It's time for... Transcendental Meditation Commenter Bingo!

This bingo card is culled from, and inspired by, comments on the TM-Free Blog Facebook page in recent months, and also from my experience online over the past 25 years. Particularly that free square in the middle!

This card is mostly based on the comments from meditators defending TM, but two squares are from the Christian, "TM will steal your eternal soul and cause demonic possession" sort of viewpoint, to which we don't subscribe nor support.

Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part II

[This is Part II of the previous article "Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part I" - ed.]

Second topic:  How to Relate to Fairfield TM Relatives

Reader's comment:

"I’d like to get back to some previous comment threads on how to relate to family in TM if you are not in it....

'...I don’t expect my [relatives] to give up TM, and I don’t even try to convince them much or argue with them. But I do want to be able to visit them and find things to do (even if by myself or with other family) that are not completely connected to TM or MUM.  I don't mind spending some time at MUM....

'There is certainly a lot of sensitivity to criticism of Maharishi by most I talk to. 

'I’m curious if others have found ways to visit Fairfield and their TM friends and family comfortably, or if it is always uncomfortable for those who are not part of TM any more (or never were).

'...Finally, I’d add that I’m continuing in my reading and effort to see TM as a new religious movement rather than destructive cult, even if some on this site think this misguided or impossible."

My response:

I don't have friends or family in Fairfield, so I won't respond to the first question.  I hope others have some pointers for this reader.  But I will respond to his/her final comment.

My take on it is that the reader is confusing him/herself by trying to compare apples and oranges.  Religions, whether old or new, are in my opinion defined by beliefs and practices.  Destructive cults, on the other hand, are not defined by beliefs and practices, (no matter how unusual the beliefs and practices.)  Rather, destructive cults are defined by the manner in which a person is drawn into and kept in the group.

There are several models to describe this process.  One of my favorites is this simple model:  A groups is a destructive cult if outsiders are: (1) drawn in my deception, and (2) kept in by mind control.

For example, when a person is given an introductory lecture on TM, is s/he told that if they learn TM, in a few years, they might be celibate, meditate  6 hours a day, spend thousands of dollars on astrology and Vedic rituals, wear beige or scarlet, eat a lacto-vegetarian diet, buy an expensive new house, and be convinced that if they don't do their daily TM program, will be personally responsible for World War III?  

Are they told that on relaxing residential retreats, the extra meditations will put them in a state of reduced critical thinking, where they will absorb quasi-Hindu doctrine?  And that in this state of cognitive vulnerability, they will be told that (sub-standard) research "proves" that TM is the solution to all human problems?         

My suggestion to the reader is to learn more about new religions and also more about destructive cults, and then decide for him/herself what they think TM is.  (It could be both!)  There are other models on what constitutes a destructive cult beside the 2-point one I've reviewed here.  I recommend googling Margaret Singer Ph.D., and Robert J. Lifton, M.D, and Steve Hassan, M.Ed's website as noted above, for other useful models.  Also you could look at websites listed on the right hand side of the TM-Free homepage for a start.

Thank you to all commenters for your many, many intelligent and insightful comments.  Also thanks to all who read TM-Free but do not send comments.  

If any other reader would like their comments placed in this position of prominence as a TM-Free Blog "post," please let us know, and we will try to oblige!

Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part I

Recently I saw two readers' comments on TM-Free Blog that caught my attention in that I thought they lent themselves to serious discussion.  

The first one mentioned psychological problems the reader has had since leaving the TM movement.  

The second one asked how others manage the tricky terrain of visiting true-believer TM relatives and friends who live in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa.

I was surprised that no one responded to these two comments.  Since some TM-Free readers read only the essays, but not the reader comments, I suspect this may have been what happened, and these two topics slipped through the cracks.      

So I hope I have not overstepped these two readers' privacy by reprinting portions of their comments below:

First Topic:  Emotional Problems Post-TM?

 Reader's comment:   

"...My commitment to TM lasted about 8 years....I did not have any acute psychological trauma as a result of the rounding and the indoctrination, and the recovery, although a bit slow, was not traumatic either. But I sometimes wonder if some of my psychological/ emotional difficulties are related to my years with TMO [TM organization - ed]."

My response:  

It is not uncommon for people who have left high-demand groups and have re-integrated themselves into the non-cult world to find that they have emotional problems.  The problems may not seem connected to the group; therefore it may not occur to them that these problems are a result of their time in the group.  If they see a psychotherapist, the psychotherapist may also agree that the problems are due to pre-existing issues.  (Psychotherapists are only slowly being educated on this new field of post-cult syndrome.)  For example, long ago I told my psychotherapist that I walked around in constant terror that the world was about to blow up.  He interpreted it in the standard psychodynamic way.  That is, he theorized that I must be angry about something from my childhood, and that I was experiencing that anger in a disguised form, as fear of the world exploding.  

Then, I met with Steve Hassan, an exit counselor.  Steve asked me, "What did they tell you would happen if you left TM?"  I replied, "Why...they said that if I left Fairfield, I would be 'personally responsible' for World War Three!"  And as soon as I made the connection, the terror went away!

That's an obvious example, but it illustrates my point.  I recommend Steve Hassan's website freeminds.org, and his books.  I hope these help.        

Second topic:  How to Relate to Fairfield TM Relatives

Reader's comment:

"I’d like to get back to some previous comment threads on how to relate to family in TM if you are not in it....

'...I don’t expect my [relatives] to give up TM, and I don’t even try to convince them much or argue with them. But I do....

[NOTE:  Something's gone wrong with this computer program, so I will continue this article as Emotional Problems Post-TM; Relating to Fairfield Relatives, Part II. - ed.]

A few words about comments

For years, the comment threads here at the TM-Free Blog have been almost completely wide-open, and there have been very few incidents where individuals have had their commenting privilege revoked or comments removed.

I've had to take some time away from active participation on the blog, and I haven't been pleased with what's happened in my absence. It appears, given the repetitive nature of many recent comments, some are apparently uninformed as to the nature and purpose of the TM-Free Blog, and the views of the contributors, as has been expressed through the almost one thousand posts made here over the past few years. After consultation with the other contributors, I thought that this would be a good time to point out the obvious.

New Commenting System at TM-Free!

FINALLY!

The new comment system is up and running. There have been a few hiccups already—and are likely to continue for the next few days. It's just not possible to test software on every possible PC configuration anymore.

Please do not hesitate to let me know of any problems at all, either in the comments below, via email to jmknapp@gmail.com, or call me directly at my therapy practice's number: (800) 950-5329.

The main benefits of the new system:

• Increased security
  
• Comments and replies can no longer be deleted or edited once there is a reply attached. This will stop the difficulties we've been having with key comments disappearing.
  
• There should be no more duplication of comments.
  
• There are a host of new features for you to discover
  
• I've imported all our old comments, so nothing has been lost. I'm even trying to delete duplicates from the last month or so.

Here is a clear, easy-to-follow beginner's guide to getting the most out of the Disqus system.

I believe the only major change you will see is that commenting will now require you to register to post a comment. I am doing this for security reasons, bnt you may still remain anonymous if you choose.

You will be offered a chance to register the first time you post a new comment. You do not have to include an email or other identifying information. You are simply registering your username.

I hope you enjoy the new system—but if you don't please let me know. I'll see what I can do to make it work for you.

J.

TMFB Offline Friday, 10pm

I will be taking TMFB offline again Friday, May 14, from 10 pm to 12 midnight. This is again in order to install the new commenting system.

J.

TM-Free Will Be Offline to Install New Comment System

Our long nightmare with our comment system may finally end. TM-Free Blog will be offline from 10 pm until 12 midnight EDT on Wednesday evening, 05/12/10, so that we can install a new Disqus-based commenting system.

We chose Disqus as our new commenting engine because of its high reputation and popularity in the blogging community, powerful new features, ease of use, and ease of modification.

The new system will contain all previous TMFB comments in its database, so nothing should be lost in the transition.

One notable advantage to the Disqus system is that comments may not be edited or deleted once they have a reply—although posters have the freedom to edit them until there is a reply. This will avoid the unfortunate ability of JS-Kit users, the commenting system we are now using, to delete their posts—and their replies—for whatever reason they chose. Recently this allowed authors to delete posts by Drs. Fred Travis and David Orme-Johnson.

If you would like to check out the features of the new system, point your browser to 2TestTMFree, our test site.

J.

Has Transcendental Meditation Produced Human Excellence?

One of our many wonderful readers, Tanemon, made the following suggestion for a posting. Thank you, Tanemon, for coming up with this excellent idea for a new essay when I was too busy doing my income taxes to think up a new article!

(Quote from Tanemon's comment of April 9, 2010):

"In the past week or so - due to the encouraging fact that we had Fred Travis's attention over at MUM - it occurred to me that a good focussed discussion might be evoked by the question: "Has TM produced human excellence?" In his early talks and writings for Westerners (such as the Science of Being and Art of Living), MMY stressed that excellence would be an outcome of TM. The fullfillment of psychology, the fulfillment of sociology, the discovery of the wealth within, the support of Almighty Nature etc. The implication, or explicit message, was always that these should produce people of great fulfillment, wisdom, finesse, and accomplishment.

I realize there would be very many ideas and/or measures of excellence - academic achievements, artistic recognition, innovation and invention, notable social leadership, among many others. Maybe we could share our observations about how this has worked out for committed TMers. And it could be of interest to the folks over at MUM."

New Comment System: Help Us Help You!

It may be that the long nightmare of bizarre comment behavior is nearing an end!

We are testing a new system, Disqus, that has many advantages—features, security, ease of use, CUSTOMER SUPPORT—over our current system, JS-Kit/Echo.

Before I move us to the new system, however, I would really value your input—and help.

Please visit our test blog, 2 Test TM-Free, look around, kick the tires, and give us your input in the comments below.

Things you can help with:

• Browser test: Let me know if the page and comments load well in your browser, especially Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera—and mobile browsers for the iPhone and other mobile devices.
  
• Layout/Design: I've made a few tweaks to the design, trying to improve readability: modified colors, font sizes, etc. Are there good changes? Bad ones? Any further suggestions?
• Comment test: Please try posting a comment or two. Did it post correctly? Was it easy to use?

I look forward to your input—good, bad, or indifferent—in the comments below.

Thanks for your help!

J.

When did you first realize that the Transcendental Meditation organization and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi were fraudulent?

Two of our readers have recently written in the "Comments" section of TMFree Blog that they are interested in the above question, and also in these related questions:

Was it a gradual realisation or a specific event? After this, how much longer did you remain in the TMO and/or how much longer did you carry on with TM techniques?

So I thought I'd write up their questions as a separate post. Would anyone like to share their experiences?

By the way, this topic was covered in an old post, about one-and-a-half years ago. But I can't remember which one....! I hope interested readers can find it through our "Blog Archives Labels" section on the home page of TMFree, on the far right column, near the bottom.

By the way, if you have an idea for a post, just let us know in the "comments" section, and we will do our best to post it.

Critiquing Transcendental Meditation's "scientific research"

Question: How valid is TM's scientific research?
Answer: Not very.

A Brief Overview of TM Research:
According to the Transcendental Meditation organization (TMO), "...More than 600 scientific studies have been conducted at more than 250 universities and research institutes in 33 countries. These studies have been published in over 100 leading scientific journals worldwide, and they objectively document the profound physiological, psychological, and sociological benefits of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme in every area of life...." (1)

What the TM organization does not publicize, however, is:
(1) that a high percentage of these studies are suspect. The research is specifically designed so that TM will come out looking good. (See http://trancenet.net/research/index.shtml

In addition, the quote above from the TMO website does not mention that:

(2) a lot of the research is done by TMers or funded by TMers, and is therefore inherently biased; and
(3) when non-TM scientists do research, they compare various types of meditations, and the results have been that each meditation has its own strengths and weaknesses. TM does not stand out as best. These studies are ignored by the TMO. For information, google "Google -- Scholar" and type in something like "comparision meditation techniques research results." Also, see http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/expressnews_template/article.cfm?id=8572and
(4) Research has shown that TM can sometimes be harmful. These studies are never quoted by the TMO. (See http://minet.org/research.html.)

So where do we come in?
While most TMFree readers are not professional researchers, I think we can contribute something useful to the research, specifically to the bias problem mentioned in item (1) above. Critics of the research papers have done a good job in critiquing what has been published. But what if something questionable was done that was not reported in the final paper?

So that's where we come in.

Many of us have "insider" experiences with the TMO. During our time in the TMO, we may have accidentally stumbled upon a small piece of the research that was unscientific. So I invite readers to search their memories. Do you recall incidents which at the time seemed simply quirky or isolated, but in retrospect, were examples of a violation of the scientific method? You may have to think outside the box or reframe the incident to see how it is related to the scientific method. You may have to consider not what was done, but what was not done; not what you saw, but what you didn't see....

Our stories will only be anecdotes, and anecdotal evidence is not scientific proof. However, these anecdotes provide glimpses which may inspire researchers to dig deeper into questionable practices.

So, to get the ball rolling, I will share my own memories that relate to the biased quality of TM research. In addition, I will relate a few anecdotes from old TMFree posts and comments. Unfortunately I have neither the time nor the inclination to dig up all the original posts and comments, so I apologize in advance for any errors in my memory or interpretation.

So here goes. To reiterate, the question for the day is:

Did you ever personally see evidence of violation of the scientific method in TM studies?

1. The year was 1980, I think. I lived on the MIU campus in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. I did the TM and TM-Sidhis program in the meditation hall from 2 to 4 times a day with up to 700 other women. One day, after everyone was seated on the mattresses, the leader announced that we were all going to add something to our program. She had something like an electric meter in her hand. She spoke a phrase that went something like: "Turn back the meter." She instructed us to think this phrase in the same manner as we thought the "sutras" in our TM-Sidhis program (the technique in which the phrase we thought was supposed to manifest in the world.) We were to think the above phrase 2 or 4 times (I can't remember which), after we finished TM but before we started the TM-Sidhis. She didn't tell us who had ordered this change, or who had designed it, or why we were doing it. The only additional thing she said was, "Do not say a word about this to anybody!"

We did this practice for about a week, and then we were told to stop doing it. We weren't told why we were now stopping. We were reminded, "Do not mention this to anyone!" And we never heard another word about it.

What was this all about?

Today, I believe we were guinea pigs in an experiment to prove that the TM-Sidhis actually produced effects in the physical world. (An illegal experiment, I might add, since we had not volunteered, and we had not been warned about possible harmful effects.) If 700 sidhas had actually succeeded in causing the meter's hand to move even a millimeter, I think they would have published that. I think we failed to produce the result they wanted, so the experiment was scrapped, we were warned against spilling the secret, and the failure was never reported.

2. A few years ago, one of our TMFree regulars (possibly Sudarsha) wrote that he once saw Maharishi sit with someone and review a line graph illustrating the results of a study showing the benefits of TM. Maharishi asked, "Couldn't you draw the line 'this' way instead of 'that' way, in order to make the results look better?" The other person agreed to make the change.

3. About a year ago, one of our readers shared that she had chatted with a researcher at MIU who was studying the "Maharishi Effect." (The ME states that when a certain percentage of the population practices TM, quality of life improves, as shown by crime statistics, pollution, unemployment rate, etc.) The research compared cities that had comparable demographics but a different percentage of TMers. The researcher told her, "In some cases, the city with the higher percentage of TMers did not show an improved quality of life. So we deleted those groups of cities from our final study."

4. A few months ago, contributor Gina wrote that when TM researchers in Fairfield were studying TMers to prove TM's benefits, they first eliminated "heavy unstressers" from their sample.

5. An old TMFree post is a reprint of a public letter from Earl Kaplan, a TMer who together with his brother David had donated over $100 million dollars (U.S.) to the TMO. He writes that "Mahesh for years had been raising hundreds of millions of dollars for his world peace groups...." (World peace groups were the gatherings of thousands of pundits to one location to chant together, thus assuring world peace forever.) According to Earl's letter, Earl said to Maharishi, "Maharishi, since you have the money and supposedly you have enough pundits, why don't you create a 10,000 group in India and the world will experience peace?..." (Several years previously, his brother David had obtained U.S. governmental approval to bring one or two thousand pundits to the USA. before this could happen, he got word that Maharishi had changed his mind and felt it was not a good time to send them.) Mahesh looked at Earl like he was crazy and said, "Earl, if we created the group then we don't know if it would create world peace or not. We would have to have the group and then see what the effect it has." Earl and David have since left the TMO.

Aside from the contempt and deceit Maharishi exhibited, I believe Maharishi was also saying that he did not want an experiment to be performed if the results would not make TM look good, i.e. if the results disproved the "Maharishi Effect."

OK, those are my offerings. Anyone else have memories about TMO's corruption of the scientific method in TM studies?

Footnotes:
(1) www.globalgoodnews.com/research.html

Open Thread

As requested... comment away...

How Can We Improve TM-Free Blog?

Dear Readers of TM-Free Blog,

Happy New Year!

I would love your input on how we can make TM-Free even better. How can we serve our readers better? I've devised an (unscientific) survey, and I'd be grateful if you wrote your answers in the "Comments" section, below. Feel free to answer anonymously, if you'd like. Or, if you don't want your answers published at all, you can send your comments directly to John Knapp at jmknapp53@gmail.com. (If you send them to John, please type "TMFB Survey" in the "subject" line.)

Here are a few questions I've thought of. But they're just to give you a jumping off point. So answer as many or as few as you'd like. Make your answers as long or as short as you'd like. Or ignore my questions altogether, and write comments of your own.

So here goes:

1. What do you like about TM Free Blog?

2. What do you not like about TMFB?

3. Do you have any suggestions for improvements?

4. What would you like to see more of?

5. What would you like to see less of?

6. What sort of posts do you especially enjoy or find most helpful?

7. What sort of posts do you least enjoy or find least helpful?

8. Why do you read TMFB?
(a) I never did TM or its affiliated programs (TM-Sidhis program, Maharishi Ayurveda, Maharishi astrology, Maharishi supplements, Maharishi health spa, Maharishi advanced health techniques, Maharishi architecture, etc.) - but I read TMFB just because I find it interesting.
(b) I never did TM or its affiliated programs, but I'm trying to decide if I should give them a try.
(c) I'm doing TM or its programs and I'm having some questions/doubts/curiosity/second thoughts. (If so, are we addressing the questions you have?)
(d) I'm having problems with a TM program and am not feeling satisfied with the answers I am getting from the TM organization. (If so, what sort of problems?)
e) I'm considering reducing or stopping TM program(s) so I'm reading up.
f) I am concerned for a friend/relative involved in TM. (If so, what type of information would you find most helpful?)
g) I'm happily involved in TM but my friends/relatives begged me to read your website.
h) I've left TM and I need help. (If so, what kind of problems are you having - physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, intellectual, legal? etc. - and what sort of help do you need?
What sort of articles or information do you find most helpful to your recovery?)
i) I'm basically out of TM but want to tie up some some loose ends, like express my anger or have old questions answered.
j) I'm happily involved in TM, and am just reading this blog to try to understand why anyone would publish anti-TM material.
k) I was in another cult(s) and TMFB gives me insight into my own former cult and helps me recover.
l) Other (Please explain!)

9. My main questions, interests or concerns around TM have to do with: TM? TM-Sidhis program? Maharishi Ayurveda? Religious component? Maharishi? rounding? health problems from TM? faulty science? money? political power? brainwashing? other?

10. Do you enjoy:
(a) critiques on TM's advertising, press releases, websites, etc.
(b) TM "insider" emails, announcements, videos, etc.
(c) Personal stories
(d) Humor/satire, etc.
(e) Repeats of "best posts"
(f) Philosophy/religious articles
(g) Scientific articles
(h) History of TM movement
(i) Opinion pieces
(j) Book reviews
(k) Recovery information
(l) Other (Please explain!)

11) Have you used the links at the right of the TMFB home page? Do you find these links useful? What could make them more useful?

12) Are you satisfied with the layout or web programs used in TMFB? Any suggestions you would make?

13) Any thoughts on the "Comments" section?

14) Would you like to write a TMFB post as a guest contributor? If so, please contact John Knapp.

15) Is there some particular topic you would like us to cover?

16) Any other comments?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer this survey, in any shape or form! I hope your answers will help us serve our readers better.

P.S. This post, like all posts, reflects the thoughts of the author. I did not consult with the other contributors when deciding to write this post.

You're Not Crazy--Comments Have Changed

Dear Loyal Commenters,

We are going through some growing pains with our comments. Haloscan is being phased out. We were essentially forced to upgrade to a new comment system with very little notice from Haloscan/JS-Kit.

I think we have ironed most of the kinks as of this morning. If you are having difficulty logging in, posting, or anything else, please contact me at jmknapp53@gmail.com.

The good news: There are many improvements to explore.

• The Recent Comments section in the right-hand column now also includes polls, top comments, and more. Just click on the tabs in the Recent Comments/Navigator box to see them.
  
• You can now rate comments by clicking on the "Like" link at the bottom of each comment. When enough votes have been gathered, Top & Hot comments will begin showing in Recent Comments.
  
• You can choose to use a Twitter, Google, or other profile to attach to your comments. You can even add a photo or other avatar to your profile and comments. This helps other readers identify your comments quickly.
  
• Anonymous posting is working again, after a slight fix.
  
• It is now easier than ever to include a graphic, video, or other file with your comment.
  
• There are even more html commands you may use in your comments for links, bold, italic, and more. (You should find more info on permitted html here.)
  
• You can now read threaded comments. When you reply to someone, it will show beneath their comment. This allows you and others to more easily follow the conversation.
  

Although this was forced on us somewhat ungracefully, it's my hope that none of our commenters were inconvenienced.

And I hope you enjoy the features of the new system!

J.

"Unhooking" from TM Beliefs

If you have been reading TM-Free Blog for some time, then you are probably familiar with the theory that at TM residence courses, participants, by meditating many times a day, experienced reduced critical thinking ability which left them susceptible to having Maharishi’s beliefs installed into their minds without their consent. Many of us, myself included, returned home from these courses with new beliefs that we had not freely chosen.

In the “Comments” section of my TM-Free Blog essay “Post-Hypnotic Suggestion and Trance Logic,” published 2/06/09, Gina has wittily and brilliantly compiled a list of many of the beliefs she was taught by the TM movement. Since Maharishi’s teachings changed from week to week, each of us who spent time in the movement will have a different list. One technique that I have found helpful in “unhooking” from the TM movement is to make my own list, look at every item on it, decide whether I actually believe that item or not, and if I believe it only because Maharishi said it was true but I have no other reason for believing it, to consciously remove it from my beliefs, and to break the taboo and do it.

By doing this, I have discovered that, for me at least, all the beliefs are linked together in my brain. Therefore, as long as I believe and continue to obey even one proscription, I find myself reeled into the entire Maharishi belief system.

For example, when I first attempted to separate myself from the TM movement, I came up with two strategies: choosing a new mantra for myself, and meditating in the lying-down position. I thought that by meditating in this manner I had broken Maharishi’s hold over me. It was only when someone encouraged me to cease any sort of TM-related meditating for the sake of my recovery that I gave up my new and improved technique. When I gave it up, I discovered that even though I had changed two variables in the TM technique, I had still been meditating two times a day, 20 minutes each time, morning and evening, before breakfast and before dinner, on an empty stomach, starting with one half minute of silence and ending with two minutes of silence, and using the mantra in the exact way Maharishi had taught us.

It was only when I quit meditating all together, I realized just how thoroughly I still believed. I found myself fearfully thinking, “Oh no! I can’t give up meditating. It is my safety net, assuring me physical health, mental health, spiritual progress, support of nature and superiority to other people!” Stopping meditating all together helped me break the pull of those beliefs. And when I stopped meditating, I felt as if a weight of grief had been lifted from my shoulders.

I have also discovered that, for myself at least, it is important for the sake of my recovery to unearth, question and reverse every single tiny little insignificant belief associated with TM. (I believe this is what Sudarsha, one of the contributing writers for TMFree, has referred to as "clawing ones way out of the Maheshistic belief system, one millimeter at a time.")

For instance, on my TM Teacher Training Course in La Antilla, Spain in 1974, Maharishi instructed us to never blow out candles, (specifically, candles used during TM initiation) but to fan them out with one’s hand. More than ten years after leaving TM, I realized that I was still fanning out candles. I believed that this was certainly an inconsequential rule, but I decided that for the sake of my recovery, I would stop fanning out candles as an experiment. So I blew out the next available candle, and to my surprise, I found fear and a number of beliefs parading through my mind: “Oh no! Blowing out that candle was a bad move! My life force goes out of my body when I blow out a candle! That weakens me! My life force is precious. It needs to be preserved. My body is a delicate vessel, especially since I have been spiritually purifying it all these years. Preserving the life force will lead to enlightenment. Therefore having sex is bad. Hmm, is this why I have been uncomfortable hugging my partner? Is this why I’ve been scared to have sex?”

It was amazing how many significant beliefs and behaviors were connected to that one minor proscription. So in the spirit of recovery, I am listing all the beliefs I can remember that I imbibed during my time in the TM organization between 1971 and 1981. Maybe they will remind you of beliefs you didn’t realize you still had. Or maybe they will inspire you to write up your own list. If you'd like, share your list in the “Comments” section. What have been your experiences with “unhooking” from the beliefs that Maharishi taught?

MY PERSONAL LIST OF TM BELIEFS

Ingesting:
Don’t eat: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, onions, garlic, mushrooms, peanuts, chocolate, coffee, tea, cooked honey, brown rice.
Eat lots of: nuts (especially almonds), fruits (especially oranges), milk products (especially yogurt), honey, white rice.
Don’t partake of cigarettes, alcohol, recreational drugs.
Do the TM “grace” before meals, silently, with eyes closed.

Meditating:
Never miss a meditation.
20 minutes each time.
Twice a day.
Don’t say the mantra aloud, or write it, or think it outside of meditation.
Don’t teach anyone except by the approved 7 steps.
Meditate in a sitting position.
Do not meditate when the stomach is full.
Meditate before breakfast and before dinner.
Don't meditate right before bed.
Start with ½ minute of silence, and end with 2 minutes of silence.
Put pets out of the room when you meditate – they will drain your energy.
All other meditation techniques are inferior- don’t do them.
Use the mantra in this manner: (well, you know what I mean).
TM is not a religion.

Hatha Yoga:
Lie down for the amount of time instructed before doing hatha yoga. (Specified time, taught on different courses, varied from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.)
Do the yoga postures that you were taught by the TM organization.
Do them in the order taught.
Do them for 10 to 20 seconds each.
Do them in the manner taught.
Do the yoga postures immediately before doing pranayama (yogic breathing exercises.)
Do pranayama the way it was taught in the TM organization, for the amount of time taught, and immediately before doing TM.

(Side note: I recently took a hatha yoga class. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised at how much benefit and pleasure I got from doing the postures the way my experienced yoga teacher taught them! We did postures that I didn't learn in TM, and we held them a lot longer than 20 seconds, and we did them in a different order, and she showed me better ways to do some of the postures that I had learned in TM. [I’d been doing at least one wrong for 20 years with no results.] Personally, I recommend taking a yoga class, or learning from a yoga book, or even practicing hatha yoga from a yoga magazine, to get unhooked from "TM asanas.")

Clothes:
Only wear natural fibers.
Don’t wear hand-me-downs.
Wear bright colors.
Women, cover up your arms and legs.
If Maharishi touches your coral bead necklace, he has "blessed" them.
Wearing the beads next to your skin will help your spiritual growth.
Don't let anyone touch the beads after Maharishi has touched them, or it will undo the blessing.
Dignified clothes are best.

Mental Health:
Psychotherapy is bad for you.
Don’t see a therapist.
To heal emotional problems:
- do TM
- go on residence courses
- do more asanas
- bath more frequently ("Psychological problems are caused by not bathing frequently enough." - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi)
- read the Ninth Mandala (Sama Veda) out loud.

Sex:
Sex is bad for you.
Having sex slows down spiritual growth.
One of the worst things you can do for your spiritual progress is to have sex if you're not married.
When you have sex, you exchange karma with your partner.
Only lifetime celibates can achieve immortality.
Don't have public displays of affection.

Miscellany:
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is a supernormal person. He is not a person like you and me.
Women, stay in bed for the first three days of your menstrual cycle.
Don’t criticize, don’t gossip.
When you say curse words or dirty words, you create a demon.
That which you put your attention on grows stronger.
Many sidhas putting their attention on something causes results.
Social and political action is a waste of time.
Do not place on the floor any flowers that you will be offering.
Do not sniff flowers that you will be offering.
Sleep with your head facing east.
Be in bed by 10:00 p.m.

Oh yes, and fan out your candles – don’t blow them out.

Worthy of the Wall

With all apologies to Guruphiliac's JodyR, from time time someone puts something so sweetly and succinctly, I just have to post it to the main blog.

Most of us leaving TM -- and similar groups -- have difficulty at first disclosing secret material. After all, we promised not to utter our mantra aloud, not to reveal the checking notes, not to admit we knew the mantras were the tantric names of Hindu gods. And then there were all the course agreements we signed!

But many of us decided that these promises functioned only one way: To benefit the Maharishi and the Transcendental Meditation movement -- at the expense of the innocent people we convinced to start TM by selectively keeping the most objectionable material secret from them.

All this the long, inelegant way of saying what David B said in so few, short words:

I guess that being an honest sort of person, it has taken me a long time to come to terms with the idea that when you've promised things to people who have lied to you big time, it sort of absolves you from your promises to them.