Thanks Sharelong60. I feel very strong about the beauty of the TM practice, and the widespread agreement among so many meditators, and TM teachers of weaknesses in the organization. Thanks.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long <sharelong60@...> wrote: > > Mr. Trowbridge, it's always a pleasure to read such clear and reasonable and > impassioned writing. Thank you for posting this here. I am sorry for your > experience in 2007 and appreciate how you're attempting to bring good from > it. I also LOVE the concept of a sentence or phrase that is used to guide > every decision such as was used at Black Mountain Center. Will let my brain > percolate on that with reference to contemporary TMO. > > > I tend to think of negativity and or conflict like a cut on the finger. > Good to give it as much attention as it needed to set up the conditions > needed for healing. Then live life. The attention and healing conditions > needed for a paper cut will probably be vastly different than that required > for a finger caught in a car door and dangling by a tendon. > > From your last 2 paragraphs it sounds like, but I could be making a > connection you do not intend, that the larger issue is such that it could be > remedied by what you call a separation of Church and state. First, I'd be > very interested to hear what you think the larger, hidden issues are. > > I think you are onto something here and have my own opinions, but welcome > hearing ideas enriched as they would be by your unique and qualified > perspective. > > > And from at least one poster on FFL, I get the impression that there is a bit > of the separation you suggest. At least as far as teaching TM is > concerned. I'm not a TM teacher so cannot speak from experience about how > this fairly recent set up is working. It sounds like one TMO leader is > focused on purity of the teaching and another is focused getting the TM > message out. > > > Thanks again and I hope you will continue posting here. > All the best, > Share > > > > ________________________________ > From: jwtrowbridge <johnwtrowbridge@...> > To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Monday, April 1, 2013 7:25 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Feedback to the TM Movement > > >  > I would like to give feedback from the perspective of one who loves TM, but > not how the organization is run. I have wanted to do so for many years. I > feel I have a unique perspective to do so. I am not angry. I am not dependent > on TM other than my wonderful program I practice. I have no ax to grind other > than a genuine desire to see the organization succeed. I wish to help this > organization from the point of view of one who is a family man, a > professional who sees the divinity of my practice, and the missteps of the > organization. > > My TM program is the only time during the day that I know my activity is > perfect. It is a perfect program. It is a perfect activity. It is perfect > knowledge. I have recently obtained all of the advanced techniques. I have > missed maybe five meditations in 40 years only because I enjoy it. There is > no other reason. Not for health, not for enlightenment, such is the joy and > power of my program. > > I have just finished 34 years as a public school teacher in North Carolina, > and I am still teaching. I have been married 30 years. I have two children. > My wife meditates. My two children have been initiated. From the beginning, I > have provided support to the TM Movement through the use of my house for > lectures, initiations, and whatever I have to offer all these years. I am > your biggest fan. > > I started TM on November 13th, 1971 and got the sidhis in `80 or `81 at MUM. > I practiced my program by myself over the decades until 5 years ago, when I > went to MUM to fly in the dome for a 7-week visit. I have gone ever 2 years > during the summer thereafter. I have never taken one dime of grant money. > > I mention specific names and impressions in this letter, not to target > individuals, but to show relevant examples of what concerns me. I also want > to describe what could be done differently, especially if you want to have > credibility with Americans. The goal of this organization is not to appeal to > a particular leader or person, but to the widest possible audience who will > appreciate and practice the TM program in its purity. > > 2007: This incident exemplifies so many of the elements of what is wrong with > how the TM organization is managed. When I came 5 years ago, I was in the > dome for the IA course for just a few days when the men's group had to move > because workmen were replacing the roof. We moved to a flying hall near the > swimming pool. Unfortunately, a mistake had been made in preparing the new > hall. The floor and walls had been painted with a toxic, oil-based paint, and > the odor was awful, awful. The air in the new hall was extremely noxious. > Fans in the eaves of the building were run night and day. Sidhas pleaded with > Dr. Doug Birx not to move us into this situation. He said it could not be > helped. I spent one day in the new hall experiencing bliss with an underlying > headache. I never have headaches. > > I walked and hitchhiked to Vedic City to do program for most of the week > instead of going to this toxic hall. Once I was picked up by a Board of > Trustees member. I don't remember his name. In casual conversation, told him > I had not come from North Carolina to huff paint fumes. The next day, > thinking the fumes would be better, I went to fly in the newly painted hall. > It was better, but still not good. During the 10 a.m. experience time, Dr. > Bevan Morris asked Dr. Doug Birx an introductory question, "Is there a > problem with the hall?" I assumed that the trustee I had talked to called Dr. > Morris. Dr. Birx stated no. Who could question the bliss emanating from this > hall? he asked. He added that there were some problems, but they had been > worked out. He completely dismissed the issue. > > Who knows why Dr. Birx moved us into a hall that could have sickened the > whole men's flying group, but the result was they were exposed to toxic fumes > for a week due to his decision. And when he was questioned about this, he > did not admit a mistake had been made and remedy the situation by moving the > sidhas to a safe space. > > Systemic Issues: The TM movement employs managers who are brilliant and well > versed in the Vedas or special knowledge. However, this does not make them > skilled managers. The problems that allowed this one example to unfold are > systemic in the organization. People are good, and when good people make > wrong decisions, it is usually due to responding to the stressors and > structure of the system that is in place. I blame the systems under which > they are managing, and the environment of not recognizing issues that should > be addressed when they emerge. > > This one example reveals a lot about the dynamics of how the organization is > managed. This dynamic is repeated a thousand fold up and down the > organization, resulting in less than stellar results. No one holds the > leadership accountable. And there is no mechanism in place for the rank and > file to report problems, concerns, or issues. There is no mechanism for > addressing problems. There is no mechanism for reporting how problems are > addressed. This is systemic throughout the organization. > > In any well-run organization, the manager would have stated the obvious: A > mistake has been made. Let's go to our rooms for week, and do program there > until this hall airs out. This should not have been a big problem. Dr. Birx > could have called for help to solve the problem from staff below him, and > staff above him. It appears his decision was made in isolation, as are so > many others. I can infer also that the Board of Trustees is more of a paper > tiger trusting on management to make the right decisions. Dr. Morris trusts > Dr. Birx to make the right decision, and neither questions the other. > > The Nature of Conflict: There is a misunderstanding in the movement about > what the nature of conflict is. I have seen this over and over. The Maharishi > tape in which he talks about always seeking the positive instead of the > negative, in which he describes the saint who was shown the dead cat, and > comments on his beautiful teeth, has been greatly misunderstood, and used to > the great misfortune of the movement. > > I have a master's degree in early childhood education with emphasis in > guidance, and a bachelor's degree in mental retardation. I hold > certifications in teaching students who are learning disabled, mentally > handicapped, behaviorally emotionally disabled, as well as curriculum > instruction and public school guidance. I am an expert in working with > dysfunction, confrontation, and conflict. I deal with conflict all day long, > and have for decades. > > There is a difference between being negative and dealing with conflict. > Conflict is just the environment trying to normalize, evolve, grow. Conflicts > that exist are a tool, a means of change that enable you to normalize the > environment. If conflict is there it is OK. Conflict and confrontation are > part of the normalizing process. It is part of life. > > This point alone could save the movement untold problems, and has lost it > untold support. Through its unintended actions, (how it handles conflict) > the TM movement has disenfranchised scores of TM teachers who would otherwise > have been certified, scores of meditators who would be in the dome, scores of > people who would start TM. > > There are of course many dissatisfied people who when even handled by best > practices are still angry. It's just that so many have been mishandled, and > feel the organization does not listen, will not change, say they are > negative, and have been dealt with in such a fashion that their revenge > energy is tapped, causing problems for the organization, and the individual. > > In an organization with enlightened management, almost all problems are due > to poor management or poor systems. They manage from the point of view that > if you believe that people are good, then good people want to be competent. > They want to do a good job. If you believe that people are bad, then you > believe they have to be closely supervised, and forced into doing a good job. > > The goal of management is to move people to autonomy. If a person is > inexperienced, or incompetent you give more directing telling statements with > the goal always of moving them to becoming as independent, and autonomous as > possible. The successful manager's role would then be that of a cheerleader, > one who provides resources, and removes obstacles to allow everyone to > achieve his potential. It would enliven the baseâ"win win. > > This means the organization is managed from bottom to top. The person who has > the most information to solve a problem is closest to the problem-- the store > clerk, the janitor, the citizen meditator, the TM teacher, the visitor. > Enliven the bottom, and they will come out of the woodwork to help you. They > possess untold passion, and ideas to help this movement do what management > could only dream they could doâ"reach the widest possible audience who will > appreciate and practice the TM program in its purity. This is the goal. This > is what the TM organization is about. > > Transparency in decision making: Good management is transparent. It has > nothing to hide. When I managed in a residential facility for the severe and > profound developmentally disabled (Black Mountain Center in North Carolina) > we had a sentence or phrase with which we could measure every decision. This > way any person in the organization, any person, could approach management, > and state his problem, and suggest a solution based on our "what we are > about" statement. > > Our phrase was "How does this help active treatment?" Active treatment was > what we were about. It could be a goal to improve a client ability to hold a > spoon, and increase independent dining, or a goal to reduce a behavior > problem, increase mobility by getting out of a wheelchair, and so forth. > > All decisions were measured by this statement of what we were about. This > mobilized the organization, and released immense creativity from all > employees. The greatest desire of people in an organization is to have > autonomy in their jobâ"to feel needed and heard, to contribute, to make a > difference. We saw evidence of this in the improvements made as a result of > all players in the group. I have done this. It works. It works, and it is > respectful of all people, and defuses, and enlivens, and keeps the > organization on the cutting edge moving toward its organizational goals in a > natural, life affirming way. It also promotes egalitarianism. We are all > equal. We just have different roles. > > Making decisions based on a shared mission dismantles ego, status, hidden > agendas. No one can use resources for selfish purposes or hidden agendas. It > can empower the bottom employee, or in the case of the TM movement, the > meditators who support the organization's mission through daily practice. > > These management principals I describe are so like the values of TM, yet they > are the antithesis of what the TM movement actually practices. Even from his > enlightened position, Maharishi constantly made adjustments and changes to > see what would work and what didn't. > > An additional component to creating a transparent organization is openness in > accountability and responsibility. This information is not publicly available > on the TM website. Where is the information about who is on the Board of > Directors? Where are the minutes from their meetings? Where are the > organization's by-laws? Outside of the organization's 990, required under > federal law, where are the annual reports that show what the organization has > accomplished, performance metrics, details on income and expenditures? > > How do we know the current model isn't working? Just look at the anemic > statistics on dome usage as an indicator. People vote with their feet. To > determine why the dome program is foundering, go to the base for the best > decision-making. The top of the tree does not speak to the roots. > > I tell people that the knowledge is the real deal. That they should trust > their experiences, trust their program, trust the holy tradition, and if you > see something you don't like just turn your head. We all do. That is because > there is no system in place to do otherwise. > > I have meditated for over 40 years based solely on that I enjoy it. Something > this powerful will not be stopped. It will get there, but nature demands it > must evolve, and grow, and greet this day, this time, this culture, this age. > > How else do I know the current system isn't working? As I shared meals on the > MUM campus, if the organization/management subject was broached, TM teachers > and non-teachers alike just shook their heads in resignation. They see what > I see, and have done as I have done. > > I do love you guys. It's just that the current model is not working, despite > the fact that there is more talent in the TM movement than I have seen in any > organization bar none. I could not shake a tree on the MUM campus without > five brilliant TM teachers falling out. Use the talent that has been thrown > at you, more plentiful than sand on the beach. Do not just depend on a > handful of bright stars. There are many stars wishing to contribute toward > your goal. > > And finally, there is no upward movement in the organization. If you become a > TM teacher, the top leadership positions seem to be life appointed. The > organization is stagnant, dependent on just a few leaders, though brilliant > and talented, who seem to do it all with no structure in the organization to > enliven all the myriad multitalented potential of the organization. > > There are so many examples of poor experiences I have had over the years that > give the impression of unprofessionalism from the very trite to the > significant. I know I am not the only person who sees these things and knows > that below the tip of the iceberg lies a larger problem. These are well > known. It is not the intention of my letter to enumerate, but to give but one > more voice only to suggest, to prod, to affirm, to encourage you to > recognize, and solve themâ"to grow, to change. > > For lack of a better expression, I would like to suggest that their needs to > be a separation of church and state. The church is the purity of the > knowledge, and the state is how TM is administrated, the organization. The > organization should consider some of the principles I have suggested. There > is nothing wrong with conflict. Conflict is just an opportunity to solve a > problem. It is how something maladaptive, and disorganized becomes beautiful. > > Sincerely, > Jai Guru Dev, >
