--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, hermandan0 <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > <snip> > > > Yeah, well, that kind of misses my point, which was > > > that *some* things that are apparently cultural may > > > *also* be "scientific" in that their specific effects > > > are universal. (I wasn't including saris, by the way.) > > > > Thanks for clarifying. I didn't address that because I didn't see > > that the point was in contention (although "universal" is a pretty > > large in scope). > > If there really is a "law of nature" component to > any of this stuff, it *would* be universal, wouldn't > it? That's what I was getting at. > > I didn't even think I was suggesting throwing > > anything out in the first place, only saying that I don't believe > > Maharishi is totally uninfluenced by culture, history, situation > > in time, and ideology, and that some of what he does is based on > > that. > > Yes indeed, I fully agree. It's just that there's a > tendency on this forum (not you necessarily) to see > everything in black-and-white terms--in this case, if > it's cultural, it's *only* cultural and can thus be > disregarded. So I wanted to suggest a caveat in that > regard. > > > I wasn't even saying > > that's a bad thing, more that it is unavoidable. Just as Guru Dev > > was influenced by his cultural milieu, so is Maharishi. > > Yup. > > > > And the issue with Vedic chanting, of course, would > > > be whether it has a *positive* effect on consciousness. > > > (I'm not talking about whether it's enjoyable or > > > elevating to listen to aesthetically; I'd vastly > > > rather listen to Bach for that.) > > > > > That could lead to some interesting discussion about precisely which > > recitation--Vedic or or non-Vedic sanskrit, or Buddhist, Chinese, > > Japanese, Australian aboriginal, North American native, African > > etc. > > Hebrew too, although from a different angle. Many > ancient languages make similar claims. > > --has which effects for developing consciousness or making life > > more in harmony with natural law etc. I have more questions than > > answers in that regard. No doubt some of the more scholarly posters > > here would have some interesting things to say. > > > > If I have time perhaps I'll start a new thread on that topic. > > Please do, it's an area of interest for me. As far as > I'm aware, the TMO is the only group that has attempted > to research the effect of language sounds on consciousness. > Do you know of any such efforts elsewhere, with other > languages than Sanskrit? It would be neat to do a > comparative study, I should think. >
Only one, which suggests that the effect isn't exactly replictable... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed 1: Int J Neurosci. 2001 Jul;109(1-2):71-80. Links Physiological patterns during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique compared with patterns while reading Sanskrit and a modern language. Travis F, Olson T, Egenes T, Gupta HK. Psychology Dept., Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa 52557, USA. This study tested the prediction that reading Vedic Sanskrit texts, without knowledge of their meaning, produces a distinct physiological state. We measured EEG, breath rate, heart rate, and skin conductance during: (1) 15-min Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice; (2) 15-min reading verses of the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit; and (3) 15-min reading the same verses translated in German, Spanish, or French. The two reading conditions were randomly counterbalanced, and subjects filled out experience forms between each block to reduce carryover effects. Skin conductance levels significantly decreased during both reading Sanskrit and TM practice, and increased slightly during reading a modern language. Alpha power and coherence were significantly higher when reading Sanskrit and during TM practice, compared to reading modern languages. Similar physiological patterns when reading Sanskrit and during practice of the TM technique suggests that the state gained during TM practice may be integrated with active mental processes by reading Sanskrit. 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/
