Tuesday May 30, 2023

– Gibbous Moon Phase – trust, analyze, prepare, digest, alchemy

– Moon in LIBRA –

– Retrograde Planets – Pluto

– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – May 30th – Get Married, Buy Clothes, Dig Holes, Host a Party, Cut Firewood, Entertain Friends, Bake, Set Eggs, Wax Floors, Mow to Increase Growth

– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) –  May 29th – 30th – Favorable time for sowing hay, fodder crops, and grains. Plant flowers. Excellent time for planting corn, beans, peppers, and other aboveground crops.

– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): – Chinnamasta – Goddess Who Expands The Mind

– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Ian – God of the East, God of Wisdom

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month – New Moon in ARIES SUN/MOON – 30 ARIES: a duck pond and its brood     (EARTH – 30 LIBRA: three mounds of knowledge on a philosopher’s head )

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: – “a woman has risen out of the ocean, a seal is embracing her”

– SUN – 09 GEMINI: a quiver filled with arrows

– EARTH – 09 SAGITTARIUS: a mother leads her small child step by step up the stairs

Transcending

Last weekend I described some of my experience with meditation. And I cannot say that it is a lot. And none of that training formal.

For years, I have wanted to know exactly what meditation was and what did it accomplish. Why does a person want to meditate. I always assumed that it was something like an orgasm of the mind.

I suppose you can say the same thing about prayer. Why do you pray? What does it accomplish? And it seems that everyone and their mother do it differently.

The Catholics have the Rosary, Our Father, Hail Mary and hundreds of others – standing kneeling, chanting. The Jews have any number of prayers, primarily in Hebrew with the bowing and the shaking. Muslims have their daily prayers, often prostrate and pointed towards the East (Mecca). What they say, I have no idea as it is in Arabic.

Most religions I tend to believe are similar; addressing a higher power and asking . . . something.

Formal meditation is more known in the Eastern religions – primarily Buddhism and Hinduism. But that I am even not sure of.

More Time in the Day

Over the weekend, I described the kind of meditation that I have followed over the last 30+ years (Click here to read about it). And by my own admission, I have done it in order to help me sleep better. One of my goals in doing it was to enable myself to rely more on some form of meditation in place of sleep.

There are super intelligent people (Einstein and Tesla) who were reported to have used techniques to survive with less sleep. And while I am not specifically thinking I will attain supreme intelligence from the experience, I am hoping for a couple extra hours to get the wash and the dishes done while still having time to write.

So to build on my already uneven process of meditating, about 12 years ago I looked into more formalized education in meditation. This led me to Transcendental Meditation.

What is TM?

Back in the 50’s and 60’s an Indian guru named Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began teaching the technique around the world. You might even say he trademarked it. In its own words:

It’s a simple, natural, effortless technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. The TM technique allows your active mind to easily settle inward, through quieter levels of thought, until you experience the most silent and peaceful level of your own awareness — pure consciousness.

~ From TM.org

Six things you should know (also quoted directly from TM.org)

1. Absolutely effortless — It’s so easy and enjoyable that anyone can do it — even children with ADHD. This makes it very different from other techniques.
   • No concentrating
   • No control of the mind
   • No monitoring of thoughts (mindfulness)
   • No trying to “empty the mind”
2. Authentic — The TM technique was founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi over 50 years ago, and has been learned by more than six million people. It can only be taught by certified TM teachers in a course carefully personalized for each individual.
3. Unique — Other meditations often claim to be the same or similar to the TM technique. In fact, they are very different — and there is no evidence they provide the same benefits.
4. Evidence-based — Hundreds of published research studies on the TM technique have documented major benefits for:
   • stress and anxiety
   • brain function
   • cardiovascular health
5. Established — Over six million people have learned the TM technique and experienced its benefits — people of all ages, cultures, religions, and walks of life.
6. Nothing to believe in — The TM technique is not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle. No belief or expectation is needed for it to be effective.

Now if you are not sold on the technique, you obviously have a better than average BS detector. Now I am not saying that they are full of shit. The practice seems to work. From everything I have read from practitioners, it is profoundly helpful.

So what’s the catch?

In addition to being master class meditators and spiritualists, the Maharishi, his followers and the people behind the website TM.org are also MASTER CLASS SALESPEOPLE. After you are sold on the whole technique, you are invited to a meeting. And at the meeting, you need to be ready to fork over between $500-$1000 to learn the Technique and receive your personal Mantra. Small price to pay for the achievement of eternal bliss.

And their selling technique has been designed by true pros. They Sell the sizzle in print and then get you to a live meeting. At the meeting, they butter you up for the slaughter. Get you to commit and then 4 payments later, you have the key to that bliss . . . almost.

In addition to the money you pay, it is time that the program really takes. Time to meditate 20 minutes twice a day. But I will let you know, it does not start out at 20 minutes. You will be committing hours each day. Not to mention the regular meetings with your facilitator to make sure you are doing it right.

When it is done, you are presented with other opportunities. Group meetings and seminars, all for a nominal fee of course. Books and tapes and CD’s . Facilitator trainings. etc etc etc.

It is so well designed it would make your average Amway sales rep blush with envy.

At the time I was looking into it, I was truly at the lowest price level. And at the time, if I had committed to such a purchase I am sure my wife would have been filing for divorce. So I did not sign on the dotted line.

Is it All a Scam?

I have painted a pretty sleazy picture of the whole TM thing. I mostly found it funny. They were out trying to offer the dream of Bliss. And in the process they found out the magic of organized religion. And that you can get large populations of people to believe in something. And then it is not a big stretch to get them to pay for it.

I like to believe that so many of these belief-organizations have a good motive at their hearts. I like to. But the cynic in me refuses to get sucked in.

I want to learn mental control. I believe there are secrets that we can unlock in our minds. If we only find the right process. Is it meditation? Is it mind altering experiences and substances?

So far, the one thing I am sure of is that it is not easy. Or at least I have not found and easy process. But I am still looking.