Is this "...site which is critical of Transcendental Meditation..." for real or a joke? Satire?

[Up2Late]

I really can't tell, because this TM "...Public Warning Service..." page make such weird arguments.

Or is it reverse psychology used as advertising?:shrug:

I really can't tell, what do you think? <http://www.behind-the-tm-facade.org/>

[pepperbear]

1. I delved a bit deeper...

they seem to also have a problem with the "religious" nature of TM, especially how it relates to TM's status under US law.

uh sounds like anti-non JudeoChristian belief propoganda. As in..."Johnny can't pray at school, but these people get gov't grants."

Just my impression.

edited to add: check this paragraph out:

Excerpt, Side-Effects section: "Not all effects of the practice of meditation are beneficial. Shapiro (1992) found that 62.9% of the subjects reported adverse effects during and after meditation and 7.4% experienced profoundly adverse effects. The length of practice (from 16 to 105 months) did not make any difference to the quality and frequency of adverse effects. These adverse effects were relaxation-induced anxiety and panic; paradoxical increases in tension; less motivation in life; boredom; pain; impaired reality testing; confusion and disorientation; feeling 'spaced out'; depression; increased negativity; being more judgmental; and, ironically, feeling addicted to meditation.


sounds like heroin.

[ret5hd]

3. ..."relaxation-induced anxiety and panic"

okely dokely

[Up2Late]

7. I think you might be right, some of these "adverse effects" sound wonderful.

But some are just fear mongering, I think, like:

"relaxation-induced anxiety and panic"???:wtf:

"paradoxical increases in tension"???:shrug:

And these sound like a, "how dare they de-program our children" type argument:

"impaired reality testing" (who's reality? Fox "news"?)

"confusion and disorientation"??? (from what we tell you on Fox "news)

"...depression; increased negativity" (because of a new grasp of reality? Probably.)

"being more judgmental..."??? (of what we tell you on Fox "news")

[LoZoccolo]

11. A bunch of people have gotten depersonalization from TM.

As someone who's suffered from chronic depersonalization, it's not "wonderful". Nor is it some form of enlightened loss of ego.

[Greyskye]

2. i think they're serious

Takes itself too seriously to be a joke or satire I think.

[Lobster Martini]

4. Immediate thought is that it's not satire--unfortunately

My immediate thought is that it's a lorry full of rubbish and should be ignored. The human brain has only so many synapses, and this does not strike me as a good way to use them.

TM causes headaches anxiety, depression and mental breakdown? Please.

Are any people who bowl depressed? Ergo, bowling causes depression. Spend a lot of time in a bowling alley and tell me you're not depressed. Logically, A may be true and B may be true, but to conclude that A causes B is a faulty syllogism.

(Edited by LobsterMartini because I buggered it the first time.)

[TlalocW]

5. Depends on what you mean by negative effects BUT...

There aren't any physical/health benefits from practicing TM that you can't get from a short nap and/or stretching/exercise depending on whether you're a quiet meditator (naps) or one of those stupid yogic flyers (stretching/exercise).

The various negative effects that I can come up with would be:
1. Separation of hard-earned money from your wallet if given to the Mahareshi to learn how to "fly"
2. Being mocked by realists who don't believe that if just 10% of a city's population practices TM, that city will become a paradise thanks to "good vibes."
3. When magician Doug Henning fell for their bullshit, he decided to forgo regular medical treatment for some ailment and tried to heal himself with TM. He died.

TlalocW

[Lobster Martini]

8. Even if it's a placebo effect, if it helps...

Sorry, can't figure out how to finish that thought without offending someone.

[TlalocW]

9. If what's a placebo effect?

TlalocW

[conscious evolution]

13. christians are not the only ones to suffer

from fools and charlatons.
Your points 1 and 3 are problems that seem to span just about every religous/spiritual movement.I think PT Barnum described it best.

While the TM thing may not turn a city into a paradise its practitioners would sure be more pleasant to be around.Anything that cuts down on the number of negative people I have to interact with is fine by me.Life is to short to have to be around a-holes all the time.
This opinion of mine is not a case of wishful thinking either.The section of Atlanta I live in has a high percentage of people who practice some form of a TM.The attitudes and outlook of people around here seems to be pretty peaceful and relaxed.While not exactly paradise it sure beats the parts of town where the realists live.



I never knew that about Henning.How sad.

[TlalocW]

15. I'm sure it is peaceful around them

But I've run into some, giving demonstrations when I was in college, who didn't like my questions (and I was polite) nor my requests for them to re-do the yogic flying without the 1-thick mat they were using so as to demonstrate to me that hopping around in the lotus position on concrete would not diminish their bliss. :)

TlalocW

[conscious evolution]

16. I hope you laughed at them.

I would have.Everyone knows you leave your body behind when you fly!

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. Some interesting things come up on a search

The site is registered by "unstress4less," which, upon Googling, yields lots of interesting links. (Mostly people dissing the nutball.) Suffice it to say, it wasn't satire.

Growing up fundie, I was taught that TM would invite Satan inside you. Ultimately, fundamentalists are most terrified of other religious and philosophical thought, for fear they will lose followers and control.

[BlueIris]

10. I had a very bad experience with TM once.

I mean, I hate to post that here, big New Ager that I am, but I don't do that anymore. I caution people against experimenting with it unless they can do it along with some sort of professional, and even then, only after thinking about potential pros and cons, maybe hearing the stories of people who wound up not liking it.

[Up2Late]

14. I think that's true with just about every type of "non-conventional wisdom."

I'm pretty sure that my Best Friend used "Predictive Astrology" to figure out the best time to commit suicide (which he did succeed in doing last July).

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. Probably serious...

My sister lives in TX and she has "friends" who are aghast that she practices meditation and yoga. One actually was so worried about my sister that she sent her "research" on the emotional/spiritual dangers of what she was doing. :eyes:

Ragging on meditation/yoga has become a big thing in many fundy circles because those practices were becoming so popular with the larger community, especially among ex/liberal Christians.

The anti-meditation/yoga folk talks about how you are allowing Satan and other bad influences to access you through the breathing exercises and poses. They seem to be especially afraid of Kundalini work -- I think the idea of a arousing a "snake" of energy along your spine is just too sexual for them. :D

[conscious evolution]

17. There is some danger.

Master Li of the Falun Gong movement teaches that any person that embarks upon any type of spiritual program will be subject to a period of trials and tribulations.
From my own experiences as a cultivation practioner I can personally attest to this phenomenon.I thought I was gonna loose it from all the shit coming my way but I persevered and made it through those times and ended up a better person from the experience.
I can totally understand why christians freak over TM and such.One of the effects of such practices is one learns to see through the bullshit.For some reason christians are threatened by such enlightment.

[BlooInBloo]

18. What's this? A Dennis Kucinich site?