There was a wave in between the Beatles and Merv waves. It happened around 1973 when the scientific research happened.
--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <no_re...@...> wrote: > > Think about it. The TM movement at this point > is dying, composed of primarily the last remnants > of the "Beatles wave" and the "Merv wave" of > initiations. The first group are now approaching > 60 or past it, and the second wave are now in > their 50s at least. > > But there is a significant difference between > the two "generations" in my opinion. Many of us > "Beatles wave" folks (the original Star Trek > cast) found our way to TM and its dogma *after* > having experienced the late 60s and its refresh- > ing blast of freedom from prudery and sexual > repression. The "Merv wave" folks (Star Trek, > The Next Generation) appeared on the scene as > young and impressionable as the original Star > Trek cast, but in the days when the 60s sense > of freedom and lack of prudery had already > passed, and had been replaced with nouveau > cynicism. > > Many of this latter wave *were* young and very > impressionable, and bought in to the TM prudery. > They came to believe wholeheartedly in stuff > like "celibacy as a Good Thing," sex outside > of marriage as a Bad Thing, lust as a *very* > Bad Thing, and having sex with more than one > person as *such* a Bad Thing that it was right > up there with mass murder. > > I may only be speaking for myself, but I never > bought into any of this bullshit. I am an unre- > pentent child of the 60s, an ex-hippie who had > time to form my own sexual and social identity > *before* I ever got inducted into the Star Trek > crew. As a result, even though a TMer, I got to > enjoy the sexually-liberated but shallow 70s, > and boink my way through them happily. I never > for a moment bought into the "Thou shalt not > have a girlfriend...that's beneath the stature > of a knower of reality" dogma that was being > sold at TM teacher training courses. I got more > nookie on TM residence courses and ATR courses > than most people on this forum have gotten in > their entire lives. > > And I do not feel the *least* bit sorry about it. > Say what you will, characterizes me as *what* > you will, I am myself and comfortable with that. > I've had long-term relationships and been married > once and I've had one-night stands. *None* of > these relationships are "better" in my mind than > any other. And there is nothing any of you can > say to "make" them better, or me "worse" because > I can't see the theoretical difference that you > see. Go peddle your TM prudery elsewhere. > > And I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way. > When I run into people from my generation, I find > that many of them somehow avoided this silly TM > prudery and live according to their *own* rules > of conduct and according to their own feelings > about what is an acceptable lifestyle. So I'm > wondering what the difference is between us Star > Trekkers and the Next Generation. > > And I think that the bottom line may very well be > that the Next Generation missed the late 60s. They > grew up in a later, more cynical era in which the > brief sense of freedom and hope that we all exper- > ienced in the late 60s had faded and been replaced > with standard American hopelessness. So they were > better "fodder" for the prudish propaganda and > repressive lifestyles peddled by the TM movement. > > That's my theory and I'm stickin' to it. > > But I'm humble enough to admit that it could > be wrong. The difference between the folks in > the original Beatles wavers and the later Merv > wavers could simply be that we were smarter. :-) >
