[FairfieldLife] Two Krishnas??
According to Capeller(sp?), the nominative dual form
from kRSNa (kRSNau: two Krishnas) refers to Krishna
and Arjuna.
Capeller's Sanskrit-English Dictionary:
1 kRSNa a. black, dark. --m. (ñ{pakSa}) the dark half month, the black
antelope (mostly {kR3SNa}); N. of an ancient hero and teacher, later
as the god Kr2s2n2a identified with Vis2n2u; du. *{kRSNau} =
Kr2s2n2a and Arjuna.* f. {kRSNA} a. black kind of leech. N. of
sev. plants, E. of Durga1 and Draupadi1; f. {kRSNI3} night. n.
blackness, darkness.
[FairfieldLife] Fwd: [examma] Re: Facts Evidence (MORE LINKS)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I doubt whether anyone on this list will react much to this. If it had been a report connected with any Maharishi operation, the posts would have gone on for days about how corrupt and evil the TM movement is. But Amma is likely to get a pass from those here who reserve their most virulent hatred for one who was originally their benefactor. Strange, isn't it? Indeed. From Rick Archer et al there is only thundering silence when it comes to truths about Amma. (Which I question by the way) The gossip, outright lies and rumours are reserved for the Movement. It's called double standards or hypocrecy. It is backfireing on him now.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Proud to be a Whiner!
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, brontebaxter8 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip to ...result has not only defined and sharpened my perspective on the subject but has inspired a book which I now have started writing. The title: Blowing the Whistle on Enlightenment: Allegations of a New Age Heretic. Why am I not surprised? :-) Be sure to include a chapter on, What to do when someone won't let you monopolize the conversation in the group he moderates? The content could include such tidbits as, Make a big deal out of stalking off the forum, but hang onto the grudge and then, within days, come back to the forum to post negative arti- cles about the teacher that the offending person likes. *That* will wow them over at Publisher's Weekly. :-) Bronte, I have to say that I nailed you as a compulsive Whiner with your first posts here, and you have (unfortunately) not disappointed. I consider it a real pity that someone with a mind as potentially sharp as yours can't get past her scars from the past to some kind of balance in the present. I have challenged you in the past here to do one simple thing -- some- thing that should be a breeze for someone who considers herself as smart as you obviously consider yourself -- write something positive. One post. One in which there is zero negation or putdown of something you don't like, only a presentation of something you *do* like and that you think might be valuable for other folks. One post in which you are *for* something, not merely *against*. You have proven yourself incapable of performing this simple task. As I suggested when I proposed the challenge, I honestly don't think you *can* any more. If (a big if) you ever write the book you claim to be writing, I'm sure there will be a large and profitable market for it. But you should know that when it hits Santa Fe, the owners of the best bookstore in town will take one look at it and put it on the shelf in the section of the store clearly labeled, WHINERS. Really. The owner and the employees of the store originally labeled this section CRITICISM, but after noticing the tone, the content, and the consistent me-fixation of the authors, they ordered a new sign and called the section WHINERS. The patrons of the store, even the ones who browse there, love it. It captures the tone and the mindset of the books stocked there. The thing that *all* of the books in the section have in common, no matter which spiritual trip or psychiatric practice or self-help technique they're ragging on, is that they are only negative. There isn't an ounce of positive suggestion for something *else* to do within a one of them. They're just someone whining about what's *wrong* with all these trips. It's EASY to criticize. I do it myself from time to time, and know just how easy it is, especially with easy targets like the TM movement. But there is neither any creativity nor balance in *only* criticizing. To achieve balance, one has to get *past* the ego-hurt and be able to accept the good things that came along with the bad ones. And to achieve any measure of creativity, one has to be able to propose something *else*, something that could actually *help* someone else, something they might consider doing *instead* of the thing being criticized/whined about. So far, you have proved yourself incapable of getting to this Next Step. I resubmit my challenge. Since you clearly intend to hang around here and post your whining, *supplement* it from time to time with some creative suggestions of your own for something *else* one could do. These supple- mental posts should contain *no* negation (What I recommend is that one *not* do X.). Give it a try. It's a lot more difficult to write shit like that than it is to whine. So far you've been taking the EASY (and intellectually LAZY) path, and not only have you been taking that path, you've been demanding that people *admire* you for taking that path. I don't. The day you can transcend the EASY path and propose a completely positive *alternative* to that which you criticize, on that day you have my respect. Not until.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Shearer's translation?
Alistair Shearer's version: I.18 After the repeated experience of the settling and ceasing of mental activity comes another samadhi. In this only the latent impressions of past experience remain. cardemaister [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Anyone's got Alistair Shearer's translation of YS? I'd like to see his translation of I 18. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
[FairfieldLife] RE Amma Silance is golden of the highest order
Why not if one cannot say anything nice remain silent Be praised for the silence. Silance is best highest ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE Amma Silance is golden of the highest order
Oh Boy! --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Why not if one cannot say anything nice remain silent Be praised for the silence. Silance is best highest ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
[FairfieldLife] Re: Two Krishnas??
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
According to Capeller(sp?), the nominative dual form
from kRSNa (kRSNau: two Krishnas) refers to Krishna
and Arjuna.
Thats interesting and funny at the same time: According to Achinthya
Bedabeda of Chaitanya (the philosophy behind the Hare Krishnas)
Krishna is as well the name of the highest God, of whom Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva are only (Yuga-)Avatars, and at the same time he is the
special Avatar (of Vishnu) who instructed Arjuna in the Gita, one of
the Dasavataras. They actually speak of two Krishnas, but of course
its all one.
Capeller's Sanskrit-English Dictionary:
1 kRSNa a. black, dark. --m. (ñ{pakSa}) the dark half month, the black
antelope (mostly {kR3SNa}); N. of an ancient hero and teacher, later
as the god Kr2s2n2a identified with Vis2n2u; du. *{kRSNau} =
Kr2s2n2a and Arjuna.* f. {kRSNA} a. black kind of leech. N. of
sev. plants, E. of Durga1 and Draupadi1; f. {kRSNI3} night. n.
blackness, darkness.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
I don't know what Jesus has got to do with it, and I can't make much sense of this post. I have no idea what the following sentence is supposed to mean: Where did I say that a clear river, for example, the river clear as glass that educated my grandfather wasn't the best schooling a man can have? And by the way, it's dumber, not dummer. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jesus Christ. They guy either told the truth: American kids are dummer than dirt, or he didn't. If it's true, then we have better things to do than to engage in pissing contests on a personal level. Then there are serious questions to ask about that. Plus, once again, you're not reading what I actually said. Where did I say that a clear river, for example, the river clear as glass that educated my grandfather wasn't the best schooling a man can have? You are imputing motives to my statements that I do not have. If what the guy said is true, and I believe that it is true from my perspective as a professional in the field of education, then, as I suggested earlier, we are all embedded in it including the folks in Ff. The forest is green, remember, because every leaf of every tree is green. Why are you taking that personally? a feste37 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Every generation that has ever lived has complained about the younger generation, but what young people need to know changes from generation to generation. Has it ever occurred to you that the young people today do not necessarily need to know everything that you learned so long ago, and that they may know things that you are entirely ignorant of? And as far as brilliance is concerned, I wasn't talking about illiterates. These were very well educated young people. I'm sorry you appear to have had such little luck in finding high-quality students to benefit from your great wisdom and knowledge. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander mailander111@ wrote: Of course there are brilliant students, but that doesn't mean they've had an education. I met brilliant illiterates all over the world. They're illiterate, not stupid. Get the difference? I don't have a particularly low opinion of most of the members, but somebody posted something about the educational level in the U.S. generally, and I have to agree that it is abysmal. Europe is deteriorating too, but not as fast. One Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, one from Kent State. My profs wanted me to go to Harvard, and I was accepted, by my husband didn't want to go there. And th feste37 feste37@ wrote: You must have taught at some lousy colleges. I have taught at high school, undergraduate and graduate level and have been fortunate enough to have had some brilliant students. In the words of The Who, The kids are all right! I wonder why you deign to contribute to this list since you have such a low opinion of the educational attainments of its members. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander mailander111@ wrote: My career has been unusual because I've taught at every level of instruction from preschool through graduate school. I have NEVER taught anything at the undergraduate level in college that shouldn't have been covered by eighth grade. I hate to say this, but the low level of education is felt EVERYWHERE in America, including Ff, including this group. a Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: Warning: The next generation might just be the biggest pile of idiots in U.S. history http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/24/notes102407.DTL (Would be FFL columnists would do well to study how Morford's writing style can carry you forward like butter instead of looking over at the pane slider to see how much more you have to read). Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shearer's translation?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, billy jim [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Alistair Shearer's version: I.18 After the repeated experience of the settling and ceasing of mental activity comes another samadhi. In this only the latent impressions of past experience remain. Thanks! cardemaister [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Anyone's got Alistair Shearer's translation of YS? I'd like to see his translation of I 18. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
Well, the man did say that folks can no longer read English. And my spellchecker works just fine. If I misspell a word, then chances are I've got my reasons. But none of that is to the point. The discussion is about whether or not the man is right in saying that American kids are dummer than dirt. Has there been, in fact, a dumming down of Americans? I say there has, I'm not by a long shot the only professional in the field who says there has, and the dumming down is visible everywhere to anyone not completely embedded in this culture. I also know that folks get their dander up when you say that not everything is perfect in the good old U.S. of A. But, things can't get better until someone acknowledges that there is room for improvement. And, by the way, I don't agree that the stance that all is right with the world is particularly enlightened or the stance that if a thing is the way it is, then it must be God's will that it be so. Humanity is a work in progress. I agree that my thoughts are God's thoughts, and so are yours, but neither yours nor mine are therefore co-extensive with God's. Newspapers in the U.S. are written to what passes for eighth grade reading levels in this country. And even that standard is slipping. My experience in teaching at various colleges and universities around the U.S. is that the preparation of college freshmen has been getting worse and worse. Big businesses are hiring consultants at a thou a day to educate their management trainees in using their native language well enough to do international business with the rest of the world who does business in English as well, but learns it as a second language. Or third, etc. The U.S has slipped to about number 23 among industrialized nations in educational standards. The U.S. is also no longer the world leader in the sciences. The slipping of educational standards should be of concern to anyone who cares about the future of our children. And it's about more than a specific kind of education, as some have suggested. IQ is about 40% language related. The way you teach reading and writing to children can foster the growth of IQ or suppress it, and the educational establishment in this country is doing all it can to suppress the growth of IQ. Now this doesn't mean that they are 100% successful. But the intelligent question to ask about this state of affairs is Qui Bono. Who benefits? As long as folks get personally insulted when folks point out that public education in the U.S. is in a pitiful state, then those who benefit from that state of affairs have won. And here's an eighth grade English version of what I said about my grandfather. He was educated by a river clear as glass. Not by a school. a feste37 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't know what Jesus has got to do with it, and I can't make much sense of this post. I have no idea what the following sentence is supposed to mean: Where did I say that a clear river, for example, the river clear as glass that educated my grandfather wasn't the best schooling a man can have? And by the way, it's dumber, not dummer. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jesus Christ. They guy either told the truth: American kids are dummer than dirt, or he didn't. If it's true, then we have better things to do than to engage in pissing contests on a personal level. Then there are serious questions to ask about that. Plus, once again, you're not reading what I actually said. Where did I say that a clear river, for example, the river clear as glass that educated my grandfather wasn't the best schooling a man can have? You are imputing motives to my statements that I do not have. If what the guy said is true, and I believe that it is true from my perspective as a professional in the field of education, then, as I suggested earlier, we are all embedded in it including the folks in Ff. The forest is green, remember, because every leaf of every tree is green. Why are you taking that personally? a feste37 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Every generation that has ever lived has complained about the younger generation, but what young people need to know changes from generation to generation. Has it ever occurred to you that the young people today do not necessarily need to know everything that you learned so long ago, and that they may know things that you are entirely ignorant of? And as far as brilliance is concerned, I wasn't talking about illiterates. These were very well educated young people. I'm sorry you appear to have had such little luck in finding high-quality students to benefit from your great wisdom and knowledge. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander mailander111@ wrote: Of course there are brilliant students, but that doesn't mean they've
[FairfieldLife] Re: What is the purpose of the puja?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, biosoundbill smithybill@ wrote: I often wonder why a mental puja is not used. The TM Puja is 99% mental. I a number of TM teachers who were 99% mental.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Angela Mailander And here's an eighth grade English version of what I said about my grandfather. He was educated by a river clear as glass. Not by a school. a My grandfather was educated by Rocky Mountain snow feed mountain streams. And a product based on it.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
About 50 years ago Issac Asimov wrote an essay entitled something like: Forget It. In it, he listed the kinds of information that a hundred years early was considered vital knowledge, and I was aghast at what kids were expected to memorize, back then, and feeling like I had dodged a bullet by being born in a later era where, you know, everything was actually important to know. I never was required in elementary school to know that a hogshead was two barrels. There's no knowledge set that won't date. I can hardly watch a movie over ten years old because the production standards are so antiquated -- like Curtis and Turq's complaining about the Beatles music being tailored to the fidelity of the AM radio speakers extant then. All our ears are being made evermore sophisticated by ordinary life's educational impact. Just so almost any knowledge taught in schools today is going to age rapidly in today's e-world. And don't forget Henry Ford. Henry was involved in a libel trial and had to testify in front of a jury with an incredibly hostile lawyer cross examining him whose purpose in life was to make a fool out of Henry. The lawyer took the tact that he'd show Henry was an uneducated bumpkin, and that he'd ask Henry questions that Henry wouldn't be able to answer. I cut and paste quote a googled-netizen's description of Henry's answer: His response . . . was to testify or state that if he had a legal problem, he could push a button on his desk and several top Harvard Law School graduates would quickly enter his office to do his biddingsimilarly, if he had an engineering problem...push another button and several MIT top grads would enter his office to assist with THAT problem, etc. (See: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=306615 ) Don't obscure the point by making Henry a straw dog -- Henry was a bastard of deep degree -- what with his union busting and his anti-semitism. The point is that the self-vaunted educated Harvard-type ilk are mere minions to those who are not interested in acquiring an encyclopedic acumen at one's ready, but are instead involved with the big questions of policy -- how to use that knowledge. (For his failings, Henry is a tainted hero, but read Buckminster Fuller description of Henry in Nine Chains To The Moon. Henry really faced some evil forces-afoot, and empowered the ordinary worker with an astounding pay rate for the times -- allowing them to buy the very cars he was making. Not sure if his good out weighed his bad, but) For most of my life, I've thought of an ivy league education as something attained in a romantic ashram where everyone was a scholar and seemed to be able to remember EVERYTHING -- Yamantaka in modern guise with a girdle of PhDs instead of a belt of skulls. But given that the haughty elitists are churning out such scholars on a regular basis and given that an evil dog like Bush can still ruin the country, of what use have these scholars been to America/world if they can not even stand up and be leaders -- make policy decisions instead of, you know, quoting the exact words of some poem by Ezra Pound that faintly applies to the discussion at hand? Don't get me wrong; I know tons of stuff too, and can impress most crowds with bon mots and be ever so contributive to the dialog -- I've never stopped studying since my undergrad work, but the sheer mass of knowledge I've acquired that is of utterly no use is a sour truth -- I've used my nervous system to do so much of such little consequence. But I can win at Trivial Pursuit, do crossword puzzles with my left foot, and do an impromptu stand-up routine that'll stop most parties in mid-gossip. That, and $3.50, and I get coffee. Think about all the facts that would go into a book entitled: The Regis and Kelly Show 10-26-07. Imagine the work involved if some Harvard PhD candidate wanted to really do a complete outlaying of everything that that event required to manifest. What a tome it would be, eh? Hundreds of pages of iotas, asides, jargon, professional histories of guests, etc. Whew, anyone? Not me, but here's where I'm Henry Ford: I can push a button and up the stairs comes a woman who has awoken with a smile on her face every day of her life who will tell me the best jokes that Regis and Kelly said today. In fact she just did this and had me laughing instantly. (Jimmy Kimmel is guest hosting for Regis it could be quibbled, but feh!) See? There's knowledge, and then there's use of knowledge. I submit that a typical educated elitist has dropped the very ball that has been acquired with such immense effort and mastery. Let's face it, egg-heads are kept in the carton by the true leaders of society and are merely pulled out of the frig when, you know, keish is desired. Oh, it'll be the best keish with ever so many steaming savory chunkettes, but, most of us only need pizza and beer to dig 200 post holes while fencing-in the back 40. And where is even educational
Re: [FairfieldLife] TM in Breakfast of Champions
Vonnegut was a meditator and I think one of his daughters may have been a TM teacher. Some of the early folks here may recall more clearly than I. BTW, about Daisies, was the Chuck part originally written for Zoey Deschanel? Stu wrote: I have been slowly rereading Kurt Vonnegut who I read passionately when I was in high school. As I reread the books I am taken by how influential his skeptical point of view was on my then forming mind. While reading Breakfast of Champions I came upon this description: When Bunny played the piano bar at the Holiday Inn, he had many, many secrets. One of them was this: he wasn't really there. He was able to absent himself from the cocktail lounge, and from the planet itself, for that matter, by means of Transcendental Meditation. He learned this technique from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who once stopped off in Midland City during a world-wide lecture tour.Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in exchange for a new handkerchief, a piece of fruit, a bunch of flowers, and thirty-five dollars, taught Bunny to close his eyes, and to say this euphonious nonsense word to himself over and over again: Aye-em, aye-em, aye-em. Bunny sat on the edge of his bed in the hotel room now, and he did it. Aye-em, aye-em, he said to himself— internally. The rhythm of the chant matched one syllable \with each two beats in his heart. He closed his eyes. He became a skin diver in the depths of his mind. The depths were seldom used. His heart slowed. His respiration nearly stopped. A single word floated by in the depths. It had somehow escaped from the busier parts of his mind. It wasn't connected to anything. It floated by lazily, a translucent, scarf-like fish. The word was untroubling. Here was the word: Blue. And then another lovely scarf swam by. It looked like this: Claire de Lune Fifteen minutes later, Bunny's awareness bobbed to the surface of its own accord. Bunny was refreshed. He got up from the bed, and he brushed his hair with the military brushes his mother had given him when he was elected Cadet Colonel so long ago. I wonder what influence this had on me when I went to learn the technique? s. 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/
RE: [FairfieldLife] TM in Breakfast of Champions
The Joe referred to is this post is Joe Clark, renowned TM leader who was killed in a plane crash while looking at land in North Carolina. Before his TM days, he was bass player for the J. Giles Band. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.11/1093 - Release Date: 10/25/2007 5:38 PM 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/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Dick Cheney Meditating
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 10/25/07 11:57:13 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Cheney falls asleep during Cabinet meeting on wildfires. During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Vice President Cheney fell asleep on camera while President Bush was discussing wildfires in California. A Cheney spokeswoman “laughed it off,” telling CNN that the vice president was “practicing meditation.” http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/25/cheney-falls-asleep-during-cabinet-meeting -on-wildfires/ Looks more like meditation to me. If he were asleep that chin would be resting on the chest. I guess he could afford the $2,500.00 initiation fee without too much problem. It might have been recommended to him for his heart health. Would love to hear an MMY comment. H, do I treat him like a war mongering bastard or do I suck up to him in hopes of getting American tax payer funding? Nah, he's sleeping. Vampires usually sleep during the day. But there is one place that Bush is more terrified to travel to than Iraq and that's California. :)
RE: [FairfieldLife] TM in Breakfast of Champions
From LB Shriver, post #5441: Joe and my own initiator, Charlie Donohue, were buddies from the East Coast. At the time I was initiated, Charlie was the Midwest Coordinator for SIMS, and Joe was the East Coast Coordinator. Coincidentally, Joe had an old girl friend in Iowa City at the time I was there. In fact, she lived in the house next door. Her name was Edie Vonnegut, and her father, novelist Kurt Vonnegut, had been on the faculty of the University's Writers' Workshop some years previously. Edie had grown up in Iowa City and had come back to attend Art School there. I was totally hot for her and helped her put up posters for the first TM course taught there, which of course was done by Charlie Donohue. I met Joe later when he came to Iowa City to teach a residence course and do some intros with Charlie. Edie was the first person I ever saw actually practicing TM. She was sitting next to me in the back seat of a car on the way to a rock concert near Madison. While she was meditating, we passed the scene of an accident on the other side of the divided highway we were taking to the concert site. Motorcycle accident. One very dead guy lying in the road. Nobody said anything, and Edie meditated straight through it. I found that interesting, for reasons I did not understand at the time. Edie told me on one occasion that before Joe became an initiator he had a reputation for being kind of wild. After he became an Initiator, she said, they often got into fights about TM while they were out on dates. Joe evidently kept telling her she needed to meditate more. In one case she was so angry that she got out of the car and walked home. Edie's whole family learned TM, as I understood the situation, including Kurt, who was briefly enthusiastic about meditation. Vonnegut is often characterized as cynical, or as a master of black humor, but you must understand about this man that while a POW in Germany, he survived the Allied bombing of Dresden in which about 135,000 civilians were killed by fire and suffocation. This was one of the most brutal acts of mass murder ever perpetrated, and it had been done by THE GOOD GUYS. Kurt's enthusiasm for TM declined in proportion to the fanaticism that he perceived in Joe and other TM people he was exposed to. Edie's brother, Mark, who had also learned TM, subsequently had an episode of schizophrenia, about which he wrote in his first book, The Eden Express. According to Edie, the last straw for Kurt in his falling out with TM was when Joe showed up at the house one day and proclaimed that Mark would not have suffered his psychotic break if he had been more regular in his meditation. Kurt threw him out of the house. Edie said that after that, whenever Kurt would get mad at the world, TM was high on the list of things he would get mad at. She said that she and Mark often talked him out of including negative things about TM in his books, although his small volume called Wompeters, Granfalloons and Foma contains evidence that they did not always succeed. I saw Joe right after TTC (72) and just weeks before he died in the crash. He told me he felt like he had screwed up where Edie and her family were concerned, and said he would appreciate it if I ever had an opportunity to help repair the damage. Later I put two and two together, and at the first opportunity I asked Charlie to confirm my math—that is, I told him I suspected that the real reason he had called Edie to have her set up the first course in Iowa City was that Joe was hoping she would become interested in TM and start meditating again. Charlie confirmed that this was true, and the rest is history. I am offering this story because Joe Clark has turned up once again in our chat group, and this is just my contribution to his place in the archives. I liked him a lot, even though we were two very different guys. Rick Archer SearchSummit 1108 South B Street Fairfield, IA 52556 Phone: (641) 472-9336 Fax: (914) 470-9336 http://searchsummit.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bhairitu Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 11:38 AM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] TM in Breakfast of Champions Vonnegut was a meditator and I think one of his daughters may have been a TM teacher. Some of the early folks here may recall more clearly than I. BTW, about Daisies, was the Chuck part originally written for Zoey Deschanel? Stu wrote: I have been slowly rereading Kurt Vonnegut who I read passionately when I was in high school. As I reread the books I am taken by how influential his skeptical point of view was on my then forming mind. While reading Breakfast of Champions I came upon this description: When Bunny played the piano bar at the Holiday Inn, he had many, many secrets. One of them was this: he wasn't really there. He was able to absent himself from the cocktail lounge, and
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
You make a very good point, but I have not been speaking about the specific informational content of education (which is a quantitative feature), but I have been speaking about it's quality. I agree completely, too, that practical education for most people is about getting and keeping good jobs, but the thrust of education in this country has been to create a two-class system of the rich and the poor. The middle class is vanishing, and a large measure of how that vanishing act is accomplished is through dumbing down the population. It should be a matter of concern to us if too many graduate students in any field (including English) have foreign accents. This was a feature in the fall of Rome as well. The Romans were partying, and the Greeks were doing their high level thinking for them. It is well-understood in the field of baseball that you can't have the major leagues without the sand lots. Educationally speaking, even our sand lots are vanishing. Practical education is all most folks need, but there is a baseline in terms of fundamental language and mathematical skills that feeds into practical life. If a kid can't use a ruler to measure a distance, he won't be a good carpenter. If too many kids can't manage some basic knowledge of the world around them, a democracy will be impossible. And if you don't teach what a metaphor is, you will have a fundamentalist population. Even back in the days of Columbus the ruling class understood that language is the perfect means of empire. It was understood in ancient Greece as well. Language skills are fundamental to thinking skills even in the field of mathematics. The last time I talked to a high school English teacher in this country, it was with someone at MSAE. That person didn't know what syntax is. By one way of reckoning the grammatical system we use to teach English world-wide is at least sixty years out of date. By another way of reckoning, that same system is a proper eighteenth century construct on a par with Newtonian physics and a world view which holds that the universe is like a clock with God as an absentee clock-maker. It pretends that language is an external artifact instead of a cognitive act. Why are we still using it? My contention is that we are using it precisely because it is counter-productive. There is research since the nineties which shows overwhelmingly that children of Spanish-speaking parents learn English faster if they do just one thing: stay away from English teachers. Like syntax, metaphor is fundamental to all thinking skills---after all, a scientific model is a kind of metaphor. Metaphor is a natural component in the language of very young children and even in the language of primates who will use metaphor to extend vocabulary in just the same way the very sophisticated international writers did whom I taught at the University of Iowa. If our high school and college students can't understand and use metaphor, then that is because we have trained a natural ability out of them. a Duveyoung [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: About 50 years ago Issac Asimov wrote an essay entitled something like: Forget It. In it, he listed the kinds of information that a hundred years early was considered vital knowledge, and I was aghast at what kids were expected to memorize, back then, and feeling like I had dodged a bullet by being born in a later era where, you know, everything was actually important to know. I never was required in elementary school to know that a hogshead was two barrels. There's no knowledge set that won't date. I can hardly watch a movie over ten years old because the production standards are so antiquated -- like Curtis and Turq's complaining about the Beatles music being tailored to the fidelity of the AM radio speakers extant then. All our ears are being made evermore sophisticated by ordinary life's educational impact. Just so almost any knowledge taught in schools today is going to age rapidly in today's e-world. And don't forget Henry Ford. Henry was involved in a libel trial and had to testify in front of a jury with an incredibly hostile lawyer cross examining him whose purpose in life was to make a fool out of Henry. The lawyer took the tact that he'd show Henry was an uneducated bumpkin, and that he'd ask Henry questions that Henry wouldn't be able to answer. I cut and paste quote a googled-netizen's description of Henry's answer: His response . . . was to testify or state that if he had a legal problem, he could push a button on his desk and several top Harvard Law School graduates would quickly enter his office to do his biddingsimilarly, if he had an engineering problem...push another button and several MIT top grads would enter his office to assist with THAT problem, etc. (See: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=306615 ) Don't obscure the point by
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM in Breakfast of Champions
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Vonnegut was a meditator and I think one of his daughters may have been a TM teacher. Some of the early folks here may recall more clearly than I. Kurt V didn't meditate, his wife and daughter did and went on about it so much he went to a lecture by MMY to see for himself and was less than impressed, mainly with his lecturing style. He expected the mystic east but felt like he got a lecture from someone in middle management. He also didn't like the TM double-speak of the acolytes, insisting it wasn't a religion but insisting MMY be addressed as your holiness etc. He wrote an essay called yes, we have no nirvana about the experience it appears in his book wampeters, foma and granfalloons it's worth a read from a historical TM perspective. I also remember the character doing TM in 'breakfast of champions' was beaten to death in the very next paragraph!
[FairfieldLife] Pandits' winter clothing
This is forwarded from a very dear and highly respected friend. Our beloved Meditating community ~~ Maharishi has just approved getting the Pandits warm winter coats, etc! A $25,000 matching donation has already been given for this purpose. Could we, together with our network of friends, come up with the rest of the money needed? We have all benefited so greatly from having our precious Vedic Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City and Fairfield for the last almost year. They are of paramount importance to the Peace and well-being of not only the US but the world. Many of us were given the opportunity to be a part of their Vedic Performances during Navaratri. It was an unforgettable and transforming experience for all who attended. We all want the Pandits to be comfortable and warm as the cold winter weather and winds set in. As those who live in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City know, there is no buffer to the wind and elements on the Pandit campus, and they are not used to this kind of weather. Please, could we all be their surrogate parents, brothers, and sisters, and clothe them warmly, as we would our own family? Could each of us give what is financially comfortable for us - whether it be a large amount, a coat or two, a pair of boots, some gloves? Every item is needed, for over 550 Pandits. Please make your checks out to the Global Country of World Peace and mail to 2000 Capital Boulevard, Maharishi Vedic City, IA 52556. Indicate that the funds are for the Pandits' coats and boots. You can also donate online on the Global Country website, globalcountryofworldpeace.org. Again, indicate what the donation is for. All donations are tax deductible. Please, dear meditating family, look in your heart and do what you can to help keep Maharishi's most precious Vedic Pandits warm and comfortable this winter... With our love and appreciation, Jai Guru Dev Some Mothers in Fairfield Please send this email to all your meditating friends around the country! Time is of the essence ~ cold weather is setting in and we must order and purchase coats, boots, gloves ASAP.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Proud to be a Whiner!
It takes a thorn to remove a thorn. I'm going to re-post below my early essay about true evil in the world. This essay got exactly zero thread comments, yet in it I wave a flag of desperation for today's downtrodden. I think it is an example of important whining that has conceptual clout and deserves to be repeated endlessly until the situation is rectified. In it I present one of the most repugnant concepts I've ever put into words here, but not a single person here reacted. How to interpret this silence? I think most of us are shell shocked -- too banged up to care about the injustices of the world -- merely treading the water lost in a sea of political impotency. I could have written the essay as a sugary sweet cheerleading for the love-virtues that need to be supported in the culture's consciousness, but I doubt that such an essay would have gotten any responses here either. In fact, I've posted MANY wonderfully sweet tales and poems and cool ideas, but I've gotten flamed here more often than patted on the back. My karma, but, so too has everyone here posted unrequitedly about their POVs. When it comes to neighborliness, we're in short supply. I don't need pats on the back cuz I do that for myself far better than anyone here could, cuz I am a good writer/narcissist with a jyotish chart to prove it, but geeze I keep coming here and posting what I consider to be emotionally involving, well presented, POVs about core truths of life, and, like everyone here attempting the same kind of community scholarship, flames or zilch is the common reward instead of, you know, a group discussion storming inside our heads for days with ever fractaling nuances as we move to unity of opinion. Whew, wouldn't that be something new for us here!!! Okay, here's that post. You tell me: is it mere whining or a standing up for cultural improvement? Edg Are you for war? I think this upcoming vote is a critical taking of America's psychic temperature, and, given that Hillery is leading in the polls, and that the Dems have not confronted BushCo with any potency, I am dumbfounded that anyone would vote for either Dems or Repubs -- they're all so obviously in the grasp of GlobalBiz. Hillary's lead can only be real if the heart and soul of America is shockingly tainted. And, it burns so fiercely to see such an angelic presentation like Obama's and know he's already got 32 million bucks -- bought and paid for -- and fast becoming an Uncle Tom. And Obama succeeds while a REAL angel like Kucinich is an object of derision (Leprachaun's body) by even Jon Stewart. I keep asking, How is it that Americans don't know about pain? Even a papercut should have taught us that wars leave scars that are like acid on skin, leave memories of injustice that will not stop boiling inside the heads of parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, and doom a generation to experiencing a personality hobbled with a crippling intent to exact revenge. Ask anyone who lost a loved one in the fall of the 911 towers if they've stopped grinding about it. I haven't. Didn't you lose a loved one then too? Hundreds of hero cops and firefighters killed instantly? Who can recover from this? How evil the powers that keep whole cultures blazing with anger by such atrocities. Almost every American has seen The Godfather where even the children of one's enemy must be killed, because those children will surely seek revenge when they grow older, because, OF COURSE, they will not be able to forgive, could never be able to forgive, and are impossibly hard-wired forever to hate. What Evil Group Consciousness is created by our mass killings in the Middle East? We know how we've been challenged to bear the memory of 9-11 -- what don't we get about our killing at least 100 Arabs for every person who died in the towers? What loathsome monster of karma now lurches our way? Why don't Americans flinch when talking about war and what momentums are created that continue for lifetimes? Ask any Jew if they know someone with a Nazi tattoo. No one forgets. These things echo and inform and forcefully mold cultures. What prevents EVERYONE from knowing this tarbaby? Why can't Americans feel this world groan under the weight of all the wars and what still roils billions into every sort of negativity? Who hasn't seen a napalmed baby in a ditch or its equivalent EVERY DAY MANY TIMES ON EVERY CHANNEL? Jack Baur doing a waterboarding -- that's PRIME TIME -- KIDS WATCHING TOO - THAT'S OUR ENTERTAINMENT??? Spending half a trillion dollars on pillaging the lives of hundreds of millions of innocents while America's downtrodden poor cringe -- this is politely talked about on CNN like, well, just like how good loving Nazi families talked about Krystalnacht around the nightly dinner table, right? 2012 cannot come fast enough, but how dangerous is this long fall towards it? After the masses realize that the tipping point happened way before anyone noticed, after
Re: [FairfieldLife] Dick Cheney Meditating
In a message dated 10/26/07 11:35:23 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Nah, he's sleeping. Vampires usually sleep during the day. But there is one place that Bush is more terrified to travel to than Iraq and that's California. :) Vampires hang upside down when they sleep. Sorry, but Bush was in Ca. yesterday. Didn't you see the great photo ops? ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
When I taught private music lessons in the early 1970s I could give a lesson where I would explain things and then give the student an assignment for the next lesson. They would come back, having understood the lesson, prepared and able to perform the assignment. However in the 1980's when I taught again students had become so dumbed down that if I taught the way I did in the 1970s. They would come back unprepared and not understand what they were supposed to do. So I had to give detailed instruction of what they were supposed to do. It is amazing that there was such a decline in intelligence in just that short amount of time. Angela Mailander wrote: This is most true. And it didn't happen suddenly. It happened over the entirety of my fifty-year teaching career, and it was going on before I got on board. I believe it was in 1906 or 9 when one of the Rockefellers said, It will not be our purpose to educate philosophers or scientists, but a people that shall willingly mold itself to our hands. He said this on the occasion of his funding of what would become Columbia University which is largely responsible for designing our educational systems world-wide by now. I started teaching when I was fifteen in 1955, having been educated in the best private schools in Europe. When I came here, I could not believe the abysmally low level of education I found here compared to what I was used to. I was told then that we were to teach to the average student. I said, If you do that, then whatever you're calling 'average' will get lower and lower. You will be drawing teachers from that same pool, and it will get shallower and shallower. The standards have been slipping in college as well. I graduated people in May in the eighties who would become high school teachers of English come September and who could not read or write their native language adequately. My first husband was getting his Ph.D. when I married him. I attended all his seminars with him and helped him to write his dissertation. When I got my first Ph.D. twenty years later, I couldn't help but notice that mine was worth far less than his had been twenty years earlier. So even at the highest level the standards have been slipping. My career has been unusual because I've taught at every level of instruction from preschool through graduate school. I have NEVER taught anything at the undergraduate level in college that shouldn't have been covered by eighth grade. I hate to say this, but the low level of education is felt EVERYWHERE in America, including Ff, including this group. a Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Warning: The next generation might just be the biggest pile of idiots in U.S. history http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/24/notes102407.DTL (Would be FFL columnists would do well to study how Morford's writing style can carry you forward like butter instead of looking over at the pane slider to see how much more you have to read). Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
[FairfieldLife] Re: Pandits' winter clothing
Here's what I felt when I read the below: the same feeling I get when I read that we're in Iraq now, so we just can't abandon our efforts to bless the Iraqis with democracy. The movement is rich -- billions taken from charitable hearts, but they're begging for what should have been part of the package when it was planned in the first place. This is just more of the same -- and who here can stand up and say for certain that any donations to this cause will actually be used thusly? We've seen otherwise, right? Dick Mays, you are acting as a movement mouthpiece, a slave, if you do not acknowledge this issue when you tug at the heart strings of people already stretched to the limits by previous movement wallet hunts. To help these thugs raise money when they're sitting on a mountain of it, to use poor-boys-from-India like adult beggers in the street use their kids as decoys, is, honestly Dick I'm telling it straight here, it's evil. But that's sugar coating it. Those pundits have been kidnapped and are being used like fodder. It's not what anyone was ever sold in a first lecture. When MMY dies, all the slaves will evaporate except those with real connections and power, you know, the ones who got the money from the suckers. Dick, prepare yourself for obsolescence, or stand up for righteousness and be a hero when it still counts. Edg --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Dick Mays [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This is forwarded from a very dear and highly respected friend. Our beloved Meditating community ~~ Maharishi has just approved getting the Pandits warm winter coats, etc! A $25,000 matching donation has already been given for this purpose. Could we, together with our network of friends, come up with the rest of the money needed? We have all benefited so greatly from having our precious Vedic Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City and Fairfield for the last almost year. They are of paramount importance to the Peace and well-being of not only the US but the world. Many of us were given the opportunity to be a part of their Vedic Performances during Navaratri. It was an unforgettable and transforming experience for all who attended. We all want the Pandits to be comfortable and warm as the cold winter weather and winds set in. As those who live in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City know, there is no buffer to the wind and elements on the Pandit campus, and they are not used to this kind of weather. Please, could we all be their surrogate parents, brothers, and sisters, and clothe them warmly, as we would our own family? Could each of us give what is financially comfortable for us - whether it be a large amount, a coat or two, a pair of boots, some gloves? Every item is needed, for over 550 Pandits. Please make your checks out to the Global Country of World Peace and mail to 2000 Capital Boulevard, Maharishi Vedic City, IA 52556. Indicate that the funds are for the Pandits' coats and boots. You can also donate online on the Global Country website, globalcountryofworldpeace.org. Again, indicate what the donation is for. All donations are tax deductible. Please, dear meditating family, look in your heart and do what you can to help keep Maharishi's most precious Vedic Pandits warm and comfortable this winter... With our love and appreciation, Jai Guru Dev Some Mothers in Fairfield Please send this email to all your meditating friends around the country! Time is of the essence ~ cold weather is setting in and we must order and purchase coats, boots, gloves ASAP.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Morford: American kids dumber than dirt
Use it or lose it is apparently true not just of muscles, but of the mind, and it's true not just for individuals, but for whole cultures. things can change incredibly fast, as you've noticed. A whole language can change in the space of twenty years so as to be unrecognizable. And the mystery is that change so radical is invisible to the speakers of that language. Technology can be forgotten in less than one generation. When the Romans left Britain, they left buildings in their wake that were equipped with hyppocausts, literally rivers of heat. These were a central heating systems using the fact that warm air rises, and thus the whole building could be heated with a relatively small fire in the basement. In less than one generation after the Romans left, the British peoples were living in these buildings, freezing their asses off because no one remembered what the system of air channels was and how to use it. a Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: When I taught private music lessons in the early 1970s I could give a lesson where I would explain things and then give the student an assignment for the next lesson. They would come back, having understood the lesson, prepared and able to perform the assignment. However in the 1980's when I taught again students had become so dumbed down that if I taught the way I did in the 1970s. They would come back unprepared and not understand what they were supposed to do. So I had to give detailed instruction of what they were supposed to do. It is amazing that there was such a decline in intelligence in just that short amount of time. Angela Mailander wrote: This is most true. And it didn't happen suddenly. It happened over the entirety of my fifty-year teaching career, and it was going on before I got on board. I believe it was in 1906 or 9 when one of the Rockefellers said, It will not be our purpose to educate philosophers or scientists, but a people that shall willingly mold itself to our hands. He said this on the occasion of his funding of what would become Columbia University which is largely responsible for designing our educational systems world-wide by now. I started teaching when I was fifteen in 1955, having been educated in the best private schools in Europe. When I came here, I could not believe the abysmally low level of education I found here compared to what I was used to. I was told then that we were to teach to the average student. I said, If you do that, then whatever you're calling 'average' will get lower and lower. You will be drawing teachers from that same pool, and it will get shallower and shallower. The standards have been slipping in college as well. I graduated people in May in the eighties who would become high school teachers of English come September and who could not read or write their native language adequately. My first husband was getting his Ph.D. when I married him. I attended all his seminars with him and helped him to write his dissertation. When I got my first Ph.D. twenty years later, I couldn't help but notice that mine was worth far less than his had been twenty years earlier. So even at the highest level the standards have been slipping. My career has been unusual because I've taught at every level of instruction from preschool through graduate school. I have NEVER taught anything at the undergraduate level in college that shouldn't have been covered by eighth grade. I hate to say this, but the low level of education is felt EVERYWHERE in America, including Ff, including this group. a Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Warning: The next generation might just be the biggest pile of idiots in U.S. history http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/24/notes102407.DTL (Would be FFL columnists would do well to study how Morford's writing style can carry you forward like butter instead of looking over at the pane slider to see how much more you have to read). Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
[FairfieldLife] Regarding Edg's Comments on American kids dumber than dirt
Edg, I loved this. This is you at your best. And you make a very good point. Elitism is crap, wherever it rears its ugly head. It's also true that our kids are dumbed down, taught by teachers who teach to the test because they'll be fired if their students don't perform on the standardized testing. I have a beautiful, idealistic neice in this situation. Fresh out of teacher's college, she got a job teaching fifth grade and was so excited to have a chance to make a difference. But what she had to spend 80 or 90 percent of her time doing was teaching answers to the standardized tests, which had nothing to do with real education. At the end of the school year, she asked to be transferred to second grade, because there aren't standardized tests at that level, and she thought she'd be free to really teach. But she wasn't allowed to transfer. I was a schoolteacher in the days before standardized testing took over and dictated to teachers what to do. Even back then, in most schools, a creative teacher who could develop exciting lessons of her own was considered a little suspect. The dutiful teacher who humbly followed the textbook chapters and never did anything original that challenged the students was considered a good, safe bet. But now it's a far more serious situation, with the most creative teachers getting disgusted with the profession and moving on to other careers, leaving behind those who are willing to tow the line and teach kids to tow the line. And what kind of citizens will those kids grow up to be? - Bronte --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: About 50 years ago Issac Asimov wrote an essay entitled something like: Forget It. In it, he listed the kinds of information that a hundred years early was considered vital knowledge, and I was aghast at what kids were expected to memorize, back then, and feeling like I had dodged a bullet by being born in a later era where, you know, everything was actually important to know. I never was required in elementary school to know that a hogshead was two barrels. There's no knowledge set that won't date. I can hardly watch a movie over ten years old because the production standards are so antiquated -- like Curtis and Turq's complaining about the Beatles music being tailored to the fidelity of the AM radio speakers extant then. All our ears are being made evermore sophisticated by ordinary life's educational impact. Just so almost any knowledge taught in schools today is going to age rapidly in today's e-world. And don't forget Henry Ford. Henry was involved in a libel trial and had to testify in front of a jury with an incredibly hostile lawyer cross examining him whose purpose in life was to make a fool out of Henry. The lawyer took the tact that he'd show Henry was an uneducated bumpkin, and that he'd ask Henry questions that Henry wouldn't be able to answer. I cut and paste quote a googled-netizen's description of Henry's answer: His response . . . was to testify or state that if he had a legal problem, he could push a button on his desk and several top Harvard Law School graduates would quickly enter his office to do his biddingsimilarly, if he had an engineering problem...push another button and several MIT top grads would enter his office to assist with THAT problem, etc. (See: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=306615 ) Don't obscure the point by making Henry a straw dog -- Henry was a bastard of deep degree -- what with his union busting and his anti-semitism. The point is that the self-vaunted educated Harvard-type ilk are mere minions to those who are not interested in acquiring an encyclopedic acumen at one's ready, but are instead involved with the big questions of policy -- how to use that knowledge. (For his failings, Henry is a tainted hero, but read Buckminster Fuller description of Henry in Nine Chains To The Moon. Henry really faced some evil forces-afoot, and empowered the ordinary worker with an astounding pay rate for the times -- allowing them to buy the very cars he was making. Not sure if his good out weighed his bad, but) For most of my life, I've thought of an ivy league education as something attained in a romantic ashram where everyone was a scholar and seemed to be able to remember EVERYTHING -- Yamantaka in modern guise with a girdle of PhDs instead of a belt of skulls. But given that the haughty elitists are churning out such scholars on a regular basis and given that an evil dog like Bush can still ruin the country, of what use have these scholars been to America/world if they can not even stand up and be leaders -- make policy decisions instead of, you know, quoting the exact words of some poem by Ezra Pound that faintly applies to the discussion at hand? Don't get me wrong; I know tons of stuff too, and can impress most crowds with bon mots
RE: [FairfieldLife] Regarding Edg's Comments on American kids dumber than dirt
Movie recommendation: The Hobart Shakespearians No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.11/1093 - Release Date: 10/25/2007 5:38 PM
Re: [FairfieldLife] Dick Cheney Meditating
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 10/26/07 11:35:23 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Nah, he's sleeping. Vampires usually sleep during the day. But there is one place that Bush is more terrified to travel to than Iraq and that's California. :) Vampires hang upside down when they sleep. Sorry, but Bush was in Ca. yesterday. Didn't you see the great photo ops? Geez Dixie, it was a joke. Of course I know Smirking Chimp was in CA yesterday but they probably had to drag him kicking and screaming.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Pandits' winter clothing
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: When MMY dies, all the slaves will evaporate except those with real connections and power, you know, the ones who got the money from the suckers. Dick, prepare yourself for obsolescence, or stand up for righteousness and be a hero when it still counts. Edg Get a checking !
[FairfieldLife] Human Species to Split by 3000
The human race will one day split into two separate species, an attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures, according to a top scientist. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=489653 I think this has already happened. They call the goblin-like creatures Republicans. Of course the human race may not exist to see the year 3000: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/25/europe/environ.php
[FairfieldLife] Regarding Edge's Remarks on Proud to be a Whiner!
I think we ARE shell-shocked. We are in denial. When someone moves past confusion that into a radical understanding or solution, they are hooted down as crazy or anti-American. David Icke, for example. Here's a guy who has connected all the dots in a brilliant way that deserves real consideration, but all you have to do is MENTION that name to get branded as (quoting a former friend) a bug-eyed cult zombie. People are scared to think outside the box, because of the implications. Things are so seriously cockeyed and wrong, that even to peak over the edge of the box is practically terrifying. Better to pretend things are fine, have friendly debates about what political candidate will save America, and totally disregard the problems that go so deep no phony political system can ever address them. We have a two-party system? The people elect the president? Our last election proved both concepts to be illusions. Two presidential candidates, from opposite parties, who never knew each other at their shared alma mater, Yale, though they were just a year apart and in the same elite Yale secret society! The electoral college decides who gets elected, not the people. Democracy is an illusion and has been for a long time. How is it we miss that? For one thing, because we're told how free we are, by the very people who run the show for us. Because they give us a two-party system that allows only the people who are one of them to make it to the top, filtering out all genuine people as candidates long before the time of the national vote. Keep 'em busy arguing over who's better, Obama or Hillary, and do whatever you like behind the scenes to tighten the snare a little more around freedom, because, who's really watching? The press ideofies anyone with intelligent criticism -- Icke for example again. Embarrass him on national television, twist his words and get everyone laughing at him, and no one will hear the little voice of a man who saw through deceptions no one else was sharp enough to question. You are right to be outraged. You have great integrity. Keep shoving it in our face, and eventually the very discomfort of that has to wake people up. It's not a popular position, but a heroic one. Such outcries are our only hope. You go, Edg. - Bronte -- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It takes a thorn to remove a thorn. I'm going to re-post below my early essay about true evil in the world. This essay got exactly zero thread comments, yet in it I wave a flag of desperation for today's downtrodden. I think it is an example of important whining that has conceptual clout and deserves to be repeated endlessly until the situation is rectified. In it I present one of the most repugnant concepts I've ever put into words here, but not a single person here reacted. How to interpret this silence? I think most of us are shell shocked -- too banged up to care about the injustices of the world -- merely treading the water lost in a sea of political impotency. I could have written the essay as a sugary sweet cheerleading for the love-virtues that need to be supported in the culture's consciousness, but I doubt that such an essay would have gotten any responses here either. In fact, I've posted MANY wonderfully sweet tales and poems and cool ideas, but I've gotten flamed here more often than patted on the back. My karma, but, so too has everyone here posted unrequitedly about their POVs. When it comes to neighborliness, we're in short supply. I don't need pats on the back cuz I do that for myself far better than anyone here could, cuz I am a good writer/narcissist with a jyotish chart to prove it, but geeze I keep coming here and posting what I consider to be emotionally involving, well presented, POVs about core truths of life, and, like everyone here attempting the same kind of community scholarship, flames or zilch is the common reward instead of, you know, a group discussion storming inside our heads for days with ever fractaling nuances as we move to unity of opinion. Whew, wouldn't that be something new for us here!!! Okay, here's that post. You tell me: is it mere whining or a standing up for cultural improvement? Edg Are you for war? I think this upcoming vote is a critical taking of America's psychic temperature, and, given that Hillery is leading in the polls, and that the Dems have not confronted BushCo with any potency, I am dumbfounded that anyone would vote for either Dems or Repubs -- they're all so obviously in the grasp of GlobalBiz. Hillary's lead can only be real if the heart and soul of America is shockingly tainted. And, it burns so fiercely to see such an angelic presentation like Obama's and know he's already got 32 million bucks -- bought and paid for -- and fast becoming an Uncle Tom. And Obama succeeds while a REAL angel like Kucinich is an
Re: [FairfieldLife] Human Species to Split by 3000
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[FairfieldLife] Re: Regarding Edg's Comments on American kids dumber than dirt
Keep telling it like it is, Edg. Your voice is appreciated. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, brontebaxter8 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Edg, I loved this. This is you at your best. And you make a very good point. Elitism is crap, wherever it rears its ugly head. It's also true that our kids are dumbed down, taught by teachers who teach to the test because they'll be fired if their students don't perform on the standardized testing. I have a beautiful, idealistic neice in this situation. Fresh out of teacher's college, she got a job teaching fifth grade and was so excited to have a chance to make a difference. But what she had to spend 80 or 90 percent of her time doing was teaching answers to the standardized tests, which had nothing to do with real education. At the end of the school year, she asked to be transferred to second grade, because there aren't standardized tests at that level, and she thought she'd be free to really teach. But she wasn't allowed to transfer. I was a schoolteacher in the days before standardized testing took over and dictated to teachers what to do. Even back then, in most schools, a creative teacher who could develop exciting lessons of her own was considered a little suspect. The dutiful teacher who humbly followed the textbook chapters and never did anything original that challenged the students was considered a good, safe bet. But now it's a far more serious situation, with the most creative teachers getting disgusted with the profession and moving on to other careers, leaving behind those who are willing to tow the line and teach kids to tow the line. And what kind of citizens will those kids grow up to be? - Bronte --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung no_reply@ wrote: About 50 years ago Issac Asimov wrote an essay entitled something like: Forget It. In it, he listed the kinds of information that a hundred years early was considered vital knowledge, and I was aghast at what kids were expected to memorize, back then, and feeling like I had dodged a bullet by being born in a later era where, you know, everything was actually important to know. I never was required in elementary school to know that a hogshead was two barrels. There's no knowledge set that won't date. I can hardly watch a movie over ten years old because the production standards are so antiquated -- like Curtis and Turq's complaining about the Beatles music being tailored to the fidelity of the AM radio speakers extant then. All our ears are being made evermore sophisticated by ordinary life's educational impact. Just so almost any knowledge taught in schools today is going to age rapidly in today's e-world. And don't forget Henry Ford. Henry was involved in a libel trial and had to testify in front of a jury with an incredibly hostile lawyer cross examining him whose purpose in life was to make a fool out of Henry. The lawyer took the tact that he'd show Henry was an uneducated bumpkin, and that he'd ask Henry questions that Henry wouldn't be able to answer. I cut and paste quote a googled-netizen's description of Henry's answer: His response . . . was to testify or state that if he had a legal problem, he could push a button on his desk and several top Harvard Law School graduates would quickly enter his office to do his biddingsimilarly, if he had an engineering problem...push another button and several MIT top grads would enter his office to assist with THAT problem, etc. (See: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=306615 ) Don't obscure the point by making Henry a straw dog -- Henry was a bastard of deep degree -- what with his union busting and his anti-semitism. The point is that the self-vaunted educated Harvard-type ilk are mere minions to those who are not interested in acquiring an encyclopedic acumen at one's ready, but are instead involved with the big questions of policy -- how to use that knowledge. (For his failings, Henry is a tainted hero, but read Buckminster Fuller description of Henry in Nine Chains To The Moon. Henry really faced some evil forces-afoot, and empowered the ordinary worker with an astounding pay rate for the times -- allowing them to buy the very cars he was making. Not sure if his good out weighed his bad, but) For most of my life, I've thought of an ivy league education as something attained in a romantic ashram where everyone was a scholar and seemed to be able to remember EVERYTHING -- Yamantaka in modern guise with a girdle of PhDs instead of a belt of skulls. But given that the haughty elitists are churning out such scholars on a regular basis and given that an evil dog like Bush can still ruin the country, of what use have these scholars been to America/world if they can not even stand up and be leaders -- make
[FairfieldLife] Invincible Donovan University
http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1711292007
[FairfieldLife] For Turq/ Re: Proud to be a Whiner!
Turq wrote: Bronte, I have challenged you in the past here to do one simple thing -- something that should be a breeze for someone who considers herself as smart as you obviously consider yourself -- write something positive. One post. One in which there is zero negation or putdown of something you don't like, only a presentation of something you *do* like and that you think might be valuable for other folks. I honestly don't think you *can* any more. Bronte writes: Turq, I am going to spend one last post responding to you, and then I'm done until you get over yourself. I didn't comment on this remark the first time you made it because it was three days after I sent you a positve post: pages of lyrics from Joni Mitchell songs I had typed out for your pleasure. Pure enjoyment there, nothing negative. But three days later, you couldn't even remember it. Why, because you're deadset looking for the bad in other people? I do have answers of my own for the problems I see in the world, but I don't talk about them to folks who don't see a problem to begin with. In this forum, no one agrees with me that the trouble I see (in the guru game) is real. Why suggest solutions to problems no one believes exist? Better to present evidence or arguments when I find them for the problem being real. That is the most positive thing one can do in the face of an evil that wears the mask of good. I have nothing to prove to you, cowboy. You don't like other people's critical posts? Good. You want to think Bronte's negative? Wonderful. I'm going to do what I like, because you cannot intimidate or embarrass people on this forum into doing what you want. You speak of getting attention, but a chat room is a not a stage, and you are not a ringmaster or a competing circus performer. There's plenty of room for everybody here to speak their minds. Let people do what they want, and if you can't handle that, expect your own whiner posts to be ignored. This is the last thing of yours I'm reading until you get off your high horse. Smoke away in your rants if that gives you jollies. Most of us will not be listening. - Bronte If (a big if) you ever write the book you claim to be writing, I'm sure there will be a large and profitable market for it. But you should know that when it hits Santa Fe, the owners of the best bookstore in town will take one look at it and put it on the shelf in the section of the store clearly labeled, WHINERS. Really. The owner and the employees of the store originally labeled this section CRITICISM, but after noticing the tone, the content, and the consistent me-fixation of the authors, they ordered a new sign and called the section WHINERS. The patrons of the store, even the ones who browse there, love it. It captures the tone and the mindset of the books stocked there. The thing that *all* of the books in the section have in common, no matter which spiritual trip or psychiatric practice or self-help technique they're ragging on, is that they are only negative. There isn't an ounce of positive suggestion for something *else* to do within a one of them. They're just someone whining about what's *wrong* with all these trips. It's EASY to criticize. I do it myself from time to time, and know just how easy it is, especially with easy targets like the TM movement. But there is neither any creativity nor balance in *only* criticizing. To achieve balance, one has to get *past* the ego-hurt and be able to accept the good things that came along with the bad ones. And to achieve any measure of creativity, one has to be able to propose something *else*, something that could actually *help* someone else, something they might consider doing *instead* of the thing being criticized/whined about. So far, you have proved yourself incapable of getting to this Next Step. I resubmit my challenge. Since you clearly intend to hang around here and post your whining, *supplement* it from time to time with some creative suggestions of your own for something *else* one could do. These supple- mental posts should contain *no* negation (What I recommend is that one *not* do X.). Give it a try. It's a lot more difficult to write shit like that than it is to whine. So far you've been taking the EASY (and intellectually LAZY) path, and not only have you been taking that path, you've been demanding that people *admire* you for taking that path. I don't. The day you can transcend the EASY path and propose a completely positive *alternative* to that which you criticize, on that day you have my respect. Not until.
[FairfieldLife] Lynch: A Man, His Movies and, Sometimes, His Monkey
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/movies/26lync.html A one-legged lovely, a woman who might indeed be Eurasian and a small shrieking monkey all show up in Mr. Lynch's most recent feature, the feverishly brilliant and nightmarish Inland Empire. In many respects Lynch, an expressionistic and minor portrait of the artist, works as a footnote to that 2006 work; it would make a great DVD extra. It shows us Mr. Lynch at work, prepping and shooting and cajoling and sometimes cursing his movie crew. He helps paint the floor of one set and even takes a broom to Hollywood Boulevard, where part of Inland Empire was shot. He also directs the actors, to whom he doles out somewhat cryptic instructions and thoughts, notably You are solid.
[FairfieldLife] Holland acts to make its invincibility permanent
Holland acts to make its invincibility permanent by Global Good News staff writer Global Good NewsTranslate This Article 25 October 2007 Dr Willem Meijles, Raja (Administrator) of Holland for the Global Country of World Peace, delineated the flurry of activities underway in his countrythe first to create national invincibilityto make its invincibility permanent. 'We are focusing on press releases and letters to institutions and influential people such as the Mayor of Amsterdam and his police force, offering them invincibility' and problem prevention for their city, he began. Letters offering Peace Colonies* went to government officials of the biggest cities; and letters explaining Consciousness-Based Education went to secondary school board members. He also reported that an education official in Rotterdam are very interested and supportive. Dr Meijles' strong team is working smoothly and effectively. They have also sent letters to the 443 mayors of the Netherlands' cities, Amsterdam's police chief, the 14 ministers of the national government, parliamentary committees, and the 12 governors of the provinces, explaining the seven-point programme to create an ideal world offered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Founder of the Global Country of World Peace. The chairman of a key parliamentary committee is supportive, Dr Meijles said. 'He says he will see that more parliamentary members read the letter carefully, and act on it.' They are organizing meetings and lectures on Maharishi Ayur-Veda, Maharishi Sthapatya Veda, and Consciousness-Based Education in many cities. At a workshop at a big secondary school's Jubilee, for example, Dr Meijles reported that 40 pupils went to the workshop on Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Programme and Yogic Flying. Further, he reported that there is great interest in Maharishi Ayur-Veda medicine, including Ayurvedic pulse diagnosis. A video clip shown on television recently pointed out that 'most people know more about their car than about their body; and that it is not necessary to go to a hospital, because pulse diagnosis is simple and can avert the danger that has not yet come.' Dr Meijles mentioned some signs of the Netherlands' invincibility: 'In 2006 when Holland became invincible, a scientific team began research indicating that long-term practitioners of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation Technique had less of a type of emissions, indicating less excitation and perhaps also fewer free radicals in the system.' Another sign is a new political party in the country, that has arisen as their 1 ½ year long Dutch Invincibility Course continues to create national coherence. He also reported that they are 'warming up for the upcoming tour of Dr David Lynch, (internationally acclaimed film director and Founder of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace), Dr Bevan Morris (Prime Minister of the Global Country of World Peace), and Dr John Hagelin (world-renowned quantum physicist, Executive Director of the International Center for Invincible Defense in New York City, USA). 'David Lynch is taking the leaders of the world by storm; and we expect great things from this tour,' he concluded. 'We continue to ring the bell for invincibility for the Netherlands and the world.' * Communities designed and built according to Vedic Architecture, where residents participate in group practice of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme, including Yogic Flying, to create coherence and harmony in the collective consciousness of their city and nation. Copyright © 2007 Global Good News(sm) Service - Ihr erstes Fernweh? Wo gibt es den schönsten Strand.
[FairfieldLife] Fundies on the wane
http://www.slate.com/id/2176782/ Best Political Coverage The New York Times Magazine takes a look at how the evangelical voting bloc is beginning to unravel. Once the most cohesive group in Americacredited with Bush's re-electionevangelical leadership is now split along generational and theological lines. All told, the group's disarray looks very good for Democrats and very bad for Republicans in 2008.J.L. Best Obituary The Economist looks back at the life of Lucky Dube, a clean-living Rastafarian who sang anti-apartheid reggae during the worst of the regime in South Africa. Dube was shot by carjackers in front of his children in October.M.S. Best Cocktail-Party Factoid The New York Review of Books reveals that, in his early years, Joseph Stalin went through forty different names, nicknames, bylines, and aliases at various times, which only barely exceeds the number of his professions: revolutionary, bank robber, gangster, singer, poet, womanizer, pedophile.G.H.
[FairfieldLife] Eco-Video from a FF Fellow
Dear Rick, 2-3 months ago my son the filmmaker Evan Hall created a 30 second Eco-spot for a contest being sponsored by Al Gore’s new television station, Current TV. There were thousands of submissions to this contest and a panel of judges has chosen the top 20. Evan’s spot has been chosen!!! These twenty are now being shown on MySpace and are now being voted on by the public. Please go to HYPERLINK http://current.com/ecospothttp://current.com/ecospot and Evan’s spot is “Support Good Hot – Energy” by bazinfan (pen name). If you think his is the best, cast your vote! And if you do and he wins, we will definitely have a party to which you will definitely be invited! So let me know if you cast your vote for him so we can be sure you’re on our guest list! (You have til Nov. 1 to vote.) And if you want to support Evan even further, please forward this email to all your friends! If you would like to email Evan he is at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thank you, and thank you for all your love and support over the years! Lynn Waters Global Verde LLC HYPERLINK mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.11/1093 - Release Date: 10/25/2007 5:38 PM image001.jpg
RE: [FairfieldLife] Invincible Donovan University
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of bob_brigante Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 4:18 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Invincible Donovan University HYPERLINK http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1711292007http://news.scotsm an.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1711292007 Guess who came up with that title? Maharishi never could leave a good thing along, but had to tinker with it until it broke. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.11/1093 - Release Date: 10/25/2007 5:38 PM
[FairfieldLife] Re: Human Species to Split by 3000
Read 'Brave New World', by Aldous Huxley...
[FairfieldLife] 'Preventing Nuclear War; (was Dick Cheney Meditating)
I heard a reading one time, by Ron Scalastico, where it was said, that, although the 'Higher Beings, Angels, etc.', where usually not allowed to interfere with human free will... That under certain conditions, they would be allowed to prevent a nuclear war, in that 'they' could withdraw someone's soul energy, which would put that person 'asleep'... So, this is a blessing in disquise, I would say... r.g. seattle.
[FairfieldLife] Invincible Shemp University
I'm taking applications now. Write in 50 words or less on the back of a $100 bill why you'd like to attend. Send it to: Shemp Mcgurk Quick Getaway Motel Nogales, Mexico
[FairfieldLife] Re: Invincible Donovan University
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of bob_brigante Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 4:18 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Invincible Donovan University HYPERLINK http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm? id=1711292007http://news.scotsm an.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1711292007 Guess who came up with that title? Maharishi never could leave a good thing along, but had to tinker with it until it broke. What I love about it that Donovan quit doing TM for about 30 years, started doing some other meditation technique and just restarted doing TM (hopefully) a few years ago after he gave that concert at MIU. Maybe once the university is up and running Donovan can quit doing TM and revert back to the other technique and teach that at the school... No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.11/1093 - Release Date: 10/25/2007 5:38 PM
[FairfieldLife] Astral Weeks: The Buddha's Lost Weekend
If I ventured in the slipstream Between the viaducts of your dream Where immobile steel rims crack And the ditch in the back roads stop Could you find me? Would you kiss-a my eyes? To lay me down In silence easy To be born again To be born again Tonight I wandered into Paddy's Bar, and was talking to my favorite bartender Morgan about music when a Van Morrison song came on and it came out that she had never heard Astral Weeks. That got me to thinking about the Buddha, and about what I was going to write about both when I got home. This is it. Have you ever wondered what the Buddha dreamed about? I have. I'm weird that way. I suspect that he -- with his above all Compassionate view of life, dreamed about alternative lives to the one he was living. Tonight I'm wondering whether he may have dreamed himself a kickass *future* life, into the recording of an album called Astral Weeks. What is Astral Weeks, you may ask? It's the Van Morrison album about which Rolling Stone magazine, when including it in its Top 100 All-Time Rock Albums, started its review with the sentence, Astral Weeks deserves its own category. Rolling Stone nailed it. It really does. The story of Astral Weeks is a nigh-unto-spiritual legend even in the usually-non-spiritual world of Rock 'n Roll. 22-year-old, Belfast-born Van Morrison walked into a recording studio in New York in 1968 with only half the songs on the album fully written, was introduced to five musicians he had never met before, and in two days recorded one of the best albums in Rock History. It was one of those great weekends in which an artist just gave himself up to his muse, stepped out of time, and created some timeless music. So, just for fun, imagine that the Buddha had dreamed himself into that particular record- ing session, and had done a kind of New Age walk-in on Van Morrison. The imagery of the songs is all from the streets. It was pretty obviously influenced by the stuff that Dylan was writing about the streets on New York at the time. So where, if Buddha managed to dream himself forward in time to 1968, and found himself in the body and mind of 22-year-old Van Morrison, would he have hung out? Would it have been in some ashram somewhere, in an environment and a vibe he was all too familiar with? I think not. I think that Buddha, had he dreamed himself as Van Morrison that weekend in November, 1968, would have headed straight for the streets of Greenwich Village. There, he would have walked down Cypress Avenuse, and he would have encountered a transvestite named Madame George, and a street hooker who once dreamed of being a ballerina, a slim, slow slider sliding towards oblivion, but beautiful anyway in her dance to death. And he would have loved them all. I think that the thing that makes Astral Weeks deserve its own category in the history of Rock n'Roll is that it is so damned Compassionate, man. Van paints these beautiful word-and-music portraits of the people he saw on the streets during this visit to New York, and he doesn't look down on a single one of them. He *loves* every single one of them, unconditionally. You will have to trust me on this, if you don't know the album: it just comes through in the music. Some have characterized Astral Weeks as a down album, or a depressed album. I really don't hear it that way. When I listen to it, to this day, I hear Van walking the streets of Greenwich Village in a mindstate that (whether chemically- influenced or not) just loved and appreciated everyone he saw, *for what they were*. For that period, Van was the Compassionate Buddha at large in the world, the incarnation of Love On Wheels. He could not *help* but love them. Van's view of these people he encountered on the streets is just so *non-judgmental*, man. Madame George, the Greenwich Village drag queen, becomes in his eyes the love that loves to love. The street hooker's come-on becomes: Spread your wings Come on fly awhile Straight to my arms Little angel child You know you only Lonely twenty-two story block And if somebody, not just anybody Wanted to get close to you For instance, me, baby All you gotta do Is ring a bell Step right up, step right up And step right up Ballerina This particular weekend in New York in 1968, Van Morrison was able to step out of his judgmentalism and see everyone he passed on the street as the highest they could possibly be, or as the highest they had ever wanted to be. Did the Buddha have anything to do with it? Absolutely not. But he could have, right? For these two days Irish-born Van Morrison and India-born Buddha shared a common mindset, one that enabled them to see a street hooker as an angel child. I think my friend Morgan is going to like Astral Weeks. The reason I like her, and her bar, is that she interacts with everyone she meets as if they were the highest they ever wanted to be. Maybe Buddha dreamed her, too.
[FairfieldLife] A parampara reply about Prabhupada's quote: On Genitals and Heavenly Nectar
Thinking about the original Prabhupada quote, I didn't feel qualified to answer the post. So I talked with AlankarDas, a friend of mine who was among the first disciples of Prabhupad. Originally a student of Swami Satchitananda, he met Prabhupada when Prabhupad began teaching in New York City and then stayed with him until his death. Later AlankarDas spent fifteen years in India and was among a just a handfull of Westerners trained to be the first Western pujari-s. In 1993 he installed a traditional carved Shivalingam for me in a full Maha-rudra-abhishekam. Done in the Panchratra style, it was a inundation of our local physical space with a dazzling confluence of devas. Thats when I first realized that God (Gott) is only a mythopoeic figure and that it is the devas in Brahman who are the actual reality we seek to comprehend. I asked Alankar Das if he would comment on the Prabhupada quote given in this thread ... Alankar: My question regarding this quote from Prabhupada is ... what is the question? It seems to be fully explained in the purport. It is said that the highest pleasure in the conditioned world is sex. The problem is that it lasts for only a moment and is gone. Thus suffering occurs. Prabhupada once said that the whole universe is moving based on the sex desire. This is an explanation of that statement ... Sex is originating with the original person (Adi-purusha or Purushottama), then the Caturvuyha (four primal expansions of Vishnu), then the Rudra expansion from the Anantashesha and then the Prajapatis, expanding outward. However, this particular expression of sex that we experience is a product of the Mahamaya (shakti of Durga) not the Yogamaya (shakti of Vishnu), the internal potency which is only visible and active for the realized soul. This is a complete paradigm shift where one is fully situated in their Satchitananda-Vigraha or eternal identity and body, apart from the physical temporary body. The physical body can still function but the knower is not limited by the urges of the body and experiences transcendent sensual life. We get pale glimpses of this through the grace of the Guru and the spiritual practices. Important to mention that the Guru is essential because the Guru is descended from the Anantashesha directly and thus qualified to introduce the now conditioned entity (us) to the Yogamaya potency. Then the conditioned state gradually (generally) dissolves and after leaving the body the Guru personally introduces the realized soul directly to Radha-Krishna. By this time the reality of the nature of sex is clear. - Alankar Das John [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Billy and all, My comments are shown below: Here is what Prabhupada commented on one of the slokas in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 2, Chapter 10: The heavenly pleasure for the conditioned soul is sexual pleasure, and this pleasure is tasted by the genitals. What he is saying IMO is; for those souls that are 'conditioned', that is their happiness is based on 'conditions' in the material world (object oriented), their highest pleasure is derived thru the genitals. By TM standards and a few orthodox religions, this assertion may be true. But there are others who do not believe that they are conditioned. Thus, they are subjected to the three gunas, the sufferings of the world. But it is likely they don't know that or won't accept it. At worst, they would blame everyone else for their sufferings. The woman is the object of sexual pleasure, and both the sense perception of sexual pleasure and the woman are controlled by the Prajapati, who is under the control of the Lord's genitals. The parjapati is the deity that presides over procreation. Prajapatis are also considered to be the executives of cosmic order. The impersonalist must know from this verse that the Lord is not impersonal, for He has His genitals, on which all the pleasurable objects of sex depend. Not sure what he means here other than the Lord is all of creation including the genitals of all humans..?? Prabhupad use to say that everything belongs to God and the criterion of success is if it pleases God. IMO, he is criticizing those philosophers who teach notions of the Supreme Being in terms of intellectual sophistication and arguments, as in Plato's ideas of Being. Prabhupada is saying the Supreme Being has body parts that are similar to human beings. This line of argument is not so different from the Judeo-Christian religion tradition. No one would have taken the trouble to maintain children if there were no taste of heavenly nectar by means of sexual intercourse Under the direction of the prajapati humans are enticed (thru sexual pleasure) to have sex for the procreation of children. This generally true. However, there are people who forego procreation in
[FairfieldLife] Various myths dispelled about Bubba
A man boarded an airplane and took his seat. As he settled in, he glanced up and saw the most beautiful woman boarding the plane. He soon realized she was heading straight towards his seat. As fate would have it, she took the seat right beside his. Eager to strike up a conversation he blurted out, Business trip or pleasure? She turned, smiled and said, Business. I'm going to the Annual Nymphomaniacs of America Convention in Boston. He swallowed hard. Here was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen sitting next to him, and she was going to a meeting of nymphomaniacs. Struggling to maintain his composure, he calmly asked, What's your Business role at this convention? Lecturer, she responded. I use information that I have learned from my personal experiences to debunk some of the popular myths about sexuality. Really? he said. And what kind of myths are there? Well, she explained, one popular myth is that African-American men are the most well-endo wed of all men, when in fact it is the Native American Indian who is most likely to possess that trait. Another popular myth is that Frenchmen are the best lovers when actually it is men of Jewish descent who are the best. I have also discovered that the lover with absolutely the best stamina is the Southern Redneck. Suddenly the woman became a little uncomfortable and blushed. I'm sorry, she said, I shouldn't really be discussing all of this with you. I don't even know your name. Tonto, the man said, Tonto Goldstein, but my friends call me Bubba.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Various myths dispelled about Bubba
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, lurkernomore20002000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Suddenly the woman became a little uncomfortable and blushed. I'm sorry, she said, I shouldn't really be discussing all of this with you. I don't even know your name. Tonto, the man said, Tonto Goldstein, but my friends call me Bubba. Another little cocktail party factoid. Tonto, in spanish I believe means stupid, or something to that effect. America chauvinism on display. How far we have fallen. History has shown that countries who substitute military might for economic might begin their decline. What do we export? Planes, some technology, arms. Agricultural products also. What do we import? Everything else. lurk
Re: [FairfieldLife] 'Preventing Nuclear War; (was Dick Cheney Meditating)
2007-10-26
Thread
Samadhi Is Much Closer Than You Think -- Really! -- It's A No-Brainer. Who'd've Thunk It?
I was astonished to learn that in a way somewhat similar to what you've described, this resembles how Stalin was killed, for he was planning the next world war, initiated by Soviet Beast and involving nuclear attack upon 'the West' when he was ruthlessly canceled as a life form and menace to humanity. I also learned that 'very soon', a device will be invented that will make nuclear explosive devices inoperable. Oh my Brahma! I surely hope so, very soon! *I will help all beings in every way I can promptly. * * * *I will not inflict pain or misfortune on anyone through my thoughts, words or deeds. * On 10/26/07, Robert Gimbel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I heard a reading one time, by Ron Scalastico, where it was said, that, although the 'Higher Beings, Angels, etc.', where usually not allowed to interfere with human free will... That under certain conditions, they would be allowed to prevent a nuclear war, in that 'they' could withdraw someone's soul energy, which would put that person 'asleep'... So, this is a blessing in disquise, I would say... r.g. seattle.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Invincible Donovan University
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, shempmcgurk [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of bob_brigante Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 4:18 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Invincible Donovan University HYPERLINK http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm? id=1711292007http://news.scotsm an.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1711292007 Guess who came up with that title? Maharishi never could leave a good thing along, but had to tinker with it until it broke. What I love about it that Donovan quit doing TM for about 30 years, started doing some other meditation technique and just restarted doing TM (hopefully) a few years ago after he gave that concert at MIU. Maybe once the university is up and running Donovan can quit doing TM and revert back to the other technique and teach that at the school... *** Well, that's the whole point of MMY naming the school after a weak meditator like Donovan -- if his name is on the marquee, he's more likely to stick with TM.
[FairfieldLife] For Turq/ Re: Proud to be a Whiner!
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, brontebaxter8 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Turq wrote: Bronte, I have challenged you in the past here to do one simple thing -- something that should be a breeze for someone who considers herself as smart as you obviously consider yourself -- write something positive. One post. One in which there is zero negation or putdown of something you don't like, only a presentation of something you *do* like and that you think might be valuable for other folks. I honestly don't think you *can* any more. Bronte writes: Turq, I am going to spend one last post responding to you, and then I'm done until you get over yourself. I love it when the universe speeds up its lifespan. I didn't comment on this remark the first time..._ snip - This is the last thing of yours I'm reading until you get off your high horse. Smoke away in your rants if that gives you jollies. Most of us will not be listening. - Bronte Welcome to the club. OfflyWorldy (still waitin'...)
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Preventing Nuclear War; (was Dick Cheney Meditating)
I was astonished to learn that in a way somewhat similar to what you've described, this resembles how Stalin was killed, for he was planning the next world war, initiated by Soviet Beast and involving nuclear attack upon 'the West' when he was ruthlessly canceled as a life form and menace to humanity. * Well, Stalin was certainly a scumbag (see link/clipping below), but he died in 1953, when the USSR only had a handful of nuke weapons and pitiful delivery systems. If anything, it was Mao later in the 50s and early 60s who was encouraging the Russkis to start a nuclear war since he would have had plenty of Chinese leftover after the West launched all its megatonnage, thereby winning the war with the West. Best Cocktail-Party Factoid The New York Review of Books reveals that, in his early years, Joseph Stalin went through forty different names, nicknames, bylines, and aliases at various times, which only barely exceeds the number of his professions: revolutionary, bank robber, gangster, singer, poet, womanizer, pedophile.G.H. http://www.slate.com/id/2176782/
[FairfieldLife] Re: Fundies on the wane
What is great about this news is that it is so mundane, and run of the mill obvious, for a long time since, that it took a great deal of energy for me to even comment in this irrelevant and pussingrate way that I am doing. Thanks ! OffWorld (growing old waitin' fer y'all) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://www.slate.com/id/2176782/ Best Political Coverage The New York Times Magazine takes a look at how the evangelical voting bloc is beginning to unravel. Once the most cohesive group in Americacredited with Bush's re-electionevangelical leadership is now split along generational and theological lines. All told, the group's disarray looks very good for Democrats and very bad for Republicans in 2008.J.L. Best Obituary The Economist looks back at the life of Lucky Dube, a clean-living Rastafarian who sang anti-apartheid reggae during the worst of the regime in South Africa. Dube was shot by carjackers in front of his children in October.M.S. Best Cocktail-Party Factoid The New York Review of Books reveals that, in his early years, Joseph Stalin went through forty different names, nicknames, bylines, and aliases at various times, which only barely exceeds the number of his professions: revolutionary, bank robber, gangster, singer, poet, womanizer, pedophile.G.H.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Preventing Nuclear War; (was Dick Cheney Meditating)
I was astonished to learn that in a way somewhat similar to what you've described, this resembles how Stalin was killed, for he was planning the next world war, initiated by Soviet Beast and involving nuclear attack upon 'the West' when he was ruthlessly canceled as a life form and menace to humanity. Re: 'Preventing Nuclear War; (was Dick Cheney Meditating) I was astonished to learn that in a way somewhat similar to what you've described, this resembles how Stalin was killed, for he was planning the next world war, initiated by Soviet Beast and involving nuclear attack upon 'the West' when he was ruthlessly canceled as a life form and menace to humanity. * Well, Stalin was certainly a scumbag (see link/clipping below), but he died in 1953, when the USSR only had a handful of nuke weapons and pitiful delivery systems. If anything, it was Mao later in the 50s and early 60s who was encouraging the Russkis to start a nuclear war since he would have had plenty of Chinese leftover after the West launched all its megatonnage, thereby winning the war with the West ( Re: 'Preventing Nuclear War; (was Dick Cheney Meditating) I was astonished to learn that in a way somewhat similar to what you've described, this resembles how Stalin was killed, for he was planning the next world war, initiated by Soviet Beast and involving nuclear attack upon 'the West' when he was ruthlessly canceled as a life form and menace to humanity. * Well, Stalin was certainly a scumbag (see link/clipping below), but he died in 1953, when the USSR only had a handful of nuke weapons and pitiful delivery systems. If anything, it was Mao later in the 50s and early 60s who was encouraging the Russkis to start a nuclear war since he would have had plenty of Chinese leftover after the West launched all its megatonnage, thereby winning the war with the West ( http://tinyurl.com/ytnlhe ). Best Cocktail-Party Factoid The New York Review of Books reveals that, in his early years, Joseph Stalin went through forty different names, nicknames, bylines, and aliases at various times, which only barely exceeds the number of his professions: revolutionary, bank robber, gangster, singer, poet, womanizer, pedophile.G.H. http://www.slate.com/id/2176782/
[FairfieldLife] Re: Invincible Donovan University
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1711292007 Oh F@# ! ! ! OffWorld (too far gone for most)
