--- In [email protected], "John Davis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi OffWorld, > > >> Moreover, when meditating I am in effect praying to a god not of > >>my culture, > >> and of whom I have no knowledge, which leaves me deeply > >>uncomfortable.>> > > >Why are you afraid of Gods? You are human for chrise sakes ! > >Grow-up man. > > Afraid? No, that was not my meaning at all. But rather, seeing no reason to > believe in the existence of an anthropomorphic interventionalist god or > gods,
You're on the wrong forum, then, to seek advice as almost everyone here believes in anthropomorphic global warming. > the act of praying to one natrually leaves me feeling uncomfortable, > both as sitting uneasily with my own beliefs, and as being potentially > insulting to one who does believe. > > John > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "off_world_beings" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 1:55 PM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Advice Sought > > > --- In [email protected], "John Davis" <mcxg46@> > wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I'm new to this list, so I hope the following post is appropriate. > It is > > also somewhat lengthy, for which I apologise - conciseness was > never my > > strong point. But I am in search of a spot of advice, and wondered > if anyone > > here could help... > > > > I learned TM about nine months or so (I know, a newbie!). It > appealed to me > > since whislt I consider myself in a sense spiritual, I am not > religious, and > > TM seemed to offer a non-faith based approach to meditation. And > it has not > > been entirely without benefit. But since then I have suffered > increasingly > > from insomnia. Not to a dreadful degree, but I'm lucky if I get > three hours > > sleep a night. Growing unhappy with my instructor's standard 'part > of the > > process' response, I took a look online and found this wasn't > entirely > > uncommon, and nor was it necessarily temporary. But, in addition, > I also > > came upon the translations of the mantras. And here lies my real > problem. > > > > I am not overly bothered by the deception involved when I was > told, on > > learning, that they are without meaning, since, for me at least, > they were. > > But not any more. Now it seems to me that any universal truth has, > by > > definition, to transcend cultures, or it is not universal. The > laws of > > gravity, for example, might have been discovered in the west, but > gravity > > works everywhere at all times no matter what it is called or how > it is > > defined (well, a few claims to the contrary aside!). The processes > of > > nature, the existence of the bundle of emotions and feelings we > define as > > love, the existence of bad television shows...the list goes on, in > all > > disciplines of life. And if meditation has value, then similarly, > the same > > should be the case, must be the case. > > > > So. There seem to me to be two possibilities. One, that the actual > mantra > > used is irrrelvant, meaningless. Just a word to return to during > meditation > > as a way of letting go of thought. But if this is so, why the > insistence, in > > TM and indeed other traditions, on the use of particular mantras? > Or two, > > that the mantra used is important, and does have meaning. >> > > > "Meaning" is what people give to anything they like. Do you really > think there is a big blue guy floating around in the clouds with a > trident skewered with human souls, and a chowawa at his feet? And > that he is at war with an incandescent red Harpi with who rides a > white leapord and carries babies skulls in her hands??? > > If this is what you believe then good luck wit' that. > > > But if this is so, > > then the technique is not universal but rooted in a particular > culture. > > Moreover, when meditating I am in effect praying to a god not of > my culture, > > and of whom I have no knowledge, which leaves me deeply > uncomfortable.>> > > Why are you afraid of Gods? You are human for chrise sakes ! > Grow-up man. > > OffWorld >
