--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <no_reply@> > wrote: <snip> > Having said this, is it possible that the effective- > ness of mantras, and much of the lore that has been > built up over the centuries about the "proper" mantra > and the "proper" means of "transmitting" them is > just a process of suggestion? > > The novice, who has not *noticed* the mind's natural > tendency to settle down into its quiescent state, is > to some extent "tricked" into noticing that by being > told about the near-magical qualities of the mantra > (or yantra, or object of visualization, or whatever). > The novice meditates on the object, which has been > described to him in near-magical terms, as if it > had "special" qualities that no other object of > focus has, and voila, he transcends.
FWIW, I had tried both Benson's technique and Centering Prayer before TM and got almost nothing out of them. Settling down of the mind, sure, to an extent, but nothing to write home about. When I started TM, I was absolutely sure the mantras weren't the key to the rather spectacular difference I experienced, but rather the method itself, and felt that way for some time. I've come to think, however, on the basis of my personal experience, that the mantras play a very significant role--although I don't think they're the least bit "magical," any more than I think biofeedback, say, is "magical." But then, I never did. ------------------------ 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/
