h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Transcendental Meditation Movement. - A697494
Author: Zed, Please visit the Bookworms Club! @A745544!! (and I can't spell but am not stupid) - U185843

I'm entering this in Peer Review for the second time, because I felt it needed a major re write to make it a bit more balanced, I think I've done that now. Please let me know if i haven't! I haven't at any point I hope let my opinions show in this entry, if they have let me know. I've tried to just state the current state of play with regard to facts and arguements.

C'om, I know that this isn't a subject that most of you have heard of or really care about but it's been ages since I re submitted it after the re write and not diddy squat in response, go on, just skim it if you must and post something...and yes I know this is a shameless plug to get it to the top of the list!!!!

I'm surprised this has received no comments so far, given the subject matter, which I'm sure lots of people will be interested in.

There are a couple of typos (eg Learning TM Today line 4), and I think it might be better to use the full time "Transcendental Meditation" first of all, with (TM) in brackets afterwards, rather than starting with TM straight away.

This is well written, but I suppose my concern with it is about balance. Objections and worries about the movement and the practice are mentioned, and the overall tone is objective and distant, but I suppose I'd like to see some other comments from people who know about this kind of thing - that's not to cast aspertions on Zed, but a general comment about peer review!

The formating is a bit odd - the screen seems wider than usual, which makes it a little harder to read. I don't know why this should be, and whether it's just my browser....

Otto

I've corrected the typo in line for and made the changes you suggested about using the full title first of all.

This is actually the second time that the entry has been into Peer Review, I withdrew it so I could add the secotion on critsim of TM. I've spent quiet a long time on this piece balance being my main concern. Because I've been involved for most of my life I found it difficult to write an objective piece about it, i was consiously aiming for the distant and objective tone!

If the general opinion is that it needs to include more from the pro TM stance then I'm quiet wililng to do that.

Thanks for reading it though I was begining to think that it was being ignored !

The balance seems fine to me. There is a good quantity of objective information and some arguments from both sides - so I don't see the problem. Reads really well now too.
The formatting is OK from here - so perhaps it is just you Otto.

I commented on the first entry, Zed. This seems to be improved and expanded. I seem to remember suggesting that it might be useful to give an example of a mantra, however I remember that one is told that your mantra should be kept secret. I believe, however, that most are based on the long vowel 'a', which resonates in the heart.

There's a typo - William Hauge should be spelled 'Hague' (rhymes with vague).

It might be useful to say a bit more about Yagyas - what type of ritual is this?

BTW, the formatting was odd in my browser as well. I've had to change my type to 'smallest' to get it all in one go. Usually, I don't need to and my 'medium' format is good.

PS: Another benefit of TM (or any meditation, come to that) is that is creates space to see what we really feel and to respond to our daily challenges and helps to deal with the 'overload' that we tend to find in our daily lives.

Most personal development programmes suggest meditation.

Nice entry

It seems balanced enough to me, and the formatting is also slightly dodgy on my machine. Any guru like to enlighten us as to why?

I sem to remember from the last election a party basing their whole manifesto on yogi flying.... Hmm I'll get back to you on the party name.

Natural Law Party! That was it. They did nothing whatsoever to enhance the movement's cause....

Sorry for getting frustrated, it was really childish of me! I really appricated the comment on my first article and it was your comments that prompted the rewrite!

Even thouht I don't practice anymore i don't think I could really put an example of a mantra online. However a few quick moments with google will find the mantras. Without wanting to revel mine it doesn't have a protracted vowel though it does have one vowel in it, the constant is the prracted one, I'll add something to that affect, I'll also add some more on the yagya programme.

This should be done by tomorrow evening, in time for the weekend but I have to sleep now!.

I have to admit I can't work out the problem with the formating the screen is really long. I can't see that I've used any excessily long headers. Can anyone help?

The strange thing wsa no one is the natural law party actually realised that they looked so ridiculous, or if they did then they didn't dare to admit it.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

yeah it sounds brilliant and i would love to learn how to do it......TM sound a bit dodgy to me though................I mean five hundred squids
Its alot of money and im a student
Sounds to me like TM is just a money making organisation and is not about helping people at all............otherwise there would at least be a student discount
And their belif that you only appreciate what u pay for.........rubbish
I have found that with education people only do it if they want to learn something so even if it was available for free (which it should)
surely if people are going to take the time out to find out about it , attend classes, learn it are showing a certain amount of commitment anyway so how could they possibly not appreciate the end result.
What i am trying to say is that i understand that u need 2 b taught it to learn it......and in the olden days i assume it would would be passed down from guru to pupil so what gives them the right to sell it at such a high price.
I truely believe this is wrong and if i possessed the knowledge to be able to do or teach this i wouldn't dream of charging for it.
After all with greed it will be forgotten and may be lost for future generations........It is a gift and that goes with readings predictions and diet advice......i have always been taught that if someone is genuinely gifted they won't charge for their service if it helps fellow human beings
Linkie.

Oh actually their is a student discount, but it isn't a great deal. On of hte conditions of the TM school was that you had to learn TM at the age of 10, and your parents did have to pay for it unless they were TM teachers when they could do it themselves for free. This was some years ago and the prices have gone up a lot since then, but my parents had to pay £400 for us four children to learn and they were unemployed at the time.

In the 1960's when my parents learnt they were asked to donate a weeks wages, (or a proportion of their grant for students) and children were charged their pocket money, this seemed a lot fairer. The Beatles paid an extorntionate amount to learn though.

There isn't a student discount.........i rang today earlier to ask.....i still think it's wrong to charge for it it seems to me thats its a beneficial thing that should be available to anyone........like the nhs if you like

Oh sorry, I genuinly thught that there was, there certainly was when i last asked a few years ago. It isn't in the entry. I have to agree about the charging though.

Where did you ring, by the way?

When I was a student (and it was later than the 60s) I had to pay an amount equal to a weeks student grant. I agree - if there's no student grant, the it was definitely more equitable in the older days.

Congrats on the entry being picked!

Thanks. I'm glad it was picked as well. thanks...

Yes - congratulations - it looks great.