--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "raunchydog" <raunchy...@...> wrote: <snip> > As you may recall, Maharishi was extremely concerned about the news of > American ships blockading the Soviets in the Indian Ocean. Then one day, for > no apparent reason, he never said exactly why, Maharishi had us reforming > teams, make plans for travel visas, look at maps of India and plan how our > teams would travel around the Indian coastline, teaching TM, I guess. So for > a few days everyone went into hyper drive thinking about how they were going > to get their travel arrangements organized on such short notice. Then > nothing. Maharishi just dropped it. I felt like someone had just dumped me > out of bed in the middle of a nice nap, just for the hell of it. A few days > later, we got news the American ships had withdrawn the blockade. No one ever > made a direct statement that we might had had anything to do with it. But I > believe to this day that our attention on maps of India and thinking about > India's coastline intently, prevented a serious confrontation between the > Americans and the Soviets. <snip>
I am impressed that you are tough enough to post this knowing the predictable responses. Curtis's was the most interesting as he has the history that I don't. I know you know that you are not presenting a proof, but a belief. You don't force your belief on others which I respect. My problem with this kind of belief is that for some people, (not you, Raunchy), it turns into a disrespect for those who do not share the belief, to the extent that others are viewed as somehow defective. Listen to Nabby sometimes talk about how defective we non-believers are. Now coming from Nabby is one thing, but when it comes from people you personally know it is another. For example, I have been told that my system is not "subtle" enough to feel the effects of various things like east facing homes, gemstones, and various supplements. It isn't subtle because I do not meditate regularly. As a result I can only appreciate things on a "gross" level. So, my opinion as to the value of any of these things is totally irrelevant. I have been told that outside scientists opinions on the state of the research is irrelevant as they cannot appreciate the subtleties that the TMO researchers appreciate. A couple of people have told me that they can, by directing their intention, influence others, even influence the outcome of a card game of all things. And why not? After all, if you believe meditating in a group lowered crime, why wouldn't your own attention give you an Ace in a game of cards? They make cognitive errors concerning "winning streaks," not understanding the nature of random distributions include winning streaks. Their losing streaks are explained away. So, the problem for me is that I want to respect your belief. After all, it cannot be disproved. But I have trouble respecting these kinds of beliefs. Unsupported beliefs have caused all sorts of trouble in the world. Animals, from bears to rhinos are killed and driven to near extinction because of magical beliefs in the properties of a body part. Women are subjected to a subservient role in many religions. Criminals are convicted on eyewitness testimony in the face of contrary evidence because of the belief that what you see can't be wrong. Some people would rather take an unproven supplement than take a blood pressure pill that has been used for years, studied extensively, and shown both safe and effective. Separate and apart from your beliefs, I respect you Raunchy. You have tried to take the high road more and more often here, as you have in this thread. But I worry about this stuff.
