--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > Remember the Disney cartoon "Dumbo?" His friend and > > > mentor gives him a "magical feather" that allows him > > > to fly when he holds it in his trunk. The thing is, > > > the feather wasn't magical. It was a *trick*, some- > > > thing that allowed Dumbo to transcend his own self- > > > imposed limitations and realize an ability that had > > > always been available to him. > > > > > > I think that this is an interesting metaphor to keep > > > in mind when looking at spiritual traditions. > > > > "The analogy I think is appropriate here is Dumbo's > > feather. Dumbo the elephant believed that the > > 'magic feather' given to him was what enabled > > him to fly, and that it was special. But it was > > a trick. He never needed *anything* to be able > > to fly." > > > > --Barry, 3/18/06 > > > > "Remember 'Dumbo?' Dumbo was convinced that it > > was the "magic feather" given to him by his guru > > that enabled him to fly, so he flew. As it turns > > out, the feather never did diddleysquat; the > > ability to fly was always present, just not > > realized." > > > > --Barry, 5/8/2006 > > > > (Barry, your consistency is showing.) > > > > > With the arrival of some pundits in Fairfield I > > > would expect to see more of something I've seen in > > > other spiritual groups. That is, people reporting > > > "good experiences" or even realization experiences, > > > because now they have an *excuse* to do so. They > > > have been given a "magical feather." > > > > > > A teacher comes to town and does a certain empower- > > > ment (in a Tibetan Buddhist context) or the teacher > > > announces some kind of "phase shift" in the overall > > > environment or "enough" buttbouncers gather together > > > or some pundits come to town and start chanting. And > > > what happens? Suddenly it's "OK" to have "good > > > experiences." It's now *permissible* to have "better > > > experiences," and thus people start having them. > > > > Actually, if you'd been reading the traffic, > > you'd know that people have been reporting > > "better experiences" almost from the start of > > the current course and have continued to do > > so. This has been one of the main selling > > points of the course, in fact; not sure how > > you've managed to miss it. > > For the uninitiated, this is Judy's way of > agreeing with someone. > > She can't seem to bring herself to do so > without trying to turn it into a putdown. :-)
Translation: Barry made another stupid mistake in predicting that reporting of "better experiences" would *begin* with the pundits' arrival, when in fact such reports have been coming thick and fast ever since the course began. He needed to find a way to put down the people who are excited about the pundits' arrival (since the predictions that they would never arrive have been proved wrong), and heck, he hadn't used his Dumbo analogy since last May, so it was about time to haul it out again anyway. Like Rush Limbaugh, Barry never lets facts get in the way of a good putdown. And like Rush, Barry can never bring himself to admit a mistake when the facts intervene, so he tries to distract attention from it with another attempt at a putdown. It's called "shooting the messenger." Too bad his aim is so bad. 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/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> 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/
