[FairfieldLife] Re: Across The Universe - Maharishi, The Beatles, Mike Love, Donovan in Rishikesh
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 no_reply@... wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnLkNl2dplo Damn - I followed this link but didn't take the time to view it and bookmarked it to watch at my leisure. Now I see it's been terminated due to copyright infringement. However, I came across this John Lennon song which had completely escaped my notice until now. Quite cute too. The Beatles - The Happy Rishikesh Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnHaHFOSnwI
[FairfieldLife] Christopher Hitchens and Osho
I enjoy controversy and Hitchens was always a bruiser who enjoyed a good scrap. And I wouldn't have liked to be on the receiving end of one of his barbs. Eg: If you give [Jerry] Falwell an enema you could bury him in a matchbox. When I came across his book God is not Great I enjoyed his skewering of mainstream religion but was very disappointed with his off-hand treatment of eastern faiths. The only relevant chapter (There Is No Eastern Solution) was devoted to Rajneesh, ie the most controversial guru of recent times! What about Buddhism, Vedanta, Taoism . . ? So I found the following response to Hitchens' book by (former?) Osho press officer Krishna Prem of interest: I find it odd that of all the supporters of organized religions on the vast Indian spiritual scene, you pick the one man who consistently criticized the religions for the damage they have done through promoting blind belief, blind faith and generating blind fear down the ages. Osho's attacks on Mother Teresa of Calcutta (is that where you got the idea for your book?) and her boss, whom he called The Polack Pope are well documented. His series of talks in America so often focused on the dangers of Christian fundamentalism that today they seem prophetic. Among the last series of talks he gave in public, two titles come to mind Christianity, the Greatest Poison and Zen, the Antidote to All Poisons as well as a series illustrating where Nietzsche and other atheists missed the boat, God is Dead: Now Zen is the Only Living Truth. To illustrate your premise that there is no Eastern solution, why pick a mystic who, his entire life, through discourses and books, tried to alert mankind to the fact, as you say, that religion poisons everything. And why pick one who left his body in 1990? Did he have that big an impact on you, or was it because you couldn't be bothered updating the research and I use the term facetiously you pretend to have conducted 30 years ago? Worth a look at the full text of the letter: http://sannyasnews.org/now/archives/538 http://sannyasnews.org/now/archives/538
[FairfieldLife] Re: Christopher Hitchens and Osho
Re my previous post: So I found the following response to Hitchens' book by (former?) Osho press officer Krishna Prem of interest . . . I notice now that the link mentions Krishna Prem is also dead so he's for sure not a current Osho press officer at the Pune site!
[FairfieldLife] TM: a Sufi meditation technique?
Idly browsing the web, I came across an ex-TM chap's story (Meditating and making money) from The Times (London), March 10, 2000. Link below: http://www.rickross.com/reference/tm/tm8.html http://www.rickross.com/reference/tm/tm8.html It's the standard disillusioned story, but what caught my eye was the following passage near the end: Rattled, I contacted my old friend Trevor, who'd meditated on trains and once went on an Advanced Course . . . When he gave up, he felt better than ever. Years later, he got an interesting story from Idries Shah, the Indian-born author and philosopher, who died in 1996. Shah told Trevor that years ago, he had met two brothers in India who ran an import-export business. As a joke, Shah offered to help the older brother to found a new religion, and taught him a meditation technique, using a mantra. The other brother nicked the idea and took it to Britain. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember the mantra, so he invented the idea that everyone had to have a different one.So he's hijacked an old Indian tradition, stripped out most of the boring old philosophy, made it trendy and marketed it to gullible Westerners? I ask Trevor. I think your assessment is accurate, he says. My image of TM as a force for good was smashed for ever. No doubt this is baloney - and Idries Shah was in the habit of over-estimating neo-Sufi influences on new age groups. I'm curious though if any of the long-term meditators here on Fairfield Life ever heard this claim back in the day.
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM: a Sufi meditation technique?
Yes, I'm sure you're right about Rick Ross. I found the whole of his article that I provided a link to had that tiresome histrionic agenda-driven tone throughout. But even the suggestion that Idries Shah ever gave a nudge to Maharishi to get him started is just too delicious a rumour not to have made the rounds of the TM Teachers' courses I'd have thought! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Denise Evans dmevans365@... wrote: I am not commenting on your post below, just noting that Rick Ross has a mission in life to expose all cults. Â I read a number of his postings when doing my internet research on Amma and he can be quite vitriolic, to the point that it undermines his credibility in my mind to some degree. http://www.rickross.com/ --- On Fri, 8/12/11, Seraphita s3raphita@... wrote: From: Seraphita s3raphita@... Subject: [FairfieldLife] TM: a Sufi meditation technique? To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, August 12, 2011, 8:55 AM Â Idly browsing the web, I came across an ex-TM chap's story (Meditating and making money) from The Times (London), March 10, 2000. Link below:Â http://www.rickross.com/reference/tm/tm8.html It's the standard disillusioned story, but what caught my eye was the following passage near the end: Rattled, I contacted my old friend Trevor, who'd meditated on trains and once went on an Advanced Course . . . When he gave up, he felt better than ever. Years later, he got an interesting story from Idries Shah, the Indian-born author and philosopher, who died in 1996. Shah told Trevor that years ago, he had met two brothers in India who ran an import-export business. As a joke, Shah offered to help the older brother to found a new religion, and taught him a meditation technique, using a mantra. The other brother nicked the idea and took it to Britain. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember the mantra, so he invented the idea that everyone had to have a different one.So he's hijacked an old Indian tradition, stripped out most of the boring old philosophy, made it trendy and marketed it to gullible Westerners? I ask Trevor. I think your assessment is accurate, he says. My image of TM as a force for good was smashed for ever. No doubt this is baloney - and Idries Shah was in the habit of over-estimating neo-Sufi influences on new age groups. I'm curious though if any of the long-term meditators here on Fairfield Life ever heard this claim back in the day.Â
[FairfieldLife] Re: TM: a Sufi meditation technique?
Yes,now you mention it, the article probably merely played into Rick Ross's agenda. Still, if Shah ever did make that claim you've got to admire his cheek! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj vajradhatu@... wrote: On Aug 12, 2011, at 1:17 PM, Denise Evans wrote: I am not commenting on your post below, just noting that Rick Ross has a mission in life to expose all cults. I read a number of his postings when doing my internet research on Amma and he can be quite vitriolic, to the point that it undermines his credibility in my mind to some degree. http://www.rickross.com/ I don't believe the article was written by Rick Ross, but merely posted on his website. And I seriously doubt that TM comes from Shah.
[FairfieldLife] The Maharishi Effect is kicking in . . .
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/15/think_again_war?page=full
[FairfieldLife] Alan Watts giving a demonstration of Zen in the art of flower arranging . . .
... rather annoyingly breaks into this delightful performance by Sylvie Vartan of La Plus Belle Pour Aller Danser. You can see why John Lennon had the hots for her. The most seductive performance you'll see on YouTube. Hair to die for. http://alturl.com/uh6rr
[FairfieldLife] Re: Alan Watts demonstrating Zen in the art of flower arranging . . .
H. So no-one responded to this posting of mine. Does practising TM turn devotees into wannabe Brahmacharyas or ritually castrated ecstatic followers of Cybele? Do yourself a favour guys and follow this link. It's the best remedy to get rid of the stink of Zen! http://alturl.com/uh6rr --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@... wrote: ... rather annoyingly breaks into this delightful performance by Sylvie Vartan of La Plus Belle Pour Aller Danser. You can see why John Lennon had the hots for her. The most seductive performance you'll see on YouTube. Hair to die for. http://alturl.com/uh6rr
[FairfieldLife] Re: Roger Ebert on the film that caused four murders
The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. H. So do US diplomatic staff condemn offensive attacks against, say, Scientologists ? We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others. Dawkins, Dennett, Sam Harris and Hitchens have happily used (not abused) their right of free speech to lampoon the religious beliefs of others! Rather than pandering to intolerant thugs shouldn't we be making it clear that western societies value their traditions of free speech, which not only have they no intention of relinquishing but would hope one day to see all citizens in Muslim countries enjoy?
[FairfieldLife] Want a personal relationship with Jesus?
Well, here's your chance. A man claiming to be Jesus is gaining followers and causing concern among cult experts in Australia. Former IT specialist Alan John Miller, or AJ as he prefers to be known, runs a religious movement known as the Divine Truth. Mr Miller claims that not only is he Christ, but his partner, Australian Mary Luck, is in fact Mary Magdalene, who according to the Bible was present at the crucifixion. He said, I have very clear memories of the crucifixion, but it wasn't as harrowing for me as it was for others like Mary who was present. When you are one with God you are not in a state of fear, and you have quite good control over your body's sensations and the level of pain that you absorb from your body. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKIkbN39XQ0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKIkbN39XQ0 (Maharishi always denied that Jesus suffered at all.)
[FairfieldLife] Are Raams a safe haven for my savings?
Is Maharishi's currency alternative, the Raam, issued in denominations specific to different countries? If not, as 1 Raam is worth 10 Euros in Holland but 1 Raam is worth 10 US Dollars in Fairfield, Iowa, one could transfer Raams between countries as the exchange rate of the dollar varied against the Euro and make a tidy profit . . .
[FairfieldLife] Re: Want a personal relationship with Jesus?
There's also Vissarion (the Jesus of Siberia), a cult leader who looks like Jesus and claims to be the voice of God. What lengths guys will go to to get themselves laid . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk
[FairfieldLife] Re: How reliable is this quote?
This is what has always puzzled me. Would you take tennis lessons from a coach who couldn't demonstrate his own proficiency in the game? Would you take cooking lessons from someone who never prepared a delicious meal for you to taste? If Maharishi and his trained teachers were unable to demonstrate Yogic Flying in action how could anyone be so trusting as to sign-up to the TM-Sidhi program? Caveat emptor. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, card wrote: Wiki: Musician Paul McCartney was with The Beatles in Rishikesh in 1968 for TM training and he asked if the Maharishi could provide a demonstration of levitation. According to McCartney, the Maharishi said I personally have not practised this art and did not personally know anyone in the area who did and was therefore unable to demonstrate it.[35] 35. Miles, Barry (1997). Many Years From Now. Random House. p. 425. ISBN 978-0-7493-8658-0.
[FairfieldLife] Re: How reliable is this quote?
Hollywood legend Glenn Ford turned up at one of Maharishi's early talks looking for a wonder-worker and asked Maharishi directly if he could levitate. When Maharishi said he didn't bother with stuff like that Glenn Ford replied that in that case he wasn't interested in just learning how to meditate. Ironic, in view of the subsequent launch of the TM-Sidhi program. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, salyavin808 wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, card cardemaister@ wrote: Wiki: Musician Paul McCartney was with The Beatles in Rishikesh in 1968 for TM training and he asked if the Maharishi could provide a demonstration of levitation. According to McCartney, the Maharishi said I personally have not practised this art and did not personally know anyone in the area who did and was therefore unable to demonstrate it.[35] 35. Miles, Barry (1997). Many Years From Now. Random House. p. 425. ISBN 978-0-7493-8658-0. Somebody else asked Marshy if he could levitate and he apparently said yes, every day. But he chose not to to prevent him being remembered as the guy who did magic tricks.
[FairfieldLife] Re: How reliable is this quote?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... wrote: Great story! I just remembered that I passed Richard Burton and Liz Taylor's house in Puerto Vallarta, when I visited there this year. RB was in a movie in PV (Night of the Iguana), and she wanted to stay with him, and the town was discovered as a getaway. Ah yes: Night of the Iguana. Sue Lyon was never sexier than in that movie. She reported later that Richard Burton was so drunk 24/7 that the stench of his sweat almost made her throw up during all the scenes she had to stay close to him!
[FairfieldLife] Re: How reliable is this quote?
From YouTube (so reliable, yes?): Sue Lyon came into Donovan's life at the end of 1965. Lyon had starred in Lolita and Night of the Iguana before meeting Donovan. The couple dated until 1967 when Sue ended the relationship abruptly. Donovan had evidently slipped LSD into Sue's and her friend's drinking cup at a party. Sue described her trip as frightening and disturbing and she felt her self-control disintegrating. After this incident Lyon never spoke to Donovan again until 1975. If true, that was a very un-cool thing for Donovan to have done - not to say downright dangerous. Shortly thereafter he denounced all drug use (cover blurb on his album A Gift From a Flower to a Garden) after being initiated by Maharishi into TM Ah yes: Night of the Iguana. Sue Lyon was never sexier than in that movie. She reported later that Richard Burton was so drunk 24/7 that the stench of his sweat almost made her throw up during all the scenes she had to stay close to him!
[FairfieldLife] A star-cross'd lover finds peace through meditation
I came across this on the web. The beautiful Olivia Hussey talks about what brought her to meditation. No, not your meditation (TM) silly, but Muktananda's shaktipat trickery. If you need a reminder of Olivia in her heyday with Leonard Whiting (what a handsome couple they made in their teens) follow this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCQMlyXMRJElist=FLJad8vN225Nr5hDIzlEOYMA\ index=8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCQMlyXMRJElist=FLJad8vN225Nr5hDIzlEOYM\ Aindex=8 Otherwise just read what she has to relate below . . . Olivia Hussey traced her spiritual leanings to a single evening in England, at age 22. I was at loose ends at the time, she remembered. My marriage (to the late Dean Paul Dino Martin, son of singer Dean Martin) had ended, and I was having trouble sleeping. Someone invited me to a house gathering to hear Swami Baba Muktananda speak. I didn't want to go. It sounded so Eastern and esoteric. Olivia resisted, but the friend insisted, so she went. I just kind of lurked in the background all evening, like a wallflower. At the end of the meeting, 'Baba' worked his way through the crowd, and he walked right up to me and said, in Hindi, 'You're not meditating, my child!' A ball of fire went up my spine, my knees buckled and I felt an explosion in my heart. I started laughing and crying, too. But then everything went calm, and Hussey found herself in a state of absolute bliss. I began meditating right then and there, she said, and when I came out of it I said to a friend, 'That was the quietest ten minutes of my life.' And she said, 'Ten minutes? You've been meditating for two hours!' I was astounded. But I knew from that day on that I'd be meditating the rest of my life. And I have. She became a devotee of Swami Baba Muktananda and the Siddha Yoga Foundation. Baba (which means 'father') died in 1982, Hussey said, and I was fortunate to have gotten to know him, both as a spiritual master and friend. Thanks to him, I live spiritually minded every day. Meditation, she says, has allowed her to throw away prescription medicines for agoraphobia and depression. Probably the only item of real dollar value was one she acquired long before spirituality would become an important part of her life: it's the cross she wore around her neck in Romeo and Juliet. I actually thought about posting it on eBay, just to see how much I could get for it, she said with a laugh. I know movie memorabilia can be very valuable. I would never think of selling it, though.
[FairfieldLife] How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Franklin Merrell-Wolff (younger readers will have to look him up on Wikipedia as he's fallen into obscurity in recent years) claimed that he never learned a single meditation practice that he didn't have to tweak before he could get the maximum benefits from the practice. I have to confess, I've had the same experience with TM. The effortless repetition (or favouring) of the mantra for sure elicited some dramatic changes in consciousness, including (on rounding courses) experiences of Richard Bucke-style cosmic consciousness. But the TM technique always insisted one concentrate (if concentrate is the right word) on hearing the subtle sound of the syllable - with no reference given to where ones vision (perhaps a better expression is inner vision) might be centred. I've since found that, for me, allowing my inner vision awareness to centre on the space immediately in front of my eyes greatly enhances the effects of TM and makes me more centred immediately after a mediation session. (I'm not actually crossed-eyed (!) during my sessions, but presumably the location does suggest the Ajna chakra.) I've heard that other spiritual groups recommend centring ones attention on the Ajna chakra if you're more the thinking type - that would describe me - but they also recommend centring attention on the heart chakra if you're more the touchy-feely type. By the way, dire warnings are given (especially by Theosophical-influenced groups) on allowing one's attention to centre on the lower - the root or genital chakras - unless you're sexually pure as that can increase one's libido and lead to sexual obsessions - or sex addiction as modern parlance has it. Now, only being myself your bog-standard meditator, I'm curious if other (more advanced) FFL posters have experienced a similar effect to me. That is, combining mantra favouring with relaxed, inner visual attention centred in front of the eyes has improved your results. And also I'm curious if those of you who took TM-sidha training, or trained as teachers, ever heard Maharishi mention chakras to your inner core of true believers . . . By the way, if what I'm saying sounds presumptuous why not give it a try yourself for a few days?
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson wrote: I'm surprised the TM purists have not taken you to task for suggesting the technique can be improved. Perhaps they're flabbergasted by my temerity : ) Duncan Barford in his delightful (and amusingly-entitled) little book, Handbook for the Recently Enlightened, suggests that those who pursue the bog-standard head-trip meditation techniques can end up enlightened but their enlightenment can be of a rather autistic nature. Think Osho/Gurdjieff/Aleister Crowley/Maharishi/Robin Carlsen/ . . . A fully-rounded enlightenment needs all the chakras opened in sequence. Perhaps those who have genuine but limited, autistic, awakenings end up founding cults - like Osho - but those who have the full complement of awakened chakras - Jesus (?), Buddha (?) - found world-historical religions?
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
That's why I put the word concentrate in scare quotes. Maharishi himself sometimes spoke of a half-effort being used in repeating the mantra. Why could one not effortlessly bring one's attention back to the Ajna chakra in exactly the same way one favours hearing the subtle sound of the mantra in an effortless way? I'm really wondering if there may not be some people who find the audio route more amenable whereas others might prefer a visual entrance to transcending. And don't knock Buddhists! They've been around a lot longer than TM! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams wrote: But the TM technique always insisted one concentrate (if concentrate is the right word) on hearing the subtle sound of the syllable - with no reference given to where ones vision (perhaps a better expression is inner vision) might be centred. Because this isn't a good description of TM? How can you improve on something you can't even describe? There's no 'concentration' involved in TM practice, nor is 'hearing' the sound of a syllable, nor 'inner vision'. These are all Buddhist meditation techniques - not TM. LoL!
[FairfieldLife] Worried about the size of your butt?
I don't know how many FFL readers are familiar with the late American esoteric thinker Richard Rose. His best-known book was The Albigen Papers. I always found his approach a little severe for my tastes - along with Gurdjieff who insisted on calling his route The Work! - which is, no doubt, why Maharishi's effortless TM made such an appeal to a lazybones like me. One thing that made Rose stand out from other modern teachers was his championing of celibacy. If being celibate is the way to enlightenment then I know I'm never going to make it, so I guess I'm doomed to a life of vice, crime and debauchery and all-round general ignorance. One target for Rose was masturbation. He didn't hold with the current attitude that masturbation is simply a harmless release of sexual tension. On the contrary he believed it to be a serious problem for today's men and women. I'm not saying he's wrong about that: sex is one of those subjects about which you can't string together three consecutive sentences without making a complete hypocrite of yourself. Rose claimed that he could tell if someone was a (regular) masturbator if they had a small arse (or ass as you Americans quaintly put it). I swear I'm not making this up! For confirmation see The Sex Connection by Alan Fitzpatrick. (Rose also thought that homosexuality was caused by a virus transmitted from one male to another - but let's not go there.) I've never had the nerve to follow strangers in the street, evaluate the size of their backsides and then ask them if they were or were not compulsive masturbators, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of Rose's assessment. The best part though is Rose's belief that when people masturbate, although we (by which I mean you, of course) may fantasise about many different scenarios during the reverie, each of us has one - and only one - dominant fantasy that we close-in on when reaching the climax of the operation. Sounds plausible! But not only did Rose see a small ass as an indicator of a masturbator he also claimed he could detect which dominant fantasy each person had. Unfortunately, he didn't spell out what signs to look for in this case but wouldn't it be cool to be at a dinner party and during one of those embarrassing lulls in the conversation you could point to the chap sitting opposite and say in an authoritative voice: Nurse. PVC uniform. Doggy style and then just watch all the colour drain from his face!
[FairfieldLife] Re: Worried about the size of your butt?
Yes, we shipped over all the puritan types on the Mayflower and it's been swinging London ever since :) Richard Rose was serious about advocating celibacy - he wanted his students to have no sex - solo or partnered - for 12 months, to clean the slate as it were. Is that actually possible for a red-blooded young man? It seems Rose had at least one affair judging by the review forThe Direct Mind Experience on Amazon from his first wife which I copy verbatim below: I am truely amazed at the popularity of Mr. Rose's literary attempts. How sad that he knows nothing of his success, though he is not yet deceased. The person I read about is a stranger to me though I was wife #1(there's a #2 as well) from 1950 thru 1974(a marriage that produced 3 children). I will grant that he was a brilliant imaginative man, though perhaps a bit psychotic. I caution to beware. You are reading the rantings of a man that lost touch with reality years ago - long before illness ravaged his oh so demented mind. How's that for revenge? In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann wrote: Since you appear to be British I would imagine your fantasy might be rather kinkified, or at least I would expect so. The British have this interesting reputation of all starched shirt on the outside but inside they would probably make even Ravi blush.
[FairfieldLife] The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
When conservative commentator Mark Steyn is on form he can pen some of the best journalism on the web. I'm in awe at his piece about the George Zimmerman stitch-up. Read it and weep. http://tinyurl.com/qxadrqa
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Thanks for the sane - and reasoned - response (as opposed to the childish rants of the other posters). Photographs of Zimmerman taken at the time of the incident show he suffered a terrifying assault. Let's support the real victims not the knuckle-dragging thugs. I see you guys in Iowa can get concealed-carry permits for handguns. In the unlikely event Zimmerman is freed you may need one when the rent-a-mob rioters hit the streets. :-) And the old fart in the vid is clearly suffering symptoms of heavy unstressing. He needs to get to a TM check. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon wrote: Problem is, had Zimmerman done as this old fart suggests, leave the gun at home, Zimmerman may very well have been the dead one. I think the defense has more than adequately shown that Trayvon ambushed Zimmerman while walking back to his car, initiated violence with a sucker- punch to the nose, repeatedly slammed his head against concrete, while pinning him down and according to Zimmerman, covered his mouth and nose and told him he was going to die tonight. The only injuries on Trayvon were bruised knuckles(from pounding Zimmerman and the gun shot to the heart), no bruises to head or body,no indications Zimmerman ever so much as touched Trayvon. The prosecution proved nothing, only suggesting a series of *what if's*. Charges never should have been filed against Zimmerman and were only done so out of political pressure. The media has been wanting a *race dialog* since Obama took office, remember the Louis Gates fiasco?Thing is, just like Trayvon, they(the media) aren't picking their fights very well. They need a slam dunk and Florida vs Zimmerman isn't one. My intuition tells me that old man is really a college prof. trying to come off as an old red-neck trying to erase his *white guilt*. Sorry, I just don't buy it,LOL! From: Richard J. Williams richard@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 6:41 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.  This guy nails it for me Seraphitarded baby http://youtu.be/xTNtJoYSHa4 Outta SIGHT, man. Where'd you find this? On YouTube? LoL! On 7/12/13 3:57 PM, Seraphita wrote: When conservative commentator Mark Steyn is on form he can pen some of the best journalism on the web. I'm in awe at his piece about the George Zimmerman stitch-up. Read it and weep. *http://tinyurl.com/qxadrqa*
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Re Goebbles [sic] never had it so good : actually Herr Goebbels had all his opponents shipped off to concentration camps you silly man! Steyn has to compete on the open forum of the web and is one of the most popular political pundits around the globe. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, raunchydog wrote: Steyn is the Cadberry Easter Bunny of journalism. Masquerading as a clucking chicken, he delivers chocolate eggs in colorful foil, but each contains a poison pill. He wraps a delicious story in oft repeated talking points solely for the purpose of delivering red meat smears to trained teabaggers salivating on cue. Goebbles never had it so good.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Actually I'm neither right-wing nor left-wing - I'm happy to leave that kind of dualistic thinking to the unenlightened. If anything, I'm closest to being anti the state in my approach to politics, so on the political right I enjoy those conservative writers who oppose the encroaching nanny state and on the political left I'm a big fan of those old anarchist theoreticians (and I'll give a nod to the hippies also). If over your side of the pond you call someone with views like mine a right-wing fundamentalist then that's what I am! The terminology is misleading though. But re your comment Why you care enough about this subject : because I care about justice! What would you think of someone who couldn't give a shit if Zimmerman was convicted or not? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann wrote: Childish rants appears to be what this post of yours is. It not only earmarks you as right wing but rather fundamentalist in the worst kind of way, not to mention insulting as a result of others not agreeing with your viewpoints. I don't think any TM checking could cure you of any of these afflictions either. Why you care enough about this subject enough to demonstrate these unsavoury characteristics you evidently possess is one of those mysteries of life. We've got a couple of assholes here already, I guess another one won't hurt.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
You've clearly had an irony-bypass operation. The clue was :-) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: We do not have riots in Iowa. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: In the unlikely event Zimmerman is freed you may need one when the rent-a-mob rioters hit the streets. :-)
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
I'm in the 1% group. My smileys mean business! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann wrote: Those stupid smiley faces mean nothing. Barry uses them all the time after stabbing someone in the back. I never use them because they are 99% of the time disingenuous.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: Actually I'm neither right-wing nor left-wing - I'm happy to leave that kind of dualistic thinking to the unenlightened. Oh no, does this mean you're enlightened? Lord help us - another FFLifer who's had an irony-bypass operation. If anything, I'm closest to being anti the state in my approach to politics, so on the political right I enjoy those conservative writers who oppose the encroaching nanny state and on the political left I'm a big fan of those old anarchist theoreticians (and I'll give a nod to the hippies also). If over your side of the pond you call someone with views like mine a right-wing fundamentalist then that's what I am! The terminology is misleading though. Most terminology is misleading but words written by others usually speak volumes. Then why use the terminology? You mentioned right-wing and fundamentalist first. But re your comment Why you care enough about this subject : because I care about justice! What would you think of someone who couldn't give a shit if Zimmerman was convicted or not? If you interpret justice to mean the guy you happen to think is innocent doesn't get convicted then I don't care about that kind of justice. This case does not particularly interest me but when vitriol erupts from someone posting about it I find that more engaging. This is why I chimed in. I am not convinced that anger, insults and mudslinging are warranted by caring about the Zimmerman case as you profess to do. I prefer civilized, open minded dialogue that is why I started this discussion with you. Yes! Funnily enough, I do interpret justice to mean the guy I believe is innocent doesn't get convicted! I think OJ Simpson should have been found guilty. The fact that the jury disagreed with me is a matter of sublime indifference to me. I'll make my own mind up thanks.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Nicely put. And we Brits don't really do feelings - which is why the hysterical responses by some of the other posters just strike me as absurd. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon wrote: Seraphita, it doesn't pay to *think* on FFL, you must *feel*. You must *feel* empathy for the downtrodden. You have to feel their *pain* and wallow in it with them, regardless of whether they are right or wrong. That shows others, that you really *care* and if you really *care*, others will *love* you, just like Sally Fields! You see, Trayvon was just a poor little innocent black child, never hurt a fly( just look at the pictures when he was twelve), just bought Skittles for his little brother and tea for himself and was skipping home in the rain when that evil ,white... err, I mean, White Hispanic, was following him, probably going to molest him(weed induced paranoia) and then that creepy- ass cracker pulled out a gun and just shot him because he looked suspicious and was going to get away again. Just don't think about the facts. Just *feel* and you'll be loved.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Yes! I wish I could write as well as Mark Steyn! That's what I've been trying to say all along. And on the irony question, I'm convinced that Brits are more sensitive to irony than Yanks so my ear is differently attuned to your ear. I hardly dare post this comment as the finger-waggers will no doubt immediately respond with accusations of stereotyping. But stereotypes often exist for good reason. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: Nothing you wrote suggested an ironic intention. So-called smiley faces mean nothing. If you wrote better you would not need them.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Blimey! We don't have Food Stamps here in the UK. The closest equivalent is welfare support for low-income groups and the unemployed. I've been the recipient of such largess myself back in the day and regard such payments as both morally justified and essential if we're not to have repeats of the recent summer riots! I'm happy to eat the rich. The state I can't abide is the one that tries to tell me that certain opinions are not PC and so not acceptable (by the way, give my thanks to the American Right for coming up with that useful expression politically correct!). The state I can't abide is the one that tries to micromanage every aspect of our lives. The state I can't abide is the one that behaves like your maiden aunt banning smoking in bars, waging the war on drugs, introducing minimum pricing on alcohol, . . . That sort of crap. Funnily enough, I've never really examined the issue of abortion so haven't actually got an opinion on its rights and wrongs but I'd support an individual woman's right to choose. She can decide for herself and I'll decide for myself. Regardless, I wouldn't allow myself to be placed on a political spectrum. My heroes are all renegades. Some are lefties like Blake, Shelley, old Tim Leary and Robert Anton Wilson; some are on the individualist right like Aleister Crowley, the Marquis de Sade (really!) and Max Stirner. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend wrote: Let's see if we can come a little closer to figuring out where you sit on the U.S.'s right-left spectrum (domestically, at any rate). Do you oppose Food Stamps? Do you oppose abortion? (I realize unqualified Yes or No answers may not work for you, but by all means qualify away; that will help us adjust your location more precisely.)
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
That's a can of worms you've opened up there! The whole therapy thing never really took off over here as it has in the USA. I've a soft spot for eccentrics and neurotics - who the fuck wants to be normal? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: But in my experience, people who claim that they don't do feelings are in fact awash in feelings all the time--they just don't know what to do with them.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Here's everything you need to know about irony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zACBeLOpdvQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zACBeLOpdvQ --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: I'm not even sure you know what irony is.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Anyway, enough of this idle chat. It's Saturday night and it's 8pm here in London so I'm off out. Of course, we on FFL are in the privileged position of knowing that really we're just the One Self pretending to disagree with each other. Had you fooled there for a while didn't I?
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Re Perhaps you're more of a Libertarian? Do you have those in the U.K.?: Not enough! I've always liked the label libertarian, perhaps because it chimes with libertine and liberal - liberal in the old-fashioned, 19th-century, sense of individual freedoms and not your current US sense which homes-in on group values and the ghettoisation that attitude entails). But libertarian in the USA also seems to imply a fuck-the-poor attitude which I don't share. I've read a few of Ayn Rand's books (yep, I know she rejects the label libertarian but that's what she was essentially) and respect her rants against state encroachment but she never addresses the issue that wealth gets concentrated in elites. Here in the UK they've been able to ascertain, using DNA analysis, that most of the wealth of the country is in the hands of people who can trace their roots back to the Norman Conquest in 1066! That make it the longest military occupation in history! You can't ignore brute facts like that. But although I sympathise with the left's concern with poverty (I've been at the bottom of the pile myself in the past and even today can count drug addicts and seriously fucked-up people amongst my friends) the over-riding priority for me has always been individual freedom - and that was also the case when all I had to eat (as a latter-day hippie) was onion sandwiches and I was sleeping on a mattress rescued from a rubbish tip! I think the thing that really pisses me off about present-day lefties is the white-guilt crap. Yes, I know the British Empire once controlled a quarter of the world (and I admit to feeling slightly smug and amused about that fact!) but that was before I was born, and just as I always treat individuals as individuals I demand that they treat me the same. And if they don't - screw 'em! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend wrote: Regardless, I wouldn't allow myself to be placed on a political spectrum. My heroes are all renegades. Some are lefties like Blake, Shelley, old Tim Leary and Robert Anton Wilson; some are on the individualist right like Aleister Crowley, the Marquis de Sade (really!) and Max Stirner. Perhaps you're more of a Libertarian? Do you have those in the U.K.?
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Who'd have thunk it?: I remember my dad saying once, when the family was watching Star Trek on the box, Why don't they just put Spock in charge of the Enterprise? None of us could think of a rebuttal. Spock's the one who relied on logic - none of this touchy-feely nonsense. As Plato pleaded in The Republic isn't that the kind of man (women were excluded according to the Divine Plato) we want in leadership positions? On the other hand, I do find these (fabricated) crop circles rather pleasing. Nothing wrong with a bit of fun. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson wrote: So Brits are like Vulcans then - British Vulcans - who would-a thought it?! Now we know who is doing all the crop circles that Nabby gets so worked up about.
[FairfieldLife] A break in the thread
Sometimes when I'm following an extended series of posts on one of the longer threads I find I can't access the later responses. The opened page doesn't allow me to click on the Next option at the page's end. I know when you open a post it is then followed by a later set of postings which can help push you further along the chain but even then I find I hit a brick wall and can't get beyond it. Have you experienced this? And if so is there a simple answer to my quandary - or is it a glitch in my laptop?
[FairfieldLife] Zimmerman not guilty!
Game, set and match to Mark Steyn.(Try not to be sore losers.)
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... wrote: This guy is just your average, stupid, run of the mill racist. Why so impressed, or have you successfully hidden your glue sniffing habit from us? Wow, you guys really do play the race card as a knee-jerk response, don't you? Steyn is neither stupid nor average: even his detractors have had to admit his flair for controversy. He's also a fine champion for freedom of speech and has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with those whose lives are under constant threat of assassination because of their un-PC views. Don't you agree that even dumb asses like you should be able to express your ill-considered opinions without fear of assault? (I leave glue sniffing to the plebs - I deserve Class A drugs.) The one guy had a gun. The other guy didn't. Are we done yet? Lucky for him he had a gun or he'd be six feet under today.Yes, we are done. Not Guilty was the right call. Of course Zimmerman will never be able to live a normal life now so that should be some consolation to you. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: When conservative commentator Mark Steyn is on form he can pen some of the best journalism on the web. I'm in awe at his piece about the George Zimmerman stitch-up. Read it and weep. http://tinyurl.com/qxadrqa
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Interesting. I hadn't considered that aspect of the case. No wonder his lawyer was looking so cheerful on the TV news today - Christmas has come early. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon wrote: George Zimmerman will always be a *marked* man but he could also become a very wealthy man in the near future. Florida has strong laws against being charged with a crime without the evidence to support a conviction. That is why he wasn't charged in the first place. He has an excellent case against the state of Florida. He also has a strong case against NBC for editing his 911 call that made him look like he brought up the issue of *race* in his call. The idea, to make Zimmerman look as if he was a racist. That would show malice, strengthening a manslaughter case. Florida and NBC will probably want to settle out of court, making Zimmerman very wealthy and able to live anywhere he wants.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Nice. Very nice. If a case like this had happened in the UK, Zimmerman might not sleep so easy at night as the bastards in power abolished double jeopardy protection, which had been the law here since the Normans popped over in 1066! Since 2005, serious crimes (including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, and serious drug crimes) can be subject to a retrial, regardless of when committed. Unbelievable! (Funnily enough, the protection was abolished following a high-profile case in which an innocent black youth standing at a bus stop was stabbed to death by a gang of white thugs.) For you guys the double jeopardy rule is guaranteed in your Fifth Amendment. Don't ever let the politicians take it away from you. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Mike Dixon wrote: O'Mara, Zimmerman's attorney, has said they will get immunity from any civil cases brought against Zimmerman. Probably based on *stand your ground* law. So if the Martin's want to sue Zimmerman after Zimmerman has settled with Florida and NBC it won't do them any good.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Re Anyone with a gun who shoots an unarmed man in a public place has committed a crime. : not if he is convinced his own life is in danger. Like it or not that's what the law says in Florida. And even if the law didn't say that I'd shoot someone regardless if I thought he was going to assault me unprovoked and I had a gun handy. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... wrote: Ah, so he is an *intelligent* racist?? Anyone with a gun who shoots an unarmed man in a public place has committed a crime. I personally don't get into the whole black and white thing like the racist dude in the article. I don't give a damn if one person was green and the other polka-dotted. Enjoy your class A delusion.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Yes, I've a lot of sympathy for your point here Ann - but then here in the UK we have some of the strictest gun-control laws in the world! You're not even allowed to carry pepper spray as a deterrent as you can in France, for example. The bottom-line in this Zimmerman case is probably that it should never have been a case at all as there was always insufficient evidence to take it to court. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ann wrote: That is the crux right there, a very good reason why guns have no business in the hands of any member of the public. The threat of a broken jaw, a few stitches is not worth taking the life of another for. Level playing fields are not created by putting guns in the hands of those scared enough or angry enough to use them against others without a gun. Violence happens, people get threatened, injured, killed all the time. Add guns into the mix and you exponentially increase the bloodletting. No one will ever be able to convince me that guns are a right I should exercise or fight for. I didn't want to get into this topic but I guess I have now.
[FairfieldLife] Holly Hunter is U.G.Krishnamurti
On BBCtv tonight I just watched the first episode of Top of the Lake (available to watch for free on BBC iPlayer and Netflix) in which Holly Hunter plays GJ, an androgynous guru (based on the irascible UG). It seems that New Zealand film director Jane Campion was a friend of U.G. Krishnamurti. I've read a few of his books (they are all transcribed talks) and it was always as though you'd come across Jiddu Krishnamurti (no relation) in an especially foul temper - though UG was always entertaining and challenging in his self-appointed role as an anti-guru. Interesting cast, naturalistic performances and quite an effective and creepy turn by Holly who arrives with her female followers at a remote spot in southern New Zealand, much to the consternation of the locals. I was intrigued enough by this opener to want to check out next week's episode. If you Google the title you'll find plenty of reviews on-line. One of them describes it as grim and preachy, but beautiful which would fit both of Campion's movies I've seen (The Piano and Bright Star). If you've ever been curious about UG you might want to take a peek.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Re I disagree completely: now that made me laugh as we do finally agree. I also am not one to protest reality (I'm a quietist at heart). I don't really care that much what happens to Zimmerman from here on in; he can look after himself. And, yep, karma's a bitch alright. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... wrote: Yeah, OK. I disagree completely, though I am not one to protest reality. I don't care what happens to the killer - karma's a bitch.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Michael, I don't discount the idea that there could be prejudice - I'm a long way from Florida and have only spent a couple of weeks there on vacation so I can't pronounce on the locals' attitudes towards race - but wouldn't you want hard evidence to convict someone on a murder rap and send them to Death Row or life imprisonment? The prosecution didn't have anything much beyond the guesswork we're all engaging in here on FFL. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson wrote: wrong again - you discount the idea that the local law enforcement didn't give a shit about Martin because of his color - my step father was a cop in a small Southern town in SC and I know from him the level of prejudice that existed and still exists today in many Southern towns - it happens, don't doubt that.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Holly Hunter is U.G.Krishnamurti
Lord, yes, I forgot about that one! Holy Smoke was a complete mess from start to finish. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: After all, we are talking about the director who made arguably the worst film ever made about cults, Holy Smoke. In it, she managed the almost-impossible task of getting terrible performances from not only Harvey Keitel, but Kate Winslet as well.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Words fail me......
This might amuse you. Stephen Fry on what you can tell about someone from their palms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZKVF3p-83U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZKVF3p-83U --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, salyavin808 wrote: Want to be richer, more successful and live longer? PALM SURGERY is on the rise in Japan as people carve new lines into their hands in bid to improve their fortune
[FairfieldLife] Re: Holly Hunter is U.G.Krishnamurti
Sweetie I've not seen, but your thumbs up for the beginning of Holy Smoke made me YouTube it. Yes, that shaktipat trickery is quite a fun scene, but the movie didn't live up to the opening promise for me. I recall one film reviewer on the TV here calling Holly Hunter a completely pointless actress (!) but that lack of affect she can display works in her favour in this series. You really get the feeling for UG's unnerving unpredictability. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: Of course folks here would love Sweetie with it's obvious nod to TM being that one of the characters is a TM teacher. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098725/ Actually I like Holy Smoke and have the DVD. I thought she did a pretty good job of depicting shaktipat at the beginning. Holly Hunter had that dreadful neo-religious TV series that probably didn't do much for her career.
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Thanks. Re TM is a very simple technique in more ways than one . . . and thus can be taught by about anyone : which is its selling point also, of course. Wherever you are in the world you know a Big Mac is going to taste like a Big Mac back home. Perhaps Maharishi's genius was precisely in providing a standardised form of meditation identical around the globe - which also made it useful for replicable scientific study. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: Sounds like you would do better to learn something more advanced than TM and have instruction with a one on one teacher as I had. TM is a very simple technique in more ways than one. Most mantra meditation taught to the public by other systems is more like the TM advanced technique. TM is more like the mantras given for astrology or ayurveda and thus can be taught by about anyone.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The George Zimmerman case: Steyn nails it.
Re if it's all Self why not be totally wild and out of control and provocative?: Why not? No reason whatsoever! The trick, of course, is to be able to do it with style - like the inimitable Aleister Crowley - and not get so carried away that you completely blow it - like Charles Manson. (To be fair to Charlie he had the shittiest start in life imaginable; while Crowley was able to cultivate his image thanks to a huge inheritance. I should be so lucky.) Of course, if it's all Self - and it is - why not be bookish, disciplined and discrete - if that appeals to you more? The only rule is that there are no rules. In Eternity the Archangel Gabriel isn't holding an emerald tablet with a list of dos and don'ts we have to abide by. That's what makes the ride so scary. On a footnote: if anything goes, then does it make sense to say in the Declaration of Independence: we hold these truths to be self-evident? If they're self-evident then why didn't bright spark Aristotle include them in his Politics? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Chivukula wrote: Yep I'm opposite of the Seraphita, Xeno pseudo-Eastern, neo-advaita, Buddhist types - if it's all Self why not be totally wild and out of control and provocative?
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Thanks again. Re Beej mantras are commonly used in astrology and ayurveda . . . tells the person to repeat the mantra either in a short meditation or sometimes throughout the day (like a walking mantra). Repeating the mantra through the day (like the Hare Krishna crowd) is very different from effortless TM. The point is kinda to forget the mantra. Re: When longer mantras are given as a public first technique then the teacher usually gives shaktipat to jump-start them. Muktananda's organization teaches this way. But the guru has to wait until his teachers have developed enough shakti to give shakipat to teach these. I was also taught by my tantra guru to teach meditation this way. You sound like the guy I need to meet! What I've read about Muktananda's shaktipat trickery has always intrigued me - he was able to produce serious shifts in his students awareness - shifts that are difficult to explain. Do you think it comes down to hypnotic suggestion? - which is what charismatic church leaders seem to practise (perhaps unconsciously). Or do you reckon there's something more going on here? I was recently looking for a (basic, non-technical) book on shaktipat that might give me some insight: can you recommend any titles (maybe one of Muktananda's as I've not read any of his books)? Re . . . With a little zip from performing a puja before each teaching session. But a lot of people might have just picked the beej mantra up out of book and it would have worked after a while. Yes, there are some on-line TM-type instructors that have appeared recently. I remember from my own TM initiation that I felt the dive within right from the get-go. In fact, it took me completely by surprise. Those who've tried learning from a book or on-line do report benefits so I hope they're getting the same experiences but I wonder if, by missing out on that face-to-face encounter, something gets lost by the mediation of text or technology. Rather like Benson's Relaxation Response! One of the most striking things about Maharishi's decision to set-up his teacher-training assembly line was his confidence that they'd be able to transmit the TM technique and get guaranteed results. How could he be so confident when he was dealing with something so intangible? By the way, when I refer to hypnosis above, that's not a put-down as hypnosis is clearly beneficial in certain situations. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: Beej mantras are commonly used in astrology and ayurveda. They don't take much to work and the astrologer or ayurvedic practitioner just tells the person to repeat the mantra either in a short meditation or sometimes throughout the day (like a walking mantra).. Longer mantras like the advanced technique require more to work. When longer mantras are given as a public first technique then the teacher usually gives shaktipat to jumpstart them. Muktanda's organization teaches this way. But the guru has to wait until his teachers have developed enough shakti to give shakipat to teach these. I was also taught by my tantra guru to teach meditation this way. Maharishi wanted to create a lot of teachers so in a way went with the beej techniques ala astrology or ayurveda with a little zip from performing a puja before each teaching session. But a lot of people might have just picked the beej mantra up out of book and it would have worked after a while. Not so much so by taking a longer mantra out of a book. Certain beej mantras are considered useful for certain stages of life.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
Christ, get over yourself! Treat people as individuals not as representatives of a particular race or nation. Re Zimmerman had to act in self-defense against the racist, homophobic bigotry of African Americans: you listen to any hip-hop music recently? Clearly some black individuals (notice I said some there?) can't abide gays. What --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Chivukula wrote: Yes I think Mikey boy's right. Zimmerman had to act in self-defense against the racist, homophobic bigotry of African Americans, epitomized by Travyon. How can one not feel the pain and burden of Whites with their long history of slavery when African American landowners shipped them from Europe, then being confined to housing projects with rampant guns, drugs, cheap wine, cheap meat - coupled with systematic racism denying them employment opportunities forcing a cycle of white-on-white violence, high crime rate, alcoholism and drug abuse. The burden of being constantly profiled, harassed and abused by the predominantly African-American police. God I myself spent 3 years around housing projecting witnessing the pain and burden of Whites. Who can ever forget a bunch of African Americans torturing, tying the young homosexual Mathew Shepard to a fence and leaving him to die. My sympathies are with Whites, Mikey boy and Zimmerman.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
Priceless! I got that beat though. Here's a comment on another web site: I wonder if this whole thing wouldn't have just blown over if the victim wasn't the president's son. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams wrote: So Trayvon was worried Zimmerman was a gay rapist ass-craker? That's homophobia and gay profiling!
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Thanks yet again. Taking on board what you say about shaktipat and book-learning, which of Muktananda's books would you recommend if I just wanted to learn about the man and his trajectory? And, with apologies for lowering the tone of the conversation, what did you make of the accusations of sexual impropriety against Mucky? As he seems to be guilty as charged (no?) does that invalidate what he had to teach? Also, do you know of any shaktipat groups in the UK that could be worth investigating? Does your group have centres (centers) over here? As regards your personal history, did you ever try psychedelics back in the day; I'm wondering if they might have been a cause of some of your experiences. (If you don't want to answer this bit, that's fine too!) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: On 07/16/2013 04:15 PM, Seraphita wrote: Thanks again. Re Beej mantras are commonly used in astrology and ayurveda . . . tells the person to repeat the mantra either in a short meditation or sometimes throughout the day (like a walking mantra). Repeating the mantra through the day (like the Hare Krishna crowd) is very different from effortless TM. The point is kinda to forget the mantra. There is the TM walking mantra for kids. And in TM the mantra is just a faint idea. FYI, I taught TM too. Re: When longer mantras are given as a public first technique then the teacher usually gives shaktipat to jump-start them. Muktananda's organization teaches this way. But the guru has to wait until his teachers have developed enough shakti to give shakipat to teach these. I was also taught by my tantra guru to teach meditation this way. You sound like the guy I need to meet! What I've read about Muktananda's shaktipat trickery has always intrigued me - he was able to produce serious shifts in his students awareness - shifts that are difficult to explain. Do you think it comes down to hypnotic suggestion? - which is what charismatic church leaders seem to practise (perhaps unconsciously). Or do you reckon there's something more going on here? It is the transference of energy or shakti. It isn't hypnosis. Tantrics are supposed to get so powerful and good at it that they can temporarily animate a dead corpse in a cremation ground. I was recently looking for a (basic, non-technical) book on shaktipat that might give me some insight: can you recommend any titles (maybe one of Muktananda's as I've not read any of his books)? It can't be learned from a book. It is really simple and there have been others on FFL who have taken some of the shaktipat courses that other Indian teachers have offered. My teacher limited me to giving it only 7 times per day when starting out. But he also only allowed me to do the technique after 5 years of instruction. Re . . . With a little zip from performing a puja before each teaching session. But a lot of people might have just picked the beej mantra up out of book and it would have worked after a while. Yes, there are some on-line TM-type instructors that have appeared recently. I remember from my own TM initiation that I felt the dive within right from the get-go. In fact, it took me completely by surprise. Those who've tried learning from a book or on-line do report benefits so I hope they're getting the same experiences but I wonder if, by missing out on that face-to-face encounter, something gets lost by the mediation of text or technology. Three years prior to learning TM I tried a meditation out of a book. I didn't expect anything but the kundalini rose to the crown chakra. It was as if I went up into the sun and coming out I was disoriented. I had been doing some yoga asanas that were taught to me by someone in the house where I was staying. Those probably helped prime me but OTOH I had spiritual experiences since childhood but nothing like the kundalini rising. So it depends. I also had a friend who was raised by Rosicrucians and was very spiritual. He got shaktipat and meditation instruction from one of Muktananda's teachers and said he didn't experience anything. Rather like Benson's Relaxation Response! One of the most striking things about Maharishi's decision to set-up his teacher-training assembly line was his confidence that they'd be able to transmit the TM technique and get guaranteed results. How could he be so confident when he was dealing with something so intangible? Because indeed it is a very simple technique. And as I mentioned something like astrologers or ayurvedic practitioners give in a less structured way. I had a professor of astrology at a Hindu university recommend the same mantra as the TM advanced technique after seeing my chart. By the way, when I refer to hypnosis above, that's not a put-down as hypnosis is clearly beneficial in certain situations. My tantric guru became a licensed hypno-therapist. --- In FairfieldLife
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
Excellent. That's a fair cop as we say over here! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: Someone appears to have undergone an irony-bypass operation. Now, what was that you were saying a few days ago about British superiority in the recognition of irony? Time to eat humble pie. How ironic.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
That's instant karma for you. As the one who started the whole Zimmerman/Steyn argy-bargy thread, when I saw a new thread had been started on this topic I thought: Don't go there Seraphita. I ignored the voices in my head and look what happens! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Chivukula wrote: On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 4:37 PM, Seraphita s3raphita@... wrote: ** Christ, get over yourself! Treat people as individuals not as representatives of a particular race or nation. I can't Seraphita baby - how can you be so cold-hearted and not show any empathy to my pain, my bitterness, the sadness and the overwhelming resentment I feel against the deep rooted, deep seated, deep, deep, fucking deep bigotry of African Americans? You heartless bastard - I hate you - you hear me? I fucking HATE YOU @!#$%^*( Re Zimmerman had to act in self-defense against the racist, homophobic bigotry of African Americans: you listen to any hip-hop music recently? Clearly some black individuals (notice I said some there?) can't abide gays. What --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Chivukula wrote: Yes I think Mikey boy's right. Zimmerman had to act in self-defense against the racist, homophobic bigotry of African Americans, epitomized by Travyon. How can one not feel the pain and burden of Whites with their long history of slavery when African American landowners shipped them from Europe, then being confined to housing projects with rampant guns, drugs, cheap wine, cheap meat - coupled with systematic racism denying them employment opportunities forcing a cycle of white-on-white violence, high crime rate, alcoholism and drug abuse. The burden of being constantly profiled, harassed and abused by the predominantly African-American police. God I myself spent 3 years around housing projecting witnessing the pain and burden of Whites. Who can ever forget a bunch of African Americans torturing, tying the young homosexual Mathew Shepard to a fence and leaving him to die. My sympathies are with Whites, Mikey boy and Zimmerman.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
By the way: I don't think Brits have a superiority in the recognition of irony. It's more that Yanks and Brits are attuned differently. The fact that I missed this one and you missed some of mine rather nicely makes my point. (Seizing victory from the jaws of defeat!) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita wrote: Excellent. That's a fair cop as we say over here! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: Someone appears to have undergone an irony-bypass operation. Now, what was that you were saying a few days ago about British superiority in the recognition of irony? Time to eat humble pie. How ironic.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
The First Amendment and Jack Daniel's No 7. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: Thanks for being a good sport. I quite like the English, actually. But that cultural superiority thing is a bit outdated, don't you think? You may have Shakespeare, but we have, er . . . er . . . we have . . . OK, I'll get back to you on that one. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: Excellent. That's a fair cop as we say over here! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: Someone appears to have undergone an irony-bypass operation. Now, what was that you were saying a few days ago about British superiority in the recognition of irony? Time to eat humble pie. How ironic.
[FairfieldLife] The 23rd Psalm
As freely interpreted by the Strawbs. This is what church services should be like. http://tinyurl.com/nt8mjud But if at the Church they would give us some Ale. And a pleasant fire, our souls to regale; We'd sing and we'd pray, all the live-long day; Nor ever once wish from the Church to stray. William Blake
[FairfieldLife] Re: Trayvon Martin was a Homophobic bigot
Oh, if we're talking writers: Edgar Allan Poe - peerless. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 feste37@ wrote: Thanks for being a good sport. I quite like the English, actually. But that cultural superiority thing is a bit outdated, don't you think? You may have Shakespeare, but we have, er . . . er . . . we have . . . OK, I'll get back to you on that one. Mark Twain. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita wrote: Excellent. That's a fair cop as we say over here! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, feste37 wrote: Someone appears to have undergone an irony-bypass operation. Now, what was that you were saying a few days ago about British superiority in the recognition of irony? Time to eat humble pie. How ironic.
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Yes, I'll pick up one of Muktananda's titles - been meaning to do so for a while. Re tantric reference: I always think of TM as being tantric, at least in spirit. So many religious traditions take a dim view of desire (it's always the ascetics and monks which get star billing) but tantra always claims that desire can be a royal road to enlightenment. That can include the whole sex 'n' drugs thing: wonder how many people get stuck at that level? Maharishi's basic idea that the mind naturally gravitates towards the source of bliss - his feeding the monkey image - would have struck a chord with tantrics no? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: I would suggest looking up Muktananda online. You can find both sites pro and con. Back in the late 70s a number of TMers including teachers read his conversations books because he answered questions that MMY wouldn't. There are a number of gurus accused of sexual impropriety including MMY. The problem of deciding to be a holy man and then later deciding that was a mistake. Better to be a tantric which is mainly a householder path. I don't keep track of shaktipat groups. If you go through the FFL archives you'll find folks discussing other groups. People in the arts tend to have heightened spiritual experiences. The arts culture it. There was even news last week of a study that showed group singing was as good as practicing yoga.
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Yes, Tantra is not about sex. But some schools of tantra have used sex as a vehicle - the male and female unite physically (sorry - that sounds a bit prissy - they fuck) and represent Shiva and Shakti, the male and female principles. It's the yin and yang pointing to the Tao. I think that one of the more unfortunate side-effects of British rule in India was that Indians developed an inferiority complex in the face of their rulers' Christian puritan attitudes and became ashamed of their own historical practices. They tried to clean up their act and developed a more acceptable and respectable Advaita-Vedantic presentation. Nothing necessarily wrong with that but Indians felt they had to hide the more kick-ass tantric practices they'd developed over centuries. That could mean we're missing out on their most important contribution to . . . er, what? . . . spirituality? I've Favourited the YouTube talks to watch later. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: Tantra is not about sex. If you find someone claiming to be a tantric and says it's about sex they're a charlatan. In the UK look up some of the Indian astrologers. Some of them are tantrics. Some may entertain a visit and answer questions. But you need to come armed with knowledge to know what to look for and separate the wheat from the chaff. I would suggest Dr. Robert Svoboda's trilogy on tantra to know what to look for. Even with my own late tantra teacher I didn't jump right in but tested him for several months. His videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/Swami999
[FairfieldLife] Re: New T.M. articles you may have seen
The Raj! The word usually refers to the period of British rule in India. Maharishi deeply resented being reminded of it - hence his description of the UK as the scorpion nation. What a strange choice of name to give to the Maharishi Ayur-Veda medical Center. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Dick Mays wrote: Some of you may have heard that Jim Carrey visited The Raj for a few days and meditated in the Men's Dome. It came as a surprise to most of us. Other actors have come for treatment at The Raj, but you never hear about them. It's a well-kept secret :-)
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Thanks a lot! I thought I knew most of these juicy scandals but you've given me some new names I can now investigate in depth. All in the interests of objective research of course. Re: There was the Marshy, who reportedly murdered his master and stole his ring [and stole his sri yantra]: if only these allegations were true. What a fantastic movie that would make. Jane Campion would eat her heart out after picking on UG Krishnamurti in her latest TV series. Re Swami Satchidananda favored Marlboros: smoking the world's favourite brand of cigs sounds like a low-level vice. Or is Marlboros US slang for gay cowboys? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams wrote: Seraphita: Yes, Tantra is not about sex... Real 'tantra' is all about sex. This news should come as no surprise. Yoga is all about sex and sexual symbolism. If it's not. why are all the yoga gurus indulging in it? Go figure. Tantra is a matter of placement and positioning. The main charge is that some practitioners indulge in sexual debauchery under the pretext of being on a spiritual path. I've even heard rumors that Yogananda has a son who is living in Glendale, CA. LoL! Yoga began as a sex cult in India - hatha yoga is all about sex as a discipline. Hath Yoga is a branch of Tantra which arose in India during the Gupta era and it's adherents sought to fuse the male and female aspects of the cosmos into a state of blissful pure consciousness. The practices and rites of Tantra are full of sexual symbolism and included lots of group sex. Tantra is all about sexual organs and very vigorous coitus. So, let's review: There was Barry's guru Rama, who had multiple sex affairs and then offed himself wearing a dog collar. There was the Marshy, who reportedly murdered his master, stole his ring, and then slept with his own clerks on a deer-skin rug. And, don't forget the Donald at Ananda. You probably remember the case of Richard Baker, who left two pair of shoes outside the door at the San Francisco Zen Center. LoL! And, who can forget the drunkard Chogyam Trungpa and his Regent the Osel Tendzin or the Lama Kalu? The Indian Swami Muktananda wore dark glasses and molested young girls while wearing an orange bed sheet and wool cap. Swami Satchidananda favored Marlboros and gave the invocation at Woodstock. Then there was the Swami Rama convicted of rape, who claimed to be a Shankaracharya from India. So, an ashram, won more than $2.5 million after its longtime guru, Kripalu confessed to having screwed with sixteen students and leaders. And, what's up with that John Friend guy?
[FairfieldLife] Re: How to improve TM practice - a heretic's guide
Intriguing. My knowledge of the whole Tibetan tradition is limited to a couple of books by Alexander David-Neel but I'd noticed that Dzogchen has a huge repertoire of spiritual exercises. Thanks. . --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, emptybill wrote: FYI In the Dzogchen teachings (both Buddhist and Bonpo), the pracitioner is introduced to their own inherent self-knowing awareness (svasamvedana jñana, rang-rig yeshe). The first practice after that introduction is trekchöd (pronounced: teekchö) or practice of the natural self-freeing of all experience, whether sensory or cognitive. Once that training is somewhat stabilized, the practitioner begins the practice of tögal. This depletes the karma-bound field of experience as it opens and directly reveals the celestial values of experience. During tögal practice, one of the focal points of training is a particular nadi called the kâti channel a nadi that directly connects the center of the heart to the two eyes. This is not the sushumna channel of the spine nor is it ida/pinpala nadi-s on the right and left of the spine. The practice reveals the projective nature of experience, which appears as a field stationed outside of but in front of the two physical eyes. Not all yoga practice is based upon shaiva psycho-physiology.
[FairfieldLife] Maharishi's postmortem state
At the time of Maharishi dropping the body did the TMO give any indication of what would happen to him? Is there an official view on the matter? Maharishi would be absorbed into the Self - entering nirvana like the Buddha?Maharishi would be reborn into one of the higher celestial realms?Maharishi would reincarnate as a spiritual master?Maharishi is being channeled by Tony Nader? I'm assuming there were no dark mutterings about Asuras and Rakshasas
[FairfieldLife] Re: New T.M. articles you may have seen
I see that the building accords with Sthapatya Veda - the ancient Vedic architecture recommended by Maharishi. I didn't even bother checking the cost of their treatments - I'm assuming it's ludicrously over-priced. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Michael Jackson wrote: that's because they are smart enough to not be publicly associated with an outfit like TM, but not smart enough to find another meditation to do From: Seraphita s3raphita@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2013 11:20 AM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: New T.M. articles you may have seen  The Raj! The word usually refers to the period of British rule in India. Maharishi deeply resented being reminded of it - hence his description of the UK as the scorpion nation. What a strange choice of  name to give to the Maharishi Ayur-Veda medical Center. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Dick Mays wrote: Some of you may have heard that Jim Carrey visited The Raj for a few days and meditated in the Men's Dome. It came as a surprise to most of us. Other actors have come for treatment at The Raj, but you never hear about them. It's a well-kept secret :-)
[FairfieldLife] Ever felt like despairing at human nature?
Chinese whistleblower blinded in acid attackAn amateur Chinese whistleblower, who spent his free time embarrassing Communist party officials by posting pictures of their luxury cars on the internet, was rammed by a car, blinded with acid, and deprived of two of his fingers. http://tinyurl.com/n35ewr8
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Owl and the Pussycat
Would have preferred it if the poem had been read rather than sung but the footage is extraordinary. Hadn't realised owls could be so tame. Thanks. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWadk4WoRx4
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Owl and the Pussycat
By the way: what's the secret to posting URLs that are active and not just dead text? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita wrote: Would have preferred it if the poem had been read rather than sung but the footage is extraordinary. Hadn't realised owls could be so tame. Thanks. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWadk4WoRx4
[FairfieldLife] The Smoothie [was Re: I create my reality Yeah, right...]
I thought you had to do a couple of (expensive) advanced techniques before they'd let you into the hopping room to learn sidhas. Am I wrong about that? [And the SCI basic course also.] --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, doctordumbass@... wrote: Hi, No, I was not a TM teacher. When I reached the point of going on TTC I was disenchanted with the org, so it didn't happen. I worked for the TMO three different times for about three years, total - did the sids also, but no advanced techniques, or any of the stuff from the last 30 years. Yeah I get what you are saying, and agree that the most important distinction is that the 'end state' if you will, keeps growing. Paradoxically, that sustainability is one element that defines it, unlike the perfect mood/thought/bank account or or other static symbol, that the ego associates with enlightenment, prior to consciousness being established in silence. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: Well my problem was that having been a TM teacher and I think you were too, I *never* heard the term TM Style Enlightenment. That's something Lawson made up and we know Lawson was *not* a TM teacher. And I think he made it up to support his argument. Lawson, please don't do that. You're smart guy and shouldn't need to do such things. I've always found that the different levels as MMY defined them just seems to confuse TM'ers and it's sort of irrelevant anyway. Once a meditator (regardless of the technique) notices they still are experiencing the transcendent coming out of meditation and carrying through activity then they are on the road to moksha which is how many other paths define it. You can call moksha enlightenment if you want but the word enlightenment carries a lot of implications to westerners that the abstract Sanskit term moksha does not. It's a growing state which was what MMY was saying and other teachers say. In fact I would submit there are TM'ers who are in CC but so confused because they are looking for something flashier (I guess celestial visions) rather than just an underlying silence or that experience that you don't exist unless called upon to localize awareness. The problem with carrying on research between different schools is that many of the more traditional schools don't give a damn about research. They just make their techniques available and if it works for the student fine and if it doesn't feel free to move on to something else. And no need to validate by research. If there is any difference between TM and other techniques it would be because of the lack of omkara which would most likely produce a different brain activation pattern than a technique without. But that's only a difference and different mantras too should produce different patterns. On 07/18/2013 05:47 AM, doctordumbass@ wrote: Ok, but it is incorrect to refer to those two different expressions of the physiology, as two different types of enlightenment. Once liberation is achieved, it is exactly the same, no matter what the means. The eternal freedom achieved through the practice of TM, is identical to that achieved through any other means. If it isn't, it isn't Moksha. TM is a very reliable means to clean up the body and mind. However, there are no precursors to enlightenment. It results when we are somehow permanently attuned to, and living, the Grace of life. How we get there is a mystery that reveals itself, once we are established in total freedom.
[FairfieldLife] Clickable URLs (was: Re: The Owl and the Pussycat)
Thanks Alex - in future I'll ignore the Rich option and use plain text when I post a link. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley wrote: To the best of my knowledge, when posting to FFL with either the Yahoo Groups website or Yahoo webmail, if you use the plain text editor, any URL's will automatically be made clickable. If you use the rich text editor, any URL that is just pasted into the message body will be unclickable dead text. To make clickable links in the rich text editor, you either have to use the little URL inserter tool or go into the mode that lets you directly edit the HTML code and manually edit the HTML for a clickable link. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: By the way: what's the secret to posting URLs that are active and not just dead text? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita wrote: Would have preferred it if the poem had been read rather than sung but the footage is extraordinary. Hadn't realised owls could be so tame. Thanks. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWadk4WoRx4
[FairfieldLife] Re: Detroit Files for Bankruptcy
The extent of political corruption in Detroit is jaw-dropping. And Jesus do I loathe corrupt politicians! Why don't the police ever arrest these slimeballs? Even here in the UK the news of the Detroit bankruptcy was widely reported. (I can't recall a single UK county ever being declared bankrupt - don't think it's even a possible option). But I'm curious: what happens now? If Detroit is declared bankrupt does that mean all their debts are simply wiped out - tough shit on any creditors - and they walk away with a grin. What's the downside in situations this? There must be a downside or everyone would go for the option. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, John wrote: This is probably unavoidable given the problems that the city has had for many years. On the other hand, home prices over there are probably really cheap as compared to the rest of the country, if anyone is willing to invest. http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-202227106.\ html
[FairfieldLife] The Smoothie [was Re: I create my reality Yeah, right...]
Re Advanced Techniques are not required to learn the TM-Sidhi Programme: trying to remember where I read about the insistence on advanced techniques first . . . I've heard about people - including TM teachers - who took the TM-Sidhi programme - but weren't actually able to hop. It must really make you feel a total failure when everyone else in your group are jumping around and laughing and you can only report a failure to launch. Rather like having limp dick in the sack. Did you come across people in that situation on the courses you took? If so, did they get a refund?!? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: I thought you had to do a couple of (expensive) advanced techniques before they'd let you into the hopping room to learn sidhas. Am I wrong about that? 1) Advanced Techniques are not required to learn the TM Sidhi Programme. 2) If you choose to learn Advanced Techniques you will find that they are not at all expensive.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Detroit Files for Bankruptcy
I've always resented rules. Rules are OK for children but adults should follow their own whims. There's a godawful heat wave here in the UK (those of you within spitting distance of Death Valley are allowed to sneer at this point) and the temperatures mean I can't sleep at night! (Air-conditioning is unheard of in London.) Might as well pester you Yanks - if I have to suffer then you buggers are going to have to suffer also. It's 2am as I type. Bet you're only just back from the office. Funny you say I love to talk - everyone I know regards me as pathologically taciturn! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Ravi Chivukula wrote: God Seraphita - I know you love to talk and we love listening to you but there's a 50 post limit on FFL here. Goddamn what the fuck is wrong with you Brits - can't you fucking follow rules? On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 5:37 PM, Seraphita s3raphita@... wrote: ** The extent of political corruption in Detroit is jaw-dropping. And Jesus do I loathe corrupt politicians! Why don't the police ever arrest these slimeballs? Even here in the UK the news of the Detroit bankruptcy was widely reported. (I can't recall a single UK county ever being declared bankrupt - don't think it's even a possible option). But I'm curious: what happens now? If Detroit is declared bankrupt does that mean all their debts are simply wiped out - tough shit on any creditors - and they walk away with a grin. What's the downside in situations this? There must be a downside or everyone would go for the option. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, John wrote: This is probably unavoidable given the problems that the city has had for many years. On the other hand, home prices over there are probably really cheap as compared to the rest of the country, if anyone is willing to invest. http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-202227106.\ html
[FairfieldLife] Re: America has no functioning democracy Jimmy Carter on NSA
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. â Emma Goldman http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15591.Emma_Goldman --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, nablusoss1008 wrote: http://rt.com/usa/carter-comment-nsa-snowden-261/
[FairfieldLife] Re: marshy and Hubbard
It seems Maharishi's admiration was for the hard-working students Hubbard attracted while the people flocking to TM were a lazy bunch! In the early days here in the UK, Maharishi eventually asked for the help of a Ouspensky group (The Study Society) to run the UK TM operation after despairing of his own bliss-bunny followers. As the Ouspensky people had their own forcibly-held opinions they eventually got on Marshy's nerves and he gave them an ultimatum. It's either Ouspensky you follow or me. The ones who stayed with the TMO became bigwigs in the UK wing; those who opted for Ouspensky simply added their own teaching of TM to their curriculum and founded the School of Economic Science - it has survived accusations of abuse and still flourishes today. I copy the following from a web search : I remember seeing Maharishi talk about the Scientology movement in response to a question about its validity and usefulness as compared to TM. He didn't have much to say about the Scientology techniques because the comparison was obvious to us. But He did wax on about how much He admired Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and speculated on how much greater progress His movement would have experienced up to that time if Hubbard was in charge of the TM organization. What was so brilliant about Hubbard's efforts, according to Maharishi, was the strict discipline and loyalty that he instilled into his followers. Maharishi said that He admired the strength of Scientology's organization and its solidarity in the face of legal and social challenges (prescient of TM's own legal problems, yet to manifest). Also acknowledged was the targeted marketing strategy that strove to encompass a student's entire life, not be a minor adjunct to his often counterproductive life-style. I think that Maharishi included some mention of Scientology's focus on the wealthy and famous in order to gain influential referral value. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung wrote: It's worse, Maharishi admired L. Ron. Hubbard. Edg
[FairfieldLife] Re: marshy and Hubbard
Re the quote below I copied from another website, two things puzzle me: [Maharishi]didn't have much to say about the Scientology techniques because the comparison was obvious to us.: is the speaker implying that Scientotlogy techniques are similar to TM? Complete nonsense surely? Perhaps the speaker is saying we're already able to compare for ourselves Scientology's methods and the TMO's technique and Hubbard's are of no interest to us. Odd way of implying that sense! And, Also acknowledged was the targeted marketing strategy that strove to encompass a student's entire life, not be a minor adjunct to his often counterproductive life-style.: well, yes, but we were always taught that any productive changes in our lifestyles would follow naturally and gradually from the practice of TM. (Funnily enough, old George Harrison took up with the Hare Krishna crew precisely because he felt out on a limb just TM-ing twice a day and was looking for a more full-time practice and appreciated the group singalongs.) --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: The comment is on a tape that was played on my TTC about other techniques. My impression was that Maharishi was impressed with Hubbard's money raising abilities. On 07/31/2013 10:43 AM, Michael Jackson wrote: But how could that be? TM leads to excellence in action!?! From: Seraphita s3raphita@... To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 1:24 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: marshy and Hubbard It seems Maharishi's admiration was for the hard-working students Hubbard attracted while the people flocking to TM were a lazy bunch! In the early days here in the UK, Maharishi eventually asked for the help of a Ouspensky group (The Study Society) to run the UK TM operation after despairing of his own bliss-bunny followers. As the Ouspensky people had their own forcibly-held opinions they eventually got on Marshy's nerves and he gave them an ultimatum. It's either Ouspensky you follow or me. The ones who stayed with the TMO became bigwigs in the UK wing; those who opted for Ouspensky simply added their own teaching of TM to their curriculum and founded the School of Economic Science - it has survived accusations of abuse and still flourishes today. I copy the following from a web search : I remember seeing Maharishi talk about the Scientology movement in response to a question about its validity and usefulness as compared to TM. He didn't have much to say about the Scientology techniques because the comparison was obvious to us. But He did wax on about how much He admired Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and speculated on how much greater progress His movement would have experienced up to that time if Hubbard was in charge of the TM organization. What was so brilliant about Hubbard's efforts, according to Maharishi, was the strict discipline and loyalty that he instilled into his followers. Maharishi said that He admired the strength of Scientology's organization and its solidarity in the face of legal and social challenges (prescient of TM's own legal problems, yet to manifest). Also acknowledged was the targeted marketing strategy that strove to encompass a student's entire life, not be a minor adjunct to his often counterproductive life-style. I think that Maharishi included some mention of Scientology's focus on the wealthy and famous in order to gain influential referral value. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung wrote: It's worse, Maharishi admired L. Ron. Hubbard. Edg
[FairfieldLife] Re: marshy and Hubbard
Yes, I think your reading makes sense of the quote. Thanks. Curiously, William Burroughs during his time with Scientology became convinced that the infamous e-meter (essentially a crude lie-detector) actually worked like a biofeedback machine controlling brain waves and so capable of inducing altered states of consciousness. (So making any comparison with meditation even more suggestive.) He couldn't get anyone within the organisation to agree with him and eventually fell out with their fascist controlling mind set. He did make the grade of Clear though. Maybe that compares with TM's CC! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: Re the quote below I copied from another website, two things puzzle me: [Maharishi]didn't have much to say about the Scientology techniques because the comparison was obvious to us.: is the speaker implying that Scientotlogy techniques are similar to TM? Complete nonsense surely? Don't think so. I'm no expert; what follows is just what I've picked up from reading here and there, and I could be way off. It seems to me there's an obvious similarity between Scientology's auditing and what is said to occur in TM. Auditing releases engrams, which are the close equivalent of stresses in TM; and once one has released all one's engrams, one is said to be clear-- a state whose description sounds a lot like TM's of Cosmic Consciousness. There are a number of differences in how the techniques are performed, but one *crucial* difference is that in TM, one does not examine the stresses that are released; whereas with auditing (which is conducted by an auditor), the engrams must be thoroughly analyzed to be released. Perhaps the speaker is saying we're already able to compare for ourselves Scientology's methods and the TMO's technique and Hubbard's are of no interest to us. Odd way of implying that sense! FWIW, that's what I took this sentence to mean when I first read it. Any TMer would quickly recognize the similarity with auditing, I should think, but would also reject the notion that the engrams/stresses must be examined and analyzed.
[FairfieldLife] Re: marshy and Hubbard
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: The e-meter thing that is used in Scientology for auditing, sometimes referred to as the cans because they used a couple of tin cans that the person being audited would hold for sensors, measures the galvanic skin response. They have these sets of questions and if the meter goes off then that person has a problem in that area. Then they work through that with some kind of psychotherapy. The theory sounds OK to me - and it means that two Scientologists can audit each other therefore saving a fortune in fees otherwise paid to a psychotherapist. In fact having an objective tool that shows signs of stress sounds more sensible and reliable than the blessed Sigmund Freud's technique of random association - asking a patient to say whatever first springs to mind when the words mother/sex/penis are thrown at him. William Burroughs claim that the e-meter worked like a biofeedback machine controlling brain waves and so capable of inducing altered states of consciousness also sounds (kinda?!) plausible if you were using the device on your own. You're holding the cans; you notice that the needle showing galvanic skin response can be varied by slight changes in your mental state. Couldn't someone sensitive enough learn over time to compare the movements of the needle to his own mental state and thus learn to tweak his consciousness. Burroughs could probably qualify as sensitive in the right way given his experiences with . . . well, non-standard states of consciousness The idea that biofeedback machines could provide an easy access to meditative states had its heyday in the 1970s. The fact that that scene has petered out somewhat suggests it maybe wasn't such a promising idea after all.
[FairfieldLife] Re: marshy and Hubbard
By the way: what did your girlfriend do wrong? I like me a good scandal. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: I had a girlfriend who was excommunicated from the Church of Scientology.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Post Count Thu 01-Aug-13 00:15:05 UTC
I got caught out by this count last week. Over the years I'd noticed the Post Counter messages but had always ignored them and assumed they were just the missives of an FFL member with OCD who'd taken it up as a hobby and desperately needed to get a life. There are no limits on posts on other Yahoo groups. At least this explains why sometimes I've started a topic and no one has responded. I thought perhaps no one was interested in Seraphita's message! An amusing idea of course - in fact I'm chuckling to myself as I'm typing these words - but clearly people were saving their ammunition in case something urgent cropped up. Assuming though that a limit is a necessary evil couldn't the number of messages be extended? How about 100 and then you're out? So what's the power structure here? I know Rick Archer got off his backside and set the whole thing moving (for which many thanks) but does that mean he's dictator for life? And what happens when he drops the body - is there a designated successor waiting to take over or are we in for a period of anarchy? --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, FFL PostCount ffl.postcount@ wrote: Fairfield Life Post Counter === Start Date (UTC): 07/27/13 00:00:00 End Date (UTC): 08/03/13 00:00:00 444 messages as of (UTC) 07/31/13 23:27:52 48 Michael Jackson 1 mjackson74 Whoa, dude, yer like at 49, so like chill out and only make one more post this week, like, ok?
[FairfieldLife] Re: Post Count Thu 01-Aug-13 00:15:05 UTC
But what's the problem with having a vote? Do you think the post limit should be raised to 100 in any one week? If you agree reply with the word Yeah; if not reply with the word Nay.Count the responses and a simple majority means the rule is left as is or is amended. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Alex Stanley wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Seraphita s3raphita@ wrote: I got caught out by this count last week. Over the years I'd noticed the Post Counter messages but had always ignored them and assumed they were just the missives of an FFL member with OCD who'd taken it up as a hobby and desperately needed to get a life. It's actually a PHP script running on an old Dell laptop. It runs in spite of me, not because of me. All glory goes to Bhairitu, who must have pulled out all his hair trying to walk me through this neckbeard nightmare. There are no limits on posts on other Yahoo groups. That's because the people on those groups are smart and use their brains and/or software to filter out what they don't want to read. So what's the power structure here? I know Rick Archer got off his backside and set the whole thing moving (for which many thanks) but does that mean he's dictator for life? Yes, unless he transfers ownership of the group to someone else. And what happens when he drops the body - is there a designated successor waiting to take over or are we in for a period of anarchy? I dunno... I just assumed Rick would do the rainbow body thang and continue running FFL from the other side.
[FairfieldLife] Maharishi sneezes!
A long time ago, during a discussion about the rewards of achieving cosmic consciousness, a TM teacher I knew opined that all life's problems would vanish. One of those present asked if that meant diseases would be overcome. Yes, said our teacher. Then, curiously, he mentioned that one time he'd been in Maharishi's presence and our guru had a cold. But I think I know why he did that , said the teacher. Well yes, I think I know why Maharishi had a cold: he came into contact with the common cold virus just like the rest of us do. So what did the teacher mean by that enigmatic remark? On reflection I guessed he was implying that someone in Maharishi's inner circle was coming down with the bug; it would be very inconvenient that said person would be off work so Maharishi voluntarily took on his karma. By himself developing the cold symptoms he also released the original target from falling ill. That immediately led to two reactions on my part : -Jesus, I hope he doesn't say shit like this to non-members. They might think that people in the TMO are a bit weird. And This has to be the perfect Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card. Reasoning like that can provide the perfect excuse for any apparent lapses in Maharishi's behaviour. In those days I used to smoke and the same teacher said to me once that he'd never known a smoker achieve a clear experience of transcendence. I wasn't sure he believed that or if he was just trying to encourage me to stop the filthy habit. (Fair enough, I suppose.) Now I find it amusing that the reigning poster boy for TM is the chain-smoking David Lynch! Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (the Beedi Baba) was also a chain smoker. He was explaining one time how anyone realising enlightenment would find it easy to drop a drug habit. A young American visitor said, But you've been smoking non-stop all the time you've been talking to us! Maharaj replied that during his working life as a kiosk tobacconist he'd become addicted to the drug and discovered it was so tiresome to drop the habit that it was easier to just carry on smoking and allow the body to kill itself. Wow! That's the Indian infatuation with the Absolute for you. What matters is to realise one's identity with the Absolute - or to die to self and be absorbed in the (one-and-only) Self. Everything else is froth on the surface of the Deep. Notice that his attitude is the exact opposite on the new-age mindset. New agers have taken to heart the consumer society and along with all the latest must -haves that make life so convenient and colourful they've added spiritual goodies to their shopping list to make life even more satisfactory. Now Seraphita is a big softy and has become dependent on many of the comforts available from the consumer culture. But I recognise that Maharaj was after much bigger game. The pearl of great price.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hey Doc....Regarding psychedelic/hallucinogen drug experiences -
Totally agree with you about mescaline: never enjoyed myself so much as on the stuff. I used to find everything absurdly hilarious. For example, a fish-and-chip shop owner was the Platonic archetype of all other fish-and-chip shop owners. Every other fish-and-chip shop owner you ever saw was just a pale imitation of this guy. I laughed hysterically virtually non-stop - except when police cars cruised past! Pity it became so hard to find - much better than MDMA or other alternatives. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Carol jchwelch@... wrote: Hey Doc, Sometime in this past week I read one of your responses on a thread. I forget the thread now. But I recall the essence of your response. (I couldn't respond at the time because I had carpal tunnel surgery this past Monday, 2/18, and wasn't able to really type and now can't remember where you commented. Sorry bout that.) Anyhoo...you stated something to the effect that a person's experience when under the influence of a psychedelic drug mirrored that person's internal state. (Again, going by memory ... so if I mis-understood, please correct me.) In my experience that isn't always true. An example would be the drug/herb jimson weed. Every experience I've ever read/heard has always been horrid hallucinations. (I danced with jimson weed when I was 15 years old and can atest to its horrors.) As far as other psychedelics, they each had their own nuance in my experiences. For example: Mescaline often made me laugh a lot. MDA made me horny. LSD afforded psychedelic sensory distortions. I'm of the opinion that different chemicals evoke various hormones (or whatevers) to respond...and thus a certain drugs/herbs can cause bad effects (bad trips) or good effects (good trips). I do think whatever one experiences within the good trip or the bad trip comes from somewhere in the person's psyche...but the drug used helps determine if what is pulled from the psyche is pleasurable or not pleasurable. (Hope that makes sense.) Eventually all my trips tuck a turn toward the dark side, which was probably a blessing because I gave up tripping. Hmmmthat is when I turned to TM by the way. Ha.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Hey Doc....Regarding psychedelic/hallucinogen drug experiences -
I also agree with you about trips eventually taking a turn toward the dark side. I'm convinced that taking a top-end psychedelic can give one a genuine experience of the divine - a gnosis of the divine Mind. The trouble is, when you take the drugs you're also trying to escape your everyday self and its everyday boring routine. You want to squeeze the maximum pleasure from the experience and twist it to serve your own desires and fantasies. The divine is indifferent to our ego games and one's repressed fears can't be held back for long and so come to the surface nightmarishly magnified by the effect of the psychedelic. Me too: when I'd had a bellyful of taking acid then trying TM seemed like the next natural step. And so it proved . . . --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Carol jchwelch@... wrote: Hey Doc, Sometime in this past week I read one of your responses on a thread. I forget the thread now. But I recall the essence of your response. (I couldn't respond at the time because I had carpal tunnel surgery this past Monday, 2/18, and wasn't able to really type and now can't remember where you commented. Sorry bout that.) Anyhoo...you stated something to the effect that a person's experience when under the influence of a psychedelic drug mirrored that person's internal state. (Again, going by memory ... so if I mis-understood, please correct me.) In my experience that isn't always true. An example would be the drug/herb jimson weed. Every experience I've ever read/heard has always been horrid hallucinations. (I danced with jimson weed when I was 15 years old and can atest to its horrors.) As far as other psychedelics, they each had their own nuance in my experiences. For example: Mescaline often made me laugh a lot. MDA made me horny. LSD afforded psychedelic sensory distortions. I'm of the opinion that different chemicals evoke various hormones (or whatevers) to respond...and thus a certain drugs/herbs can cause bad effects (bad trips) or good effects (good trips). I do think whatever one experiences within the good trip or the bad trip comes from somewhere in the person's psyche...but the drug used helps determine if what is pulled from the psyche is pleasurable or not pleasurable. (Hope that makes sense.) Eventually all my trips tuck a turn toward the dark side, which was probably a blessing because I gave up tripping. Hmmmthat is when I turned to TM by the way. Ha.
[FairfieldLife] Re: For Buck...mending my ways and posting only photos of sattvic TMers
That's an impressive line-up of TM pinups. For a priceless glance from Naomi Watts follow David Lynch down the rabbit hole here . . . http://tinyurl.com/ch5xfww
[FairfieldLife] Re: Some facts and background on Robin Carlsen / umasking the zebra
Excerpt from Suzanne Segal's Collision with the Infinite [New Age Books, pp80-81]. The Victoria community is a minor episode in the book, which is anyway essential reading for anyone who took up TM and subsequently had uncomfortable or alarming experiences of unboundedness or depersonalization. Note that Robert = Robin Carlsen: Robert called me late one night. He said he had felt strange ever since our talk the previous week, and he wondered what I had done to him. This was the kind of accusation that Robert often levelled at others. Whenever he felt dissociated, spacey, or dissolved in someone's presence, he concluded that the person must be evil . . . . . . At six in the morning, Robert's wife came into my room and woke me. She said that Robert was outside in the entryway and wanted to speak with me. What she didn't tell me was that Robert had been telling the other students in the house that I was evil because I was Jewish.The previous week, apparently, he had come to the conclusion that all Jews were evil . . . I met Robert . . . He started by accusing me of making him feel strange the previous week, then proceeded to enumerate all the things I had done to him. Finally he told me I needed to leave right away because all Jews were evil and therefore were no longer welcome in this house, which was a sacred space to him.
[FairfieldLife] Scorpions doing a neat cover of Across The Universe
http://tinyurl.com/7t7r74d
[FairfieldLife] Re: Does this make Maharishi co-responsible for drug use?
Under the photo of the fab four in The Telegraph the caption actually says: The Beatles: R to L George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr Just in case there's anyone on the planet who can't distinguish one from another! http://tinyurl.com/cc99dbs
[FairfieldLife] Re: Orthodoxy, 1908
Thanks for that reminder of Chesterton's brilliance. I particularly love the chapter The Ethics of Elfland from that book. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb no_reply@... wrote: http://www.farlimas.com/chesterton/indchest/orthodoxy.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: OMG: soma = poppy, cannabis, ephedra??
The Nazis used drugs for their troops, so they would 'keep going' and 'feel no pain'... They used a combination of Morphine, Cocaine and Methadrine...that kept the troops under a 'Demonic Spell' of murder, rape and pillaging... That drug combo (actually oxycodone, cocaine and methedrine) never got beyond the trial stage (see below, from Wikipedia). It sounds like a drug cocktail that could have been a big hit at Studio 54 in the 1970s! But, yes the Nazis did dish out lavish doses of pure methamphetamine to their troops. Given that we know how much meth can seriously twist people's judgement you have to wonder how much wartime brutality was actually drug-induced. D-IX was a cocaine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine -based experimental drug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug cocktail developed by the Nazis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany in 1944 for military application.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-IX#cite_note-0 Nazi doctors found that equipment-laden test subjects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachsenhausen_concentration_camp who had taken the drug could march 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) without resting before they collapsed. Each tablet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_(pharmacy) contained 5 mg of Oxycodone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxycodone (brand name Eukodal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eukodal ), 5 mg of Cocaine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine and 3 mg of Methamphetamine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine (then called Pervitin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervitin ).[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-IX#cite_note-Paterson.2C_Lawrence_2006_p\ ._16-1 The researcher who uncovered the project, Wolf Kemper, said: The aim was to use D-IX to redefine the limits of human endurance.[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-IX#cite_note-2 Nazi doctors were enthusiastic about the results, and planned to supply all German troops with the pills, but the war ended before D-IX could be put into mass production, though it did see limited use among a handful of Neger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neger and Biber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biber_(submarine) pilots.[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-IX#cite_note-Paterson.2C_Lawrence_2006_p\ ._16-1
[FairfieldLife] Re: The Thunder: Perfect Mind
Here's the commercial version . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgQ7dOCeeY --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Yifu yifuxero@... wrote: Could be the dual opposite of neti, neti,... incorporated into the Brahman concept of all-inclusiveness.: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/thun\ der.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: Internet trolls are the modern-day counterpart of witch hunters
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb wrote: Are Internet Trolls the Modern Incarnation of Witch Hunters? In the age of the Internet troll, there's an unfortunately predictable cycle for what happens to women who talk about feminist issues online: They get barraged with rape threats. Yes, but they are not credible rape threats! If a poster on FFL said he was coming round to your house at 9pm tomorrow to kick the shit out of you, would you go to the police? Trolls tell feminists they intend to rape them because they know that's what pisses off a feminist most of all. To blacks, trolls would post that nig-nogs should be shipped back to Africa; to men, trolls would accuse them of being sissy-boy faggots. Trolls know what buttons to press to get the reaction they seek. To make a stink about it is to fall into their trap. A countercampaign of online harassment lobbed at several high profile women who advocated for Jane Austen and other historical female figures on British bank notes. What could be more innocuous than having Jane Austen on a bank note? Bizarre what people get upset about. . So, if we use that as a metric of progress, things have certainly improved for the feminist. Hateful tweets are certainly preferable to death. Yay? Hateful tweets are certainly preferable to death. The trouble with the recent brouhaha over tweets and trolls is that it only encourages the police to start monitoring what we're all saying online. The internet has meant that for the first time in history the underdogs, outcasts and all those isolated from the seats of power have finally got an opportunity to tell it like it is from their point of view. Politicians would love to take back their monopoly on public discourse so let's not encourage the buggers by letting them pose as moral crusaders.
[FairfieldLife] Taking on the banks and winning
From The Telegraph:When Dmitry Argarkov was sent a letter offering him a credit card, he found the rates not to his liking. But he didn't throw the contract away or shred it. Instead, the 42-year-old from Voronezh, Russia, scanned it into his computer, altered the terms and sent it back to Tinkoff Credit Systems. Mr Argarkov's version of the contract contained zero per cent interest rate, no fees and no credit limit. Every time the bank failed to comply with the rules, he would fine them 3 million rubles (£58,716). If Tinkoff tried to cancel the contract, it would have to pay him 6 million rubles. Tinkoff apparently failed to read the amendments, signed the contract and sent Mr Argakov a credit card. The Bank confirmed its agreement to the client's terms and sent him a credit card and a copy of the approved application form, his lawyer Dmitry Mikhalevich told Kommersant. The opened credit line was unlimited. He could afford to buy an island somewhere in Malaysia, and the bank would have to pay for it by law. However, Tinkoff attempted to close the account due to overdue payments. It sued Mr Argakov for 45,000 rubles for fees and charges that were not in his altered version of the contract. Earlier this week a Russian judge ruled in Mr Argakov's favour. Tinkoff had signed the contract and was legally bound to it. Mr Argakov was only ordered to pay an outstanding balance of 19,000 rubles (£371). They signed the documents without looking. They said what usually their borrowers say in court: 'We have not read it', said Mr Mikhalevich. But now Mr Argakov has taken matters one step further. He is suing Tinkoff for 24 million rubles for not honouring the contract and breaking the agreement.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Post Count Sat 10-Aug-13 00:15:00 UTC
Look at these figures: 54 Buck 50 obbajeeba 50 doctordumbass 50 Richard J. Williams 50 Michael Jackson 48 turquoiseb 48 Share Long 48 RoryGoff 48 Ann Surely this shows how idiotic a post limit of 50 is? Citizens, let's storm the citadel and overthrow our heartless taskmasters. I demand my voice be heard!
[FairfieldLife] Re: For Sri Alex-Ji
Yep, that's funny. And if you want to check out the real deal performed by someone who'e been belly-dancing since she was 4 years old follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5_f4u9U1Hc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5_f4u9U1Hc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5_f4u9U1Hc --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend wrote: A day late, but hopefully still relevant... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pnXGJvNAls Happy birthday, and thanks for the present!
