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Knapp: Short-Shorts
On Hopping
Of course. If you put a bunch of people on a mat and make them bounce around on their behinds, all you have is a poor comedy routine. But add in the movement commentary and what do you get?
"Ancient texts describe first stage levitation." "It's hopping, but it's different hopping." "Maximum brain wave coherence during flight means acting from field of all possibilities." "It only looks like hopping because levitators are unable to maintain pure awareness for more than a split second." "If it's only muscle power, how come we don't get tired?" "There is sometimes a brief feeling of weightlessness at the top of a hop." "Extraordinary feeling associated with hopping."
Religion
As a former TM teacher/governor, etc. and present day debunker, I think Cindy is right on the mark. There would be no sounds from my corner if TM would present itself as a religion and/or belief system. That way prospective initiates could rightly decide if TM was for them. Too many are told "it is not a religion" and then found they were bowing, and "namah"ing and Mother Divine courseing etc.
Coercion
I see. And this is in no way coercion, right? When a person who has spent his or her life in an organization, which now contains most of his or her friends and associates, is basically given the choice between following rules he or she does not believe in (and which run contrary to established law) or being "excommunicated," you see no ethical or moral dilemma? Just checking...
Shunning
This is a form of "shunning," albeit a fairly minor one, as practiced in some cults. If a person disagrees, no matter how slightly, with the dogma, the true believer insists that the dissenter is deficient -- overly emotional, lying or distorting the truth toward nefarious ends, psychologically damaged, "unstressing," or whatever.
True Believer
The true believer's position is: "I have the ultimate truth. You disagree with me. We cannot both be right. Therefore you must be a) unstressing/purifying too rapidly, b) ignorant of the truth, c) evil, d) a poor pathetic psychologically damaged individual, e) a raving lunatic, or f) a mixture of all of the above. And the solution is to (1) meditate less, (2) meditate more, (3) meditate for decades, (4) attend more courses, (5) take these funny little pills that are not monitored for purity or contents, (6) take lots of castor oil enemas, and most importantly of all (7) pay us much more money."
And the true believer's favorite weapons are i) ridicule, ii) sarcasm, iii) shame, iv) intimidation, v) distortion, and when finally pressed to the wall, vi) flat denial.
Puja
The main TM movement argument seems to go "The puja is not religious because we say its not religious. And if you disagree with us you must be a fanatic so your opinion doesn't count."
Tm Arguments
That seems to be TM's standard M.O.: Issue a vague statement which you know will almost certainly be interpreted in a particular way. Unless and until you're called on it, don't do anything whatever to discourage that interpretation. When called on your fraud, point out that the original statement was ambiguous and claim that it's been misinterpreted. It seems to work when they're dealing with sycophants.
It would appear that one of the major benefits of TM is a permanent inability to speak English clearly.
SQRT of 1% EFFECT: This is taken from a poster from Judy Stein with the subject "Re: Solution to the TM Claims" dated 17 Feb 1995:
[Macro error: Can't compile this script because of a syntax error.]
A 1984 publication describing the results of the Taste of Utopia Assembly notes:
"The need now is to establish one permanent group of 7000 [Sidhas] in one place on earth. This will ensure that the RISING TREND of positivity experienced during the three weeks of the Assembly never has a chance to relapse into negativity and problems [emphasis added].
"In order to intensify the effect of coherence and ensure that no pocket of negativity remains, similar groups should be established on each continent and every country. The number of [Sidhas] required for each continent is very modest [list of numbers representing the SQRT of 1% of the population of each continent]." [Macro error: Can't compile this script because of a syntax error.]
Note the use of the word ensure (twice). Also note: "The number of [Sidhas] required for each continent is very modest" not "may be very modest" or "is theorised to be very modest".
If the "SQRT of 1% rule" is not a rule why is it used as such?
Dead Agenting
Uh, Oh, I see "Dead Agenting" beginning. [According to the many legal affidavits filed under oath by former CoS staff, it is part of CoS policy to always attack the integrity of their opponents, called dead agenting. According to the same documents, the honorable L. Ron Hubbard himself ordered it and thus it is part of their religious "canon".]
I hope every "innocent" reader sees through this. Notice the following itself borders on the libelous and that Mr. Wollersheim could likewise sue Mr. Farny for libel. It's interesting how Mr. Farny believes that Wollersheim attacks against the entity called the "Church" is worse than Mr. Farny attacking the integrity of an individual who firmly believes in what he is doing.
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Creation has two sides: intelligence, which is the cause of
everything, and the manifestations of intelligence, which are the
physical and psychological features of the everyday world. Because
Transcendental Meditation directly approaches intelligence, rather
than the manifestations of intelligence, it solves problems by
introducing harmony and well-being at the most basic level, and not
by dealing with problems themselves. That's why it is so effective.
Consider this example: The gardener supplies water to the root of
a tree. That water, that nourishment, then reaches all parts of the
tree - leaves, branches, flowers, fruit - through the sap. We can
think of the sap as analogous to intelligence and the green leaves or
yellow flowers as analogous to the manifestations of the
intelligence. The leaves and flowers are the intelligence of the sap,
after it has been transformed. So intelligence - like the leaves and
flowers of a tree - appears as the many different forms of manifest
life. Those manifestations include every aspect of existence, from
the material and physiological, through the psychological,
intellectual, and spiritual. All of those features of life come from
transformations of intelligence. In meditation, we directly meet this
essential intelligence. Therefore, we have the possibility of
nourishing all of its other levels, and thus all levels of
manifestation, in a way that is harmoniously related to the whole
universe.
How is Transcendental Meditation different from the various other
forms of meditation?
Maharishi: The basic difference is that Transcendental Meditation,
in addition to its simplicity, concerns itself only with the mind.
Other systems often involve some additional aspects with which the
mind is associated, such as breathing or physical exercises. They can
be a little complicated because they deal with so many things. But
with Transcendental Meditation there is no possibility of any
interference. So we say this is the all-simple program, enabling the
conscious mind to fathom the whole range of its existence.
Transcendental Meditation ranges from active mind - or performing
mind - to quiet mind - or resting mind. In this resting mind, one has
purity and simplicity, uninvolved with anything other than the mind,
uninvolved with any other practice. In Transcendental Meditation,
because we deal only with the mind, we nourish all expressions of
intelligence.
The mind meditates, gains Transcendental Consciousness and brings
about transformation in different fields of manifestation. All fields
of life, which are the expression of intelligence, are nourished or
transformed and made better through experiencing Transcendental
Consciousness.
The mind, of course, is always concerned with other aspects, such
as the physiology of the body, the environment, and the whole
universe for that matter. But since Transcendental Meditation deals
only with the performance of the mind, from its active states to its
settled state, it remains unconcerned with those other aspects,
though it deals with them all, because intelligence deals with them
all. -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, unknown interview, copyright presumablyheld by Maharishi Vedic University, The Maharishi Foundation, or another group within the TM family.
Cults come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Categories of cults that are recruiting successfully today include:
Eastern meditation: characterized by belief in God-consciousness, becoming one with God. The leader usually distorts and Eastern-based philosophy or religion. Members sometimes learn to disregard worldly possessions and may take on an ascetic lifestyle. Techniques used: meditation, repeated mantras, altered states of consciousness, trance states.
Religious: marked by belief in salvation, afterlife, sometimes combined with an apocalyptic view. The leader reinterprets the Scriptures and often claims to be a prophet if not the messiah. Often the group is strict, sometimes using physical punishments such as paddling and birching, especially on children. Members are encouraged to spend a great deal of time proselytizing. (Note: included here are Bible-based neo-Christian and other religious cults, many considered syncretic since they combine beliefs and practices). Techniques used: speaking in tongues, chanting, praying, isolation, lengthy study sessions, many hours spent evangelizing, "struggle" (or criticism) and confession sessions.
Political, racist, terrorist: fueled by belief in changing society, revolution, overthrowing the "enemy" or getting rid of evil forces. The leader professes to be all-knowing and all-powerful. Often the group is armed and meets in secret with coded language, handshakes, and other ritualized practices. Members consider themselves an elite cadre ready to go to battle. Techniques used: paramilitary training, reporting on one another, guilt, fear, struggle sessions, instilled paranoia, long hours of indoctrination. -- Captive Hearts, Captive Minds, Lalich and Tobias, Hunter House, 1993.
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