--- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Since you turned me on to this article I know you understand his point > which is made in the rest of the article. In his book Sam Harris > points out that irrational beliefs are different only in content. > They are based on ancient scriptures dictating to modern people > things that cannot or have not been proved.
Define "irrational." Note that Harris very explicitly does *not* rule out the idea that the mind can have an effect on the physical world. Is it irrational for him not to rule it out, given that it hasn't been proved? He doesn't seem at all inclined to assert that it's "patently absurd." > The authority based belief systems all have this flaw. > If you had been given the flying sutra blind, without all the hype, > would you conclude that you were about to stay in the air? I didn't conclude that even *with* the hype, Curtis. However, if I'd had no idea what was "supposed" to happen, but had the same subjective experiences, there would have come a point when I suddenly recognized what was supposed to happen, because at times, at the apex of a hop, I have the sense for a split-second that I'm not going to come down again. This is a *visceral* sense, not any kind of intellectual notion. It's something my body knows. That split-second is only a split-second; it doesn't last. But it's an instant in which the potential becomes not just crystal clear but self-evident: If I were able to maintain the exact state I'm in at that moment, I'd stay in the air. (Note that even *with* this experience, hoping to fly is not why I practice the levitation sutra and the rest of the TM-Sidhis techniques. I practice them because they're enjoyable and have beneficial effects in activity that are well worth the time spent.) > But "Nature Speaking English" (Domash's term for MMY) proclaimed > that is shall be so, despite such a dismal track record of anyone > actually doing it. He even uses yogic scriptures to back up his > claim. So there is no reason to believe, other than his word that > it is so, that you will someday float in the air. Plus all the (admittedly anecdotal) accounts of people levitating, throughout history and across cultures. Just for the record, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are "scriptures" only in a generic sense. They're actually a practical instruction manual for development of consciousness. > As far as Sam's other point that amazing claims can and should be > tested...MMY has had how many years to put up or shut up with > flying? Harris is talking about testing claims that something *has* occurred, not that it *will* occur at some point. Obviously, you can't "test" a claim with an open-ended time frame. You know better than that, Curtis. > When do we celebrate the 30th year of no one flying? > > "Now, scientists tend to be dogmatically opposed to > > looking at this kind of phenomenon -- at telepathy, for instance, > > because there's been so much fraud and wishful thinking." > > Take your pick. How, um, clever of you to leave out the rest of the paragraph, not to mention the following question and answer: H: Science generally has been eager to divest itself of the spookiness of this area. But I think that kind of phenomenon is fascinating and worth looking into. And it may be that minds have some effect upon the physical world that we currently can't explain. But the way we will explain it is scientifically. S: It sounds like you're open-minded to the possibility of telepathy - - things that we might classify as psychic. You're saying it's entirely possible that they might be true and science at some point will be able to prove them. H: Yeah, and there's a lot of data out there that's treated in most circles like intellectual pornography that attests to there being a real phenomenon here. I just don't know. But I've had the kinds of experiences that everyone has had that seem to confirm telepathy or the fact that minds can influence other minds. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/SISQkA/gOaOAA/yQLSAA/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/
