TM-EX NEWSLETTER TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION EX-MEMBERS SUPPORT GROUP FALL 1990 Washington D.C. GROUNDING THE GURU More than 800 followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi convened at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel late last month for a week long convention. The confab also attracted members of TM-EX, an informal anti-TM group composed of the guru's fallen that educates the public about TM and offers ``exit counseling'' to those who want out of the movement. Curtis Mailloux followed the guru for 15 years and was a 1979 graduate of the movement's Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa. Gaining access to the group's inner sanctum, he moved to the Washington area in 1983 and in 1985 became the head of D.C.'s TM Center. On June 29 at the Omni-Shoreham--Mailloux's 33rd birthday--he denounced the organization as a cultist religion that is exploitive, deceptive, and damaging. Mailloux says involvement in the movement becomes ``a prison of specialness''. ``Especially as a leader in the movement,'' he said, ``there's no way you can leave this group and be [regarded by other devotees] as OK or leave with dignity...I was only special as a nervous system which is a `generator of purity', not as an individual." Mailloux said he was ``an extremely contented member'' of the group until a few years ago when he read Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan. ``It hit me from left field that something was wrong with the movement,'' he recalled. Mailloux's doubts about the ethics of teaching TM were heightened when he studied hypnosis and saw the similarities between it and TM. ``[TM techniques] are the most sophisticated techniques for mind control that have ever been used,'' he said. ``I have friends that are 40 years old and totally trapped in this...they're becoming unable to work for a goal.'' Instead, they constantly beg distant well-wishers for support money to keep them in various organization environments like MIU. In a phone interview, MIU legal counsel [Bill Goldstein] said the organization uses its money to spread its programs among the needy, and recently sent teams of teachers to earthquake-shattered Armenia. Said Goldstein, ``We [didn't] provide them with clothes or food, but we taught them TM,'' which his organization considers ``a specific form of earthquake relief.'' City Paper [Washington, D.C.], July 13, 1990, Susan Gervasi.~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington D.C. APPEASING THE GODS FOR BETTER HEALTH? Recently many meditators in the Washington D.C. community have received pleas for help. A member of the movement has a debilitating illness, endometriosis. A group of meditators are requesting money to have ceremonies conducted in India called yagyas. It seems that TM-affiliated Maharishi Ayurvedic doctors feel a $11,500 offering to the Hindu gods will do the necessary work. If that amount cannot be raised, a $8,500 yagya would be ``less than recommended''. If all else fails, a $3,300 yagya will suffice. According to the letter being circulated, ``Dr. Lonsdorf's primary recommendation is that the patient receive a Yagya as soon as possible''. Mahesh Yogi in his translation of the Bhagavad Gita (1) says ``the gross aspect [of yagya] deals with ritualistic performances to please different Vedic gods and win their blessings, while the subtle aspect [of yagya] deals with training the mind to contact higher powers and receive their blessings.'' ~ 1. Mahesh Yogi, Bhagavad Gita, New Translation and Commentary Chapters 1-6 Livingston Manor, NY: M.I.U. Press 1976 pg. 142. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairfield THE REAL STORY: SIDHA SUICIDE I'd known Mark Totten for years. He had no medical problems. Likeable and unassuming, my friend had cut his roots to his New England home and heritage some years ago. He had reached for the Maharishi's exotic offering; gave his money, mind and speech for Yogi's game of enlightenment. ``He must have found something here,'' Norman Totten said, bewildered in the M.I.U. chapel, afterhaving to ask for the time to speak at his son's memorial service on Friday, November 30. He knew of nothing that was wrong with his son. Mark's sister added she didn't know why her brother killed himself. Without his roots to sustain him on the Maharishi's nebulous and distracting meditation path, Mark suddenly exchanged it all for the certainty of a 200-ton locomotive: Four blocks from the M.I.U. campus he placed himself in the path of the early morning coal train at the North Main Street crossing. The Maharishi's, ``self-referral dynamics of consciousness, laws of nature, perfect health and freedom,'' the hyped benefits which Mark had paid for with more than money, were not realized. Something else was realized that morning, something alien to his New England mind. Albert Miller~ Obituaries Mark Totten Mark Alan Totten, 27, a resident of Building 123 B, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa, was killed early November 29, 1990 after apparently placing himself in the path of a oncoming Burlington Northern train near the Fairfield depot. The railroad crew reported hitting a body on the tracks at 2:12 a.m. Totten originally was from the Boston area. He was the son of Norman Totten of Newton, MA, and Peggyann Sekton of Weston, MA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- India THE SEARCH FOR IMMORTALITY The quest for immortality is as old as man himself. Bottlers of potions, purveyors of mystical herbal concoctions and the snake-oil salesman from America's Wild West have one thing in common; they have all been born of human mothers and have ultimately fallen prey to their own mortality. Dr. V.M. Dwivedi was one such man. He is former President of Maharishi Vedic University in Washington, D.C. (If you can find the campus in Washington, D.C., please let us know; it appears to be in name only.) and was chairman of Maharishi Ayurveda Corporation of America's Scientific Advisory Board.(1) According to M.I.U.'s Age of Enlightenment News, Dr. Dwivedi was ``the great- est living exponent of Ayurveda''. During the Science, Consciousness and Ageing Conference at Maharishi European Research University (described as a hotel room with many desks by former M.I.U. physics department chairman, Dr. Dennis Roark) in Switzerland, Dr. Dwivedi said ``the purpose of Ayur Veda is to re-establish normality in life. Life established [in] perfect balance means perfect health. Ayur Veda takes the whole of life and reestablishes the harmony between all its constituents...What better bliss can there be than this immortal body which is free from the ageing process.''(2). At the same conference, Maharishi said ``the central theme of Ayur Veda is to promote longevity to the extent of immortality; the mechanics of producing immortality are the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programme.''(3) Dr. Dwivedi's ideal was just that, an ideal. He has gone to dust, as all men do. The TM organizations continue to use Dr. Dwivedi's name and picture on their potions, such as Amrit Kalash. But they seem to have forgotten to tell us of his death. Good advertising does not cause cognitive dissonance, however death to the purveyors of an immortal life certainly does. ~ 1 M.I.U. Age of Enlightenment News, pg. 18 Summer 1984, M.I.U. 2 Science Consciousness and Ageing, Proceedings of the International Conference 19-20 pg. 26, 35, January, 1980, M.E.R.U. Press. 3 Ibid. pg. 27 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- England CULT DOCTORS INVESTIGATED OVER HERBAL ANTI-AIDS PILLS Two Harley Street doctors have been accused of offering patients a 3000 pound-a-year treatment for AIDS, which offeres ``no substantive benefit''. Dr. Roger Chalmers and Dr. Leslie Davis belong to front organizations for the controversial Indian-based cult of Transcendental Meditation, or TM, and the pills are provided by the cult. The General Medical Council has started preliminary investigations after complaints by the partner of a dead patient and by Britain's leading AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust. Independent scientific tests...suggest that Maharishi pills are in fact worthless as a potential treatment for AIDS. The tests, conducted by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control at Potters Bar, found that Maharishi pills had at best a negligible effect on the HIV virus, which cause AIDS. The Institute arranged two sets of test-tube experiments. Weight for weight, relative to any effect against HIV, Maharishi pills were found to be at least 100,000 times more toxic that the established AIDS drug, AZT. Dr. Chalmers describes himself to patients as the ``Dean of Medicine of the Maharishi University of Natural Law, Mentmore''. Dr. Davis says he is the ``Dean of Physiology''. But the ``Maharishi University, Mentmore'' is officially unrecognized, has no medical students and no power to confer degrees. The Maharishi Ayurveda health system, which was put on the market by the Maharishi in about 1985, has helped boost sales of the once-fashionable and very costly TM courses. Sales are not limited to the AIDS market. Dr. Davis admits that ``the main aspect of Maharishi Ayurveda is Transcendental Meditation''. Warnings have been given about the side-effects of both TM and the Maharishi Ayurveda diets. The British Dietetic Association has recently advised AIDS patients about potential dangers from the Maharishi Ayurveda diet. The Independent on Sunday, August 19, 1990. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- England HEAVEN ON EARTH Behind the grand claims, glossy brochures, scientific-sounding language, and a plethora of imposing international organizations, there is evidence of something more ordinary than an Age of Enlightenment. TM is in effect a New Age philosophy blended with profitable courses, products and gimmicks which achieve real power over people's lives. One former British meditator who may have experienced severe defects from TM is Pamella Bordes. She told the Daily Mail six months ago how in June 1988 she had destroyed much of the furnishings of Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil's flat, as well as his clothing. She did not mention that she had done so in the middle of learning the advanced TM-Sidhi technique. The press reported the incident as a result of her suspicion that Neil had been dating another woman. But her meditating colleagues, who were present on the evening she came to the TM centre and talked about smashing the flat in a frenzy, suspected it had more to do with TM. ``It's pretty well known that when people learn the TM-Sidhi technique, they can get spaced out to the extent that they don't know what they're doing,'' explained a fellow-student of Ms. Bordes. ``People will almost brag about it. It's well known that people have cracked up.'' After the incident, TM teachers declined to allow Ms. Bordes to continue. New Statesman and Society, September 9, 1990. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany W. GERMAN STUDY: The Various Implications Arising From the Practice of Transcendental Meditation On May 29, 1989 the West German High court ruled the study valid. Excerpts: 4.3.3 TM has a detrimental effect on the decision making process. There is loss of self-determination and a turning toward the TM authorities for guidance, i.e. in the case of important decisions. Also, the variables, facial expression, bodily posture, voice and handwriting point to the fact that the total personality is gravely altered under the influence of TM. 4.5.4 Whereas before the TM phase performance at school was well above average, and those investigated were most happy with their school or job situation, a considerable worsening in these areas occurred as a result of the practice of transcendental meditation. 56% had decreased concentration abilities during the TM phase, only 16% reported an improvement. 61% found it more difficult to manage the workload, as against 13% who reported an increased capacity. TM had a negative influence on the professional careers of 58% of meditators. Altogether 28 meditators (42%) gave up their studies or professional career in order to work full time for the TM movement or to be able to go on long courses. They did this on the basis of promises made them by the movement. An analysis of the taped interviews and the stenographer's scripts only serve to strengthen the suspicion that the TM organization aims at cheap labor, which in the case of those people who became unfit to work in the course of time, can be sent away again without any real difficulty. 4.6.6 In 76% of cases psychological disorders and illnesses occurred, 9% of meditators had had therapeutic treatment before the TM phase, 43% had psychiatric treatment or had to have medical treatment during the TM phase. The psychological disorders most prevalent were tiredness (63%), ``states of anxiety'' (52%), depression (45%), nervousness (39%), and regression (39%). 26% had a nervous breakdown and 20% expressed serious suicidal tendencies. Psychological illness already present before the TM phase worsened considerably. TM can cause mental illness or at the very least prepare the way for the onset of mental illness. A lack of opportunity for the treatment of meditation experiences and/or altered perception of reality create suitable conditions for a pathogenic appearance. Added to this is the heightened delicacy and increasing helplessness in the personality of the meditator, which can develop into a complete depersonalization. 5.6.4 The suspicion grows that the meditation offered by TM, caused, in the meditators' cases which we have investigated, a far reaching alteration in the view of reality, which damages or causes further damage to social relationships, the drive to achieve (motivation) is considerably lessened, to the degree that practical work (i.e. in a job) becomes intolerable to the meditator, in addition to all conditions brought about by the intense practice of the meditation, it gives rise to physical and mental damage. Government Ministry of Youth, Family and Health, Germany, 1980. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany JUDGMENT OF GERMAN COURT The ruling of the highest federal administrative tribunal, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht on May 24, 1989 in Case number 7 C 2.87 is: 1) The Federal Government is competent and allowed to care about cults. 2) The Federal Government is allowed to warn of TM. 3) The Federal Government is allowed to designate TM a "Youth Religion" as well as a "Psychogroup". 4) The Federal Government is allowed to say that TM is taught by teachers who are not qualified [to deal with the TM problems]. 5) The Federal Government is allowed to say, TM can cause psychic defects or destruction of personality. Copies of the German Study are available from TM-EX and the Cult Awareness Network. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairfield M.I.U. IS NOT ON U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT'S TOP THIRD COLLEGES LIST ``M.I.U. makes claims to which it is not entitled'' According to a January 17, 1990 letter from Mel Elfin, Executive Editor of [U.S. News and World Report's] ``America's Best Colleges'', M.I.U. is not among the top third of the nation's colleges and universities selected by the publication. ``I have thoroughly examined our latest edition of ``America's Best Colleges'' and find, that [M.I.U.'s] claims are at odds with reality. Strange things must happen to you when you spend a lot of time in transcendental meditation.'' ``Curiously, we like to believe that those we have put in charge of molding the minds of our children would not submit misleading information...it seems some deans will on occasion stretch the truth.'' ``I have turned the material over to our attorneys who will take the necessary action to insure M.I.U. does not make claims to which it is not entitled.'' Note: M.I.U.'s current publications no longer make this claim. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa M.I.U. - HIGHEST DEFAULT RATE ON STUDENT LOANS: 19.57% M.I.U. claims ``Ideal Education'' although its graduates don't seem to repay their loans, according to Iowa College Aid Commission. In a October 17, 1989 breakdown by educational institutions, M.I.U.'s cumulative default rate sets the record, a 19.57% default rate for 4 year independent institutions.~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairfield TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION & THE GAME OF ENLIGHTENMENT After 20 years of TM and as a recent director of capital operations on the MIU campus, I can affirm that sincere people seek fulfillment by the TM and sidhis practice, expecting enlightened changes. But significant changes and ``enlightenment'' itself always remain beyond every effort and expense to get it, except by a self-induced assumption. From being more rested perhaps and feeling the normal benefits of relaxation, the big changes promised by the TM teacher don't happen. What does happen, in my long observation and experience with people at MIU and elsewhere in the movement, are variations of degraded performance, psychomotor disturbances, lower productivity, being spaced out in the head, becoming hypnoidal, paranoidal, assumptive and/or deluded. Letter to the editor, Fairfield Ledger, October 11, 1990, Albert Miller. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- M.I.U. GRADUATES, FORMER STUDENTS AND FACULTY IN THE NEWS The national television program Inside Edition featured former Maharishi International University Physics Department chairperson, Dennis Roark, former faculty member A. Denaro and M.I.U. graduate Patrick Ryan ('80) exposing the inner workings of TM. According to the broadcast, break-ins in Fairfield were up ``500%'' during the last ``large group course'' in April. In preparation for the show, Inside Edition reporters were told by M.I.U. faculty and public relations persons that ``they had never heard of the West German study'' It is amazing that the International Center for Research on TM is unaware of such a important study. The TM movement fought a long legal battle over this study in Germany. P. Ryan appeared on Inside Report. M.I.U. graduate Curtis Mailloux ('79) was interviewed by American and European journalists; his interviews have appeared in Washington's City Paper and the Des Moines Register. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairfield HEAVEN ON EARTH, BUT NOT FOR FAIRFIELD The following is a `taste of heaven on earth', M.I.U. style, as reported in the Fairfield Ledger: January 90 5) Sidha company, Ritam Corp. reports theft of cash from office. Hayes Auction Service reports break-in and theft. Fairfield resident charged with sex abuse with a child under the age of 12. 11) Fairfield Ledger prints letter to editor ``Suppressing the truth?'' 18) Fairfield police have wrapped up a succession of auto thefts and break-ins mostly on the campus of M.I.U. - with a total of 16 charges filed. ``Although the cases centered on the M.I.U campus, youths involved were from both meditating and non-meditating families.'' 19 ) Gerald Swanson, M.I.U. resident, reported the theft of two stereo speakers and a Nintendo game. 23) ``Burglars hit Highway 1 south.'' 27) ``Secretary of Agriculture declared 41 Iowa counties damaged in last year's drought as natural disaster areas.'' ["The seasons will come in time", MMY]. 29) Theft at M.I.U. Pod 127C where three persons had items missing (coats and mountain bike). February 90 1) Reported theft from women's dome of a purse. 2) Sidha-owned Best Western Hotel reports theft of cash deposits from safe. 7) Break-in attempt at Happy Landings [Sidha flying cushion maker]. 14) The window of a Buick at Great Midwestern Ice Cream Co. vandalized [Sidha co.]. Shattered window of a Datsun by a blunt instrument at Utopia Park. Broken rear window in a Ford at Utopia Park. 23) Vandalism to a Volvo parked on M.I.U. campus. 27) Two cars involved in an accident on M.I.U. campus. Fairfield asking for a 3.8% increase in taxes. March 90 1) County jobless rate rises by 1%. "A total of 70 bad check charges have been handled in Jefferson County in the past three weeks. Capt. Donald Raymond of the Fairfield police says the number is not unusual. More the tip of the iceberg, Raymond says the number of bad checks passed at Fairfield businesses far exceeds the number of charges filed." 9) Ross Motors report break-in. 13) Fairfield hospital budget increases $1.5 million. 14) M.I.U. found liable for $5.7 million in damages in a suit filled by a former M.I.U. student. 19) M.I.U. resident reported to Fairfield police that a tape player had been ripped out of his 1984 Mazda. 30) A 1988 Volvo reported stolen by M.I.U. resident. M.I.U. resident reported vandals smashed a window in her parked car. Yet another M.I.U. resident reported items including car keys were taken from his vehicle. 31) M.I.U. resident reports Honda motorcycle stolen. April 90 2) M.I.U. student reported his car had been vandalized while parked next to Yagya Vakya Hall. Mercedes hub caps were reported stolen and the vehicle was damaged by white paint. The trunk emblem was broken and the paint scratched. 13) A gemstone merchant reports two signs advertising her business were stolen, value $250. 18) Members of TM-EX picket M.I.U. campus. 19 ) M.I.U. resident reports theft of mountain bike. 24) Dozens injured as Amtrak train derails near Fairfield. May 90 1) A tool box containing $500 worth of tools was taken from a vehicle owned by M.I.U. 3) Utopia Park resident reported theft of boxes of items from a storage area. 5) Fairfield Ledger prints Albert Miller's letter to the editor ``M.I.U. censorship revisited''. 14) ``Police rack up charges for alcohol by minors''; M.I.U. students involved. 15) A missing bike was reported to have been taken from near the dining hall at M.I.U.. 18) Car stolen in test drive reported by Ross Motors. 23) M.I.U. resident reported two speakers had been taken from his car and the windows of the vehicle had been smashed. 30) Bicyclist was taken to Jefferson County Hospital for treatment when his vehicle collided with a car on the M.I.U. campus. August 90 10) Vehicle on campus caught fire. 21) Fire call to M.I.U. campus. They attributed the 2:50 a.m. blaze to spontaneous combustion of sesame oil on towels in a closet. There was considerable fire, smoke and water damage. 25) The owner of a parked car which reportedly slipped out of gear and rolled down an incline into another car was ticketed for failure to have set the brake [M.I.U. resident]. 28) Sidha-owned company Hawthorne Communications reports break-in. Stereo was stolen. 29) SAT scores dropped to their lowest level in a decade, according to the Fairfield Ledger. 30) The fire department, at the scene of one fire at M.I.U., was called to a second fire on the campus. Firefighters extinguished a blaze in the Ayurvedic Clinic where a pan of sesame oil left on a burner had ignited. In building 107 a fan motor burned out in a dormitory kitchen. September 90 7) M.I.U. student reported theft of two Apple-MacIntosh computers, a Rolex watch and a gold ring from his campus room. 11) Fairfield chiropractor has been charged with two counts of second degree fraudulent practice. 12) Thefts of three bicycles were reported to police from the M.I.U. campus. 19) The entire complex of M.I.U.'s campus condominiums sustained smoke damage as the result of a fire caused by heated sesame oil on a stove in one of the apartments. A theft of coats valued at $1,700 from Overland Outfitters [a Sidha company]. 22) A 68 year old women was injured in a daylight mugging and robbery in downtown Fairfield. 29) M.I.U. student reported the theft of a bicycle. October 90 4) The theft of car keys, automatic teller machine card and M.I.U. campus keys were reported. 15) Vandalism on M.I.U. campus was reported. 22) Fairfield Ledger letter to the editor calls M.I.U. its ``own worst enemy". A theft was reported of a bicycle from the Student Union at M.I.U. 27) M.I.U. student reports theft from dorm of personal items. 31) Three persons have reported the theft of a total of four bicycles from or near the campus of M.I.U. Female M.I.U. student was assaulted in Waterworks Park. This is just a ``taste'' of the crimes surrounding the meditating community at Fairfield, Iowa - the epicenter of coherence for the world; the largest single group of Maharishi followers in the world. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- `` WE TAKE CARE OF THE CRIME'' -- MAHARISHI, 1975 Inaugurating his Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, the Maharishi warbled, ``One police post takes care of all the criminal tendencies. Now a meditating home is like a police post that takes care of all the the criminal tendencies...So these few meditation houses in the city, which every mayor can very easily erect, will take care of all the negative tendencies in the city.''(1) ~ 1 Mahesh, Yogi, Inauguration of the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, M.I.U. Press, Publication 6186 1975. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX - a letter for your readers: The MIU/Fairfield TM community has been taking credit for the increased political and economic freedom in Eastern Europe. If 1,600 Sidhi flyers at M.I.U. can influence Europe, should they not have a beneficial effect on crime in Fairfield? Crimes filed in Jefferson County (home of M.I.U.) rose from 127 in 1987 to 146 in 1988 and 187 in 1989. For the same three years the number of incidents called into the Fairfield police were 7,505, then 7891 and in 1989 the police were notified of 8,265 incidents. According to Fairfield police statistics, reports included 3 rapes, 11 suicide threats or actual suicides, 32 assaults, 130 family offenses, 45 motor vehicle thefts, 87 burglaries, 437 thefts and 470 motor vehicle accidents. For a town of 10,000 people that is supposed to be an important center of world harmony, Fairfield seems terribly normal to me. Did you know that M.I.U and World Plan Executive Council financial statements are available from the I.R.S.? You might be interested in having a look at them. (The employer numbers speed up I.R.S. processing considerably; M.I.U.'s is 95-2790401 and W.P.E.C.'s is 95-2485909). In the early 1970's Maharishi used to say that enlightenment would arise in five to seven years from twenty minutes of TM twice a day. Now that many of you have been practicing the TM-Sidhi program for one and a half to three hours twice daily for, say five to ten years, how spiritually advanced do you feel? Where will you be five years from now, using the progress of the past five as an indication of your rate of growth? Enquiringly, Fairfield Resident Note: Related story, "Heaven On Earth, But Not for Fairfield" pg. 5. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX, As an Associate Teacher of TM in 1982 I ``checked'' the meditation of a woman whom I quickly befriended. Recently initiated, her eyes were wide with wonder over having discovered TM. She marveled over the charismatic Maharishi and had already volunteered to support the Philadelphia TM Center. Being a good MIU graduate I invited her to an advanced lecture. She came to the next lecture with eager anticipation, but left abruptly during one of the ``Humboldt tapes''. She was visibly disturbed. I felt strangely anxious. I chose to remain through the lecture. Later we discussed what had happened. I used every Movement cliche I could recall to overcome her ``doubts''. She stuck to her opinions. ``The people at the lecture...They accept everything Maharishi says without question...He is not infallible!'' My mind reacted with thoughts of a trained disciple: ``She does not understand. She has not yet been exposed to enough Knowledge.'' I persisted, ``Maharishi wants us to question. The people at the lecture have been convinced by their own experience as long-term meditators. It would be good for you to come to another lecture - to question and learn.'' My frustration grew as the arguments I had been conditioned to make were confronted by a wall of logic and reason. My friend was fighting to control her own mind. Finally she said, ``The Movement will have to change, if it is to attract thinking people.'' I was stung. Next day I sat in a park and felt like I was waking from a daze that had obscured my vision for nearly a decade. ``Thinking people,'' I thought. ``I, too, want to think again. I do not know where thinking for myself will take me, but I want to exercise my right to determine how I live my own life!'' Four years later I severed my connections to TM. During that period I believed no one could understand my inner turmoil as I sorted out the conflict between what I observed and what Maharishi and his devotees told me I should believe. Relying on my conscience enabled me to gradually resume building a life based on my own values. Many others have freed themselves from the mental paralysis that years of meditation, and rounding, and indoctrination can cause. If you are uneasy about how TM has affected you, TM-EX can help you confront the sometimes daunting prospect of questioning Maharishi's authority. As unsettling as testing our adopted beliefs against reality can be, I believe the rewards of taking control over our own lives is worth it. Ken Keefer, Philadelphia,PA B.A. M.I.U Class of 1977 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear folks at TM-EX, I was initiated in NYC in 1969. In those days the Movement lingo was just moving into the ``deep rest and stress release'' phase; away from too much esoteric and Hindu stuff. I attended Maharishi's wonderful lectures in Humbolt in 1970. In 1971 I took off for Mallorca, Spain for one of the first Teacher Training Courses. It was a three month course and I ended up staying for three, the last in Fiuggi, Italy. I had an out of the body experience for 4 days. Since new and exciting experiences were the thing, I was examined by two medical Drs., an herbalist and a spiritualist, treated with exercise and baths and sniffing an orange peel three times a day, and labelled a heavy unstressor. I credit my husband and doctor for their work in keeping me here. One friend did not make it. We would visit Maharishi at Lake Tahoe and he would `see' us. Literally, we'd be led to his room after sitting and waiting for hours, he'd sit and look at us as we'd do the same. Some times he would nod off for a minute or two. In 1976, after contacting Maharishi and asking if we could go to one of the Sidha training courses (which we could never afford, having been paid room and board for the past 5 years) we were told to go out and earn the money. So off we went to New York. The transition back into the workaday world was devastating...self esteem and ability as a breadwinner was shot. I felt alone and impoverished and completely unfamiliar with my feelings and their normal expression. I grew depressed, my husband wandered in a daze of disbelief and ineptitude. After one year we moved to Fairfield to be close to M.I.U. It was a year of poverty and confusion, lies and frustration. Inner and outer reality were so disparate. What the mind knew and what the mouth said could not be reconciled. If you spoke your pain you were ``unstressing'', and that was punishable by ostracism. We were truly like drowning fish out of water, we were totally unsuited to life in relative existence. We failed and failed and set ourselves up for more - all the while singing, ``Something good is happening''. I took control, so to speak, stopped meditating regularly, started reading again, enjoying life and what it had to offer. I was truly reborn as they say. But reborn to balance, peace with passion, body, mind and spirit. Now, I am not bitter, though heaven knows I went through my angry stage. I still use ``Something good is happening'' as a general affirmation, though now it does not cover or submerge the truth as it is from my eyes. As for Maharishi, I am glad I had the opportunity to spend so much time in the presence of such a rich and full minded guy. He taught me about blind trust and not so blind trust. And the movement; last summer [a friend] took me to a celebration at the Capital for SCI. There were some old friends, and shared sweetness was a delight. There was a Puja, which was soothing in it its way. There were also the insincere calls for cash, pitches for elixirs and health treatments and Maharishi's taped message, beatifically lit and appropriately cut for the impatient viewer. My underlying feelings were very sad and angry. I remember in Humboldt, 20 years ago, the story of the man who wanted to bottle the juice of the gods and sell it for enlightenment. I remember a jocular Maharishi Mahesh Yogi saying that this was not the way to do it, that the secrets were within and only through transcendence would enlightenment come. He called the bottler a fraud and allowed that if you ever met this thief you were forewarned. Last summer, for the first time, I felt I had gone to a old friend's home and met the thief. Whatever else you are trying to accomplish, you have done me a favor in inspiring me to write this. Best regards, C.T. Asia ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Thank you...for your important work of exposing the harm done through lack of scruples of the TM organization. I have a lot of anger towards Maharishi and TM as my marriage was nearly destroyed because of it. Please keep sending me your newsletter.'' L.C. Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``You know, I'm wondering about how many jobs I didn't get because on my resume I list M.I.U. as the place where I got my B.A. Geez, every interview I've ever had was mostly spent explaining what M.I.U. is, and then having the interviewer look at me as if I had antenna growing out of my head.'' C.M. Connecticut, U.S.A., M.I.U. Class of 1980 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Please send your information on and newsletter, maybe also former ones. In Germany teachers want to start to create a network which tries to be independent.'' D.A.O. Germany ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I just finished Combatting Cult Mind Control, per your suggestion. It was quite an eye opener. The discussion of mind control and ``cognitive dissonance'' really struck me. Lots of other topics really clicked: elitist mentality, loaded language, group will over individual will, obedience, manipulation, and on and on. It's all there.''H.D. California, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Please send me your ``newsletter''. I haven't seen it yet, but heard about it from a friend. I'm especially interested in reading Dennis Roark's letter.'' J. Fairfield, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Stop sending us your insulting newsletter. Your lack of respect for the individual freedom to choose only reflects on your own state of confusion and immaturity. We all know that your motivation for doing this is not what you claim it to be.'' T.W. Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Note: It seems the movement propaganda machine is attempting to link TM-EX to another cult leader, Swami Prakashanand Saraswati of the International Society of Divine Love (I.S.D.L.). Let the facts be known; TM-EX has helped three former TM members who cult-hopped, (as is common with TM'ers caught in "magical thinking") into I.S.D.L., out of that group. TM-EX is in no way linked to the group I.S.D.L.. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``A friend passed along an old copy of your newsletter, and I'd like to be on your mailing list. Please let me know if you have TM-EX members or any sort of ex-member support program in Manhattan.'' S.C.J. New York, U.S.A. Note: The Cult Awareness Network and F.O.C.U.S. hold regular meetings in New York. Former TM members attend. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Take your advanced techniques pamphlet and shove it up your de-evolving *******.'' Note: This telephone message was from a Governor of the Age of Enlightenment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``We appreciate your taking time to chat with us. Since then we've been through a lot - we've stopped TM, read a lot and thought and talked a lot. Life has really changed for the better.'' Walt Gibbons Virginia, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I was involved in TM over 10 years ago, but I am shocked at how much influence it still has over my life.'' E.W. Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I was given a copy of your pamphlets ``Just Say No!'' by the Cult Project in Montreal. I had been meditating for 10 years and had been experiencing for the last several years very uncomfortable meditations, i.e. I felt that I was hypnotizing myself, my head was spinning and I felt very bad and tired. I came to the conclusion that I had not been taking charge of my life all these years. (I guess I felt that by the practicing TM, my life would take care of itself.) Needless to say I stopped then and there. It was a difficult adjustment but I feel much better now. Thank You.'' J.V. Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I'm an M.I.U. graduate and I'd like to hear what you're doing. I'd like the opportunity to communicate with you or others about our common experience with TM. I've been out of school for two years, haven't been able to keep a job (I quit all of them before I got fired) - work problems have revolved around lack of ability to concentrate and general depression. I also feel socially awkward and uninformed, like waking up after a long sleep and finding that the world has changed. I have huge student loan payments to make which I'm not very happy about since It's hard to get a job or be taken seriously with an M.I.U. degree. I often wonder how they got accredited." S.D. New England, U.S.A. M.I.U. graduate 198? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``It has been so very hard to find ex-TM people to discuss my anxieties with. I wonder why that is so. I am totally convinced that there is something fundamentally wrong with the TM organization.'' Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I just finished TM and Cult Mania and am sending it out to [friends] at M.I.U. It explained much of how and what happened to me over the past 15 years. I'd be interested in joining TM-EX.'' M.T. Psy.D. Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Please take me off your mailing list. I have gone to a lot of trouble to be programmed.'' K.D. Fairfield, Iowa, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I received your mailing a few weeks ago. I am living at the [...] TM center. I am sincerely interested in finding out more...since I've been living here at the center I've become aware of many of the problems and inconsistencies [with] which you spoke.'' J.M., U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Thank you very much for your support during the past year. It was very helpful in understanding TM and its movement.'' K.T., Japan ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I have not been getting the TM-EX newsletter, please put me on the mailing list.'' M.G. Massachusetts, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I am an M.I.U. graduate, class of 82. A friend recently sent me a copy of your current newsletter. You can continue sending it.'' Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A., M.I.U. Class 1982 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I was involved with TM for about four years and involved with the man who talked me into learning. He broke up with me when my questioning of TM had reached the point that it was, in his view, generating too much stress in his system and slowing down his path toward enlightenment. I got really caught in the TM maelstrom and ``magical'' thinking. It's so clear to me now that our relationship was more and more that of the TM organization towards its meditators; telling lies, being deliberately deceptive, withholding information, saying not what is, but that which is most likely to keep the listener's interest.'' E.B. MA, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I just read that Maharishi's wealth is estimated to be in excess of $3.5 billion dollars. Yet, MMY finds it necessary to ask the U.S. government (and for that matter, people in the movement - often lower income people who can barely pay their own bills) for funds to create his sidha community to create world peace. If MMY has any concern for world peace, he would create this himself. It is information like this that makes me wonder how I stayed in the movement for 17 years and how these people continue to swallow these lies and give this rich egomaniac money''. Gina Martin, Virginia, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``The press, the public and even some anti-cult groups think of TM as a benign self-help exercise, just a 20 minute, twice a day relaxation from stress. As parents who have seen their son ``progress'' from 40 minutes to two hours to six or more hours a day, we know that TM is a Hindu religious cult, masquerading as a secular self-help group under the watchful eye of the Maharishi. The ultimate in the TM hierarchy is the Purusha group, which LIFE magazine recently referred to as ``meditating monks''. My son, a Purusha, has dropped out of the mainstream and leads a monk-like, celibate life in an isolated environment. If the Purusha group is ever dissolved, he will have a difficult time making it in the real world.'' A Parent, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``My child has been in TM for 20 years. His life has been totally dominated by his relationship with TM. His involvement has become a total tragedy for our family.'' A Parent, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``I intend to speak out against Maharishi and TM whenever and however I can, and to hope that one small voice might be heard against all the powerful media coverage TM has been getting. If enough of us expose the truth of what has happened to our loved ones, won't someone begin to hear us?'' Sara Jones, Parent, Bermuda ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``We've had the heartbreaking experience of watching firsthand the machinations of the TM movement on young adults. We have seen bright college students, at the top of their class, become victims of this deceitful organization. Over an 18 year period, they were drawn to the top of the TM movement, living, for the most part, a monk-like existence. In so doing, they sacrificed their most productive years career-wise and for starting a family. TM robbed them of these opportunities. It destroyed their critical ability to analyze their TM experience. Maharishi has created the greatest crime: the stealing of a person's mind and will.'' Parents,U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ``Letters'' is a forum reflecting the views of the authors and does not necessarily represent those of the editors. Due to the volume of letters, not all can be published. We reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. Please send letters, essays, and articles to TM-EX. Because of the sensitive nature of our publication, authors' names printed by request only. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- World CULTS TAKE CREDIT FOR EUROPEAN CHANGES Countless groups known as "cults" are making inroads in Eastern Europe. Many are taking full credit for the changes that have occured. Claims are being made that by "chanting", "meditating", "decreeing", "visualizing", "breathing", "channelling", "intending" and a host of other "magical processes", the Berlin Wall came down. Unification Church Unification Church-linked newspaper, the Washington Times reported Maharishi's wealth at over $3.5 billion dollars in a recent article. The Unification Church's student wing, CARP (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles) is recruiting 250 students from the USSR for a free 3-4 week stay in the U.S. this summer. Rev. Moon also recently met with Soviet President Gorbachev. The Unification Church in February held an ``Introductory Seminar on the Unification Movement'' in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Over 150 professors and clergy from Eastern European countries attend. Rev. Moon's stated goal is to "conquer and subjugate the world" [Master Speaks]. Insight Upfront, a program on Manchester Television, (England), was the setting for allegations on May 20 by involved individuals who say that trainers for Insight Training Seminars, which is connected with John-Roger's Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, have sexually exploited those who open themselves up emotionally while seeking guidance for their problems through Insight Seminars. EST Former employees of est founder Werner Erhard say they were forced to obey the pop psychology guru in a manner ``akin to God'' and to submit themselves to ``numerous instances of verbally and physically abusive behavior''. San Francisco Chronicle, 4/3/90 Siddha Yoga The town of S. Fallsburg, N.Y. has placed $1.5 million of property owned by the tax-exempt Siddha Yoga Dham Foundation [SYDA] on the local tax rolls. A resident suggested that at least two members of the Town Board owed their seats to block voting by SYDA, and claimed SYDA should lose its tax exemption because it had actively engaged in the political process and had allowed at least 12 business to operate from its grounds. Catskill Democrat, 3/16/90. Swami Rama, Since the early 1970's, women have been claiming sexual abuse at the hands of this prominent spiritual teacher. No one had thoroughly investigated, until jounalist Katharine Webster decided to spend two years researching their allegations. Yoga Journal November/December 1990, issue 95. France The latest issue of Bulles features articles on meditation as an instrument of dependence. Shorter articles deal with the movement of cult groups east of the Berlin Wall. Vol. 25 ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- World THE MAHARISHI EFFECT M.I.U. and movement authorities claimed last June they had accomplished world peace and nearly ``Heaven on Earth'' by the superradiance world effect of all the practice-flying sidha meditators in the Fairfield golden domes: (This is not to mention the additional 4000 super-radiating boy-brains meditating at the yogi's ashram in India. DATELINE the world since the M.I.U.-movement announcement: Iraq invades Kuwait, Arab now pitted against Arab; Hitlerism rises in the cradle of civilization; Persian Gulf million-man-war is imminent; worldwide terrorism threatened; South Africans kill each other; West Texas crude hits $40 a barrel; rate of reported crimes worldwide is growing faster than national economies and populations; embezzlement and fraud rose 30% between 1980 and 1986, and violent crimes grew 9%. Killings in the United States are at the rate of one every 22 1/2 minutes. 1990 may surpass the 1980 high of 23,044 killings. In the Soviet Union, more than a million crimes were reported in the first half of 1990-lawlessness is up 17%, Mafia-style organizations are capitalizing on the disintegrating economy and social flux to purvey illicit drugs and black-market products like rifles; world welfare and peace in serious jeopardy. Could the 'Effect' theory be wrong? ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.A. MAHARISHI'S MEDICINE MAN Most of the findings [on Maharishi Ayurveda] are still unpublished, and so haven't been reviewed by other scientists. And some argue that the research carries a bias because it was either done primarily by scientists who are avowed meditators or affiliated with a Maharishi International University or it was funded by a Maharishi linked foundation. ``We realize the importance of scientific research by people who aren't `insiders','' says Chopra in response to such criticism. ``But what are we to do if a scientist becomes so convinced of their value that he begins meditating and following all the practices himself? That happens all the time.'' One such scientist, pathologist Hari Sharma of Ohio State University, has for two years studied Maharishi Amrit Kalash. ``I didn't expect to see positive results,'' he says. ``I had to be shown, and now I'm a convert.'' In Health, May/June, 1990, Debra Franklin Note: Documents obtained from the Iowa Consumer Protection Division (July 1977) list Hari M. Sharma, M.D. as one of the "people currently on Citizen's Advanced Courses Phase 1." It seems Dr. Sharma was a "convert" long before doing research on Maharishi Ayurveda. ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TM-EX Korea NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, Bill No. 1366, Case: Request for re-investigation of crimes committed by TM, introduced March 28, 1990 ``The petitioner, Mr. J.D. Kim [appointed by Maharishi as the National Leader of TM for the Republic of Korea], was involved in manufacturing and exporting Korean traditional handicrafts and lacquerware inlaid with mother of pearl in joint venture with SCI (Sidha Corporation International) and found out that they (SCI) are not a genuine business firm aiming for business operation, but engaged in swindling by extorting properties from the people by turning them into entranced state through religious rite known as `Transcendental Meditation'.'' ~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.A. SUGGESTED READINGS: PSYCHIATRY: INTERPERSONAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, Volume 53, Number 2, May 1990, ``Depersonalization and Meditation''. Study of six long-term TMers. PSYCHIATRIC ANNALS, Volume 20, Number 4, April 1990, ``Thought Reform Programs and the Production of Psychiatric Casualties''. Reviewing the history of thought reform and mind control programs [case examples include TMer]. Combatting Cult Mind Control, by Steven Hassan. MUST reading for anyone who has been touched by cult phenomena. TM and Cult Mania, by M.A. Persinger, Ph.D. An in-depth investigation into the claims of TM, hypnosis and research. Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. A landmark publication in furthering our understanding of the persuasion process. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by Dr. Robert J. Lifton, M.D. A new re-issued edition of a classic textbook and case study on victims of thought reform and the elements of thought reform programs. Books and full reprints of most articles are available from the Cult Awareness Network, 2421 West Pratt Blvd., Suite 1173, Chicago, Illinois 60645, (312)-267-7777. ~ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT IS TM-EX? Transcendental Meditation Ex-Members Support Group (TM-EX) was founded by former Maharishi International University (MIU) faculty, students, TM teachers, sidhas, meditators, and caring relatives of members of the TM movement. TM-EX is a support network to help former and current members of the TM movement in making the transition to life outside the TM movement. As former members, we have experienced the transition and are available to assist you. WHAT DO WE DO? We are a referral network and source of information to movement members, former members, exit counselors, family members and experienced therapists and professionals. THE TM-EX newsletter is a forum for a varitety of opinions that often cannot be expressed within the movement without fear of reprisal. Contributors do not represent any particular philosophy, opinion or lifestyle. Although numerous religious based groups have challenged TM in the past, TM-EX is not affiliated with any of these. Its members come from a wide variety of religious and philosophical backgrounds. What we do have in common, is our desire to assist those leaving the movement; to make the public aware of the fraud within the movement; and the physical and psychological harm, that has resulted for many, from the practices of the TM Program. We welcome your input: comments, articles, letters, help with printing and postage. Call or write TM-EX: P.O. Box 7565, Arlington, VA 22207 (202) 728-7580 [All telephone calls will be returned collect.]