Turq is nice enough to fill out an intrusive questionnaire and it
gets criticized. Unbelievable.
"Love will swallow you, eat you up completely, until there is no `you,' only
love."
- Amma
--- On Tue, 3/3/09, Duveyoung <no_re...@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
From: Duveyoung <no_re...@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: THE NEWBIE QUESTION LIST: TurquoiseB
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 1:52 PM
Turq,
My notes below:
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_re...@...> wrote:
>
> Just to humor Edg, and because as a believer
> in the value of Beginner's Mind I hope always
> to be a "newbie," and just for the fun of it,
> I'll answer.
That's a snipe. To humor someone is to plainly indicate that you feel the
person is whacked. Any newbie would be well advised to know this about you --
how you attempt to skew a person's image instead of confronting the issues.
>
> > 1. In which religion were you raised?
>
> None. I was thrown out of Presbyterian
> Sunday School after my third Sunday and
> have been thankful for that ever since.
>
> > 2. In which other religious movements have you been a
> > true believer? List them in chronological order.
>
> Badly phrased question, Edg. I have
> *never* been a "True Believer" in any
> movement that I considered "religious."
A newbie could see from this that you're sniping without helping with a
re-wording. Typical of you.
>
> I have participated in movements that
> I considered "spiritual" on the "True
> Believer" level only twice -- with TM
> and with the Rama trip.
>
> > 3. Do you believe in reincarnation?
>
> Yes.
>
> > 4. Do you believe in an omniscient, omnipotent, God Who is
> > running the universe down to the least aspect?
>
> No.
>
> > 5. How do you define soul?
>
> I don't. Meaningless term.
Obviously it is not a meaningless term if you thought it had enough meaning to
deny soul. Instead, the word "meaningless" is more easily interpreted as your
way of putting me down for even asking the question....a meaningless question
is what a dolt asks, right?
>
> > 6. How do you define enlightenment?
>
> I don't. Meaningless term.
For a person who has spent thousands of hours on sites that pertain to
enlightenment, you come off, again, as intent on putting me down rather than
answer the question. You have a deep and clear set of concepts that have
helped you arrive at your POV about enlightenment, yet you offer no explanation
of your dismissal that would show you see the complexities. You've waxed long
about this concept for a decade, so your curt answer here is a personal attack.
>
> > 7. Nature or nurture?
>
> Both, of course. The "of course" again is an attack on my cogency.
>
> > 8. List the gurus in who's physical presence you've been.
>
> Too many to list. Rather than name the "biggies," you seem to assert some
> sort of soft concept like "everyone and everything is my teacher," and so,
> you ignore the intent of the question.
>
> > 9. What country do you live in now?
>
> Spain.
>
> > 10. How many children have you parented?
>
> None, to my knowledge.
>
> > 11. How many times married?
>
> Once.
>
> > 12. Years spent in the TMO?
>
> 14.
>
> > 13. Years spent living in Fairfield, Iowa?
>
> 0 (zero).
>
> > 14. Vegetarian?
>
> No.
>
> > What rules?
>
> None. Oh, you meant about eating. :-) None.
>
> > 15. Do you watch entertainment that portrays raw and graphic
> > violence?
>
> Absolutely.
>
> > 16. Can drugs be spiritually useful to the ordinary person on
> > the street such that regular use could be supported?
>
> Too many variables to give a straight
> answer to. What is "spiritually useful?"
> What is "regular use?" For that matter,
> what is an "ordinary person?"
Of course these are good questions, but everyone here could answer the
question-in-general easily. You chose to avoid answering by shotgunning back a
ton of nuance questions just to side track the issue.
>
> > 17. In which places of the world have you lived a year or more?
>
> Too many to list. Well over 50 at this point.
Hmmm, so just about every year of your life you've moved? Interesting. Have
you ever had a sense of "roots" in a geographic area?
>
> > 18. On a 1 - 10 scale, rate how much of your spiritual
> > journey you've accomplished so far.
>
> All of it. My journey, "spiritual" or
> otherwise, extends only as far as this
> moment. Tomorrow -- if I live to see
> tomorrow -- I will give the same answer,
> but the journey will have been one day
> longer. Again a slippery answer that is poetry instead of direct
> communication. At least there's no sniping done, so I can try to interpret
> the poetry without having to deal with a snipe too.
>
> > 19. How much time do you spend per day in formal spiritual
> > practices that are not common-everyday human activities?
>
> A half an hour to an hour in sitting
> meditation. But I can practice mindful-
> ness at any time, and often do -- while
> working, eating, walking, sleeping, or
> having sex.
>
> > 20. List the recreational activities, hobbies, passions that
> > get more than 10 hours per week of your time.
>
> Walking. Reading. Watching movies. Being
> a predator. ( Hey...you didn't think I was
> going to give you ALL straight answers,
> did you? :-)
>
> > 21. What do you expect to get out of posting here at
> > FairfieldLife?
>
> I *hope* to win that big kewpie doll on the
> shelf behind the carnival barker. But I've
> been around the carnival circuit enough
> times to *expect* nothing.
>
