[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Those who become Amma devotees, apparently can't stand the Isolation (kaivalya). Nothing wrong with that! *shaucaat* svaan.ga-jugupsaa parair asaMsargaH. draSTaa dRshi-maatraH *shuddho* 'pi pratyayaanupashyaH. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: yes, I have friends who are Amma devotees now. We're living in wonderful times for sure. From: Bhairitu noozguru@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 1:37 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -  I'm speaking specifically of traditions have practice meditation. One of the people who commented was an Ammachi devotee. Interesting though, when I was visiting Ammachi's ashram in Kerala I ran into old friends who were one time TM teachers and residing at the ashram. I'm also familiar with a number of other traditions with friends in them. Even my guru mentions to me when eclipses and Indian holidays occur to be sure to do all my mantras as if it was unusual to do them that way daily. On 06/11/2012 09:31 AM, Share Long wrote: So do other traditions have a different kind of sadhana? Inquiry? Seva? From: Bhairitunoozguru@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 11:11 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - I found it interesting that other traditions were amazed that TMers meditated daily. In other traditions it wasn't emphasized. In fact Rick even he'd noticed the same thing when I brought it up. Some gurus give temporary meditations to take care of problems for a while such as planetary complications. On 06/11/2012 04:44 AM, Share Long wrote: But then could they really be called TMers?Perhaps there are gradations of TMing (-: From: turquoisebno_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Longsharelong60@ wrote: Logically the only thing that one can say about TMers is that they practice TM. If that. :-) I used to know meditators and former TM teachers in L.A. who hadn't practiced TM regularly in years, but pretended to so that they could go to Charlie Lutes' Friday night talks to partake in the social scene. From: Vajvajradhatu@ To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:11 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - On Jun 10, 2012, at 6:51 PM, iranitea wrote: In these dialogues I found Lawson and most of the pro TM-ers here extremely dense and blocked by their typical TM concepts. (concepts I can still use for teaching, but in a less dogmatic way, and with more openness.) If there's one thing you can say about TMers, they are locked into their paradigm and have a hard time stepping outside that box.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Vastu tiny house
Fairfield, Sustainable Living in 572 square feet. http://ottumwacourier.com/features/x519437794/Fairfield-couple-builds-572-foot-house-with-reclaimed-materials Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smartsizer/sets/72157602122315762/ DM Register article: http://www.frdesignsiowa.com/Register.htm --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Buck wrote: Does not even come close to solve the larger problem of housing for people on the IA course here. Housing for aging TM'ers? TM movement- singles on Mother Divine, Purusha and MUM? started building simple houses that were put at the disposal of the poor. As it became clear how great the need was, a project for building 25,000 houses for widows, handicaped, elderly and other needy people started in 1998. Yep, take a look around the Dome and see a retiree older population. A worthy project for community sustainability would be scaling housing to the needs of social security incomes. $900 or $1,100 per month from SSI. Housing and utilities for $300 a month. 30% of income. The Howard Settle stipend is not going to last, git ready. The MAM guarantees the maintenance of the district for 10 years. The inhabitants are not allowed to sell the houses during the first seven years, but after that period, they get full ownership of the house and land. The aim to build 25,000 houses in 5 years' time has already been largely achieved and Amma has now set a higher goal: 100,000 houses in 10 years! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Dick Mays dickmays@ wrote: Vastu Cabin! After several months of building it was so fulfilling to show you the finished product and hear your feedback. I'm writing to you today to share our website and facebook page. Like our Facebook page to keep posted on new Vastu Cabin developments! Please enjoy the photos and share with your friends. www.VastuCabin.com www.facebook.com/vastucabin -- www.VastuCabin.com $30K? Without a place to put it? Bourgeois green in new-age vedic woo-woo package. Cute but without a root chakra. Does not even come close to solve the larger problem of housing for people on the IA course here. The real design problem is a need for something efficient and affordable for meditators coming to be in the Domes on the Howard Settle income stipend of $850 a month. Bankers use rule of thumb, 30% of monthly income for all housing costs. Use that as the design constraint. This bourgeois-y vastu cabin only perpetuates the larger spiritual distraction and sin of materialism. Nothing green about fanning the flames of an over-priced cute green housing that would bury people trying to live a spiritual life. That has already been done here. -Buck in the Dome
[FairfieldLife] Re: How Buddhists see through TM
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... wrote: Not sure why Buddhists would be seeing through TM with this skill, but I was always convinced that the TMO knew damn well people were at there most suggestible after meditating which is why they'd always make you watch a knowledge tape after meditation. Exactly. And to this day people believe what was on those tapes, while still believing that much of the nonsense made sense. *Of course* it made sense; they were stoned. :-) Probably why it's so hard to undo the TM brainwashing, things sink in deep when the mind is relaxed and less critical which is pivotal to accepting a lot of the dross. How many times did you try to ask pertinent questions and got told to just absorb it instead of going for intellectual understanding? I brought up a flash from the past a little while ago, and as far as I know no one followed up on it, so I will. It dates from the Squaw Valley course in 1968. On that course Maharishi gave several talks on his rather peculiar theories about breath, and how that relates to exercise, health and longevity. To make a long story short, he said (explicitly, no hemming or hawing or leeway) that exercise was *bad for you*. The reason he gave for this was pure super- stition -- according to him at the time, people are born with a preordained number of breaths in their lifetime; when you reach that number, you die. So in his view, anything that raised the breath rate (duh...exercise) was *bad for you*, because it was going to cut your life short. Back to the subject of your post, people *actually believed this shit*. People who *knew better* believed this shit. People who had been active and fans of jogging and regular exercise stopped doing it. This continued until (as I remember it...if someone was actually there and remembers the details, please supply them) as part of the accreditation process MIU students were forced to take standardized physical fitness tests and failed miserably. At that point MIU had to change its no physical education policies, and as far as I know no more word was ever heard of this fixed number of breaths theory. Like so many elements of dogma that we pretend we never taught, it went away, and the susceptible dogmabots accepted *that*, too. My point is that who in their right mind would have *ever* believed this guff and bought into it if they *hadn't* been rounding several hours a day and thus as suggestible as a person under hypnosis? The interesting next step for this research is which type of meditation would make you more susceptible to subliminal messaging? Will advertisers be donating to David Lynch to get him to create more supplicant minds? I don't know about David Lynch, but David Fincher has certainly played with this concept. Have you ever seen Fight Club? There is a scene in the film where one of the characters talks about a projectionist he knew who used to take the films that passed through his hands in the projection booth and splice in single frames of naked penises. Then he'd send the altered films on to the next theater, knowing that almost no one would ever *really* notice, but that there would be a theater full of people who saw the image sublim- inally, and were left sitting there thinking Now wait...did I just see a naked dick? Nh...couldn't be. I must have imagined it. The joke, next time you watch Fight Club, is to watch the last few minutes of the film, during the cataclysmic explosions and all. Sure enough, there up on screen for just a brief moment, you'll see a flashed image of a naked penis. :-)
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister no_reply@... wrote:
Those who become Amma devotees, apparently can't stand
the Isolation (kaivalya). Nothing wrong with that!
*shauca(-)at* svaan.ga-jugupsaa parair asaMsargaH.
draSTaa dRshi-maatraH *shuddho* 'pi pratyayaanupashyaH.
zauca [ = shauca -- card] m. (fr. %{zuci}) N. of a man (also
called A1hneya) TA1r. ; n. cleanness , purity , purification (esp. from
defilement caused by the death of a relation) A1s3vS3r. Mn. MBh. c. ; purity
of mind , integrity , honesty (esp. in money-matters) MBh. R. c. ; (with
Buddhists) self-purification (both external and internal) MWB. 240 ; evacuation
of excrement MW.
zuddha [ = shuddha -- card] mfn. cleansed , cleared , clean , pure
, clear , free from (with instr.) , bright , white RV. c. c. ; cleared ,
acquitted , free from error , faultless , blameless , right , correct ,
accurate , exact , according to rule Ka1v. VarBr2S. Sus3r. ; upright (see
comp.) ; pure i.e. simple , mere , genuine , true , unmixed (opp. to %{mizra})
Mn. MBh. c. ; pure i.e. unmodified (as a vowel not nasalized) S3a1n3khBr.
Pra1t. ; complete , entire Ra1jat. ; unqualified , unmitigated (as capital
punishment) Mn. ix , 279 ; (in phil.) veritable , unequalled (=
%{dvitIya-rahita}) MW. ; tried , examined Ka1m. ; authorised , admitted W. ;
whetted , sharp (as an arrow) ib. ; m. the bright fortnight (in which the moon
increases) Inscr. ; N. of S3iva MBh. ; of one of the seven sages under the 14th
Manu BhP. ; of a son of Anenas ib. ; (with %{bhikSu}) of an author Cat. ; of a
bird Hariv. ; (pl.) of a partic. class of gods MBh. ; (%{A}) f. N. of a
daughter of Sin6hahanu Buddh. ; (%{am}) n. anything pure c. ; pure spirit W. ;
rock-salt L. ; black pepper L.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote:
yes, I have friends who are Amma devotees now. We're living in wonderful
times for sure.
From: Bhairitu noozguru@
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Â
I'm speaking specifically of traditions have practice meditation. One
of the people who commented was an Ammachi devotee. Interesting though,
when I was visiting Ammachi's ashram in Kerala I ran into old friends
who were one time TM teachers and residing at the ashram.
I'm also familiar with a number of other traditions with friends in
them. Even my guru mentions to me when eclipses and Indian holidays
occur to be sure to do all my mantras as if it was unusual to do them
that way daily.
On 06/11/2012 09:31 AM, Share Long wrote:
So do other traditions have a different kind of sadhana? Inquiry? Seva?
From: Bhairitunoozguru@
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 11:11 AM
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
I found it interesting that other traditions were amazed that TMers
meditated daily. In other traditions it wasn't emphasized. In fact
Rick even he'd noticed the same thing when I brought it up. Some gurus
give temporary meditations to take care of problems for a while such as
planetary complications.
On 06/11/2012 04:44 AM, Share Long wrote:
But then could they really be called TMers?Perhaps there are
gradations of TMing (-:
From: turquoisebno_re...@yahoogroups.com
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:38 AM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Longsharelong60@ wrote:
Logically the only thing that one can say about TMers is
that they practice TM.
If that. :-) I used to know meditators and former
TM teachers in L.A. who hadn't practiced TM regularly
in years, but pretended to so that they could go to
Charlie Lutes' Friday night talks to partake in the
social scene.
From: Vajvajradhatu@
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:11 AM
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
On Jun 10, 2012, at 6:51 PM, iranitea wrote:
In these dialogues I found Lawson and most of the pro
TM-ers here extremely dense and blocked by their typical
TM concepts. (concepts I can still use for teaching, but
in a less dogmatic way, and with more openness.)
If there's one thing you can say about TMers, they are
locked into their paradigm and have a hard time stepping
outside that box.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@... wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@... wrote: Well, since TM is the ONLY thing that defines being a TMer, its not surprising that daily meditation is the only thing prescribed now is it? Sheesh. Prescribed, or suggested? The latter strikes me as OK, the former not. Let's get real here. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where real life made it difficult or impossible to meditate twice a day and felt *guilty* or bad about that? (Hint: I'll call you a liar if you say No.) Where do you think that *came from*? Did you develop that fundamentalist way of thinking all on your own, or was it *taught* to you? What Bharitu and I are pointing out is that this is NOT a standard part of spiritual teaching. It is TM-specific, and in my opinion not healthy. If you need an example of *how* unhealthy it can be, try to remember back to the story of the MUM Dean who felt it was more important to do his afternoon meditation than to watch the potentially dangerous student he'd been told to keep under close observation. The result was a murder. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: I found it interesting that other traditions were amazed that TMers meditated daily. In other traditions it wasn't emphasized. In fact Rick even he'd noticed the same thing when I brought it up. Some gurus give temporary meditations to take care of problems for a while such as planetary complications. On 06/11/2012 04:44 AM, Share Long wrote: But then could they really be called TMers?Perhaps there are gradations of TMing (-: From: turquoisebno_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Longsharelong60@ wrote: Logically the only thing that one can say about TMers is that they practice TM. If that. :-) I used to know meditators and former TM teachers in L.A. who hadn't practiced TM regularly in years, but pretended to so that they could go to Charlie Lutes' Friday night talks to partake in the social scene. From: Vajvajradhatu@ To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:11 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - On Jun 10, 2012, at 6:51 PM, iranitea wrote: In these dialogues I found Lawson and most of the pro TM-ers here extremely dense and blocked by their typical TM concepts. (concepts I can still use for teaching, but in a less dogmatic way, and with more openness.) If there's one thing you can say about TMers, they are locked into their paradigm and have a hard time stepping outside that box.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
When a man's mind is governed by any of the wandering senses, his intellect is carried away by it as a ship by the wind on water. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: A movie about True Believers
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@... wrote: The phrase true believers is applied to some members of the crew Prometheus in the movie named the same. Frankly I was a little disappointed in this film. The thread on the message board over on IMDB.com sums it up nicely: directed by a pro, written by a fifth grader. That's the vibe I've gotten on this film since the beginning, and why I still haven't bothered to see it. Ridley Scott's judgment is simply NOT to be trusted; sometimes he's on, sometimes he's off, and sadly the latter predominates. I will look forward to him directing/producing the BBC version of Philip K. Dick's The Man In The High Castle, however. Even he can't mess up PKD.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sparaig LEnglish5@ wrote: Well, since TM is the ONLY thing that defines being a TMer, its not surprising that daily meditation is the only thing prescribed now is it? Sheesh. Prescribed, or suggested? The latter strikes me as OK, the former not. Let's get real here. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where real life made it difficult or impossible to meditate twice a day and felt *guilty* or bad about that? (Hint: I'll call you a liar if you say No.) Where do you think that *came from*? Did you develop that fundamentalist way of thinking all on your own, or was it *taught* to you? What Bharitu and I are pointing out is that this is NOT a standard part of spiritual teaching. It is TM-specific, and in my opinion not healthy. If you need an example of *how* unhealthy it can be, try to remember back to the story of the MUM Dean who felt it was more important to do his afternoon meditation than to watch the potentially dangerous student he'd been told to keep under close observation. The result was a murder. Is it possible that saved his (the Dean's) life?? :o
[FairfieldLife] Ekatva Bhavna
Recently, when being abroad, I told a close friend that one of the clear distinct feelings I got when first entering the Sahasradala Chakra was that of a profound aloneness. My friend said there is a term for this in Jainism, so I looked it up. What I'm referring to here is specific to the crown Chakra, it is very peculiar. It is not the kind of social disconnect, I also know, usually accompanied by a sense of sadness. But here I am very high, no sadness, a strange aloofness, difficult to describe. Ekatva Bhavna Solitude of the soul http://jainsquare.com/2011/05/14/ekatva-bhavna-solitude-of-the-soul/
[FairfieldLife] Tea Time
People here are speaking of working in an Ammachis Ashram in India, how hard it would be. Incidentally, as it so happens, I also just came back working in India, not in Amma's Ashram though, but, hey it's not far apart, I meet people and work with them, who just came from Ammachi's Ashram working there, as it is usual, and he didn't think working there was hard. But the perspective of an Ex-Purusha might be different, they were used to very few hours, and also many avoided hard physical work. This is a photo from my recent trip, being with Indian workers on a construction site, having tea time. I won't name the Ashram, as part of my anonymity. Tea time in India - with Indian workers.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Wonderful times meaning, there's a teacher for every student and a student for every teacher. Tho I think of Amma as way more than a teacher. From: cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 1:17 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - Those who become Amma devotees, apparently can't stand the Isolation (kaivalya). Nothing wrong with that! *shaucaat* svaan.ga-jugupsaa parair asaMsargaH. draSTaa dRshi-maatraH *shuddho* 'pi pratyayaanupashyaH. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: yes, I have friends who are Amma devotees now. We're living in wonderful times for sure. From: Bhairitu noozguru@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 1:37 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -  I'm speaking specifically of traditions have practice meditation. One of the people who commented was an Ammachi devotee. Interesting though, when I was visiting Ammachi's ashram in Kerala I ran into old friends who were one time TM teachers and residing at the ashram. I'm also familiar with a number of other traditions with friends in them. Even my guru mentions to me when eclipses and Indian holidays occur to be sure to do all my mantras as if it was unusual to do them that way daily. On 06/11/2012 09:31 AM, Share Long wrote: So do other traditions have a different kind of sadhana? Inquiry? Seva? From: Bhairitunoozguru@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 11:11 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - I found it interesting that other traditions were amazed that TMers meditated daily. In other traditions it wasn't emphasized. In fact Rick even he'd noticed the same thing when I brought it up. Some gurus give temporary meditations to take care of problems for a while such as planetary complications. On 06/11/2012 04:44 AM, Share Long wrote: But then could they really be called TMers?Perhaps there are gradations of TMing (-: From: turquoisebno_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Longsharelong60@ wrote: Logically the only thing that one can say about TMers is that they practice TM. If that. :-) I used to know meditators and former TM teachers in L.A. who hadn't practiced TM regularly in years, but pretended to so that they could go to Charlie Lutes' Friday night talks to partake in the social scene. From: Vajvajradhatu@ To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 11, 2012 6:11 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL - On Jun 10, 2012, at 6:51 PM, iranitea wrote: In these dialogues I found Lawson and most of the pro TM-ers here extremely dense and blocked by their typical TM concepts. (concepts I can still use for teaching, but in a less dogmatic way, and with more openness.) If there's one thing you can say about TMers, they are locked into their paradigm and have a hard time stepping outside that box.
[FairfieldLife] Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience Scientists studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) say they've confirmed and expanded their findings on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique regularly for a month. In a paper appearing this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists Yi-Yuan Tang and Michael Posner report improved mood changes coincided with increased axonal density -- more brain-signaling connections -- and an expansion of myelin, the protective fatty tissue that surrounds the axons, in the brain's anterior cingulate region. Deficits in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex have been associated with attention deficit disorder, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and many other disorders. IBMT was adapted from traditional Chinese medicine in the 1990s in China, where it is practiced by thousands of people. It differs from other forms of meditation because it depends heavily on the inducement of a high degree of awareness and balance of the body, mind and environment. The meditative state is facilitated through training and trainer-group dynamics, harmony and resonance. In 2010, research led by Tang, a visiting research professor at the University of Oregon, and Michael I. Posner, professor of psychology at the UO, first reported positive structural changes in brain connectivity, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging, that correlated to behavioral regulation. The study was done in the UO's Robert and Beverly Lewis Center for Neuroimaging with 45 participating UO undergraduate students. The new findings came from additional scrutiny of the 2010 study and another that involved 68 undergraduate students at China's Dalian University of Technology. The researchers revisited data obtained from using an MRI technique known as diffusion tensor imaging. The research team found improved density of the axons involved in brain connections but no change in myelin formation after two weeks. After a month, or about 11 hours of IBMT, both increases in axon density and myelin formation were found as measured by fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity -- the important indexes for measuring the integrity of white matter fibers. This dynamic pattern of white matter change involving the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain network related to self- regulation, could provide a means for intervention to improve or prevent mental disorders, the authors concluded. When we got the results, we all got very excited because all of the other training exercises, like working-memory training or computer- based training, only have been shown to change myelination, Tang said. We believe these changes may be reflective of the time of training involved in IBMT. We found a different pattern of neural plasticity induced by the training. This study gives us a much more detailed picture of what it is that is actually changing, Posner said. We did confirm the exact locations of the white-matter changes that we had found previously. And now we show that both myelination and axon density are improving. The order of changes we found may be similar to changes found during brain development in early childhood, allowing a new way to reveal how such changes might influence emotional and cognitive development. The improved mood changes noted in this and earlier studies are based on self-ratings of subjects based on a standard six-dimensional mood- state measure, said Tang, who is now the director of Texas Tech University's Neuroimaging Institute and holder of the Presidential Endowed Chair in Neuroscience in TTU's psychology department. Tang and Posner first reported findings related to IBMT in 2007, also in PNAS. They found that doing IBMT for five days prior to a mental math test led to low levels of the stress hormone cortisol among Chinese students. The experimental group also showed lower levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue than students in a relaxation control group. In 2009 in PNAS, Tang and his Chinese colleagues, with assistance from Posner and UO psychology professor Mary K. Rothbart, found that IBMT subjects in China had increased blood flow in the right anterior cingulate cortex after receiving training for 20 minutes a day over five days. Compared with the relaxation group, IBMT subjects also had lower heart rates and skin conductance responses, increased belly breathing amplitude and decreased chest respiration rates. These new findings provide fundamental new insights on how the brain responds in positive ways to new inputs and reflect the
Re: [FairfieldLife] Ekatva Bhavna
I love that your brought this up in such circumstances, a forum which often for me is very much about connecting. Different systems would have different names for it probably. I've been participating in Release Technique recently. They call it peace or imperturbability. From: iranitea no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 5:56 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Ekatva Bhavna Recently, when being abroad, I told a close friend that one of the clear distinct feelings I got when first entering the Sahasradala Chakra was that of a profound aloneness. My friend said there is a term for this in Jainism, so I looked it up. What I'm referring to here is specific to the crown Chakra, it is very peculiar. It is not the kind of social disconnect, I also know, usually accompanied by a sense of sadness. But here I am very high, no sadness, a strange aloofness, difficult to describe. Ekatva Bhavna – Solitude of the soul http://jainsquare.com/2011/05/14/ekatva-bhavna-solitude-of-the-soul/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. This reinforces that belief. From: Vaj vajradh...@earthlink.net To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 6:21 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience Scientists studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) say they've confirmed and expanded their findings on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique regularly for a month. In a paper appearing this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists Yi-Yuan Tang and Michael Posner report improved mood changes coincided with increased axonal density -- more brain-signaling connections -- and an expansion of myelin, the protective fatty tissue that surrounds the axons, in the brain's anterior cingulate region. Deficits in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex have been associated with attention deficit disorder, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and many other disorders. IBMT was adapted from traditional Chinese medicine in the 1990s in China, where it is practiced by thousands of people. It differs from other forms of meditation because it depends heavily on the inducement of a high degree of awareness and balance of the body, mind and environment. The meditative state is facilitated through training and trainer-group dynamics, harmony and resonance. In 2010, research led by Tang, a visiting research professor at the University of Oregon, and Michael I. Posner, professor of psychology at the UO, first reported positive structural changes in brain connectivity, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging, that correlated to behavioral regulation. The study was done in the UO's Robert and Beverly Lewis Center for Neuroimaging with 45 participating UO undergraduate students. The new findings came from additional scrutiny of the 2010 study and another that involved 68 undergraduate students at China's Dalian University of Technology. The researchers revisited data obtained from using an MRI technique known as diffusion tensor imaging. The research team found improved density of the axons involved in brain connections but no change in myelin formation after two weeks. After a month, or about 11 hours of IBMT, both increases in axon density and myelin formation were found as measured by fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity -- the important indexes for measuring the integrity of white matter fibers. This dynamic pattern of white matter change involving the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain network related to self-regulation, could provide a means for intervention to improve or prevent mental disorders, the authors concluded. When we got the results, we all got very excited because all of the other training exercises, like working-memory training or computer-based training, only have been shown to change myelination, Tang said. We believe these changes may be reflective of the time of training involved in IBMT. We found a different pattern of neural plasticity induced by the training. This study gives us a much more detailed picture of what it is that is actually changing, Posner said. We did confirm the exact locations of the white-matter changes that we had found previously. And now we show that both myelination and axon density are improving. The order of changes we found may be similar to changes found during brain development in early childhood, allowing a new way to reveal how such changes might influence emotional and cognitive development. The improved mood changes noted in this and earlier studies are based on self-ratings of subjects based on a standard six-dimensional mood-state measure, said Tang, who is now the director of Texas Tech University's Neuroimaging Institute and holder of the Presidential Endowed Chair in Neuroscience in TTU's psychology department. Tang and Posner first reported findings related to IBMT in 2007, also in PNAS. They found that doing IBMT for five days prior to a mental math test led to low levels of the stress hormone cortisol among Chinese students. The experimental group also showed lower levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue than students in a relaxation control group. In 2009 in PNAS, Tang and his Chinese colleagues, with assistance from Posner and UO psychology professor Mary K. Rothbart, found that IBMT subjects in China had increased blood flow in the right anterior cingulate cortex after receiving
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: Robin's posts weren't always easy to read, but if you actually made the effort, they were exceptionally meaty and perceptive. snip A number of the smartest posters on FFL were big fans of Robin, including raunchy and feste and Jim (although Barry would likely point out that the first two live in Fairfield). The reason Barry tries to put down Ravi and Robin is that both of them saw through him. Some of Robin's posts dissecting Barry were brilliant. Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. Now, now, I know it's long time ago, but who wouldn't immediately recognize the same elaborate, over-emotional, overcast writing style, he also exhibited here on FFL? That he changed his opinions, world-views a thousand times during his life, and probably even at the moment you are reading this now, doesn't do a damned thing, it just should raise even a few more red flags, if you know the details, you know what I mean?
[FairfieldLife] East Virginia blues!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPDV4G7uOp0feature=related And the same, as a Siberian Mammoth Hunter version (1964): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04frGprapaE
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. This reinforces that belief. Yeah, but they'll all be really tiny. This was an idea created by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel Slapstick. Inspired by a real-life article that said that the Chinese, faced with anticipated future food shortages and realizing that smaller people...uh...eat less, are undertaking research on how to breed smaller people. Vonnegut took this idea and ran with it. At the time of the novel's setting, as I remember, the average Chinese was six inches tall. :-) Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand. - Kurt Vonnegut We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. #8213; Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were big things. #8213; Kurt Vonnegut From: Vaj vajradhatu@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 6:21 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience Scientists studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) say they've confirmed and expanded their findings on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique regularly for a month. In a paper appearing this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists Yi-Yuan Tang and Michael Posner report improved mood changes coincided with increased axonal density -- more brain-signaling connections -- and an expansion of myelin, the protective fatty tissue that surrounds the axons, in the brain's anterior cingulate region. Deficits in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex have been associated with attention deficit disorder, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and many other disorders. IBMT was adapted from traditional Chinese medicine in the 1990s in China, where it is practiced by thousands of people. It differs from other forms of meditation because it depends heavily on the inducement of a high degree of awareness and balance of the body, mind and environment. The meditative state is facilitated through training and trainer-group dynamics, harmony and resonance. In 2010, research led by Tang, a visiting research professor at the University of Oregon, and Michael I. Posner, professor of psychology at the UO, first reported positive structural changes in brain connectivity, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging, that correlated to behavioral regulation. The study was done in the UO's Robert and Beverly Lewis Center for Neuroimaging with 45 participating UO undergraduate students. The new findings came from additional scrutiny of the 2010 study and another that involved 68 undergraduate students at China's Dalian University of Technology. The researchers revisited data obtained from using an MRI technique known as diffusion tensor imaging. The research team found improved density of the axons involved in brain connections but no change in myelin formation after two weeks. After a month, or about 11 hours of IBMT, both increases in axon density and myelin formation were found as measured by fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity -- the important indexes for measuring the integrity of white matter fibers. This dynamic pattern of white matter change involving the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain network related to self-regulation, could provide a means for intervention to improve or prevent mental disorders, the authors concluded. When we got the results, we all got very excited because all of the other training exercises, like working-memory training or computer-based training, only have been shown to change myelination, Tang said. We believe these changes may be reflective of the time of training involved in IBMT. We found a different pattern of neural plasticity induced by the training. This study gives us a much more detailed picture of what it is that is actually changing, Posner said. We did confirm the exact locations of the white-matter changes that we had found previously. And now we show that both myelination and axon density are improving. The order of changes we found may be similar to changes found during brain development in early childhood, allowing a new way to reveal how such changes might influence emotional and cognitive development. The improved mood changes noted in this and
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- authfriend jstein@ wrote: Robin's posts weren't always easy to read, but if you actually made the effort, they were exceptionally meaty and perceptive. snip A number of the smartest posters on FFL were big fans of Robin, including raunchy and feste and Jim (although Barry would likely point out that the first two live in Fairfield). The reason Barry tries to put down Ravi and Robin is that both of them saw through him. Some of Robin's posts dissecting Barry were brilliant. --- iranitea no_reply@... wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. Now, now, I know it's long time ago, but who wouldn't immediately recognize the same elaborate, over-emotional, overcast writing style, he also exhibited here on FFL? That he changed his opinions, world-views a thousand times during his life, and probably even at the moment you are reading this now, doesn't do a damned thing, it just should raise even a few more red flags, if you know the details, you know what I mean? I think Judy does have some problems judging people. She really believes that he is experiencing some higher state of consciousness. There are many types of insanity. Emotional insanity, Cultural insanity, Spiritual insanity, Intellectual insanity. UC is too deep an experience to be a deception as Robin claims. I don't think Robin was ever in UC. Xeno doesn't agree with me. He thinks Robin's Hyper-emotional ravings are truly intellectual.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. Now, now, I know it's long time ago, but who wouldn't immediately recognize the same elaborate, over-emotional, overcast writing style, he also exhibited here on FFL? That he changed his opinions, world-views a thousand times during his life, and probably even at the moment you are reading this now, doesn't do a damned thing, it just should raise even a few more red flags, if you know the details, you know what I mean? Great find. I springboard off of your insight with these definitions from Wikipedia: Symptomatic recognition of hypomania The DSM-IV-TR defines a hypomanic episode as including, over the course of at least four days, elevated mood plus three of the following symptoms OR irritable mood plus four of the following symptoms: * pressured speech * inflated self-esteem or grandiosity * decreased need for sleep * flight of ideas or the subjective experience that thoughts are racing * easy distractibility and attention-deficit similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder * increase in psychomotor agitation * involvement in pleasurable activities that may have a high potential for negative psycho-social or physical consequences Symptomatic recognition of narcissistic personality disorder A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: * Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements) * Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love * Believes that he or she is special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions) * Requires excessive admiration * Has a sense of entitlement, i.e.,
[FairfieldLife] Raj Patel: Stuffed and Starved, Still
Home http://www.commonwealthclub.org/ / Events http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events Google+ http://plus.google.com/105175899075947896990/posts Twitter http://twitter.com/cwclub Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Commonwealth-Club-of-California\ /108879409056?ref=ts RSS http://www.commonwealthclub.org/publications/blog/rss.xml Donate/Join/Renew http://support.commonwealthclub.org/home Upcoming Event Raj Patel: Stuffed and Starved, Still [imagecache imagecache-inline_medium_200w imagecache-default imagecache-inline_medium_200w_default] Tue, Jun 12 2012 - 6:30pm Raj Patel: Stuffed and Starved, Still Activist; Academic; Author, Stuffed and Starved, The Value of Nothing In conversation with Rose Aguilar, Host, Your Call on KALW 91.7 FM Half the world is malnourished, the other half obese. Why is there such a large discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots for what we all need: food? Patel conducts a global investigation to make sense of the world food crisis and charges that the food system is filled with choices made by a handful of powerful people, in smoke-filled rooms, over the objections of the majority. Hear a story of nefarious false choices and of international resistance movements that takes you from seed to store to plate. Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program Cost: $20 standard, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Also know: Patel will be speaking in Silicon Valley on June 14 http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2012-06-14/raj-patel-stuffed-and\ -starved-sv Location Blue Room, The Commonwealth Club Number
[FairfieldLife] Gamma coherence indicator of meditative mastery
While meditation formerly has been understood to comprise mainly passive relaxation states, recent EEG findings suggest that meditation is associated with active states which involve cognitive restructuring and learning. Furthermore, the authors describe that the amplitude of gamma band activity in meditators was higher than any other gamma band activity previously observed in healthy human subjects. They speculate that the level of meditative training can alter the spectral distribution of the EEG in terms of possible permanent baseline changes. Of course, further studies are needed to corroborate this interpretation. In the framework of our hypotheses, these changes are closely related to an expert level of meditation practice. In the next chapter, we will describe the relevance of gamma activity for cortical plasticity and the formation of neural circuits. We will discuss, how these functions may contribute to the goal of meditative practice: the development of new states of consciousness. The required delay times for effective Hebbian modification of synaptic connections by correlated firing of the pre- and postsynaptic neurons are of the order of less than ±10 ms [81]. Synchronized high frequency EEG rhythms like gamma activity thus could provide an optimal condition for the establishment and modification of Hebbian neural assemblies and therefore may be a crucial mechanism in associative learning and memory formation. This view is supported by several recent memory studies [47,82–86]. To conclude, these data suggest that synchronized gamma activity is highly relevant for neural plasticity and the implementation of new processing circuits (for a review see e.g. [87]). The findings of strongly increased synchronized gamma activity in meditation experts may thus be related to processes of cortical restructuring and learning. These processes may provide a permanent neural basis facilitating specific meditation-related states of consciousness, as well as altered perception and cognition outside meditation practice. From alpha to gamma: Electrophysiological correlates of meditation- related states of consciousness Juergen Fell *, Nikolai Axmacher, Sven Haupt Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud Str. 25, D-53105 Bonn, Germany 21 February 2010
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@ wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. I suspect there is much to be learned not only by how clinically manic one is when describing the people (and institutions) one admires and defends, but in the choice of the people (and institutions) themselves. I further suspect that one can learn as much from which controversial fellow posters on Fairfield Life one admires and defends.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@... wrote: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. Would you mind if one of these nice Christian woman bared a nipple? Or to put it another way, can you conceive of a woman baring a nipple before a crowd in a classy, non-vulgar, non-slutty manner that wouldn't spark your indignation? I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Jason jedi_spock@... wrote: snip I think Judy does have some problems judging people. She really believes that he is experiencing some higher state of consciousness. I believe he *was* experiencing a sustained (10 years), profoundly altered--don't know if it was higher-- state of consciousness 30-some years ago. He's said he no longer experiences it, and I see no reason to disbelieve him. There are many types of insanity. Emotional insanity, Cultural insanity, Spiritual insanity, Intellectual insanity. UC is too deep an experience to be a deception as Robin claims. I don't think Robin was ever in UC. Are you in UC? Xeno doesn't agree with me. He thinks Robin's Hyper-emotional ravings are truly intellectual.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
I love KV, thanks for posting some quotes. For sure you're familiar with his famous graduation speech from years ago. I notice that in general Chinese people tend to be very practical and down to earth. This ranges from having healthy habits to being wise about money. Chinese students tend to be very self sufficient. From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 7:06 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. This reinforces that belief. Yeah, but they'll all be really tiny. This was an idea created by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel Slapstick. Inspired by a real-life article that said that the Chinese, faced with anticipated future food shortages and realizing that smaller people...uh...eat less, are undertaking research on how to breed smaller people. Vonnegut took this idea and ran with it. At the time of the novel's setting, as I remember, the average Chinese was six inches tall. :-) Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand. - Kurt Vonnegut We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. #8213; Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were big things. #8213; Kurt Vonnegut From: Vaj vajradhatu@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 6:21 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience Scientists studying the Chinese mindfulness meditation known as integrative body-mind training (IBMT) say they've confirmed and expanded their findings on changes in structural efficiency of white matter in the brain that can be related to positive behavioral changes in subjects practicing the technique regularly for a month. In a paper appearing this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists Yi-Yuan Tang and Michael Posner report improved mood changes coincided with increased axonal density -- more brain-signaling connections -- and an expansion of myelin, the protective fatty tissue that surrounds the axons, in the brain's anterior cingulate region. Deficits in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex have been associated with attention deficit disorder, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and many other disorders. IBMT was adapted from traditional Chinese medicine in the 1990s in China, where it is practiced by thousands of people. It differs from other forms of meditation because it depends heavily on the inducement of a high degree of awareness and balance of the body, mind and environment. The meditative state is facilitated through training and trainer-group dynamics, harmony and resonance. In 2010, research led by Tang, a visiting research professor at the University of Oregon, and Michael I. Posner, professor of psychology at the UO, first reported positive structural changes in brain connectivity, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging, that correlated to behavioral regulation. The study was done in the UO's Robert and Beverly Lewis Center for Neuroimaging with 45 participating UO undergraduate students. The new findings came from additional scrutiny of the 2010 study and another that involved 68 undergraduate students at China's Dalian University of Technology. The researchers revisited data obtained from using an MRI technique known as diffusion tensor imaging. The research team found improved density of the axons involved in brain connections but no change in myelin formation after two weeks. After a month, or about 11 hours of IBMT, both increases in axon density and myelin formation were found as measured by fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity -- the important indexes for measuring the integrity of white matter fibers. This dynamic pattern of white matter change involving the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain network related to self-regulation, could provide a means for intervention to improve or prevent mental disorders, the authors concluded. When we got the results, we all got very excited because all of the other training exercises, like working-memory training or computer-based training, only have been shown to change myelination, Tang said. We believe these changes may be reflective of the time of training involved in IBMT. We found a
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@... wrote: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. Even though that's her real given name at birth (Madonna Louise Ciccone)? I can only hope that you're being ironic here. :-) As for nice Christian women in pretty summer dresses singing uplifting songs about Jesus, I refer you to my friend Walter Bellin, who used to score in his youth by hanging out at Christian tent meetings. As he put it, They'd come out of those revival meetings all juiced up on the Lord, and they just couldn't *wait* to take a ride on my Jesus stick. :-) I'm not actually a big fan of Madonna. But I'm less of a fan of hypocritical prudery. It's difficult to name even a single paper or online news portal these days -- liberal or conservative -- that doesn't litter its pages with invitations to voyeurism. If it's not the latest celebrity nip slip or upskirt photos, it's live video of the latest atrocity. The readers probably all sit there gazing at these things, shaking their heads and saying The world is going to hell in a handbasket, but they all click on them, and probably more than once. It's sanctioned soft-core porn. One of the benefits of living in Spain, in the midst of topless beaches and the right to public nudity *written into the country's constitution* was that one gets over both attachment and aversion to such things very quickly. They're just bodies. BFD. It's the making them bad or forbidden that's the problem. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Share Long: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@ wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. Unbelievable, disgusting, but I just looked one quote up, and it is true! And Judy thought I was disgusting in my judgment about him. The truth is I was even too timid in just naming him borderline. But I think what really upset her was, that I agreed with YOU. That is the one thing she upsets most about, and well I do agree with! Robin, being smart enough, caught her by his unique gift of flattery, and by judging you just the same way she does.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Voters Think Romney Is Better for the Economy
A new CNBC survey of 800 Americans found that 39 percent of participants trust Romney with the economy Robert: This shows how totally ignorant the American people are concerning how the economny works... Yeah, the U.S. is totally ignorant, Rob. LoL! Nobody wants to be the last idiot left with money in an Italian bank if trouble really comes. http://tinyurl.com/84yoa3s
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
That's a very good question, authfriend, and I may have to spend several hours creating various lengthy scenarios in my mind before I am able to answer it. We must explore every possible avenue in this matter. However, I can say that I usually prefer the infinite suggestiveness of a woman's cleavage to the charms of full disclosure. To be perpetually on the threshold of desire, is not that the thing? Keats called it keeping the soul in one eternal pant. Deliberately baring a nipple? Now that's just too silly, and very unimaginative. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. Would you mind if one of these nice Christian woman bared a nipple? Or to put it another way, can you conceive of a woman baring a nipple before a crowd in a classy, non-vulgar, non-slutty manner that wouldn't spark your indignation? I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Tai Chi then? From: Richard J. Williams rich...@rwilliams.us To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 9:46 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter Share Long: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@ wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. Unbelievable, disgusting, but I just looked one quote up, and it is true! And Judy thought I was disgusting in my judgment about him. The truth is I was even too timid in just naming him borderline. But I think what really upset her was, that I agreed with YOU. That is the one thing she upsets most about, and well I do agree with! Robin, being smart enough, caught
[FairfieldLife] Igor Kufayev: 2nd Interview on Buddha at the Gas Pump - 06/12/2012
blog updates from Buddha at the Gas Pump http://gallery.mailchimp.com/e709a491029b04e745834d34d/images/star.gif published 06/12/2012 126. Igor Kufayev, 2nd Interview http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=efb46751dae=16e07f16fe Jun 11, 2012 08:59 am | Rick This is my second interview with Igor. The first one is here. The first interview covers Igor’s personal spiritual journey in detail. In this second interview, we discuss questions inspired by the first interview. An artist and healer by nature, … Continue reading http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=dbe5829e55e=16e07f16fe → http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/images/mime-type/mp3.png 126_igor_kufayev.mp3 http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=a126bb6cd2e=16e07f16fe 67.8 MB comments http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=bee9fb3c09e=16e07f16fe | read more http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=fc10e7c75de=16e07f16fe http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=bc29e0d77be=16e07f16fe Like 126. Igor Kufayev, 2nd Interview on Facebook http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=92ff264554e=16e07f16fe Google Plus One Button http://batgap.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=23d699c7b5e=16e07f16fe share on Twitter http://gallery.mailchimp.com/e709a491029b04e745834d34d/images/frond.gif Elsewhere · http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=8b6c29ecbee=16e07f16fe Visit My Blog · http://us2.forward-to-friend1.com/forward?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=4c4b84d2e5e=16e07f16fe Share This with a friend · http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=9000a7a0bee=16e07f16fe Follow me on Twitter · http://batgap.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=d9ab89be3ce=16e07f16fe RSS feed http://gallery.mailchimp.com/e709a491029b04e745834d34d/images/shim.gif view email in a browser http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=4c4b84d2e5e=16e07f16fe Regular announcement of new interviews posted at http://batgap.com. Buddha at the Gas Pump 1108 South B Street Fairfield, Iowa 52556 Add us to your address book http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/vcard?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=b0e5d0d53a Copyright (C) 2012 Buddha at the Gas Pump All rights reserved. http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?aid=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5afl=1 Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://batgap.us2.list-manage.com/track/open.php?u=62b7e50ba8598f35e2edf91d5id=4c4b84d2e5e=16e07f16fe
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@ wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. Unbelievable, disgusting, but I just looked one quote up, and it is true! And Judy thought I was disgusting in my judgment about him. The truth is I was even too timid in just naming him borderline. But I
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Share Long: Tai Chi then? Anything that looks like 'Falun Gong' performed in public will get you arrested in China. 'Gigong' is Buddhism, Share. I already told Vaj about this years ago - why he'd want to try to discredit TMers with false information like this is beyond me. Vaj keeps a lot of secrets, apparently. Go figure. The 'Falun Gong' is a non-violent, introspective, meditative sect, characterised by certain elements of Buddhism, Tai Chi, and the martial arts. ANY person, of any age, man, woman, or child, who appears today in Tiananmin Square or anywhere else in China, and uplifts but ONE single arm, or sits quietly with eyes closed for one single minute, will be summarliy tackled, kicked, chased, beaten, arrested, incarcerated and brutalized, and then imprisoned for up to eighteen years in slave labor making shirts for Americans to wear. Read more: Subject: Buddhs long gone; Gong going; Hindus next? Author: Willytex Newsgroups: alt.meditation.transcendental Date: November 4, 2000 http://tinyurl.com/829jptz Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Not gonna go there, except to act as an editor and suggest replacing the word groupie with seventy year old groupie. iranitea: LOL Yeah LoL! - I noticed you failed to post a photo of yourself. Whatsa-matter, no hair? LoL!
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true --- feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. --- turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. Actually, many anthropologists and including Toffler state that during the past 14,000 years of agricultural society, 90 percent of women were topless. Most tribes were completely nude. When the British first came to India, all women in the lower castes were completely topless. It was the Victorian age and the British forced them to cover their breasts by passing laws. The law had to be enforced at gunpoint. The point is if people took care not to hurt other people in any way and observe ethics, all societies on the planet will become like Spain. Right now most countries are prudish for a matter of safety of women.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'... feste37: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2008/07/24/45475/polygamist-sects-likened-to\ -organized.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@ wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. Unbelievable, disgusting, but I just looked one quote up, and it is true! And Judy thought I was disgusting in my judgment about him. The truth is I was even too timid in just naming him borderline. But I think what really upset her was, that I agreed with YOU. That is the one thing she upsets most
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: Robin's posts weren't always easy to read, but if you actually made the effort, they were exceptionally meaty and perceptive. snip A number of the smartest posters on FFL were big fans of Robin, including raunchy and feste and Jim (although Barry would likely point out that the first two live in Fairfield). The reason Barry tries to put down Ravi and Robin is that both of them saw through him. Some of Robin's posts dissecting Barry were brilliant. Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Try to judge *what* for yourself? Robin himself says he was crazy when he wrote this in 1982. He utterly rejects it. Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. Now, now, I know it's long time ago, but who wouldn't immediately recognize the same elaborate, over-emotional, overcast writing style, he also exhibited here on FFL? Right, his writing style hasn't changed much. That is significant how? (BTW, I don't think overcast is the word you want here. It isn't a term used to describe writing style.) That he changed his opinions, world-views a thousand times during his life, and probably even at the moment you are reading this now, doesn't do a damned thing, it just should raise even a few more red flags, if you know the details, you know what I mean? If you knew the details, you'd realize you can't begin to judge the Robin of today by the Robin of 1982 except by how different he is now. Of course he's changed his worldviews in his life (albeit probably not a thousand times). Most people with any intelligence and insight do the same. If they don't, that's the red flag. And the ability to recognize and acknowledge that one was wrong in the past is generally considered a positive trait. Robin's view *of himself*, moreover, has changed more radically since 1982 than just about any other--and, I suspect, more radically than most of the rest of us are capable of managing. Robin has been through experiences that would have killed most of us. And
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams richard@... wrote: Share Long: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. Ooopsie! Somebody's confusing Falun Gong, the movement, which has quigong among its practices, with quigong itself, which is perfectly legal in China. In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. Would you mind if one of these nice Christian woman bared a nipple? Or to put it another way, can you conceive of a woman baring a nipple before a crowd in a classy, non-vulgar, non-slutty manner that wouldn't spark your indignation? I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. How about this one Judy- [stock photo : mother breast-feeding her child]
[FairfieldLife] Movies Don't Stream Themselves
I love Roger Ebert. Now (after reading this article) more than ever. It is heartening to learn that he is more up on the latest tech for doing what he loves -- duh...watching movies. It is also heartening to learn that he is aware of where that trend is taking the future of the medium he loves. This is an intelligent, well-thought-out analysis of both the benefits and the potential drawbacks of our digital age, and what it might mean for an (up to now) analog medium -- the cinema. This is a real film lover's article, in more ways than one. If you're one of those, you might benefit from reading it. Movies don't stream themselves By Roger Ebert on June 8, 2012 10:57 AM http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/06/_this_will_be_the.html#trackbac\ ks [jean3.jpg] http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/assets_c/2012/06/jean3-48549.html This will be the year that revenue from streaming passes revenue from DVD sales, according to a recent article in the Hollywood Reporter. How do we feel about this? I ask as a movie-watcher who subscribes to Netflix, Hulu and Fandor, and also rents online from Amazon and Vudu. iTunes gets none of my business because the iTunes Store has been misbehaving on my computer. I average three streaming movies a week and three or four on DVD. I'm not an average consumer, because a lot of my viewing is for work. But often of an evening I'll stream for pleasure. All of my streaming happens through a Roku Player on HDTV. Does anyone recall the time when HBO was first test-marketing Movies on Demand? There was much hilarity when it was learned that their Florida test market wasn't exactly a model of digital automation. Apparently actual employees were taking telephone orders and then scrambling around to push movies into playback machines--on video cassettes, because DVDs hadn't been introduced. These days the video quality of most movies is acceptable to excellent (for streaming, that is), assuming the films themselves come from good prints. Netflix and Fandor deliver flawless service, although my Hulu has occasionally been freezing, presumably for buffering, in the high-use evening hours. On the whole I'm a happy camper. The first streaming movie I saw online was an old B Western from Republic, and the image was the size of a postage stamp. I buy DVDs when I need to. Recently, for example, I purchased Bela Tarr's Satantango from Facets Multimedia, because it absolutely is not available online. Many, many films are not. I find from instantwatcher.com, a site that monitors Netflix, that the most-watched titles are not likely to be by Bela Tarr. Their top five titles at this moment are The Rum Diary, Nude Nuns With Big Guns, Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Sightings, The Patriot and Absinthe. Netflix has good depth, however, and every night before I turn in, I suggest a daily streamer on my Twitter and Facebook. Recent titles: My Left Foot, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Lost in Translation, Merci Pour le Chocolat, Still Walking, French Cancan, The Man Who Wasn't There, and Pi. All of those are on Netflix Instant except for Renoir's French Cancan, which is part of the Criterion Collection on Hulu, which bought the Criterion rights. Because I wanted to suggest films from several different sources, I asked my Facebook friends how they felt about Hulu and Fandor. Many said Hulu was fine with them. Many didn't know about Fandor. The Hulu supporters were fibbing. I can tell from click counts that the vast majority of my FB folks use Netflix Instant, and that's it. Hulu draws barely 15% as many clicks, but of course most people use Hulu to stream TV, and by virtue of their excellence, Hulu's Criterion titles are less popular than Nude Nuns With Big Guns. Nothing alarms some moviegoers more than the news that a movie is a masterpiece. What does this have to do with the watershed we're now passing, when streaming revenues pass DVD sales? A great deal, and a lot of it is bad news. The companies which manufacture and distribute DVDs are in business to make a profit. They invest much of their income in the cost of restoring films, especially classics, so the DVD version usually has better visual quality than any 35mm print you're lucky enough to be able to see. If DVD sales decline, film restoration declines right along with them. I was talking about this not long ago with an executive of a respected DVD label--never mind which one. He said Netflix was killing him. For years, when he released a new DVD title, he could count on a certain number of sales in three ways: (1) Direct mail or Amazon; (2) video stores; and (3) a bulk order from Netflix. Judging by the predicted sales, he could judge his costs and cover his overhead. Now what's happened, he said, is that video stores are closing, because of streaming. Amazon sales are down because Amazon Instant streams a lot of titles. And people don't buy if they figure a movie will be streaming on Netflix.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Oh Willy my Willy [:D] On the contrary Qigong, with its wide variety of qigong forms developed within different segments of Chinese society and dating back more than 4,000 years, has been used extensively in China as part of traditional Chinese medicine, and is -as I can ensure you- also included in the curriculum of Chinese Universities today. A state-run China Qigong Research Society (CQRS), oversees the administration of the country's various qigong schools, and sponsored activities and seminars. the Chinese Health Qigong Association officially recognized nine health qigong forms 1993Dharma Wheel Practicewas accepted as a branch of CQRS, departure from the CQRS in 1996 and in 1997, the Falun Dafa Research Society was formally dissolved, http://jsqg.sport.org.cn/en/index.html --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams richard@... wrote: Share Long: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- iranitea no_reply@ wrote: Now, try to judge for yourself: http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=kashkul.htm (Robin describes his meeting of Khomeini) Indeed I would say that the explosion of ecstasy and power that greeted the Imam was itself not so much a simple reflex based upon a fixed idea of the Imam; it was rather the natural and exuberant hymn of praise, of celebration that was demanded by the very majesty and overpowering charisma of this man. For once the door opened for him I experienced a hurricane of energy surge through the door, and in his brown robes, his black-turbaned head, his white beard he stirred every molecule in the building and riveted the attention in a way that made everything else disappear. He was a flowing mass of light that penetrated into the consciousness of each person in the hall. He destroyed all images that one tried to hold before one in sizing him up. He was so dominant in his presence that I found myself organized in my sensations by that which took me far beyond my own concepts, my own way of processing experience. I had expected-no matter what the apparent stature of the man to find myself scrutinizing his face, exploring his motivation, wondering about his real nature. Khomeini's power, grace, and absolute domination destroyed all my modes of evaluation and I was left to simply experience the energy and feeling that radiated from his presence on the stage. A hurricane he was, yet immediately one could see there was a point of absolute stillness inside that hurricane; while fierce and commanding, he was yet serene and receptive. Something was immovable inside him, yet that immovability moved the whole country of Iran This was no ordinary human being; in fact even of all the so called saints I had met-the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, Hindu sages-none possessed quite the electrifying presence of Khomeini. For those who could see (and feel) there could be no question about his integrity, nor about the claim, however muted by people like Yazdi, by his people that he had gone beyond the normal (or abnormal) selfhood of the human being and had taken residence in something absolute. This absoluteness was declared in the air, it was declared in the movement of his body, it was declared in the motion of his hands, it was declared in the fire of his personality, it was declared in the stillness of his consciousness. There was no mystery about why he was so loved by millions of Iranians and Muslims throughout the world and he demonstrated, to this observer at least, the empirical foundation for the notion of higher states of consciousness. Yes, the severity, the humourlessness, the absolutist judgement was apparent; yet given the circumstances within which he was placed, there was the affirmation of appropriateness in his every gesture and aspect. This was the most extraordinary person I had seen. --- turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. I suspect there is much to be learned not only by how clinically manic one is when describing the people (and institutions) one admires and defends, but in the choice of the people (and institutions) themselves. I further suspect that one can learn as much from which controversial fellow posters on Fairfield Life one admires and defends. This is interesting because when I made a post critical of Catholicsm, he seem to agree with me. In fact he agreed with me totally. It's bizzare to interact with him. MMY, Khomeini, Aquinas, Torquemada and what else in future. It's
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
merudanda: Oh Willy my Willy WTF are you talking about? It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with a moral philosophy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Wang Yonghang is an attorney in Dalian who has entered not guilty pleas for Falun Gong practitioners many times. In 2009, Wang was illegally sentenced to seven years by the Chinese Communist Party and he is detained in Shenyang's No.1 prison. 'Chinese Lawyers Who Defended Falun Gong: Wang Yonghang' Epoch Times, June 9, 2012 http://tinyurl.com/7z6dy2v On the contrary Qigong, with its wide variety of qigong forms... snip Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wgm4u no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. How about this one Judy- [stock photo : mother breast-feeding her child] Interesting how *context* modifies perception so dramatically. This photo is a good example, compared to 'madonna's' vulgar display! [stock photo : mother breast-feeding her child]
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. authfriend: Ooopsie! Somebody's confusing Falun Gong, the movement, which has quigong among its practices, with quigong itself, which is perfectly legal in China. Falun Gong is Buddhist 'qi-gong', authfriend. What exactly do you thing the 'gong' in 'Falun Gong' stands for? Falun gong, which China banned several years ago, is a Qigong varient claimed to be a powerful mechanism for healing, stress relief and health improvements. http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter June 11th, 2012 in Neuroscience snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: Movies Don't Stream Themselves
turquoiseb: Sooner or later, one way or another, streaming will have to pay for the films it streams. That means us. When are you going to 'pay up'? You probably owe ten of thousands of dollars by now!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
This was brought to my attention: Judy: After having played the filthiest trick I've ever seen on any forum. I think he left FFL back in early April because he knew the reputation he'd worked so hard to build of being a nice guy was in tatters. Shortly after he pulled the trick and it was exposed, he decided he didn't dare interact with me any more, and not long after that he left the group. This is not accurate regarding my current non-posting here. I will not engage in the act of shoveling water to try to refute these malicious charges, because in this medium, it is only fed by any interaction. If you have stumbled on this in a search of my name please take the time to research the source of this bearer of ill-will toward me,or if you have any questions, please contact me directly on this site's email link. FFL is a fantastic place full of interesting people, and like all cyber hangouts, it has its representatives from Middle Earth. I'm happily engrossed in other creative projects now, but still see FFL as a resource if my interests should intersect with any of the posters here. My friends know where to find me off FFL, and I appreciate those who have tried to balance this and other attempts to malign my name on FFL in my absence. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Emily Reyn emilymae.reyn@ wrote: snip You must read Judy's posts, because you comment on her posts frequently. It never seems to occur to Barry that his claim to be ignoring me has no credibility when he continues to attack me. I don't see her *asking* for the put-downs, but I do see her *defending* herself, and if you can't handle it like a gentleman, than oh well. Why should she pretend to be less intelligent and articulate and debate-worthy than she is to assuage another's ego. I mean really, she hasn't *destroyed* you yet, has she, after all these years of the back and forth between you? She never lied about why Ravi was removed - she is demented you say - he was removed for more than one reason, IMO. According to Rick Archer, it was primarily for revealing personal names. Intimating that she might Google-bomb someone (whatever that means) is simply malicious. And thoroughly ridiculous. She's one of the few here who use their real name, btw. The power you give her is pretty funny actually - she has never indicated she wanted to *destroy* anyone as her purpose in posting. It's *amazing* how much power he gives me. How seriously threatening he finds me is obvious from how assiduously he tries to censor me, including by trying to convince other posters (mostly unsuccessfully) not to read or respond to my posts, and by trying to intimidate those who hold opinions similar to mine into keeping them quiet, lest they be accused of being my dupes. The reason he and a couple of others (Vaj and Curtis and now iranitea) find me so threatening is that I don't tolerate their dishonesty. They think they should be allowed to get away with saying anything they damn please about me or other posters they disagree with or about TM-related matters regardless of whether it's true. Yes, she doesn't like you and disputes much of what you say as manipulation of truth, etc., but she does this in present time. It may be because you and she have shared internet forums for many years and this has resulted in your various opinions about each other solidifying in opposition, or it may be that she simply presents an ongoing alternative viewpoint to yours, or of your behavior, in present time as it continues. Precisely. That's why the notion Barry continually tries to promote of my holding a grudge for 17 years is so absurd. It's as if he believes that after having clashed with him once back then, I should never have clashed with him again no matter how frequently he repeats the behavior I criticized him for in the first place. snip From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com snip Once you build this fence, the moles are left outside the garden, prob- ably spitting and cursing and angry, because they can't get inside to the tasty plants they want to devour. This is a peculiar analogy. It's as if Barry believes that if he doesn't engage with me, I can't devour his tasty plants (his dishonesty and other vile behavior). Obviously I can and do. Similarly, the only way I've found to effectively deal with an Internet ego-mole is to ignore their silly asses as if they don't exist. Right, just as he does in this post. snicker Curtis finally became aware of the wisdom of this, and wrote Judy out of his life forever. After having played the filthiest trick I've ever seen on any forum. I think he left FFL back in early April because he knew the reputation he'd worked so hard to build of being a nice guy was in tatters. Shortly after he
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: snip After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. Unbelievable, disgusting, but I just looked one quote up, and it is true! If it was the Torquemada remark, that was an excellent example of Robin's finely honed sense of irony and ability to be self-deprecating. Either Barry is unable to recognize this, or he's hoping others aren't. Same for iranitea if that's the quote he checked on. And Robin didn't say the Inquistion might not be appropriate in today's age (that's Barry's deliberately misleading phrasing). He said it absolutely WOULD NOT BE appropriate in today's age. In the second post (much shorter), the one in which he says Hell is worse than the Inquisition, he also says: It would be perverse to believe that reality as we find it could ever endorse something as violent and pitiless and fanatical as the Inquisition. For those who don't know how or are too lazy to use Advanced Search, here are the URLs to the posts in which the quotes Barry provided are to be found: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/286108 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/295803 In the first post, you need to read from the quote from Bob Price's post that begins I agree... through the paragraph of Robin's response that's followed by snip to get the full context of his argument about the Inquisition. You really have to read it carefully and ponder it to get what he's saying; it's very subtle and, granted, very unusual. And you might well not agree with it even if you did get it--but at least you'd know what you were disagreeing with. The second post was not, contrary to Barry's claim, an attempt to balance anything. It's an integral part of Robin's thesis. But you'd have to read both posts to have a chance of understanding this. In most cases, cherry-picking a sentence here and a sentence there from Robin's posts to support one's case against him is profoundly dishonest. Also see Robin's other post in the Inquisition thread: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/295812 And Judy thought I was disgusting in my judgment about him. Thinks. Present tense. You are about as disgusting in your current endeavor as anybody has ever been on FFL. The truth is I was even too timid in just naming him borderline. But I think what really upset her was, that I agreed with YOU. That is the one thing she upsets most about, and well I do agree with! (You meant to write that upsets her most. Actually your syntax is too much of a mess in that sentence for even the correct use of upsets to work.) You're wrong, of course, but your judgment of me is so wildly skewed and lacking in insight, I'm not surprised you've convinced yourself of this. What some people here fail to understand is that when someone like iranitea or Barry says things that reveal what vile human beings they are, that's upsetting only in the sense that one really doesn't want to believe there are such people in the world, let alone on a forum supposedly focused on spirituality. Robin, being smart enough, caught her by his unique gift of flattery, Robin had caught me before he had any idea of who I was. and by judging you just the same way she does. Again, Robin had caught me before Barry had ever managed to provoke a nasty response from Robin. (She even felt that he was expressing things about you in a way, she couldn't herself quite put into words, as if he could anticipate her thoughts. Wrong again. It was what he said about Curtis, not Barry, that I hadn't been able to put into words. See how carefully iranitea has read the posts? And here she gets into a dangerous zone herself.) Only if one doesn't understand the meaning of the words as if. I suspect there is much to be learned not only by how clinically manic one is when describing the people (and institutions) one admires and defends, but in the choice of the people (and institutions) themselves. I further suspect that one can learn as much from which controversial fellow posters on Fairfield Life one admires and defends. I know exactly what you are trying to say here. Let me put it this way: There is an area in her life, where she lives in a world of her own, and she has lost ground to reality. This you can see, when she
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. This reinforces that belief. turquoiseb: Yeah, but they'll all be really tiny... Falun Gong...also known as Falun Dafa...is a system of qigong meditation introduced by Li Hongzhi in China in 1992. http://www.foreignprisoners.com/case-falun-gong.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@... wrote: This was brought to my attention: Judy: After having played the filthiest trick I've ever seen on any forum. I think he left FFL back in early April because he knew the reputation he'd worked so hard to build of being a nice guy was in tatters. Shortly after he pulled the trick and it was exposed, he decided he didn't dare interact with me any more, and not long after that he left the group. This is not accurate regarding my current non-posting here. Fine. The first sentence, however, is 100 percent accurate. If Curtis doesn't realize how filthy the trick was, or how it's damaged his reputation, that's his problem. I will not engage in the act of shoveling water to try to refute these malicious charges, because in this medium, it is only fed by any interaction. If you have stumbled on this in a search of my name please take the time to research the source of this bearer of ill-will toward me,or if you have any questions, please contact me directly on this site's email link. FFL is a fantastic place full of interesting people, and like all cyber hangouts, it has its representatives from Middle Earth. I'm happily engrossed in other creative projects now, but still see FFL as a resource if my interests should intersect with any of the posters here. My friends know where to find me off FFL, and I appreciate those who have tried to balance this and other attempts to malign my name on FFL in my absence. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Emily Reyn emilymae.reyn@ wrote: snip You must read Judy's posts, because you comment on her posts frequently. It never seems to occur to Barry that his claim to be ignoring me has no credibility when he continues to attack me. I don't see her *asking* for the put-downs, but I do see her *defending* herself, and if you can't handle it like a gentleman, than oh well. Why should she pretend to be less intelligent and articulate and debate-worthy than she is to assuage another's ego. I mean really, she hasn't *destroyed* you yet, has she, after all these years of the back and forth between you? She never lied about why Ravi was removed - she is demented you say - he was removed for more than one reason, IMO. According to Rick Archer, it was primarily for revealing personal names. Intimating that she might Google-bomb someone (whatever that means) is simply malicious. And thoroughly ridiculous. She's one of the few here who use their real name, btw. The power you give her is pretty funny actually - she has never indicated she wanted to *destroy* anyone as her purpose in posting. It's *amazing* how much power he gives me. How seriously threatening he finds me is obvious from how assiduously he tries to censor me, including by trying to convince other posters (mostly unsuccessfully) not to read or respond to my posts, and by trying to intimidate those who hold opinions similar to mine into keeping them quiet, lest they be accused of being my dupes. The reason he and a couple of others (Vaj and Curtis and now iranitea) find me so threatening is that I don't tolerate their dishonesty. They think they should be allowed to get away with saying anything they damn please about me or other posters they disagree with or about TM-related matters regardless of whether it's true. Yes, she doesn't like you and disputes much of what you say as manipulation of truth, etc., but she does this in present time. It may be because you and she have shared internet forums for many years and this has resulted in your various opinions about each other solidifying in opposition, or it may be that she simply presents an ongoing alternative viewpoint to yours, or of your behavior, in present time as it continues. Precisely. That's why the notion Barry continually tries to promote of my holding a grudge for 17 years is so absurd. It's as if he believes that after having clashed with him once back then, I should never have clashed with him again no matter how frequently he repeats the behavior I criticized him for in the first place. snip From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com snip Once you build this fence, the moles are left outside the garden, prob- ably spitting and cursing and angry, because they can't get inside to the tasty plants they want to devour. This is a peculiar analogy. It's as if Barry believes that if he doesn't engage with me, I can't devour his tasty plants (his dishonesty and other vile behavior). Obviously I can and do. Similarly, the only way I've found to effectively deal with an Internet ego-mole is to ignore their silly asses as if they don't exist.
[FairfieldLife] Hey, Dixon, BillyG, what's up?
Benny Hinn in trouble? By Ken Silva After a report of an alleged affair between top level Word Faith heretics Benny Hinn and Paula White surfaced in The National Enquirer, in posts such as Paula White: Is She, Or Isn't She? and Benny Hinn And Paula White Side By Side here at Apprising Ministries, I've been doing what I can to point you to the facts; as obscure as they appear to be. In order for you to be able to evaluate this issue for yourself, just the other day AM correspondent Chrystal Whitt of Slaughter of the Sheep posted the videos of Hinn's 'defense' of his relationship with pastrix White in Benny Hinn Defends Himself Against National Enquirer. And now Charisma, flagship magazine for the charismatic movement, has today released Benny Hinn Admits 'Friendship' With Paula White But Tells TV Audience It’s Over. After the Enquirer 'pictured them holding hands in Rome on July 13' Charisma reporter Adrienne S. Gaines informs us that at a crusade in Oakland, Calif. Benny Hinn 'admitted' to his 'having a 'friendship' with fellow Word Faith mogul Paula White 'while he's still married'. Gaines then explains that Benny Hinn 'says the relationship is over' and continues: 'A friendship did develop,' Hinn said of White in Oakland on July 30. 'Hear this: No immorality whatsoever. These people out there are making it sound like we had an affair. That’s a lie.' Hinn invited his daughters Natasha and Eleasha on stage in Oakland on July 30 and asked the crowd to pray for him, his estranged wife, Suzanne, and their four children. He said he and his wife had problems in their marriage for years and 'could no longer exist in the same house.' Hinn's wife, Suzanne, filed for divorce in February after the couple had been separated for four years, but it has not been finalized. Hinn aired segments from the Oakland crusade and made additional personal comments on his This Is Your Day program on TBN Aug. 5, the day after his 31st wedding anniversary. A ministry executive said the program will air on other networks this week, including on Daystar Friday. Hinn told the crowd in Oakland that the Vatican made him a Patron of the Arts and invited him to visit Rome. He said patrons are asked to find donors to help maintain the Vatican's art collections, and he wanted White to become a donor. I let her come with me to Rome so she can donate money, Hinn said. That was stupid on my part. And for that I do ask forgiveness. The National Enquirer published photos in its Aug. 2 issue of Hinn walking hand-in-hand with White in Rome.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, iranitea no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: snip Not gonna go there, except to act as an editor and suggest replacing the word groupie with seventy year old groupie. :-) [http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m183/akirkley/old-lady-hitit.jpg] LOL [Judy Stein] snicker
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
When a man's mind is governed by any of the wandering senses, his intellect is carried away by it as a ship by the wind on water. But he who is self-disciplined, who moves among the objects of the senses with the senses freed from attachment and aversion and under his own control, he attains to 'grace'. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: snip To further springboard off of this quote, being as it is an indicator of the validity of Robin's assessments of people, one should point out that the most extraordinary person I [Robin] had seen is judged by history to be the cause of an estimated 30,000 people executed in Iran during his regime, for the crimes of heresy or other perceived affronts to the glory of Islam. Most are also familiar with the fatwa (death sentence) he pronounced against writer Salman Rushdie, which has forced him to live most of his life in hiding. But then again, these things might not affect Robin's judg- ment of the man. He might, in fact, be comfortable with them. Again, because Barry never bothered to read Robin's posts, he isn't aware that Robin's view of Khomeini in 1982 was not the view he holds of Khomeini today-- to the contrary. Robin has been crystal clear that he considers himself to have been functionally insane during the 10 years he was having the experience he calls Unity Consciousness (which includes the year he wrote the above, 1982). snip I suspect there is much to be learned not only by how clinically manic one is when describing the people (and institutions) one admires and defends, but in the choice of the people (and institutions) themselves. I further suspect that one can learn as much from which controversial fellow posters on Fairfield Life one admires and defends. Whether whatever Barry learns from any of this is worth a bucket of warm spit is another question. Generally speaking, he learns only what confirms his preconceptions.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: snip Great find. I springboard off of your insight with these definitions from Wikipedia: FWIW, Robin would readily concur that quite a few (although not all) these symptoms would have applied to him during the period in which he was experiencing what he calls Unity Consciousness (1976-1987). Very few of the symptoms of either disorder would apply to Robin as he is today (i.e., when he was posting to FFL), definitely not enough to qualify for a diagnosis of either disorder. Symptomatic recognition of hypomania The DSM-IV-TR defines a hypomanic episode as including, over the course of at least four days, elevated mood plus three of the following symptoms OR irritable mood plus four of the following symptoms: * pressured speech * inflated self-esteem or grandiosity * decreased need for sleep * flight of ideas or the subjective experience that thoughts are racing * easy distractibility and attention-deficit similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder * increase in psychomotor agitation * involvement in pleasurable activities that may have a high potential for negative psycho-social or physical consequences Symptomatic recognition of narcissistic personality disorder A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: * Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements) * Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love * Believes that he or she is special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions) * Requires excessive admiration * Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations * Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends * Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others * Is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her * Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
Sorry, Willytex, but quigong is perfectly legal in China and practiced openly by millions. It's the Falun Gong movement that's banned. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams richard@... wrote: Whenever I see photos of hundreds of Chinese of all ages practicing qigong together outdoors, I understand why they will soon rule the world. Ooopsie! Somebody got real mixed up posting this. Apparently it is illegal in China to practice 'gigong'. authfriend: Ooopsie! Somebody's confusing Falun Gong, the movement, which has quigong among its practices, with quigong itself, which is perfectly legal in China. Falun Gong is Buddhist 'qi-gong', authfriend. What exactly do you thing the 'gong' in 'Falun Gong' stands for? Falun gong, which China banned several years ago, is a Qigong varient claimed to be a powerful mechanism for healing, stress relief and health improvements. http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html In July 1999, Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership initiated a nationwide crackdown and multifaceted propaganda campaign intended to eradicate the practice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Jason jedi_spock@... wrote: [Barry wrote:] After all, when the subject of the Inquisition came up on FFL, he said, Jesus, it feels good to align myself with Torquemada: I just love the psychology of the Inquisition. One of his other quotes on the subject was, I have read the major books on the Inquisition: there is a case to be made for this institution. He tried to balance this statement by saying that Hell is worse than the Inquisition and suggesting that the Inquisition might not be appropriate in today's age, but he went out of his way to defend both the institution in its day and his main man Aquinas for supporting it. snip This is interesting because when I made a post critical of Catholicsm, he seem to agree with me. In fact he agreed with me totally. Here's what he wrote: Yeah, Catholicism is not for me; Jesus either. But the goddamn thing is: *they would have been* had I lived before the Second World War. This is what he believes today, not back when he was going through his UC experience. He converted to Catholicism toward the end of his years in UC, then at the very end became convinced that the Catholic Church had become, as it were, an empty shell, no longer the source of salvation. At that point he deconverted and is not a believer in any religion these days. He does believe, however, that the Catholic Church was the *sole* source of salvation from Jesus's time to some point during World War II. He never gave much of an explanation for the belief that Catholicism ceased being effective during WWII. He said, essentially, that it was too complicated to explain in a post. It's bizzare to interact with him. He does have some bizarre ideas, no question about it. But he appreciated questions and challenges and usually was pretty good about responding to them when the questioner was reasonably respectful. MMY, Khomeini, Aquinas, Torquemada and what else in future. It's almost as if every robed guy has higher consciousness? Er, no, he believed this about Khomeini and MMY but these days considers higher consciousness to be a deceptive reality. He's never believed Aquinas or Torquemada was in higher consciousness. All the above is to be found in his FFL posts, BTW.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams richard@... wrote: Falun Gong is Buddhist 'qi-gong', authfriend. What exactly do you thing the 'gong' in 'Falun Gong' stands for? Willy seems to be a tad linguistically challenged. He seems to associate the difference between Qi Gong and Falun Gong as parallel to the difference between meditation and Transcendental Meditation. That is, to him the pairs of terms are synonymous. He is incorrect. In both cases, the former is the name of a generic practice, still revered and held to be of value by many. The latter is a cult.
[FairfieldLife] Tata and TM?
Tata Motors is said to have made Jaguar and Land Rover a huge success! It must be almost certain there are lots of TMers and TM-siddhas amongst Tata employees, or stuff... http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/index.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: Chinese mindfulness meditation prompts double positive punch in brain white matter
authfriend: Sorry, Willytex, but quigong is perfectly legal in China and practiced openly by millions. It is STILL forbidden to practice 'gigong' in large groups in Tiananmen Square! In China, almost all gigong practitioners belong to the Falun Gong movement - 70 to 100 million adherents, according to what I've read. It's the Falun Gong movement that's banned. Get some smarts, Judy, 'gigong' is Falun Gong - it's Tibetan Buddhism. The faction with bloody handsthe officials former CCP head Jiang Zemin promoted in order to carry out the persecutionis seeking to avoid accountability for their crimes and to continue the campaign. 'Chinese Ministry of Health Breaks 13-Year Taboo on Qigong' http://tinyurl.com/7gcpjr4
[FairfieldLife] Re: Tata and TM?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, cardemaister no_reply@... wrote: Tata Motors is said to have made Jaguar and Land Rover a huge success! It must be almost certain there are lots of TMers and TM-siddhas amongst Tata employees, or stuff... http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/index.html I do not profess to be either up on the history of Tata Motors or motivated enough to correct this heinous oversight on my part, but I will go on record as being a lifelong fan of bodacious Tata's. Thus I join with card in wishing them success; may their portfolio always be firm and bouncy.
[FairfieldLife] Robin on Khomeini
iranitea has tried to blacken Robin's name on FFL by quoting something he wrote about Ayatollah Khomeini in 1982, while Robin was in the middle of a decade- long experience of what he believes was Unity Consciousness but now rejects as essentially a hallucination. iranitea has presented this quotation as if he were revealing something Robin would not want anyone here to know. That's because iranitea didn't bother to read most of Robin's posts (or did read this one but hopes nobody else did, or that nobody remembers it). Here's what Robin said to Lawson about a week after he arrived on FFL: Regarding world events, if you want to get a dose of what enlightenment can do for you, see my description of meeting Ayatollah Khomeini. That will demonstrate the biased perception that enlightenment produces in a human being. (You can read it on the Internet.) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/280179 It's easy to find on the Web. Just do a search for Robin's name (including his middle name, Woodsworth) and Khomeini; it'll turn right up.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Tata and TM?
On Jun 12, 2012, at 2:41 PM, cardemaister wrote: Tata Motors is said to have made Jaguar and Land Rover a huge success! It must be almost certain there are lots of TMers and TM-siddhas amongst Tata employees, or stuff... http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/index.html Tata Motors manages stress using Mindfulness Meditation.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Hey, Dixon, BillyG, what's up?
Hey Jason! Don't know, but sounds like a couple of charlatans caught in the act or nothing makes a scandal like a religious man and sex scandal. Sounds all too common to me. Nothing *new* under the sun.By the way, are the Purusha dudes still using all that Energol and for what? Seems to me that if you don't intend to do any writing, you don't need a pencil with lead in it. From: Jason jedi_sp...@yahoo.com To: fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 9:54 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Hey, Dixon, BillyG, what's up? Benny Hinn in trouble? By Ken Silva After a report of an alleged affair between top level Word Faith heretics Benny Hinn and Paula White surfaced in The National Enquirer, in posts such as Paula White: Is She, Or Isn't She? and Benny Hinn And Paula White Side By Side here at Apprising Ministries, I've been doing what I can to point you to the facts; as obscure as they appear to be. In order for you to be able to evaluate this issue for yourself, just the other day AM correspondent Chrystal Whitt of Slaughter of the Sheep posted the videos of Hinn's 'defense' of his relationship with pastrix White in Benny Hinn Defends Himself Against National Enquirer. And now Charisma, flagship magazine for the charismatic movement, has today released Benny Hinn Admits 'Friendship' With Paula White But Tells TV Audience It’s Over. After the Enquirer 'pictured them holding hands in Rome on July 13' Charisma reporter Adrienne S. Gaines informs us that at a crusade in Oakland, Calif. Benny Hinn 'admitted' to his 'having a 'friendship' with fellow Word Faith mogul Paula White 'while he's still married'. Gaines then explains that Benny Hinn 'says the relationship is over' and continues: 'A friendship did develop,' Hinn said of White in Oakland on July 30. 'Hear this: No immorality whatsoever. These people out there are making it sound like we had an affair. That’s a lie.' Hinn invited his daughters Natasha and Eleasha on stage in Oakland on July 30 and asked the crowd to pray for him, his estranged wife, Suzanne, and their four children. He said he and his wife had problems in their marriage for years and 'could no longer exist in the same house.' Hinn's wife, Suzanne, filed for divorce in February after the couple had been separated for four years, but it has not been finalized. Hinn aired segments from the Oakland crusade and made additional personal comments on his This Is Your Day program on TBN Aug. 5, the day after his 31st wedding anniversary. A ministry executive said the program will air on other networks this week, including on Daystar Friday. Hinn told the crowd in Oakland that the Vatican made him a Patron of the Arts and invited him to visit Rome. He said patrons are asked to find donors to help maintain the Vatican's art collections, and he wanted White to become a donor. I let her come with me to Rome so she can donate money, Hinn said. That was stupid on my part. And for that I do ask forgiveness. The National Enquirer published photos in its Aug. 2 issue of Hinn walking hand-in-hand with White in Rome.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
OK, what's all this about Madonnas Bear's nipple? It's against the law for people to keep parts of bears, especially the gallbladders! From: wgm4u no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 9:24 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wgm4u no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. How about this one Judy- [stock photo : mother breast-feeding her child] Interesting how *context* modifies perception so dramatically. This photo is a good example, compared to 'madonna's' vulgar display!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Tata and TM?
Tata Motors is said to have made Jaguar and Land Rover a huge success! It must be almost certain there are lots of TMers and TM-siddhas amongst Tata employees, or stuff... http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/index.html Vaj: Tata Motors manages stress using Mindfulness Meditation. Apparently the practice of 'TM', Hindu yoga, dwarfs the practice of Buddhist 'mindfullness' in India, since Buddhism practily disapperead from India centuries ago. These days Therevada mindfullness practice is almost totally restricted to the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. It is a fact that more Hindu meditators drive Tatas, Jaguars and Land Rovers in India!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: A movie about True Believers
On 06/12/2012 01:59 AM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitunoozguru@... wrote: The phrase true believers is applied to some members of the crew Prometheus in the movie named the same. Frankly I was a little disappointed in this film. The thread on the message board over on IMDB.com sums it up nicely: directed by a pro, written by a fifth grader. That's the vibe I've gotten on this film since the beginning, and why I still haven't bothered to see it. Ridley Scott's judgment is simply NOT to be trusted; sometimes he's on, sometimes he's off, and sadly the latter predominates. I am certainly not alone in my appraisal. Many folks on other forums were disappointed in the movie too. The Bluray is apparently going to have an extended version with deleted scenes. Here we go again, a directors cut and a studio bean counter cut. Capitalism is SO destroying the arts.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Tata and TM?
On 06/12/2012 11:41 AM, cardemaister wrote: Tata Motors is said to have made Jaguar and Land Rover a huge success! It must be almost certain there are lots of TMers and TM-siddhas amongst Tata employees, or stuff... http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/index.html One can of course toss a rock (okay a ping-pong ball) and hit someone on in India who *pays lip service* to Hinduism. The important part is it is *only* lip service. About 15% actually practice it. And probably very few practice TM. Why would they when there are plenty of other practices that have been around for ages and often completely free. And of course today's young Indian is more interested in smartphones and discos. Meditation? Ugh, that's something grandma and granddad did.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Movies Don't Stream Themselves
On 06/12/2012 09:02 AM, turquoiseb wrote: I love Roger Ebert. Now (after reading this article) more than ever. It is heartening to learn that he is more up on the latest tech for doing what he loves -- duh...watching movies. It is also heartening to learn that he is aware of where that trend is taking the future of the medium he loves. This is an intelligent, well-thought-out analysis of both the benefits and the potential drawbacks of our digital age, and what it might mean for an (up to now) analog medium -- the cinema. This is a real film lover's article, in more ways than one. If you're one of those, you might benefit from reading it. Movies don't stream themselves By Roger Ebert on June 8, 2012 10:57 AM http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/06/_this_will_be_the.html#trackbac\ ks [jean3.jpg] http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/assets_c/2012/06/jean3-48549.html This will be the year that revenue from streaming passes revenue from DVD sales, according to a recent article in the Hollywood Reporter. How do we feel about this? I ask as a movie-watcher who subscribes to Netflix, Hulu and Fandor, and also rents online from Amazon and Vudu. iTunes gets none of my business because the iTunes Store has been misbehaving on my computer. I average three streaming movies a week and three or four on DVD. I'm not an average consumer, because a lot of my viewing is for work. But often of an evening I'll stream for pleasure. All of my streaming happens through a Roku Player on HDTV. Does anyone recall the time when HBO was first test-marketing Movies on Demand? There was much hilarity when it was learned that their Florida test market wasn't exactly a model of digital automation. Apparently actual employees were taking telephone orders and then scrambling around to push movies into playback machines--on video cassettes, because DVDs hadn't been introduced. These days the video quality of most movies is acceptable to excellent (for streaming, that is), assuming the films themselves come from good prints. Netflix and Fandor deliver flawless service, although my Hulu has occasionally been freezing, presumably for buffering, in the high-use evening hours. On the whole I'm a happy camper. The first streaming movie I saw online was an old B Western from Republic, and the image was the size of a postage stamp. I buy DVDs when I need to. Recently, for example, I purchased Bela Tarr's Satantango from Facets Multimedia, because it absolutely is not available online. Many, many films are not. I find from instantwatcher.com, a site that monitors Netflix, that the most-watched titles are not likely to be by Bela Tarr. Their top five titles at this moment are The Rum Diary, Nude Nuns With Big Guns, Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Sightings, The Patriot and Absinthe. Netflix has good depth, however, and every night before I turn in, I suggest a daily streamer on my Twitter and Facebook. Recent titles: My Left Foot, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Lost in Translation, Merci Pour le Chocolat, Still Walking, French Cancan, The Man Who Wasn't There, and Pi. All of those are on Netflix Instant except for Renoir's French Cancan, which is part of the Criterion Collection on Hulu, which bought the Criterion rights. Because I wanted to suggest films from several different sources, I asked my Facebook friends how they felt about Hulu and Fandor. Many said Hulu was fine with them. Many didn't know about Fandor. The Hulu supporters were fibbing. I can tell from click counts that the vast majority of my FB folks use Netflix Instant, and that's it. Hulu draws barely 15% as many clicks, but of course most people use Hulu to stream TV, and by virtue of their excellence, Hulu's Criterion titles are less popular than Nude Nuns With Big Guns. Nothing alarms some moviegoers more than the news that a movie is a masterpiece. What does this have to do with the watershed we're now passing, when streaming revenues pass DVD sales? A great deal, and a lot of it is bad news. The companies which manufacture and distribute DVDs are in business to make a profit. They invest much of their income in the cost of restoring films, especially classics, so the DVD version usually has better visual quality than any 35mm print you're lucky enough to be able to see. If DVD sales decline, film restoration declines right along with them. I was talking about this not long ago with an executive of a respected DVD label--never mind which one. He said Netflix was killing him. For years, when he released a new DVD title, he could count on a certain number of sales in three ways: (1) Direct mail or Amazon; (2) video stores; and (3) a bulk order from Netflix. Judging by the predicted sales, he could judge his costs and cover his overhead. Now what's happened, he said, is that video stores are closing, because of streaming. Amazon sales are down because Amazon Instant streams a lot of titles. And
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Well, hello, Robin, nice to see you around these parts again. You could have saved me a whole lot of typing if you'd shown up a few hours earlier! Hope I haven't misrepresented you in anything I've said in this flurry of posts. (Tell ya what: If you don't flatter me, I won't flatter you. It tends to make some folks around here very nervous.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@... wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in choice, deliberation, arbitrariness. Unity Consciousness means apprehending oneself as unified with what seems to be reality, while simultaneously finding oneself governed in one's behaviour by that same reality, a reality which is deeper and more intelligent and more all-encompassing than the individual awareness which determined one's life before enlightenment. Now when the Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran in September 1979 I recognized *from within my Unity Consciousness*, from within the hallucination of my enlightenment, that something essentially religious as opposed to something merely political was happening. These young Iranians seemed to be acting out of a religious experience of the objective truthfulness of Shi'a Islam, and a conviction therefore that they were doing the will of God (Allah:I believe there may be a difference however :-) ) in taking these American diplomats and embassy personnel hostageagainst all international law. In a sense I felt their actions, as transgressive as they appeared to be on one level, to be, on another level, transcendent, coming out of an experience of reality (via Shi'a Islam) which was very real for them. Something, then, along the lines of 'spontaneous right action'. I determined to get to Iran and find out more about this, and, after writing a small book about the crisis, I left for Tehran in January 1980, determined to interview the main players. I was unable to see Khomeni during that visit, but I did enter the American Embassy where I spoke to the leader (a woman) of the students who were were holding the Americans hostageI didn't see the Americans, but they were not far away from where this interview took place. That visit resulted in another book, describing my encounter with various characters in Iran who were in positions of official leadership, or, as in the case of the Iranian students, exercising a decisive influence over the fate of that countryplus my observations of The Revolutionwhat it had wrought up to that time (since Khomeini's return from exile in France in 1979). However two years later I revisited Iranthis was after the Iran-Iraq war had broken outa war which resulted in 1 to 2 million deaths. It was at this time, March 1982, I had the opportunity to see Ayatollah Khomeini in the fleshand even afterwards, to be singled out from among all the journalists there, to have a one-on-one meeting with him. Now inside the experience and personal functioning of my enlightenment (what was Unity Consciousness) my orientation, my perceptions, my experience, and my actions were all determined by the state of my consciousness. I had no power to do anything else. Once I 'slipped into Unity' my personal freedom was taken away from me; or at least this was the empirical truth by which I
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: I'm not actually a big fan of Madonna. But I'm less of a fan of hypocritical prudery. It's difficult to name even a single paper or online news portal these days -- liberal or conservative -- that doesn't litter its pages with invitations to voyeurism. If it's not the latest celebrity nip slip or upskirt photos, it's live video of the latest atrocity. The readers probably all sit there gazing at these things, shaking their heads and saying The world is going to hell in a handbasket, but they all click on them, and probably more than once. It's sanctioned soft-core porn. As a followup, one of the most insidious and (to my oh-so-highly evolved sensibilities) distasteful Huffington Post-isms of late is the proliferation of the term sideboob in their headlines. I mean, really. Like men are so starved for the sight of a breast that they'd be tempted to click on a link that promises nothing more than a glimpse of the side of one partially revealed by a dress or T-shirt. Oh. Wait. Huffpost's online circulation is way up since they started doing this. Never mind. Anyway, this link points to someone at Funny Or Die's humorous take on the sideboob revolution, taking it to the next logical step. http://www.funnyordie.com/pictures/01f30d0c03/huffington-post-s-new-sideball-page?playlist=featured_pictures_and_words
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Robin, a lot of people on this planet were like Khomeini including 'bin Laden' and 'Che Guevara'. It could be just 'Narcissistic-Pschyopathic-megalomania' Tell me Robin, have you spoken to other yogis other than Maharishi? --- Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@... wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in choice, deliberation, arbitrariness. Unity Consciousness means apprehending oneself as unified with what seems to be reality, while simultaneously finding oneself governed in one's behaviour by that same reality, a reality which is deeper and more intelligent and more all-encompassing than the individual awareness which determined one's life before enlightenment. Now when the Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran in September 1979 I recognized *from within my Unity Consciousness*, from within the hallucination of my enlightenment, that something essentially religious as opposed to something merely political was happening. These young Iranians seemed to be acting out of a religious experience of the objective truthfulness of Shi'a Islam, and a conviction therefore that they were doing the will of God (Allah:I believe there may be a difference however :-) ) in taking these American diplomats and embassy personnel hostageagainst all international law. In a sense I felt their actions, as transgressive as they appeared to be on one level, to be, on another level, transcendent, coming out of an experience of reality (via Shi'a Islam) which was very real for them. Something, then, along the lines of 'spontaneous right action'. I determined to get to Iran and find out more about this, and, after writing a small book about the crisis, I left for Tehran in January 1980, determined to interview the main players. I was unable to see Khomeni during that visit, but I did enter the American Embassy where I spoke to the leader (a woman) of the students who were were holding the Americans hostageI didn't see the Americans, but they were not far away from where this interview took place. That visit resulted in another book, describing my encounter with various characters in Iran who were in positions of official leadership, or, as in the case of the Iranian students, exercising a decisive influence over the fate of that countryplus my observations of The Revolutionwhat it had wrought up to that time (since Khomeini's return from exile in France in 1979). However two years later I revisited Iranthis was after the Iran-Iraq war had broken outa war which resulted in 1 to 2 million deaths. It was at this time, March 1982, I had the opportunity to see Ayatollah Khomeini in the fleshand even afterwards, to be singled out from among all the journalists there, to have a one-on-one meeting with him. Now inside the experience and personal functioning of my enlightenment (what was Unity Consciousness) my orientation, my perceptions, my experience, and my actions were all determined by the state of my consciousness. I had no power to do anything else. Once I 'slipped into Unity' my personal freedom was taken away from me; or at least this was the empirical truth by which I lived my life. Now what Unity Consciousness does is to make one
[FairfieldLife] MMY Photos
Does anyone have a nice collection of MMY photos? Preferably not just mug shots, but in various settings and situations. Dana Sawyer is finishing up a book and needs photos.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hey, Dixon, BillyG, what's up?
Ask Benny Hinn..ahem. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Jason jedi_spock@... wrote:  Benny Hinn in trouble?  By Ken Silva After a report of an alleged affair between top level Word Faith heretics Benny Hinn and Paula White surfaced in The National Enquirer, in posts such as Paula White: Is She, Or Isn't She? and Benny Hinn And Paula White Side By Side here at Apprising Ministries, I've been doing what I can to point you to the facts; as obscure as they appear to be. In order for you to be able to evaluate this issue for yourself, just the other day AM correspondent Chrystal Whitt of Slaughter of the Sheep posted the videos of Hinn's 'defense' of his relationship with pastrix White in Benny Hinn Defends Himself Against National Enquirer. And now Charisma, flagship magazine for the charismatic movement, has today released Benny Hinn Admits 'Friendship' With Paula White But Tells TV Audience Itâs Over. After the Enquirer 'pictured them holding hands in Rome on July 13' Charisma reporter Adrienne S. Gaines informs us that at a crusade in Oakland, Calif. Benny Hinn 'admitted' to his 'having a 'friendship' with fellow Word Faith mogul Paula White 'while he's still married'. Gaines then explains that Benny Hinn 'says the relationship is over' and continues: 'A friendship did develop,' Hinn said of White in Oakland on July 30. 'Hear this: No immorality whatsoever. These people out there are making it sound like we had an affair. Thatâs a lie.' Hinn invited his daughters Natasha and Eleasha on stage in Oakland on July 30 and asked the crowd to pray for him, his estranged wife, Suzanne, and their four children. He said he and his wife had problems in their marriage for years and 'could no longer exist in the same house.' Hinn's wife, Suzanne, filed for divorce in February after the couple had been separated for four years, but it has not been finalized. Hinn aired segments from the Oakland crusade and made additional personal comments on his This Is Your Day program on TBN Aug. 5, the day after his 31st wedding anniversary. A ministry executive said the program will air on other networks this week, including on Daystar Friday.  Hinn told the crowd in Oakland that the Vatican made him a Patron of the Arts and invited him to visit Rome. He said patrons are asked to find donors to help maintain the Vatican's art collections, and he wanted White to become a donor. I let her come with me to Rome so she can donate money, Hinn said. That was stupid on my part. And for that I do ask forgiveness.  The National Enquirer published photos in its Aug. 2 issue of Hinn walking hand-in-hand with White in Rome.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
The beautiful part about untruths, exaggerations, content taken out of context and the desire of certain individuals to purposefully misrepresent others is that it always opens the way for the emergence of truth, balanced opinion, rationality, and wisdom. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: Well, hello, Robin, nice to see you around these parts again. You could have saved me a whole lot of typing if you'd shown up a few hours earlier! Hope I haven't misrepresented you in anything I've said in this flurry of posts. (Tell ya what: If you don't flatter me, I won't flatter you. It tends to make some folks around here very nervous.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@ wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in choice, deliberation, arbitrariness. Unity Consciousness means apprehending oneself as unified with what seems to be reality, while simultaneously finding oneself governed in one's behaviour by that same reality, a reality which is deeper and more intelligent and more all-encompassing than the individual awareness which determined one's life before enlightenment. Now when the Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran in September 1979 I recognized *from within my Unity Consciousness*, from within the hallucination of my enlightenment, that something essentially religious as opposed to something merely political was happening. These young Iranians seemed to be acting out of a religious experience of the objective truthfulness of Shi'a Islam, and a conviction therefore that they were doing the will of God (Allah:I believe there may be a difference however :-) ) in taking these American diplomats and embassy personnel hostageagainst all international law. In a sense I felt their actions, as transgressive as they appeared to be on one level, to be, on another level, transcendent, coming out of an experience of reality (via Shi'a Islam) which was very real for them. Something, then, along the lines of 'spontaneous right action'. I determined to get to Iran and find out more about this, and, after writing a small book about the crisis, I left for Tehran in January 1980, determined to interview the main players. I was unable to see Khomeni during that visit, but I did enter the American Embassy where I spoke to the leader (a woman) of the students who were were holding the Americans hostageI didn't see the Americans, but they were not far away from where this interview took place. That visit resulted in another book, describing my encounter with various characters in Iran who were in positions of official leadership, or, as in the case of the Iranian students, exercising a decisive influence over the fate of that countryplus my observations of The Revolutionwhat it had wrought up to that time (since Khomeini's return from exile in France in 1979). However two years later I revisited Iranthis was after the Iran-Iraq war had broken outa war which resulted in 1 to 2 million deaths. It was at this time, March 1982, I had the opportunity to see Ayatollah Khomeini in the fleshand even afterwards, to be singled out from among all the journalists there, to have a one-on-one
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: I'm not actually a big fan of Madonna. But I'm less of a fan of hypocritical prudery. It's difficult to name even a single paper or online news portal these days -- liberal or conservative -- that doesn't litter its pages with invitations to voyeurism. If it's not the latest celebrity nip slip or upskirt photos, it's live video of the latest atrocity. The readers probably all sit there gazing at these things, shaking their heads and saying The world is going to hell in a handbasket, but they all click on them, and probably more than once. It's sanctioned soft-core porn. As a followup, one of the most insidious and (to my oh-so-highly evolved sensibilities) distasteful Huffington Post-isms of late is the proliferation of the term sideboob in their headlines. I mean, really. Like men are so starved for the sight of a breast that they'd be tempted to click on a link that promises nothing more than a glimpse of the side of one partially revealed by a dress or T-shirt. Oh. Wait. Huffpost's online circulation is way up since they started doing this. Never mind. Anyway, this link points to someone at Funny Or Die's humorous take on the sideboob revolution, taking it to the next logical step. http://www.funnyordie.com/pictures/01f30d0c03/huffington-post-s-new-sideball-page?playlist=featured_pictures_and_words It's the old 'cookie jar' syndrome!
[FairfieldLife] Re: The unvarnished truth...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wgm4u no_reply@... wrote: [God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita] To quote His Holiness Swami Gulabjamunanda: Silly Bhagavad Gita! It says to be without the three gunas. But, you only have to be without two of them!
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@... wrote: That's a very good question, authfriend, and I may have to spend several hours creating various lengthy scenarios in my mind before I am able to answer it. We must explore every possible avenue in this matter. Well, that sounds exciting, but I think you got the gist of it in what follows: However, I can say that I usually prefer the infinite suggestiveness of a woman's cleavage to the charms of full disclosure. To be perpetually on the threshold of desire, is not that the thing? Keats called it keeping the soul in one eternal pant. That's some men's thing, definitely, but I'm not sure it's the case across the board. And some might say it gives too much power to the woman. Deliberately baring a nipple? Now that's just too silly, and very unimaginative. From my perspective, I can see it being done tastefully and imaginatively, in a way that would appeal to one's aesthetic sensibilities rather than one's prurience. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. Would you mind if one of these nice Christian woman bared a nipple? Or to put it another way, can you conceive of a woman baring a nipple before a crowd in a classy, non-vulgar, non-slutty manner that wouldn't spark your indignation? I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: The unvarnished truth...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley j_alexander_stanley@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wgm4u no_reply@ wrote: [God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita] To quote His Holiness Swami Gulabjamunanda: Silly Bhagavad Gita! It says to be without the three gunas. But, you only have to be without two of them! Yes, as Rajas is the activating guna, either for sattva or tamas!
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: That's a very good question, authfriend, and I may have to spend several hours creating various lengthy scenarios in my mind before I am able to answer it. We must explore every possible avenue in this matter. Well, that sounds exciting, but I think you got the gist of it in what follows: However, I can say that I usually prefer the infinite suggestiveness of a woman's cleavage to the charms of full disclosure. To be perpetually on the threshold of desire, is not that the thing? Keats called it keeping the soul in one eternal pant. That's some men's thing, definitely, but I'm not sure it's the case across the board. And some might say it gives too much power to the woman. Deliberately baring a nipple? Now that's just too silly, and very unimaginative. From my perspective, I can see it being done tastefully and imaginatively, in a way that would appeal to one's aesthetic sensibilities rather than one's prurience. Folks, Judy just used a pejoritive word, suggesting right and wrong, good and bad And hey, not politically correct! Prurience?, isn't that being judgmental? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I think we need more nice Christian women in pretty summer frocks singing uplifting songs about Jesus and less of the monstrous exhibitionism and vulgarity of this she-devil, whose very name is a blasphemy. Would you mind if one of these nice Christian woman bared a nipple? Or to put it another way, can you conceive of a woman baring a nipple before a crowd in a classy, non-vulgar, non-slutty manner that wouldn't spark your indignation? I ask because while I didn't find the way Madonna did it at all appealing, I can imagine it being done by someone else in a way that was lovely and graceful and uplifting. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: I actually watched this. What a hideous slut. Sometimes the prudery and uptightness of long-term TMers blows my mind. Here's a guy who went out of his way to watch a video clearly labeled Madonna bares a nipple onstage and *she* is a slut. :-) :-) :-) What is WRONG with Americans that they are so terrified of the human body and at the same time so addicted to catching forbidden glimpses of it? I used to love walking my dogs along the beaches of Sitges and watching the Americans popping their eyes out at all the topless women. The Spanish never even noticed. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robert babajii_99@ wrote: I know no body cares but, I thought this was cute! http://www.showbiz411.com/?p=21146preview=true
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, awoelflebater no_reply@... wrote: The beautiful part about untruths, exaggerations, content taken out of context and the desire of certain individuals to purposefully misrepresent others is that it always opens the way for the emergence of truth, balanced opinion, rationality, and wisdom. Well put. And in this case, these individuals will never even know what has emerged as a result of their attempted misrepresentations. That's what tickles me about Barry's boast that he never reads certain people's posts; he'll smugly think he's gotten away with his untruths, exaggerations, and out-of-context content. iranitea appears to have been convinced by Barry to take the same route to obliviousness. So they'll both look like liars and fools, just as they should. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: Well, hello, Robin, nice to see you around these parts again. You could have saved me a whole lot of typing if you'd shown up a few hours earlier! Hope I haven't misrepresented you in anything I've said in this flurry of posts. (Tell ya what: If you don't flatter me, I won't flatter you. It tends to make some folks around here very nervous.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@ wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in choice, deliberation, arbitrariness. Unity Consciousness means apprehending oneself as unified with what seems to be reality, while simultaneously finding oneself governed in one's behaviour by that same reality, a reality which is deeper and more intelligent and more all-encompassing than the individual awareness which determined one's life before enlightenment. Now when the Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran in September 1979 I recognized *from within my Unity Consciousness*, from within the hallucination of my enlightenment, that something essentially religious as opposed to something merely political was happening. These young Iranians seemed to be acting out of a religious experience of the objective truthfulness of Shi'a Islam, and a conviction therefore that they were doing the will of God (Allah:I believe there may be a difference however :-) ) in taking these American diplomats and embassy personnel hostageagainst all international law. In a sense I felt their actions, as transgressive as they appeared to be on one level, to be, on another level, transcendent, coming out of an experience of reality (via Shi'a Islam) which was very real for them. Something, then, along the lines of 'spontaneous right action'. I determined to get to Iran and find out more about this, and, after writing a small book about the crisis, I left for Tehran in January 1980, determined to interview the main players. I was unable to see Khomeni during that visit, but I did enter the American Embassy where I spoke to the leader (a woman) of the students who were were holding the Americans hostageI didn't see the Americans, but they were not far away from where this interview took place. That visit resulted in another book, describing my encounter with various characters in Iran who were in
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wgm4u no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: That's a very good question, authfriend, and I may have to spend several hours creating various lengthy scenarios in my mind before I am able to answer it. We must explore every possible avenue in this matter. Well, that sounds exciting, but I think you got the gist of it in what follows: However, I can say that I usually prefer the infinite suggestiveness of a woman's cleavage to the charms of full disclosure. To be perpetually on the threshold of desire, is not that the thing? Keats called it keeping the soul in one eternal pant. That's some men's thing, definitely, but I'm not sure it's the case across the board. And some might say it gives too much power to the woman. Deliberately baring a nipple? Now that's just too silly, and very unimaginative. From my perspective, I can see it being done tastefully and imaginatively, in a way that would appeal to one's aesthetic sensibilities rather than one's prurience. Folks, Judy just used a pejoritive word, suggesting right and wrong, good and bad And hey, not politically correct! Prurience?, isn't that being judgmental? Not unless you judge sexual desire to be bad, no. Otherwise it's a matter of personal preference: Would you prefer that your sexual desire or your aesthetic sensibilities be aroused? (On the other hand, these are not necessarily mutually exclusive.)
[FairfieldLife] Post Count
Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat Jun 09 00:00:00 2012 End Date (UTC): Sat Jun 16 00:00:00 2012 376 messages as of (UTC) Wed Jun 13 00:09:43 2012 45 authfriend jst...@panix.com 34 turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com 27 Share Long sharelon...@yahoo.com 24 Jason jedi_sp...@yahoo.com 22 iranitea no_re...@yahoogroups.com 22 Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net 21 Richard J. Williams rich...@rwilliams.us 20 Vaj vajradh...@earthlink.net 20 Emily Reyn emilymae.r...@yahoo.com 18 nablusoss1008 no_re...@yahoogroups.com 18 Robert babajii...@yahoo.com 18 Buck dhamiltony...@yahoo.com 16 wgm4u no_re...@yahoogroups.com 14 cardemaister no_re...@yahoogroups.com 11 sparaig lengli...@cox.net 10 John jr_...@yahoo.com 4 salyavin808 fintlewoodle...@mail.com 4 merudanda no_re...@yahoogroups.com 3 raunchydog raunchy...@yahoo.com 3 feste37 fest...@yahoo.com 2 marekreavis reavisma...@sbcglobal.net 2 Xenophaneros Anartaxius anartax...@yahoo.com 2 Rick Archer r...@searchsummit.com 2 Mike Dixon mdixon.6...@yahoo.com 2 Alex Stanley j_alexander_stan...@yahoo.com 1 jedi_spock jedi_sp...@yahoo.com 1 dan ward hawkeye422...@yahoo.com 1 curtisdeltablues curtisdeltabl...@yahoo.com 1 awoelflebater no_re...@yahoogroups.com 1 Zoran Krneta krneta.zo...@gmail.com 1 Susan waybac...@yahoo.com 1 Robin Carlsen maskedze...@yahoo.com 1 Richard rich...@infinitepie.net 1 PaliGap compost...@yahoo.co.uk 1 FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com 1 Dick Mays dickm...@lisco.com 1 emilymae.reyn emilymae.r...@yahoo.com Posters: 37 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] Re: 'Madonna Bears Nipple on Stage'...
From my perspective, I can see it being done tastefully and imaginatively, in a way that would appeal to one's aesthetic sensibilities rather than one's prurience. wgm4u: Folks, Judy just used a pejoritive word... Billy, I think the word she was looking for is 'titillation'. The occurrence of 'tit' as the first syllable of titillation is purely coincidental? Urban Dictionary: v. form, titillate. The road between Merced Falls and Hornitos, where it passes around the buttes, has such perfect hills for a roller coaster ride that little kids get titillation riding in a car driving on it. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=titillation
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
Dear Judy Stein, I appreciate your attempts to defend my sanity in the face of the various diagnosticians at FFL, who would like to see something clinically significant in my various posts at FFL. I think, however, I can discern the difference between someone who truly believes in the psychopathological basis of a person's behaviour, or their writing, and someone who does not believe this at all, but is under some compulsion to characterize another person in these terms because of their uncontrollable reaction to that person. Did either Barry Wright or iranitea sincerely think I was unstable or disturbed their writing would not take on the defensive and cynical and hostile tone that it invariably does. If they believed in what they were saying, they would be concerned to convey this *experience*. But this is not the case at all. Barry and Iranitea are determined to act out their own personal animus and agenda, which simply fails to make contact with anything real in their experience of me or my writing which would enable a disinterested reader to repose any trust in their judgment. Any close reading of their posts about me draws attention not towards myself but towards the very psychological motivation within themselves which makes it so necessary for them to describe me in these terms. I simply challenge them in one simple way: Barry and iranitea, you do not believe in what you say. And the agitation and antipathy which drives your posts about myself entirely rob the would-be reader of even having a chance to determine whether you are right or not. If your sincere focus was on what you believed about me, this underlying negative affect would recede as the objective truth of what you wanted to get out (about Robin Carlsen) came to dominate your attention. But this never happens, because the motives for impugning my integrity usurp any sense of moral responsibility to discover the truth. It is a shocking and for me almost entirely inexplicable phenomenon: that you both should not provide any evidence of your sincerity or conviction in what you profess to believe about me. The subjective drives out the objective, and any perceptive reader of your posts about myself could never become convinced that you had the least commitment to the veracity of what you say. I see that I have turned away from addressing yourself, Judy Stein. I think you have represented my perspective on the Khomeini matterand other topics discussed by iranitea and Barrytruthfully. It will be for the readers at FFL to determine whether all that you have said and what I have said in my own post, on balance, represents a point of view which seems more reliable and fair-minded than the animadversions of Barry and iranitea. maskedzebra --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@... wrote: Well, hello, Robin, nice to see you around these parts again. You could have saved me a whole lot of typing if you'd shown up a few hours earlier! Hope I haven't misrepresented you in anything I've said in this flurry of posts. (Tell ya what: If you don't flatter me, I won't flatter you. It tends to make some folks around here very nervous.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@ wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
The excerpts of Robin's reply below speaks for itself. He still thinks Khomeini was in unity. You really have a problem Judy. If you think the below explanation that Robin has given makes *sense* to you, it only means You are in unity yourself. Too bad, Judy girl. Something tells me that your worldview of what consciousness is and it's spiritual implications are skewed. Khomeini *was speaking from the same place as Maharishi, the same place where I was experiencing my life and myself*. Khomeini was, therefore, 'Self-realized', and if you read his mystical writings, he talks about Allah as the Absolute, and describes the ultimate state of perfection in Islam (in Shi'a Islam, that is) as the unification of the personal self with Allah, which is The Absoluteand leaves no room for any final imperishable sense of individuality. So what was happening to me inside that hall was not unprecedented: I was seeing someone other than Maharishi manifesting the same level of consciousness: Unity. --- authfriend jstein@... wrote: Well put. And in this case, these individuals will never even know what has emerged as a result of their attempted misrepresentations. That's what tickles me about Barry's boast that he never reads certain people's posts; he'll smugly think he's gotten away with his untruths, exaggerations, and out-of-context content. iranitea appears to have been convinced by Barry to take the same route to obliviousness. So they'll both look like liars and fools, just as they should. --- awoelflebater no_reply@ wrote: The beautiful part about untruths, exaggerations, content taken out of context and the desire of certain individuals to purposefully misrepresent others is that it always opens the way for the emergence of truth, balanced opinion, rationality, and wisdom. --- authfriend jstein@ wrote: Well, hello, Robin, nice to see you around these parts again. You could have saved me a whole lot of typing if you'd shown up a few hours earlier! Hope I haven't misrepresented you in anything I've said in this flurry of posts. (Tell ya what: If you don't flatter me, I won't flatter you. It tends to make some folks around here very nervous.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@ wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in choice, deliberation, arbitrariness. Unity Consciousness means apprehending oneself as unified with what seems to be reality, while simultaneously finding oneself governed in one's behaviour by that same reality, a reality which is deeper and more intelligent and more all-encompassing than the individual awareness which determined one's life before enlightenment. Now when the Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran in September 1979 I recognized *from within my Unity Consciousness*, from within the hallucination of my enlightenment, that something essentially religious as opposed to something merely political was happening. These young Iranians seemed to be acting out of a religious experience of the objective
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hello FFL -
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Susan wayback71@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Robin Carlsen maskedzebra@ wrote: I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and concerned when I saw this excerpt from one of my books (strongly discountenanced by the way: I don't like any of them: they should all be burned!) posted at FFL. And I would like to say a few thingsnot in my defense, but in explanation for how it could come to be that I would write so enthusiastically and uncritically about someone like Ayatollah Khomeini. Now I have gone on the record to say that my Unity Consciousness experience was both very real (enlightenment does exist, it is an actual 'style of functioning' of the nervous system as Maharishi has claimed: enlightenment, then, is both a mechanical and metaphysical state of consciousness: and I believe it can be objectively determined; that is, one can apply criteria to decide whether someone is enlightened or not enlightened) and yet an hallucination. When I speak of Unity Consciousness as a hallucination I mean that it produces an essentially unreal apprehension of the universe, of oneself, of reality. Even though that experience is like nothing anyone has ever known, even on LSD (I remember in the moment when I was actually becoming enlightened thinking: Well, this is what LSD was pointing towards): It is so much more profound (than LSD), and it carries with it the imprimatur of what appears to be the very intelligence of the cosmos. And it takes away from oneself the sense of the primacy of volitional action; that is, one's actions appear to conform to Maharishi's principle of spontaneous right actionwithout even the capacity to make those actions existentially selective. That is, originating in choice, deliberation, arbitrariness. Unity Consciousness means apprehending oneself as unified with what seems to be reality, while simultaneously finding oneself governed in one's behaviour by that same reality, a reality which is deeper and more intelligent and more all-encompassing than the individual awareness which determined one's life before enlightenment. Now when the Iranian students seized the American Embassy in Tehran in September 1979 I recognized *from within my Unity Consciousness*, from within the hallucination of my enlightenment, that something essentially religious as opposed to something merely political was happening. These young Iranians seemed to be acting out of a religious experience of the objective truthfulness of Shi'a Islam, and a conviction therefore that they were doing the will of God (Allah:I believe there may be a difference however :-) ) in taking these American diplomats and embassy personnel hostageagainst all international law. In a sense I felt their actions, as transgressive as they appeared to be on one level, to be, on another level, transcendent, coming out of an experience of reality (via Shi'a Islam) which was very real for them. Something, then, along the lines of 'spontaneous right action'. I determined to get to Iran and find out more about this, and, after writing a small book about the crisis, I left for Tehran in January 1980, determined to interview the main players. I was unable to see Khomeni during that visit, but I did enter the American Embassy where I spoke to the leader (a woman) of the students who were were holding the Americans hostageI didn't see the Americans, but they were not far away from where this interview took place. That visit resulted in another book, describing my encounter with various characters in Iran who were in positions of official leadership, or, as in the case of the Iranian students, exercising a decisive influence over the fate of that countryplus my observations of The Revolutionwhat it had wrought up to that time (since Khomeini's return from exile in France in 1979). However two years later I revisited Iranthis was after the Iran-Iraq war had broken outa war which resulted in 1 to 2 million deaths. It was at this time, March 1982, I had the opportunity to see Ayatollah Khomeini in the fleshand even afterwards, to be singled out from among all the journalists there, to have a one-on-one meeting with him. Now inside the experience and personal functioning of my enlightenment (what was Unity Consciousness) my orientation, my perceptions, my experience, and my actions were all determined by the state of my consciousness. I had no power to do anything else. Once I 'slipped into Unity' my personal freedom was taken away from me; or at least this was the empirical truth by which I lived my life. Now what Unity Consciousness does is to make one mystically sensitive to all the preternatural forces in the universethat is, as in the case of psychedelics, it makes one see levels
