I have no reason to challenge his sincerity. Making a buck doesn't always mean a person is a shyster. But one definition of a guru that does hold up is the the money flow is always one way. I think of him as an entertainer and he is giving people something they value, so win win.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "whynotnow7" <whynotnow7@...> wrote: > > "I Know You Don't Know You are Broke, > That is Why The Universe Sent ME To Fix You." > > Ha-Ha! Funny, Curtis! Though Adyashanti doesn't strike me that way at all. He > is there for folks who have legitimate questions, and answers them the best > he can. The guy seems genuine enough for what he does. He is useless as a > doctor for a healthy person, but so are all the other doctors. You are right > that there are a lot of assumptions that have to be made to feel as if his > teaching is helpful to us, but he doesn't seem like a shyster. I didn't get > enough from his interview to listen to the whole thing. > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@> > wrote: > > > > Thanks for clarifying. I already figured that despite your very kind > > support for my post. I am giving Michael Shermer a chance to make his > > point in The Believing Brain. He is an unabashed reductionist and I am > > still making up my mind. But I know that I need to input his arguments and > > the information about our neurology as a step in forming my own opinion. I > > hope it will provide some good fodder for future discussions. > > > > There are two sets of issues. One is how can we approach our best > > understanding of reality. And secondly, does it make any difference in how > > we approach our lives. I do not believe that an understanding that our > > brain activity IS our mind is going to change that much for how I live. It > > is just an understanding of how our machinery of perception works. And so > > far it have become clear to me that not accounting for the specific way > > that our different brain parts communicate with one another and the > > mechanics of our perceptual machinery, creates a hole you can drive a bus > > through. With guys like Adyashanti at the wheel pointing our all the high > > points of reality for us. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you look out of the > > right side of the bus you may feel a tendency or desire to collapse the > > contradictory nature of the non dual using the habitual patterns of a life > > lived in duality, and if you just allow yourselves a moment to connect > > inside again with that part of you that has always known who you are inside > > beyond the activity of the mind and the yearnings your individual hearts, > > into the reality that is behind that activity, the being of all that is or > > could be imagined in this state of our true natures unified with that same > > quality in everyone and everything around us and it may give way to a > > feeling of coming home to our center, to our true nature and once realized > > the infinite work can begin as we find ourselves enjoying the growing > > levels of awakening and the paradox that it has always been this way and > > that we have so much more to grow beyond the infinite.... > > > > oops that's time....that does it for this session, please get your credit > > cards out if you want to purchase any of my lecture series on your way out, > > if you don't have any of them yet I can recommend "I Know You Don't Know > > You are Broke, That is Why The Universe Sent ME To Fix You." > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, maskedzebra <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "richardwillytexwilliams" > > > <willytex@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > So I am trying on another version of nondualism which > > > > > > involves a bit of reductionism that labels the mind > > > > > > body split as an illusion, an artifact of how our > > > > > > brain operates... > > > > > > > > > > maskedzebra: > > > > > Am I all alone in exclaiming how beautifully wise and > > > > > sober and acute this analysis is? > > > > > > > > > Well, it hasn't been established that the world of the > > > > senses is an "illusion" - that may be an assumption. > > > > > > > > If this world we experience is just a dream, an illusion, > > > > then what is the constructed character of knowing? Are > > > > we each dreaming the same dream - it would seem so, since > > > > we all agree that a table is a table and a door is a door. > > > > > > > > There is a lot to be said about accepting the mind-body > > > > duality as reality. It makes a lot more sense to accept > > > > the duality rather than accept that events are an > > > > illusion and therefore, not real. > > > > > > > > Who in their right mind would climb to the top of a red > > > > ant hill on fire and shout "I don't exist - it's all > > > > just an illusion!" > > > > > > > > Adyashanti: "Get rid of all of your illusions and what's > > > > left is the truth. You don't find truth as much as you > > > > stumble upon it when you have cast away your illusions." > > > > > > RESPONSE: I should have stipulated that my praise of Curtis's analysis of > > > Adyashanti applies only to the videoand not to Curtis's recent > > > assumption about "the mind body split as an illusion". I completely > > > disagree with Curtis here; I am an orthodox dualist all the waythe > > > physical and the metaphysical are not made of the same thing. But let me > > > stop right here: I do think that the disposition in Curtis to go the > > > reductionist neurological route is an appropriate and heuristic > > > corrective to his submission to the Hindu mysticism he absorbed into his > > > mind at MIU, and then in proselytizing on behalf of TM as chairperson of > > > the TM Center in Washington. Of course he will deny that his present > > > tendencies intellectually are in any way driven by his past association > > > with the TM Movement (and its religious beliefs). But for me, his > > > interest in, even his belief in, eliminative materialism (if he will > > > accede to that description of his belief system) is the perhaps necessary > > > antidote for clearing out all the mystical deceit lodged in his and > > > bodyor just in his memoryfrom being a teacher of TM and a follower of > > > Maharishi. I think he is doing all of us a favour by so scrupulously > > > sticking to the scientific and naturalistic model of reality. It means HE > > > CAN'T GET DECEIVED. So, even as I can't go there with him (and hold out > > > for a much more complex and post-Catholic reading of the universe and the > > > selfI think of myself as a Mysterian, with a difference), I nevertheless > > > find his way of seeing reality the (as Wallace Stevens might say) > > > "necessary angel" for seeing through someone like Adyashanti. > > > > > > > > > >
