Re: [FairfieldLife] David Wants to Fly
On Sep 27, 2011, at 12:24 PM, Bhairitu wrote: The movie pretty much makes MMY out to be a charlatan or con artist. That is really going to upset a few here. Some will like the idea that he invented TM in his garage the Horatio Alger story. But in most traditions they like sticking to the rules because down through the centuries they've seen too many people going crazy when they strayed. It's very much like the martial arts, you can only teach if you achieve a certain level. An interesting detail from Swarupananda is that Mahesh never entered into the guru-shishya relationship with Brahmananda. He was simply an administrative aide. That's key in the whole purity of the tradition schtick Mahesh liked to pretend about. How pure can the line be if permission (upadesha) never existed in the first place? And he again disputes the reality of Mahesh-as-yogi in that to his knowledge he was never so trained - it's simply another alias he assumed. I don't know if you saw it, but Paul's website contains a more complete interview with His Holiness Swami Swarupananda, Jagadguru of Jyotir Math: The lineage of Jyotish Peeth (also known as Jyotir Math and Jyotirmath) has been contested by Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, (Shankaracharya of Dwarka since 1982). An outspoken critic of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Swami Swaroopanand recently stated:- I was the desciple of Gurudev and had [been] taken into his fold through a ceremony called Dand Sanyaas which Mahesh Yogi could not get done as he was not a Brahman. Also Mahesh was his secretary and he was not Gurudev's disciple in any way but was a part of the administrative staff. So far as I know he did not know anything about yoga so I have no idea how he became Yogi. But he was very smart and shrewd. He was responsible for the controversy over Shankaracharya's here in Jyotirmath. He wanted to put up here a Shankaracharya who would listen to him. That was his motive behind dividing the Jyotirmath. After Gurudev's demise he spread the news that there is a will made by Gurudev on his name and that claims him to be Gurudev‘s disciple... The will named four people- the first name was Shantanand, second DwarkaPrasad Shastri, third name was Vishnudevanand and fourth name was Parmanand. Now when the will was opened for reading it turned out that Shantanand did not understand Sanskrit (!!!), he used to work for Geeta press on the salary of 14 rupees per month and thus was not capable enough, secondly, Dwarkaprasad Shastri, was a married man with family, thirdly, Vishnudevanand, was not educated enough and fourth, Parmanand, who was M.A., his big toe on the right leg was amputed and a disabled [person] is not given Sanyaas, thus he was nullified. Thus the four were rejected and Swami Krishnabodhashramji was made Shankaracharya but Mahesh Yogi instigated Shantanand to fight the court case. He was given a car and money and all other assistance and help. Now Sita Saraf was in Kolkatta when Gurudev passed away and she along with Mahesh played out a drama claiming that they asked Gurudev to accept their lives but Gurudev refused and passed away. It was also spread far and wide that when Gurudev’s soul was leaving his body, Mahesh Yogi’s soul was also exiting but Gurudev pushed his soul back because Mahesh had to complete Gurudev’s incomplete work for which he had to go abroad!!! Also, as per the will that was revealed, it stated clearly that the order of succession was to be Shantanand, Dwarkaprasad Shastri, Vishnudevanand and Parmanand. However all of them passed away in exactly the reverse order! If Gurudev, who has the far sight to forsee such events, had written the will, how could they all pass away in exactly the reverse order?? Therefore, if this is so, that he was a 'siddha mahatma', why was this in reverse order? - Swami Swaroopanand, speaking to film-maker David Sieveking, 22nd May 2009
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: David Wants to Fly
On Sep 27, 2011, at 1:51 PM, PaliGap wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: An interesting detail from Swarupananda is that Mahesh never entered into the guru-shishya relationship with Brahmananda. I am shocked. Truly shocked. What no guru-shishya? What is wrong with these people? What's wrong is: 1. He holds no authentic teacher relationship from the teacher he claims a relationship with. 2. He received no permission/instruction to teach what he claims is a technique that comes from aforementioned relationship (another lie). 3. Claims to be a yogi but there is know known evidence of diksha, etc. 4. Directly violates the beliefs re: Natural Law, dharma-laws of his tradition and teacher. 5. Claims to have renounced the world and to be celibate, but is not. So in other words, in the tradition he claims to come from, by their own standards, he's a mountebank. I think really, for all intents and purposes, this movie puts an end to a lotta of people's misunderstandings, misperceptions and fantasies (not that there's anything wrong with that ;-)). -and not that this is anything new to many of us.
Re: [FairfieldLife] M disclaims GD sent him out to teach
On Sep 27, 2011, at 4:21 PM, Mark Landau wrote: And also, at least in my hearing with a small group of us, M denied that Guru Dev sent him out to teach. He said that he had been at Uttar Kashi and kept getting the name of a place in the south of India coming to him, I think it was Trivandrum. Yes, this is the same story that is retold in 30 Years Around the World. As he was sitting some evening, he noticed a man coming towards him. At first, he didn't recognize him, but then he realized it was his friend who had just cut off all his hair (someone later told me it was Tatwallahbaba, but M didn't mention his name). Someone else told me that M never went to Uttar Kashi, but I'm just telling you the story that M told us as he told it. The actual story has been told here. He DID go to Uttara Kashi, in fact the cottage I believe was filmed for the David Lynch movie, but he only stayed for a brief time. M asked his friend, Is that you? and his friend assented. Then M asked, Why did you cut it all off? and his friend answered something like It was just another possession. In that moment, M knew it was time to leave and he should go south. He had already told his friend and, perhaps others, that he kept getting that message, but they all said, No, don't go. Everywhere else is just the mud. So he made his way down to Kerala and, within a few days, he was walking on the street and realized that someone was following him. He stopped to turn to the man who said, Do you speak? M answered, Yes, if you mean do I talk. But if you are asking if I give lectures, I haven't yet (or some such thing). The man was in charge of a library that invited saints to give talks and he invited M to give a talk there. M acquiesced and that began his public career. He said they asked him to speak in Hindi after he had spoken in English (or vice versa) to see if he sounded so natural about what he spoke in a different language. So, another little story, for what it's worth. It's roughly similar to the 30 Years Around the World story.
Re: [FairfieldLife] M disclaims GD sent him out to teach
On Sep 27, 2011, at 4:39 PM, Mark Landau wrote: Thanks, Rick, yes, Rameswaram. I also heard M say he had spent two years in Uttar Kashi, but someone else told me that was simply a lie (as well as a few other outrageous things). Who knows what the truth was? There was some testimony here (sorry forget who) that it was a rather brief time.
Re: [FairfieldLife] M disclaims GD sent him out to teach
On Sep 27, 2011, at 6:19 PM, Vaj wrote: On Sep 27, 2011, at 4:39 PM, Mark Landau wrote: Thanks, Rick, yes, Rameswaram. I also heard M say he had spent two years in Uttar Kashi, but someone else told me that was simply a lie (as well as a few other outrageous things). Who knows what the truth was? There was some testimony here (sorry forget who) that it was a rather brief time. It's the words of Mahesh's primary biographer and Guru Dev scholar, Paul Mason: Some believe that Brahmachari Mahesh spent years in seclusion, but it is likely that he actually stayed in Uttarkashi for no more than a matter of months before leaving to accompany an ailing lady from Calcutta (allegedly a wealthy widow by the name of Sita Saraf) to a medical facility near Bangalore in southern India. It is recorded that during his sojourn in Madanapalle, sometime in June or July of 1954 he began teaching local people to meditate. http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/introduction.htm (It's about halfway down the page.)
Re: [FairfieldLife] David Wants to Fly
On Sep 26, 2011, at 3:35 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Back to the movie. It seems honest to me. He goes through stages of mounting concern. He genuinely liked TM. Seeing the initiation day scene really brought me back. What magical fun that all was. I wonder if Guru Dev would step out of the picture and slay me if I initiated someone again? He might use that backwards Nazi symbol as a Chinese throwing star and lop off my head. (Sorry easily distracted today for some reason.) Or maybe he might try to use that staff on me. I think I could take him if he pulled that. Unless he was David feak'n Carridine with that thing, he couldn't swing it fast enough to neutralize my mad Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. (Perhaps I shouldn't try the puja again until my spontaneous fantasy is not grappling with Guru Dev? In my defense it was the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts weekend, so I watched a lot of man on man action.) I guess he would zap me with a laser out of his third eye anyway so the world is still safe from me gett'n my Karpora gorum on anytime soon. But my point is that movie made me think of it, the scenes are sweet and nostalgic for me. (Like that is gunna de-blaspehemize the preceding paragraph!) One would wonder what Brahmananda Saraswati would really have thought of the TM movement? Maybe not what you think. I think it's clear from both SBS's teachings and his feelings on how the teaching should be propagated that he would have considered Mahesh a rogue and his teaching an aberration. From what I've heard other non-bought Shanks say, Swarupananda's words ring very right on. Remember where he says [SPOILER] at the climax of the movie: What you have learned from Mahesh Yogi will not bring you spiritual progress. These could have been the very words of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati IMO. I doubt very much SBS would have said anything different from his successor.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Beautiful Prayer
On Sep 22, 2011, at 10:55 PM, maskedzebra wrote: Looks like I've got some reading to do, emptybill. Thanks for the sources. Why can't everyone just agree with me: My theory is so damn reasonable and commonsensical. No? Actually no. You taken by a fad that came and went - and you attached great over-importance to your own involvement therein. If one takes some time and gains the experience of really learning mantra-yoga and the mantra-shastras, a good teacher will tell from the get go, that mantra meditation (i.e. TM, etc.) only covers the mental realm of the person. It doesn't address the other layers of wholeness, the pranic body, etc. that, for example, Advaita Vedanta sees as our layers of wholeness. It's unlikely that for someone with such a limited POV that anyone is going to convince you of something other than your own experience, which seems quite limited. Given that you may be suffering from some sort of TM-induced mental issues makes it even less likely. I could beat on you, but it's doubtful even then that the demons would leave. But I do wish you the best in your recovery.
[FairfieldLife] Sinister Yogis
A good read for those interested in or with experience among such yogis, actual or self-proclaimed. http://www.amazon.com/Sinister-Yogis-David-Gordon-White/dp/0226895130 Yogis do not fare better with the authorized scriptures of certain medieval sects: the Vaisnava Jayakhya Samhita calls yogis cruel beings and classifies them together with evildoers, the demonic dead (bhutas), and zombies (vetalas). Even today, sinister yogis are stock villains in Bollywood film plots, and as soon as one ventures out from the subcontinents metropolitan areas, yogis are such objects of dread and fear that parents threaten disobedient children with them: Be good or the yogi will come and take you away. Yogis are bogeymen, control freaks, cannibals and terror mongers. Sinister Yogis [Hardcover] David Gordon White (Author) Editorial Reviews Review “This is a riveting account of the early history of yoga and yogis in India that weighs the perspectives of both the yogis and the public culture of yoga. The history of yoga practice, and of yogis, is finally receiving the critical attention from scholars that will alter the views made popular by modern yoga teachers who believe their doctrines of mental and physical culture constitutes ‘classical yoga.’ David White’s entertaining and intelligent account of yogis drawn largely from Hindi and Sanskrit sources will contribute enormously to this corrective project. White has a real gift for making difficult, opaque material comprehensible, and he does so in writing that is bright and lucid.”—Frederick M. Smith, University of Iowa (Frederick M. Smith ) “White swept us up with The Alchemical Body and blew us away with Kiss of the Yogini. Now along comes Sinister Yogis. Prepare to be taken over completely by this final installment in White’s ‘siddha’ trilogy. These are no ordinary yogis, at least not in the way yogis have been conceived for many a generation, and not simply by Western scholars and spiritual entrepreneurs. And they are not figures of a literary imagination. They are flesh and bone—when they want to be—and they have walked among us, making and remaking the world. White unravels a vast and interlacing literature on the theory and practice—and especially practitioners—of yoga, ranging from Harappa to the British Raj, and all points in between, and he demonstrates time and again that self projection and body possession, what he calls ‘omni-presencing’, are the keys to South Asian religion.”—William R. Pinch, Wesleyan University (William R. Pinch ) “In this fascinating counter-history of yoga, White shows us that the slim slice of yoga we Americans practice, and even the yoga most academics study, is leaving quite a lot of yoga’s deep roots out. . . . White offers a surprising, counterintuitive take on the roots of an extraordinary, sometimes mystical discipline.”—Barnes Noble Review (Barnes Noble Review ) Sinister Yogis . . . successfully provides a fuller, more contextualized history of yoga, opening up some of the elisions that come when a tradition goes cross-cultural.—Times Literary Supplement (Times Literary Supplement ) Huge fun, fascinating, and beautifully written. (Fortean Times ) This wondrously captivating, richly detailed book is a must for anyone interested in conceptions of the Indian yogī and of yogic practice.—Choice (Choice ) Product Description Since the 1960s, yoga has become a billion-dollar industry in the West, attracting housewives and hipsters, New Agers and the old-aged. But our modern conception of yoga derives much from nineteenth- century European spirituality, and the true story of yoga’s origins in South Asia is far richer, stranger, and more entertaining than most of us realize. To uncover this history, David Gordon White focuses on yoga’s practitioners. Combing through millennia of South Asia’s vast and diverse literature, he discovers that yogis are usually portrayed as wonder-workers or sorcerers who use their dangerous supernatural abilities—which can include raising the dead, possession, and levitation—to acquire power, wealth, and sexual gratification. As White shows, even those yogis who aren’t downright villainous bear little resemblance to Western assumptions about them. At turns rollicking and sophisticated, Sinister Yogis tears down the image of yogis as detached, contemplative teachers, finally placing them in their proper context. See all Editorial Reviews Product Details Hardcover: 376 pages Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0226895130 ISBN-13: 978-0226895130
[FairfieldLife] Wonderful fresh heirloom tomato bisque
Absolutely marvelous. http://cook.onthis.net/2010/07/06/fresh-tomato-bisque/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Sinister Yogis
White's books ARE excellent - but they are like books written by an inspired pundit. Probably more geared towards the Sanskrit-appreciating crowd. His The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India is a classic with a simply breathtaking knowledge of rasashastra. Anyone who's followed a similar path will be enamored by it's depth. On Sep 23, 2011, at 6:01 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Sounds like a good read. I may have to add it to my (overflowing) library. ;-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] The devil in the details of Transcendental Meditation
On Sep 23, 2011, at 2:07 PM, wgm4u wrote: *Time* is the devil in the details; to remove all of the Samskarsas (what MMY loosely refers to as 'stress') of all of the lifetimes past is an undertaking much more extensive than we have been led to believe. That's not to say one can't get benefits immediately, which thousands have, including myself, it just puts the technique in its proper place as to the *transformation* MMY seems to suggest happens by merely practicing for a few months or years. Therefore his whole synopsis of heaven on earth is merely *hyperbole* which many (to their consternation...Kaplan, among others) have come to realize and unfortunately have thrown the baby out with the bath water (note Turq and many others on this forum)as a result. You usually have to be able to transcend for several hours at a time - that level of depth - for the attentional state to be sufficient for real transformation of the person, beyond the mental. Otherwise, you just obsess in some mental way on the small real estate of your mental life, which in the absence of complete transcendence (samadhi) you imagine as 'the whole thing, the real thing', infinite and vast - unbounded. Sad.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The devil in the details of Transcendental Meditation
On Sep 23, 2011, at 7:15 PM, Yifu wrote: Vaj,,,you're constantly demanding complete Transcendence. Statistically speaking, this is rare; but a partial T. is always more probable, thus the term Transcendental in TM. I don't see that word in Vipassana, so go figure. http://www.yukoart.com/news/ai22_1.html In the Vedanta approach to realization, there are, basically, two methods: samadhi and nondual contemplation. Samadhi practice is used to the point where one has enough suppression of mental factors, that one can appreciate and actually utilize nondual non-meditation: contemplation on and of Brahman. Similarly, in Buddhist practice one might use shamatha or samadhi practice first, and then engage in vipassana meditation, which is much more like nondual (Vedanta: nididhyAsana) contemplation. There are differing advantages to each way. But really, at least from the Buddhist perspective, one can master samadhi and go on to insight (vipaśyanā) OR one can go from insight mastery, then to shamatha/samadhi practice - and then (essentially) unify the two into the nondual View (nondual recognition). There is no limitation on the ways this could happen, as each person has a unique nadi-constituion (or nervous system). We're all unique.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The devil in the details of Transcendental Meditation
On Sep 23, 2011, at 7:24 PM, wgm4u wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: You usually have to be able to transcend for several hours at a time - that level of depth - for the attentional state to be sufficient for real transformation of the person, beyond the mental. Perhaps so, in order to address the buried sub-conscious aberration. I think that is why MMY said you could meditate a million years and not reach CC unless you come to these courses...Fuiggi Fonte, Italy, heard with my own ears. Yes, well the key is to know how to turn off the primitive neurological impulses of the brainstem and the human unconscious. It surprising to find that, somehow, our ancient ancestors figured out how to do this. It's really all about learning this simple trick. After all, once you transcend the mental realm, turning off the unconscious is all that's left to do. The rest pretty much takes care of itself.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Sinister Yogis
On Sep 23, 2011, at 7:50 PM, Bhairitu wrote: He may have been at a gathering in Berkeley around 2000 which a friend put together and invited me and my tantra teacher. There were several there who were writing books on tantra (some were graduate dissertations). What was your first impression?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Post Count
On Sep 23, 2011, at 8:30 PM, Alex Stanley wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, FFL PostCount ffl.postcount@... wrote: Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): Sat Sep 17 00:00:00 2011 End Date (UTC): Sat Sep 24 00:00:00 2011 677 messages as of (UTC) Fri Sep 23 23:53:21 2011 51 maskedzebra no_re...@yahoogroups.com Sorry, Robin, but the flexible, case by case, sometimes let people slide enforcement of the posting limits is no more. This morning, on your 50th post, you even mentioned it was your 50th post. And, only a few minutes later, you posted a 51st. So, you get a week off. If you want to talk offlist Robin, please free to drop me a line.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Another pair of sandals for sale (was Re: Merudanda/Sandals)
On Sep 20, 2011, at 8:10 PM, Mark Landau wrote: Let alone what I've posted here. They do monitor FFL, don't they? Oh yes. Your name has most likely been added to a suppression of negativity yagya or two or three.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Another pair of sandals for sale (was Re: Merudanda/Sandals)
On Sep 21, 2011, at 10:08 AM, Vaj wrote: On Sep 20, 2011, at 8:10 PM, Mark Landau wrote: Let alone what I've posted here. They do monitor FFL, don't they? Oh yes. Your name has most likely been added to a suppression of negativity yagya or two or three. I wonder if this is considered black magic? I'd find it hard to believe that the Vedic pundits of FF were NOT practicing these kinds of rituals. http://www.worldofyagyas.com/yagya-categories/protection/yagya- defeating-enemies Home » Catalog » Yagya Categories » Protection Yagyas YAGYA FOR DEFEATING THE ENEMIES A person in the society who is not in harmony with us is taken away with the help of this yagya. Category: 'A' category, 5 days, 9 pundits: 751 USD 'B' category, 3 days, 7 pundits: 651 USD
Re: [FairfieldLife] David Wants to Fly
On Sep 19, 2011, at 12:16 PM, Bhairitu wrote: On 09/18/2011 04:31 PM, Vaj wrote: http://www.demonoid.me/files/details/2729828/15672248/ Movies : Documentary : DVD Rip : English Documentary about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM movement, focusing on Fairfield, IA and the religious nature of the group. Film has not been released to the public but did well at film festivals. http://www.davidwantstofly.com/ I wonder why it is having problems finding a US distributor? Lynch said he wouldn't interfere. I'm guessing Lichblick Film doesn't know what to do with it or it's potential sales. Even doing a limited run NTSC DVD (about 2000 copies) and placed on Amazon in the US might work. Otherwise either license it to Netflix streaming or Vudu if they think they might make more money with the latter. Thing is the movie Tucker and Dale vs Evil which was shown at Sundance back January 2010, played Europe and Asia and now available on DVD and Bluray was in US distribution limbo until Magnet (owned by Mark Cuban) picked it up. It went pre-theatrical VOD on August 30th (Comcast, Vudu, etc) and limited run in theaters on the 30th of September. It will only be playing at the Shattuck in Berkeley around here. When it goes in theaters the price will drop for VOD so will watching then on Vudu. The only thing I can guess is that the subject matter is so specialized and TM so passe. The guru expose theme may have worn thin as well. There's no market to warrant a release. Can you imagine a film on Est or ISKCON? But it could be all tied up in litigation for all I know. I did wonder if the McCartney and Starr would be doing anymore TM support after their cameo in the film. One wonders if they were aware of any of the dirt that's gone down at all. Dalai Lama flicks are much more in vogue. Have you seen 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama? I was surprised, I expected to be bored to tears. It was actually quite good.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: David Wants to Fly
I believe they had a showing. I'd be very surprised if the library had a copy, it vindicates many of the long-time naysayers of the movement: from sexual to the fact that Mahesh is not a yogi. IOW it wouldn't be the type of movie they would want to have at all. Persinger's testimony on the use of TM with children I found particularly chilling. One's always reluctant to say evil in cases like this, esp. for myself as I had mostly good experiences, but the undertone I run into again and again suggests something darker. On Sep 19, 2011, at 3:30 PM, obbajeeba wrote: I thought I read somewhere on this board that MIU had a copy for the students or a student copy in the library?
[FairfieldLife] Do you speak Christian?
Do you speak Christian? http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/31/do-you-speak-christian/comment-page-64/#comments [Comments added.] Editor's note: Kirby Ferguson is a New York-based writer, filmmaker and speaker who created the web video series Everything is a Remix. His videos, like the one above, can be found on Vimeo, an online community where artists share their films. By John Blake, CNN (CNN)--Can you speak Christian? Have you told anyone I'm born again? Have you walked the aisle to pray the prayer? Did you ever name and claim something and, after getting it, announce, I'm highly blessed and favored? Many Americans are bilingual. They speak a secular language of sports talk, celebrity gossip and current events. But mention religion and some become armchair preachers who pepper their conversations with popular Christian words and trendy theological phrases. If this is you, some Christian pastors and scholars have some bad news: You may not know what you're talking about. They say that many contemporary Christians have become pious parrots. They constantly repeat Christian phrases that they don't understand or distort. Marcus Borg, an Episcopal theologian, calls this practice speaking Christian. He says he heard so many people misusing terms such as born again and salvation that he wrote a book about the practice. People who speak Christian aren't just mangling religious terminology, he says. They're also inventing counterfeit Christian terms such as the rapture as if they were a part of essential church teaching. The rapture, a phrase used to describe the sudden transport of true Christians to heaven while the rest of humanity is left behind to suffer, actually contradicts historic Christian teaching, Borg says. The rapture is a recent invention. Nobody had thought of what is now known as the rapture until about 1850, says Borg, canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. How politicians speak Christian Speaking Christian isn't confined to religion. It's infiltrated politics. Political candidates have to learn how to speak Christian to win elections, says Bill Leonard, a professor of church history at Wake Forest University's School of Divinity in North Carolina. One of our greatest presidents learned this early in his career. Abraham Lincoln was running for Congress when his opponent accused him of not being a Christian. Lincoln often referred to the Bible in his speeches, but he never joined a church or said he was born again like his congressional opponent, Leonard says. Lincoln was less specific about his own experience and, while he used biblical language, it was less distinctively Christian or conversionistic than many of the evangelical preachers thought it should be, Leonard says. Lincoln won that congressional election, but the accusation stuck with him until his death, Leonard says. One recent president, though, knew how to speak Christian fluently. During his 2003 State of the Union address, George W. Bush baffled some listeners when he declared that there was wonder-working power in the goodness of American people. Evangelical ears, though, perked up at that phrase. It was an evangelical favorite, drawn from a popular 19^th century revival hymn about the wonder-working power of Christ called In the Precious Blood of the Lamb. Leonard says Bush was sending a coded message to evangelical voters: I'm one of you. The code says that one: I'm inside the community. And two: These are the linguistic ways that I show I believe what is required of me, Leonard says. Have you 'named it and claimed it'? Ordinary Christians do what Bush did all the time, Leonard says. They use coded Christian terms like verbal passports--flashing them gains you admittance to certain Christian communities. Say you've met someone who is Pentecostal or charismatic, a group whose members believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as healing and speaking in tongues. If you want to signal to that person that you share their belief, you start talking about receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost or getting the second blessings, Leonard says. Translation: Getting a baptism by water or sprinkling isn't enough for some Pentecostals and charismatics. A person needs a baptism in the spirit to validate their Christian credentials. Or say you've been invited to a megachurch that proclaims the prosperity theology (God will bless the faithful with wealth and health). You may hear what sounds like a new language. Prosperity Christians don't say I want that new Mercedes. They say they are going to believe for a new Mercedes. They don't say I want a promotion. They say I name and claim a promotion. The rationale behind both phrases is that what one speaks aloud in faith will come to pass. The prosperity dialect has become so popular that Leonard has added his own wrinkle. I call it 'name it, claim it, grab it and have it,' he says with a chuckle. Some forms of speaking
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: David Wants to Fly
On Sep 19, 2011, at 6:53 PM, nablusoss1008 wrote: Perhaps they are not into watching trash much. So you've seen it Nabby?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 18, 2011, at 12:53 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Just looking at the posts on FFL I see it is the same ol' same ol' IOW people stuck in the past with little interest in the present or future. I downloaded the video and got a little sick of the naive descriptions and TM buzzwords. Many of the saints probably have about the same level of experience of some of the members here. After all we're mainly a bunch of old farts who have been practicing some form of sadhana for years (TM or otherwise) and saints are about the same thing. But ya know some folks still believe in Superman. I know, I feel the same way. And I have to say Anandamayi Ma, while praised by many, seemed to have way too many rather apparent signs of mental illness. That anyone could consider MMY a SAINT or of any major importance after all the revelations on him that have come to light in the last decade or two needs to have their head examined. It's great he helped popularize meditation, but beyond that, he's just another Hindu Donald Trump…with less morals. The most poignant part of his whole soliloquy was the fact all the dandi sanyasis were outraged that Mahesh was teaching meditation. They knew.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 18, 2011, at 4:43 PM, Bhairitu wrote: I will say that Anandamayi Ma, if indeed who MMY brought with him to our TTC, glowed like a light bulb. It is a face I'll never forget. Some folks insist she never left India so maybe MMY smuggled her out or she traveled at the speed of thought to Europe. The woman he brought with him looks like Ma's pictures. My tantra teacher also visited her and said she was a very kind and humble soul. Folks on the TTC called her Maharishi's girlfriend. ;-) Oh yes, I remember you telling that story before. Well many people respected her, your observation just adds to that long list. However it still does not subtract from the fact other sages have often reacted negatively towards Mahesh. The movement take was often oh, they're just jealous, but I think it's too widespread to be written off so easily. Baghavan Das once said that he thought it was easier to do sadhana in the US than in India. It's always great to have a support system present for what you're doing, whatever it is. Americans in general aren't that supportive of Pagan religions. To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!'Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: fairfieldlife-dig...@yahoogroups.com fairfieldlife-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: fairfieldlife-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[FairfieldLife] David Wants to Fly
http://www.demonoid.me/files/details/2729828/15672248/ Movies : Documentary : DVD Rip : English Documentary about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM movement, focusing on Fairfield, IA and the religious nature of the group. Film has not been released to the public but did well at film festivals. http://www.davidwantstofly.com/ SYNOPSIS To meet master film director David Lynch in person and talk to him about filmmaking! A dream come true for young David Sieveking, who first finds himself sitting face-to-face with his idol in spring 2006. The meeting takes place on the periphery of a workshop in the USA where Lynch is giving a talk on the sources of creativity. Paramount among them is transcendental meditation (TM), a technique the cult filmmaker has reputedly practiced daily for over thirty years. But he had never before spoken about it in public. Could TM be the mystery behind Lynch’s dark, inscrutable films? Although the location of the workshop – the Maharishi University of Enlightenment in Iowa – does strike David, the young filmmaker from Berlin, as somewhat strange, it is also mysterious and fascinating. Maharishi? Wasn’t that the legendary 1960s guru – guiding light of the hippie movement, savior of the western world and personal spiritual tutor of the Beatles? An entirely new chapter in the life of David Sieveking has begun. Fairfield, Iowa is a new world where everything seems possible – even flying, without the aid of any machinery! Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation, promised creativity, health, professional success, world peace and no less than “heaven on earth”. David Sieveking decides to take the personal advice of the great David Lynch and begins to practice TM himself. Even master film directors start as novices, after all. And the best thing about it: TM is easy to do. Not cheap, but easy! Funded by donations Maharishi and his followers built up an unparalleled global enterprise with the global headquarters in the Netherlands; a world peace center in India; a clandestine “TM world government” in the Swiss Alps; over 20 “Invincible Universities” have been founded and there are obscure gated camps dedicated to “yogic flying”. For the second time, David Sieveking discovers a whole new world. The more research the young filmmaker does, the more discrepancies surface. Suddenly TM apostates start contacting him, former high-ups in the organization who claime to have been ruined by the Maharishi – financially as well as psychologically. Should he believe them? Is TM just a cynical money machine after all, as critics maintain, or a guru sect gone haywire? Throughout the odyssee that follows David Sieveking never loses the sly sense of humor that gives this surprising film its strength, elegance and ambiguous charm. Peers: 17 seeders, 0 leechers, 17 total
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 18, 2011, at 8:53 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Yoga ain't a religion. No, it's more like a way to remodel your own nervous system. Makes me feel sorry for those still trapped in a nervous system of others making. It's your nervous system!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 17, 2011, at 3:20 AM, maskedzebra wrote: MZ: Here's where you give yourself away, Vaj, for no one who has transcended through TM can ever transcend that transcendence. You are substituting a concept or belief you have for an experience which you have never had. Else you wouldn't be caught dead saying this. I know of not one person—or at least not one initiator—in the world who has successfully eliminated from the memory of his her her mind and physiology the effect of doing TM. I think you need to get out more. Most people are only convinced they're transcending, through suggestion. 99.9% of people simply transcend into a lulling layer, a laya. Those that happen to rarely transcend are usually quite obvious: they run around telling people they're enlightened.
[FairfieldLife] Half of Dutch teenagers regularly have a mild psychotic experience: study
Half of Dutch teenagers regularly have a mild psychotic experience: study September 16th, 2011 in Psychology Psychiatry Mild psychotic experiences, such as delusive ideas or moderate feelings of paranoia, regularly occur among adolescents. Of the almost 7700 Dutch young people aged 12 to 16 years who were investigated by NWO researcher Hanneke Wigman during her doctoral research, about 40% reported that they often had such an experience. Wigman will defend her doctorate on Friday 16 September at Utrecht University. There are five types of 'mild psychotic experiences' according to the researcher: hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, megalomania and paranormal convictions. Examples are hearing voices, the feeling that thoughts are being taken out of your head or the feeling that people are acting differently from what they are. These experiences are milder in nature than those of a psychosis, one of the most severe psychiatric disorders. Using self-reports, Hanneke Wigman compared the prevalence of such psychotic experiences in teenagers (12-16 years) and adult women (18-45 years). This revealed that about 40% of the teenagers regularly have at least one of the five forms of psychotic experience, compared to just 2% of the adult women. The researcher also noticed the differences between teenage boys and teenage girls. For example, megalomania was reported more often by boys than girls. Hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and paranormal convictions occurred more among girls. Typical for adolescence The research results suggest that mild psychotic experiences are typical for adolescence. 'Adolescence is a period in which feelings of uncertainty play a role. Young people become more aware of themselves and are often sensitive for their changing social environment. That makes them more susceptible to paranoid thoughts and observations, for example,' explains Hanneke Wigman. Adolescents find it harder than adults to distinguish between important and unimportant internal and external stimuli. This means, for example, that they are more susceptible to hallucinations. Wigman has also shown that the mild psychotic experiences undergone can change during adolescence. 'Some young people have many such experiences at the start of adolescence that decrease later in adolescence, but there are also young people who experience it the other way round,' says the researcher. Persistent For most young people, mild psychotic experiences are transient in nature. If young people experience something like that then they do not need to panic according to the researcher. 'But,' says Wigman, 'if the symptoms persist or other symptoms develop in conjunction with these then help should be sought.' This is because the researcher discovered that under certain conditions, such as cannabis use, the bottling up of problems, genetic susceptibility or a traumatic event, psychotic experiences can persist. Such persistent experiences in young people increase the risk of a psychosis or depression at a later age. New group in view With her research, Wigman has gained a better understanding of the group of adolescents who have persistent mild psychotic experiences but nevertheless belong to the normal population (they have not been admitted to a clinic, for example). This group did not receive sufficient attention during previous research into psychosis. That is because to date, the researchers mainly focused on people with a ‘particularly high risk’ of developing a psychosis or people who had already experienced one or more psychoses. A greater focus on intervention in the group of people with persistent psychotic experiences could lead to the postponement, alleviation or even prevention of a psychosis at a later age. Provided by Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Half of Dutch teenagers regularly have a mild psychotic experience: study. September 16th, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-dutch-teenagers-regularly-mild-psychotic.html
Re: [FairfieldLife] Fwd: Recent video by Peter Wallace
Another Kool-Aide-a-Holic fool. On Sep 16, 2011, at 12:12 PM, Dick Mays wrote: Begin forwarded message: Subject: Recent video by Peter Wallace Very precious, some of same material as MUM talk, but extra depth in other areas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOeh-dH97nUfeature=relmfu
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Fwd: Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 16, 2011, at 4:10 PM, maskedzebra wrote: If you will permit me to say so, vajradhatu, this judgment does not produce the experiential evidence (immediate, intimate, since it must be based upon *what you travelled through in watching that video*) of its truthfulness. Sure one can pluck the words PW uses *right out of the context within which they were uttered* and make them do what you want them to do. Certainly, someone else other than PW could say the very same thing, and the impression thus created justify what you charge him with here in this post. But that's not what I get off of this video. It would probably be impossible, IMO, for most hard-core TM teachers to not empathize with Mr. Wallace. Such story-telling reawakens such tender, long-lost ghosts of memory. It's the same kind of stuff TMers would stay up at night talking about to the wee hours of the morn, story after story, on course after course. So when such stories invoke that sentimental past, we're often hooked. Of course, once he started waxing philosophically on Keith, who unbeknownst to most hardcore TM fans, was exposed for staging the data in the Scientific American article decades ago. Yep, that's right, Wallace staged the famous TM gives deep rest, deeper than sleep canard. But of course now we know that most TM research data was massaged. Damned statistics!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 16, 2011, at 6:05 PM, maskedzebra wrote: RESPONSE: These remarks don't represent the experiential context of TM. Are you a meditator? a former TM teacher? Not that (if you are not a TMer) this invalidates your point of view—but I feel as if I am reading about the experience and perspective of someone who did not submit himself to the Puja—nor to the transcendent movement within his mind, of TM itself. As far as TM is concerned, I intuit you are tone-deaf [when it comes to TM]. But standing apart from this, of course you are legitimately entitled to your evaluation of the merits of my impression of Peter Wallace. I'm as experienced as just about anyone here. So, yes, I'm quite familiar with the puja, TM, etc. If you have never gone down on your knees in front of the portrait of Guru Dev, your comments make much more sense to me. Just as Rick Archer's guests on BatGap (unless, like Phil Goldberg they are connected to TM and Maharishi) no nothing of what appears to be the unique context of spiritual reality one comes to know (and it stays with one) through TM—and most emphatically through initiating people into this practice. All those, especially initiators, on this forum share a common metaphysical denominator: I think you would have to have join the club to really appreciate Peter Wallace. But perhaps I am myself just failing to get the biological and psychological evidence of your association with TM. TM and MMY: these are realities which make themselves familiar to us in the deepest way; at least this is what I have found since I began to meditate. And then initiating people into TM—that takes things to yet another level. If Keith Wallace did what you say he did, then that was wrong. But it (this act by Peter's brother) does not impugn the truthfulness of the impression that Peter Wallace made on me. I see Peter's particular sentimentality merely as a peculiar form of suffering typical to hard-core TMers. I do not believe it requires that one be a TM teacher, but those that are find it hardest, if not impossible to shake. You seem held up on the level of *content* alone; seemingly lacking the quality of TM engrams in your nervous system which would make you really know what is going on. Not that I would recommend you take up the practice of TM. Once the effect of TM's transcending is transcended, it can be dropped like old clothing one no longer desires in the slightest. But one would need to make the foundational shift, and heart-felt decision, to do so. So, to me, Peter's dronings are like watching an old man wearing long worn out clothing that's he's never been able to remove. I guess I would characterize the feeling I get as pathetic. If you are a meditator, much less a former initiator, then my intuition has failed me in a serious way. And this concerns me. You see, vajradhatu, the effects of TM (and even MMY)—and initiating—they go well beyond our conscious awareness. At that level you seem an innocent. Sorry to disappoint. While my attorney recommends I do not discuss my involvement with TM and the TM Org, I will say I did spend one Guru-purinima day in FF with you, repeating the puju over and over again, to magnify it's effect. While at that time it might have seemed important, now it just seems to be what it is: a poet and Sanskrit scholar's old devotions that Mahesh was told to throw away by Swami Brahmananda - but a poem he kept secretly...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Recent video by Peter Wallace
On Sep 16, 2011, at 6:59 PM, Sal Sunshine wrote: Another Kool-Aide-a-Holic fool. And an incredibly boring one as well. I wonder what kind of narcissism would lead someone to believe that other people would actually listen raptly to them going on in the same toneless monologue for, what~~ 40 minutes?? Well his friend really enjoyed the Vedic Amway vibe from the expressions on his face. Mark, meet Peter. If he can get any kind of a crowd to listen to him without falling asleep within 10 minutes, maybe you can get more than 10 bucks for the sandals. LOL!
[FairfieldLife] Chomsky Explains One of The Main reasons for the attack on Social Security
The whole article is well worth reading. But I think, myself, that there’s a more subtle reason why they're opposed to it, and I think it’s rather similar to the reason for the effort to pretty much dismantle the public education system. Social Security is based on a principle. It’s based on the principle that you care about other people. You care whether the widow across town, a disabled widow, is going to be able to have food to eat. And that’s a notion you have to drive out of people’s heads. The idea of solidarity, sympathy, mutual support, that’s doctrinally dangerous. The preferred doctrines are just care about yourself, don't care about anyone else. That’s a very good way to trap and control people. And the very idea that we're in it together, that we care about each other, that we have responsibility for one another, that’s sort of frightening to those who want a society which is dominated by power, authority, wealth, in which people are passive and obedient. And I suspect—I don’t know how to measure it exactly, but I think that that’s a considerable part of the drive on the part of small, privileged sectors to undermine a very efficient, very effective system on which a large part of the population relies, actually relies more than ever, because wealth, personal wealth, was very much tied up in the housing market. That was people’s personal wealth. Well, OK, that, quite predictably, totally collapsed. People aren't destitute by the standards of, say, slums in India or southern Africa, but very many are suffering severely. And they have nothing else to rely on, but the pittance that they're getting from Social Security. To take that away would be just disastrous. © 2011 Democracy Now! All rights reserved. View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/152398/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Chomsky Explains One of The Main reasons for the attack on Social Security
by a Holocaust denier (Pierre Guillaume). He has praised Holocaust deniers, endorsed their political and academic credentials, collaborated in their propaganda campaigns, and whitewashed their anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi agenda. He signed a petition in support of Faurisson's denials of the Holocaust; although he claimed that he was only expressing solidarity with his right to free speech, the petition that Chomsky signed dignified Faurisson's writings by affirming his scholarly credentials (a respected professor of document criticism); describing his lies as extensive historical research; placing the term Holocaust in derisory quotation marks; and portraying his lies as findings (a very typical Chomsky propaganda technique). More obscenely, Chomsky added that I sign innumerable petitions of this nature, and do not recall ever having refused to sign one. At the time of this controversy, Chomsky had just finished publicly bragging about his outspoken refusal to sign petitions calling for human rights in Communist Vietnam--even as it massacred many hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese men, women, and children en masse and drowned at sea hundreds of thousands more. On that occasion, he had explained that public protest is a political act, to be judged in terms of its likely human consequences, which included the likelihood that the American media would distort and exploit it for their propagandistic purposes. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, anitaoaks4u@... no_reply@... wrote: That's why most Republicans want to reform it to keep it viable, (even the Democrats realize that). Romney would be an excellent choice in November 2012! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: The whole article is well worth reading. But I think, myself, that there's a more subtle reason why they're opposed to it, and I think it's rather similar to the reason for the effort to pretty much dismantle the public education system. Social Security is based on a principle. It's based on the principle that you care about other people. You care whether the widow across town, a disabled widow, is going to be able to have food to eat. And that's a notion you have to drive out of people's heads. The idea of solidarity, sympathy, mutual support, that's doctrinally dangerous. The preferred doctrines are just care about yourself, don't care about anyone else. That's a very good way to trap and control people. And the very idea that we're in it together, that we care about each other, that we have responsibility for one another, that's sort of frightening to those who want a society which is dominated by power, authority, wealth, in which people are passive and obedient. And I suspect—I don't know how to measure it exactly, but I think that that's a considerable part of the drive on the part of small, privileged sectors to undermine a very efficient, very effective system on which a large part of the population relies, actually relies more than ever, because wealth, personal wealth, was very much tied up in the housing market. That was people's personal wealth. Well, OK, that, quite predictably, totally collapsed. People aren't destitute by the standards of, say, slums in India or southern Africa, but very many are suffering severely. And they have nothing else to rely on, but the pittance that they're getting from Social Security. To take that away would be just disastrous. © 2011 Democracy Now! All rights reserved. View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/152398/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Elitist thinking (Was Re: The unreasonable price of TM instruction)
On Sep 2, 2011, at 7:13 AM, seekliberation wrote: And, as MMY pointed out, the point of raising the price was to attract the super-wealthy because they set the policies of the world and the rich do not shop at poor stores. That almost sounds like Reaganomics in terms of spirituality. Trickle-down enlightenment?
[FairfieldLife] Michele Bachmann declares own candidacy a warning from God
http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2011/08/31/michele-bachmann-declares-own- candidacy-a-warning-from-god/ Michele Bachmann declares own candidacy a warning from God Following controversial remarks that the recent earthquake and storm on America’s east coast were a sign of God’s wrath, Michele Bachmann today added to her portents of doom by declaring that her own candidacy for the Republican presidential ticket in 2012 is the surest sign yet that the end times must be near. ‘I don’t think there’s a weatherman in America who doubts that Hurricane Irene was a meteorological message from God that we need to rein in government spending and slash the deficit now,’ said Bachmann today. ‘But I can’t help feeling that the Almighty is also trying to tell us something else, something more fundamental about the fall of America, by calling on me, Michele Bachmann, to run for the position of leader of the world’s most influential country.’ Although Bachmann has previously riled Democrats with her staunchly pro-life views and denial of climate change, her latest pronouncement on the manifestation of God’s will has struck a chord with her opponents. ‘Maybe we were too quick to judge her when she claimed that The Lion King soundtrack was recruiting children to homosexuality,’ said Nancy Pelosi, former Democrat Speaker. ‘And maybe putting her face on condoms to promote abstinence really was the right thing to do. But there’s no doubting she’s really hit the nail on the head this time.’ ‘Imagine it – perhaps the conservatives have been right all along,’ continued Pelosi. ‘Maybe Glenn Beck is God’s punishment for America promoting same-sex marriage. I bet it’s all there in the Book of Revelations – the first harbinger of the apocalypse being the Presidency of Michele Bachmann. Either way, if she gets into the White House, He’s definitely going to be a one-term deity.’
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Michele Bachmann declares own candidacy a warning from God
On Sep 1, 2011, at 9:58 AM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, richardwillytexwilliams willytex@... wrote: Vaj: I don't think there's a weatherman in America who doubts that Hurricane Irene was a meteorological message from God ... This is a LIE! For once I agree with Willytex. Everyone who is anyone, spiritually, knows that Hurricane Irene was caused by us Atheists. I'm pretty sure it was caused by the homoxuals. They're responsible for earthquakes too.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Michele Bachmann declares own candidacy a warning from God
On Sep 1, 2011, at 11:30 AM, turquoiseb wrote: Homoxual, for those who think Vaj made a typo: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Homoxual Actually I was using it in the form Jerry Seinfeld uses it: it's how his dear mother pronounces homosexual. BS, Vaj. How much hot air -- or hot *anything*, for that matter, can someone who hasn't gotten laid in ages, whatever their sexual preference, generate? We Atheists get the hot babes, cuz they're attracted to the Bad Boy thang, and we've got that in spades, especially if they're Catholic or Jewish or Wannabe- Hindu babes. A secondary shitstorm of hurricane-inducing hot air is, in fact, often created *as* we Atheists score, and the babes in question have to figure out what to scream while in the throes of orgasm. After all, Oh God...God...God! is right out. :-) The introduction of the Wand of Adam into the rectum disrupts the muladhara-chakra, which exacerbates the JHVH-1 fields around the naughty couple. This invokes the wrath of JHVH-1, thus causing innumerable natural disasters. So you see it's all easily explained by creation science. The coherence from the Megachurches can only do so much. Fortunately Marcus has a cure.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Michele Bachmann declares own candidacy a warning from God
On Sep 1, 2011, at 2:17 PM, Sal Sunshine wrote: On Sep 1, 2011, at 6:46 AM, Vaj wrote: http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2011/08/31/michele-bachmann-declares- own-candidacy-a-warning-from-god/ Michele Bachmann declares own candidacy a warning from God LOL...I love their slogan: The news before it happens… Apparently it's UK version of The Onion...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The unreasonable price of TM instruction
On Aug 30, 2011, at 8:54 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: On Aug 30, 2011, at 7:10 PM, sparaig wrote: David Orme-Johnson's rebuttal to the study that graphic is from. I have no idea if what David says is valid, truthful, or whatever, but this is the other side of the story, at least: http://www.TruthAboutTM.org/truth/TMResearch/ RebuttalofAHRQReview/index.cfm It was no doubt devastating for him and the other researcher TB's. Unless, of course, the criticisms leveled at the study are valid. DId you read any of them? Years ago. At this point TM researchers have established a bad reputation for themselves and a long running trend of deception and fraud. We shouldn't look to them for honest research any longer, it's just too long of a trend to be able to trust them. In fact the only place TM research is accepted, is in non-English speaking countries that are removed from the criticisms leveled at the org, which are primarily in English. Their ignorance is their short-lived bliss. The current Wikipedia entry for TM says it nicely, as it was reviewed by Medical Doctors trained in research review: Independent systematic reviews have not found health benefits for TM beyond relaxation and health education.[12][68][69] It is difficult to determine definitive effects of meditation practices in healthcare, as the quality of research has design limitations and a lack of methodological rigor.[12][70][71] Part of this difficulty is because studies have the potential for bias due to the connection of researchers to the TM organization, and enrollment of subjects with a favorable opinion of TM.[72][73]
[FairfieldLife] Allah Sent the Earthquake to Punish America
The good news is Allah must be getting weaker, perhaps he's in ill health or dying? Perhaps a rapid influx of Martyrs in Islamo-heaven has destabilized the economy there? All he was able to do was to nudge some pictures askew and knock some knick-knacks off their shelves. Behold, the weakness of Allah! Allah Sent the Earthquake to Punish America! August 30, 2011 at 12:32 pm Ed Brayton Here’s an amusing twist on our theme from the last few days, a crazy Muslim claiming that the earthquake was sent by Allah to punish America. According to a posting titled “Allah’s punishment on Americans” on the Shoumokh Al-Islam jihadi forum by someone writing under the name Abu Ibrahim, “Allah has struck New York and the capital city Washington by an earthquake as a punishment for their disbelief.” “Such a little earthquake that measured 6.0 has terrified the tyrant American people and forced them to leave their houses and places of work,” Ibrahim continued… “[T]his earthquake is a warning to the crusaders to stop their infidel policy, abandon their crusader religion and convert to the true Islamic religion,” Ibrahim explained. “If they don’t listen and don’t stop, Allah will strike them again by an earthquake or a hurricane. You have no other way but to repent and move away from your path that will take you to the abyss.” And now…irony! Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition actually makes fun of that Muslim absurdity: That didn’t take long. Islamists are already crowing that the earthquake was a warning from Allah against the perfidious, materialistic, and thoroughly vapid Great American Satan… or something to that effect. Thankfully, the most damage “Angry Allah” did was knock off some pictures from the shelves and turn some pictures a bit askew. Apart from a handful of nighttime aftershocks and perhaps a few terrified little ones taking the opportunity to snuggle in mom and dad’s bed, the vast majority of Allah’s so-called wrath added up to your average Christmas party with the relatives. No deaths, no injuries, and minor damage. Maybe you should tell that to your own allies, like Joseph Farah, Pat Robertson, Daniel Lapin and many Christian right leaders who are claiming the same thing.
[FairfieldLife] Atheist registry
Ed Brayton notes over at Dispatches from the Culture War that internet pastor Mike Stahl has come up with an interesting idea to assist Christians in day-to-day life. According to Stahl, the nation should set up an “Atheist Registry” in order to provide an updated list of anyone who is a “self-proclaimed atheist,” just as you would do for people convicted of sex crimes or associating with terrorist groups. Yes, atheists are apparently just that dangerous. Stahl wrote his original proposal last year, where he explained his reasoning behind the registry. “Now , many (especially the atheists ) , may ask “Why do this , what’s the purpose ?” Duhhh , Mr. Atheist , for the same purpose many States put the names and photos of convicted sex offenders and other ex-felons on the I-Net – to INFORM the public ! Although Stahl’s registry would only have a name and perhaps picture of the avowed, publicly declared atheist, and no physical address, he also believes that knowing who are the atheists in your neighborhood could lead to a wonderful opportunity to try and convert, too! ” “Perhaps we may actually know some . In which case we could begin to witness to them and warn them of the dangers of atheism . Or perhaps they are radical atheists , whose hearts are as hard as Pharaoh’s , in that case , if they are business owners , we would encourage all our Christian friends , as well as the various churches and their congregations NOT to patronize them as we would only be “feeding” Satan .” Although Stahl came up with his grand plan nearly a year ago, he reposted it recently to his facebook page in order to get some fresh thoughts on his God-fearing brainstorm, causing a storm of activity that forced him both to delete the link and put his blog on private. It’s probably a bad sign when an internet pastor has to hide himself on the internet. Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/pastor-compares-atheists-to- terrorists-sex-offenders-suggests-national-registry.html#ixzz1WbNMVTXS
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The unreasonable price of TM instruction
On Aug 31, 2011, at 9:56 AM, sparaig wrote: THose same reviews say the same about virtually all other meditation studies. L Fortunately much non-TM meditation research continues to improve. In fact classes to train young scientists in this science continue to sell out, as do the Mind and Life conferences.
Re: [FairfieldLife] The unreasonable price of TM instruction
On Aug 30, 2011, at 4:30 PM, Bhairitu wrote: They're just beej mantras, Lawson. Nothing really unique about them. Get over it. You could get the same results or better with other techniques but no one else wants to spend the money to do so. Only corporate meditation companies do so. :-D Actually independent researchers found that regular mantra meditation lowered blood pressure better than TM - actually so did everything else. TM, it turned out was the worst at lowering BP. See Files TM Research TM-BPDeception.jpg The TM Blood Pressure Deception: Don't believe the lies in the FFL files section.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Vippassana is a myth-interpretation of enlightenment
On Aug 30, 2011, at 3:27 PM, sparaig wrote: Let me parse this in a more honest phrasing: More and more, I'm starting to believe that Vippassana practice is a misinterprÂetation of the situation that an enlighteneÂd person is naturally in. I don't understand vipassana and it's many varieties in sutra, tantra and dzogchen, so I'm projecting my fears onto my lack of understanding and my lack of direct experience. I don't understand why TM is a form of shamatha. I have no idea what the differences are between vipassana and shamatha or what it means to join the two. Long-term TM practice leads to a situation where pure consciousnÂess is seen as always present, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TM-bots claims some rather insubstantial findings represent some thing called pure consciousness even though there's nothing convincing to suggest any such thing - it's merely a belief I'm obsessed with - but it's all I have after all these years, so I continue to obsess on it. A trick of how we describe our self is that we always choose the most constant aspect of our internal landscape and call it our self. When pure consciousnÂess is the most constant aspect of our internal landscape, we naturally call it self. I was taught to believe this by my TM indoctrination and so therefore it's true, for me. I'm a believer. The quality of pure consciousnÂess during meditation practice is simply awareNESS, period. Pure consciousnÂess in normal activity is non-judgemÂental, non-changiÂng, awareNESS of all objects of attention. In other words, once you identify pure consciousness as self, then you are always aware OF everythinÂg that goes on and you are always non-judgemÂental because you ARE pure consciousnÂess: the unchanging watchfulneÂss aspect of any state of consciousnÂess. Some more beliefs I have acquired. I'll take even the flimsiest evidence to prevent myself from having to question this belief I hold. In fact, I project this belief onto the thought-free states I attain in my TM practice, by direct experience. I was told these thought-free states are the same as pure consciousness, and I believe it is true because they told me it was.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The unreasonable price of TM instruction
On Aug 30, 2011, at 6:00 PM, sparaig wrote: A pretty picture with no attribution, doesn't prove anything at all. I hope you realize this and are merely being a troll. Otherwise, you're really far worse off than I thought. Pop a nitro and then you can find it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation -scroll down and keep your eyes on the right hand side. It's been well known and much discussed for a long time now, that TM is the worst meditation technique at lowering blood pressure. Even regular mantra meditation did a better job.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: The unreasonable price of TM instruction
On Aug 30, 2011, at 7:10 PM, sparaig wrote: David Orme-Johnson's rebuttal to the study that graphic is from. I have no idea if what David says is valid, truthful, or whatever, but this is the other side of the story, at least: http://www.TruthAboutTM.org/truth/TMResearch/RebuttalofAHRQReview/index.cfm It was no doubt devastating for him and the other researcher TB's.
Re: [FairfieldLife] My HS Yearbook Photo
On Aug 29, 2011, at 4:34 PM, Rick Archer wrote: http://searchsummit.com/HS_YearbookPhoto.jpg I was stoned. Yes, but you were enjoying life to it's fullest! How prophetic was that! You were obviously pre-disposed to the transcendent since it was observed you were quiet…already stoned on silence? :-)
[FairfieldLife] 8 Ways Conservatives Abuse History ... and the Truth
8 Ways Conservatives Abuse History ... and the Truth By Zachary Newkirk, The Nation Posted on August 22, 2011, Printed on August 29, 2011 http://www.alternet.org/story/152131/8_ways_conservatives_abuse_history_..._and_the_truth The following article first appeared on the Web site of The Nation. For more great content from the Nation, sign up for its e-mail newsletters here. The mortgage crisis began in 2006 and it’s all President Obama’s fault—at least according to Fox News host Sean Hannity. Hannity recently blamed Obama—“his policies, his economic plan, his fault”—for the mortgage crisis, ignoring who was actually president (that would be George W. Bush) as the housing market slipped. Hannity’s is just one example of the selective memory and historical revision frequently on display in the conservative movement. Right-wing pundits, politicians and pseudo-historians are nibbling away at objective historical truths to rewrite history for present-day purposes, and hardly any topic is off-limits: glorifying the “Reagan Revolution” to children, sugarcoating the Jim Crow South and revising textbooks to offer a favorable view on Phyllis Schlafly—among many others. Below, read about eight ways in which conservatives try to rewrite, sugarcoat or ignore aspects of American history. 1. Michele Bachmann on the founding fathers and slavery. Propelled to the front of the Republican field after her victory in the Iowa straw poll, Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann’s historical views are notoriously error-prone. In one her infamous gaffes, she said the founding fathers “work[ed] tirelessly to end slavery” (in fact, George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves) and that John Quincy Adams was a founding father—he was born in 1767. Bachmann was a research assistant to John Eidsmoe for his 1987 book Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of our Founding Fathers, in which Eidsmoe wrote, “The church and the state have separate spheres of authority, but both derive authority from God. In that sense America, like [Old Testament] Israel, is a theocracy.” And at a conference, Eidsmoe outlined his belief in church/state separation: “The church’s responsibility is to teach biblical principles of government and to drive sinners to the cross The function of the state is to follow those godly principles and preserve a system of order.” Bachmann has praised Eidsmoe as “absolutely brilliant. He taught me about so many aspects about our godly heritage.” 2. Secession was fine, dandy and legal. Texas Governor and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry is fond of pro-secession comments; in 2009, he joked that “we can leave anytime we want. So we’re kind of thinking about that again.” In his dreams. In fact, these attempts at humor sidestep what secession actually leads to: a nullification crisis, a Civil War, hundreds of thousands of casualties and the federal government as the victor anyway. And secession is illegal. In 1866 the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that Texas’s ordinance of secession was “absolutely null.” Perry isn’t the only Republican to make such comments. Congressman Zach Wamp alluded to secession and Georgia’s Senate passed a secession-related bill in 2009. 3. Forgetting September 11? Conservatives have an uncanny ability to misremember when the September 11 attacks occurred. In July, Fox News host Eric Bolling said “we were certainly safe between 2000 and 2008 — I don’t remember any terrorist attacks on American soil during that period of time.” (In his “apology,” he accepted no blame: “Yesterday, I misspoke when saying that there were no US terror attacks during the Bush years. Obviously, I meant in the aftermath of 9/11, but that is when the radical liberal left pounced on us…. thank you liberals for reminding me how petty you can be.”) A surprising slip came from ex–New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In January 2010 he claimed that “we had no domestic attacks under Bush.” In December 2009 Mary Matalin made the outrageous claim that Bush inherited the attacks from Bill Clinton. In November 2009 Bush’s ex–Press Secretary Dana Perino said “we did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term.” 4. Mike Huckabee’s “Learn Our History.” Mike Huckabee’s cartoon history series is whitewashing American history. While claiming to engage children in an easy-to-digest format without “misrepresentations…historical inaccuracies, personal biases and political correctness,” personal biases somehow make an appearance. Each video is produced with consultation from Learn Our History’s “Council of Masters;” one “Master,” Larry Schweikart, is the author of 48 Liberal Lies About American History, including “Lie #45: LBJ’s Great Society Had a Positive Impact on the Poor.” In a DVD on the “Reagan Revolution,” viewers are invited to “journey to a time when America suffered from financial,
Re: [FairfieldLife] Dawkins Destroys Perry on Evolution
On Aug 27, 2011, at 10:56 PM, Rick Archer wrote: I'd love to see Dawkins debate Perry on live TV, wouldn't you? Or Obama for that matter. The problem with Dawkins is even moderate Christians will have an easy time hating him, as he is one of the evil A's. The labels Atheist or Atheism are sure-fire thought-stoppers for most believers. Thus they would perceive Dawkins as picking on Perry and as unfair. Unfortunately Perry's got two things Americans love: movie star good looks and a macho demeanor. Many men and women will vote for him for that simple reason. God and Jesus believers will vote for him simply because of his superstitious and anti-science beliefs.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Just learned...
On Aug 26, 2011, at 10:32 PM, Ravi Yogi wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Yogi raviyogi@ wrote: Snip But Hinduism gets too complicated, too many paradoxes, ups and downs, too many inconsistencies, like the beloved. It takes love, faith, trust and commitment. Only with love can you accept a person in totality. No wonder the majority of Americans including Vaj, Barry and Curtis choose Buddhism. Little Hindu triumphalism huh Ravi? Ethno-centric bias is so predictable. So you were born in that part of the world and amazingly enough conclude that the stories they tell are the rightest ones. How convenient! Hmm, no, not right stories, the wrong ones too, the good , bad and the ugly, stories of love and hatred, war and peace, life in its all fullness. Buddhism is just Hindu's bastard child, more of a child born out of a fling with the whore (intellect). The pain, suffering, consistent message of this bastard child is always attractive to the likes of pain projecting liberals like you. Pretty naive statement. What you have to realize Ravi is that Shakyamuni Buddha is just the primary Buddha of this era - there were Buddhas before him and there were Buddhas after him. In fact, some believe that Shiva is a corruption of a great Bonpo Buddha associated with the kingdom of Xhang Xhung (the area around current Mt. Kailash). Some of the Vedic rishis would be Buddhas as well...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Just learned...
On Aug 26, 2011, at 11:42 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: -- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Yogi raviyogi@... wrote: Buddhism is just Hindu's bastard child, more of a child born out of a fling with the whore (intellect). The pain, suffering, consistent message of this bastard child is always attractive to the likes of pain projecting liberals like you. Why would you use the term projection while doing just that? I am not a Buddhist. I not a pain projecting liberal, whatever that means. Weird game Ravi. Weird game. Weird guy, weird guy. I think his whore gave him a spiritual STD. :-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Just learned...
On Aug 25, 2011, at 10:24 AM, cardemaister wrote: ... that Steve Jobs is a Buddhist, according to Wikipedia! Well, I guess almost everyone knew that already... Sri Jobs actually took off, long ago, in search of himself to India, backpacking and hitchhiking around that country. The trip culminated with him being taken high to the hills above Rishikesh and having his head shaved by his guru. He returned to America with a shaved head and dressed in Indian clothing. From that silence sequentially unfolded the Macintosh...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Just learned...
On Aug 26, 2011, at 8:44 AM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: On Aug 25, 2011, at 10:24 AM, cardemaister wrote: ... that Steve Jobs is a Buddhist, according to Wikipedia! Well, I guess almost everyone knew that already... Sri Jobs actually took off, long ago, in search of himself to India, backpacking and hitchhiking around that country. The trip culminated with him being taken high to the hills above Rishikesh and having his head shaved by his guru. He returned to America with a shaved head and dressed in Indian clothing. From that silence sequentially unfolded the Macintosh... Plus a little help from having stolen the entire concept from Xerox Parc labs. :-) Sri Jobs had cognized the graphical GUI while in India; Xerox, taking advantage of the hundredth monkey effect, stole Jobs cognition. Job- ji, due to support of nature and the frictionless flow of his state of consciousness effortlessly regained what was rightfully his. Geeks in lower states of consciousness tried to replicate it, but only succeeded in mimicking Job's reality distorting cognitions of ultimate User Interface realities.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Buy (or own) a Gibson guitar -- go to jail?
On Aug 26, 2011, at 12:58 PM, Bhairitu wrote: Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier, he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle. I routinely take a handmade six- or 12-string when I go across the border to Canada, which I do often - both with rosewood and ebony. Looks like it's time to buy the RainSong 12-string I've been wanting!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Buy (or own) a Gibson guitar -- go to jail?
On Aug 26, 2011, at 2:10 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: Those RainSong guitars look great, I have never played one. My guitar student showed up with a composite, very light, resonator from Beltona and it sounded fantastic head to head with my National Steel and Dobro. It would be fantastic to travel with. These wood guitars sound really good and are really packable. The neck folds! http://www.voyageairguitar.com/site/ They're super light, so they're well suited for adding various electronics. What really impressed me was when I saw this video of David Wilcox's setup. He has saddle pickups and mikes inside, along with aMIDI-out, so he can trigger notes an octave lower for a real satisfying low tone. The Rainsong, unlike wooden guitars, can tilt the saddle pins at an angle to more easily allow low bass string setting like low B or A. Of course RainSongs don't need a truss rod, so necks stay as they were made. The sound board doesn't pull up either.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Higgs boson may be a mirage
On Aug 24, 2011, at 12:25 AM, cardemaister wrote: Methinks they should read Vedic literature very carefully! Hopefully there are no Creation scientists on the investigative teams, Vedic or otherwise, so hopefully that won't be a problem. We already have enough problems with Creation scientists in this country - esp. re: global climate change (i.e. icecap.com, etc.). The God particle may be a mirage just like it's namesake.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Higgs boson may be a mirage
On Aug 24, 2011, at 12:35 AM, John wrote: If they can't find the particle, they would have to rethink the physics that was assumed to be correct. Or find the Atheist particle.
[FairfieldLife] The trailer for Martin Scorsese's George Harrison film
The trailer for Martin Scorsese's Living in the Material World is up on George's official website. [http://t.co/eIl9P8w]
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 22, 2011, at 11:56 PM, sparaig wrote: Are you aware that the oldest of the Upanishads that mentions turiya explicitly says it isn't just another state, but rather that which gives rise to the other states? It's been a while since I've read Upanishadic literature, but yes that does sound like a typical translation one might hear.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 23, 2011, at 4:59 AM, turquoiseb wrote: For some reason the concept of Maharishi ever being either wild or free seems less likely than him ever flying. :-) He, after all, was the one who cooked up all these overly simplistic definitions that people are parroting as if they were Truth Incarnate. Musician Paul McCartney was with The Beatles in Rishikesh in 1968 for TM training and he asked the Maharishi at the time about levitation. According to McCartney, the Maharishi said he had never done it, did not know anyone who had, and was unable to find anyone to demonstrate it.[53]
Re: [FairfieldLife] Great quote from Ram Das
On Aug 23, 2011, at 11:50 AM, Rick Archer wrote: Ram Das Most concepts tell only one-half of a Yin-Yang totality. For example, let’s take the concept, “God is omniscient and therefore must have seen everything in the first moment of the creation. Therefore everything is predestined, and there is no free will.” That concept we can call a Yin. It’s just a concept, so it’s not ultimately true, but it might be useful at a given moment or stage of life for someone. The balancing Yang might be, “We have free will and must use it wisely, because it is our own actions which determine our future.” Again, just a concept, but maybe useful in a given moment. The two might appear contradictory, but are actually complementary aspects of a huge truth, the Shiva Shakti of the big picture, if you will. If you join the two concepts together, you might get a third concept which combines and transcends the first two. In this case, it might be, “The true Self is infinite formless Spirit, already and forever free, which is not involved in the realm of action, and therefore neither free will nor destiny have any meaning for what we really are.” Sounds nice, but it’s important to remember that that too is only a concept, and if we think the concept is true, we create bondage for ourselves. The ego loves to have the answers. We love to think we know who we are, and what life is and what God is, and we’ll cling to a fundamentalist belief (even a fundamentalist Advaita belief) because we think it gives us security. With each “I know” brick we put in place, we think we are building a wall that will give us safety, but it isn’t long before we realize we’ve built our own prison cell and forgot to make a door. The mortar is always only our belief in the “I”, in the false personal identity that thinks it knows something. When we realize that the I really doesn’t exist, that it’s an illusion only, then we can use the “Who am I?”question to dissolve the mortar. A good place to start is the honest recognition that you really don’t know who you are, and that all your ideas about who you are are really just a heap of assumptions that may not be true at all. Investigate deeply, what is this “I”. Who are you before the thought ‘I’ has arisen? And don’t accept any answer the mind can give. Stay with “don’t know” and investigate the pure being beneath the mind. There alone is Truth. Some wonder why Buddhists debate various topics, but one important part of debate is understanding the paradox of the two truths: the relative and the absolute, which these examples give some idea of.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 23, 2011, at 2:39 PM, sparaig wrote: Well during meditation, no description is possible for many reasons. The least philosophical is simply that the episodes of PC are associated with marked changes in EEG and breathing that revert towards normal before the subject is able to press a button signifying that they have noticed the state, so any attempt to describe the pure state is certainly based only a memory of the state and a relatively remote memory, at that. The fact that descriptions require language, and PC is defined as being without language, kinda makes it impossible to describe, also. The fact that a unbiased observer would see nothing remarkable EEG- wise beyond what's normally seen in waking, sleeping or dreaming would be the first indicator that there's nothing extraordinary going on - just the relaxation effects we're familiar with. However if an unbiased observer was to see a meditator in which some unknown state which was quite remarkable EEG-wise, then some extraordinary state not normally seen in waking, dreaming or sleeping might be going on. The former would be like TMers: nothing extraordinary whatsoever is going on, except to a handful of TM-biased researchers; the latter would be actual yogis of the Patanjali tradition and Buddhist yogis. Both show remarkable features unseen in normal humans. Outside of meditation it is as if this signature is dyed into brains, the same fourth state EEG signature pervades waking, sleeping and dreaming. It can be described as it never really leaves.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 23, 2011, at 5:59 PM, sparaig wrote: Well... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: [...] The fact that a unbiased observer would see nothing remarkable EEG- wise beyond what's normally seen in waking, sleeping or dreaming would be the first indicator that there's nothing extraordinary going on - just the relaxation effects we're familiar with. However if an unbiased observer was to see a meditator in which some unknown state which was quite remarkable EEG-wise, then some extraordinary state not normally seen in waking, dreaming or sleeping might be going on. Except that it isn't extraordinary. It is merely the refinement of the basis of the three relative states to the core essential. The degree of coherence in specific areas might be unusual, but relaxed alertness-without-content is hardly an extra-ordinary thing. It is the sine qua non of everything that involves alertness. Now, being able to measure alertness in its pure state might be unusual, but it shouldn't be surprising that the pure form of what is the basis of all relative forms of consciousness turns out to have something mundane and in *common* with all of them. That's kinda a given, if it really is the basis for everything else. I mean, are you really going to take someone seriously who says: OMG! No matter where in the house I dig, its got this concrete layer at the bottom... How amazing! If it turns out that a concrete layer is NOT at the bottom, that might be interesting. OTOH, if you are attempting to make sure that the house is in good repair, the most important thing to do is make sure the foundation is solid. The former would be like TMers: nothing extraordinary whatsoever is going on, except to a handful of TM-biased researchers; the latter would be actual yogis of the Patanjali tradition and Buddhist yogis. Both show remarkable features unseen in normal humans. Outside of meditation it is as if this signature is dyed into brains, the same fourth state EEG signature pervades waking, sleeping and dreaming. It can be described as it never really leaves. The signature is already there. It is merely not obvious because the nervous system is generally damaged and the idle is set too high. Repair the damage/reset the idle and it becomes totally obvious. This is just desperate, specious theorizing Lawson - esp. since in this case, the first time it was seen was in lineal Patanjali yogis...
[FairfieldLife] Higgs boson may be a mirage
Higgs boson may be a mirage, scientists hint http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre77l5ks-us-higgs/
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Definition of a suutra?
On Aug 21, 2011, at 10:00 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@... wrote: [...] You'll find sutra defined as thread about everywhere else on the web. You found a Tamil lexicon. In fact I believe that MMY may have defined it in his version of the Gita. A friend once said about folks on FFL is they don't even seem to know the stuff that Maharishi talked about in the Gita! Why do you think that people who practice samyama on sutras from the Yoga Sutras, don't know what sutra means? Because Maharishi style samyama has nothing to do with the YS or Patanajali nor the creation of sutras/samadhic writing and it's definition? You do realize that the TM Sidhi program is something Mahesh just made up, right? It has no connection whatsoever to the tradition of Patanjali. Other than that, TMers as a class of spiritual seekers are, in general, pretty high on the ignorance scale.
[FairfieldLife] The Christian right's dominionist strategy
Prays Jaysus http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/08/21/ posner_nar_dominionism LINK An article in the Texas Observer last month about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's relationship with followers of a little-known neo-Pentecostal movement sparked a frenzied reaction from many commentators: Dominionism! Spiritual warfare! Strange prophecies! All the attention came in the weeks before and after The Response, Perry's highly publicized prayer rally modeled on what organizers believe is the solemn assembly described in Joel 2, in which end- times warriors prepare the nation for God's judgment and, ultimately, Christ's return. This new movement, the New Apostolic Reformation, is one strand of neo-Pentecostalism that draws on the ideas of dominionism and spiritual warfare. Its adherents display gifts of the spirit, the religious expression of Pentecostal and charismatic believers that includes speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing and a belief in signs, wonders and miracles. These evangelists also preach the Seven Mountains theory of dominionism: that Christians need to take control of different sectors of public life, such as government, the media and the law. (...)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 22, 2011, at 2:43 PM, sparaig wrote: Ouch, though I note that you didn't address my point. Lawson (the great and powerful) Lawson, only TB TMers really believe that researchers have actually identified Pure Consciousness - because they've found no fourth, just the same ole, same old. So it's probably not worth responding to, as it's obviously a belief you're rather attached to!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 22, 2011, at 5:04 PM, sparaig wrote: I still haven't seen any research, whether, from Shambhala Mountain Center Study, or other studies, that describes the physiological correlates of pure consciousness measured during the practice of Buddhist techniques. Pure consciousness is a TM creation, so I don't expect you'll find such silliness anywhere else. The primary examples of higher states of consciousness are for samadhi in both the Hindu Patanjali traditions and the Buddhist traditions. Both share the same EEG hallmarks BTW. Both represent fourth states, that is states of awareness not normally seen in waking, dreaming or sleeping.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Mantra Meditation - for Buck
On Aug 22, 2011, at 5:38 PM, sparaig wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: On Aug 22, 2011, at 5:04 PM, sparaig wrote: I still haven't seen any research, whether, from Shambhala Mountain Center Study, or other studies, that describes the physiological correlates of pure consciousness measured during the practice of Buddhist techniques. Pure consciousness is a TM creation, so I don't expect you'll find such silliness anywhere else. The primary examples of higher states of consciousness are for samadhi in both the Hindu Patanjali traditions and the Buddhist traditions. Both share the same EEG hallmarks BTW. Both represent fourth states, that is states of awareness not normally seen in waking, dreaming or sleeping. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL What does you think turiya means? Duh, why do you think I keep using the word fourth?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Definition of a suutra?
On Aug 21, 2011, at 3:12 AM, cardemaister wrote:
According to someone, from vaayu- and skanda-puraaNa:
alpAkSaram asandigdhaM sAra-vat vizvato-mukham
astobham anavadyaM ca sUtraM sUtra-vido viduH
The translation on that site seemed rather scarce.
Perhaps everyone might try to come up with
their own translation.
Vocabulary
alpaakSaram -- [my guess] smallsyllable(d): most probably a
bahuvriihi meaning 'having only a few syllables'
asaMdigdhamfn. not indistinct MBh. xii ; undoubted , unsuspected ,
certain Jain. (Pra1kr2it {-diddha}) ; Pat. ; ***(%{am}) ind. without any
doubt , certainly Pan5cat. Ma1rkP***
sAravat mfn. hard , solid , firm , strong , steadfast MBh. R. c. ;
substantial , nourishing (as food) Car. ; valuable , precious MBh. Ka1m. ;
having pith or sap , containing resin Sus3r. ;
anavadya mf(%{A4})n. irreproachable , faultless ; unobjectionable ;
(%{A}) f. N. of an Apsaras.
vizvatomukha [z = sh -- card] (%{-zva4to-}) mfn. facing all sides , one whose
face is turned everywhere RV. AV. MBh. c. ; (%{am}) ind , in every direction
BhP. ; m. N. of the sun MBh.
astobham -- prolly opposite of 'stobham'
stobham. a chanted interjection in a Sa1man (such as %{hum} , %{ho} ,
%{oha} c.) , hum , hurrah , hymn Br. S3rS. MBh. BhP. ; a partic. division of
the Sa1ma-veda (q.v.) ; torpor , paralysis = %{ceSTA-vighAta} Nalac. ;
disrespect , contumely (= %{helana}) L.
NB. Because 'suutram' is a neuter gender word, thus having the
ending -m even in the nominative singular case, it's impossible
to say, whether some of those other forms ending in -m
are agreeing with 'suutram', or indeclinable (ind.), adverb
like forms. Totally up to anyone to decide which one is the
case...
So, a translation might start for instance like this:
Knowers of suutras (suutra-vidah) know (viduH) a suutra (to be, or
stuff) alpaakSaram, etc.
A sUtra is a compilation of aphorisms that expresses the essence of all
knowledge in a minimum of words. It must be universally applicable to all the
faces of consciousness and faultless in its linguistic presentation.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Letter in today's Ledger
On Aug 21, 2011, at 1:06 AM, fflmod wrote: I have not been in Fairfield in the last eleven years and so have not seen him in a while, but I can tell you the author of that letter used to listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio every chance he got and used to go to the course office to complain that so-and-so was not doing his part to save the world by going to the dome regularly. What does that tell you? It was the Oxycontin talking? :-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Definition of a suutra?
On Aug 21, 2011, at 9:46 AM, turquoiseb wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: A sUtra is a compilation of aphorisms that expresses the essence of all knowledge in a minimum of words. It must be universally applicable to all the faces of consciousness and faultless in its linguistic presentation. In one word, sutra is thus synonymous with fiction. In a phrase, a sutra must be spontaneously capable of sustaining multiple entendre.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Nand Kishore
On Aug 21, 2011, at 2:06 PM, Rick Archer wrote: I just watched “David Wants to Fly” for the first time last night. I had heard about the “controversy among the rajas” that was part of the film, but no one had mentioned that Nand Kishore was the center of the controversy. He was the Indian guy who sat there next to Bevan and challenged Tony Nader’s right to take over the movement (until they shut off his mic). Kind of an interesting tidbit, don’t you think? Wonder where he is now? You should write a review from your POV, esp. given your inside knowledge.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Definition of a suutra?
On Aug 21, 2011, at 1:20 PM, sparaig wrote: But a sutra is valid on all possible frequencies, to use your analogy. A continuum of values is different than multiple discrete values, though in the real world, continuous merely means so many that they are uncountable for all practical purposes. Even so, enumerating all the possible meanings of a sutra, according to the definition below, would require that you also enumerate all the possible points of view that the sutra could be viewed from, which is still impossible for all practical purposes. IME sutras, that is samadhic literature, is not infinite in it's individual scope, it is limited to the various perspectives available in particular lifeforms and unique context it has. So therefore the type of samadhic literature we're likely to read or discuss is that intended primarily for the human dimension, which is not to say that that there is not some overlap between dimensions, there of course is. Even though the causes of suffering are effectively infinite, revealed spiritual literature of this type often limits the number of perspectives to the particular type of listeners it's intended for. So the sutric fabric of the yoga-sutras is intended from the POV of turiyatita or cosmic consciousness whose structure is defined by samkhya cosmological frameworks and it's listeners.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Letter in today's Ledger
On Aug 20, 2011, at 5:12 AM, cardemaister wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: On Aug 19, 2011, at 11:29 AM, cardemaister wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@ wrote: On Aug 18, 2011, at 9:36 PM, obbajeeba wrote: This is the most stupidest thing I have ever read on FFL. IMHO Interesting to see how sheltered some TB's still are. It's been known for decades that ME research is BS. Sounds like someone needs to get outside their own mindset a little more often, like at least every decade or two. It's sad how the sidha mindset restricts consciousness, but not surprising. As Patanjali tells us, siddhis are obstacles to samadhi and locks one into the outward stroke te samaadhaav upasargaa vyutthaane siddhayaH. So, you think you or your sour grapes Patañjali guru-s know better than e.g. Vyaasa and Bhojadeva, what is the antecedent of the pronoun 'te'? LoL! Vyutthana-samskaras will cause your consciousness to behave in a certain way. That this pattern would not be conducive to samadhi is not that surprising to me. YMMV. Well, I think vyutthaana-saMskaara_s are a natural and necessary part of meditation: vyutthaana-nirodha-saMskaarayor abhibhava-praadurbhaavau *nirodha- kSaNa*-cittaanvayo nirodha-pariNaamaH. Taimni: Nirodha pariNaama is that transformation of the mind in which it becomes *progressively* permeated by the condition of nirodha which intervenes *momentarily* [kSaNa-ically - card] between an impression which is disappearing [out-going: vyutthaana -- card] and the impression which is taking its place. (YS III 9; emph. add.) It's the natural result of the failure to maintain samadhi. Rinse-repeat-rinse-repeat… If you establish the grooves in the mind to NOT maintain samadhi, you'll get nowhere. That's Patanjali's point. In introspective samadhis you want to extend the amount of time you can be in samadhi until it becomes permanent, you do not want to create the habitual circumstance that keeps you popping back out!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Letter in today's Ledger
On Aug 20, 2011, at 10:53 AM, richardwillytexwilliams wrote: Nirodha pariNaama is that transformation of the mind in which it becomes *progressively* permeated by the condition of nirodha... Vaj: It's the natural result of the failure to maintain samadhi. Rinse-repeat-rinse-repeat… Cut out the monkish bull-shit. Nirodha just means thought-activty cessation - TM practice. Saguna-mantras only take you so far Willy. Saguna-mantras stop at samprajnata-samadhi.
Re: [FairfieldLife] webOs on iPad!
On Aug 20, 2011, at 3:49 AM, cardemaister wrote: FWIW, webOS on iPad: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/08/19/hp-tested-webos-on-an-ipad-it-ran-over-twice-as-fast/ HP's WebOS team almost certainly had an idea that the company's new tablet, the TouchPad, had very little chance of challenging Apple's dominance in the tablet market, as the company's webOS operating system was running over twice as fast on its rival's iPad 2 tablet, a source close to the subject revealed to The Next Web. http://www.macworld.com/article/161775/2011/08/why_cant_windows_pcs_catch_up_to_the_macbook_air_.html#lsrc.nl_mwnws_h_crawl LINK
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Letter in today's Ledger
On Aug 18, 2011, at 9:36 PM, obbajeeba wrote: This is the most stupidest thing I have ever read on FFL. IMHO Interesting to see how sheltered some TB's still are. It's been known for decades that ME research is BS. Sounds like someone needs to get outside their own mindset a little more often, like at least every decade or two. It's sad how the sidha mindset restricts consciousness, but not surprising. As Patanjali tells us, siddhis are obstacles to samadhi and locks one into the outward stroke
Re: [FairfieldLife] Thunderbird Question for Bhairitu or anyone else
On Aug 19, 2011, at 12:01 PM, Bhairitu wrote: The problem with both Apple and Microsoft is they have a NIH attitude (Not Invented here). So they feel they need to be different and that makes headaches when moving between programs. From a cursory look on Google and a blog or two it appears that you may have to convert your Apple Mail using a Mac utility or maybe the Apple Mail program (remember I know next to nothing about Macs) to mbox format and from there Thunberbird should be able to import it. Maybe Vaj knows about converting from Apple Mail to mbox. Mbox is a very standard open source format used by many email clients. I just got a new Mac with 10.7 on it. I transferred my .mbox's to the new Apple Mail, which on first launch simply imported the 12,000 or so emails I have in there from before, and I was up and running. I am so pleased with the new Mac apps, I really wouldn't have any reason to switch to Thunderbird. Is there a reason you don't want to use the newer version of Apple Mail Sal? I turned off some of the newer features like the preview pane, which I don't care for.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Letter in today's Ledger
On Aug 19, 2011, at 11:29 AM, cardemaister wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: On Aug 18, 2011, at 9:36 PM, obbajeeba wrote: This is the most stupidest thing I have ever read on FFL. IMHO Interesting to see how sheltered some TB's still are. It's been known for decades that ME research is BS. Sounds like someone needs to get outside their own mindset a little more often, like at least every decade or two. It's sad how the sidha mindset restricts consciousness, but not surprising. As Patanjali tells us, siddhis are obstacles to samadhi and locks one into the outward stroke te samaadhaav upasargaa vyutthaane siddhayaH. So, you think you or your sour grapes Patañjali guru-s know better than e.g. Vyaasa and Bhojadeva, what is the antecedent of the pronoun 'te'? LoL! Vyutthana-samskaras will cause your consciousness to behave in a certain way. That this pattern would not be conducive to samadhi is not that surprising to me. YMMV.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Thunderbird Question for Bhairitu or anyone else
On Aug 19, 2011, at 12:44 PM, Sal Sunshine wrote: Good question, Vaj. You're not having any problems with it? I'm not sure why I am, exactly. But it keeps saying I'm offline when I'm not, and having various connection issues. Maybe I'll try again, because I really do like many of the features. I personally did not like the huge preview pane of each email, so I just turned it off under the View menu IIRC. I also used Time Machine to move everything over with no problems, but I assume you can migrate an old machine to a new one using your Migration Assistant (which I believe resides in the Utilities folder). Other than that the only thing I did was order 8 gigs of RAM (65 bucks) and swapped out the old RAM. Now I can run Windows 7 or whatever, at the same time if need be. Actually Windows 7 runs faster on my Mac than it does my Windows machine - launches in 20 seconds - XP launches in 12.
[FairfieldLife] NPR: Your Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science- fiction-fantasy-books
Re: [FairfieldLife] Thunderbird Question for Bhairitu or anyone else
On Aug 19, 2011, at 1:02 PM, Sal Sunshine wrote: Well, I just made some changes that hopefully will make a difference. So far at least, everything is fine. (At first I thought that being out in the boonies might be part of it, but since you're in a small town too (right?) and not having probs that's probably not making much of a difference, I would guess.) BTW, have you noticed that the Library, which is where the boxes are usually located, seems to be invisible on Lion? Or at least it does on mine. Apparently a lot of people would see this folder called Library and thinking I don't need this, were deleting it...with not so happy consequences. So Apple toggled it's visibility to off in 10.7. The easiest way to get there now to to use the Go menu in the Finder when holding down the Option key, or you can turn it on at the command line permanently: chflags nohidden ~/Library ...and hit enter. It will then be immediately and permanently visible. To make it invisible again, cut paste (or type): chflags hidden ~/Library hit enter.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Thunderbird Question for Bhairitu or anyone else
On Aug 19, 2011, at 2:05 PM, Sal Sunshine wrote: or you can turn it on at the command line permanently: Uh, command line? chflags nohidden ~/Library ...and hit enter. It will then be immediately and permanently visible. To make it invisible again, cut paste (or type): chflags hidden ~/Library hit enter. Well, since I have no idea where the command line is, I just included it in the little menu on the side of the Finder. Thanks again, Vaj. Oh, sorry. There's an application called Terminal that allows you to access the innards of OS. When you launch it will take you to a command prompt just like in DOS or UNIX OS's. Commands are issued then by typing or cutting and pasting. You can use it to change various parameters which are typically hidden.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Thunderbird Question for Bhairitu or anyone else
On Aug 19, 2011, at 2:28 PM, Sal Sunshine wrote: Done! And again thanks. Anything else hidden in Lion that I might want to know about? That's the only major thing I can think of.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Golden Domes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On Aug 17, 2011, at 2:34 PM, merudanda wrote: Poor RickBeing banned from the domes has been compared to .. practice of shunning see article in detail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunning The members of the Golden Dome community successfully enact their rituals without a common understanding of what the rituals are supposed to signify or why they are meaningful? Does the symbols and rituals sustain unity in the group because they completely transcend the individual beliefs of its members? Is it therefore socially meaningful as a source of social solidarity because it transcends the personal beliefs of individual, only? (To be socially meaningful only, interaction does not have to personally mean anything to the flyers. The »form« of a ritual is the only thing that is socially significant because it alone is fixed, objectified, and self-evident. It is significant even though each participant in the ritual may attach a different »content« to the form) I've never seen a more confused-sounding lineage than TM's: ...Maharishi makes it clear that Transcendental Meditation was delivered to man about 5,000 years ago by the Hindu god Krishna. The technique was then lost, but restored for a time by Buddha. It was lost again, but rediscovered in the 9th century AD by the Hindu philosopher Shankara. Finally, it was revived by Brahmananda Saraswati (Guru Dev) and passed on to the Maharishi. (from the Transcendental Meditation entry) It was originally delivered to Krishna (presumably by chariot), who lost it, but then the Buddha found it (it had been behind the couch the whole time!), but Buddha being such an enlightened klutz lost it AGAIN. Thank gawd for Shankara, 'coz he found it again (whew!). Guru Dev obviously found some old Vedic Photocopies of Shankara's and gave one to Mahesh, who then began selling it. No one even mentions poor Trotaka and the Holy trad.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five' on Sitar by Sachal Music
On Aug 17, 2011, at 3:17 PM, do.rflex wrote: Brubeck's famous 'Take Five' played on a sitar with accompaniment is awesome. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLF46JKkCNg I've had three friends all send me this same video - I love it - and the Indians in it could be any combination of symphony orchestra members from the US or Europe combined with some jazz hipsters, some music scholars and just everyday music freaks. Music really is the Earth's universal language.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Please help!
On Aug 17, 2011, at 4:53 PM, Tom Pall wrote: I've just spoken to my Jyotishi and he says that this is a good time for me to change careers. The optimal new career would be rapper. I have plenty of material from the collected works of Ravi, StripedZebra and Rory, assembled here on FFL. I do need money to start of my career, somewhere in the area of $300,000. Because of the great generosity you've shown me since my becoming a member of FFL, I thought first of y'all. Kindly email me and I'll give you my PayPal account, or if you'd rather pay be eCheck, I can process those as well. I'll need most of the money for my bling. In this case, it'll be emeralds, as that's what my Jyotishi recommends. Emerald tooth inlays. An emerald ring the size of a light bulb and of course emerald encrusted gold chains for my neck. Kindly open your hearts and especially our wallets to me. If you're brother's a raja, even better. I hope to hear from you soon as I want to start my new career as soon as possible. Thank y'all for reading this, Tom, aka Python Head Send me your birth data (off list) and I'll see if I concur...
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Golden Domes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On Aug 17, 2011, at 8:32 PM, Tom Pall wrote: It's as perplexing as RC finding Jesus. Heck, you'd think someone as great as He was/is wouldn't/couldn't get lost. The neon sign was unmistakable: Padre Pio and Jesus, never mind the bleeding hands. Many disillusioned TMers, presuming self-enlightenment, probably fell for the same alley! Come on Tom, at least try to be realistic.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Golden Domes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On Aug 17, 2011, at 8:46 PM, Tom Pall wrote: On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 8:38 PM, Vaj vajradh...@earthlink.net wrote: On Aug 17, 2011, at 8:32 PM, Tom Pall wrote: It's as perplexing as RC finding Jesus. Heck, you'd think someone as great as He was/is wouldn't/couldn't get lost. The neon sign was unmistakable: Padre Pio and Jesus, never mind the bleeding hands. Many disillusioned TMers, presuming self-enlightenment, probably fell for the same alley! Come on Tom, at least try to be realistic. I am realistic, which is why I appreciate the story about the priest who had to go to the bathroom so he asked the janitor to fill in for him for a few minutes. First up was a woman who confessed to performing a Lewinsky on her husband. Not knowing what kind of penance to give out, the janitor ran to the alter boy and asked what does Father give for a Lewinsky? Usually a candy bar and a soda, Sir. Great (but scary) comeback!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Buffett says Tax the Rich
On Aug 16, 2011, at 3:14 PM, Mike Dixon wrote: I care because if I were a billionaire, I wouldn't invest any of my money in an economy that was going to keep demanding that I keep subsidizing poverty. What ya should be dewin is goin' to Texas and praying to Jaysus witt Goobernor Purry. Jaysus controls this unified field thingy everyone knows. Hell how do ya think santa claws travels faster than light? It's the power of Jaysus and the unified fielders.
Re: [FairfieldLife] TM: The Lost Years
On Aug 14, 2011, at 9:29 PM, Denise Evans wrote: Great chorus. Believe you methis applies to more than a recovering TM groupie...time to get back to the middle class and start paying some taxes LOL, it does have some universal themes. When I was at my 30 year high school reunion several years back, one of my best friends brothers was still living at home.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: New Research Finds Diabetes Can Be Reversed
On Aug 14, 2011, at 4:42 AM, cardemaister wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: Pass this on to friends and family! Mark Hyman, MDPracticing physician New Research Finds Diabetes Can Be Reversed Posted: 8/7/11 12:03 AM ET I'm afraid, one way or another, Big Pharma shall silence Jewish(?) heretics, like Dr. Hyman?? :´/ Fortunately they can't prevent you from eating what you want to eat, nor can they keep him from publishing his books - which seem to be quite popular. Although the FDA has forced manufacturers of the supplement Red Yeast Rice, which lowers cholesterol, to remove or lower the active ingredient which does so, as it's basically natural Lovastatin. Store-bought brands vary so greatly in their active ingredients now that it would be impossible to use this supplement to lower your cholesterol reliably and consistently.
[FairfieldLife] TM: The Lost Years
Listening to Mark's and many, many other recovering TM (and other spiritual) groupies stories, I find this unreleased song by David Wilcox especially apropos. It's called The Lost Years. It's a kind of thing many of us have gone through. David calls it a Rip Van Winkle and the Prozac tunnel, that is a huge chunk of your life that was lost in some other endeavor - a dream - and the depressing reality surrounding trying to deal with getting back into the consensus realm - if you're able to even make that seque. Source: live soundboard recording, in public domain, of David Wilcox, playing solo in Tryon, NC 12/28/96: http://www.box.net/shared/gchf8p0tyy7g9cc9cap0
[FairfieldLife] TM: the Young Man Dies
That Young Man in the previous post realizes, on reflection how s/he died: Same source, live soundboard recording, in public domain, of David Wilcox, playing solo in Tryon, NC 12/28/96: http://www.box.net/shared/06g6n0yxjx8cumpsz998
[FairfieldLife] TM: from bliss to hypomanic addiction
The TMer eventually leaves the bliss dome, only to succumb to the sweet voice of addiction, hypomanic self realization, the eye of a different hurricane: http://www.box.net/shared/0yanp2ekifgp2edzgvjy
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Oprah Winfrey started: Transcendental meditation
On Aug 13, 2011, at 2:34 PM, Rick Archer wrote: I checked with someone who is a position to know, and I can confirm that the particulars of what Buck posted are waaay exaggerated. Can’t say anything more than that. Yes, the true story is Oprah had a high colonic somewhere near Lancaster, Mass.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Just registering my outrage
On Aug 13, 2011, at 2:17 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote: I wanted to register my outrage that such a photo would elicit snickers from any FFL reader. If you find yourself giggling uncontrollably, it is an expression of not only immaturity, but a complete lack of sensitivity for the problems serious female candidates have against sexism in politics. Seriously, you should be ashamed in advance. http://i.imgur.com/zicYK.jpg We all have our gifts Curtis, we all have our gifts. :-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] The next president of the US has just thrown his hat into the ring
On Aug 13, 2011, at 2:00 PM, Tom Pall wrote: What a winning ticket. A Texan and an Alaskan. Now we're going to get things rolling again. Leadership and assassination insurance all in one ticket. Their combined low IQ's may make up for the lack of dementia or Alzheimer's. Now that's some creative Republican politicking! Way to go RNC! The guy with the magic underwear is miraculously sussed by two Teavangelicals. I always knew that underwear wouldn't work.
[FairfieldLife] New Research Finds Diabetes Can Be Reversed
Pass this on to friends and family! Mark Hyman, MDPracticing physician New Research Finds Diabetes Can Be Reversed Posted: 8/7/11 12:03 AM ET I have recently spent more time in drugs stores than I would like helping my sister on her journey through (and hopefully to the other side of) cancer. Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens all had large diabetes sections offering support for a diabetes lifestyle -- glucose monitors, lancets, blood pressure cuffs, medications, supplements and pharmacy magazines heavily supported by pharmaceutical advertising. Patients are encouraged to get their eye check ups, monitor their blood pressure, track their blood sugars, have foot exams and see their doctor regularly for better management of their blood sugars -- all apparently sensible advice for diabetics. But what if Type 2 diabetes could be completely reversed? What if it weren't, as we believe, an inexorable, progressive disease that has to be better managed by our health care system with better drugs, surgery and coordination of care? What if intensive lifestyle and dietary changes could completely reverse diabetes? A ground breaking new study in Diabetologia proved that, indeed, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed through diet changes, and, the study showed, this can happen quickly: in one to eight weeks. That turns our perspective on diabetes upside down. Diabetes is not a one-way street. We used to believe that once cells in your pancreas that make insulin (beta cells) poop out there was no reviving them and your only hope was more medication or insulin. We now know that is not so. Continuing misconceptions about what causes diabetes and our unwillingness to embrace methods know to reverse it have lead to a catastrophic increase in the illness. Today one in four Americans over 60 years old has Type 2 diabetes. By 2020, one in two Americans will have pre-diabetes or diabetes. Tragically, physicians will miss the diagnosis for 90 percent with pre-diabetes or diabetes. (Below I tell you exactly what tests to ask your doctor to perform and how to interpret them). From 1983 to 2008, world-wide diabetes incidence has increased seven-fold from 35 to 240 million. Remarkably, in just the past three years from 2008 to 2011, we have added another 110 million to the diabetes roll call. And increasingly small children as young as eight are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes). They are having strokes at 15 years old and needing cardiac bypasses at 25 year old. The economic burden of caring for these people with pre-diabetes and diabetes will be $3.5 trillion over 10 years. If we have a known cure, a proven way to reverse this disease, shouldn't we be focused on implementing programs to scale this cure? Unfortunately despite this extraordinary new research, the findings will likely be pushed aside in favor of the latest greatest pill or surgical technique because behavior and lifestyle change is hard. In fact, with the right conditions and support, lifestyle diet and lifestyle change is very achievable. What did research show? Reversing Diabetes: Can it Be Done in a Week? The study, entitled Reversal of Type 2 diabetes: normalization of beta cell function in association with decrease pancreas and liver triglycerides, was exquisitely done. The bottom line: A dramatic diet change (protein shake, low glycemic load, plant-based low-calorie diet but no exercise) in diabetics reversed most features of diabetes within one week and all features by eight weeks. That's right, diabetes was reversed in one week. That's more powerful than any drug known to modern science. We know from gastric bypass patients that with rapid changes in diet right after surgery, within just a few days, without significant weight loss, diabetes goes away -- fatty livers heal, cholesterol levels plummet. Some theorized it was because of changes in the stomach hormones related to the gastric surgery. Others, including the researchers of this new study surmised that maybe it was just the drastic change in diet. So they went about studying just the diet change without surgery. They studied 11 people with diabetes and compared them to a control group. Through very sophisticated techniques including MRI imaging, they measured their blood sugar and insulin responses, cholesterol levels and fat in the pancreas and liver (some of the hallmarks of diabetes) before and after diet changes at one, four and eight weeks. What they found was revolutionary. The beta cells -- the pancreas' insulin producing cells -- woke up, and the fat deposits in the pancreas and liver went away. Blood sugars normalized in just one week, triglycerides dropped in half in one week and reduced 10-fold in eight weeks. The body's cells became more insulin sensitive and essentially, in just eight weeks, all evidence of diabetes was gone and the diabetic patients looked just like the normal controls
