--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snip> > Riffing on Words: "steadfast" and "spaced out" > > Someone posted a link on FFL to some "Rashtra Gita" > audio clip, and two things struck me as interesting > about the short discussion that followed. The first > was that one poster here said that she felt "spaced > out" while listening to it.
Hilarious. Yet *another* Judy-basher. Every single one of Barry's rants posted since he got back has been aimed at me. This person clearly > seemed to feel that being spaced out is a good thing > because she said that she was planning to listen to > the clip again later just before sleeping. Yeah, 'cause, ya know, I don' wanna be spaced out when I have things to do. That's why I said, ya know, that I was gonna listen to it before going to sleep, 'cause, ya know, I don't have to *do* anything when I'm sleeping except sleep. And it's my experience that listening to Vedic chanting before going to sleep makes my sleep deeper and more restful, so I'm more alert in the morning (that's "alert," as opposed to "spaced out," you see; "spaced out" is *not* a good thing to be in the morning when you have things to do, so I wouldn't listen to it in the morning). She then > went on to speculate that someone had "cognized" these > Sanskrit verses Actually I didn't "speculate," I *asked*. And Barry will never believe this, of course, but I asked tongue-in-cheek. > that she liked so much, the ones that > made her feel so "spaced out." No, I didn't "like the verses so much." My experience was that they had a powerful effect. Then cardemeister came > through by pointing out that the audio clip was really > just a pastiche of verses from the Vedas, assembled in > a somewhat random order. > > The second thing that struck me as odd about this mini- > thread was the actual *meaning* of one of the verses > chosen for this (as speculated by Brigante) "national > anthem of the Global Country of World Peace." I'll deal > with it first. Actually it's pretty pointless to "deal with" an English translation of anything from the Rig Veda, especially a "poetic" translation, as this one is. It's not a work of literature or instruction, nor is it subject to semantic analysis even in the original Sanskrit. So the critique Barry goes on to provide is ignorant and meaningless, and I've snipped it. <snip> > Now to the term "spaced out." Why, I ask myself, would > someone feel "spaced out" while listening to this > chanting, even not knowing what it means? I don't know, > but it could have something to do with "name and form." > The form of this particular verse is *falsity*, a cling- > ing to and praise for the illusion of permanence, and > the idea that some people are so cool and so important > that they can justly "reigning" over others. Hell, any- > body might feel a little spaced out when exposed to that > kinda thinking, even in Sanskrit. :-) Speaking of Missing the Point. > But more important, *whatever* caused it, why would > someone consider being "spaced out" a GOOD thing? Possibly because it seems to result in becoming more alert and having greater clarity, as I suggested when I explained why I had planned to listen to it before bed. > Let's examine that term "spaced out" a little more > deeply. I'm sure that many here can identify with > the phrase from their time spent on rounding courses. > I would guess that many of those who do find the term > and the experience familiar *also* believe that this > spaced-out-edness is a good thing, something that > happens when you have a "high" spiritual experience. Or when you're unstressing. Being spaced out *can* be enjoyable for a little while, but I doubt many TMers would really want to be spaced out after they come home from a course and have to start in with the daily grind. That's why on courses they cut back on the number of rounds at the end. > Here, just as information for those who are open to > it, is another take on being "spaced out." > > In the time since I left the TM movement, I have heard > no fewer than a dozen spiritual teachers comment on the > phenomenon of feeling "spaced out." Most of these > teachers were Buddhist, but a couple were Taoists and > a few were from a Hindu tradition. *All* of them, > however, were consistent in what they said. > > In their view, a seeker who is feeling "spaced out" is > experiencing a *lower* state of attention than their > normal waking consciousness, not a higher one. Could well be, if one is unstressing. I've certainly never thought of being spaced out as a "higher" state. (That's why I stopped listening to that chant, you see, and postponed it until bedtime, because I still had things to do and didn't want to be spaced out while doing them.) > In my 40-year experience with many different forms of > spiritual experience and meditation, only two practices > caused me to feel "spaced out" -- TM and the TM-siddhi > program. Without exception, the other forms of meditation > I've experienced all led to feelings of increased clarity > and an increased ability to focus and perform normal > tasks, not a lessening of those things. And we've certainly seen the effects in Barry's behavior here, haven't we? Especially his obsessive focus on demonizing those he considers TBs, me in particular. Not sure one would call this a "normal" task, though. However, as I said, *my* experience is that *after* feeling spaced out, I feel all the things Barry just described. It's sort of like taking a nap, actually. (That's why you don't want to be spaced out when you have things to do, you see, and why I decided to listen to the chant later, before I went to bed, when I didn't have anything I had to do.) 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/
