New Age friend

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Lorarose

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I’m asking advise on how to respond to a friend who seems to have gotten herself very deep into trascendental meditation.
I don’t understand enough about it to even begin.

While she seems disillusioned with the “master” “guru” aspect of it…she also claims she can experience different “planes” of existence that have something to with vibrations and energy.
She says she can experience this three times a year with others who feel the same thing (what is THAT about?)
They meet in different parts of the word to do this?

And she claims they are trying to discover why we get sick, we hate each other, why we die…etc.

She seems to be rejecting any philosophy/religion/practice where a central figure claims to know “the way”.

I’m guessing she would put Jesus in this group.

Any of you who have had experience with this type of thing…your insight would be very welcome.
 
Lorarose said:
I’m asking advise on how to respond to a friend who seems to have gotten herself very deep into trascendental meditation.
I don’t understand enough about it to even begin.

While she seems disillusioned with the “master” “guru” aspect of it…she also claims she can experience different “planes” of existence that have something to with vibrations and energy.
She says she can experience this three times a year with others who feel the same thing (what is THAT about?)
They meet in different parts of the word to do this?

And she claims they are trying to discover why we get sick, we hate each other, why we die…etc.

She seems to be rejecting any philosophy/religion/practice where a central figure claims to know “the way”.

I’m guessing she would put Jesus in this group.

Any of you who have had experience with this type of thing…your insight would be very welcome.
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The mind is a funny thing. Some explanations of TM are easy to explain - for instance Jewish mediatators using the Kabbalistic system are told that “Yesod”, or the first stage, is read with green lights. Close your eyes and look at the Sun, what do you see. Now look away from the sun, open your eyes briefly, and close them again. What do you see? The mystery is actually purely physical.

Other things are maybe not so easy to explain. TM gives the illusion of unity and harmony when in fact the mediatator is merely producing purely subjective internal experiences. The sense of control of one’s own mind and body is particularly dangerous, because when it comes to the crunch the mediatator will suddenly find that this control does not exist.

If you want to find out why we get sick, and so on, I’m doing medical research into Alzheimer’s at Leeds University. There are no “fundamental reasons” involving energy levels and vibrations that cause this disease, I can assure you. We don’t know the exact answer, but it probably has something to do with a protein that fods up into the wrong conformation. You are not going to stop yourself from getting Alzheimer’s by mediatating, waving magnets about, or drinking herbal teas. Maybe the caffeine in the tea has a marginal effect, but not enough to be an effective protection.

We do, I think, forget that people need colour and beauty in their lives, and too many Catholic parishes fail to provide this. So you get this sort of mumbo jumbo about transcendental mediatation springing up.
 
Lorarose said:
While she seems disillusioned with the “master” “guru” aspect of it…she also claims she can experience different “planes” of existence that have something to with vibrations and energy.
She says she can experience this three times a year with others who feel the same thing (what is THAT about?)
They meet in different parts of the word to do this?
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That sounds like a vague description of string theory.

Out of curiosity, Malcolm, what do you think is the cause of Alzheimers? Are you a ba-ptist or a tau-ist?

The free energy change for the folding into the “correct” confirmation of beta amyloid or tau protein (depending on which of these proteins as the causative agent) is not favored compared to the misfolded form. Maybe a chaperone is defective…

I have not read the primary literature on Alzheimer’s disease, but I am sure it is not caused nor can it be cured by some mysterious new age force.
 
Close your eyes and look at the Sun, what do you see. Now look away from the sun, open your eyes briefly, and close them again. What do you see? The mystery is actually purely physical.
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I see what you are saying. I get the impression she feels her experiences are more profound than this.
One time during meditation she claims she found herself to be levitating.
She claims to be able to physically see and touch lower density energy fields.
[The sense of control of one’s own mind and body is particularly dangerous, because when it comes to the crunch the mediatator will suddenly find that this control does not exist./QUOTE]
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She had become disillusioned with some aspects of new age practice - and maybe this is why.
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You are not going to stop yourself from getting Alzheimer’s by mediatating, waving magnets about, or drinking herbal teas.
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I’m not sure what she thinks the solutions are.
I find this type of talk to be out of character for her and I’m concerned for her sanity.

Thank you for your response.
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That sounds like a vague description of string theory.
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She did say she’s been reading books about quantum physics.
I don’t know enough about it to know what is a valid claim and what is not.
I am guessing there is a big difference between contemplating equations - considering the possiblilities of other dimensions vs. claiming to be able to personally physically experience these dimensions or “planes of energy”.
And why would you only be able to experience this 3x a year?:eek:

She’s a very kind and loving person and I’m worried about her.
 
ok rereading her message, I think I misinterpreted one thing she was saying.
It doesn’t seem to be a matter she can only experience these things 3 x a year. Apparantly she arranges to meet others who do this, and they gather together 3 x a year.
 
Lorarose said:
She did say she’s been reading books about quantum physics.
I don’t know enough about it to know what is a valid claim and what is not.
I am guessing there is a big difference between contemplating equations - considering the possiblilities of other dimensions vs. claiming to be able to personally physically experience these dimensions or “planes of energy”.
And why would you only be able to experience this 3x a year?:eek:
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If we can experience those dimensions, then string theory would not be controversial…

Has she read anything by Brian Greene?
 
If we can experience those dimensions, then string theory would not be controversial…
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hmmm…well - her claim is that she has learned this skill after spending years advancing in the practice of meditation.

So, I’m guessing her response to you would be that you too could experience it if you learned how to properly enter into this deep state of meditation.

“Has she read anything by Brian Greene?”

I will ask her.
 
ok - after a little more dialogue, I think we are dealing with a person who has had a “kunalinda awakening” (or something like that)

she believes she can manipulate energy and enter into different planes of existence where she learns certain “truths”.

One of these “truths” seems to be that we all are divine - or are united in the divine. I don’t see much evidence of a personal loving God. It sounds like she is saying we all together are the creator and the creation kind of thing.

Anyways…most catholic apologetic sites deal with defending the faith to a protestant. I don’t see much out there that attempts to defend the notion of a personal loving God to a new ager.

Any good sources or links would be greatly appreciated!
 
Lorarose said:
ok - after a little more dialogue, I think we are dealing with a person who has had a “kunalinda awakening” (or something like that)

she believes she can manipulate energy and enter into different planes of existence where she learns certain “truths”.

One of these “truths” seems to be that we all are divine - or are united in the divine. I don’t see much evidence of a personal loving God. It sounds like she is saying we all together are the creator and the creation kind of thing.

Anyways…most catholic apologetic sites deal with defending the faith to a protestant. I don’t see much out there that attempts to defend the notion of a personal loving God to a new ager.

Any good sources or links would be greatly appreciated!
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Could you define energy? I want it quantified in terms of joules or electronvolts.
 
Could you define energy? I want it quantified in terms of joules or electronvolts.
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ok - I’ll see what I can do for you.
She speaks in terms of “energy, vibrations, frequencies” and “different planes of existance”
 
correction…that would be a “Kundalini Awakening”

The “8th Chakra” located at the base of the spine.
The awakening is the result of the release of this “energy” in the spine.
 
Lorarose said:
correction…that would be a “Kundalini Awakening”

The “8th Chakra” located at the base of the spine.
The awakening is the result of the release of this “energy” in the spine.
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That is weird because hindu tradition has 7 chakras with the first at the base of the spine.

Sorry,if that seems like nitpicking, I did a study of them for my world religions class.

A lone Raven
 
Yes…I read that too, and the site I got this information from did say this “energy” was sometimes referred to as something else - like the serpent energy (because of how it is coiled around the spine)

So it sounds to me like some of them refer to it simply as the kundalini “serpent” energy - and some have dubbed it the “8th chakra”??

I’m a beginner at this new age stuff.
Whenever someone started to talk to me about chakras I would tune them out.

But now I’m worried about this woman - she is a very special person and I’m afraid this stuff is going to drive her insane.
 
It seems to me that most new age is simply the mixture of various esoteric rituals from a variety of religions. It seems almost to be a “that is neat, lets do that”. I would study more on other religions, and point out to her how she is grabbing parts of religions without others, and there is nothign to tell her what works, or is good, and what does not work. Perhaps the lack of logic in just grabbing certian rituals from every religion they can will hit her.

I doubt it will be dangerous to her psyche, but I would pray for her none the less.

A lone Raven
 
Lorarose said:
ok - I’ll see what I can do for you.
She speaks in terms of “energy, vibrations, frequencies” and “different planes of existance”
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That doesn’t necessarily mean anything to me. I do not know what is her definition of “energy”. It does not match up with any real world definition.

If she can channel energy that is greater that 7 TeV ( 1 TeV = 10e12 electronvolts), then I would say she is more powerful than the Large Hadron Collider.
 
I doubt it will be dangerous to her psyche, but I would pray for her none the less.
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2 reasons I’m worried for her sanity…
she is talking crazy talk, plain and simple.
She isn’t postulating that there “might” be different planes of existence…she is claiming she is actually experiencing and entering these different planes of existence.
She says she has levitated (without trying to). That she was meditating and freaked out her instructor and everyone in the class because she was “sitting” a couple of inches off the ground.

I found a website called yogadanger.com that describes this kundalini awakening - and that is the 2nd reason I’m worried.
This doesn’t sound like harmless experimentation.
This sounds like a straight path to a break with reality.
 
If she can channel energy that is greater that 7 TeV ( 1 TeV = 10e12 electronvolts), then I would say she is more powerful than the Large Hadron Collider.
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I doubt she is trying to measure anything while she is meditating.
I am guessing she would view your question as a typical “male” line of questioning…logical nuts and bolt type of stuff.

It is probably good enough for her that she “feels” the energy, and “experiences” the energy. This probably causes her to think she doesn’t need scientific proof or instruments for measurement.

But I will do my best to present your case to her…I haven’t had a chance to these past couple of days.
I’ve got a newborn in the house and get interrupted.
 
ribozyme said:
That sounds like a vague description of string theory.

Out of curiosity, Malcolm, what do you think is the cause of Alzheimers? Are you a ba-ptist or a tau-ist?
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Baptist. Though I can’t explain what the tau proetins are doing.
The free energy change for the folding into the “correct” confirmation of beta amyloid or tau protein (depending on which of these proteins as the causative agent) is not favored compared to the misfolded form. Maybe a chaperone is defective…
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We’re getting way off topic here, but amyloid is one stable form of protein that most if not all peptides can be induced to adopt. beta amyloid happens to be particularly amyloidogenic. Because the transtion barriers are so high, the protein will not always settle in the lowest energy state. Just as if you have a piece of paper in air, it won’t automatically oxidise. However apply a little heat, and it can jump over the transition barrier, and turns into water and carbon dioxide.
I have not read the primary literature on Alzheimer’s disease, but I am sure it is not caused nor can it be cured by some mysterious new age force.
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That’s on-topic. The point is that weird therapies generally don’t work, or just have a very minor effect due to suggestion. Since we know something about these diseases, we can understand why they are unlikely to work. However belief in mafic is becoming mainstream.
 
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