buddhist Geeks 4: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science. In our second podcast with Alan Wallace, he presents a new model for professional contemplatives. Instead of trying to transplant the monastic model to the West, Dr. Wallace suggests that contemplation become an actual profession. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/29/buddhist-geeks-4-get-a- phd-in-contemplative-science/ My response: Lawson English on Feb 12th, 2007 said: You guys are wy behind the times: There already exists a full-time, 8-hour-per-day meditation-in-a-group program, complete with both a $5000 training scholarship and a $600/month room board grant, if you agree to participate for at least 1 year: http://invincibleamerica.org/ http://invincibleamerica.org/faq.html#scholarships http://invincibleamerica.org/faq.html#sidhi
[FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geeks: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Buddhist Geeks 2: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha. In our first podcast featuring scholar-practitioner B. Alan Wallace we asked Dr. Wallace to give us the low-down on his spiritual journey, as well as describe the stages of deepening relaxation and vividness of attention leading to the culmination of an attainment he calls shamatha. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/15/buddhist-geeks-2-alan- wallace-on-achieving-shamatha/ What a tweeb. And this is the stuff you consider superior to TM???
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: If you were a TM teacher, did you ever say in lectures, as you were taught to do, that it is impossible to transcend via concentration? Or that TM was the best, most effective method of meditation in the world, without having ever tried any other types of meditation, much less all of them? Meditation Book Grant to Dr. Jonathan Shear of Virginia Commonwealth University Dr. Jonathan Shear's Book on the Major Meditation Systems of the World I. The Project Meditation has become mainstream in America, as a part of many health programs, as a method of relaxation, and for spiritual growth, and as a topic in college courses around the country. There are, of course, already many books on the subject of meditation. Some discuss practices within a given tradition in a serious way. Others discuss meditation in a general way, but these are often superficial and misleading, if not simply inaccurate. But to date there is no book that presents in a clear, comprehensive, and systematic way the mechanics, theories and effects of the various major meditation systems now practiced and discussed in America. The book sponsored by this grant should fill this gap. Its contents and structure should enable it to serve as a readily accessible, cross-traditional textbook for a wide variety of college courses (e.g., religion, psychology, philosophy, multicultural studies, etc.), and as an authoritative reference for scholars. In addition, the book should be of interest to the many people who practice various forms of meditation and would like to know something about procedures other than their own, as well as those who are simply curious about the topic. The Infinity Foundation is delighted to announce its support of this project. Each of the chapters will deal with a single tradition of meditation. In order to facilitate inter-traditional comparisons, each chapter will cover the following topics: (1) historical background (2) mechanics of the techniques (3) basic experiences and states (4) further results (psychological and/or behavioral effects, higher states, etc.) (5) interpretations and implications The book will be edited by Dr. Jonathan Shear, who will also write an essay for inclusion within it. The authors and topics of the chapters are expected to include: Robert Thurman and David Gray (Tibetan meditation traditions) Georg Feuerstein (Sankhya/Yoga) Jeffrey Schwartz (Therevada Vipasana) Don Salmon (Sri Aurobindo) Sri Daya Mata (Kriya Yoga/Yogananda) Liang Shou Yu and Wu Wen-Ching (Taoism/Qigong) Llewelyn Vaughn Lee (Sufism) Basil Pennington (Centering Prayer) Jonathan Shear (Transcendental Meditation) II. About the Editor Jonathan Shear received a BA in Philosophy and Mathematics summa cum laude from Brandeis University, and was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in Philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley where he received his Ph.D. While a Fulbright Scholar in Philosophy of Science at the London School of Economics in the early 1960's, Dr. Shear became interested in Eastern accounts of aspects of mind not ordinarily discussed by Western philosophers and psychologists. This led to examination of how Eastern experiential procedures could provide an expanded empirical base for our Western theories of mind, knowledge and values, as well as regular practice of such procedures themselves, and the significance of such procedures and the experiences they produce has remained the focus of Prof. Shear's work for nearly forty years. He is author of The Inner Dimension: Philosophy and the Experience of Consciousness (Peter Lang), coeditor of The View from Within: First-Person Methodologies (Imprint Academic), coeditor of Models of the Self (Imprint Academic), and editor of Explaining Consciousness: The Hard Problem (MIT). Prof. Shear is also a founding Editor of the multi-disciplinary Journal of Consciousness Studies, and an Affiliated Associate Professor of philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Was that logical? The claim of logic tends to be the lipstick that True Believers (of any ilk) put on the pig of their unsubstantiated yet deeply held beliefs. ++ You are right - I should have said It doesn't make sense or, it's BS. N. - Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Bill Crist
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jim Flanegin writes snipped: Are you kidding me?? That it is OK to die of cancer when on the cusp of enlightenment? Finish the job, for God's sake, and begin enjoying life as a realized being NOW. Do the job in front of you. TomT: No way to know he was not finished and just living out the rest of his time. Nisargadata and Ramana Maharishi both went out with cancer. Who is to know either way and who cares, as Ramana would say. Who is it that wants to know? Tom Just to clarify my comment was directed towards the fellow that said if Bill C wasn't enlightened this was OK because he'd come back in with a new body. Which I thought was a wasteful rationalization, and my comment was directed at him. I have no idea whether or not Bill C was enlightened- I never met the man.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geek: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science
On Feb 12, 2007, at 8:20 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Buddhist Geeks 4: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science. In our second podcast with Alan Wallace, he presents a new model for professional contemplatives. Instead of trying to transplant the monastic model to the West, Dr. Wallace suggests that contemplation become an actual profession. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/29/buddhist-geeks-4- get-a- phd-in-contemplative-science/ My response: Lawson English on Feb 12th, 2007 said: You guys are wy behind the times: There already exists a full-time, 8-hour-per-day meditation-in-a- group program, complete with both a $5000 training scholarship and a $600/month room board grant, if you agree to participate for at least 1 year: Actually not. As he said if you listened to is blips, it isn't just repeating a mantra.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Pt II -- EMF advice from Global Good News
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante no_reply@ wrote: Counterbalancing electromagnetic radiation in Maharishi Sthapatya Veda buildings - Part II by Global Good News staff writer . . . This [their home or sanctuary] is where most people spend over 90 per cent of their time... I rest my case. Shut-In Syndrome. How many of you spend 144 minutes a day or less outside your home? These people think that's how most people live their lives. Probably because that's how they live theirs, stuck inside, afraid to leave...and now even afraid of the sanctuaries they're hiding in. Life's sure fun in the Age Of Enlightenment, eh? Heh. This is addressed to folks that are meditating in groups outside their homes for up to 8 hours per day. Obviously poorly worded. Your assumption otherwise only shows a need to criticize.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geeks: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Buddhist Geeks 2: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha. In our first podcast featuring scholar-practitioner B. Alan Wallace we asked Dr. Wallace to give us the low-down on his spiritual journey, as well as describe the stages of deepening relaxation and vividness of attention leading to the culmination of an attainment he calls shamatha. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/15/buddhist-geeks-2-alan- wallace-on-achieving-shamatha/ My response: Lawson English on Feb 12th, 2007 said: My response: if these traits are genuine traits, then they will show up in other forms of meditative practice. And yet Contrast samadhi during TM with compassion meditation: Where's the underlying universal harmony in all points simultaneously, not just in some localized expression of expertise in a single function of the brain? http://web.mac.com/lawsonenglish/iWeb/Site/Meditation EEG.html
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geeks: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha
On Feb 12, 2007, at 8:33 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Buddhist Geeks 2: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha. In our first podcast featuring scholar-practitioner B. Alan Wallace we asked Dr. Wallace to give us the low-down on his spiritual journey, as well as describe the stages of deepening relaxation and vividness of attention leading to the culmination of an attainment he calls shamatha. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/15/buddhist-geeks-2-alan- wallace-on-achieving-shamatha/ What a tweeb. And this is the stuff you consider superior to TM??? Well, if you consider the first stage or two involve TM style levels of stability and then you go towards hours of continuous absorption in the later stages, I guess you can reach your own conclusions! :-) A couple of minutes compared to an hour to several hours is quite a difference. Did you even listen to it? I didn't think you did! And shamatha is just the start...(as he explains)...
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM-Sidhis practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Patrick Gillam wrote: --- Bhairitu wrote: But when all is said and done it is just simple sound physics played out at a subtler level of the mind and nervous system. Bhairitu, if I may ask, what results are you getting from your TM-Sidhis practice? I no longer practice the TM-Sidhis but I did get some fairly good results from some of them. The siddhis I am practicing now are tantric. Huh. Could swear that you and others have claimed that TM and the TM-SIdhis are tantric practices
[FairfieldLife] Re: Right wing nut job behind 24
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: bob_brigante wrote: the maker of this Fascist cartoon: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070219fa_fact_mayer Interesting article. For those who love the guilty pleasure, 24 is two episode tonight. SOme call it the Jack Bauer Power Hour. I call it Jack Bauer's Torture 101.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: I think it would be hard for anyone to know what Sam has experienced through his meditation practice. It might be more than a sense of silence or a moment of peace. Perhaps, like me, he has had experiences like the kind of detail you are describing and decided not to attach the same meaning to it that you have. The strength of our experiences and our beliefs are not an indication of their accuracy. No matter how compelling. snip ++ If you drive off the road and hit a tree, you would have a strong expierience- would you not be qualified to have an accurate comment on it? N. But would this be an accurate account of the *typical* driving experience?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Latest from Sam Harris, 2-8-07
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, coshlnx coshlnx@ wrote: http://www.tinyurl.com/38mf3l ++ It is not logical to say something is not so just because you have not expierienced it. N. If you were a TM teacher, did you ever say in lectures, as you were taught to do, that it is impossible to transcend via concentration? Or that TM was the best, most effective method of meditation in the world, without having ever tried any other types of meditation, much less all of them? Was that logical? The claim of logic tends to be the lipstick that True Believers (of any ilk) put on the pig of their unsubstantiated yet deeply held beliefs. ++ You are right - I should have said It doesn't make sense or, it's BS. N. Heh. Given what we know now about what samadhi is, it is indeed, by the very nature of the nervous system, impossible to be in samadhi due to effortful concentration, save as the end-result of exhaustion. It's a physiological fact. Get over it already.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geek: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 8:20 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajranatha@ wrote: Buddhist Geeks 4: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science. In our second podcast with Alan Wallace, he presents a new model for professional contemplatives. Instead of trying to transplant the monastic model to the West, Dr. Wallace suggests that contemplation become an actual profession. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/29/buddhist-geeks-4- get-a- phd-in-contemplative-science/ My response: Lawson English on Feb 12th, 2007 said: You guys are wy behind the times: There already exists a full-time, 8-hour-per-day meditation-in-a- group program, complete with both a $5000 training scholarship and a $600/month room board grant, if you agree to participate for at least 1 year: Actually not. As he said if you listened to is blips, it isn't just repeating a mantra. Nor is the TM + TM-Sidhis program, sorry.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geeks: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 8:33 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajranatha@ wrote: Buddhist Geeks 2: Alan Wallace on achieving Shamatha. In our first podcast featuring scholar-practitioner B. Alan Wallace we asked Dr. Wallace to give us the low-down on his spiritual journey, as well as describe the stages of deepening relaxation and vividness of attention leading to the culmination of an attainment he calls shamatha. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/15/buddhist-geeks-2-alan- wallace-on-achieving-shamatha/ What a tweeb. And this is the stuff you consider superior to TM??? Well, if you consider the first stage or two involve TM style levels of stability and then you go towards hours of continuous absorption in the later stages, I guess you can reach your own conclusions! :-) A couple of minutes compared to an hour to several hours is quite a difference. Did you even listen to it? I didn't think you did! And shamatha is just the start...(as he explains)... And he is wrong. And you are as well.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Buddhist Geek: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajranatha@ wrote: On Feb 12, 2007, at 8:20 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajranatha@ wrote: Buddhist Geeks 4: Get a PhD in Contemplative Science. In our second podcast with Alan Wallace, he presents a new model for professional contemplatives. Instead of trying to transplant the monastic model to the West, Dr. Wallace suggests that contemplation become an actual profession. Link: http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/29/buddhist-geeks-4- get-a- phd-in-contemplative-science/ My response: Lawson English on Feb 12th, 2007 said: You guys are wy behind the times: There already exists a full-time, 8-hour-per-day meditation-in-a- group program, complete with both a $5000 training scholarship and a $600/month room board grant, if you agree to participate for at least 1 year: Actually not. As he said if you listened to is blips, it isn't just repeating a mantra. Nor is the TM + TM-Sidhis program, sorry. Excuse me. Not even an accurate description of TM. What a fool you are, Vaj.
