[FairfieldLife] Pre-TM Discipline
A light-hearted look at discipline as some of us experienced it with another group which was much more open about its discipline procedures than our beloved TMO - parochial school nuns up to the late 60's - early 70's. Here is a brief story from the book Don't Chew Jesus. For those who did not have the wonderful experience of going to parochial schools, this story is not as far-fetched as it may seem. ___ The most impressive discipline tactic I have ever witnessed was one favored by Sr. Isadora, my tenth-grade geometry teacher. She looked as if she spent most of her free time in a weight room and walked with a confident swagger that came from knowing that none of us could outrun her. Boys were required to wear dress shirts and ties to school. Sister would grab boys by their ties, yank them out of their seats, and pull their faces close to hers so she could whisper, Ya wanna play with your teeth? __
[FairfieldLife] Re: Why the mantras ARE the sound vibrations (names) of the Devatas.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, BillyG. wg...@... wrote: You could use the word 'one' to meditate, or 'mike' and that would focus the mind and settle down the nervous system. But the reason we use a mantra is, these special sounds have *power* emanating from the Deity governing them. The sound and the Devata (Deity) are one and the same, the *power* is the bliss and charm inherent IN the sound itself at it's source level. And yes, the very reason meditation itself works and the increasing charm MMY often talks about as the fundamentals of proper TM. Hasn't it been said that God is Love, Bliss..ever new Joy, inner happiness? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 FWIW, at least in the Greek, Latin and German versions the last phrase has inverted word order, compared to most other version: Greek: theos en ho logos Latin: Deus erat Verbum German: Gott war das Wort
[FairfieldLife] Emotional Masturbation, or Why FFL Sells So Much Kleenex
I've rapped a few times about the tendency of some spiritual seekers to mistake a feeling of strong emotion for spiritual experience. This morning over coffee, I'd like to rap about doing that in public, and link it to the phenomenon I think it's most similar to -- whacking off. Think about recent rants in which one of our resident emotional jackoffs went on and on inventing fantasies about about poor, victimized people and those who prey on them. Now go back and read that same rant and visualize him masturbating furiously while writing it. Doesn't it fit? Doesn't it seem like that's *exactly* what's going on? My theory is this -- if a spiritual organization does not provide real spiritual experience on a regular basis, it learns very quickly that to keep followers on the line and contributing the big bucks it has to give them something *else*. That something else is often regular doses of strong emotion. The organization might do this in the form of telling stories about the teacher or root guru, stories cal- culated to make the followers feel strong emotion about them. And, over time, the followers begin to associate those strong emotions with real bhakti, and believe that the manipulated pseudo-emotions they're feeling were somehow spontaneous, and that they're growing in devotion to the teacher or root guru. A few might very well be, but IMO most of them are just being manipulated as effectively as addicts of soap operas are. Ooh...Guru Noname walked on water...I feel so uplifted and spiritual just thinking about it. Ooh...Genna is pregnant with Darin's baby and he dumped her but she managed to overcome her angst and saved the town from terrorists anyway...I feel so uplifted. The thing is, after decades of being manipulated by others telling you uplifting stories to stimulate you into a sense of heightened emotion that you have been trained to associate with spiritual experience, many people begin to do the same thing to *themselves*. They start to tell these uplifting stories to them- selves as a way of jumpstarting emotions that they cannot feel naturally. Thus we get the phenomenon of manufactured outrage we see so often here on Fairfield Life. Someone pre- tends to be outraged about someone lying, and rants on and on about it for hundreds of lines of text, jacking themselves up into a mood of oh-so-righteous indignation and moral superiority. Or they accuse someone of predation and do the same thing. Or they call someone else an anti-TMer and do exactly the same thing. The supposed causes of the manufactured outrage vary, but the effect it has on the people expressing the faux outrage never does -- they're *getting off*. I'm presenting the notion that by doing this they are essentially masturbating in public, indulging in fantasies to jack their emotional levels up to the point where they can convince themselves that they can still *feel* emotion. And it is *SO* satisfying to them to feel these emotions. Make up a story about some poor woman manipulated by evil scum who make her do Bad Things, and you can feel *SO* superior to the scum, and *SO* evolved yourself because you *care* about the fate of this poor woman. Repeat with a regular motion. Now grab a Kleenex and clean your- self up and run the same number again next week. Feeling dull and gray and lifeless, as if your medi- tation practice did nothing for you? Simple solution: pick someone who has done something you can consider wrong like...uh...say something positive about a person you hate, and make up some stories about how he or she is evil and use the story as a kind of masturbation fantasy. It doesn't really matter who the target is of the fantasy...it could be Sal, or Vaj, or Barry, or Ruth...it could be the Dalai Lama or Obama or pretty much anyone...their faces are as interchangeable as the photos in Hustler that guys jack off to on the toilet or the photos of Burt Reynolds that *you* jack off to in your bedroom. All that matters is that you can fantasize about them and GET OFF. Again, when you've finished, grab a Kleenex and clean up, while claiming victory and saying that you won. Uh huh. Call me a perv ( and I know that some will :-), but I think of this act, repeated ad nauseum by those who seem addicted to it, is *exactly* what I'm portraying it as -- a form of mental and emotional masturbation. The people who indulge in it are using fantasies to manufacture cheap emotion in themselves and GET OFF. And, interestingly, many in the audience they're speaking to *cheer* the emotional jackoffs for doing this, and shout Booyah! or Boy, you sure nailed him/her/it with that one! I have to assume that after doing so they have to run for the Kleenex box themselves. :-)
[FairfieldLife] Re: Why the mantras ARE the sound vibrations (names) of the Devatas.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, BillyG. wgm4u@ wrote: The Devatas are formless creative intelligences that Hinduism has anthropomorphized Or that that MMY et al scientized. Can you be sure that there is a difference? Patricia Carrington claimed that her research on CLinically SImulated Meditation showed that different meaningless sounds would have a different affect on people when used for meditation. Is this such a startling finding, even without knowing about claims made by mystics? Lawson
[FairfieldLife] A Word on Sanskrit and the Davanagari syllables
In a highly simplified description, it may be said that the fifty letters or sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet are on the petals of the sahasrara (Crown chakra), and that each alphabetical vibration in turn is connected with a specific petal (sound vibration) on the lotuses (chakras) in the spinal centers (which have a total of fifty corresponding petals: coccygeal, 4; sacral, 6; lumbar, 10; dorsal, 12; cervical, 16; and medullary-Ajna, 2). Petals mean rays or vibrations. From the realization of the potencies of these vibratory bija or seed sounds, the rishis devised mantras that, when properly intoned, activate these creative forces to produce the desired result. Mantras, therefore, are one means of tuning in with subtle or divine forces. Actually, the sounds are synonymous with the petals, i.e., vibratory powers. The fifty letters or sounds, in multiples of twenty, equal the one thousand petals of the sahasrara. From Swami Yogananda's Bhagavad Gita
Re: [FairfieldLife] Why the mantras ARE the sound vibrations (names) of the Devatas.
On May 7, 2009, at 8:57 PM, BillyG. wrote: The Devatas are formless creative intelligences that Hinduism has anthropomorphized Another misunderstanding of mantra. The form arises with the sound and light. The tree (the mandala or deities dimension) emerges from the seed, which emerges as sound, light, etc. There is a visual and a sonic component that is the process of the revelation of mantra. The visual part experienced becomes the dhyana-vidhi, the visualized aspect of the deity, considered one of the necessary pieces of mantra- yoga.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Trance 101
On May 7, 2009, at 10:08 PM, ruthsimplicity wrote: What Bob is missing is that the sound has an implicit meaning which, hopefully, collapses to a point and imprints itself on the subconscious mind. That the conscious mind may have no explicit meaning associated with the sound-sequence is actually irrelevant. The important thing is that the sound sequence unfolds a meaning from beyond the explicit realm of conscious thinking. It unfolds meaning at deeper levels of the mind--parts of the mind that are actually non- verbal. If mantras had no deeper meaning at finer levels of awareness, more often non-awareness, they'd essentially be worthless. What Bob is deliberately ignoring is that the collapse of mental sounds gives rise to different, non-mental sounds. These sounds need not be attributed to chakra petals but instead it might be helpful to understand their origin, which is a process of seed (proto-mantra) emerging and giving birth to tree (the realm of manifested meaning and intelligence associated with that seed). It is the Law of Seed and Tree in actual (non-conventional) experience, bija-vraksha-nyaya. Meditation on mantra is actually the exact opposite of this law, it's the process of revelation or seeing of mantra, turned inwards. To ignore such deep meaning is to ignore the seer and revelation. However in his case, it's institutionally imposed ignorance, institutionalized ignoring which he has consciously accepted as true. This seems pretty straightforward. So why all the mantra mystery over the years? I guess the desire to keep it looking non-sectarian was felt to be important. It also appears Mahesh had no real training in mantra- vidya, the science of mantra other than a couple of basic things (i.e., the four-fold division of sound) found in old Guru Dev talks. If you begin teaching the mechanics of how mantras are revealed, you'd be going down a slippery slope, as when these yogis realized these mantras they were also having a direct experience of the devata and their realm. It would be very difficult to parse that as scientific.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Emotional Masturbation, or Why FFL Sells So Much Kleenex
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: I've rapped a few times about the tendency of some spiritual seekers to mistake a feeling of strong emotion for spiritual experience. This morning over coffee, I'd like to rap about doing that in public, and link it to the phenomenon I think it's most similar to -- whacking off. Think about recent rants in which one of our resident emotional jackoffs went on and on inventing fantasies about about poor, victimized people and those who prey on them. Now go back and read that same rant and visualize him masturbating furiously while writing it. Doesn't it fit? Doesn't it seem like that's *exactly* what's going on? POT: Gather 'round children, and get a good picture in your head of Edg, jacking off and cleaning up after himself. (Ewww!) Now watch and be amazed as I, the biggest crybaby of all and master of irony, jacks off in public on FFLife. KETTLE: Pretend not to notice that Pot is desperately trying to convince you that Edg is just a big meanie for picking on him. GREEK CHORUS: Hey Pot, don't forget to clean up after yourself. My theory is this -- if a spiritual organization does not provide real spiritual experience on a regular basis, it learns very quickly that to keep followers on the line and contributing the big bucks it has to give them something *else*. That something else is often regular doses of strong emotion. The organization might do this in the form of telling stories about the teacher or root guru, stories cal- culated to make the followers feel strong emotion about them. And, over time, the followers begin to associate those strong emotions with real bhakti, and believe that the manipulated pseudo-emotions they're feeling were somehow spontaneous, and that they're growing in devotion to the teacher or root guru. A few might very well be, but IMO most of them are just being manipulated as effectively as addicts of soap operas are. Ooh...Guru Noname walked on water...I feel so uplifted and spiritual just thinking about it. Ooh...Genna is pregnant with Darin's baby and he dumped her but she managed to overcome her angst and saved the town from terrorists anyway...I feel so uplifted. The thing is, after decades of being manipulated by others telling you uplifting stories to stimulate you into a sense of heightened emotion that you have been trained to associate with spiritual experience, many people begin to do the same thing to *themselves*. They start to tell these uplifting stories to them- selves as a way of jumpstarting emotions that they cannot feel naturally. Thus we get the phenomenon of manufactured outrage we see so often here on Fairfield Life. Someone pre- tends to be outraged about someone lying, and rants on and on about it for hundreds of lines of text, jacking themselves up into a mood of oh-so-righteous indignation and moral superiority. Or they accuse someone of predation and do the same thing. Or they call someone else an anti-TMer and do exactly the same thing. The supposed causes of the manufactured outrage vary, but the effect it has on the people expressing the faux outrage never does -- they're *getting off*. I'm presenting the notion that by doing this they are essentially masturbating in public, indulging in fantasies to jack their emotional levels up to the point where they can convince themselves that they can still *feel* emotion. And it is *SO* satisfying to them to feel these emotions. Make up a story about some poor woman manipulated by evil scum who make her do Bad Things, and you can feel *SO* superior to the scum, and *SO* evolved yourself because you *care* about the fate of this poor woman. Repeat with a regular motion. Now grab a Kleenex and clean your- self up and run the same number again next week. Feeling dull and gray and lifeless, as if your medi- tation practice did nothing for you? Simple solution: pick someone who has done something you can consider wrong like...uh...say something positive about a person you hate, and make up some stories about how he or she is evil and use the story as a kind of masturbation fantasy. It doesn't really matter who the target is of the fantasy...it could be Sal, or Vaj, or Barry, or Ruth...it could be the Dalai Lama or Obama or pretty much anyone...their faces are as interchangeable as the photos in Hustler that guys jack off to on the toilet or the photos of Burt Reynolds that *you* jack off to in your bedroom. All that matters is that you can fantasize about them and GET OFF. Again, when you've finished, grab a Kleenex and clean up, while claiming victory and saying that you won. Uh huh. Call me a perv ( and I know that some will :-), but I think of this act, repeated ad nauseum by those who seem addicted to it, is *exactly* what I'm portraying it as -- a form of mental and emotional
[FairfieldLife] My Theory, Which Is Mine (was Re: Emotional Masturbation)
Theorem: Anyone can say anything about you that they want; that is out of your control. What is *not* out of your control is how to react, or whether to at all. It is my con- tention that those who react defensively or angrily to protect their self image have the most self to protect, and the least Self. Take Marek as yer classic example of how a person who is *not* heavily invested in his self acts. Several people on this forum have laid into him mercilessly; one threatened him in real life. But as far as I know he has *never* tried to defend himself. In my book, that indicates a lack *of* self, in its neg- ative connotation. And it indicates a presence of Self, in its positive connotation. Take Curtis, who rarely gets involved in defending himself, and when he does, usually manages to do so with humor. Now take a couple of other frequent posters who shall go unnamed because there is no need -- everyone here thought of them the moment I said those who react defensively or angrily. Then mentally count up the number of posts they spend each week defending themselves. Now extrapolate from that to the amount of self they believe that they have to defend. In case no one has noticed, I've been trying not to defend myself. I've had many occasions to, but I don't. I may in fact do my best to portray those who spend the most time demon- izing me as being as ridiculous as I perceive them to be, in the hope that if enough people laugh at them, someday they might learn to laugh at themselves. And I may occasionally give them a taste of their own medicine. But I don't waste time trying to nitpick each derogatory name they call me or defend myself by disputing their claims. What would be the point? Those on this forum who already dislike me still will, no matter what I say. If I were to waste time defending myself, all that would happen is that I'd be playing the game of the people who want me to do just that. No way. I'll stick to drive bys, thanks. I'll just say what I say and allow those I say it about to react the way that *they* see fit. I feel no obligation to back up any of my opin- ions (because that is, in fact, what they are), or to argue about them incessantly, the way some seem to want me to. If that's what they see as a good use of their time, so be it. I'll stick to expressing my opinion and allowing others to express theirs in response. Or not, depending on how much self they feel they have and how desperately they feel it needs defending. And that's all I have to say about that. Lit- erally, this being my last post of the week. :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchy...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: I've rapped a few times about the tendency of some spiritual seekers to mistake a feeling of strong emotion for spiritual experience. This morning over coffee, I'd like to rap about doing that in public, and link it to the phenomenon I think it's most similar to -- whacking off. Think about recent rants in which one of our resident emotional jackoffs went on and on inventing fantasies about about poor, victimized people and those who prey on them. Now go back and read that same rant and visualize him masturbating furiously while writing it. Doesn't it fit? Doesn't it seem like that's *exactly* what's going on? POT: Gather 'round children, and get a good picture in your head of Edg, jacking off and cleaning up after himself. (Ewww!) Now watch and be amazed as I, the biggest crybaby of all and master of irony, jacks off in public on FFLife. KETTLE: Pretend not to notice that Pot is desperately trying to convince you that Edg is just a big meanie for picking on him. GREEK CHORUS: Hey Pot, don't forget to clean up after yourself. My theory is this -- if a spiritual organization does not provide real spiritual experience on a regular basis, it learns very quickly that to keep followers on the line and contributing the big bucks it has to give them something *else*. That something else is often regular doses of strong emotion. The organization might do this in the form of telling stories about the teacher or root guru, stories cal- culated to make the followers feel strong emotion about them. And, over time, the followers begin to associate those strong emotions with real bhakti, and believe that the manipulated pseudo-emotions they're feeling were somehow spontaneous, and that they're growing in devotion to the teacher or root guru. A few might very well be, but IMO most of them are just being manipulated as effectively as addicts of soap operas are. Ooh...Guru Noname walked on water...I feel so uplifted and spiritual just thinking about it. Ooh...Genna is pregnant with Darin's baby and he dumped her but she managed to overcome her angst and saved the town from terrorists anyway...I feel
[FairfieldLife] My Theory, Which Is Mine (was Re: Emotional Masturbation)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: Theorem: Anyone can say anything about you that they want; that is out of your control. What is *not* out of your control is how to react, or whether to at all. It is my con- tention that those who react defensively or angrily to protect their self image have the most self to protect, and the least Self. Take Marek as yer classic example of how a person who is *not* heavily invested in his self acts. Several people on this forum have laid into him mercilessly; one threatened him in real life. But as far as I know he has *never* tried to defend himself. In my book, that indicates a lack *of* self, in its neg- ative connotation. And it indicates a presence of Self, in its positive connotation. Take Curtis, who rarely gets involved in defending himself, and when he does, usually manages to do so with humor. Now take a couple of other frequent posters who shall go unnamed because there is no need -- everyone here thought of them the moment I said those who react defensively or angrily. Then mentally count up the number of posts they spend each week defending themselves. Now extrapolate from that to the amount of self they believe that they have to defend. In case no one has noticed, I've been trying not to defend myself. I've had many occasions to, but I don't. I may in fact do my best to portray those who spend the most time demon- izing me as being as ridiculous as I perceive them to be, in the hope that if enough people laugh at them, someday they might learn to laugh at themselves. And I may occasionally give them a taste of their own medicine. But I don't waste time trying to nitpick each derogatory name they call me or defend myself by disputing their claims. What would be the point? Those on this forum who already dislike me still will, no matter what I say. If I were to waste time defending myself, all that would happen is that I'd be playing the game of the people who want me to do just that. No way. I'll stick to drive bys, thanks. I'll just say what I say and allow those I say it about to react the way that *they* see fit. I feel no obligation to back up any of my opin- ions (because that is, in fact, what they are), or to argue about them incessantly, the way some seem to want me to. If that's what they see as a good use of their time, so be it. I'll stick to expressing my opinion and allowing others to express theirs in response. Or not, depending on how much self they feel they have and how desperately they feel it needs defending. And that's all I have to say about that. Lit- erally, this being my last post of the week. :-) So there! says Barry as he stamps his foot and fizzles into the ether. Adieu, Bro. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchydog@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: I've rapped a few times about the tendency of some spiritual seekers to mistake a feeling of strong emotion for spiritual experience. This morning over coffee, I'd like to rap about doing that in public, and link it to the phenomenon I think it's most similar to -- whacking off. Think about recent rants in which one of our resident emotional jackoffs went on and on inventing fantasies about about poor, victimized people and those who prey on them. Now go back and read that same rant and visualize him masturbating furiously while writing it. Doesn't it fit? Doesn't it seem like that's *exactly* what's going on? POT: Gather 'round children, and get a good picture in your head of Edg, jacking off and cleaning up after himself. (Ewww!) Now watch and be amazed as I, the biggest crybaby of all and master of irony, jacks off in public on FFLife. KETTLE: Pretend not to notice that Pot is desperately trying to convince you that Edg is just a big meanie for picking on him. GREEK CHORUS: Hey Pot, don't forget to clean up after yourself. My theory is this -- if a spiritual organization does not provide real spiritual experience on a regular basis, it learns very quickly that to keep followers on the line and contributing the big bucks it has to give them something *else*. That something else is often regular doses of strong emotion. The organization might do this in the form of telling stories about the teacher or root guru, stories cal- culated to make the followers feel strong emotion about them. And, over time, the followers begin to associate those strong emotions with real bhakti, and believe that the manipulated pseudo-emotions they're feeling were somehow spontaneous, and that they're growing in devotion to the teacher or root guru. A few might very well be, but IMO most of them are just being manipulated as effectively as addicts of soap
[FairfieldLife] My Theory, Which Is Mine (was Re: Emotional Masturbation)
one of the Turqy's silliest posts ever- what's the point? definitely a masturbatory tirade of epic proportions... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchy...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: Theorem: Anyone can say anything about you that they want; that is out of your control. What is *not* out of your control is how to react, or whether to at all. It is my con- tention that those who react defensively or angrily to protect their self image have the most self to protect, and the least Self. Take Marek as yer classic example of how a person who is *not* heavily invested in his self acts. Several people on this forum have laid into him mercilessly; one threatened him in real life. But as far as I know he has *never* tried to defend himself. In my book, that indicates a lack *of* self, in its neg- ative connotation. And it indicates a presence of Self, in its positive connotation. Take Curtis, who rarely gets involved in defending himself, and when he does, usually manages to do so with humor. Now take a couple of other frequent posters who shall go unnamed because there is no need -- everyone here thought of them the moment I said those who react defensively or angrily. Then mentally count up the number of posts they spend each week defending themselves. Now extrapolate from that to the amount of self they believe that they have to defend. In case no one has noticed, I've been trying not to defend myself. I've had many occasions to, but I don't. I may in fact do my best to portray those who spend the most time demon- izing me as being as ridiculous as I perceive them to be, in the hope that if enough people laugh at them, someday they might learn to laugh at themselves. And I may occasionally give them a taste of their own medicine. But I don't waste time trying to nitpick each derogatory name they call me or defend myself by disputing their claims. What would be the point? Those on this forum who already dislike me still will, no matter what I say. If I were to waste time defending myself, all that would happen is that I'd be playing the game of the people who want me to do just that. No way. I'll stick to drive bys, thanks. I'll just say what I say and allow those I say it about to react the way that *they* see fit. I feel no obligation to back up any of my opin- ions (because that is, in fact, what they are), or to argue about them incessantly, the way some seem to want me to. If that's what they see as a good use of their time, so be it. I'll stick to expressing my opinion and allowing others to express theirs in response. Or not, depending on how much self they feel they have and how desperately they feel it needs defending. And that's all I have to say about that. Lit- erally, this being my last post of the week. :-) So there! says Barry as he stamps his foot and fizzles into the ether. Adieu, Bro. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog raunchydog@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: I've rapped a few times about the tendency of some spiritual seekers to mistake a feeling of strong emotion for spiritual experience. This morning over coffee, I'd like to rap about doing that in public, and link it to the phenomenon I think it's most similar to -- whacking off. Think about recent rants in which one of our resident emotional jackoffs went on and on inventing fantasies about about poor, victimized people and those who prey on them. Now go back and read that same rant and visualize him masturbating furiously while writing it. Doesn't it fit? Doesn't it seem like that's *exactly* what's going on? POT: Gather 'round children, and get a good picture in your head of Edg, jacking off and cleaning up after himself. (Ewww!) Now watch and be amazed as I, the biggest crybaby of all and master of irony, jacks off in public on FFLife. KETTLE: Pretend not to notice that Pot is desperately trying to convince you that Edg is just a big meanie for picking on him. GREEK CHORUS: Hey Pot, don't forget to clean up after yourself. My theory is this -- if a spiritual organization does not provide real spiritual experience on a regular basis, it learns very quickly that to keep followers on the line and contributing the big bucks it has to give them something *else*. That something else is often regular doses of strong emotion. The organization might do this in the form of telling stories about the teacher or root guru, stories cal- culated to make the followers feel strong emotion about them. And, over time, the followers begin to associate those strong emotions with
[FairfieldLife] Meanwhile in Wasilla ...
http://www.bartcop.com/palin-tut.gif
[FairfieldLife] The Bankers and the Republicans have Won
The stress tests are finished and the verdicts are in: The Bankers Have Won. James Kwak and Simon Johnson of Baseline Scenario have a not-to-be-missed post that lay it all out: In short, relationships between the government and the large banks have never been closer, with large amounts of money flowing in one direction, and complete co-dependency going in both directions. Those relationships are not entirely friendly, which is not surprising. In any crisis when public resources are called on to bail out the private sector, not all of the oligarchs will survive; Bear Stearns and Lehman have already vanished. But the winners which should include Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman will emerge even more powerful and influential than before. In rejecting nationalization (regulatory takeover and conservatorship), the government has not ensured a private, properly functioning banking system. Instead, it has muddled into a broken-down, undercapitalized system that is nominally in private hands, but is able to tap the state for apparently limitless support. And to date, that support has flowed on one-sided terms, with the taxpayer accepting downside risk but limited upside potential. No wonder bank shareholders are comfortable with this outcome. Read More: http://tinyurl.com/qpmpq4 http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/friday-free-milk-and-a-cow-reprise/
[FairfieldLife] Re: Why the mantras ARE the sound vibrations (names) of the Devatas.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On May 7, 2009, at 8:57 PM, BillyG. wrote: The Devatas are formless creative intelligences that Hinduism has anthropomorphized Another misunderstanding of mantra. The form arises with the sound and light. The tree (the mandala or deities dimension) emerges from the seed, which emerges as sound, light, etc. There is a visual and a sonic component that is the process of the revelation of mantra. The visual part experienced becomes the dhyana-vidhi, the visualized aspect of the deity, considered one of the necessary pieces of mantra- yoga. True that forms are a product of sound and/or light but, since Mother Nature or Shakti is already ALL things (trees, etc.) she is anthropomorphised as the Devis Lakshmi , Parvati and Saraswati, emphasizing her qualities for the purpose of worship etc., essentially she is formless creative intelligence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakti
[FairfieldLife] Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise
RD here's the most recent cite (older one was the one from Monks, In the Lab and IIRC a study coded for micro-expressions in Paul Ekman's system), this one is while in an fMRI (thus they listen to sounds). There should be some new data eventually from the Shamatha Project findings. http://www.box.net/shared/zfinn3n4so Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise Antoine Lutz1*, Julie Brefczynski-Lewis2, Tom Johnstone3, Richard J. Davidson1* 1 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America, 2 West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America, 3 University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom Abstract Recent brain imaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have implicated insula and anterior cingulate cortices in the empathic response to another’s pain. However, virtually nothing is known about the impact of the voluntary generation of compassion on this network. To investigate these questions we assessed brain activity using fMRI while novice and expert meditation practitioners generated a loving-kindness-compassion meditation state. To probe affective reactivity, we presented emotional and neutral sounds during the meditation and comparison periods. Our main hypothesis was that the concern for others cultivated during this form of meditation enhances affective processing, in particular in response to sounds of distress, and that this response to emotional sounds is modulated by the degree of meditation training. The presentation of the emotional sounds was associated with increased pupil diameter and activation of limbic regions (insula and cingulate cortices) during meditation (versus rest). During meditation, activation in insula was greater during presentation of negative sounds than positive or neutral sounds in expert than it was in novice meditators. The strength of activation in insula was also associated with self-reported intensity of the meditation for both groups. These results support the role of the limbic circuitry in emotion sharing. The comparison between meditation vs. rest states between experts and novices also showed increased activation in amygdala, right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), and right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) in response to all sounds, suggesting, greater detection of the emotional sounds, and enhanced mentation in response to emotional human vocalizations for experts than novices during meditation. Together these data indicate that the mental expertise to cultivate positive emotion alters the activation of circuitries previously linked to empathy and theory of mind in response to emotional stimuli. Citation: Lutz A, Brefczynski-Lewis J, Johnstone T, Davidson RJ (2008) Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise. PLoS ONE 3(3): e1897. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0001897 Editor: Bernhard Baune, James Cook University, Australia Received November 30, 2007; Accepted February 15, 2008; Published March 26, 2008 Copyright: 2008 Lutz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: Support was provided by NCCAM U01AT002114-01A1, Fyssen foundation to AL and NIMH P50-MH069315 to RJD, and by gifts from Adrianne and Edwin Cook-Ryder, Bryant Wangard and Ralph Robinson, Keith and Arlene Bronstein and the John W. Kluge Foundation. No funders or sponsors participated in the design or conduct of the study, or in the analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction Many contemplative traditions speak of loving-kindness as the wish of happiness for others, and of compassion as the wish to relieve others’ suffering. In many traditions, these qualities are cultivated through specific meditation practices designed to prime behaviors compatible with these wishes in response to actual interpersonal encounters. Despite the potential social and clinical importance of these affective processes, the possibility that they can be trained in a manner comparable to attentional [1] or sensory-motor skills [2] has not yet been investigated with neuroimaging techniques, even though recent electrophysiological data support this hypothesis [3].
[FairfieldLife] My Theory, Which Is Mine (was Re: Emotional Masturbation)
I'll just say what I say and allow those I say it about to react the way that *they* see fit. I feel no obligation to back up any of my opin- ions (because that is, in fact, what they are), I am perhaps hopelessly naive, but I had assumed that posts are primarily about sharing and working out ideas -- and passing on and discussing news. A forum is not a blog. Blogs are more for monologues. Forums are generally for discussions. If one is throwing out ideas and has no inclination to enagage in dialog about them, then that, to me, says boatloads about what degree of depth a post has. That is, is it a momentary, mouth bypassing brain gut response -- or is it a well considered thought, reflecting some depth, and pre-challenging of the ideas by the poster. By the latter I mean -- has the poster critiqued his own ideas, looked at them from other perspectives -- worked them out a bit before posting. That doesn't have to be a lengthy process for a post. But to just throw things out there as Hey, look at this new thing that just popped up inside my head! I have no idea if its any good, or has much truth value, but I do know that its truly art simply because IT is a thought that I had -- so it must be fantasticaly worthy. Just because one has a thought says nothing about how insightful, truthful or valid it is. I may be in the minority, but I confess -- everything that pops into my head is not necessarily golden. The mind has thoughts -- monkey mind at times. The intellect, experience, judgement help sift out low value thoughts from high value ones. If a poster is content to just throw what ever thought comes onto the forum without consideration, that's their perogotive. If they are not inclined to, even then, evaluate it further, discuss it, provide some background as to claims made (if claims are indeed made) then its a double whammy of non-consideration. The idea was not worthy of any evaluation prior to posting, and not worthy of any evaluation after posting. Whew! What smells in here? The non-separation of ideas from self is an interesting concept. If one posts an idea -- hopefully somewhat considered prior to posting -- and not just mind vomit -- the idea is not the poster. Well that's my view. Others, it would seem, may not distinguish the two. So a question about an idea is viewed as a personal challenge. My view is that the two are quite distinct. However, i can see the reluctance to address reactions, feedback, questions etc about an idea or claim made -- if one sees the idea as themselves. The ownership is so deep, they see no distinction between self and thought. (btw, This post is not a response directed at the original post, simply some (considered) ideas that the post has stimulated. I will be happy to discuss the content of my post with anyone and entertain different perspectives. If its a weak thought that I have had, better to figure it out now, than to cling to it for years.) --- In fairfieldl...@oogroups.com, TurquoiseB no_re...@... wrote: Theorem: Anyone can say anything about you that they want; that is out of your control. What is *not* out of your control is how to react, or whether to at all. It is my con- tention that those who react defensively or angrily to protect their self image have the most self to protect, and the least Self. Take Marek as yer classic example of how a person who is *not* heavily invested in his self acts. Several people on this forum have laid into him mercilessly; one threatened him in real life. But as far as I know he has *never* tried to defend himself. In my book, that indicates a lack *of* self, in its neg- ative connotation. And it indicates a presence of Self, in its positive connotation. Take Curtis, who rarely gets involved in defending himself, and when he does, usually manages to do so with humor. Now take a couple of other frequent posters who shall go unnamed because there is no need -- everyone here thought of them the moment I said those who react defensively or angrily. Then mentally count up the number of posts they spend each week defending themselves. Now extrapolate from that to the amount of self they believe that they have to defend. In case no one has noticed, I've been trying not to defend myself. I've had many occasions to, but I don't. I may in fact do my best to portray those who spend the most time demon- izing me as being as ridiculous as I perceive them to be, in the hope that if enough people laugh at them, someday they might learn to laugh at themselves. And I may occasionally give them a taste of their own medicine. But I don't waste time trying to nitpick each derogatory name they call me or defend myself by disputing their claims. What would be the point? Those on this forum who already dislike me still will, no matter what I say. If I were to waste time defending myself, all that would happen is that I'd be
[FairfieldLife] My Theory, Which Is Mine (was Re: Emotional Masturbation)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, grate.swan no_re...@... wrote: I'll just say what I say and allow those I say it about to react the way that *they* see fit. I feel no obligation to back up any of my opin- ions (because that is, in fact, what they are), I am perhaps hopelessly naive, but I had assumed that posts are primarily about sharing and working out ideas -- and passing on and discussing news. A forum is not a blog. Blogs are more for monologues. Forums are generally for discussions. If one is throwing out ideas and has no inclination to enagage in dialog about them, then that, to me, says boatloads about what degree of depth a post has. That is, is it a momentary, mouth bypassing brain gut response -- or is it a well considered thought, reflecting some depth, and pre-challenging of the ideas by the poster. By the latter I mean -- has the poster critiqued his own ideas, looked at them from other perspectives -- worked them out a bit before posting. That doesn't have to be a lengthy process for a post. But to just throw things out there as Hey, look at this new thing that just popped up inside my head! I have no idea if its any good, or has much truth value, but I do know that its truly art simply because IT is a thought that I had -- so it must be fantasticaly worthy. Just because one has a thought says nothing about how insightful, truthful or valid it is. I may be in the minority, but I confess -- everything that pops into my head is not necessarily golden. The mind has thoughts -- monkey mind at times. The intellect, experience, judgement help sift out low value thoughts from high value ones. If a poster is content to just throw what ever thought comes onto the forum without consideration, that's their perogotive. If they are not inclined to, even then, evaluate it further, discuss it, provide some background as to claims made (if claims are indeed made) then its a double whammy of non-consideration. The idea was not worthy of any evaluation prior to posting, and not worthy of any evaluation after posting. Whew! What smells in here? The non-separation of ideas from self is an interesting concept. If one posts an idea -- hopefully somewhat considered prior to posting -- and not just mind vomit -- the idea is not the poster. Well that's my view. Others, it would seem, may not distinguish the two. So a question about an idea is viewed as a personal challenge. My view is that the two are quite distinct. However, i can see the reluctance to address reactions, feedback, questions etc about an idea or claim made -- if one sees the idea as themselves. The ownership is so deep, they see no distinction between self and thought. (btw, This post is not a response directed at the original post, simply some (considered) ideas that the post has stimulated. I will be happy to discuss the content of my post with anyone and entertain different perspectives. If its a weak thought that I have had, better to figure it out now, than to cling to it for years.) Btw, the above ideas are not MINE, I don't claim exclusive ownership of them. They reflect ideas that were out there -- I have simply tried to give the ideas some care and nourishment -- and then let them fly (or crash) where they might. And the ideas, not being MINE, are not ME. If you disagree with the ideas, you are not attacking me. In fact, if the ideas are flawed, and you don't challenge them, I would consider that an attack or at least an unfriendly gesture -- like seeing someone with snot on their shirt and not telling them. But also, since I am not claiming ownership or privleege for having momentarily nurtured the ideas, I probably won't try to defend them to the death. If anyone is interested in discussion of the ideas, and the ideas may very well not be worthy of discussion, I will try to point out both sound and unsound critiques of them -- from my perspective -- to help, again, nourish the ideas and then let them fly to where ever they may seek home. --- In fairfieldl...@..., TurquoiseB no_reply@ wrote: Theorem: Anyone can say anything about you that they want; that is out of your control. What is *not* out of your control is how to react, or whether to at all. It is my con- tention that those who react defensively or angrily to protect their self image have the most self to protect, and the least Self. Take Marek as yer classic example of how a person who is *not* heavily invested in his self acts. Several people on this forum have laid into him mercilessly; one threatened him in real life. But as far as I know he has *never* tried to defend himself. In my book, that indicates a lack *of* self, in its neg- ative connotation. And it indicates a presence of Self, in its positive connotation. Take Curtis, who rarely gets involved in defending himself, and when he
[FairfieldLife] Is he a TMer?
http://www.peterrussell.com/Ordering.php#TM
[FairfieldLife] Re: Is he a TMer?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister no_re...@... wrote: http://www.peterrussell.com/Ordering.php#TM He used to be! (have been on courses with him). A long time ago he fell out with the TMO - but not with MMY and TM I believe.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Guru Dev - Our happiness or unhappiness is OUR responsibility
You asked that I notify when the Guru Dev trilogy is available. I had hoped to be able to also announce the release of the Guru Dev DVD I am preparing, but that will be some weeks yet. However, anyone wanting copies of the books can go to:- http://www.paulmason.info/booksetc.html --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, do.rflex do.rf...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Paul Mason premanandpaul@ wrote: The three volumes of the Guru Dev trilogy will be available through the following:- http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/upadesh.htm http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/GuruDevLifeStory.htm http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/AKtransrough.htm Paul, please give notice here when these volumes become available.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Guru Dev - Our happiness or unhappiness is OUR responsibility
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Paul Mason premanandp...@... wrote: You asked that I notify when the Guru Dev trilogy is available. I had hoped to be able to also announce the release of the Guru Dev DVD I am preparing, but that will be some weeks yet. However, anyone wanting copies of the books can go to:- http://www.paulmason.info/booksetc.html --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, do.rflex do.rflex@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Paul Mason premanandpaul@ wrote: The three volumes of the Guru Dev trilogy will be available through the following:- http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/upadesh.htm http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/GuruDevLifeStory.htm http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/AKtransrough.htm Paul, please give notice here when these volumes become available. Thanks, Paul.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Post Count Status
Are these writers, all meditators? Of some kind? Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat May 02 00:00:00 2009 End Date (UTC): Sat May 09 00:00:00 2009 575 messages as of (UTC) Fri May 08 00:07:36 2009 50 authfriend jst...@... 48 TurquoiseB no_re...@yahoogroups.com 44 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 41 Vaj vajradh...@... 30 grate.swan no_re...@yahoogroups.com 28 sparaig lengli...@... 28 Bhairitu noozg...@... 24 ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com 24 Richard J. Williams willy...@... 20 enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 20 Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com 19 Rick Archer r...@... 18 off_world_beings no_re...@yahoogroups.com 16 dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony...@... 16 bob_brigante no_re...@yahoogroups.com 14 Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@... 14 do.rflex do.rf...@... 12 Richard M compost...@... 12 BillyG. wg...@... 11 shempmcgurk shempmcg...@... 10 satvadude108 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 10 lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@... 7 geezerfreak geezerfr...@... 7 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 7 wle...@... 7 Nelson nelsonriddle2...@... 6 raunchydog raunchy...@... 3 William108 william10...@... 3 Dick Richardson somerse...@... 3 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@... 2 beno beno mynameisb...@... 2 Tom azg...@... 2 Marek Reavis reavisma...@... 2 Hugo richardhughes...@... 2 Dick Mays dickm...@... 1 uns_tressor uns_tres...@... 1 tkrystofiak kry...@... 1 sgrayatlarge no_re...@yahoogroups.com 1 pranamoocher bh...@... 1 metoostill metoost...@... 1 drpetersutphen drpetersutp...@... 1 Peter drpetersutp...@... 1 Patrick Gillam jpgil...@... 1 Mike Doughney m...@... 1 Mike Dixon mdixon.6...@... 1 Joe Smith msilver1...@... 1 Barbara Thomas barbara_thoma...@... 1 min.pige min.p...@... Posters: 48 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
[FairfieldLife] Oprah Radio: The Power of Meditation - host Dr. Mehmet Oz interviews David Lynch
The Power of Meditation Oprah Radio host Dr. Mehmet Oz talks with TV and film producer David Lynch, a dedicated meditator, about how meditation can help children achieve happiness and greater intelligence. 00:05:26 Oprah Radio | Dr. Mehmet Oz | In Partnership with: RealAge http://www.oprah.com/media/20090428-radio-dr-oz-meditationhttp://www.oprah.com/media/20090428-radio-dr-oz-meditationattachment: image 2.png
[FairfieldLife] 18 fun atrocities straight from the Bible
http://www.iheartchaos.com/content/18-fun-atrocities-straight-bible-more-you -know
[FairfieldLife] Re: Post Count Status
Are these writers, all meditators? Of some kind? Like, current practicing meditators? Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat May 02 00:00:00 2009 End Date (UTC): Sat May 09 00:00:00 2009 575 messages as of (UTC) Fri May 08 00:07:36 2009 50 authfriend jstein@ 48 TurquoiseB no_re...@yahoogroups.com 44 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 41 Vaj vajradhatu@ 30 grate.swan no_re...@yahoogroups.com 28 sparaig LEnglish5@ 28 Bhairitu noozguru@ 24 ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com 24 Richard J. Williams willytex@ 20 enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 20 Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com 19 Rick Archer rick@ 18 off_world_beings no_re...@yahoogroups.com 16 dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony2k5@ 16 bob_brigante no_re...@yahoogroups.com 14 Sal Sunshine salsunshine@ 14 do.rflex do.rflex@ 12 Richard M compost1uk@ 12 BillyG. wgm4u@ 11 shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ 10 satvadude108 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 10 lurkernomore20002000 steve.sundur@ 7 geezerfreak geezerfreak@ 7 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 7 WLeed3@ 7 Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ 6 raunchydog raunchydog@ 3 William108 william108wm@ 3 Dick Richardson somerset_2@ 3 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@ 2 beno beno mynameisbeno@ 2 Tom azgrey@ 2 Marek Reavis reavismarek@ 2 Hugo richardhughes103@ 2 Dick Mays dickmays@ 1 uns_tressor uns_tressor@ 1 tkrystofiak krysto@ 1 sgrayatlarge no_re...@yahoogroups.com 1 pranamoocher bhrma@ 1 metoostill metoostill@ 1 drpetersutphen drpetersutphen@ 1 Peter drpetersutphen@ 1 Patrick Gillam jpgillam@ 1 Mike Doughney mike@ 1 Mike Dixon mdixon.6569@ 1 Joe Smith msilver1951@ 1 Barbara Thomas barbara_thomas73@ 1 min.pige min.pige@ Posters: 48 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Post Count Status
Are you carrying on a conversation with yourself, Doug? Yes, meditation is part of my tantric sadhana. It is an advanced form using a powerful guru mantra. dhamiltony2k5 wrote: Are these writers, all meditators? Of some kind? Like, current practicing meditators? Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat May 02 00:00:00 2009 End Date (UTC): Sat May 09 00:00:00 2009 575 messages as of (UTC) Fri May 08 00:07:36 2009 50 authfriend jstein@ 48 TurquoiseB no_re...@yahoogroups.com 44 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 41 Vaj vajradhatu@ 30 grate.swan no_re...@yahoogroups.com 28 sparaig LEnglish5@ 28 Bhairitu noozguru@ 24 ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com 24 Richard J. Williams willytex@ 20 enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 20 Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com 19 Rick Archer rick@ 18 off_world_beings no_re...@yahoogroups.com 16 dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony2k5@ 16 bob_brigante no_re...@yahoogroups.com 14 Sal Sunshine salsunshine@ 14 do.rflex do.rflex@ 12 Richard M compost1uk@ 12 BillyG. wgm4u@ 11 shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ 10 satvadude108 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 10 lurkernomore20002000 steve.sundur@ 7 geezerfreak geezerfreak@ 7 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 7 WLeed3@ 7 Nelson nelsonriddle2001@ 6 raunchydog raunchydog@ 3 William108 william108wm@ 3 Dick Richardson somerset_2@ 3 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@ 2 beno beno mynameisbeno@ 2 Tom azgrey@ 2 Marek Reavis reavismarek@ 2 Hugo richardhughes103@ 2 Dick Mays dickmays@ 1 uns_tressor uns_tressor@ 1 tkrystofiak krysto@ 1 sgrayatlarge no_re...@yahoogroups.com 1 pranamoocher bhrma@ 1 metoostill metoostill@ 1 drpetersutphen drpetersutphen@ 1 Peter drpetersutphen@ 1 Patrick Gillam jpgillam@ 1 Mike Doughney mike@ 1 Mike Dixon mdixon.6569@ 1 Joe Smith msilver1951@ 1 Barbara Thomas barbara_thomas73@ 1 min.pige min.pige@ Posters: 48 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
[FairfieldLife] Escape from Socialism!
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDv4sYwjO0
Re: [FairfieldLife] Escape from Socialism!
do.rflex wrote: Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDv4sYwjO0 Sounds like just the place for Shemp. He's probably packing his bags right now!
[FairfieldLife] My Theory, Which Is Mine (was Re: Emotional Masturbation)
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, grate.swan no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, grate.swan no_reply@ wrote: I'll just say what I say and allow those I say it about to react the way that *they* see fit. I feel no obligation to back up any of my opin- ions (because that is, in fact, what they are), GrateSwan, Thanks for a thoughtful post. I've enjoyed some really wonderful conversations on FFLife. My two favorite debaters are Judy and Curtis. They are both willing to go the distance to intelligently make their case and for the most part they do so respectfully. I don't have the deeply analytical skills that they do but I enjoy jumping into an interesting conversation. Putting myself on the skillet in support of TM gives me a chance to recount experiences I've had with the TMO and tell stories I wouldn't have written about otherwise. The best of Barry's posts are creative and entertaining but the one's that creep me out are like drive by shootings. It adds nothing to the conversation and only inspires me to respond in kind. The bully in the schoolyard who lobs the rock enjoys how powerful it makes him feel suffers no consequences for any head he happens to split open unless he gets a knock from someone unwilling to take a stand against him. No one likes a bully. I am perhaps hopelessly naive, but I had assumed that posts are primarily about sharing and working out ideas -- and passing on and discussing news. A forum is not a blog. Blogs are more for monologues. Forums are generally for discussions. If one is throwing out ideas and has no inclination to enagage in dialog about them, then that, to me, says boatloads about what degree of depth a post has. That is, is it a momentary, mouth bypassing brain gut response -- or is it a well considered thought, reflecting some depth, and pre-challenging of the ideas by the poster. By the latter I mean -- has the poster critiqued his own ideas, looked at them from other perspectives -- worked them out a bit before posting. That doesn't have to be a lengthy process for a post. But to just throw things out there as Hey, look at this new thing that just popped up inside my head! I have no idea if its any good, or has much truth value, but I do know that its truly art simply because IT is a thought that I had -- so it must be fantasticaly worthy. Just because one has a thought says nothing about how insightful, truthful or valid it is. I may be in the minority, but I confess -- everything that pops into my head is not necessarily golden. The mind has thoughts -- monkey mind at times. The intellect, experience, judgement help sift out low value thoughts from high value ones. If a poster is content to just throw what ever thought comes onto the forum without consideration, that's their perogotive. If they are not inclined to, even then, evaluate it further, discuss it, provide some background as to claims made (if claims are indeed made) then its a double whammy of non-consideration. The idea was not worthy of any evaluation prior to posting, and not worthy of any evaluation after posting. Whew! What smells in here? The non-separation of ideas from self is an interesting concept. If one posts an idea -- hopefully somewhat considered prior to posting -- and not just mind vomit -- the idea is not the poster. Well that's my view. Others, it would seem, may not distinguish the two. So a question about an idea is viewed as a personal challenge. My view is that the two are quite distinct. However, i can see the reluctance to address reactions, feedback, questions etc about an idea or claim made -- if one sees the idea as themselves. The ownership is so deep, they see no distinction between self and thought. (btw, This post is not a response directed at the original post, simply some (considered) ideas that the post has stimulated. I will be happy to discuss the content of my post with anyone and entertain different perspectives. If its a weak thought that I have had, better to figure it out now, than to cling to it for years.) Btw, the above ideas are not MINE, I don't claim exclusive ownership of them. They reflect ideas that were out there -- I have simply tried to give the ideas some care and nourishment -- and then let them fly (or crash) where they might. And the ideas, not being MINE, are not ME. If you disagree with the ideas, you are not attacking me. In fact, if the ideas are flawed, and you don't challenge them, I would consider that an attack or at least an unfriendly gesture -- like seeing someone with snot on their shirt and not telling them. But also, since I am not claiming ownership or privleege for having momentarily nurtured the ideas, I probably won't try to defend them to the death. If anyone is interested in discussion of the
[FairfieldLife] Post Count
Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat May 02 00:00:00 2009 End Date (UTC): Sat May 09 00:00:00 2009 633 messages as of (UTC) Fri May 08 23:46:24 2009 50 authfriend jst...@panix.com 50 TurquoiseB no_re...@yahoogroups.com 45 Vaj vajradh...@earthlink.net 44 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 32 grate.swan no_re...@yahoogroups.com 31 Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net 29 sparaig lengli...@cox.net 27 ruthsimplicity no_re...@yahoogroups.com 27 Richard J. Williams willy...@yahoo.com 22 off_world_beings no_re...@yahoogroups.com 22 dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony...@yahoo.com 21 enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 20 Rick Archer r...@searchsummit.com 20 Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com 18 do.rflex do.rf...@yahoo.com 17 bob_brigante no_re...@yahoogroups.com 16 Sal Sunshine salsunsh...@lisco.com 15 BillyG. wg...@yahoo.com 13 Richard M compost...@yahoo.co.uk 12 shempmcgurk shempmcg...@netscape.net 10 satvadude108 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 10 raunchydog raunchy...@yahoo.com 10 lurkernomore20002000 steve.sun...@sbcglobal.net 9 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 8 wle...@aol.com 8 Nelson nelsonriddle2...@yahoo.com 7 geezerfreak geezerfr...@yahoo.com 3 drpetersutphen drpetersutp...@yahoo.com 3 William108 william10...@yahoo.com 3 Dick Richardson somerse...@yahoo.com 3 Dick Mays dickm...@lisco.com 3 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@yahoo.com 2 sgrayatlarge no_re...@yahoogroups.com 2 scienceofabundance no_re...@yahoogroups.com 2 beno beno mynameisb...@yahoo.com 2 Tom azg...@yahoo.com 2 Marek Reavis reavisma...@sbcglobal.net 2 Hugo richardhughes...@hotmail.com 1 uns_tressor uns_tres...@yahoo.ca 1 tkrystofiak kry...@natel.net 1 pranamoocher bh...@hotmail.com 1 nelson lafrancis nelsonriddle2...@yahoo.com 1 metoostill metoost...@yahoo.com 1 Peter drpetersutp...@yahoo.com 1 Paul Mason premanandp...@yahoo.co.uk 1 Patrick Gillam jpgil...@yahoo.com 1 Mike Doughney m...@doughney.com 1 Mike Dixon mdixon.6...@yahoo.com 1 Joe Smith msilver1...@yahoo.com 1 Barbara Thomas barbara_thoma...@yahoo.com 1 min.pige min.p...@yahoo.com Posters: 51 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
[FairfieldLife] 'Dakani- Earth Goddess'
[FairfieldLife] 'The 5 Gifts of Root Chakra'
The five gifts of the root chakra by Khalid Malik There are those who court the heart chakra looking for love both internally and externally. Then there are some who seek to energise the brow chakra looking to peer across the divide into realms unknown and finally there are a few who wish to harmonise the crown chakra and so discover the oneness of creation. Personally, I am a root chakra person; this chakra, when energised provides focus and clarity. Imagine gathering all the strands that make up who you are and pulling them together into whole and complete being, this is the first gift of a harmonised root chakra. Roots that go as deep as the earth's core are the foundations of this energy centre giving strength that can endure all the worlds tumbles and upheavals this is the second gift of this wonder-filled chakra. And with these deep roots comes a connection to a being so vast and wise that its first communion will change ones life forever. This being, this mother is perhaps the only source of true unconditional love in the physical world and this forms the third gift of a balanced root chakra. Mother earth, by some called Gaia, has a more fabled gift for those who would form a union with her through their root chakras. This fourth gift comes in the form of knowledge, perhaps, the most fundamentally important knowledge of all. Should you divine deep with your root chakra you will encounter a message from the earth, a message that shatters the chaos that often surrounds us. Shatters it by bringing a clear and unequivocal message. The fourth gift is a message that answers the question Where am I? Life is a journey, a path to be followed, but to have any chance of making sense of this journey a crucial piece of information is needed and that is the answer to where am I? a balanced and energised root chakra provides this knowledge as its fourth gift. The root chakra is all about the physical; the universe that we can touch is in the realm of the root chakra. This being the case when one energises this profoundly material chakra one gets an undeniable sense that we are human beings having a spiritual experience. This is the fifth gift of this chakra.
[FairfieldLife] 'Goldie Gets Mindful'
Date: Friday, May 8, 2009, 4:48 PM http://www.thehawnfoundation.org/
[FairfieldLife] 'Joan of River Immortality'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Rivers
[FairfieldLife] Re: Why the mantras ARE the sound vibrations (names) of the Devatas.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradh...@... wrote: On May 7, 2009, at 8:57 PM, BillyG. wrote: The Devatas are formless creative intelligences that Hinduism has anthropomorphized Another misunderstanding of mantra. The form arises with the sound and light. The tree (the mandala or deities dimension) emerges from the seed, which emerges as sound, light, etc. There is a visual and a sonic component that is the process of the revelation of mantra. The visual part experienced becomes the dhyana-vidhi, the visualized aspect of the deity, considered one of the necessary pieces of mantra- yoga. Hey Vaj, I'm wondering, when Buddha left the nest, And he wanted to start meditation practice, would he have to think of the visual aspect of the deity? Wouldn't that keep him on the level of visualization? And if stays on the level of visualization, then how can he gain dhyana, or transcending his visualization? That's the whole value and difference with the brilliance and simplified subtlety of Maharishi's teaching... It's the lack of 'visualization' of the deity...that one picks up the mantra, in an innocent state... A meaningless sound, used for transcending (dhayana), in order to finally transcend the mantra, and experience the experiencer or transcendence...The self experiencing the self through the innate ability to become aware of awareness itself. After becoming familiar with transcending quickly, then the added advanced techniques, slow the dhanana, to experience more fully, the finer levels of thought... Then the sidhi techniques, based on the aspects of dhyana and sutra, And the developement of Ritam or the aspect of cognizing the name/form relationship. Then this aspect of 'Dhyana-Vidya' will spontaneously arise, and not in a manipulative or superficial way, as in 'Straining to Remain on a Superficial Level of Visualization... Then Buddha can become Buddha by realizing his natural state, uncomplicated with mental analysis. R.G.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi on Immortality of the body.
Billy, would it be okay if these were figures of speech? Do they have to be literal to be true? Rings true in experience anyway. Do you meditate anymore? Or have you fallen away entirely? Just wondering what type of meditator you are now as you make these comments below. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, BillyG. wg...@... wrote: About immortality on the physical level, I happened to mention some teaching in the Gita about a cessation of aging process and that I narrated on the level of your experience during meditation. When your thoughts become finer and finer, when the mind experiences finer realms of thought during meditation, then the metabolism is reduced, as the metabolism is reduced the mind becomes finer and finer and the metabolism becomes further reduced, the mind transcends and gets to that state of TC. Simultaneously the body, the mind, the entire functioning of the inner machinery, ALL METABOLIC RATE COMES TO ZERO. (Caps by me) Has TM research demonstrated this??? When this happens the physical structure of the nervous system comes to a state where it knows no action. It knows no action and without action it remains lively, yet without activity. This is that state where it has no decay. Decay comes, physical decay comes through activity. Cessation of activity results in cessation of the decaying process. As long as we can be in that state, the process of decay ceases to be. (Read Babaji anybody?) A very simple, very direct technique of attaining that state of life where neithrer the mental plane decays nor the physical plane decays; mental and physical planes come to the level of the spiritual plane wheich has eternal life and knows no change. MMY The Vedas page five. Note: Very few, if any, TM'ers or any meditators can demonstrate this state of 'zero metabolic rate', it is a very high state of development. Hence very few TM'ers actually transcend to Transcendental Consciousness, most transcend a little and that is reflected in the scientific research to date. It takes years and years of practice to achieve conscious transcending to Absolute Being, come on, get real!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi on Immortality of the body.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony...@... wrote: Billy, would it be okay if these were figures of speech? Do they have to be literal to be true? Rings true in experience anyway. Do you meditate anymore? Or have you fallen away entirely? Just wondering what type of meditator you are now as you make these comments below. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, BillyG. wgm4u@ wrote: About immortality on the physical level, I happened to mention some teaching in the Gita about a cessation of aging process and that I narrated on the level of your experience during meditation. When your thoughts become finer and finer, when the mind experiences finer realms of thought during meditation, then the metabolism is reduced, as the metabolism is reduced the mind becomes finer and finer and the metabolism becomes further reduced, the mind transcends and gets to that state of TC. Simultaneously the body, the mind, the entire functioning of the inner machinery, ALL METABOLIC RATE COMES TO ZERO. (Caps by me) Has TM research demonstrated this??? When this happens the physical structure of the nervous system comes to a state where it knows no action. It knows no action and without action it remains lively, yet without activity. This is that state where it has no decay. Decay comes, physical decay comes through activity. Cessation of activity results in cessation of the decaying process. As long as we can be in that state, the process of decay ceases to be. (Read Babaji anybody?) A very simple, very direct technique of attaining that state of life where neithrer the mental plane decays nor the physical plane decays; mental and physical planes come to the level of the spiritual plane wheich has eternal life and knows no change. MMY The Vedas page five. Note: Very few, if any, TM'ers or any meditators can demonstrate this state of 'zero metabolic rate', it is a very high state of development. Hence very few TM'ers actually transcend to Transcendental Consciousness, most transcend a little and that is reflected in the scientific research to date. It takes years and years of practice to achieve conscious transcending to Absolute Being, come on, get real! I would agree, here, it usually does take years, lifetimes of experience to even be motivated for such a thing... It would take years of spending time in the silence of meditation, in a silent place... The more silence the better. Then, in these modern times, there are adjuncts to the movement towards 'Zero Breath'... These techniques are available through listening the advanced CD's using the effect of tones to slow the brainwaves to as slow as 0.3 cycles, or beyond 'Deep Sleep'... So, if you culture the mind, to maintain awareness, even at the deepest point of sleep, then that is what is necessary... Only at the point of zero breath, is one beyond the concept of ego... R.G.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Quote from Guru Dev
Pretty good advice. Everything but the parental, 'be careful the company you keep' and 'don't hangout with off-the-path unspiritual non-meditators'. 'One can become a mahatma wherever one lives. No one becomes a mahatma by simply wearing ochre clothing or by applying some marks to the forehead. Dress and other externals will not lead to the ultimate good, whereas faith will certainly lead to it. The state of a mahatma is determined by the state of mind. So stay wherever you are, but change the direction of your mind. Think less about samsara and think more about Paramatma. Nowadays people think a great deal about things they should not waste their time on. One should primarily contemplate Paramatma; instead, people contemplate worldly objects. That is why they are unable to experience peace and happiness. If you apply your vital breath to worldly activities and enjoyment of the senses, then your lungs are like the bellows of a blacksmith. Hence take care of your vital breath and apply yourself to Paramatma. First generate faith. You already have sufficient faith in money. That is why you are able to think about it. When you have faith in Paramatma, then you will start contemplating Him. You must realize that money and all the objects of samsara will remain here, while you have to carry out your future journey alone. Prepare for that future journey at this very moment. Increase your faith in higher goals, and increase your love for that ever-blissful Paramatma. Show superficial interest in the things of the world, which will always remain here, and place primary faith in the ultimate goal, which will remain with you. Once you discover that a tantalizing heap of money was actually created by a magician, the temptation to take it will wither, and you will no longer covet it. Like the magician's money, all the objects and relationships of samsara are transient. Therefore, carry out all daily affairs according to social expectations, but do not reserve a place for these things in your mind. Keep your mind free for the imperishable Paramatma, whose very essence is bliss. Always keep Bhagavan in your mind and never transgress the bounds of propriety - this is what it means to be a mahatma.'
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi on Immortality of the body.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, dhamiltony2k5 dhamiltony...@... wrote: Billy, would it be okay if these were figures of speech? Do they have to be literal to be true? Rings true in experience anyway. I think MMY meant what he said, and it also concurs with what Swami Paramahansa Yogananda taught! Do you meditate anymore? Or have you fallen away entirely? Just wondering what type of meditator you are now as you make these comments below. I still meditate TM (since 1968) but am leaning towards the Hong Sau technique taught by SRF, not that TM is bad or anything, just that I have been studying under Swami Yogananda and his technique is more in harmony with what I am learning..the jury is still out.
[FairfieldLife] 'A Violent May Day in Berlin!'
GOOD COP, BAD COP Police Officer Arrested for Joining Berlin's May Day Riot During the May Day protests last week, Berlin police clashed with nearly every kind of demonstrator imaginable -- including one of their own. An off-duty police officer from Frankfurt has been arrested for stone-throwing during riots which left over 450 of his colleagues injured. This year's May Day riots proved to be a serious headache for the roughly 6,000 police officers on duty in Berlin last Friday. Over 450 of them -- four times as many as last year -- reported injuries, with 19 requiring out-patient hospital care, Berlin police chief Dieter Glietsch reported. PHOTO GALLERY: COPS AND CHAOS IN BERLIN http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-42305.html#backToArticle=623723 Adding insult to injury is the news that one of the 289 protestors police arrested during the violence was actually one of their own -- a fellow officer with the German Federal Police. The 24-year-old, usually stationed at Frankfurt International Airport, is suspected of taking part in the May Day riots in Berlin and -- in at least two instances -- throwing cobblestones and striking police officers. He was off-duty and staying in Kreuzberg, the multi-ethnic and alternative neighborhood at the center of the annual demonstrations, during his visit to the capital, where he completed his training in August last year. The policeman has been suspended and will remain off-duty until the criminal proceedings are over, said a representative for the German Federal Police on Friday. We are all a bit shocked, because this is not the behavior we expect from a colleague, a spokeswoman for the Frankfurt Airport police told German news agency DDP. The mass circulation German daily Bild wrote in its Friday edition that the officer, a reported paintball enthusiast, had described his mood online as looking for a fight. The Labor Day holiday has been well-known for decades for its regular outbreaks of violence and the disorderly situation has become something of a tradition in Berlin -- and has since spread to other German cities, Hamburg in particular. In recent years, popular outdoor festivals held on May Day appeared to have cooled down some of the aggression -- although the peaceful performances and gatherings usually morph into some degree of stone-throwing and car-burning as the sun goes down. This year, however, marked an increase in mayhem, with some speculating that the amplified unrest might be in response to the ongoing economic crisis, especially rising unemployment. Protestors of all varieties -- left-wing, far-right, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, and anarchist -- clashed with riot police in various Berlin neighborhoods. Until the early morning hours, police were attacked with bottles, stones, and firecrackers -- and responded in turn with tear gas, batons, and pepper spray, arresting twice as many protestors as last year in the process. On Saturday morning, street cleaning teams battled the trash -- collecting 100 cubic meters of garbage, stones, and shards of broken glass. jcm - with wire reports
[FairfieldLife] 'ARBEIT mit LICHT und LIEBE'
'Working With Light and Love' http://www.puramaryam.de/
[FairfieldLife] Physics geeks: particle zoo site
Somebody may have posted this before: http://particleadventure.org/npe.html
