On 9/27/2014 7:12 AM, Share Long sharelon...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]
wrote:
I think turq's analysis doesn't go deep enough. The whole issue of
self importance has to do with feeling safe in the group. Wanting to
feel safe has to do with wanting to survive. We all have this
hardwired into our brains. In my experience TM cultures feeling safe
deep inside. Thus the growth of field independence.
>
/Maybe he is a failed spiritual teacher who, out of compassion, just
wants to reveal the "truth" to the few still remaining in this
discussion. Maybe he is a product of his own karma - manifested as ego
and jealousy. Maybe he is having trouble dealing with his own cognitive
dissonance. He seems to want to be spiritual or participate in a
spiritual quest or he wouldn't be here, right?
But maybe he is in denial and can't reconcile his own beliefs in
Buddhas. For example, everyone knows that Sam Harris trained for years
under a Tibetan Lama. And, most everyone knows that Tibetan Buddhism is
about as far-fetched as any belief system on the planet. Go figure. /
>
On Saturday, September 27, 2014 6:25 AM, "TurquoiseBee
turquoi...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com>
wrote:
*From:* "Michael Jackson mjackso...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]"
<FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com>
Benjy, Marshy - two hucksters and Nappy, one brain addled sycophant.
While I cannot disagree, I think it is useful every so often to
remember that at one point WE were sycophants, too. So what was "in
it" for the sycophant?
I think that the thing that is "in it" for the sycophant is self
importance. If the teacher in question is telling them that they are
the most important people on the planet, and so important that every
thud of their butt on the foam sends forth Wondrous Waves Of Woo Woo
to transform the universe into a better place, some people are
actually going to buy that. For a while. It's just that *still*
believing it all these decades later strikes me as a bit much to ask. :-)
Personally, I think that one of the most useful pieces of neuroscience
would be a study that managed to visualize in the brain the exact
moment in which someone decides "This guy is enlightened and telling
me the truth and therefore everything he ever says from now on will be
truth." If we knew what that looked like on the level of brain
chemistry, we might someday be able to prevent it. :-)
