Not being a sports freak, I didn't watch much of the recent Olympics. But I write -- both for fun and for work -- at a cafe at which many people were glued to their big-screen TVs watching people compete in the Olympics for the fleeting honor of being considered The Best at something.
And that got me to thinking about spiritual practice, and what I see as one of the worst -- and over the long term, most debilitating -- aspects of it. Believing what their spiritual teachers have told them, people come to believe that what they SAY is more important than what they actually DO. Take the claims made by Maharishi and the TM organization that TM makes people more creative. Where is the actual proof of that? And I'm *not* talking about "scientific studies," because that's just magicians' misdirection, a way of saying, "OK, I really can't show you anything that *I* have ever done that was creative, and neither can any of my close TM friends, but look at this study done at the University of P.O. Box 2000 that *proves* that TMers are more creative because they scored better on tests that someone, somewhere said were indicative of creativity." Take the claims that TM improves social interaction. Do you see a lot of *proof* of this in the day-to-day interactions on FFL of long-term TMer proselytutes? Seems to me that the vast majority of their interactions are pretty soap-opera-y, acting out long-term grudges and doing their best to make Junior High School students look more mature than they are. But I'd bet that the very people doing this can SAY a lot about how much "better" their social interactions are; they can even probably point to "studies" that "prove" it. What I liked about the Olympics that I watched out of the corner of my eye while writing user manuals, training courses, movie reviews and articles about health-related topics was that what the individual athletes SAID about their abilities didn't mean shit. It all came down to what they could DO in the actual races or events. Dozens of athletes performed in each event, but only three got medals. Nothing that any of the other athletes could possibly SAY could either take those medals away from the people who worked hard to achieve them, or to put medals around their own necks. Now think about Maharishi, and the insanely BAD ADVICE he gave to tens of thousands -- possibly millions -- of people who actually thought he was wise when he SAID it: "Do less and accomplish more; do nothing and accomplish everything." This is what we call in the writing trade a meaningless platitude, otherwise known as bullshit. It holds true in no real arena of accomplishment on the planet other than the largely fantasy worlds of "spiritual advancement" and the pursuit of "enlightenment." The people who medaled at the Olympics *worked their butts off* to be able to win them. They were aided by genetics and innate natural ability, of course, but the bottom line cause of their accomplishment was classic hard work. They did more and accomplished more. I think that Maharishi did people an enormous disservice by convincing them that all one has to do is meditate and good things will happen in their lives as a result. And that all they have to do is sit on their butts (or bounce on them) and they can accomplish anything they can imagine. What has that produced? I mean really -- *measurably*? What are the actual *accomplishments* of the people "in the Domes" who think of themselves as The Best because they manage to find their way there twice a day? Where are the novels written, the great music composed, the fortunes made or humanitarian organizations founded by these "Best" people? Where are their actual, physical *accomplishments* that they can show us as a result of "Doing less and accomplishing more?" Where is the *proof* that they "Did nothing and accomplished everything?" All I hear is a lot of talk. People SAY all sorts of shit. Like how enlightened they are, while acting in many cases like assholes. (We've seen a few of those here on FFL.) People SAY that they've got lots going on in their lives, but they rarely ever talk about what that "lots" actually is; *whatever* it is, it doesn't seem to be interesting enough for them to write about it here and share it with other people. I say put up or shut up. What you SAY about the benefits you've gained from TM (or whatever your particular spiritual practice may be) doesn't mean shit. If you claim it's made you more creative, show us the money -- post something creative. If you SAY it's made you enlightened, show us something that resembles the things we were told to associate with enlightenment. If you SAY that TM is the fastest, most effective path to enlightenment, show us someone enlightened. And then *prove* to us that they're enlightened. What you SAY don't mean shit. It's what you DO that matters. Your epitaph, when it comes time for one, is not going to really reflect what you SAID about your life; it's going to reflect what you actually DID. One gets the feeling reading Fairfield Life that a number of FFL members' epitaphs are going to read, "Argued incessantly about petty shit on the Internet, trying to impress a couple of hundred people, most of whom were lurkers." Call me crazy, but I don't really think they give out medals for that.
