--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Gillam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I wrote: > > > > > > We have lots of people here who've used TM mantras at > > > some length. I'd love to read people's experiences in terms > > > of what each of us has observed firsthand in all these > > > decades of using our mantras. Get this discussion out > > > of the realm of theory and into our direct experiences. > > > > > --- sparaig wrote: > > > > Thereby pulling the flower up by the roots... > > I don't think Peter Sutphen pulled a flower up by its > roots to report that his mantra generates bliss. > > I wasn't asking people to analyze their mantras. I was > asking what people actually experience when they use > them. Transcending? Bliss? Encounters with actual > beings? These are not off-the-program questions. > > In response to my question, I got one actual > experience and two "Maharishi says"-type replies. > Fortunately, they all fit together and complemented > my experience, and I thank all for responding. > > ----------- > > It strikes me as a little bit crazy that we talk so > much theory around here. This master says this. > That master say that. That's fine, but what does > *your* research reveal?
Ideally, my "research" would reveal nothing. Therefore, its silly to talk about it. > > Maybe I'm harping on this because I've been > thinking lately about the approach to science > taken by Waldorf schools. In middle school, rather > than say, "Here's the theory, now look for evidence > of it in this experiment," they conduct the experiment, > then ask the students, "What did you observe?" > > In other words, instead of telling people what to > expect -- teaching the View, as Vaj might say -- > they encourage kids to pay attention and draw their > own conclusions. Those conclusions lead naturally > to a "right" answer. > > Whenever some question of experience arises on > Fairfield Life and people start posting a meditation > teacher's views on the subject, I get a little frustrated. > We have probably dozens of active readers here > with extensive experience in various schools of > meditation and personal growth. Seems to me > we could draw our own conclusions empirically. Why? The Knowledge found on the Internet stays on the Internet and all that. > > Given the choice between a teacher's teachings and > the direct experiences of Lawson English and Bob > Brigante, I'd rather hear the latter. If my interest in > your experiences comes across as asking you to > pull your flowers up by the roots, please forgive > me. That is not my intention. > But it IS the result, by the very act of asking. Sometimes it's necessary (i.e. checking and related procedures), but just because its necessary at times, doesn't mean it's a good general practice. Being without expectations becomes less and less easy the more you hear your own and other's experiences, especially in a casual context. This is rather obvious, at least to me. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
