[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 7:36 PM, geezerfreak wrote: Very enlightened thinking here...demonize and minimize those whose opinions differ from yours. Not to mention another huge non sequitur. Nothing to contribute to the religious vs. puja-as-scientific- procedure debate. Honestly it's difficult for me to imagine anyone but the most ardent of TB's still holding onto such a belief. I can imagine something stranger. Imagine that the person spouting all this TB stuff *never learned TM*, and is merely *pretending* to be a TM TB out of loneliness and a desperate need for attention, just as she did on any number of Personals forums, by pretending to be whatever got her the most attention there. She can't discuss the puja because she's never seen one. This *is* the person, after all, who can't tell us when and where she was taught TM and the TM-siddhis she claims to practice, and who, after all the 30 years of her claimed personal experience with TM and the TMO continues to call Maharishi the Maharishi. How many people does it take to prove that a blonde is too dumb to change a light bulb? Only one, if she's a blonde and keeps trying to change the light bulb herself, and in public.
[FairfieldLife] Up against the wall, m*****f*****!!!
If things get really bad, and crowds are milling about wondering who to take their anger out on, this list from The Guardian may provide a good starting point: Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/26/road-ruin-recession-individuals-economy The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump, Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis. The article itself lists reasons why the lucky winners were chosen. To spark interest in read- ing the article, here are only the names: * Alan Greenspan, chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987- 2006 * Bill Clinton, former US president * Gordon Brown, prime minister * George W Bush, former US president * Senator Phil Gramm * Abi Cohen, Goldman Sachs chief US strategist * Hank Greenberg, AIG insurance group * Andy Hornby, former HBOS boss * Sir Fred Goodwin, former RBS boss * Steve Crawshaw, former BB boss * Adam Applegarth, former Northern Rock boss * Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin * Lewis Ranieri * Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products * Chuck Prince, former Citi boss * Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide Financial * Stan O'Neal, former boss of Merrill Lynch * Jimmy Cayne, former Bear Stearns boss * Christopher Dodd, chairman, Senate banking committee (Democrat) * Geir Haarde, Icelandic prime minister * Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England * John Tiner, FSA chief executive, 2003-07 * Dick Fuld, Lehman Brothers chief executive * The American public
[FairfieldLife] Re: Up against the wall, m*****f*****!!!
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: If things get really bad, and crowds are milling about wondering who to take their anger out on, this list from The Guardian may provide a good starting point: Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/26/road-ruin-recession-individuals-economy The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump, Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis. The article itself lists reasons why the lucky winners were chosen. To spark interest in read- ing the article, here are only the names: * Alan Greenspan, chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987- 2006 He's played with Stan Getz. Gool! :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Greenspan
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig lengli...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: In digging through my phase III notes I came across an interesting point. The tape is from Mallorca Feb. 1971. I'll not use quote marks but this is pretty close to word for word. We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. snip There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. I find this interesting in the context of the current movement belief that Maharishi is still guiding the movement and has not merged into the absolute. I take that as a particular bit of CHristian dogma that has percolated from Tony Abu Nader to everyone else: MMY is with the agnels/devas... Is that right then - King Tony is a Christian? (Or do you mean he just has tendencies!) I tconsider it a sign of his utter sincerity because if he were merely a wannabe hindu, he would have parroted MMY's take on what happens when an enlightened man dies. Either that, or its tacit acknowledgement that MMY wasn't fully enlightened. L.
[FairfieldLife] Most basic Vedic biija?
Perhaps one of the most basic Vedic biijas (beejas) is 'agni' backwards??
[FairfieldLife] How Blondes Think
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 7:36 PM, geezerfreak wrote: Very enlightened thinking here...demonize and minimize those whose opinions differ from yours. Not to mention another huge non sequitur. Nothing to contribute to the religious vs. puja-as-scientific- procedure debate. Honestly it's difficult for me to imagine anyone but the most ardent of TB's still holding onto such a belief. I can imagine something stranger. Imagine that the person spouting all this TB stuff *never learned TM*, and is merely *pretending* to be a TM TB out of loneliness and a desperate need for attention, just as she did on any number of Personals forums, by pretending to be whatever got her the most attention there. She can't discuss the puja because she's never seen one. This *is* the person, after all, who can't tell us when and where she was taught TM and the TM-siddhis she claims to practice, and who, after all the 30 years of her claimed personal experience with TM and the TMO continues to call Maharishi the Maharishi. How many people does it take to prove that a blonde is too dumb to change a light bulb? Only one, if she's a blonde and keeps trying to change the light bulb herself, and in public. Just to put this subject to rest once and for all, I think it would be good to spend some time analyzing the age-old koan How Do Blondes Think? As far as I can tell, blondes (whether real blondes or faux blondes, merely *pretending* to be blonde the way some people pretend to be TMers) latch onto an argument that they have convinced themselves is irrefutable and devastating to their opponents. They then repeat this perfect argument over and over, more convinced with every repetition that they have gotten the people they want to get. For example, take the recent claim by such a blonde that the people on this forum who are supporting the notion that TM is religious in nature have all of 4 years of TM between you, total, and that this experience was a few decades ago. By my count, given the 6 people the blonde is referring to, they have an estimated total of *160 years* of regular TM practice between them. In all cases, as far as I know, the 6 people she characterizes as monkey minds with no experience of TM from which to speak were or still are TM teachers. At least three of the people on her list of monkeys have stated explicitly on this forum that they never stopped practicing TM, and do so to this day. *None* of the people the blonde is attempting to characterize as monkey minds who do not have the experience to discuss TM are unwilling to post details of their TM experience; in fact, all of them have done so for years -- that is where I got the estimate of total TM experience above. I doubt that *any* of them would get their panties in a bunch if asked to play the name your initiator and when and where you were instructed in TM game. On the other hand, the blonde very *much* gets her panties in a bunch when asked to provide simple information that she would have to pro- vide if she ever went to a TM course of any kind, or applied for a dome badge. I guess that what I am suggesting about the age- old koan of How Do Blondes Think is that they think that the worst thing that they can accuse someone they don't like of is to portray them as being JUST LIKE THEM. That is, if a blonde is pretending to be a TMer because she's lonely and can't stop her chattering monkey mind from chattering, she tends to project that chatter and lack of experience onto others. For example, such a blonde might post damn, this is probably 50 for me this week in her fiftieth post of the week, and then follow that with 12 more posts demonizing one of her enemies, because she can't wait 6 hours to do so. Now *that* is monkey-mind chatter. Such a blonde might also attempt to challenge the ability of someone who has practiced TM continuously for over 30 years, *as* a TM teacher, and who still practices it daily even though he believes that TM is relig- ious in nature, as a monkey mind who has had no experience with the thing he's talking about. Blondes tend to like pointing fingers at others. But these same blondes tend to be so stupid and uncoordinated that they don't realize that their finger is pointing in the opposite direction, at themselves. And now, another example of How Blondes Think: A guy walks into a bar carrying an alligator under his arm. He plops the alligator on the bar and announces in a loud voice, I'm here to do some drinking, and I want to make a bet with you about who pays for the drinks. This gets the crowd's attention. As they gather around, the guy says, See my alligator here? He pries open the alligator's jaws to reveal its awesome teeth. I am going to unzip my pants and pull out my pecker and put it in this alli- gator's jaws
[FairfieldLife] Why An A**Hole is Always in Charge, by Greg Palast
John Thain is the guy that looks like a Clark Kent doll you saw grinning from page one of your paper Friday morning. Thain was just fired by Bank of America because the square-jawed executive demanded a $30 million bonus after losing $5 billion in just three months at the bank's Merrill Lynch unit. In addition, Thain spent over a million dollars redecorating his office - including installation of a $35,000 toilet bowl - while the U.S. Treasury was bailing out his company. There is no justice. Thain shouldn't have been fired; he should have gotten a $60 million bonus -- and Obama should immediately hire him as Secretary of the Treasury in place of that tax-dodging lightweight that's been nominated, Timothy Geithner. Here's the facts, ma'am. Thain was CEO of Merrill Lynch, the big brokerage firm. On a good day, Merrill is worth zero. A week before it was about to go out of business, Thain sold this busted bag of financial feces to Bank of America for $50 BILLION. I'd say that's worth a bonus. But it gets better. When the bag broke and another $5 billion in losses were discovered at Merrill, Thain went to the U.S. Treasury and got ANOTHER $20 BILLION to cover Bank of America's bad financial bet -- from us, the taxpayers. Now that certainly deserves a bonus. And let's face it, a butthole that big needs a $35,000 toilet. Instead, the guy that paid the $50 billion, Bank of America Chairman Kenneth Lewis, is keeping his job. Lewis is the same guy that just spent billions more on buying Countrywide Financial, the sub-prime mortgage loan sharks that have brought America to its knees and put Bank of America into effective bankruptcy. (Note to Mr. Lewis: the only thing worse than getting cancer is PAYING for it.) But dumber than Lewis is the loser who OK'd paying Bank of America for its losses on Merrill, who traded a pile of turds for a stack of gold -- our gold from the U.S. Treasury. That was Tim Geithner, Obama's pick for Treasury Secretary, who's now answering questions at Senate confirmation hearings about his funky tax filings. Tiny Tim was head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank during the Bush regime. Along with Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, Geithner came up with that $700 billion bail-out that loaded banks with loot on their way to insolvency. Bank of America got $25 billion of it to spend on Thain's company Merrill. That was before the extra $20 billion was weedled by Thain. So why, President Obama, have you given us Tiny Tim to save our sorry nation's economic behind? What's with that? In another life I was an economist. Really. So here's the economic facts of life: Our valiant young president is going to have to borrow a trillion dollars to bring our economy back from the grave. He's got to borrow it, no choice about that. But who in their right minds will lend it to us? I can tell you the number one job of a new Treasury Secretary will be to con Saudi sheiks and Chinese apparatchiks into lending us another trillion (they've already lent $2 trillion). Who in the world can talk them into it? The answer came to me after I went this afternoon to see my proctologist, a brilliant doctor with one eye and really long fingers. (OK, I made that up.) The good doctor told me that hoary old joke about the heart and brain and rectum getting into a fight about which one was more important. When the higher organs made fun of the butt-end, the rectum went on strike. After a month, the brain and heart couldn't take it any more -- the whole body was about to explode. So they told the rectum, 'You win.' And the rectum said, 'Now you know why an asshole's always in charge.' There's our answer. Instead of an easily duped, incompetent weasel like Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury, what we really need is a lying bucket of evil snot, a flaming red take-no-prisoners asshole. A guy like Thain that can sell a piece of crap like Merrill for billions -- twice -- is just what we need to shake down the sheiks. America for Sale! Cheap! And Thain comes with his own gold-plated toilet.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Samadhi Is Much Closer Than You Think -- Really! -- It's A No-Brainer. Who'd've Thunk It? dharmamit...@... wrote: What can a woman do to assure not only longevity but also a peaceful transition into elder life to become the wise crone she deserves to be? Eat a healthy balanced diet that keeps your body at no more than 20% body fat and do weight bearing exercise to maintain bone density. And, by weight bearing exercise, I don't mean toning with itty-bitty 2-3 pound dumbbells. I mean hit the weight room and do some real weight training, because that's the only way you're going to hold on to your bone mass. Same applies to men, except men should aim for 15% body fat.
[FairfieldLife] Rental Prices Down
Rents down, vacancies up across the U.S. http://www.freedomofspeech.netfirms.com/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
On Jan 25, 2009, at 10:40 PM, off_world_beings wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. You might want to at least look at a Sanskrit dictionary next time OffWorld. Just because the movement you're involved with disseminates misinformation to it's adherents and many of them actually believe what they're told, it doesn't typically work that way in the real world: 1 pUjA f. honour , worship , respect , reverence , veneration , homage to superiors or adoration of the gods Gr2S. Mn. MBh. c. BTW, that's the complete Monier-Wiliams citation. Wow, that does sound scientific! :-)))
Re: [FairfieldLife] Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
Bioidentical female hormone replacement therapy. Some physicians are beginning to prescribe it and compounding pharmacists across the country are making the products available. That and common sense dietary and exercise regimes. Get checked for bone density to avoid the onset of osteoporosis. On Jan 26, 2009, at 1:52 AM, Samadhi Is Much Closer Than You Think -- Really! -- It's A No-Brainer. Who'd've Thunk It? wrote: What can a woman do to assure not only longevity but also a peaceful transition into elder life to become the wise crone she deserves to be?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
On Jan 25, 2009, at 11:49 PM, geezerfreak wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@... wrote: monkeys aren't demons-- they're cute, lovable, furry monkeys, chattering away to their heart's content. chatter, chatter, chatter go the monkeys, about anything and everything, whether they know what they are chattering about or not. here, have a banana! Fuck you enlightened. Not! It's bad to make fun of people in Blonde Consciousness. You may never have fun again, after all Blo-Con's have more fun!
[FairfieldLife] Re: How Blondes Think
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: snip As far as I can tell, blondes (whether real blondes or faux blondes, merely *pretending* to be blonde the way some people pretend to be TMers) latch onto an argument that they have convinced themselves is irrefutable and devastating to their opponents. They then repeat this perfect argument over and over, more convinced with every repetition that they have gotten the people they want to get. For example, take the recent claim by such a blonde that the people on this forum who are supporting the notion that TM is religious in nature have all of 4 years of TM between you, total, and that this experience was a few decades ago. By my count, given the 6 people the blonde is referring to, they have an estimated total of *160 years* of regular TM practice between them. FAIL. Barry has just proved himself to be a blond. The post Barry's referring to (#206373) was in response to Vaj's post citing Sir John Woodroffe. It did not make the claim Barry cites about the people on this forum who are supporting the notion that TM is religious in nature. It did not make the claim about 6 people. The claim was about only two people--Vaj, and Woodroffe: since 'sir john' (wtf is that all about?) and you have all of 4 years of TM between you, total -- him, none, and you a few decades ago, your many thousand words fall into the category of monkey chatter. Given this whopping, hilarious error, Barry in one stroke reconfirms his titles Master of Projection *and* Master of Unintended Irony with this comment: Blondes tend to like pointing fingers at others. But these same blondes tend to be so stupid and uncoordinated that they don't realize that their finger is pointing in the opposite direction, at themselves.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Samadhi Is Much Closer Than You Think -- Really! -- It's A No-Brainer. Who'd've Thunk It? DharmaMitra1@ wrote: What can a woman do to assure not only longevity but also a peaceful transition into elder life to become the wise crone she deserves to be? Eat a healthy balanced diet that keeps your body at no more than 20% body fat and do weight bearing exercise to maintain bone density. And, by weight bearing exercise, I don't mean toning with itty-bitty 2-3 pound dumbbells. I mean hit the weight room and do some real weight training, because that's the only way you're going to hold on to your bone mass. Same applies to men, except men should aim for 15% body fat. Good advice. Also, long walks with your dog (relaxing) or a cat (interesting) and Rolfing.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
Depends upon your religious preference. Buddhist Chod practitioners find some wisdom I have seen in action. In a Hindu tradition the Devi worship traditions of the Mahavidyas, especially of Shri Devi as Rajarajeshwari the sixteen year old Kumari as ones ishta. Christians seem to get off on Jesus, and Catholics adore Mary. I suppose then I am fronting for religion in general as a paliative to the aging and sagging wisdom of painless direct experience. I suppose the best thing for someone aging is the palliative effect of a practice for easing pain without medication. This is very much an issue as one develops many aches and pains. But they don't have to overwhelm the mind if one can include them in practice as opposed to seing them as evil. Let's see if this email works. Hi Peeps. Missed this mess at FFlife.
[FairfieldLife] Teutonic Zionism
YouTube - Teutonic Zionism A brief discussion of Teutonic Zionism and the roots of the ... http://www.freedomofspeech.netfirms.com/
[FairfieldLife] Score One For TM?
Here's something for the FFL Committee on un-Scientific Activities. I am not sure if this has been discussed/shredded here before, but there has been a recent study (or, better, meta-study) in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol.21, 3: 310-316 accepted Nov 2007 and published online Jan 2008) that seems interesting. Dr Pete, Ruth S - This ain't so bad, is it? The authors are from the University of Kentucky: * James W. Anderson, Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine * Chunxu Liu, Department of Statistics * Richard J. Kryscio, Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v21/n3/abs/ajh200765a.html#aff1 http://tinyurl.com/auuqox Anderson's most recent findings reinforce an earlier study that found Transcendental Meditation produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that was not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management. http://www.physorg.com/news124717451.html ABSTRACT Background: Prior clinical trials suggest that the Transcendental Meditation technique may decrease blood pressure of normotensive and hypertensive individuals but study-quality issues have been raised. This study was designed to assess effects of Transcendental Meditation on blood pressure using objective quality assessments and meta-analyses. Methods: PubMed and Cochrane databases through December 2006 and collected publications on Transcendental Meditation were searched. Randomized, controlled trials comparing blood pressure responses to the Transcendental Meditation technique with a control group were evaluated. Primary outcome measures were changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after practicing Transcendental Meditation or following control procedures. A specific rating system (020 points) was used to evaluate studies and random-effects models were used for meta-analyses. Results: Nine randomized, controlled trials met eligibility criteria. Study-quality scores ranged from low (score, 7) to high (16) with three studies of high quality (15 or 16) and three of acceptable quality (11 or 12). The random-effects meta-analysis model for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, indicated that Transcendental Meditation, compared to control, was associated with the following changes: -4.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI), -7.4 to -1.9 mm Hg) and -3.2 mm Hg (95% CI, -5.4 to -1.3 mm Hg). Subgroup analyses of hypertensive groups and high-quality studies showed similar reductions. Conclusions: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approx4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM a religion?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: I've been gone for a few days and am out of touch with this thread, but I did just read the New Jersey court decision regarding TM in the schools. The main decision doesn't have a lot to grab on to but the concurring opinion has a very interesting discussion of religion. I've been recommending for *years* that folks with an interest in this topic read Judge Adams's concurring opinion, posting the full text on alt.m.t back in 1996. I'm glad somebody has finally read it. It makes what I think is a very powerful case that TM/SCI should be regarded by the U.S. government as a religious teaching under the First Amendment to the Constitution. It also makes clear that this is a *constitutional* case, a contextual case, not a ruling for all time and all people. It does not say that TM/SCI *is* a religion in some absolute sense, but rather that the government *must regard its teahching as religious in nature*. And it explains why: One's views, be they orthodox or novel, on the deeper and more imponderable questions the meaning of life and death, man's role in the Universe, the proper moral code of right and wrong are those likely to be the most intensely personal39 and important to the believer. *They are his ultimate concerns. As such, they are to be carefully guarded from governmental interference, and never converted into official government doctrine*. [emphasis added] Judge Adams goes on to note that TM/SCI would clearly be covered by the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, which means it is therefore also covered by the establishment clause: That those who espouse these views and engage in the Puja, or meditate in the hope of reaching the transcendental reality of creative intelligence, would be entitled to the protection of the free exercise clause if threatened by governmental interference or regulation is clear. They are thus similarly subject, in my view, to the constraints of the establishment clause. When the government seeks to encourage this version of ultimate truth, and not others, an establishment clause problem arises. That's a constitutional slam-dunk, IMHO. Note that Judge Adams's argument is vastly more sophisticated and thoughtful than most of the crude arguments presented here that TM is a religion. The whole opinion is very much worth reading, both for what it says about TM/SCI and as a fundamental education in constitutional reasoning.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Most basic Vedic biija?
Most basic as you know is merely Ah then Aum then Em Then Im Ra Ri Ree and so on. You already know this quite well. Yah? Wayyy! I knew a girl named Inga when I was young. Later, when I got old, I knew her again as my own mind. - Original Message - From: cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com Perhaps one of the most basic Vedic biijas (beejas) is 'agni' backwards??
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
Conclusions: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approx4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes. It's very hard to see how regular practice of a technique which reduces blood pressure by about 4mm Hg justifies a fantasy world government complete with kings and queens, a full on royal court and sumptuous palaces.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
Nice poem. Having come through true mid life crisis I find alot to discuss in this thread. - Original Message - From: raunchydog raunchy...@yahoo.com Warning When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, guyfawkes91 guyfawke...@... wrote: Conclusions: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approx4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes. It's very hard to see how regular practice of a technique which reduces blood pressure by about 4mm Hg justifies a fantasy world government complete with kings and queens, a full on royal court and sumptuous palaces. Well that's as maybe. But that wasn't the discussion I was hoping for!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Score One For TM?
Usually the physiological studies on TM are quite good. You'd have to look at the individual studies, but on the whole, not bad. Its when they move off into the psychological studies and into sociology that they start to suck. --- On Mon, 1/26/09, Richard M compost...@yahoo.co.uk wrote: From: Richard M compost...@yahoo.co.uk Subject: [FairfieldLife] Score One For TM? To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, January 26, 2009, 8:59 AM Here's something for the FFL Committee on un-Scientific Activities. I am not sure if this has been discussed/shredded here before, but there has been a recent study (or, better, meta-study) in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol.21, 3: 310-316 accepted Nov 2007 and published online Jan 2008) that seems interesting. Dr Pete, Ruth S - This ain't so bad, is it? The authors are from the University of Kentucky: * James W. Anderson, Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine * Chunxu Liu, Department of Statistics * Richard J. Kryscio, Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v21/n3/abs/ajh200765a.html#aff1 http://tinyurl.com/auuqox Anderson's most recent findings reinforce an earlier study that found Transcendental Meditation produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that was not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management. http://www.physorg.com/news124717451.html ABSTRACT Background: Prior clinical trials suggest that the Transcendental Meditation technique may decrease blood pressure of normotensive and hypertensive individuals but study-quality issues have been raised. This study was designed to assess effects of Transcendental Meditation on blood pressure using objective quality assessments and meta-analyses. Methods: PubMed and Cochrane databases through December 2006 and collected publications on Transcendental Meditation were searched. Randomized, controlled trials comparing blood pressure responses to the Transcendental Meditation technique with a control group were evaluated. Primary outcome measures were changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after practicing Transcendental Meditation or following control procedures. A specific rating system (0–20 points) was used to evaluate studies and random-effects models were used for meta-analyses. Results: Nine randomized, controlled trials met eligibility criteria. Study-quality scores ranged from low (score, 7) to high (16) with three studies of high quality (15 or 16) and three of acceptable quality (11 or 12). The random-effects meta-analysis model for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, indicated that Transcendental Meditation, compared to control, was associated with the following changes: -4.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI), -7.4 to -1.9 mm Hg) and -3.2 mm Hg (95% CI, -5.4 to -1.3 mm Hg). Subgroup analyses of hypertensive groups and high-quality studies showed similar reductions. Conclusions: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approx4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes. To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links
[FairfieldLife] Obama reverses some of Bush's protections for polluters
Obama to order clean-air waiver Obama will use the announcement to bolster the impression of a sharp break from the Bush era on all fronts, following his decisions last week to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; tighten limits on interrogation tactics by Central Intelligence Agency officers; order plans to withdraw combat forces from Iraq; and reverse Bush's financing restrictions on groups that provide or discuss abortion overseas, administration officials said. Mercury News, 01/26/2009 http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11553616?nclick_check=1 WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will direct federal regulators today to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday evening. The directive makes good on an Obama campaign pledge and signifies a sharp reversal of Bush administration policy. Granting California and the other states the right to regulate tailpipe emissions would be one of the most emphatic actions Obama could take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy. Automobile manufacturers will quickly have to retool to begin producing and selling cars and trucks that get higher mileage than the national standard, and on a faster phase-in schedule. The auto companies have lobbied hard against the regulations and challenged them in court. The decision is a major victory for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, who pressed the Bush White House relentlessly to allow the California law, signed into law in 2002 by former Gov. Gray Davis, to go forward. It required carmakers to reduce greenhouse emissions 30 percent by 2016. But it could not take effect until the U.S. EPA granted California a waiver from the federal Clean Air Act to set rules tougher than federal law requires. The EPA had granted such waivers routinely more than 40 times back to the early 1970s. As a result, California became a trendsetter in air pollution regulation for the rest of the country, passing the first rules to ban leaded gasoline, require catalytic converters and other environmental standards, nearly all of which were copied by other states then adopted by the federal government. The Bush administration denied the waiver in late 2007, saying that allowing California and the 13 other states the right to set their own pollution rules would result in an unenforceable patchwork of environmental law. The auto companies had advocated the denial, saying a waiver would require them to produce two sets of vehicles, one to meet the strict California standard and another that could be sold in the remaining states. The Bush administration's environmental agency director, Stephen L. Johnson, echoed the automakers' claims in denying California's application, ignoring the near-unanimous advice of agency lawyers and scientists that the waiver be granted. Beyond acting on the California emissions law, officials said, Obama will announce that he is moving forward with nationwide regulations requiring the automobile industry to increase fuel efficiency standards to comply with a 2007 law rules that the Bush administration decided at the last minute not to issue. He will also order federal departments and agencies to find new ways to save energy and be more environmentally friendly. And he will highlight the elements in his economic plan intended to create new jobs around renewable energy. Obama will use the announcement to bolster the impression of a sharp break from the Bush era on all fronts, following his decisions last week to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; tighten limits on interrogation tactics by Central Intelligence Agency officers; order plans to withdraw combat forces from Iraq; and reverse Bush's financing restrictions on groups that provide or discuss abortion overseas, administration officials said. The announcements, to be made in the East Room, will begin a week of efforts to get the economic stimulus plan through Congress. The White House hopes the Senate will confirm Timothy F. Geithner as Treasury secretary on Monday, and Obama plans to travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with both Senate and House Republican caucuses and lobby for his stimulus package. Obama's aides expect the House to vote on its plan on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Obama asking him to immediately reconsider'' the Bush administration's denial of California's waiver request. In the letter, the governor called Bush's decision 'fundamentally flawed,' and added that if Obama approved the program it will not only reduce these emissions, but will also save drivers money and reduce our nation's dependence on imported oil.'' The 13 states that have adopted California's standards but could not enforce them until the waiver was signed are Arizona, Connecticut, Maine,
[FairfieldLife] Re: Most basic Vedic biija?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernha...@... wrote: Most basic as you know is merely Ah then Aum then Em Then Im Ra Ri Ree and so on. You already know this quite well. Yah? Wayyy! I knew a girl named Inga when I was young. Later, when I got old, I knew her again as my own mind. - Original Message - From: cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com Perhaps one of the most basic Vedic biijas (beejas) is 'agni' backwards?? I am the walrus and Paul is dead
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
Curtis, Oh shit. I just wrote for an hour about this quote from your notes, and Yahoo's interface did it to me once again and disappeared my words. My bad, but agh! Why don't I learn to compose with another word application? Oh well, I got my rocks off doing it such that I have no motivation to try to write up the whole thing again. Nice that, eh? I suspect you have some yogic power that stops folks out here who are taking up your time with drivel -- something like that. Oh, I'll bushwhack you later. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: In digging through my phase III notes I came across an interesting point. The tape is from Mallorca Feb. 1971. I'll not use quote marks but this is pretty close to word for word. We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. snip There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. I find this interesting in the context of the current movement belief that Maharishi is still guiding the movement and has not merged into the absolute.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Obama reverses some of Bush's protections for polluters
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, do.rflex do.rf...@... wrote: Obama to order clean-air waiver Obama will use the announcement to bolster the impression of a sharp break from the Bush era on all fronts, following his decisions last week to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; tighten limits on interrogation tactics by Central Intelligence Agency officers; order plans to withdraw combat forces from Iraq; and reverse Bush's financing restrictions on groups that provide or discuss abortion overseas, administration officials said. So far so good. Keep track of Obama keeping promises on the Obameter http://tinyurl.com/6won8b
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
On Jan 26, 2009, at 8:16 AM, Richard M wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, guyfawkes91 guyfawke...@... wrote: Conclusions: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approx4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes. It's very hard to see how regular practice of a technique which reduces blood pressure by about 4mm Hg justifies a fantasy world government complete with kings and queens, a full on royal court and sumptuous palaces. Well that's as maybe. But that wasn't the discussion I was hoping for! Go with the flow, Richard. Sal
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
On Jan 26, 2009, at 8:11 AM, Kirk wrote: Nice poem. Having come through true mid life crisis I find alot to discuss in this thread. Hey, Kirk! Welcome back. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... wrote: On Jan 26, 2009, at 8:16 AM, Richard M wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, guyfawkes91 guyfawkes91@ wrote: Conclusions: The regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approx4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes. It's very hard to see how regular practice of a technique which reduces blood pressure by about 4mm Hg justifies a fantasy world government complete with kings and queens, a full on royal court and sumptuous palaces. Well that's as maybe. But that wasn't the discussion I was hoping for! Go with the flow, Richard. Sal There lies the drain.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Samadhi Is Much Closer Than You Think -- Really! -- It's A No-Brainer. Who'd've Thunk It? dharmamit...@... wrote: What can a woman do to assure not only longevity but also a peaceful transition into elder life to become the wise crone she deserves to be? Get a Trikke! Edg
[FairfieldLife] Obama Plans Fast Action to Tighten Financial Rules
WASHINGTON The Obama administration plans to move quickly to tighten the nation's financial regulatory system. Officials say they will make wide-ranging changes, including stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, and greater oversight of the complex financial instruments that contributed to the economic crisis. Broad new outlines of the administration's agenda have begun to emerge in recent interviews with officials, in confirmation proceedings of senior appointees and in a recent report by an international committee led by Paul A. Volcker, a senior member of President Obama's economic team. A theme of that report, that many major companies and financial instruments now mostly unsupervised must be swept back under a larger regulatory umbrella, has been embraced as a guiding principle by the administration, officials said. Some of these actions will require legislation, while others should be achievable through regulations adopted by several federal agencies. Officials said they want rules to eliminate conflicts of interest at credit rating agencies that gave top investment grades to the exotic and ultimately shaky financial instruments that have been a source of market turmoil. The core problem, they said, is that the agencies are paid by companies to help them structure financial instruments, which the agencies then grade. Until we deal with the compensation model, we're not going to deal with the conflict of interest, and people are not going to have confidence that the ratings are worth relying on, worth the paper they're printed on, Mary L. Schapiro said in testimony earlier this month before being confirmed by the Senate to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. ~Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/politics/25regulate.html?_r=3hp
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
Hey Sal, Hey Everyone, nice to be reading you all there. Over time, even the seemingly nasty have all together become a tribe with its own character. I would lurk occasionally and read only over the last year. After Maharishi died I found myself with little to add to what has gone before. I suppose now life has moved on for most. I wonder. How the Purushas and MDs are doing now? Have many people of TMO gone back to basics of sanatan dharma, as how the Hare Krishnas did when Prahupada died? Or that was already beginning or had happened I guess. I don't really do TM anymore per se. As people know I am one of those infernal Buddhists. A chef. In New Orleans. - Original Message - From: Sal Sunshine To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 8:52 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity On Jan 26, 2009, at 8:11 AM, Kirk wrote: Nice poem. Having come through true mid life crisis I find alot to discuss in this thread. Hey, Kirk! Welcome back. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity
Kirk, Yay! Love your energy delivering your stuff. I just posted the notion of having an Old Posters Week and here you are right on time. Now, let's cattle prod L.B. back into this feed lot, and we've got a start on a family reunion. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernha...@... wrote: Hey Sal, Hey Everyone, nice to be reading you all there. Over time, even the seemingly nasty have all together become a tribe with its own character. I would lurk occasionally and read only over the last year. After Maharishi died I found myself with little to add to what has gone before. I suppose now life has moved on for most. I wonder. How the Purushas and MDs are doing now? Have many people of TMO gone back to basics of sanatan dharma, as how the Hare Krishnas did when Prahupada died? Or that was already beginning or had happened I guess. I don't really do TM anymore per se. As people know I am one of those infernal Buddhists. A chef. In New Orleans. - Original Message - From: Sal Sunshine To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 8:52 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Aging Women, Assuring Their Longeity On Jan 26, 2009, at 8:11 AM, Kirk wrote: Nice poem. Having come through true mid life crisis I find alot to discuss in this thread. Hey, Kirk! Welcome back. Sal
[FairfieldLife] Re: Most basic Vedic biija?
Eggman Meditation(EM)from Walrus Tradition Fundamentals(WTF): After sitting quietly with eyes closed for about a minute start thinking the biija mantra coo After 5 minutes and you spontaneously go coo coo you will orgasmically sneeze c'choo. EM is guaranteed to clear your head for greater mental alertness. Beatles I am the Walrus Lyrics: I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together See how they run like pigs from a gun see how they fly I'm crying Sitting on a cornflake Waiting for the band to come Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday Man you've been a naughty boy you let your face grow long I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo Mr. city policeman sitting pretty little policemen in a row See how they fly like Lucy in the sky See how they run I'm crying I'm crying, I'm crying Yellow matter custard Dripping from a dead dog's eye Crabalocker fishwife Pornographic priestess Boy, you've been a naughty girl you let your knickers down [ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/ki ] I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun If the sun don't come you get a tan from standing in the English rain I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo Expert, texpert choking smokers don't you think the joker laughs at you See how they smile like pigs in a sty See how they snide I'm crying Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel tower Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo c'coo coo c'choo coo coo c'choo coo coo c'choo c'choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, paultrunk paultr...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernhardt@ wrote: Most basic as you know is merely Ah then Aum then Em Then Im Ra Ri Ree and so on. You already know this quite well. Yah? Wayyy! I knew a girl named Inga when I was young. Later, when I got old, I knew her again as my own mind. - Original Message - From: cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com Perhaps one of the most basic Vedic biijas (beejas) is 'agni' backwards?? I am the walrus and Paul is dead
[FairfieldLife] Obama is the equivilent of The Beatles? (Re: Most basic Vedic biija?)
C'Coo is right. Just now, thinking about how jazzed I was about having the Beatles doing TM, I must bow my head even deeper in shame. Four guys from Liverpool were outer validating my spirituality. GAWD! I used the Beatles to some degree to prop up my vision of myself as a meditator -- someone to carry the battle standard ahead of the marching line of muskets. They were favored by the karmic gods and, natch, they must also be lucky enough to have found the best guru -- something like that. Sigh . . . I keep hearing TV interviewers asking black-Americans what it feels like to have Obama doing the same thing to them -- that is: giving them a reason to finally believe the American dream of anyone can make if they try. Note that Obama didn't need such a model and in fact had only failures-of-would-be-black-American-leaders as his forerunners in politics. If black-Americans are to learn to hover, they're going to have to find the same motivation that Obama found -- within. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchy...@... wrote: Eggman Meditation(EM)from Walrus Tradition Fundamentals(WTF): After sitting quietly with eyes closed for about a minute start thinking the biija mantra coo After 5 minutes and you spontaneously go coo coo you will orgasmically sneeze c'choo. EM is guaranteed to clear your head for greater mental alertness. Beatles I am the Walrus Lyrics: I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together See how they run like pigs from a gun see how they fly I'm crying Sitting on a cornflake Waiting for the band to come Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday Man you've been a naughty boy you let your face grow long I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo Mr. city policeman sitting pretty little policemen in a row See how they fly like Lucy in the sky See how they run I'm crying I'm crying, I'm crying Yellow matter custard Dripping from a dead dog's eye Crabalocker fishwife Pornographic priestess Boy, you've been a naughty girl you let your knickers down [ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/ki ] I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun If the sun don't come you get a tan from standing in the English rain I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo Expert, texpert choking smokers don't you think the joker laughs at you See how they smile like pigs in a sty See how they snide I'm crying Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel tower Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe I am the eggman They are the eggmen I am the walrus coo coo c'choo c'coo coo c'choo coo coo c'choo coo coo c'choo c'choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo choo --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, paultrunk paultrunk@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernhardt@ wrote: Most basic as you know is merely Ah then Aum then Em Then Im Ra Ri Ree and so on. You already know this quite well. Yah? Wayyy! I knew a girl named Inga when I was young. Later, when I got old, I knew her again as my own mind. - Original Message - From: cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com Perhaps one of the most basic Vedic biijas (beejas) is 'agni' backwards?? I am the walrus and Paul is dead
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: Here's something for the FFL Committee on un-Scientific Activities. I am not sure if this has been discussed/shredded here before, but there has been a recent study (or, better, meta-study) in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol.21, 3: 310-316 accepted Nov 2007 and published online Jan 2008) that seems interesting. Dr Pete, Ruth S - This ain't so bad, is it? The authors are from the University of Kentucky: * James W. Anderson, Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine * Chunxu Liu, Department of Statistics * Richard J. Kryscio, Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v21/n3/abs/ajh200765a.html#aff1 http://tinyurl.com/auuqox Anderson's most recent findings reinforce an earlier study that found Transcendental Meditation produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that was not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management. http://www.physorg.com/news124717451.html I am working off of memory here, so I might not quite have the facts correct. Two meta-analysis's came out of the University of Kentucky regarding TM and blood pressure. The TMO has used these to counter the Alberta meta-analysis. There are some issues. The first Kentucky analysis, which involved more than 100 studies, had a TMO affiliated statistician. There is some question as to how studies were chosen to be in the analysis. The second Kentucky study is touted as being independent. This one involved an analysis of less than 10 TM blood pressure studies. The push on it being independent is a bit troublesome to me because the larger study, with Anderson involved in both, clearly was not independent. Plus, I think that the Settle's or one of their foundations paid for the work and subsidized Anderson's income That said, I have yet to read these two studies though I have copies and plan to do so. So, I can't really speak to their quality. Also, of all the claims of the TMO regarding mediation, I do believe that the one with the most support is the claim that it may reduce BP for some. But other techniques reduce bp as well. Pet your cat and your bp may go down too.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: In digging through my phase III notes I came across an interesting point. The tape is from Mallorca Feb. 1971. I'll not use quote marks but this is pretty close to word for word. We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. snip There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. I find this interesting in the context of the current movement belief that Maharishi is still guiding the movement and has not merged into the absolute. I take that as a particular bit of CHristian dogma that has percolated from Tony Abu Nader to everyone else: MMY is with the agnels/devas... Is that right then - King Tony is a Christian? (Or do you mean he just has tendencies!) I tconsider it a sign of his utter sincerity because if he were merely a wannabe hindu, he would have parroted MMY's take on what happens when an enlightened man dies. Either that, or its tacit acknowledgement that MMY wasn't fully enlightened. I doubt king tony is capable of even considering MMY not being fully enlightened. The core belief and energy of the tmo for many yrs has been maharishi devotion and lately worship, and I don't think the inner circle can really conceive of life and the tmo without MMY, so I think that's why tony has him still around in some heaven. Plus it gives your word more weight if you say it's inspired from MMy up above. Of course sooner or later the different factions will be hearing different things from MMY from up above.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM a religion?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: Note that Judge Adams's argument is vastly more sophisticated and thoughtful than most of the crude arguments presented here that TM is a religion. The whole opinion is very much worth reading, both for what it says about TM/SCI and as a fundamental education in constitutional reasoning. What, can't make your own arguments? BTW, If you're only practicing 1% of a Religion are you still practicing that Religion? MMY says TM is, I quote: This is the greatest blessing of the Vedas, this system of meditation is the greatest blessing of the Vedas, and It would be exact to say that all the religions from times immemorial are just different branches of the main trunk of the eternal *religion* of the Vedas. Need I say more?
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
another monkey king! what are you -sure- of about me, mr. B? anything? you have guessed at many elements of my life, and persist in making up stories which run contrary to my stated experience. chatter, chatter, chatter goes the monkey king, hoping to find a tree to remain in. cute restless monkey. free bananas for life for you! maybe i start calling you my little chiquita... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 7:36 PM, geezerfreak wrote: Very enlightened thinking here...demonize and minimize those whose opinions differ from yours. Not to mention another huge non sequitur. Nothing to contribute to the religious vs. puja-as-scientific- procedure debate. Honestly it's difficult for me to imagine anyone but the most ardent of TB's still holding onto such a belief. I can imagine something stranger. Imagine that the person spouting all this TB stuff *never learned TM*, and is merely *pretending* to be a TM TB out of loneliness and a desperate need for attention, just as she did on any number of Personals forums, by pretending to be whatever got her the most attention there. She can't discuss the puja because she's never seen one. This *is* the person, after all, who can't tell us when and where she was taught TM and the TM-siddhis she claims to practice, and who, after all the 30 years of her claimed personal experience with TM and the TMO continues to call Maharishi the Maharishi. How many people does it take to prove that a blonde is too dumb to change a light bulb? Only one, if she's a blonde and keeps trying to change the light bulb herself, and in public.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
Indonesian Muslims banned from practicing yoga http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/26/indonesian-muslims-banned_n_16\ 0789.html [RSS] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/syndication/ stumble http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com\ /2009/01/26/indonesian-muslims-banned_n_160789.htmltitle=Indonesian%20M\ uslims%20banned%20from%20practicing%20yoga digg http://digg.com/submit?phase=2url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0\ 1/26/indonesian-muslims-banned_n_160789.htmltitle=Indonesian%20Muslims%\ 20banned%20from%20practicing%20yoga reddit http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/26/i\ ndonesian-muslims-banned_n_160789.htmltitle=Indonesian%20Muslims%20bann\ ed%20from%20practicing%20yoga del.ico.us http://del.icio.us/post?v=4nouijump=closeurl=http://www.huffingtonpo\ st.com/2009/01/26/indonesian-muslims-banned_n_160789.htmltitle=Indonesi\ an%20Muslims%20banned%20from%20practicing%20yoga http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/huffington_post/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.hu\ ffingtonpost.com%252F2009%252F01%252F26%252Findonesian-muslims-banned_n_\ 160789.html mixx.com[Share this on Facebook] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009\ /01/26/indonesian-muslims-banned_n_160789.htmltitle=Indonesian%20Muslim\ s%20banned%20from%20practicing%20yoga ShareThis NINIEK KARMINI http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/26/indonesian-muslims-banned_n_16\ 0789.html# | January 26, 2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia Indonesia's top Islamic body banned Muslims from practicing yoga that contains Hindu rituals like chanting, the chairman of the group said Monday, citing concerns it would corrupt their faith. Cleric Ma'ruf Amin said the Ulema Council issued the ruling following weekend talks attended by hundreds of theological experts in Padang Panjang, a village in West Sumatra province. Though not legally binding, most devout Muslims will likely adhere to it because they consider ignoring a religious decree sinful. The ban, which follows a similar edict in neighboring Malaysia, was passed after investigators visited gyms and private yoga classes across the country to see what effect rituals like chanting mantras might have on Muslims. Clerics determined that it could weaken their faith, but yoga practitioners and some scholars sharply disagreed Monday. They shouldn't be worrying about this, Jamilah Konny Fransiska, a yoga teacher on the northern island of Batam, said of the Islamic body. She said she knew very few people who incorporated Hindu elements with yoga. They should be focusing strictly on religious matters, she said. Amin said those who perform the ancient Indian exercise without Hindu rituals will not be affected by the ban. Indonesia is a secular country of 235 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslim. Though most practice a moderate form of the faith, a vocal extremist fringe has gained strength, at times even influencing government policy. In recent years, yoga _ a blend of physical and mental exercises aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit _ has been increasingly practiced in gyms and dedicated centers around the world. In the United States, where it has become so popular that many public schools began offering it in gym classes, yoga has also come under fire. Some Christian fundamentalists and even secular parents have argued that yoga's Hindu roots conflict with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state. Egypt's highest theological body also banned yoga for Muslims in 2004. Indonesia's Ulema Council _ which wrapped up its annual meeting for the issuing of fatwas late Sunday _ decided to investigate the need for a yoga ban after Malaysia's top Islamic body issued its fatwa late last year.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: Richard to you have a full disclosure on funding, etc. and a copy of the full study you could point us to? Here is the paper, which does disclose the funding: http://www.tmcentrum.cz/image/metaanalysis_anderson.pdf
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: Here's something for the FFL Committee on un-Scientific Activities. I am not sure if this has been discussed/shredded here before, but there has been a recent study (or, better, meta-study) in the American Journal of Hypertension (Vol.21, 3: 310-316 accepted Nov 2007 and published online Jan 2008) that seems interesting. Dr Pete, Ruth S - This ain't so bad, is it? The authors are from the University of Kentucky: * James W. Anderson, Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine * Chunxu Liu, Department of Statistics * Richard J. Kryscio, Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA http://www.nature.com/ajh/journal/v21/n3/abs/ajh200765a.html#aff1 http://tinyurl.com/auuqox Anderson's most recent findings reinforce an earlier study that found Transcendental Meditation produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that was not found with other forms of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback or stress management. http://www.physorg.com/news124717451.html I am working off of memory here, so I might not quite have the facts correct. Two meta-analysis's came out of the University of Kentucky regarding TM and blood pressure. The TMO has used these to counter the Alberta meta-analysis. There are some issues. The first Kentucky analysis, which involved more than 100 studies, had a TMO affiliated statistician. There is some question as to how studies were chosen to be in the analysis. The second Kentucky study is touted as being independent. This one involved an analysis of less than 10 TM blood pressure studies. The push on it being independent is a bit troublesome to me because the larger study, with Anderson involved in both, clearly was not independent. Plus, I think that the Settle's or one of their foundations paid for the work and subsidized Anderson's income That said, I have yet to read these two studies though I have copies and plan to do so. So, I can't really speak to their quality. Also, of all the claims of the TMO regarding mediation, I do believe that the one with the most support is the claim that it may reduce BP for some. But other techniques reduce bp as well. Pet your cat and your bp may go down too. Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure
Fw: [FairfieldLife] Obama is the equivilent of The Beatles? (Re: Most basic Vedic biija?)
The same could be said however of LSD and its culture, to which we also must bow our heads for it opening the door to the East for so many, for good and bad. In the series on VH1 on Drugs and culture the narrator speaks to the effect that alot of young people followed the Beatles into Psychedelica. For good and bad. Basic tenet of mental training is that ones intention brings the result, thus Shakti can be used any way one intends with only the pricetag to be paid. Will one perpetuate samsaric purposes or try to mix them with liberated purposes? Or go for just being liberated from samsara. Many will take that and stick right there. Not that I know much about liberation. A good Bourbon though brings sometimes much more than mere samsara or liberation alone. - Original Message - From: Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 9:39 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Obama is the equivilent of The Beatles? (Re: Most basic Vedic biija?) C'Coo is right. Just now, thinking about how jazzed I was about having the Beatles doing TM, I must bow my head even deeper in shame. Four guys from Liverpool were outer validating my spirituality. GAWD! I used the Beatles to some degree to prop up my vision of myself as a meditator -- someone to carry the battle standard ahead of the
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? My response to Vaj links to a copy of the paper, which I still need to read! http://www.tmcentrum.cz/image/metaanalysis_anderson.pdf. I do believe that there are other techniques that MAY cause a similar or greater drops in BP. Tai Chai-some studies show 7 milliliter drop. Long term exercise program can result in an 8 or more milliliter drops.I think that doing TM 2 times 20 if you have high blood pressure could be a good thing. But there are other choices too. How about exercise and meditate? I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung no_re...@... wrote: I suspect you have some yogic power that stops folks out here who are taking up your time with drivel -- something like that. Edg, It was due to my power to avoid interacting with anything enlightening from you. I call it my principle of avoiding the wisdom before it arises! You were probably writing something that would elevate me above my monkey POV and my yogic powers torpedoed it. Maintaining my level of ignorance in this group takes constant vigilance! I hope you do write about it again. What Maharishi said sounds much more grounded and realistic than the Disney movie plot Tony seems to be weaving. I think he is trying to hold on to a bit of Maharishi's authority by claiming that the old guy is still around. It opens the door for him to get a direct message if any one tries to bust a coup on his royal ass! But it is kind of funny that any of that is being discussed in the non religious TM organization. I didn't get the feeling that Maharishi in heaven was just a metaphor but I could be wrong. It seemed like an earnest claim at the time of his death. So please write again and I'll set my ignorance shields on low to let you post into my consciousness of dirt! Curtis, Oh shit. I just wrote for an hour about this quote from your notes, and Yahoo's interface did it to me once again and disappeared my words. My bad, but agh! Why don't I learn to compose with another word application? Oh well, I got my rocks off doing it such that I have no motivation to try to write up the whole thing again. Nice that, eh? I suspect you have some yogic power that stops folks out here who are taking up your time with drivel -- something like that. Oh, I'll bushwhack you later. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: In digging through my phase III notes I came across an interesting point. The tape is from Mallorca Feb. 1971. I'll not use quote marks but this is pretty close to word for word. We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. snip There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. I find this interesting in the context of the current movement belief that Maharishi is still guiding the movement and has not merged into the absolute.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
Re: Score One For TM? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? My response to Vaj links to a copy of the paper, which I still need to read! I do believe that there are other techniques that MAY cause a similar or greater drops in BP. Tai Chai-some studies show 7 milliliter drop. A 50 week exercise program can result in an 8 or more milliliter drops. I think that doing TM 2 times 20 if you have high blood pressure could be a good thing. But there are other choices too. Howabout exercise and meditate? I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). Just skimmed it. Not comparative. Interesting statement from the paper: Our assessment suggests that at least three trials related to Transcendental Meditation and blood pressure have been of high quality Ouch.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: Re: Score One For TM? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? My response to Vaj links to a copy of the paper, which I still need to read! I do believe that there are other techniques that MAY cause a similar or greater drops in BP. Tai Chai-some studies show 7 milliliter drop. A 50 week exercise program can result in an 8 or more milliliter drops. I think that doing TM 2 times 20 if you have high blood pressure could be a good thing. But there are other choices too. Howabout exercise and meditate? I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude. Better yet, eat a low fat and low salt diet and reduce your BP by 11 to 12 milliliters. Now that could eliminate the need for drugs. Reducing bp by 3 or 4 milliliters MAYBE by TM is not nearly so significant. Most important: exercise and eat right.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
On Jan 26, 2009, at 11:20 AM, ruthsimplicity wrote: I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude. The independent Alberta study was a major blow to TMO marketing research. It was inevitable they'd at least try to obfuscate their facts or get someone to cherrypick some studies to attempt to place themselves in a better light. Just the fact that they've done it twice now not only shows how desperate they are.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). Just skimmed it. Not comparative. Interesting statement from the paper: Our assessment suggests that at least three trials related to Transcendental Meditation and blood pressure have been of high quality Ouch. No, The glass is half full!
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_re...@... wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. OffWorld Sorry Off, but I think that's a bit like claiming, for instance, that 'purpose' is equivalent to 'poor pose', or -- Lawd have Mercy! -- 'pure pose'... ; ) But I admit I might be all wronk (as Simon Cowell might comment?).
Re: [FairfieldLife]Score One For Meditation?
All marketing of meditation is a commercial joke on the naive of what are the infinite ways to meditate without 'walking with eyes wide closed'! Arhata On Jan 26, 2009, at 11:20 AM, ruthsimplicity wrote: I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude. The independent Alberta study was a major blow to TMO marketing research. It was inevitable they'd at least try to obfuscate their facts or get someone to cherrypick some studies to attempt to place themselves in a better light. Just the fact that they've done it twice now not only shows how desperate they are.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_reply@ wrote: Re: Score One For TM? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? My response to Vaj links to a copy of the paper, which I still need to read! I do believe that there are other techniques that MAY cause a similar or greater drops in BP. Tai Chai-some studies show 7 milliliter drop. A 50 week exercise program can result in an 8 or more milliliter drops. I think that doing TM 2 times 20 if you have high blood pressure could be a good thing. But there are other choices too. Howabout exercise and meditate? I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude. Better yet, eat a low fat and low salt diet and reduce your BP by 11 to 12 milliliters. Now that could eliminate the need for drugs. Reducing bp by 3 or 4 milliliters MAYBE by TM is not nearly so significant. Most important: exercise and eat right. yes, exercise works to lower BP. caffeine also jacks up BP-- mine dropped an average of 20 points (systolic, anyway) when i quit regularly drinking caffeine.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Obi Wan was at the Inauguration
Larry wrote: I'm just remembering the photos of the 30's - the unemployed men standing in the soup lines with their long dress wool coats and dress hats - and I remember in the 60's going to Packer football games in the cold dressed like, well, dressed like we just came from church. in this photo -many folks look like they just came off the set of Mad Max - I just figured folks would pick it up a notch on such an occasion. Well the US is or is becoming very much like a Mad Max country these days. But then it's been casual dress here pretty much since the 1970s. Lots of businesses (if they are still open) have casual Fridays. In the tech world that was 7 days a week and if we had someone interview in a suit we would be sure to tell them that we dressed casually at the company. Dressing up is considered to be yuppisque. The last suit I bought was to replace the worn out ones from TTC and that was in 1976.
Re: [FairfieldLife]Score One For Meditation?
---Right - most of the research is useless nonsense; without even addressing the question the obvious manipulation of data by the TMO operatives to fit the conclusions. Needed for the Age of Enlightenment: SIDHIS. In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Arhata Osho arhatafreespe...@... wrote: All marketing of meditation is a commercial joke on the naive of what are the infinite ways to meditate without 'walking with eyes wide closed'! Arhata On Jan 26, 2009, at 11:20 AM, ruthsimplicity wrote: I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude. The independent Alberta study was a major blow to TMO marketing research. It was inevitable they'd at least try to obfuscate their facts or get someone to cherrypick some studies to attempt to place themselves in a better light. Just the fact that they've done it twice now not only shows how desperate they are.
[FairfieldLife] Creationism in the public schools
from Yahoo News: Evolution war still rages 200 years after Darwin's birth Buzz Up Send Play Video Video: State Board of Education votes to drop evolution 'weaknesses' KVUE-TV Austin WASHINGTON Two centuries after Charles Darwin's birth on Feb. 12, 1809 , people still argue passionately about his theory of evolution. Was Darwin right? Should schoolchildren be exposed to contrary views in science class? These two controversies continue to rage, partly because both sides are evenly matched. Most scientists and courts that have ruled on the matter say that overwhelming evidence backs Darwin's explanation of the origin and evolution of species, including humans, by natural selection. Many people, especially religious and social conservatives, strongly disagree. Among them are ``creationists,'' who take literally the Genesis story that God created the world and mankind in six days no more than 10,000 years ago. Others support ``intelligent design,'' the idea that life is too complex to have arisen without a supernatural ``designer, presumably God. Public opinion surveys consistently have shown that Americans are deeply divided over evolution. The most recent Gallup poll on the issue, in June 2007 , found that 49 percent of those surveyed said they believed in evolution and 48 percent said they didn't. Those percentages have stayed almost even for at least 25 years. Gallup found a political angle to the split. Two-thirds of Republicans rejected Darwin's theory, while majorities of Democrats and political independents accepted it. A Harris poll published last December found that more people believe in a devil, hell and angels than in evolution. The controversy is most acute in the public schools, where conservatives want evolution banished from science classes or at least described as ``a theory, not a fact.'' Darwin's supporters counter that to scientists a theory isn't just a guess or a hypothesis but a widely accepted explanation of natural events supported by the best available evidence. At a hearing last week before Texas' State Board of Education , scientists and social conservatives exchanged fiery arguments over a rule that requires science textbooks to cover ``the strengths and weaknesses'' of evolutionary theory. Darwin critics control seven of the 15 seats on the board and have the support of Republican Gov. Rick Perry . The chairman of the board, Don McLeroy , a dentist, is a creationist who believes that the Earth is only thousands of years old, not billions as most scientists think. The board will decide the issue in March. Louisiana's State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted guidelines Jan. 15 that allow teachers to use ``supplemental materials'' that aren't in regular textbooks about ``controversial'' subjects such as evolution and global warming. Louisiana's new rules ``ensure the state's teachers their right to teach the scientific evidence both for and against Darwinian evolution,'' according to the Discovery Institute , the headquarters of the intelligent design movement in Seattle . ``We fully expect to see the Discovery Institute's book, `Explore Evolution,' popping up in school districts across the state,'' Barbara Forrest , a Darwin supporter in Hammond, La. , told Science magazine . The Louisiana school board also eliminated language that had banned the teaching of creationism or intelligent design, saying that the ban is unnecessary. ``The creationists got what they wanted,'' said Patsye Peebles , a retired Louisiana science teacher. The opposition to the Discovery Institute is led by the National Center for Science Education , a pro-Darwin research center based in Oakland, Calif. The center contends that intelligent design is a subtle way to introduce religion into science education, which the courts consistently have declared unconstitutional. ``The phrase `strengths and weaknesses' has been spread nationally as a slogan to bring creationism in through the back door,'' center executive director Eugenie Scott told the Texas school board. Similar proposals are pending or expected in Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Michigan , Missouri , Oklahoma and South Carolina , according to Glenn Branch, the deputy director of the National Center for Science Education . ``In a typical year, NCSE will be monitoring about 80 episodes of creationist activity in the United States and abroad,'' Branch said. ``This issue isn't going away,'' John West , a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute , wrote in an e-mail to his allies last May. ``Although Darwinists are doing their best to shut down and intimidate anyone who raises questions about neo-Darwinism, we still have free speech, and they can't prevent people from hearing about the debate in the public arena, no matter how hard they try.'' The theory of evolution itself is evolving. Since Darwin's day, researchers have acquired
Re: [FairfieldLife] Creationism in the public schools
Kinda seems that rape slows down evolution. All wars are 'free lunch for rape'! Wonder if more rapes are from 'creationists'? Arhata from Yahoo News: Evolution war still rages 200 years after Darwin's birth Buzz Up Send … Play Video Video: State Board of Education votes to drop evolution 'weaknesses' KVUE-TV Austin WASHINGTON — Two centuries after Charles Darwin's birth on Feb. 12, 1809 , people still argue passionately about his theory of evolution. Was Darwin right? Should schoolchildren be exposed to contrary views in science class? These two controversies continue to rage, partly because both sides are evenly matched. Most scientists and courts that have ruled on the matter say that overwhelming evidence backs Darwin's explanation of the origin and evolution of species, including humans, by natural selection. Many people, especially religious and social conservatives, strongly disagree. Among them are ``creationists, '' who take literally the Genesis story that God created the world and mankind in six days no more than 10,000 years ago. Others support ``intelligent design,'' the idea that life is too complex to have arisen without a supernatural ``designer, presumably God. Public opinion surveys consistently have shown that Americans are deeply divided over evolution. The most recent Gallup poll on the issue, in June 2007 , found that 49 percent of those surveyed said they believed in evolution and 48 percent said they didn't. Those percentages have stayed almost even for at least 25 years. Gallup found a political angle to the split. Two-thirds of Republicans rejected Darwin's theory, while majorities of Democrats and political independents accepted it. A Harris poll published last December found that more people believe in a devil, hell and angels than in evolution. The controversy is most acute in the public schools, where conservatives want evolution banished from science classes or at least described as ``a theory, not a fact.'' Darwin's supporters counter that to scientists a theory isn't just a guess or a hypothesis but a widely accepted explanation of natural events supported by the best available evidence. At a hearing last week before Texas' State Board of Education , scientists and social conservatives exchanged fiery arguments over a rule that requires science textbooks to cover ``the strengths and weaknesses'' of evolutionary theory. Darwin critics control seven of the 15 seats on the board and have the support of Republican Gov. Rick Perry . The chairman of the board, Don McLeroy , a dentist, is a creationist who believes that the Earth is only thousands of years old, not billions as most scientists think. The board will decide the issue in March. Louisiana's State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted guidelines Jan. 15 that allow teachers to use ``supplemental materials'' that aren't in regular textbooks about ``controversial' ' subjects such as evolution and global warming. Louisiana's new rules ``ensure the state's teachers their right to teach the scientific evidence both for and against Darwinian evolution,'' according to the Discovery Institute , the headquarters of the intelligent design movement in Seattle . ``We fully expect to see the Discovery Institute's book, `Explore Evolution,' popping up in school districts across the state,'' Barbara Forrest , a Darwin supporter in Hammond, La. , told Science magazine . The Louisiana school board also eliminated language that had banned the teaching of creationism or intelligent design, saying that the ban is unnecessary. ``The creationists got what they wanted,'' said Patsye Peebles , a retired Louisiana science teacher. The opposition to the Discovery Institute is led by the National Center for Science Education , a pro-Darwin research center based in Oakland, Calif. The center contends that intelligent design is a subtle way to introduce religion into science education, which the courts consistently have declared unconstitutional. ``The phrase `strengths and weaknesses' has been spread nationally as a slogan to bring creationism in through the back door,'' center executive director Eugenie Scott told the Texas school board. Similar proposals are pending or expected in Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Michigan , Missouri , Oklahoma and South Carolina , according to Glenn Branch, the deputy director of the National Center for Science Education . ``In a typical year, NCSE will be monitoring about 80 episodes of creationist activity in the United States and abroad,'' Branch said. ``This issue isn't going away,'' John West , a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute , wrote in an e-mail to his allies last May. ``Although Darwinists are doing their best to shut down and intimidate anyone who
[FairfieldLife] We will not go down
Lovely story Email Barbara for further thoughts (see bottom) We will not go down song for Palestine http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=dlfhoU66s4Y === Letter from Gaza January 23, 2009 http://www.mecaforp eace.org Dear Hala, I entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night with my friend and fellow activist Sharon Wallace after waiting ten hours at the Egypt/Gaza. The destruction and trauma is even greater than I expected. In just two short days I met with families who were given minutes to evacuate their homes and are now living in overcrowded UN schools; I saw the ruins of bombed greenhouses; I looked out the window at fields and roads torn up by the tread of Israeli tanks; and I visited two universities where MECA supports students with scholarships- severely damaged by Israeli bombs. Out of all the devastation I have seen so far, there is one story in particular that I think the world needs to hear. I met a mother who was at home with her ten children when Israeli soldiers entered the house. The soldiers told her she had to choose five of her children to give as a gift to Israel. As she screamed in horror they repeated the demand and told her she could choose or they would choose for her. Then these soldiers murdered five of her children in front of her. The concept of Jewish morality is truly dead. We can be fascists, terrorists, and Nazis just like everybody else. I spent the first morning visiting Rafah then drove north to Nuseirat Refugee Camp where our partner organization Afaq Jadeeda Association is buying food a delivering cooked meal to displaced families with funds MECA provided. Then to Gaza City. Today I visited Jabaliya Refugee Camp and the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, two of the areas hardest hit by Israel's brutal attacks. Pharmacies, schools, and homes were indiscriminately hit in Jabaliya. Mohammed, one of our volunteers in Gaza, and his family were forced to evacuate their home because of intense bombing in their area. In Zaytoun, I saw families gathering wood from charred trees. The almost two-year blockade of Gaza has deprived people cooking gas, so these terrified families build fires to keep warm and cook the little food they can get. I talked to people on the street who told stories of wild dogs coming to eat their dead neighbors, relatives bleeding to death because Israel would not allow emergency workers into the area, and Israeli soldiers entering homes to beat and kill. But despite the immense mourning and devastation, people are starting to put their lives back together. Sabreen, a young woman from Rafah, told me, We are a strong people. No matter how many times Israel bombs us we are not leaving. We will keep trying to live as normal a life as possible. Sincerely, Barbara Lubin Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine email: m...@mecaforpeace. org ===
Re: [FairfieldLife] 'Google wants your hard drive'
Robert wrote: Industry critics warn of danger in giving internet leader more power by David Smith Google is to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection, according to industry reports. But campaigners warn that it would give the online behemoth unprecedented control over individuals' personal data. The Google Drive, or GDrive, could kill off the desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. Instead a user's personal files and operating system could be stored on Google's own servers and accessed via the internet. The long-rumoured GDrive is expected to be launched this year, according to the technology news website TG Daily, which described it as the most anticipated Google product so far. It is seen as a paradigm shift away from Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs inside most of the world's computers, in favour of cloud computing, where the processing and storage is done thousands of miles away in remote data centres. Home and business users are increasingly turning to web-based services, usually free, ranging from email (such as Hotmail and Gmail) and digital photo storage (such as Flickr and Picasa) to more applications for documents and spreadsheets (such as Google Apps). The loss of a laptop or crash of a hard drive does not jeopardise the data because it is regularly saved in the cloud and can be accessed via the web from any machine. The GDrive would follow this logic to its conclusion by shifting the contents of a user's hard drive to the Google servers. The PC would be a simpler, cheaper device acting as a portal to the web, perhaps via an adaptation of Google's operating system for mobile phones, Android. Users would think of their computer as software rather than hardware. It is this prospect that alarms critics of Google's ambitions. Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation, a charity defending computer users' liberties, did not dispute the convenience offered, but said: It's a little bit like saying, 'we're in a dictatorship, the trains are running on time.' But does it matter to you that someone can see everything on your computer? Does it matter that Google can be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the American government? Google refused to confirm the GDrive, but acknowledged the growing demand for cloud computing. Dave Armstrong, head of product and marketing for Google Enterprise, said: There's a clear direction ... away from people thinking, 'This is my PC, this is my hard drive,' to 'This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web.' There's a growing demand for cloud computing? Probably only in their marketing department. There are certainly a number of lame-o's out there that don't back up their hard drivers. These days you can get terrabyte plugin backup drives for under $150 and they are handy to use. Just don't keep them in the same room as your computer and hide them. Francis Coppola had a backup system but it was in the same room and was stolen along with his gear. Only the lazy want cloud computing. And then for this system to be successful they'd have to give away the computers. And there are already web based backup systems but one wonders how efficient they are with the US's outdated implementation of broadband (for the behest of the lords of the telecoms and their yachts). What we really need are new security systems for wifi that keep packet sniffers from grabbing your data when you are out at some coffee shop on your laptop. Android isn't too bad compared to regular Java but it's poorly documented and needs better tutorials. Fortunately its been around long enough web samples by people who spent hours trying to grok it are beginning to appear plus some books (amazingly the best is under $20 -- now that's something in the world of computer development books). Most pros like to work sideways into a new development system and have to wait for the cookbooks which for Android don't exist yet.
[FairfieldLife] So
Like Heroes I have developed an ability, but it's pretty useless for someone like me. Basically if we hang out for a few minutes I'll see your ishta, element and family. I think. I mean, it seems like. Okay, so But only if you're buying me really fine Bourbon not so good Bourbon and the devas run and hide. It's just not up to me, you understand
[FairfieldLife] US police could get 'pain beam' weapons
Torcher at the touch of a button! Knowing 'neanderthal-men' invent these 'torcher lasers' they will exceed safety and compassionate guidelines. Arhata US police could get 'pain beam' weapons by David Hambling http://www.newscien tist.com/ article/dn16339- us-police- could-get- pain- beam-weapons. html For similar stories, visit the Weapons Technology Topic Guide The research arm of the US Department of Justice is working on two portable non-lethal weapons that inflict pain from a distance using beams of laser light or microwaves, with the intention of putting them into the hands of police to subdue suspects. The two devices under development by the civilian National Institute of Justice both build on knowledge gained from the Pentagon's controversial Active Denial System (ADS) - first demonstrated in public last year, which uses a 2-metre beam of short microwaves to heat up the outer layer of a person's skin and cause pain. 'Reduced injuries' Like the ADS, the new portable devices will also heat the skin, but will have beams only a few centimetres across. They are designed to elicit what the Pentagon calls a repel response - a strong urge to escape from the beam. A spokesperson for the National Institute for Justice likens the effect of the new devices to that of blunt trauma weapons such as rubber bullets, But unlike blunt trauma devices, the injury should not be present. This research is looking to reduce the injuries to suspects, they say. Existing blunt trauma weapons can break ribs or even kill, making alternatives welcome. Yet ADS has recorded problems too - out of several thousand tests on human subjects there were two cases of second-degree burns. Dazzle and burn The NIJ's laser weapon has been dubbed Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response - PHaSR - and resembles a bulky rifle. It was created in 2005 by a US air force agency to temporarily dazzle enemies (see image, right), but the addition of a second, infrared laser makes it able to heat skin too. The NIJ is testing the PHaSR in various scenarios, which may include prison situations as well as law enforcement. The NIJ's portable microwave-based weapon is less developed. Currently a tabletop prototype with a range of less than a metre, a backpack-sized prototype with a range of 15 metres will be ready next year, a spokesperson says. The truly portable mini-ADS could prove the more useful, as microwaves penetrate clothing better than the infra-red beam, which is most effective on exposed skin. Although the spokesman says: In LEC [Law Enforcement and Corrections] use there is always a little bit of skin to target. Torture concerns The effect of microwave beams on humans has been investigated for years, but there is little publicly available research on the effects of PHaSR-type lasers on humans. The attraction of using a laser is that it can be less bulky than a microwave device. Human rights groups say that equipping police with such weapons would add to the problems posed by existing non-lethals such as Tasers. Security expert Steve Wright at Leeds Metropolitan University describes the new weapons as torture at the touch of a button. We have grave concerns about the deployment and use of any such devices, which have the potential to be used for torture or other ill treatment, says Amnesty International' s arms control researcher Helen Hughes, adding that all research into their effects should be made public. * * * * * * *** WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE To subscribe to this group, send an email to: wvns-subscribe@ yahoogroups. com NEWS ARCHIVE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEW http://finance. groups.yahoo. com/group/ wvns/ Need some good karma? Appreciate the service? Please consider donating to WVNS today. Email ummyak...@yahoo. com for instructions. To leave this list, send an email to: wvns-unsubscribe@ yahoogroups. com
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM a religion?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_reply@ wrote: [...] SCI/TM is not a Theistic religion, but it is nonetheless a constitutionally protected religion. It concerns itself with the same search for ultimate truth as other religions and seeks to offer a comprehensive and critically important answer to the questions and doubts that haunt modern man. That those who espouse these views and engage in the Puja, or meditate in the hope of reaching the transcendental reality of creative intelligence, would be entitled to the protection of the free exercise clause if threatened by governmental interference or regulation is clear. They are thus similarly subject, in my view, to the constraints of the establishment clause. When the government seeks to encourage this version of ultimate truth, and not others, an establishment clause problem arises. As taught to kids in public schools SCI+TM certainly meets the critereia for religion. However, TM by itself or TM + SCI taken as a philosophical course, would be something else since adults voluntarily taking a course and kids required to take one, are different kettles of fish. TM by itself, in the context of the quiet time paid for by the David Lunch foundation is also a different question. In fact, so far Americans United for Separation of CHurch and State (who brought the Malnak vs Yogi lawsuit) have yet to figure out how to bring legal challenge. Apparently none of none of the participating parents have agreed to complain, thus far... Lawson But they still do the puja, yes? And do the intro lectures? They certainly could bring a legal challenge but maybe no one is of a mind to pay for it. Outside the school, and pay is the keiy. The quiet time thing is voluntary and kids who just wanted to sit stil for 10 minutes wih their eyes closed could participate as well, I believe. Regardless, the fit will hit the shan soon when the benefit concert happens. Should garner national attention and correspondingly greater efforts to quelch the program... ..Enjoy. Lawson
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: In digging through my phase III notes I came across an interesting point. The tape is from Mallorca Feb. 1971. I'll not use quote marks but this is pretty close to word for word. We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. snip There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. I find this interesting in the context of the current movement belief that Maharishi is still guiding the movement and has not merged into the absolute. I take that as a particular bit of CHristian dogma that has percolated from Tony Abu Nader to everyone else: MMY is with the agnels/devas... Is that right then - King Tony is a Christian? (Or do you mean he just has tendencies!) Born a Lebonese CHristian, I'm reasonably certain. Whether he is a practicing Coptic Christian (whatever that means) or not, I don't know, but his rhetoric about MMY's death has a certain Christian element to it which feels sincere to me. L.
[FairfieldLife] The Acceptance of a Police State
I decided to see what kind of trash NBC is dishing out to the great unwashed last night with their miniseries The Last Templars starring Mira Sorvino.It's a two part series concluding tonight. And predictively pretty light and dumb but a couple levels above a Sci-Fi (also owned by NBC) movie of the week. But what bothers me is what did the creators have in mind. The other main character in the series is an FBI agent who is trying to track down why a bunch of Vatican artifacts were stolen from a museum showing by men dressed in Knight Templar outfits on horseback. Sorvino plays a archaeologist who is also interested in finding the artifacts especially a decoding machine to solve the mysteries of a text and what the Templars hid with their treasure. The two characters are of course in conflict and at one point the FBI agent tells Sorvino's character that he can have her arrested and detained without any charges. Such is the sorry state of our country today. Let's hope that Obama can reverse this terrible trend and destruction of civil rights under the bogus excuse that it is supposed to protect us from terrorists. We saw last week that airlines can charge you with being a terrorist if you just argue with a flight attendant. How ridiculous. Who makes the call between an argument and even a joke? I even heard on a radio lawyer's talk show yesterday that someone was charged under the Patriot Act (that piece of shit legislation) for a terrorist act for verbally threatening someone. What a sorry state for the United States. Now my question about what the writers had in mind for the TV show was whether they were trying to get the public to accept the idea of arrest with no charges as business as usual or to get us upset over the idea. For me it does that latter. It's hard to say what they had in mind. Similarly last week I DVR's the new Fox series Lie to Me to see what actor Tim Roth is up to these days. I would say he's hard up for money. It was a crappy show that probably was intended for CBS but turned down by them. It was way too formulaic. Roth plays a consultant who can tell whether someone is lying by observing their body language. I turned it off after 20 minutes and deleted it from the DVR. It was not a very good script or character development. But what really bugged me was the glorification of police powers especially the TSA in a scene at an airport. To me that was definitely trying to get the public to accept the concept of Nazi like police powers. WE SHOULD NEVER ACCEPT THAT! And of course we found out that last week the NSA has been reading everybody's emails and monitoring groups like FFL. Up yours you NSA creeps. How can you sleep at night?
Re: [FairfieldLife] The Acceptance of a Police State
C'mon B, anything with Mira Sorvino is pretty to view on principle. What do you want from entertainment? But attachment itself is so, miniseries. - Original Message - From: Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 2:08 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] The Acceptance of a Police State I decided to see what kind of trash NBC is dishing out to the great unwashed last night with their miniseries The Last Templars starring Mira Sorvino.It's a two part series concluding tonight. And predictively pretty light and dumb but a couple levels above a
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: Richard to you have a full disclosure on funding, etc. and a copy of the full study you could point us to? Here is the paper, which does disclose the funding: http://www.tmcentrum.cz/image/metaanalysis_anderson.pdf HCF Nutrition Foundation was the main grants body. Thing is, you have to assume collusion between the various individuals including the non-TMers... L
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: Re: Score One For TM? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? My response to Vaj links to a copy of the paper, which I still need to read! I do believe that there are other techniques that MAY cause a similar or greater drops in BP. Tai Chai-some studies show 7 milliliter drop. A 50 week exercise program can result in an 8 or more milliliter drops. I think that doing TM 2 times 20 if you have high blood pressure could be a good thing. But there are other choices too. Howabout exercise and meditate? Howabout? TM is easier to practice 2x a day than Tai Chi is (speaking from experience). Its also easier to learn, requires less space, etc. L
[FairfieldLife] Watchmen
Anyone do comics?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Jan 26, 2009, at 11:20 AM, ruthsimplicity wrote: I read: According to Dr. Anderson, the findings of this new study rebut a July 2007 report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the NIH-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which concluded that most research on meditation is low quality and found little evidence that any specific stress reduction effectively lowers blood pressure I believe that this statement is in the nature of a sales pitch that my study is better than your study which I am not prepared to conclude. The independent Alberta study was a major blow to TMO marketing research. It was inevitable they'd at least try to obfuscate their facts or get someone to cherrypick some studies to attempt to place themselves in a better light. Just the fact that they've done it twice now not only shows how desperate they are. Rant on, brother! L.
[FairfieldLife] Re: US police could get 'pain beam' weapons
I'm thinking these weapons are ways to control the press. How so? When they shine the beams on a crowd, all the reporters on the fringes will get blasted too -- next time they'll cover the riot from a block away, see? When the reporters are far away, then it's that much easier to brutalize whatever person comes within grasp. If the weapon was physical instead of radiant, say, a machine that spewed 4,000 rubber bullets per second over a 200 foot wide swath, they'd never get the public to allow monster-weaponry that has little precision and will thus create such indiscriminate carnage, but because the bullets of these beam weapons are invisible rays, they get a free pass on the brutality of the weapon. I see no way for the cops to use these weapons without having collateral damage on each use. Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out -- like that. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Arhata Osho arhatafreespe...@... wrote: Torcher at the touch of a button! Knowing 'neanderthal-men' invent these 'torcher lasers' they will exceed safety and compassionate guidelines. Arhata US police could get 'pain beam' weapons by David Hambling http://www.newscien tist.com/ article/dn16339- us-police- could-get- pain- beam-weapons. html For similar stories, visit the Weapons Technology Topic Guide The research arm of the US Department of Justice is working on two portable non-lethal weapons that inflict pain from a distance using beams of laser light or microwaves, with the intention of putting them into the hands of police to subdue suspects. The two devices under development by the civilian National Institute of Justice both build on knowledge gained from the Pentagon's controversial Active Denial System (ADS) - first demonstrated in public last year, which uses a 2-metre beam of short microwaves to heat up the outer layer of a person's skin and cause pain. 'Reduced injuries' Like the ADS, the new portable devices will also heat the skin, but will have beams only a few centimetres across. They are designed to elicit what the Pentagon calls a repel response - a strong urge to escape from the beam. A spokesperson for the National Institute for Justice likens the effect of the new devices to that of blunt trauma weapons such as rubber bullets, But unlike blunt trauma devices, the injury should not be present. This research is looking to reduce the injuries to suspects, they say. Existing blunt trauma weapons can break ribs or even kill, making alternatives welcome. Yet ADS has recorded problems too - out of several thousand tests on human subjects there were two cases of second-degree burns. Dazzle and burn The NIJ's laser weapon has been dubbed Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response - PHaSR - and resembles a bulky rifle. It was created in 2005 by a US air force agency to temporarily dazzle enemies (see image, right), but the addition of a second, infrared laser makes it able to heat skin too. The NIJ is testing the PHaSR in various scenarios, which may include prison situations as well as law enforcement. The NIJ's portable microwave-based weapon is less developed. Currently a tabletop prototype with a range of less than a metre, a backpack-sized prototype with a range of 15 metres will be ready next year, a spokesperson says. The truly portable mini-ADS could prove the more useful, as microwaves penetrate clothing better than the infra-red beam, which is most effective on exposed skin. Although the spokesman says: In LEC [Law Enforcement and Corrections] use there is always a little bit of skin to target. Torture concerns The effect of microwave beams on humans has been investigated for years, but there is little publicly available research on the effects of PHaSR-type lasers on humans. The attraction of using a laser is that it can be less bulky than a microwave device. Human rights groups say that equipping police with such weapons would add to the problems posed by existing non-lethals such as Tasers. Security expert Steve Wright at Leeds Metropolitan University describes the new weapons as torture at the touch of a button. We have grave concerns about the deployment and use of any such devices, which have the potential to be used for torture or other ill treatment, says Amnesty International' s arms control researcher Helen Hughes, adding that all research into their effects should be made public. * * * * * * *** WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE To subscribe to this group, send an email to: wvns-subscribe@ yahoogroups. com NEWS ARCHIVE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEW http://finance. groups.yahoo.
[FairfieldLife] 'If Maharishi Wasn't Enlightened, then who is?'
I know what your going to say...Buddha... But what did Buddha do, besides sitting around, detatching from the World? What did any of the Enlightened Ones do, to save us from ourselves? R.G.
[FairfieldLife] Re: So
Hey Kirk, But only if you're buying me really fine Bourbon Bourbon IS my ishta, and by now it probably is a good part of my elements. I inherited this taste from my family. So we can skip the reading and go straight to the real question I want to ask of our resident chef...what is your favorite brand? When I can blow a stack of dead presidents it is Booker's for me. But that is not too often. My constant IV drip contains Evan Williams Black label. But I usually have something a click up in my crib like Eagle Rare single batch. Living in Virginia we have a vast selection in our liquor stores. DC even has a bar called Bourbon http://www.bourbondc.com/ where you can get your bourbon boner on. At about $20 a glass I don't stay long, but it has turned me on to some unique distilleries. Many people don't know that most great scotch spends time in American bourbon barrels to bless it with real flavor. Brandy snifter, splash of water...who needs the gods when you can live heaven on earth! Nice to hear your unique blend of the sacred and the profane here again bro. Hope all is well down South. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Kirk kirk_bernha...@... wrote: Like Heroes I have developed an ability, but it's pretty useless for someone like me. Basically if we hang out for a few minutes I'll see your ishta, element and family. I think. I mean, it seems like. Okay, so But only if you're buying me really fine Bourbon not so good Bourbon and the devas run and hide. It's just not up to me, you understand
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig lengli...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_reply@ wrote: Re: Score One For TM? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard M compost1uk@ wrote: Well yes - but I think that this study DID compare with other techniques (though maybe not cat petting!). The study may be false of course, but it is a bit disingenuous to imply that, if true, it's somehow trivial anyway, and that any old thing is just as good! Is that an objective claim of yours? I wonder too if this is a study that is later than the ones you mention? My response to Vaj links to a copy of the paper, which I still need to read! I do believe that there are other techniques that MAY cause a similar or greater drops in BP. Tai Chai-some studies show 7 milliliter drop. A 50 week exercise program can result in an 8 or more milliliter drops. I think that doing TM 2 times 20 if you have high blood pressure could be a good thing. But there are other choices too. Howabout exercise and meditate? Howabout? TM is easier to practice 2x a day than Tai Chi is (speaking from experience). Its also easier to learn, requires less space, etc. L However, it doesn't work nearly as well as diet or exercise. But yes, it is easier for most people. I think I have said over and over that TM 2 times 20 is fine for most. It depends on what is your goal and evaluating the best way or ways to get there.
[FairfieldLife] samaadhi and smRti?
YS I 19 bhava-pratyayo videha-prakRtilayaanaam Taimni's translation: Of those who are /videhas/ and /prakRtilayas/ birth is the cause [of (asaMprajñaata??) samaadhi -- card]. YS I 20 shraddhaa-viirya-smRti-samaadhi-prajñaa-puurvaka itareSaam. (In the case) of others (/upaaya-pratyaya-yogis/) it is preceded by faith, energy, memory and high intelligence necessary for /samaadhi/. Taimni's comment on /smRti/ on page 50: http://www.scribd.com/doc/8998719/The-Science-of-YOGA That seems to make sense, IMO.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig lengli...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: Richard to you have a full disclosure on funding, etc. and a copy of the full study you could point us to? Here is the paper, which does disclose the funding: http://www.tmcentrum.cz/image/metaanalysis_anderson.pdf HCF Nutrition Foundation was the main grants body. Thing is, you have to assume collusion between the various individuals including the non-TMers... L No, usually bias does not operate in such a clear way. BTW, we have no idea as to whether Prof. Anderson is a meditator.
[FairfieldLife] dream of Muktananda last night.
Last night one of my Gurus appeared to me in a dream (Swami Muktananda). He appeared as an alligator and said he had to spend one incarnation as an alligator to work off the bad karma he acculated in his last incarnation. I have no strenuous objection to this as long as it's a brief life and he's rescued after the ordeal. Therefore I'm sending prayers to Kali to make sure he's OK. For 20 years I worked with a Ghost Whisperer-type of medium. Within a few days after OSHO died, he appeared to me in a dream asking for assistance. Seems he was in bad shape at the time of death. Prayers for the physically dead are always helpful, even for enemies. Kali will take care of the enemy part, turning them into friends.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: Richard to you have a full disclosure on funding, etc. and a copy of the full study you could point us to? Here is the paper, which does disclose the funding: http://www.tmcentrum.cz/image/metaanalysis_anderson.pdf HCF Nutrition Foundation was the main grants body. Thing is, you have to assume collusion between the various individuals including the non-TMers... L No, usually bias does not operate in such a clear way. BTW, we have no idea as to whether Prof. Anderson is a meditator. Ruth, regarding my exchangees with Vaj over the Buddhist meditation studies, does the fact that most (if not all) of the Buddhist meditation studies involve people who practice Buddhist meditaiton themselves make those studies suspect as well? Why or why not? L.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: US police could get 'pain beam' weapons
All you have to do is make parabolic reflectors (maybe even a metal snow saucer will do) so that you can send the beam back to the device and fry it. They haven't used these on crowds yet and they may never as the tide of opinion is turning against the cops having that much power or even need. Hell I noticed that after the inauguration last week local cops were smiling and less tense. Bet they've been told a lot of crap that the Bush admin wanted them to do ( and keep secret ) and they didn't really want to do, is going away. It was all terror theater anyway. Something to keep the public in fear. And cops have been getting flack for overuse of tasers and even killing people with them that those need to be taken away from them. And after the Oakland BART incident on New Years we need to look carefully at who were are hiring for cops and how sane they are. Duveyoung wrote: I'm thinking these weapons are ways to control the press. How so? When they shine the beams on a crowd, all the reporters on the fringes will get blasted too -- next time they'll cover the riot from a block away, see? When the reporters are far away, then it's that much easier to brutalize whatever person comes within grasp. If the weapon was physical instead of radiant, say, a machine that spewed 4,000 rubber bullets per second over a 200 foot wide swath, they'd never get the public to allow monster-weaponry that has little precision and will thus create such indiscriminate carnage, but because the bullets of these beam weapons are invisible rays, they get a free pass on the brutality of the weapon. I see no way for the cops to use these weapons without having collateral damage on each use. Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out -- like that. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Arhata Osho arhatafreespe...@... wrote: Torcher at the touch of a button! Knowing 'neanderthal-men' invent these 'torcher lasers' they will exceed safety and compassionate guidelines. Arhata US police could get 'pain beam' weapons by David Hambling http://www.newscien tist.com/ article/dn16339- us-police- could-get- pain- beam-weapons. html For similar stories, visit the Weapons Technology Topic Guide The research arm of the US Department of Justice is working on two portable non-lethal weapons that inflict pain from a distance using beams of laser light or microwaves, with the intention of putting them into the hands of police to subdue suspects. The two devices under development by the civilian National Institute of Justice both build on knowledge gained from the Pentagon's controversial Active Denial System (ADS) - first demonstrated in public last year, which uses a 2-metre beam of short microwaves to heat up the outer layer of a person's skin and cause pain. 'Reduced injuries' Like the ADS, the new portable devices will also heat the skin, but will have beams only a few centimetres across. They are designed to elicit what the Pentagon calls a repel response - a strong urge to escape from the beam. A spokesperson for the National Institute for Justice likens the effect of the new devices to that of blunt trauma weapons such as rubber bullets, But unlike blunt trauma devices, the injury should not be present. This research is looking to reduce the injuries to suspects, they say. Existing blunt trauma weapons can break ribs or even kill, making alternatives welcome. Yet ADS has recorded problems too - out of several thousand tests on human subjects there were two cases of second-degree burns. Dazzle and burn The NIJ's laser weapon has been dubbed Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response - PHaSR - and resembles a bulky rifle. It was created in 2005 by a US air force agency to temporarily dazzle enemies (see image, right), but the addition of a second, infrared laser makes it able to heat skin too. The NIJ is testing the PHaSR in various scenarios, which may include prison situations as well as law enforcement. The NIJ's portable microwave-based weapon is less developed. Currently a tabletop prototype with a range of less than a metre, a backpack-sized prototype with a range of 15 metres will be ready next year, a spokesperson says. The truly portable mini-ADS could prove the more useful, as microwaves penetrate clothing better than the infra-red beam, which is most effective on exposed skin. Although the spokesman says: In LEC [Law Enforcement and Corrections] use there is always a little bit of skin to target. Torture concerns The effect of microwave beams on humans has been investigated for years, but there is little publicly available research on the effects of PHaSR-type lasers on humans. The attraction of using a laser is that it can be less bulky than a microwave device. Human rights groups say
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
curtisdeltablues quasiquoted: We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. Curtis, I'll try again, and yes, I am yet again composing in the Yahoo online form. Shit. And it'll cost ya, cuz I'm a rambling fool as usual. So what popped for me is that here we have Maharishi completely tossing Guru Dev into Absolute status and saying it's a waste of time to pray to Guru Dev. (This neatly keeps attention on MMY; convenient, eh?) But, my bitch is that this definition of the Absolute is at odds with the TM Siddhi program. How so? Long answer, dude, long answer. You sure you want this? Of course you do! It's at odds, because samyama, as taught by MMY, is an instruction set that includes the command to stop thinking. The way it is expressed is go back to the Self. I remember being taken aback when I learned my first siddhi and was given that instruction. What? What the hell? You mean we're marketing that a mantra is necessary to transcend until one finally resides in amness, but for the siddhi, we have to somehow magically and unexpectedly have this ability down pat? Oh, they interpret the instruction for you with phrases like back to the Self means just sit quietly. And that's supposed to be all that you need to hear, but fuck. As if. As if, sitting quietly means the same thing to all folks -- especially since the siddhi courses were democratic, and citizen siddhas were being taught right along side initiators. The newbie meditator could have been only doing it for a few months and yet still be allowed on a siddhi course, so a newbie is expected to be able to, get this, be in Cosmic Consciousness by dint of will power for 15 second bursts. Something like that. You introduce the sutra, and then, WHAT? Examine if your definition of what jives with the TMO lectures. Put bluntly, no way in fucking hell does anyone have the ability to stop thoughts by having been merely instructed to go back to the Self. So what you end up with is that most -- probably ALL -- persons learning the siddhis are sitting there after the sutra with ideation flowing NORMALLY. Yet, who has ever been refused entrance to the siddhi course for having thoughts in meditation? It is therefore well known to the instructors that the initiates CANNOT follow their instructions, yet they take their money. To me it was as if Maharishi had put a gun to my head and said, You're in CC now and you'd better not deny it. Pretend fucker pretend. And that's not all. To do the sutra correctly, you need to transcend into amness. You can't merely skirt the skin of amness and ritam the siddhi. Nope, the instruction is to do nothing -- not masturbate with da bliss of ritam like Indra does. Just sit there, be, but be nothing, encourage no thinking. Well, if you're able to do that, then that's a CC-on-demand ability. (It's CC junior actually since attachment to amness is still egoically operative, and the freedom of enlightenment isn't realized.) But here's my dead horse and I'm going to beat it again: Guru Dev, being the Absolute, is the only agency that CAN emit a quality from amness. Amness, being a perfectly balanced set of the gunas, cannot be imbalanced, and only an impulse from the Absolute will spur feelings, thoughts and actions in the mind of someone who is free from attachment (attachment is defined by me as: unable to keep Identity from flowing outwards.) The attached mind will let the gunas run wild, the enlightened mind will await marching orders from beyond. So, by my analysis, to do a siddhi correctly, get this, GURU DEV HAS TO GIVE AMESS THE ORDER TO HOVER. (Become unbalanced and triggered to manifest qualities.) You are told to deal directly with the Absolute, yet, here we have your notes of MMY saying don't bother, yet his technique can only succeed if that exact thing happens. So, to me the instruction is: sutra, get perfectly balanced even if you're still identifying with being/amness, and then, wait. Wait for what? THEY NEVER SPELL THIS PART OUT. But it can only be that you wait for the Absolute to flow into a set of amness' dynamics and enliven them with sentience/Identity. And, hey, isn't that praying to Guru Dev? Amness, being but the three gunas, can only be insentient clockworks, right? Oh, I know, I know, you're so impatient with me using these bogus religious terms, but the logic of how these terms are used seems legitimate to me. If you say the word jackalope, I see qualities of that imagined entity like pointy antlers, etc. The existence of the jacklope is assumed, but the logic of what that jackalope was could still be consistent within its assumptions, yes? When Brahma gave up on his lotus stalk diving,
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 10:40 PM, off_world_beings wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. You might want to at least look at a Sanskrit dictionary next time OffWorld. I did. And my translation is accurate. Yours is superficial and incomplete, which is typical for you. OffWorld Just because the movement you're involved with disseminates misinformation to it's adherents and many of them actually believe what they're told, it doesn't typically work that way in the real world: 1 pUjA f. honour , worship , respect , reverence , veneration , homage to superiors or adoration of the gods Gr2S. Mn. MBh. c. BTW, that's the complete Monier-Wiliams citation. Wow, that does sound scientific! :-)))
Re: [FairfieldLife] Why An A**Hole is Always in Charge, by Greg Palast
TurquoiseB wrote: John Thain is the guy that looks like a Clark Kent doll you saw grinning from page one of your paper Friday morning. Thain was just fired by Bank of America because the square-jawed executive demanded a $30 million bonus after losing $5 billion in just three months at the bank's Merrill Lynch unit. In addition, Thain spent over a million dollars redecorating his office - including installation of a $35,000 toilet bowl - while the U.S. Treasury was bailing out his company. There is no justice. Thain shouldn't have been fired; he should have gotten a $60 million bonus -- and Obama should immediately hire him as Secretary of the Treasury in place of that tax-dodging lightweight that's been nominated, Timothy Geithner. Here's the facts, ma'am. Thain was CEO of Merrill Lynch, the big brokerage firm. On a good day, Merrill is worth zero. A week before it was about to go out of business, Thain sold this busted bag of financial feces to Bank of America for $50 BILLION. I'd say that's worth a bonus. But it gets better. When the bag broke and another $5 billion in losses were discovered at Merrill, Thain went to the U.S. Treasury and got ANOTHER $20 BILLION to cover Bank of America's bad financial bet -- from us, the taxpayers. Now that certainly deserves a bonus. And let's face it, a butthole that big needs a $35,000 toilet. Instead, the guy that paid the $50 billion, Bank of America Chairman Kenneth Lewis, is keeping his job. Lewis is the same guy that just spent billions more on buying Countrywide Financial, the sub-prime mortgage loan sharks that have brought America to its knees and put Bank of America into effective bankruptcy. (Note to Mr. Lewis: the only thing worse than getting cancer is PAYING for it.) But dumber than Lewis is the loser who OK'd paying Bank of America for its losses on Merrill, who traded a pile of turds for a stack of gold -- our gold from the U.S. Treasury. That was Tim Geithner, Obama's pick for Treasury Secretary, who's now answering questions at Senate confirmation hearings about his funky tax filings. Tiny Tim was head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank during the Bush regime. Along with Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, Geithner came up with that $700 billion bail-out that loaded banks with loot on their way to insolvency. Bank of America got $25 billion of it to spend on Thain's company Merrill. That was before the extra $20 billion was weedled by Thain. So why, President Obama, have you given us Tiny Tim to save our sorry nation's economic behind? What's with that? In another life I was an economist. Really. So here's the economic facts of life: Our valiant young president is going to have to borrow a trillion dollars to bring our economy back from the grave. He's got to borrow it, no choice about that. But who in their right minds will lend it to us? I can tell you the number one job of a new Treasury Secretary will be to con Saudi sheiks and Chinese apparatchiks into lending us another trillion (they've already lent $2 trillion). Who in the world can talk them into it? The answer came to me after I went this afternoon to see my proctologist, a brilliant doctor with one eye and really long fingers. (OK, I made that up.) The good doctor told me that hoary old joke about the heart and brain and rectum getting into a fight about which one was more important. When the higher organs made fun of the butt-end, the rectum went on strike. After a month, the brain and heart couldn't take it any more -- the whole body was about to explode. So they told the rectum, 'You win.' And the rectum said, 'Now you know why an asshole's always in charge.' There's our answer. Instead of an easily duped, incompetent weasel like Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury, what we really need is a lying bucket of evil snot, a flaming red take-no-prisoners asshole. A guy like Thain that can sell a piece of crap like Merrill for billions -- twice -- is just what we need to shake down the sheiks. America for Sale! Cheap! And Thain comes with his own gold-plated toilet. I think that Senator Diane Feinstein in a rare moment of wisdom back when the bailout was trying to get pushed through had it right: put these CEOs in their yachts and push them out to sea and set the yacht on fire. It is a wonder that they didn't charge her with terrorism under the Patriot Act.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_reply@ wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. OffWorld Sorry Off, but I think that's a bit like claiming, for instance, that 'purpose' is equivalent to 'poor pose' You need to check your sanskrit. 'Pu' is 'purifying'; cleansing. 'Ja' is 'born' or 'beginning'. OffWorld
[FairfieldLife] Re: Score One For TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: Richard to you have a full disclosure on funding, etc. and a copy of the full study you could point us to? Here is the paper, which does disclose the funding: http://www.tmcentrum.cz/image/metaanalysis_anderson.pdf HCF Nutrition Foundation was the main grants body. Thing is, you have to assume collusion between the various individuals including the non-TMers... L No, usually bias does not operate in such a clear way. BTW, we have no idea as to whether Prof. Anderson is a meditator. Let's say that he IS. That you appear to think that that should make a difference seems to me to betray an odd attitude to scientific method and research. If you DO believe in research, then the truth lies in the data and the methodology. Nothing else matters. On the other hand, if you think that it is essential, or crucial, to take into account the beliefs of the authors (and consider who their paymasters are), then why do you set such store by Science? You seem to have no faith in the method! (BTW, how did you rate the research quality of the Tai Chi study you alluded to before and with which you are obviously impressed? Can you link to it? Did you check whether the researchers did Tai Chi themselves? ;-) )
[FairfieldLife] Re: dream of Muktananda last night.
thanks for sharing this. do you often have lucid dreams, in which requests are made on which you can act? i am also curious whether or not this ability for dreams of this type has grown, or you have always dreamt this way? the only dream i had in which i saw a recognizable master was a dream i had about the Maharishi many years ago, in which he was holding a blue daisy, but that is all i remember about it anymore. probably just wish fulfillment at the time. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, yifuxero yifux...@... wrote: Last night one of my Gurus appeared to me in a dream (Swami Muktananda). He appeared as an alligator and said he had to spend one incarnation as an alligator to work off the bad karma he acculated in his last incarnation. I have no strenuous objection to this as long as it's a brief life and he's rescued after the ordeal. Therefore I'm sending prayers to Kali to make sure he's OK. For 20 years I worked with a Ghost Whisperer-type of medium. Within a few days after OSHO died, he appeared to me in a dream asking for assistance. Seems he was in bad shape at the time of death. Prayers for the physically dead are always helpful, even for enemies. Kali will take care of the enemy part, turning them into friends.
[FairfieldLife] Mantras, Religion and finally a statement from an liberated tapasin
Normal 0 Recently I have read here on FFL an argument professed by some former TMers who stopped practicing because they claimed they were deceived about the meaning of mantras. Their fundamental claim is that a mantra is the name of a Hindu god. The claim is that a mantra, by definition, encapsulates a method for worshiping a Hindu god but that this fact is withheld from practitioners. Within the domain of this argument, these claimants will often quote some text from a Hindu Tantra. These are passages usually assigning a particular deity to a particular mantra and sometimes even assigning a set of deities to each of the Sanskrit letters composing the written forms of the mantric sound. This textual assignment is sometimes done haphazardly and occasionally is done in the Vedic format of rishi-deva-chhanda. Along with the quoted Tantric text is sometimes a statement by MMY, declaring that a mantra is a sound whose effect is known. This argument quotes the TMO claim that a mantra is used in TM for the beneficial effects it produces in causing the spontaneous refinement of perception. This explanation is then paraded as an example of shameful exploitation of Western ignorance of the Hindu foundation of TM and of any other Indian meditation that does not confess itself as a form of Hindu devotionalism. This devotionalist criticism is further paraded by pointing to various Indian swamis and cross-eyed yogis who make these same claims and arguments themselves. Some considerations about these claims: SBS taught in India. MMY began teaching in India before coming to the West. They both taught within the context of the Indian Hindu cultural model. Although they taught in India, where there are many Muslims, they did not present their teaching within a Muslim cultural model. Although Buddhism is from India and many Indian consider Buddha one of their own, neither SBS nor MMY taught within a Buddhist cultural model. Rather, they taught within the cultural context of their listeners. After coming to the West, MMY continued speaking and teaching within a similar Indian cultural model - for a while. It was the teaching model established by Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda partly religious, partly philosophical and partly yogic. However the cultural context of this form of teachings was the 19th and 20th century paradigm of Western Modernity. When MMY realized the limitations brought by this model and of religious language here in the West he took a left turn. That divergence left some of his teachers behind - Charlie Lutts being an example. This is one reason that pointing to early religious language by MMY or SBS is an inaccurate over-simplification. As far as the it is all a deceit claimants, the two groups that are the most antagonist and strident are the materialists and the religionists. Materialists claim mantras are the mumbo formulas of hindoo gods and that the concept of gods/god is a false idea propounded by power brokers to enslave the masses. This is a truncated Marxist view popular among the half-educated among us. Contrary to this, the religionists claim that mantras are secret demonic traps devised to enslave us to hindoo devils. This is the view of true believing adherents of the Abrahamic religions Jews, Christians and Muslims. This is not a fundamentalist diatribe from TV evangelicals. This was the original view of Christians from the second century C.E. forward and was used as incinerating ideological propellant for killing polytheists after Constantines ascent to Roman power. What is obvious is that both groups are unable to rationally consider the facts because they are ideologues entrenched in a priori conclusions. One example of this is a clear demarcation about the difference between yoga and religion. Materialists dismiss such an idea because yoga historically emerged within in a Hindu cultural context. Semitic monotheists condemn this idea for the same reason. If we consider the role of yoga, it is apparent that most meditating Westerners are functionally ignorant about the nature, range, depth and complexity of yoga lineages - whether Vedic, Hindu, Buddhist or Jain. Most of them do not know the difference between Vedic, Puranic and Tantric lineages of practice. They also do not understand how these three streams developed and then intertwined into Hindu temple rites. They don't know vidhi from vedi.* Even more surprising, most swamis and imported yogis are not Pandits, Indologists, or Sanskritists. Very few are formally educated in the yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent. Most are only trained in asana, pranayam and japa. A little bhakti here, a few upanishad citations there and om tat sat - Im a guru. Faced with this, most of us Westerners who meditate are at a disadvantage when presented with claims that we are not educated to conceptualize within an
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, geezerfreak geezerfr...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_reply@ wrote: monkeys aren't demons-- they're cute, lovable, furry monkeys, chattering away to their heart's content. chatter, chatter, chatter go the monkeys, about anything and everything, whether they know what they are chattering about or not. here, have a banana! Fuck you enlightened. Not!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 2:06 PM, sparaig lengli...@cox.net wrote: Born a Lebonese CHristian, I'm reasonably certain. Whether he is a practicing Coptic Christian (whatever that means) or not, I don't know, but his rhetoric about MMY's death has a certain Christian element to it which feels sincere to me. I know the Coptic faith fairly well, as Egypt is one of the places I've spent a lot of time in. The Copts, it is believed, predate the pharonic Egyptians. It is believed that they were the first language and culture of Egypt. The apostle Thomas spent a lot of time in Egypt on his sweep through that part of the world. He converted the Copts to Christianity. The Codex according to St. Thomas was found near Nag Hammadi, where I spend a lot of time hanging out. Thomas's codex is not up for inclusion in the Bible because it is Gnostic. The Copts have churches throughout Egypt and surrounding countries. The sacret texts are all in the Coptic language, as are the masses. The Copts kept wine production going after Islam swept through Egypt. There are some really trippy monasteries in the Sinai. Many are high up on mountains and built into the sides of cliffs. You can't much more old timey in the Christian faith as the Coptic Church. The churches are divided in two, as except for a common entryway, there are two alters and two places to take communion. Women occupy one side of the church, men the other. Anyone who longs for the church before Vatican II needs to visit a Coptic church.
[FairfieldLife] Re: So
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@... wrote: But only if you're buying me really fine Bourbon Bourbon IS my ishta, and by now it probably is a good part of my elements. I inherited this taste from my family. So do you put Woodford Reserve in the mix or consider it too commercial? By the way, Ishta-devata means a chosen or favored deity, as in favoring the mantra during meditation - when thoughts are dominating. Thus, interesting to note, unless you are a Ishta-mantrika AND a Bourbonist this would not make sense. On a side note, unless I'm deluded, Vaj would not understand.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi and life after death
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung no_re...@... wrote: I'm glad you took the time to re-post, that was an interesting angle. It was also very funny when you anticipated the moment my eyes were glazing over following terms that have lost their meaning for me. But I can remember how I used to think of them well enough to follow your point. Perhaps someone more conversant with the terms these days will take a crack at your inquiry. For me I can't get past the assumption that the silence we feel in meditation is more than what it appears to be, the mind being attentive to being more silent. I know that at one point in the 6 month courses Maharishis basically said we were all witnessing our meditations so that explained why we don't all sit in deep samadhi no mantra not thoughts for long periods of time in meditation. And experientially that does match my meditation experience in that if you keep it up you have a lot of silence along with thoughts and it can sort of dominate your attention. But I'm not ready to make any assumptions about its benefits. It just might be a thing our mind can do that is pleasurable and means absolutely nothing. I guess for people who are really impulsive or all wired up all the time or never feel centered it might be a help, but I can't relate to those problems. And the metaphysical claims that this state is an experience of the ground of all being or the Graceland where the gods hang out like the Memphis Mafia and all of us get to be our own Elvis and if we want a peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwich deep fried at two in the morning to take some of the edge off our last dose of Dexedrine...nature will serve it up in white panties and bra (his favorite groupie costume) because we are so powerful with nature that we get what we want (if it coincidentally coincides with what nature wants)...I'm not buying that. I think we are a long way off from knowing what any of these experiences mean. So I'm no help in your quest for knowledge in this area. Big surprise huh? I'm just wondering if people in the movement believe that prayers to Maharishi reach him in the celestial relative with the gods, and if so, is there any way to stop them from delivering any more deep fried peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwiches to Bevan cuz that dude is heading the way of The King fast and I'm just waiting for the news that he ascended to heaven while on sitting on his porcelain throne. curtisdeltablues quasiquoted: We don't pray to Guru Dev. Prayer to absolute is useless. Puja isn't prayer unless we want to call anything good prayer. Prayer has to be to someone in the relative who can listen and respond, say wish granted, some this year some next year. There are hordes of personal gods, anyone we can pick up an say OK, do it. Curtis, I'll try again, and yes, I am yet again composing in the Yahoo online form. Shit. And it'll cost ya, cuz I'm a rambling fool as usual. So what popped for me is that here we have Maharishi completely tossing Guru Dev into Absolute status and saying it's a waste of time to pray to Guru Dev. (This neatly keeps attention on MMY; convenient, eh?) But, my bitch is that this definition of the Absolute is at odds with the TM Siddhi program. How so? Long answer, dude, long answer. You sure you want this? Of course you do! It's at odds, because samyama, as taught by MMY, is an instruction set that includes the command to stop thinking. The way it is expressed is go back to the Self. I remember being taken aback when I learned my first siddhi and was given that instruction. What? What the hell? You mean we're marketing that a mantra is necessary to transcend until one finally resides in amness, but for the siddhi, we have to somehow magically and unexpectedly have this ability down pat? Oh, they interpret the instruction for you with phrases like back to the Self means just sit quietly. And that's supposed to be all that you need to hear, but fuck. As if. As if, sitting quietly means the same thing to all folks -- especially since the siddhi courses were democratic, and citizen siddhas were being taught right along side initiators. The newbie meditator could have been only doing it for a few months and yet still be allowed on a siddhi course, so a newbie is expected to be able to, get this, be in Cosmic Consciousness by dint of will power for 15 second bursts. Something like that. You introduce the sutra, and then, WHAT? Examine if your definition of what jives with the TMO lectures. Put bluntly, no way in fucking hell does anyone have the ability to stop thoughts by having been merely instructed to go back to the Self. So what you end up with is that most -- probably ALL -- persons learning the siddhis are sitting there after the sutra with ideation flowing NORMALLY. Yet, who has ever been refused entrance to the siddhi course for having thoughts
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
On Jan 26, 2009, at 5:00 PM, off_world_beings wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 10:40 PM, off_world_beings wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. You might want to at least look at a Sanskrit dictionary next time OffWorld. I did. And my translation is accurate. Yours is superficial and incomplete, which is typical for you. Well, by all means, please post your translation and list it's source Dear OffWorld! Here, let me share first: Capeller's Sanskrit dictionary is much more brief: 2 (cap) pUjAf. honour, worship, respect.
[FairfieldLife] GlobalGoodNews.com Going Global
Celebrating Maharishi’s Year of Invincibility—Second Year of Global Raam Raj—2009 with GlobalGoodNews.com going Global Due to popular demand, GlobalGoodNews.com announces its new web sites opening this year in major languages French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, and Chinese, in addition to English, bringing Good News in the Mother Tongue of the most spoken languages of the world. GlobalGoodNews.com has become the foremost good news provider on the world wide web, with 9,000 absolute unique visitors and over 25,000 visits to the site every month from over 150 countries. During 2008 there have been approximately 400,000 visitors to the site from 193 countries. GlobalGoodNews.com is greatly expanding its own publicity through internet marketing in 2009 to bring Good News to every home in every language. Now many countries have expressed the desire to establish immediately a Global Good News service in their own Mother Tongue. It is a joy to announce the demand for GOOD NEWS is rising, and the trend is for Nature’s Government to peacefully restore life according to Natural Law. Coming in 2009: Maharishi Video: Special video tapes of Maharishi’s Parliament of World Peace will soon be available for your personal viewing on GlobalGoodNews.com, through its secure Pay for Video System. Never before has supreme knowledge for the complete unfoldment of life in enlightenment and fulfilment been so fully available. Introduction to Transcendental Meditation: Introductory Lectures on-line in all languages and a contact service for individuals around the world wishing to be directed to their nearest Maharishi Invincibility Centre to learn Transcendental Meditation. Advertise on GlobalGoodNews.com: As GlobalGoodNews.com becomes more and more global, we welcome positive trend businesses from around the world to advertise their goods and services on GlobalGoodNews.com. GlobalGoodNews.com will integrate ads onto the popular Positive Trends and Success pages. News in Pictures: Good News in Pictures is an upcoming feature of GlobalGoodNews.com. GlobalGoodNews.com is a global meeting point for all that is positive and progressive and totally enriching to life. We invite professionals in every field of life to share positive trends in their area of expertise on GlobalGoodNews.com's Positive Trends Forum coming soon. Shop now at our new MusicMall, offering Total Knowledge and enlightening entertainment. ‘We have a golden vision to see only right things, because we know the power of good is greater than any other power, and we see the power of good rising in the world’.—Maharishi GlobalGoodNews.com welcomes your inspiration. ... Everything for everyone everywhere visit: www.globalgoodnews.com The email you are subscribed with is vedamer...@yahoo.de To unsubscribe click here: Click here to unsubscribe To change your email click here: Click here to change your email To view previous newsletters go to: http://www.globalcountry.org.uk/news.php Our e-mail virus policy: All our subscriber newsletters are sent without attachments. If you (or anyone you know) happens to receive an unsolicited e-mail carrying an attachment appearing to be originating from us, please do NOT open it. We have NOT sent
[FairfieldLife] Re: So
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, emptybill emptyb...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: But only if you're buying me really fine Bourbon Bourbon IS my ishta, and by now it probably is a good part of my elements. I inherited this taste from my family. So do you put Woodford Reserve in the mix or consider it too commercial? Great stuff! It is in the category of pricier bourbons for me, a special treat. Maker's Mark is totally commercial but it is often the only premium bourbon a blues club will have and it goes down just fine. It is an oasis in the desert on the shelf above the house swill. (10 High!) The only bourbon I'm kinda snobby about is Jack Daniels because it has no flavor or character strait with a splash, which is how I like to drink it. I guess it is OK for dumping in cokes but that is not my groove. By the way, Ishta-devata means a chosen or favored deity, as in favoring the mantra during meditation - when thoughts are dominating. Thus, interesting to note, unless you are a Ishta-mantrika AND a Bourbonist this would not make sense. On a side note, unless I'm deluded, Vaj would not understand.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
A useful online Sanskrit dictionary resource is at:- http://spokensanskrit.de/ For the word 'puja' or 'puujaa' the following link is preset:- http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php? script=HKtinput=puujaacountry_ID=trans=Translatedirection=AU --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 10:40 PM, off_world_beings wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. You might want to at least look at a Sanskrit dictionary next time OffWorld. Just because the movement you're involved with disseminates misinformation to it's adherents and many of them actually believe what they're told, it doesn't typically work that way in the real world: 1 pUjA f. honour , worship , respect , reverence , veneration , homage to superiors or adoration of the gods Gr2S. Mn. MBh. c. BTW, that's the complete Monier-Wiliams citation. Wow, that does sound scientific! :-)))
[FairfieldLife] Post Count
Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 2009 End Date (UTC): Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 2009 491 messages as of (UTC) Mon Jan 26 23:55:18 2009 49 authfriend jst...@panix.com 37 curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@yahoo.com 35 sparaig lengli...@cox.net 31 off_world_beings no_re...@yahoogroups.com 28 geezerfreak geezerfr...@yahoo.com 22 ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com 22 raunchydog raunchy...@yahoo.com 22 BillyG. wg...@yahoo.com 21 Vaj vajradh...@earthlink.net 21 Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com 20 TurquoiseB no_re...@yahoogroups.com 16 Arhata Osho arhatafreespe...@yahoo.com 15 yifuxero yifux...@yahoo.com 15 enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 13 I am the eternal l.shad...@gmail.com 12 Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@lisco.com 10 Nelson nelsonriddle2...@yahoo.com 9 do.rflex do.rf...@yahoo.com 8 Kirk kirk_bernha...@cox.net 7 Robert babajii...@yahoo.com 7 Richard M compost...@yahoo.co.uk 7 Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net 5 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 5 arhatafreespe...@yahoo.com 4 shempmcgurk shempmcg...@netscape.net 4 Larry inmadi...@hotmail.com 3 Stu buttspli...@gmail.com 3 Marek Reavis reavisma...@sbcglobal.net 3 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@yahoo.com 3 grate.swan no_re...@yahoogroups.com 2 uns_tressor uns_tres...@yahoo.ca 2 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 2 michael vedamer...@yahoo.de 2 lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@sbcglobal.net 2 emptybill emptyb...@yahoo.com 2 billy jim emptyb...@yahoo.com 2 anaand108 anaand...@yahoo.co.uk 2 Rick Archer r...@searchsummit.com 2 Peter drpetersutp...@yahoo.com 2 Paul Mason premanandp...@yahoo.co.uk 2 Dick Mays dickm...@lisco.com 1 wayback71 waybac...@yahoo.com 1 paultrunk paultr...@yahoo.com 1 guyfawkes91 guyfawke...@yahoo.com 1 boo_lives boo_li...@yahoo.com 1 bob_brigante no_re...@yahoogroups.com 1 at_man_and_brahman at_man_and_brah...@sbcglobal.net 1 abutilon108 abutilon...@yahoo.com 1 wle...@aol.com 1 Richard Williams willy...@yahoo.com 1 Patrick Gillam jpgil...@yahoo.com 1 Joe Smith msilver1...@yahoo.com 1 Samadhi Is Much Closer Than You Think -- Really! -- It's A No-Brainer. Who'd've Thunk It? dharmamit...@gmail.com Posters: 53 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
[FairfieldLife] Re: Obama Reverses Rules on U.S. Abortion Aid
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchy...@... wrote: You were not clear whether your wife is an activist for or against the issue of abortion. The Roe v Wade decision ruled that most US laws against abortion violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Your mention of the Second Amendment, the NRA's favorite, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, has nothing to do with the subject of a woman's right to choose. In 2002 Bush stopped all US funds to foreign organizations that helped women get an abortion, including providing advice. As recently as September 08 Bush cut off funding to African countries for condoms. http://tinyurl.com/4s3b56 Reproductive rights mean women have control over their bodies, not the government. If you want to see fewer abortions, advocate for more condoms and sex education. Obama is on the right side of this issue. snip, Mr. Obama, Given that the abortion industry targets a disproportionate number of black people and,the powers behind the scene are promoting genocide in Africa, isn't it some sort of contradiction that, given your lineage, you are supporting these efforts? To clarify, I am more of second amendment proponent while my wife is quite an activist on the pro life scene. Hearing the pro life information day in and day out, some of the details have rubbed off on me I guess. Like Ms roe of R-V-W is a current pro life activist. The millions of people who have been canceled are not paying for social security. The pro choice people should go to Tiller's abortion facility in Kansas where they do a lot of late term abortions and, even if they could keep their last two meals down, I believe some would see the subject in a different light. N.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Mantras, Religion and finally a statement from an liberated tapasin
Hi Billy Jim: On Jan 26, 2009, at 6:05 PM, billy jim wrote: Recently I have read here on FFL an argument professed by some former TM’ers who stopped practicing because they claimed they were deceived about the meaning of mantras. Their fundamental claim is that a mantra is the name of a Hindu god. You might want to reread those claims. These aren't names per se, but seed-forms of nicknames of Goddesses or Gods. Code-words, if you will. To use a previous example, Shri is not the name of Laxmi, Shri is a nickname or epithet of Laxmi. This is a crucial distinction. The claim is that a mantra, by definition, encapsulates a method for worshiping a Hindu god but that this fact is withheld from practitioners. No! It does not withhold any sort of method at all. It only withholds a meaning. Within the domain of this argument, these claimants will often quote some text from a Hindu Tantra. These are passages usually assigning a particular deity to a particular mantra and sometimes even assigning a set of deities to each of the Sanskrit letters composing the written forms of the mantric sound. This textual assignment is sometimes done haphazardly and occasionally is done in the Vedic format of rishi-deva-chhanda. Again, wrong. They are done in the TANTRIC format. This is only related to the Vedic sense in that the prior tantric forms, at a certain point in history, reached a certain symbiosis with the invading Vedic ideals. But the fact is, the tantric forms of mantra- shastra existed BEFORE the Vedic adaptations, not vice versa as you attempt. This would include the broader tantric interpretation of rishi-devata-chhandas-svara-prayoga, etc. etc. Along with the quoted Tantric text is sometimes a statement by MMY, declaring that a mantra is a sound whose effect is known. This argument quotes the TMO claim that a mantra is used in TM for the beneficial effects it produces in causing the spontaneous refinement of perception. This explanation is then paraded as an example of shameful exploitation of Western ignorance of the Hindu foundation of TM and of any other Indian meditation that does not confess itself as a form of Hindu devotionalism. This devotionalist criticism is further paraded by pointing to various Indian swamis and cross-eyed yogis who make these same claims and arguments themselves. Not sure what to think of this. It sounds like you're upset about some supposition you've made, in your mind. I'll leave that to your mind, your experience and your (evolving) knowledge to work it out. Some considerations about these claims: SBS taught in India. MMY began teaching in India before coming to the West. They both taught within the context of the Indian Hindu cultural model. Although they taught in India, where there are many Muslims, they did not present their teaching within a Muslim cultural model. Although Buddhism is from India and many Indian consider Buddha one of their own, neither SBS nor MMY taught within a Buddhist cultural model. Rather, they taught within the cultural context of their listeners. OK After coming to the West, MMY continued speaking and teaching within a similar Indian cultural model - for a while. It was the teaching model established by Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda – partly religious, partly philosophical and partly yogic. However the cultural context of this form of teachings was the 19th and 20th century paradigm of Western Modernity. When MMY realized the limitations brought by this model and of religious language here in the West he took a left turn. That divergence left some of his teachers behind - Charlie Lutts being an example. Well I don't know if I agree with that. Charlie was a previous follower of Theosophy (or so his comments would seen to show). Charlie tried as best he could to incorporate his newly acquired TM beliefs with his previously acquired Theosophical beliefs. Some things jived and other didn't. Some people were fooled and others saw through his admixture. It sounds like you were one of the fools... This is one reason that pointing to early religious language by MMY or SBS is an inaccurate over-simplification. No it's not. See the previous example. MMY and SBS are still ultimately responsible for their utterances, in the contexts they were given. It's most likely true that their original utterances are true and unadulterated opinions, unassuaged by later milieus. You're simply confused by your own inability to reconcile the later milieus and the original statements. This is because you lack the appropriate relative (and likely) experiential knowledge being referred to. So you express confusion and attempt to present it as fact. As far as the “it is all a deceit” claimants, the two groups that are the most antagonist and strident are the materialists and the religionists. Materialists claim
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
No, it is not religious. Veneration of a person or a Master is not a religious activity. Unless, of course, you consider veneration of Hollywood stars as religious. Moreover, TM cannot be a religion if Christianity is considered to be one!!! Although there might be some similarities, their practice and ideology is completely different. They just cannot be in one compartment. Puja room is not a temple, it is a puja room. Samnyasa is not religion, it es LEAVING of all activity. and all your other points are clearly serving your purpose - no clear logic. With best wishes Shaas --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: The late great Sanskrit translator and yogi Sir John Woodroffe probably had access to more insight to traditional Hindu religious practices AND the Christian religious practices of his British homeland than almost anyone since. He noted there really wasn't a huge difference between Hindu religious practices like the TM puja and TM and Roman Catholicism. One is the Cult of Shakti and Shakta, the other is a cult of the Virgin Mary and Jesus/the Father. In fact he details their religious (not scientific or non-sectarian) sameness: amongst Christians, the Catholic Church, like Hinduism, has a full and potent Sadhana in its sacraments (Samskara), temple (Church), private worship (Puja, Upasana) with Upacara bell, light and incense (Ghanta, Dipa, Dhupa), Images or Pratima (hence it has been called idolatrous), devotional rites such as Novenas and the like (Vrata), the threefold Angelus at morn, noon and evening (Samdhya), rosary (Japa), the wearing of Kavacas (Scapulars, Medals, Agnus Dei), pilgrimage (Tirtha), fasting, abstinence and mortification (Tapas), monastic renunciation (Samnyasa), meditation (Dhyana), ending in the union of mystical theology (Samadhi) and so forth. There are other smaller details such for instance as Shanti-abhisheka (Asperges) into which I need not enter here. I may, however, mention the Spiritual Director who occupies the place of the Guru; the worship (Hyperdulia) of the Virgin-Mother which made Svami Vivekananda call the Italian Catholics, Shaktas; and the use of wine (Madya) and bread (corresponding to Mudra) in the Eucharist or Communion Service. Whilst, however, the Blessed Virgin evokes devotion as warm as that which is here paid to Devi, she is not Devi for she is not God but a creature selected as the vehicle of His incarnation (Avatara). In the Eucharist the bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ appearing under the form or accidents of those material substances; so also Tara is Dravamayi, that is, the Saviour in liquid form. (Mahanirvana Tantra xi. 105-107.) In the Catholic Church (though the early practice was otherwise) the laity no longer take wine but bread only, the officiating priest consuming both. Whilst however the outward forms in this case are similar, the inner meaning is different. Those however who contend that eating and drinking are inconsistent with the dignity of worship may be reminded of Tertullian's saying that Christ instituted His great sacrament at a meal. These notions are those of the dualist with all his distinctions. For the Advaitin every function and act may be made a Yajña. Agape or Love Feasts, a kind of Cakra, were held in early times, and discontinued as orthodox practice, on account of abuses to which they led; though they are said still to exist in some of the smaller Christian sects of the day. There are other points of ritual which are peculiar to the Tantra Shastra and of which there is no counterpart in the Catholic ritual such as Nyasa and Yantra. Mantra exists in the form of prayer and as formulae of consecration, but otherwise the subject is conceived of differently here. There are certain gestures (Mudra) made in the ritual, as when consecrating, blessing, and so forth, but they are not so numerous or prominent as they are here. I may some day more fully develop these interesting analogies, but what I have said is for the present sufficient to establish the numerous similarities which exist between the Catholic and Indian Tantrik ritual. Because of these facts the reformed Christian sects have charged the Catholic Church with Paganism. It is in fact the inheritor of very ancient practices but is not necessarily the worse for that. The Hindu finds his Sadhana in the Tantras of the Agama in forms which his race has evolved. In the abstract there is no reason why his race should not modify these forms of Sadhana or evolve new ones. But the point is that it must have some form of Sadhana. Any system to be fruitful must experiment to gain experience. It is because of its powerful sacraments and disciplines that in the West the Catholic Church has survived to this day, holding firm upon its
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On Jan 26, 2009, at 5:00 PM, off_world_beings wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Jan 25, 2009, at 10:40 PM, off_world_beings wrote: The word 'puja' either means 'preparing for purifying', or 'the birth (begining) of the purifying life' . That is its ACTUAL meaning. You might want to at least look at a Sanskrit dictionary next time OffWorld. I did. And my translation is accurate. Yours is superficial and incomplete, which is typical for you. Well, by all means, please post your translation and list it's source Too easy: Pu cleaning , purifying. http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/ http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/monier/ Ja born or descended from , produced or caused by , born or produced. http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche My translation is accurate. The others are old mistranslations. To say that the word `puja' means `worship' is like saying: Church means Christianity Avatar means a person's cartoon version on the internet. or Yogi means old bearded guy with beads around his neck. It is childish, absurd, lacking in accuracy, and misinformed. (and to you lot that say I got my version from the TMO, I did not, and that is not their translation as far as I know. You are the ones who are being like sheep, not me. You are brainwashed.) OffWorld
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM puja is religious, as are other elements of TM practice
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_re...@... wrote: [...] To say that the word `puja' means `worship' is like saying: Avatar means a person's cartoon version on the internet. On behalf of my avatar, I'd like to express my feelings of dismay. Saijanai Kuhn
