Apparently we are in a similar place...sounds like my resume. I am 55, initiated at 17. Did sidhis, lived on Staff at Cobb, hung out with Sri Sri and some Yogananda people.
I always kept an emotional distance from the movement due to homophobia (theirs and mine) and which I now see as a great blessing. For me AOL was a more "mature" and humane version of the movement...however, movements are more alike than they are different - and the pressure for social conformity is ruinous. I think just as a young man moves out of his parent's house to strike out on his own, a mature man has to leave behind the safety of the belief systems he adopted as a kid to find his place in the world. Perhaps this is the project for all men in our decade. Indeed the fifties are a great decade of life...I just wish my joints didn't hurt when I get out of bed! --- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@...> wrote: > > > Thanks for the answers. > > > This is a false polarity: > > > <I dunno Curtis, just because you bought the whole stinkin' enchilada for many > years doesn't mean the opposite of everything you learned in the movement is > the > truth...dive for the pearls...they are there.> > > This is not the intellectual dynamic at play in my questions. I am a > meditator. TM is my pearl from that era. I am just questioning the beliefs > that surround the experience. The years I bought the whole ... were between > 16 and 31. It doesn't surprise me that I have reconsidered the beliefs I > held in that period in my 5th decade of life experience and study. I am > progressing in understanding, not just polarizing against what I believed as > a young man. Now I have more years out than I was in. These are the > formative experiences that are important to me now. > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "martyboi" <martyboi@> wrote: > > > > > > Answers interleaved: > > > > > This may be your own construction. Do you feel the same thing about > > > voodoo ceremonies? How about about a rasta smoke-in? A religious ritual > > > involving killing a goat? A human? > > > > > > Yes it might be my own construction - but its equally possible it is not. > > Never been to a voodoo ceremony. Seems creepy. > > Been to many smoke-ins...love Rastafarians. > > Don't think I like killing so much. Though I've eaten goat...very tasty > > after a smoke-in. > > > > > > > > > When our subconscious expectations are matched in the environment, our > > > brains reward us. We get flooded with the expected good feelings. We > > > have historically been shown to suck at evaluating such groups outside > > > us. You are judging what is outside by a feeling inside. It implies > > > only simultaneity, not causality. > > > > > > Yes...Actually I don't spend much of my time evaluating people or > > groups..I'm not looking for grace it just sorta randomly shows up. Can't > > explain it...and certainly don't need to justify or prove it. > > > > > > > > > > Here is what I propose: we get a curtain and you sit facing away from > > > it. Across the curtain we bring in a succession of followers of Sebud, > > > Thug hash smokers from Northern India (the original assassins) and a > > > variety of new age groups along with a group of guys who used to cut up > > > bodies for the mob. > > > > > > Without the visual clues, can you accurately tell what field effect they > > > are emanating? > > > > > > (I can get the Mafia guys and thugs, I need help gathering up the rest.) > > > > > > I don't choose when and where or how I get vibes from people or > > situations... It's just something that randomly happens. > > > > I dunno Curtis, just because you bought the whole stinkin' enchilada for > > many years doesn't mean the opposite of everything you learned in the > > movement is the truth...dive for the pearls...they are there. > > > > > > > > > > > > I do believe that individuals and groups of individuals can be conduits > > > > for grace to flow into this world...Each member of the group "tugging" > > > > each member along in a symbiotic manner. > > > > > > > > What I don't believe is that the manner in which that grace expresses > > > > itself in the world is predictable with respect to individuals: as we > > > > know, "God is no respecter of persons." (Acts 10:34) > > > > > > > > Grace influences our thoughts, behaviors and choices in the world and > > > > moves situations towards positive outcomes. But - it's only through > > > > action and behavior that it (grace)becomes meaningful. > > > > > > > > I am sure that sitting and radiating grace is great. But, Krishna told > > > > Arjuna to act for a reason...Action is the bridge through which that > > > > grace becomes manifest. > > > > > > > > > >
