[FairfieldLife] Why is Kaamadeva called anan.ga (an-ang-ga)?
Wiki: The incineration of Kama: Madana-bhasma[edit] One of the principal myths regarding Kama is that of his incineration by Shiva. It occurs in its most developed form in the Matsya Purana (verses 227-255)[15] but is also repeated with variants in the Shaiva Purana and other Puranas.[16] Indra and the gods are suffering at the hands of the demon Tarakasur, who cannot be defeated except by Shiva's son. Brahma who advises that Parvati woo Shiva; their offspring will be able to defeat Taraka. Indra assigns Kamadeva to break Shiva's meditation. To create a congenial atmosphere, Kamadeva (Madana) creates an untimely spring (akAl vasanta). He evades Shiva's guard, Nandin, by taking the form of the fragrant southern breeze, and enters Shiva's abode. After he awakens Shiva with a flower arrow, Shiva, furious, opens his third eye, which incinerates Madana instantaneously and he is turned into ash. However Shiva observes Parvati and asks her how he can help her. She enjoins him to resuscitate Madana, and Shiva agrees to let Madana live but in a disembodied form, hence Kamadeva is also called 'Ananga' (an- = without; anga = body, bodiless), or 'Atanu' (a- = without; tan = body). The spirit of love embodied by Kama is now disseminated across the cosmos: it affects Shiva whose union with Parvati is consummated. Their son Kartikeya goes on to defeat Taraka.[17]
[FairfieldLife] Adolph is hip?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hitler+hearsoq=hitler+hearsgs_l=youtube.3...143.3297.0.3476.10.7.2.0.0.1.532.1239.2j3j1j5-1.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.qLkNvR_AhgI
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
Its different for Brits From: salyavin808 fintlewoodle...@mail.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 1:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson mjackson74@... wrote: Its different for Brits It must be different for a lot of people, if you believe in reincarnation then proof of heaven means your religion has been barking up the wrong tree! I can see a lot of people being annoyed about that. I hope there's an afterlife, I'll be on the same cloud as Richard Dawkins, who will be blushing a lot I'm sure... From: salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 1:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven  You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson mjackson74@ wrote: Its different for Brits It must be different for a lot of people, if you believe in reincarnation then proof of heaven means your religion has been barking up the wrong tree! I can see a lot of people being annoyed about that. I hope there's an afterlife, I'll be on the same cloud as Richard Dawkins, who will be blushing a lot I'm sure... But not singing hymns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wogta8alHiU
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
Brits go to a Downton Abby-ish kind of universe where one's karma determines whether one will be a servant living in hovel type conditions or one of the lazy Lords 'n' Ladies upper crust who have no clue that the servants are anything other than part of the background - unless of course you are the Earl who is banging one of the maids Unless they've been quite naughty, in which case they are consigned to a Game of Thrones kind of Ireland where pretty much everybody gets screwed at some point. From: salyavin808 fintlewoodle...@mail.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 8:15 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson mjackson74@... wrote: Its different for Brits It must be different for a lot of people, if you believe in reincarnation then proof of heaven means your religion has been barking up the wrong tree! I can see a lot of people being annoyed about that. I hope there's an afterlife, I'll be on the same cloud as Richard Dawkins, who will be blushing a lot I'm sure... From: salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 1:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven  You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
you think Christopher Hitchens will be on the same cloud too? From: salyavin808 fintlewoodle...@mail.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 8:15 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson mjackson74@... wrote: Its different for Brits It must be different for a lot of people, if you believe in reincarnation then proof of heaven means your religion has been barking up the wrong tree! I can see a lot of people being annoyed about that. I hope there's an afterlife, I'll be on the same cloud as Richard Dawkins, who will be blushing a lot I'm sure... From: salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 1:38 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven  You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
Re: [FairfieldLife] Adolph is hip?
Thanks card, those are a scream! Got my day off to a good start, From: card cardemais...@yahoo.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 3:57 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Adolph is hip? http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hitler+hearsoq=hitler+hearsgs_l=youtube.3...143.3297.0.3476.10.7.2.0.0.1.532.1239.2j3j1j5-1.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.qLkNvR_AhgI
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... wrote: You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. Well, not that Alexander can tell us about, at any rate. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award
dear Miz Jeeba with spirit so free no need to be afraid of little ole me cuz God's right there even in ur p er knee (-: From: obbajeeba no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 8:29 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: Ravi I always mean it as a compliment when someone makes me laugh and I like that you're emotionally expressive. And I admire your intellect and knowledge of jyotish and how gentle you've been with people when doing their readings. So sorry if it seemed like I was laughing at you. I wasn't. Anyway, I know I still have a ways to go to be emotionally healed. Hopefully you'll keep praying for me and I will for you. PS I don't remember if I've told my pastoral counselor about Funny Farm Lounge name. I'll ask her next time (-: Whoa, Share. What did you just type in the above sentence? No wonder you get picked on! I had not noticed before why certain people pick on you or you on them...maybe you just type a whole lot of sentences that even make obba look pretty smart! I don't remember if I've told my pastoral counselor about Funny Farm Lounge name. I'll ask her the next time. ?? Could funny farm be a take off of animal farm with Share as Mollie? Or Mollie as Share?? Oh boy, I am going to be railed for this one, I just know it... From: Ravi Chivukula chivukula.ravi@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 7:18 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award  On Jul 7, 2013, at 3:32 PM, authfriend authfriend@... wrote:  --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann awoelflebater@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: dear Ravi, I just asked my pastoral counselor about my allegedly being what you call psychologically stunted. She laughed in total delight. End of report. Isn't that why you pay her the big bucks, to tell you what you want to hear? Of course you provided this pasture-loving counsellor the full context for why someone would say that about you, I'm sure. Being the lover of complexity that you are Share, I am sure the two of you had a protracted and in depth investigation into why this characterization should have been attributed to you by Ravi. Yes, this description of your counselling session certainly conveys how deeply and in detail you considered the possibility you are psychologically stunted. Perhaps your counsellor might be too? Oops, maybe that was arrogant of me to suggest this. Forget I said that. Well, at any rate, I'm sure her counselor counseled her to be compassionate to poor hilariously deluded Ravi. Well hopefully Share at that point corrected her counselor and told her this was all a big joke, that Ravi is the most emotionally expressive poster on FFL and she finds this emotional expression of his very humorous. Then hopefully they both laughed and bid adieu. The pastoral counselor then went home and hopefully wondered how weird Share was which then triggered thoughts on if that guy Ravi was right and if Share indeed could be psychologically stunted.
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. authfriend: Well, not that Alexander can tell us about, at any rate. You are supposed to read the book BEFORE you post your comments. And, when you have a NDE you'll know, at any rate, something to tell us about. LoL! Science 101 teaches that a proof requires that a hypothesis can be put to a test, and that the results obtained can be replicated by other tests by other scientists. An NDE experience can be a belief, but it is not a proof, as most any doctor should know. Go figure. At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
mjackson74: Its different for Brits What!? You mean there's no magical place we fly off to when we die to spend eternity with angels and loved ones in a palace of holy joy? I'll be jiggered.. At least, not from Eben Alexander, author of the bestselling book Proof of Heaven, about his purported extended near-death experience during surgery. It seems he may have perpetrated a scam for fame and fortune. An article in Esquire researched his background and found, among other things, that he wasn't such a good neurosurgeon. He was let go from more than one hospital position and was fighting five different malpractice lawsuits when he became ill. He also misrepresented the course of his treatment, according to one of his physicians. The Esquire article is behind a paywall (you can read it for two bucks; I haven't), but there have been several stories about what the article found; here's one: http://news.yahoo.com/proof-heaven-author-now-thoroughly-debunked-science-131711093.html http://tinyurl.com/k5vblh7
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
Steve Martin IQ? 142 (-: From: turquoiseb no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 7:37 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, salyavin808 fintlewoodlewix@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson mjackson74@ wrote: Its different for Brits It must be different for a lot of people, if you believe in reincarnation then proof of heaven means your religion has been barking up the wrong tree! I can see a lot of people being annoyed about that. I hope there's an afterlife, I'll be on the same cloud as Richard Dawkins, who will be blushing a lot I'm sure... But not singing hymns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wogta8alHiU
[FairfieldLife] Re: Getting More Metadata
As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under any circumstances. 'NSA Ties Put German Intelligence in Tight Spot' Spiegel Online: http://tinyurl.com/k965s48 Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has apologized for telling Congress earlier this year that the National Security Agency does not collect data on millions of Americans, a response he now... 'Clapper apologizes for 'erroneous' answer on NSA' Associated Press: http://tinyurl.com/mzmoutv The FBI confirmed the active development of 'Magic Lantern', a keylogger intended to obtain passwords to encrypted e-mail and other documents during criminal investigations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_AntiVirus In the new world of the NSA, the only secret left is Barack Obama's college grades. Tweeted by Roger Simon: http://tinyurl.com/lgjku5h Clapper was asked by Oregon senator Ron Wyden in a March congressional hearing whether the government was collecting any type of data at all on millions of Americans. He responded, No, sir. The Corner: http://tinyurl.com/mg3zotg Why did the leader of the U.S. intelligence community mislead Congress in March by answering a question about the program... National Journal: http://tinyurl.com/kjyozsz Then they send in the SWAT teams, or they just blackmail you for 'obstructing justice'. Go figure. A Kenyan was hand-picked and groomed for the Oval Office. This explains his rise to the top. Now, he has to tow the line just as directed. Allowing foreign persons in any level of government is insane and should be against the law. LoL! Obama can't even be allowed to speak without a TelePrompTer or a Blackberry. The President is spoon-fed exactly what to say and do. Why do you think Obama is spending 100 million dollars to visit Africa? From what I've read, FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds and Tice agreed that such wide-ranging surveillance of officials could provide the intelligence agencies with unthinkable power to blackmail their opponents. 'Government could use metadata to map your every move http://tinyurl.com/mbq2zqn
[FairfieldLife] Re: Leaking was, Getting the Metadata
There's this giant surveillance superstructure out there that we're finally getting glimpses of, but there's still a lot of questions of how does the whole thing work... 'Five unanswered questions about the NSA's surveillance programs' The Hill: http://tinyurl.com/ldcaly2 'NYC cases show crooked cops' abuse of FBI database' Associated Press: http://tinyurl.com/kf9a4qs Isthay ustjay inway omfray Austinway, Exastay... This looks like a set up or a cover up. Go figure. So, it's settled - anything you keyed into the internet is searchable today. And, it was your choice to do so. The information that the IRS has on file on people goes pretty deep into personal lives. It is being leaked out and given to people for very specific political reasons. I think this is something that should be the most chilling thing for Americans to understand... 'IRS Scandal Will Widen to Leaks' http://tinyurl.com/m83pbet Everything you do is online and known. You are totally distracted by your gadgets and now you're re-reading Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World', which seems quaint these days and Orwell seems almost cuddly. Smile, you're on candid camera. LoL! Edg forgot one thing they can do: send all your data to the IRS. How do you think the IRS got the info to ask all those off-topic questions when people applied for tax-exempt status? They are monitoring all your email and calls, all your spending, all your travel, and recording every web search and everything you click on your computer screen, cell phone or iPad and video if you walk down the street. This is a problem that was coordinated in all likelihood right out of Washington headquarters and we're getting to proving it. Associated Press: http://tinyurl.com/jwp7oba
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Happy Empire Conquering Day! (or the Future of the USA)
Hey noozguru one of my favorite temp jobs was asking people their political opinions over the phone. We were taught how to phrase probing questions in a way so that people revealed their true opinions. Here's an example, notice all the fluffy wordings: Thinking about the upcoming election, would you say in general you think of yourself as comfortable or uncomfortable with the idea of a non Caucasian man as president? Supposedly you'll get a truer answer than if you ask: Are you a racist?! Responding to other posts: Kevin/Samir from *Windows Tech Maintenance Dept* is supposed to call back today at 2. I haven't decided whether to hide from him in the library or just not pick up the phone. I kind of feel for him because I was so difficult even though I made him laugh. He had to keep explaining things over and over. I'm surprised that food prices are so high in Europe. I guess I think of Europe as a place where lots of people have their own gardens. And they've been organic for so long. The question of sharing tables, etc. has some interesting angles in FF where so many people know one another. And now so many are retired. Of course I was on campus for 14 years so got accustomed to eating with work colleagues. And there was always Silent Dining when I was feeling *inward* (-: There's one certain restaurant in FF that is definitely the in place, the place to go to see and be seen. But there are also quiet places where one can tuck into a corner and post away the day! I wonder if the Illuminati fiddle with the news cycles... From: Bhairitu noozg...@sbcglobal.net To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, July 6, 2013 10:37 AM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Happy Empire Conquering Day! (or the Future of the USA) What productivity potential does the US have? Manufacturing is gone. Manufacturers would be reticent after using foreign workers who have a different work ethic to use US workers. And you must be guessing about what the rest of the world thinks? Try this web site which has foreign press articles translated to English: http://watchingamerica.com/News/ There's optimism and then there's drinking the kool-aid. Turq should be all over you for being so US centric. And Nabby is right, the US is bankrupt but still running on it's credit card. Some of us are just waiting for the moment the dollar collapses. The US is such a great world leader that 47% of the working populace only have part-time jobs! This is a good article from yesterday about the fading American Dream: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/state-american-dream-uncertain-6C10508356 I gotta admit though that the Gallup Poll has called me twice this last week and I just ignore the call. These polls always say it's a short survey (usually with stupid questions) and then 15 minutes later you're still on and pissed. If they pay me $200 I'll play.
[FairfieldLife] FW: from our TM student
From my sister: From: Carol Morehead [mailto:cmorehea...@hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 10:31 AM To: Rick Archer Subject: from our TM student From one of our students here in Evanston -- OK to share I've been meditating for about 6 months now and it has improved so many aspects of my life. I look at myself before I started meditating and I look at myself now and see a dramatic change. When I start my day I am now generally in a good mood. This was not the case before. I have more energy throughout the day and I am much more focused. One of the reasons I started meditating is because I have ADHD. Transcendental Meditation has helped tremendously with that. I don't really get too frustrated over little things like I used to. I used to have a lot of anxiety and also dealt with depression. The anxiety and depression are gone. For the most part, and especially right after I meditate I am at peace. I meditate twice a day for twenty minutes and I look forward to it each and every time. I don't see it as a chore, but rather a privilege. The feeling that I get when I meditate is incredible. It is bliss. Transcendental meditation is the perfect way to start and end my day. It is one of the best things I have ever done. Danny - age 27
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
From my friend Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko.com Hi Rick... good to hear from you. Was just listening to a BATGAP 5 minutes ago after dropping off my daughter at swim camp... nice transition. Wanted to again tell you how much I appreciate what you're doing. I particularly like when you challenge guests (just a bit) and reflect back what you're encountered through your experience and through your many interviews. The mosaic (as pictured on your site) is the message :) Re Eben Alexander, been writing a lot about it over the last week... some of it here: http://forum.mind-energy.net/skeptiko-podcast/5360-esquire-misrepresents-dal ai-lama-attacks-dr-eben-alexanders-nde.html Quote: Originally Posted by Bucky http://forum.mind-energy.net/skeptiko-podcast/5360-esquire-misrepresents-da lai-lama-attacks-dr-eben-alexanders-nde.html#post156424 Hmmm... between 45:00 and 48:00 the Dalai Lama is saying that for the third category of phenomena, those that are more hidden and obscure, we rely on the testimony of experiencers and therefore we need to investigate these testimonies to make sure they are reliable. I an all honesty it doesn't sound that far from the article quotation. The Dalai Lama didn't use the extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof mantra, but he's definitely saying that we need don't just take things at their face value when confronted with phenomena that are difficult to comprehend. Wait a minute, Luke Dittrich's underlying theme, the whole basis of the article, is that the biological robot meme is true... that all this NDE stuff is nonsense and we can go back to business as usual. It's not like he's saying, gee, there are a lot of good NDE cases out there, and a pretty substantial body of NDE research, I just don't like this one. No, he's saying, don't worry all you lovers of the fruits of scientific materialism, it's all ok, go back to sleep. So, for Luke to suggest that Alexander squirmed in his seat as the Dalai Lama called him out on a fake story is terrible journalism. It misrepresents that fact that Dalai Lama is completely convinced of the reality of experiences like Alexander's and completely opposed to the kind of closed-minded-do-anything-to-defend-the-status-quo science that this article bolsters. and here: another gross misrepresentation in the article is the suggestion that Alexander was hurting financially because of the $3M malpractice suit filed against him (as if that isn't covered by insurance)... and that this led him to cook up the idea of writing a bestseller to turn around his fortunes. you gotta read the full article to see how slanted it really is: http://d.pr/xWTy bottom line... the article is a it's a culture war hit piece with a goal of arming atheists with mud-balls to throw at a big target (Alexander sold a lot of books and made a big splash)... of course, that doesn't mean it's not effective. Alexander is gonna take a credibility hit from this. what is completely lost in all of this is that there is absolutely no medical explanation for Alexander's experience given his medical condition (whether the comma was partially induced or not). I mean, they had CAT-scans... his brain was gone. the battle is a culture war battle versus a battle over the science... materialists/atheists (like your buddy Bill Maher) must insist that we are biological robots -- no exceptions -- or their worldview crumbles. to most (probably 90% of Americans) this is a silly notion they dismiss without ever directly addressing the absurdity it implies... i.e. of course my life has meaning... of course love is real... of course I have free will. BTW I have booked a guest for a global warming show. wasn't going to go there until I had another guest (who I like and respect) fall into the same trap you have :) Best, Alex
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
More interesting is nuerologist Dr Kevin Nelson's book 'The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain'. Probably less interesting to the after-life crowd. He is strictly science in attempting to explain these experiences, but he recognises the value and importance these experiences have to people who have had them. He says one of the problems in this kind of research (which he has been doing for 30 years) is it is not possible to track down the exact time these experiences occur. For example, during cardiac arrest, there is usually still some limited blood flow to the brain, at least for a time. It has not been possible to tell when in the sequence of being unconscious and waking up the experiences happen. In these hospital situations patients may be hooked up to an EKG, but not an EEG, so brain waves are not monitored so the inference that a a flat EKG also equals a flat EEG is not scientifically robust. Certain people are more prone to these kinds of exeperiences and there seems to be a probable physical explanation. Also these kinds of experiences occur in other situations, such as military centrifuge training. There was an interview with Nelson that Judy and I discussed at one point. Nelson seemed rather combative in that interview (perhaps because the interviewer was pushing the heaven is real POV), but his book is not and treats these experiences as extraordinarily life changing for people. But he is very into showing that these experiences have a rational physical explanation for their occurrence.
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@... wrote: From my friend Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko.com (snip) you gotta read the full article to see how slanted it really is: http://d.pr/xWTy There doesn't seem to be any text in this PDF. It's just the cover page of the article and a photo, nothing of the body of the article. I guess your friend thought he'd get around the paywall for his audience by making a PDF, but it doesn't seem to have worked. Maybe Esquire did something to ensure you couldn't evade paying $2 for the article?
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
Here is another take on these experiences: http://tinyurl.com/c94jp5j [ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/12/seeing-god-in-the-third-millennium/266134/ ] --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: From my friend Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko.com (snip) you gotta read the full article to see how slanted it really is: http://d.pr/xWTy There doesn't seem to be any text in this PDF. It's just the cover page of the article and a photo, nothing of the body of the article. I guess your friend thought he'd get around the paywall for his audience by making a PDF, but it doesn't seem to have worked. Maybe Esquire did something to ensure you couldn't evade paying $2 for the article?
[FairfieldLife] Re: No proof of heaven
Here we go. Someone pasted in the whole Esquire article on the Skeptico forum Alex refers to. Scroll not quite halfway down the page to Sandy B for the first of four parts: http://forum.mind-energy.net/skeptiko-podcast/5360-esquire-misrepresents-dalai-lama-attacks-dr-eben-alexanders-nde-3.html http://tinyurl.com/m7wjts7 The article is pretty cynical, but unless the writer is deliberately misrepresenting what he found in his research, Alexander's reliability appears to be very questionable. Sorry, Rick, but I think your friend Alex has missed the boat here. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: From my friend Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko.com (snip) you gotta read the full article to see how slanted it really is: http://d.pr/xWTy There doesn't seem to be any text in this PDF. It's just the cover page of the article and a photo, nothing of the body of the article. I guess your friend thought he'd get around the paywall for his audience by making a PDF, but it doesn't seem to have worked. Maybe Esquire did something to ensure you couldn't evade paying $2 for the article?
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Table for one? No problem.
Around here occasionally unless you want to wait for an open table they will ask if you want a table in the bar. This can be acceptable because most all bars in California no longer allow smoking. Bars also often have far more two seat tables. There are still some restaurants with counter seating like you have in diners. Those too are often offered when there are no tables open. I rarely dine out and when I do I avoid the lunch rush. On 07/07/2013 10:19 PM, turquoiseb wrote: Seating additional people at tables with room for them, if the place is crowded, is de rigeur for the Dutch. As you say, it can be a nice way to meet nice people. But every so often you've been with other people all day, and just want a place to sit and eat and unwind, and then this practice kinda gets in the way. So I appreciated the intent behind this place in Amsterdam. But I can't really complain about the group seating practice, either, because I met a previous girlfriend that way on my first trip to Amsterdam. It turned out to be a quick fling romantically, but we're still in touch, and still good friends. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, martyboi martyboi@... wrote: When I was younger I used to be self conscious about going to the movie theater alone...like everyone's eyes are on me and they know my social life is a complete disaster. I enjoy going alone now just to get away from my other half. About ten years ago while vacationing on Vashon Island, which is a short ferry ride from Seattle, a friend and I randomly selected a restaurant. It was explained by the greeter that we would be seated at our table with strangers - as this was their tradition. I was horrified, but too hungry to complain. Much to my relief, the place was empty when we were first seated. A few minutes later, however, four individuals were seated at our table. It made me very uncomfortable...until they uncorked a nice bottle of wine to share with us. Properly lubricated, I can hang with just about anyone. They turned out to be very interesting people. Two of them were professors from the University of Washington who had just returned from a photo safari in Africa where they had gone to film the mountain gorillas. It turned out to be quite a nice evening that I remember fondly to this day. As far as I can tell from a quick google, I believe the place is no longer there... so much for social engineering projects.
[FairfieldLife] Another Cafe, Another City
And neither one is as silent as Bad Habits. But both definitely has their charms. This cafe is on the Boulevard St. Germain itself, opposite the Cluny Museum. If I wanted silence (and if it were open at this hour), I could just cross the street, go in, and be plunged into one of the great treasure-troves of Medieval silence in the world. But tonight the crowds and the hip-hop music in the background kinda appeal to me, so since this is my first night in my new 'hood, I figured I should go for a more boisterous writing cafe. This is, after all, the Latin Quarter. It's known for its boppy nightlife and another kind of treasure-trove, its food. Yes, it's full of tourists, but there are restaurants here that cater *to* the tourists, and thus always have reasonably-priced specials on their menus. And many of them are really *good*. Even though my new Airbnb apartment has an adequate kitchen (the last one did not), I don't expect to be doing a lot of cooking while I'm here. :-) And interestingly, despite what I might have theorized during my last Bad Habits rap, the French around me in this cafe are not overly chic and upscale, and they're lookin' pretty damned happy. But then what is *not* to like about T-shirt weather in Paris, with the skies still light at ten PM? In weather like this, people want to go *out*, just like in the Netherlands. Scanning FFL just now, I see that many are still *in*, and discussing that topic that seems to come up here all too often -- what happens when you die. Color me not interested. I'll find out soon enough. The people around me aren't really pondering that one very much, either. They're laughing, and enjoying what happens when you live. I, for one, can't fault them for that. YMMV.
[FairfieldLife] 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b _609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of spiritual superiority is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted disease. It manifests as a subtle feeling that I am better, more wise and above others because I am spiritual. 8. Group Mind: Also described as groupthink, cultic mentality or ashram disease, group mind is an insidious virus that contains many elements of traditional co-dependence. A spiritual group makes subtle and unconscious agreements regarding the correct ways to
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
11. Writing shit like this.:-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@... wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b _609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of spiritual superiority is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted disease. It manifests as a subtle feeling that I am better, more wise and above others because I am spiritual. 8. Group Mind: Also described as groupthink, cultic mentality or ashram
[FairfieldLife] Re: FW: from our TM student
Hey Rick, how's Paul doing? Definitely one of the nicest guys I ever met. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@... wrote: From my sister: From: Carol Morehead [mailto:cmorehead55@...] Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 10:31 AM To: Rick Archer Subject: from our TM student From one of our students here in Evanston -- OK to share I've been meditating for about 6 months now and it has improved so many aspects of my life. I look at myself before I started meditating and I look at myself now and see a dramatic change. When I start my day I am now generally in a good mood. This was not the case before. I have more energy throughout the day and I am much more focused. One of the reasons I started meditating is because I have ADHD. Transcendental Meditation has helped tremendously with that. I don't really get too frustrated over little things like I used to. I used to have a lot of anxiety and also dealt with depression. The anxiety and depression are gone. For the most part, and especially right after I meditate I am at peace. I meditate twice a day for twenty minutes and I look forward to it each and every time. I don't see it as a chore, but rather a privilege. The feeling that I get when I meditate is incredible. It is bliss. Transcendental meditation is the perfect way to start and end my day. It is one of the best things I have ever done. Danny - age 27
[FairfieldLife] Re: Adolph is hip?
LOL! I had forgotten about these - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSD0Mjt64LQ --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon mdixon.6569@... wrote: Thanks card, those are a scream! Got my day off to a good start, From: card cardemaister@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 3:57 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Adolph is hip? Â http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hitler+hearsoq=hitler+hearsgs_l=youtube.3...143.3297.0.3476.10.7.2.0.0.1.532.1239.2j3j1j5-1.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.qLkNvR_AhgI
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... no_reply@... wrote: 11. Writing shit like this.:-) A-MEN! Gawd. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of spiritual superiority is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted disease. It manifests as a
[FairfieldLife] Re: Another Cafe, Another City
Good stuff, Barry - For awhile, I was both traveling a lot on bizness, and running for exercise. I began to find these great places to run, in different cities, made a bunch of notes on each, and hoped to turn it into a book, someday. Ever thought about writing Road Trip Mind, Part Dos? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: And neither one is as silent as Bad Habits. But both definitely has their charms. This cafe is on the Boulevard St. Germain itself, opposite the Cluny Museum. If I wanted silence (and if it were open at this hour), I could just cross the street, go in, and be plunged into one of the great treasure-troves of Medieval silence in the world. But tonight the crowds and the hip-hop music in the background kinda appeal to me, so since this is my first night in my new 'hood, I figured I should go for a more boisterous writing cafe. This is, after all, the Latin Quarter. It's known for its boppy nightlife and another kind of treasure-trove, its food. Yes, it's full of tourists, but there are restaurants here that cater *to* the tourists, and thus always have reasonably-priced specials on their menus. And many of them are really *good*. Even though my new Airbnb apartment has an adequate kitchen (the last one did not), I don't expect to be doing a lot of cooking while I'm here. :-) And interestingly, despite what I might have theorized during my last Bad Habits rap, the French around me in this cafe are not overly chic and upscale, and they're lookin' pretty damned happy. But then what is *not* to like about T-shirt weather in Paris, with the skies still light at ten PM? In weather like this, people want to go *out*, just like in the Netherlands. Scanning FFL just now, I see that many are still *in*, and discussing that topic that seems to come up here all too often -- what happens when you die. Color me not interested. I'll find out soon enough. The people around me aren't really pondering that one very much, either. They're laughing, and enjoying what happens when you live. I, for one, can't fault them for that. YMMV.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Brings to mind Maharishi saying, Why study ignorance? - LOL! Unfortunately the most notable part of her article was that its quality matched the initials behind her name: Piled higher, and Deeper.:-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@ no_reply@ wrote: 11. Writing shit like this.:-) A-MEN! Gawd. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spi\ ri_b_609248.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-sp\ iri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of spiritual superiority is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted disease. It manifests as a subtle feeling that I am better, more wise and above others because I am
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spi\ ri_b_609248.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-sp\ iri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort,
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Having interviewed about 180 people now, and Mariana twice, I think she's spot on with these observations. Of course, it's very difficult to perceive one's own infection by one of these diseases. From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of turquoiseb Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 4:00 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b _609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer wrote: Having interviewed about 180 people now, and Mariana twice, I think she's spot on with these observations. Of course, it's very difficult to perceive one's own infection by one of these diseases. I think they're spot-on, too. That's why they push buttons in those who have become infected. They don't like the interjection of a more real perspective on the mindstates they've become accustomed to and, in some cases, stuck in. Who, after all, can NOT see the TMO written all over most of them? Just for your information, Rick, your repost of this article was the first I knew of it. I immediately forwarded it to a number of spiritual teachers I'm in contact with (some of them kinda famous) to ask what they thought of it. I must have been in sync or some- thing, international-timing-wise, because three of the four have already replied saying that they LOVED the article, and they're proud of HuffPost for printing it, given their past history of rolling over for anyone who displays many of the characteristics mentioned in the article. From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of turquoiseb Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 4:00 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spi\ ri_b_609248.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-sp\ iri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) Barry seemed to reply to Rick's original post, not to authfriend's or Dr D's replies, so it is ambiguous that he read them, winking aside. I think these are good points to take into account, since I have fallen into most of them myself, and I doubt very much I am out of the woods yet. I think of spirituality as if it were a computer virus, a special kind of computer virus. If the virus works it destroys ignorance and itself (as the spiritual system is an aspect of ignorance, a kind of poison pill that has to undo much of what it introduces). When it does not work properly, you are left with a situation that may be as bad or worse than you started with. I would venture that those who do not care for this list are living out some or all of the points mentioned therein. Any nominations for the spiritual ass-hole club? (I am sure some will put me on this list)
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Xenophaneros Anartaxius anartaxius@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) Barry seemed to reply to Rick's original post, not to authfriend's or Dr D's replies, so it is ambiguous that he read them, winking aside. For the record, Barry has gone back to reading *nothing* posted by any of the Frightful Five this week. So if some of them claimed victory because I had, I'd suggest they peruse the list again and see how many of these criteria apply to them. :-) I think these are good points to take into account, since I have fallen into most of them myself, and I doubt very much I am out of the woods yet. THAT is what makes these comments so insightful. Having been there, done that. Those who haven't can't get what is being said. They're still stuck in one or more of the mindstates being discussed. I think of spirituality as if it were a computer virus, a special kind of computer virus. If the virus works it destroys ignorance and itself (as the spiritual system is an aspect of ignorance, a kind of poison pill that has to undo much of what it introduces). When it does not work properly, you are left with a situation that may be as bad or worse than you started with. Yup. I would venture that those who do not care for this list are living out some or all of the points mentioned therein. Some or all of them. Yup. Any nominations for the spiritual ass-hole club? (I am sure some will put me on this list) Who would want to be in any club whose members did NOT realize they were assholes, and could laugh about it? :-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
This is excellent, thank you for posting it Rick - this applies to TMO and every other spiritual movement I have seen. From: Rick Archer r...@searchsummit.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 3:57 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has actually attained a certain level of wisdom and uses that attainment to justify shutting down to further experience. A feeling of spiritual superiority is another symptom of this spiritually transmitted
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@... wrote: Having interviewed about 180 people now, and Mariana twice, I think she's spot on with these observations. Of course, it's very difficult to perceive one's own infection by one of these diseases. It's not that she's *wrong*, Rick, it's that this is such elementary stuff posing as deep insight. And calling it Spiritually Transmitted Diseases is so pretentious and coy. How does Mariana rate herself with regard to these points? Does she consider herself free of infection? From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of turquoiseb Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 4:00 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b _609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Xenophaneros Anartaxius anartaxius@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) Barry seemed to reply to Rick's original post, not to authfriend's or Dr D's replies, so it is ambiguous that he read them, winking aside. It isn't ambiguous if you know Barry. Of course he wouldn't reply to our posts. Did you see his follow-up post? Did you notice it's all about they? I think they're spot-on, too. That's why they push buttons in THOSE who have become infected. THEY don't like the interjection of a more real perspective on the mindstates THEY've become accustomed to and, in some cases, stuck in. Who, after all, can NOT see the TMO written all over most of THEM? (all-caps added) How many of these infections do you think Barry would admit to? I think these are good points to take into account, since I have fallen into most of them myself, and I doubt very much I am out of the woods yet. I think of spirituality as if it were a computer virus, a special kind of computer virus. If the virus works it destroys ignorance and itself (as the spiritual system is an aspect of ignorance, a kind of poison pill that has to undo much of what it introduces). When it does not work properly, you are left with a situation that may be as bad or worse than you started with. I would venture that those who do not care for this list are living out some or all of the points mentioned therein. Of course that's what you would venture. Inevitably. Any nominations for the spiritual ass-hole club? (I am sure some will put me on this list)
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Ahem, as culty as the TMO and the followers are, this listing below is perhaps 99% wrong about the TMO and the experiences of the group. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. Ahem, transformation CAN but seldom does happen in a quick fix. but, ouch, yes, this was once my sin. But marketing-wise, TM didn't push the quickness as a major sales hook. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. Ahem, we were ORDERED to remove our beards and wear our ties. Nope, not guilty of wanting the public to see me as spiritually especial by dint of garb or false smile. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. Ahem, this happens in every field of life. All our plans are for egoic intents. We want the company to succeed but we steal pens and tape dispensers from the office. Like that. Like that. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. Ahem, we were instructed that our experiences were NOT to be considered as sign posts or milestones or tests passed. Thoughts were the dust from house cleaning. And outside of meditation, if someone reported waking experiences, no one but Maharishi was the final judge of the authenticity of those experiences. So, cult-wise, the TMO culture was not guilty of this so much. We didn't truck with folks saying they were enlightened, right? And that said, Maharishi coddled Andy Rymer publicly such that it was a done deal that he was enlightened. Unity Andy then went on to leave the movement and serve the pedophile king, and then return back to the states five years later to rape teenage boys. Of course, this was standard for the movement. And so we get tubby Bevvy, serial adulterer Heggy, Convicted felons by the dozens, dictators, and every sort of dark ilk have been known to hobnob with Maharishi like they were angels on his right hand. So much for Maharishi's insight, eh? 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. Ahem, how snobby to say the phrase structure of the egoic personality with such authority. Outfuckingrageous. As if there were any science today to claim such clarity about another person. Bullshit. And yet, this has been, indeed, my greatest spiritual sin of late. Hm. Advaita does give one such a powerful set of explanations that my seeker-hood has dried up. Gotta say it isn't a sin if it's true that the answers of Advaita are unassailable. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. Ahem, we initiators never were that type to claim superiority over the brethren. I didn't see this very much. Yeah we thought we were evolving faster but we we all clear that a person could walk in off the street and be enlightened in their first meditation, so that held our uppityness in check. 7. Spiritual Pride: Spiritual pride arises when the practitioner, through years of labored effort, has
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Much as I have enjoyed your posts in the pasts, you are making these comments based on the was things used to be in the Movement - for example, the mode of dress - the cloned fawn suits and gold ties, the raja garb and let's not forget the modestly modified saris adopted by the Mother Divine ladies. From posts that have appeared here, they take polls or make lists now in the Domes of the types of experiences people are having - and regardless of the old official attitude of the Movement, the people within the movement sure as hell made moods about what kinds of experiences people were having. As to your assertion that the initiators didn't appear uppity, you must have been hanging out with the cream of the crop. That kind of supercilious attitude is something I have seen in governors since before the sidhis, esp. with the top dogs like Bevan and that damned Greg Wilson and his wife. Unfortunately that also applied to many of the TMers I have known - the attitude about the (shudder) non-meditators. From: Duveyoung no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 6:28 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Ahem, as culty as the TMO and the followers are, this listing below is perhaps 99% wrong about the TMO and the experiences of the group. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. Ahem, transformation CAN but seldom does happen in a quick fix. but, ouch, yes, this was once my sin. But marketing-wise, TM didn't push the quickness as a major sales hook. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. Ahem, we were ORDERED to remove our beards and wear our ties. Nope, not guilty of wanting the public to see me as spiritually especial by dint of garb or false smile. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. Ahem, this happens in every field of life. All our plans are for egoic intents. We want the company to succeed but we steal pens and tape dispensers from the office. Like that. Like that. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. Ahem, we were instructed that our experiences were NOT to be considered as sign posts or milestones or tests passed. Thoughts were the dust from house cleaning. And outside of meditation, if someone reported waking experiences, no one but Maharishi was the final judge of the authenticity of those experiences. So, cult-wise, the TMO culture was not guilty of this so much. We didn't truck with folks saying they were enlightened, right? And that said, Maharishi coddled Andy Rymer publicly such that it was a done deal that he was enlightened. Unity Andy then went on to leave the movement and serve the pedophile king, and then return back to the states five years later to rape teenage boys. Of course, this was standard for the movement. And so we get tubby Bevvy, serial adulterer Heggy, Convicted felons by the dozens, dictators, and every sort of dark ilk have been known to hobnob with Maharishi like they were angels on his right hand. So much for Maharishi's insight, eh? 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. Ahem, how snobby to say the phrase structure of the egoic personality with such authority. Outfuckingrageous. As if there were any
[FairfieldLife] 10 spiritually transmitted diseases. - BetterLife
I might add another. ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS A GURU, MASTER, ENLIGHTENED 'MYSTIC' et cetera, is a spiritual beginner. No authentic 'spiritual person' wants followers, nor is one who follows! 10 spiritually transmitted diseases. - BetterLifezivorad.com/en/10-spiritually-transmitted-diseasesby Dmitry TarasovThe following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted ... Arhata arhataosho.com
[FairfieldLife] Post Count Tue 09-Jul-13 00:15:01 UTC
Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): 07/06/13 00:00:00 End Date (UTC): 07/13/13 00:00:00 192 messages as of (UTC) 07/08/13 23:32:42 25 authfriend 17 Share Long 14 seventhray27 14 Richard J. Williams 14 Ann 12 turquoiseb 11 emilymae.reyn 11 doctordumbass 10 card 10 Bhairitu 9 obbajeeba 9 Michael Jackson 7 Xenophaneros Anartaxius 4 nablusoss1008 4 Rick Archer 4 Ravi Chivukula 4 Mike Dixon 4 John 3 salyavin808 2 Susan 1 martyboi 1 emptybill 1 Duveyoung 1 Arhata Osho Posters: 24 Saturday Morning 00:00 UTC Rollover Times = Daylight Saving Time (Summer): US Friday evening: PDT 5 PM - MDT 6 PM - CDT 7 PM - EDT 8 PM Europe Saturday: BST 1 AM CEST 2 AM EEST 3 AM Standard Time (Winter): US Friday evening: PST 4 PM - MST 5 PM - CST 6 PM - EST 7 PM Europe Saturday: GMT 12 AM CET 1 AM EET 2 AM For more information on Time Zones: www.worldtimezone.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Xeno, I love that spirituality as a computer virus. My big virus is reverse snobbery. Something along the lines of: I'm proud of myself for NOT having flashy experiences. Very insidious. Can slide into it in a nanosecond. What helps instantly is to let my attention be on something I'm grateful for. Heartfelt gratitude even for something simple like the song of a bird, wipes out the pride virus in me at least for a little while. From: Xenophaneros Anartaxius anartax...@yahoo.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 4:54 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) Barry seemed to reply to Rick's original post, not to authfriend's or Dr D's replies, so it is ambiguous that he read them, winking aside. I think these are good points to take into account, since I have fallen into most of them myself, and I doubt very much I am out of the woods yet. I think of spirituality as if it were a computer virus, a special kind of computer virus. If the virus works it destroys ignorance and itself (as the spiritual system is an aspect of ignorance, a kind of poison pill that has to undo much of what it introduces). When it does not work properly, you are left with a situation that may be as bad or worse than you started with. I would venture that those who do not care for this list are living out some or all of the points mentioned therein. Any nominations for the spiritual ass-hole club? (I am sure some will put me on this list)
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Amazing Rick. Hey how about Ram Das? From: Rick Archer r...@searchsummit.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 4:18 PM Subject: RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Having interviewed about 180 people now, and Mariana twice, I think she’s spot on with these observations. Of course, it’s very difficult to perceive one’s own infection by one of these diseases. From:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of turquoiseb Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 4:00 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b_609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that
[FairfieldLife] worthless [was Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases]
Yes, basic, nerdy, and overall, very, very incomplete. Its a vanity piece, All The Way. This list doesn't address any of the milestones of a spiritual journey, especially the continuing expansion of the identity, and subsequent dissolution of the small ego. It just throws out a list that anyone with a couple years of any meditation under their belt, could have written. This writing is just crap. She is no more liberated after having written it, than she was before. It doesn't point in the direction of liberation - it is a back-patting essay, designed to emphasize her wisdom, in the face of so many obstacles. It stinks badly, and I am embarrassed for anyone who sees it as some sort of pinnacle of spiritual wisdom. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: Having interviewed about 180 people now, and Mariana twice, I think she's spot on with these observations. Of course, it's very difficult to perceive one's own infection by one of these diseases. It's not that she's *wrong*, Rick, it's that this is such elementary stuff posing as deep insight. And calling it Spiritually Transmitted Diseases is so pretentious and coy. How does Mariana rate herself with regard to these points? Does she consider herself free of infection? From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of turquoiseb Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 4:00 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b _609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Xenophaneros Anartaxius anartaxius@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) Barry seemed to reply to Rick's original post, not to authfriend's or Dr D's replies, so it is ambiguous that he read them, winking aside. I think these are good points to take into account, since I have fallen into most of them myself, and I doubt very much I am out of the woods yet. I think of spirituality as if it were a computer virus, a special kind of computer virus. If the virus works it destroys ignorance and itself (as the spiritual system is an aspect of ignorance, a kind of poison pill that has to undo much of what it introduces). When it does not work properly, you are left with a situation that may be as bad or worse than you started with. I would venture that those who do not care for this list are living out some or all of the points mentioned therein. I am living proof that this particular assertion is incorrect. Any nominations for the spiritual ass-hole club? (I am sure some will put me on this list)
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Xenophaneros Anartaxius anartaxius@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@ wrote: Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) Says Barry, whose buttons just got pushed by the fact that DrD and I thought it was crap. ;-) ;-) ;-) Barry seemed to reply to Rick's original post, not to authfriend's or Dr D's replies, so it is ambiguous that he read them, winking aside. For the record, Barry has gone back to reading *nothing* posted by any of the Frightful Five this week. So if some of them claimed victory because I had, I'd suggest they peruse the list again and see how many of these criteria apply to them. :-) I think these are good points to take into account, since I have fallen into most of them myself, and I doubt very much I am out of the woods yet. THAT is what makes these comments so insightful. Having been there, done that. Those who haven't can't get what is being said. They're still stuck in one or more of the mindstates being discussed. I think of spirituality as if it were a computer virus, a special kind of computer virus. If the virus works it destroys ignorance and itself (as the spiritual system is an aspect of ignorance, a kind of poison pill that has to undo much of what it introduces). When it does not work properly, you are left with a situation that may be as bad or worse than you started with. Yup. I would venture that those who do not care for this list are living out some or all of the points mentioned therein. Some or all of them. Yup. Any nominations for the spiritual ass-hole club? (I am sure some will put me on this list) Who would want to be in any club whose members did NOT realize they were assholes, and could laugh about it? :-) Oh ho, you walked straight into that one. Guess I don't want to be a member of your particular club, asshole-who-fails-to-laugh-at-himself (or read posts by those who might reveal you to be just as you describe above.)
[FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award
Good god! Whew! What is a ur p er knee? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@... wrote: dear Miz Jeeba with spirit so free no need to be afraid of little ole me cuz God's right there even in ur p er knee (-: From: obbajeeba no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 8:29 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award  --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ravi I always mean it as a compliment when someone makes me laugh and I like that you're emotionally expressive. And I admire your intellect and knowledge of jyotish and how gentle you've been with people when doing their readings. So sorry if it seemed like I was laughing at you. I wasn't. Anyway, I know I still have a ways to go to be emotionally healed. Hopefully you'll keep praying for me and I will for you. PS I don't remember if I've told my pastoral counselor about Funny Farm Lounge name. I'll ask her next time (-: Whoa, Share. What did you just type in the above sentence? No wonder you get picked on! I had not noticed before why certain people pick on you or you on them...maybe you just type a whole lot of sentences that even make obba look pretty smart! I don't remember if I've told my pastoral counselor about Funny Farm Lounge name. I'll ask her the next time. ?? Could funny farm be a take off of animal farm with Share as Mollie? Or Mollie as Share?? Oh boy, I am going to be railed for this one, I just know it... From: Ravi Chivukula chivukula.ravi@ To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 7:18 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award àOn Jul 7, 2013, at 3:32 PM, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: à--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann awoelflebater@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: dear Ravi, I just asked my pastoral counselor about my allegedly being what you call psychologically stunted. She laughed in total delight. End of report. Isn't that why you pay her the big bucks, to tell you what you want to hear? Of course you provided this pasture-loving counsellor the full context for why someone would say that about you, I'm sure. Being the lover of complexity that you are Share, I am sure the two of you had a protracted and in depth investigation into why this characterization should have been attributed to you by Ravi. Yes, this description of your counselling session certainly conveys how deeply and in detail you considered the possibility you are psychologically stunted. Perhaps your counsellor might be too? Oops, maybe that was arrogant of me to suggest this. Forget I said that. Well, at any rate, I'm sure her counselor counseled her to be compassionate to poor hilariously deluded Ravi. Well hopefully Share at that point corrected her counselor and told her this was all a big joke, that Ravi is the most emotionally expressive poster on FFL and she finds this emotional expression of his very humorous. Then hopefully they both laughed and bid adieu. The pastoral counselor then went home and hopefully wondered how weird Share was which then triggered thoughts on if that guy Ravi was right and if Share indeed could be psychologically stunted.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend authfriend@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Rick Archer rick@ wrote: Having interviewed about 180 people now, and Mariana twice, I think she's spot on with these observations. Of course, it's very difficult to perceive one's own infection by one of these diseases. It's not that she's *wrong*, Rick, it's that this is such elementary stuff posing as deep insight. I think we have a 'BINGO' over here. And calling it Spiritually Transmitted Diseases is so pretentious and coy. How does Mariana rate herself with regard to these points? Does she consider herself free of infection? From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of turquoiseb Sent: Monday, July 08, 2013 4:00 PM To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases Good one, Rick. THIS should push a few buttons. :-) :-) :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Rick Archer wrote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mariana-caplan-phd/spiritual-living-10-spiri_b _609248.html 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases It is a jungle out there, and it is no less true about spiritual life than any other aspect of life. Do we really think that just because someone has been meditating for five years, or doing 10 years of yoga practice, that they will be any less neurotic than the next person? At best, perhaps they will be a little bit more aware of it. A little bit. It is for this reason that I spent the last 15 years of my life researching and writing books on cultivating discernment on the spiritual path in all the gritty areas--power, sex, enlightenment, gurus, scandals, psychology, neurosis -- as well as earnest, but just plain confused and unconscious, motivations on the path. My partner (author and teacher Marc Gafni) and I are developing a new series of books, courses and practices to bring further clarification to these issues. Several years ago, I spent a summer living and working in South Africa. Upon my arrival I was instantly confronted by the visceral reality that I was in the country with the highest murder rate in the world, where rape was common and more than half the population was HIV-positive -- men and women, gays and straights alike. As I have come to know hundreds of spiritual teachers and thousands of spiritual practitioners through my work and travels, I have been struck by the way in which our spiritual views, perspectives and experiences become similarly infected by conceptual contaminants -- comprising a confused and immature relationship to complex spiritual principles can seem as invisible and insidious as a sexually transmitted disease. The following 10 categorizations are not intended to be definitive but are offered as a tool for becoming aware of some of the most common spiritually transmitted diseases. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We
[FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, obbajeeba no_reply@... wrote: Good god! Whew! What is a ur p er knee? Perhaps it is your upper knee or maybe even higher...only Share knows for sure. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: dear Miz Jeeba with spirit so free no need to be afraid of little ole me cuz God's right there even in ur p er knee (-: From: obbajeeba no_re...@yahoogroups.com To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 8:29 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award  --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: Ravi I always mean it as a compliment when someone makes me laugh and I like that you're emotionally expressive. And I admire your intellect and knowledge of jyotish and how gentle you've been with people when doing their readings. So sorry if it seemed like I was laughing at you. I wasn't. Anyway, I know I still have a ways to go to be emotionally healed. Hopefully you'll keep praying for me and I will for you. PS I don't remember if I've told my pastoral counselor about Funny Farm Lounge name. I'll ask her next time (-: Whoa, Share. What did you just type in the above sentence? No wonder you get picked on! I had not noticed before why certain people pick on you or you on them...maybe you just type a whole lot of sentences that even make obba look pretty smart! I don't remember if I've told my pastoral counselor about Funny Farm Lounge name. I'll ask her the next time. ?? Could funny farm be a take off of animal farm with Share as Mollie? Or Mollie as Share?? Oh boy, I am going to be railed for this one, I just know it... From: Ravi Chivukula chivukula.ravi@ To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 7:18 PM Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Announcing the Robin Carlsen Memorial Narcissism Award àOn Jul 7, 2013, at 3:32 PM, authfriend authfriend@ wrote: à--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann awoelflebater@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Share Long sharelong60@ wrote: dear Ravi, I just asked my pastoral counselor about my allegedly being what you call psychologically stunted. She laughed in total delight. End of report. Isn't that why you pay her the big bucks, to tell you what you want to hear? Of course you provided this pasture-loving counsellor the full context for why someone would say that about you, I'm sure. Being the lover of complexity that you are Share, I am sure the two of you had a protracted and in depth investigation into why this characterization should have been attributed to you by Ravi. Yes, this description of your counselling session certainly conveys how deeply and in detail you considered the possibility you are psychologically stunted. Perhaps your counsellor might be too? Oops, maybe that was arrogant of me to suggest this. Forget I said that. Well, at any rate, I'm sure her counselor counseled her to be compassionate to poor hilariously deluded Ravi. Well hopefully Share at that point corrected her counselor and told her this was all a big joke, that Ravi is the most emotionally expressive poster on FFL and she finds this emotional expression of his very humorous. Then hopefully they both laughed and bid adieu. The pastoral counselor then went home and hopefully wondered how weird Share was which then triggered thoughts on if that guy Ravi was right and if Share indeed could be psychologically stunted.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
Nice post Edg. Spoken from a place of experience and therefore it holds credibility. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung no_reply@... wrote: Ahem, as culty as the TMO and the followers are, this listing below is perhaps 99% wrong about the TMO and the experiences of the group. 1. Fast-Food Spirituality: Mix spirituality with a culture that celebrates speed, multitasking and instant gratification and the result is likely to be fast-food spirituality. Fast-food spirituality is a product of the common and understandable fantasy that relief from the suffering of our human condition can be quick and easy. One thing is clear, however: spiritual transformation cannot be had in a quick fix. Ahem, transformation CAN but seldom does happen in a quick fix. but, ouch, yes, this was once my sin. But marketing-wise, TM didn't push the quickness as a major sales hook. 2. Faux Spirituality: Faux spirituality is the tendency to talk, dress and act as we imagine a spiritual person would. It is a kind of imitation spirituality that mimics spiritual realization in the way that leopard-skin fabric imitates the genuine skin of a leopard. Ahem, we were ORDERED to remove our beards and wear our ties. Nope, not guilty of wanting the public to see me as spiritually especial by dint of garb or false smile. 3. Confused Motivations: Although our desire to grow is genuine and pure, it often gets mixed with lesser motivations, including the wish to be loved, the desire to belong, the need to fill our internal emptiness, the belief that the spiritual path will remove our suffering and spiritual ambition, the wish to be special, to be better than, to be the one. Ahem, this happens in every field of life. All our plans are for egoic intents. We want the company to succeed but we steal pens and tape dispensers from the office. Like that. Like that. 4. Identifying with Spiritual Experiences: In this disease, the ego identifies with our spiritual experience and takes it as its own, and we begin to believe that we are embodying insights that have arisen within us at certain times. In most cases, it does not last indefinitely, although it tends to endure for longer periods of time in those who believe themselves to be enlightened and/or who function as spiritual teachers. Ahem, we were instructed that our experiences were NOT to be considered as sign posts or milestones or tests passed. Thoughts were the dust from house cleaning. And outside of meditation, if someone reported waking experiences, no one but Maharishi was the final judge of the authenticity of those experiences. So, cult-wise, the TMO culture was not guilty of this so much. We didn't truck with folks saying they were enlightened, right? And that said, Maharishi coddled Andy Rymer publicly such that it was a done deal that he was enlightened. Unity Andy then went on to leave the movement and serve the pedophile king, and then return back to the states five years later to rape teenage boys. Of course, this was standard for the movement. And so we get tubby Bevvy, serial adulterer Heggy, Convicted felons by the dozens, dictators, and every sort of dark ilk have been known to hobnob with Maharishi like they were angels on his right hand. So much for Maharishi's insight, eh? 5. The Spiritualized Ego: This disease occurs when the very structure of the egoic personality becomes deeply embedded with spiritual concepts and ideas. The result is an egoic structure that is bullet-proof. When the ego becomes spiritualized, we are invulnerable to help, new input, or constructive feedback. We become impenetrable human beings and are stunted in our spiritual growth, all in the name of spirituality. Ahem, how snobby to say the phrase structure of the egoic personality with such authority. Outfuckingrageous. As if there were any science today to claim such clarity about another person. Bullshit. And yet, this has been, indeed, my greatest spiritual sin of late. Hm. Advaita does give one such a powerful set of explanations that my seeker-hood has dried up. Gotta say it isn't a sin if it's true that the answers of Advaita are unassailable. 6. Mass Production of Spiritual Teachers: There are a number of current trendy spiritual traditions that produce people who believe themselves to be at a level of spiritual enlightenment, or mastery, that is far beyond their actual level. This disease functions like a spiritual conveyor belt: put on this glow, get that insight, and -- bam! -- you're enlightened and ready to enlighten others in similar fashion. The problem is not that such teachers instruct but that they represent themselves as having achieved spiritual mastery. Ahem, we initiators never were that type to claim superiority over the brethren. I didn't see this very much. Yeah we thought we were
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
I think the list is helpful in a general way: like little mirrors to help you see your own blind spots. The problem is you might start to think you've handled all your stuff and can now finger point issues for people who don't see life as clearly as you do. 11.) Don't develop the spiritual shortcoming of pointing out other people's spiritual shortcomings.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, martyboi martyboi@... wrote: I think the list is helpful in a general way: like little mirrors to help you see your own blind spots. The problem is you might start to think you've handled all your stuff and can now finger point issues for people who don't see life as clearly as you do. 11.) Don't develop the spiritual shortcoming of pointing out other people's spiritual shortcomings. Good one. May I also add: 12) Don't make a distinction between plain old life from spiritual pursuits and leanings. These are not two separate things. If you come to experience 'mundane' things like breathing as anything less than miraculous it's time to re-evaluate.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 10 Spiritually Transmitted Diseases
LOL - well said! PS teenie-tiny mirrors... --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, martyboi martyboi@... wrote: I think the list is helpful in a general way: like little mirrors to help you see your own blind spots. The problem is you might start to think you've handled all your stuff and can now finger point issues for people who don't see life as clearly as you do. 11.) Don't develop the spiritual shortcoming of pointing out other people's spiritual shortcomings.
