As I said, if anyone else is confused, let me know; I'll be happy to explain.
Xeno can deal with his own confusion. Or not, as he chooses. Barry did not use the word 'Self', he used the word 'self' uncapitalised, and the phrase 'sense of self'. In no way did he imply 'transcended the Self'. (See below) Talk about reading comprehension. Xeno is having reading comprehension problems again. If anyone else is confused, let me know. Correction? And of course, at least in the TM context, "transcending" during meditation doesn't imply enlightenment or "specialness" or having transcended the Self, any more than "no-thought" does. Are you sure you meant 'transcended the Self'? That would seem to be an oxymoron. Maybe you meant transcended the sense of individual self? ---In [email protected], <turquoiseb@...> wrote : My "another word" would probably be "no-thought." Unlike some here, I have never had any problem achieving this -- as a kid, before TM, while practicing TM, or afterwards, practicing other methods. You just stop your thoughts. Simple as that. As for why it's always been easy for me and seems not to be for other people, I have no idea, but I would suspect that many people identify their sense of self so much with the constant flow of thoughts that they're reluctant to let that flow settle down and go away, because they're afraid their self will go away, too. As you say, the word "transcending" is misleading, because one can stop one's thoughts and still have a sense of self. No-thought is more accurate, because it lacks connotations of "specialness" or having achieved something. It's just allowing your mind to become still, not "enlightened." No one really needs a technique to do this, or a mantra; stillness is the mind's natural state. You just allow it to happen. IMO, of course.
