smile millionaires - www.ezboard.com

>

SRF Walrus

Mt. Washington, Ca

Open discussions about SRF

SRF Walrus > Core Issues > smile millionaires
	<< Prev Topic \| Next Topic >>

Author	Comment
unmonked Unregistered User (3/9/02 8:22 am) Reply	smile millionaires There is a great deal of smiling within the ashram. Some of it is genuine, but a lot of it is not. It is, in my opinion, a way to avoid looking. If you smile, you must be okay. You can't be hurting. There is never any way to discuss mental or emotional pain in the ashram because, in my own experience, the resources to deal with that simply are not there. Depression is treated as a spiritual condition, not as a clinical mental illness. I seriously doubt that there is an SRF renunciant taking Prozac. So in order to survive, you need to stuff deep inside all the negative thoughts and feelings, or at least not let anyone know who you really are. So there is (or was for me at least) a lot of pretending. When a monk or nun leaves and gets married, I always think, "Wow! There was another life inside that person I never even knew existed. It must have been there all that time in the ashram--the yearning, the pain, the wanting to be loved deeply by another human being--and I never even knew it. They hid it so well." None of us ever knows until someone leaves who they really are. My questions: could this lead to the type of Jungian projection mentioned in another thread (which was fascinating, but then got kind of side-tracked)? That is, could a group or collective suppression of negative emotions and thoughts give rise to a projection of those negative thoughts and feelings on to others, resulting in endless litigation and an obsessive need to look perfect?
No Smiles For Me Please Unregistered User (3/9/02 8:51 am) Reply	Smiling Idiots One of the things that struck me most when I joined SRF was the Smiling Idiots. They were everywhere! Everywhere I went people smiling like fools. Not a natural, spontaneous smile, but a plastic, forced smile that said "I'm just the most perfect little devotee in the world and nothing you do or say will bother me because I am sooo above you." Then of course as I got to know people and the organization better I realized there were many types of smiles. If you said anything that was "negative" (and of course we all know in SRF everything that is normal for humans is considered negative) the smile millionaires flashed you the "you're negative and I'm perfect" smile. If you asked about something which was considered controversial, they flashed you the "oh, we are sooo beyond that" smile. Even the smiles when they throw you out of Lake Shrine or Encinitas gardens at closing time seem to be saying "so long suckers, we've been waiting all day for this moment to get rid of you". SRF'ers seem to have latched on to this smile millionaire thing with particular ferociousness. Everytime I hear them telling people to be a smile millionaire I cringe.
x Insider Unregistered User (3/9/02 10:03 am) Reply	Follow up There are probably people in the ashram on Prozac. But they would have to be on it for reasons other than being depressed -- if they want to stay. For the nuns, if you admit you are depressed, you are endlessly grilled by Sr. Shivani about if you are really suited for "the life." In other words, it is like Unmonked said, it is felt that mental problems preclude you from being a successful nun. Little do they realize that you just need the RIGHT mental problems to be a successful nun. Unmonked, I can't tell if you have left the ashram yet. If you haven't, I hope you are not posting or reading from your ashram computer. You will get grief because your usage is monitored by Systems Dept. Maybe you have figured out an independent set-up. Or maybe Lake Shrine or Hidden Valley is not on the same system.
X Insider Unregistered User (3/9/02 10:13 am) Reply	To Unmonked Just read another post that explains your former monk status -- no need to respond to my previous question.
AumBoy Registered User (3/9/02 12:55 pm) Reply ezSupporter	Re: smile millionaires Yes, unmonked, there is a great deal of smiling. I've begun to think that there is also a great lack of deep thinking. I feel that many read about being a smile millionaire and simply start smiling, probably thinking, "I'm smiling. The work is done. I don't need to think anymore about this." It is superficial and must go deeper. When I smile, I feel happy. Sometimes I'm not aware that I'm smiling, but when I walk down a street and it is reflected back to me from others, I realize that I feel happy and that is where my smile comes from as an extention of my meditation. This lack of deep thinking about what Master said/wrote I find very perturbing. Almost a literal interpretation of being a smile millionaire without the corresponding feeling accompanying it.
Vulcan Unregistered User (3/9/02 7:06 pm) Reply	Re: smile millionaires *Quote:* My questions: could this lead to the type of Jungian projection mentioned in another thread (which was fascinating, but then got kind of side-tracked)? That is, could a group or collective suppression of negative emotions and thoughts give rise to a projection of those negative thoughts and feelings on to others, resulting in endless litigation and an obsessive need to look perfect? Sure, this is a major foundation of projection. Many believe this is the root cause of the repeated difficult situations SRF finds itself in. And Master himself talks about it, when he points out that one cannot be congnizant of anything in others that doesn't have a relative vibration in oneself. That can be taken too far, of course, but you get the drift. There are some other threads on the board in which people are now attacking and counter-attacking each other over who is doing more projecting. Fascinating stuff! A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Irony Unregistered User (3/9/02 7:23 pm) Reply	Psychoanalysts on this board *Quote:* A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Indeed.
Ringbearer Unregistered User (3/9/02 9:30 pm) Reply	To Vulcan "There are some other threads on the board in which people are now attacking and counter-attacking each other over who is doing more projecting. Fascinating stuff! A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. " It seems to me that you are merely projecting your own lack of knowledge concerning the topic of projection upon others. I know that this is difficult to accept and you will probably counter by attacking my knowledge of projection. But by doing so you will only confirm the fact that it is you who knows nothing whatsoever about projection and are merely projecting your ignorance upon others. Oh, if you could only see what an insidious mental trap you are stuck in...may God help you. ;-)
AumBoy Registered User (3/9/02 11:28 pm) Reply ezSupporter	Processionary caterpillars *Quote:* There are some other threads on the board in which people are now attacking and counter-attacking each other over who is doing more projecting. Fascinating stuff! This reminded me of the following: John Henry Fabre, the great French naturalist, conducted a most unusual experiment with some Processionary Caterpillars. Processionary Caterpillars blindly follow the one in front of them. That's why they are called "processionary"--they travel in a procession. Fabre filled a flower pot close to the rim with dirt. He then carefully arranged some Processionary Caterpillars in a circle around the rim of the flower pot, so that the lead caterpillar actually touched the last one, making a complete circle. In the center of the flower pot he put pine needles, which is food for the Processionary Caterpillar. The caterpillars started walking around the circular flower pot. Around and around they went, hour after hour, day after day, night after night. They obtained no nourishment, no rest. For seven full days and seven full nights they went around the flower pot. Finally, they dropped dead of starvation and exhaustion.
monky Unregistered User (3/11/02 8:33 am) Reply	Smiley I have double feelings about this topic: a. I can see this 'smiley' feature in most SRFers and though now I can't stand it too much it was very attractive to me for many years. It was when I had to use it to cover up the pain from the other monastics around me that it became a torture or a good mask to wear so I could survive in the ashram. "A good monk, is a happy monk", how many time were we told that? Now it is painful to see it on the bliss bunnies especially when they use is for reasons other than to just reflect their inner state. At the same time when devotees are so brainwashed, so convinced of being the right hand of god, to have found the answer to all their questions, etc..... they sincerely feel happy, Blessed ignorance! Well , to each one his/her own awakening! b. I loved to smile a lot, it mostly came from my meditations and I like to think that it is the same for most SRFers. I got into the habit or maybe I was born happy and even now it can make some difference in a relationship or in a working environment, etc. I still smile a lot but I also acknowledge my other painful side and it works well for me. " Being a smile millionare" and the habit I created of it are now a reminder that at the end, after I tried everything else and still the problem is there, I can make a hearty smile, I can change pespective a bit, I an not caged by a long face or by disappointment.
babu Unregistered User (3/11/02 9:00 am) Reply	SRF "Smile Millionaires" I find this SRF emphasis on smiles disturbing to say the least. I've met plenty of SRF "Smile Millionaires" at MW and elsewhere who smiled with their lips but their body language and rest of the face gave off the opposite message. This phony smiling business is nothing new, it is used in business and everywhere else to manipulate people and get what you want. Salespeople and customer service people have elevated it to an art form. I must say that smiling is used so much more in the U.S. than anywhere else. As an Indian I find it very uncomfortable to have to be constantly smiling and wagging my tail and hanging my tongue out like a little puppy so that people won't get their feelings hurt or think I'm unfriendly or impolite. I'm afraid Master gave people the wrong impression of India and Indians with his "smile millionaire" stuff. Thankfully that was his only lapse into the superficiality and triviality that are characteristic of Western social interactions. People often wrongfully think when they hear this "Smile Millionaire" stuff from Master that Indians are smiling idiots who spend all day long smiling at each other. That is certainly not the case with Indians or most other cultures. In most countries outside the U.S. you smile only when it comes spontaneously from inside without you even noticing it, when you see or hear something funny or when you see someone or something you genuinely like. Normally you keep a respectful demeanor. Otherwise your smile loses power and significance if you go around with a smile on your face all day long like an idiot, or flashing smiles at everything and everyone indiscriminately. Would gold or diamonds be worth anything if they were found everywhere like common rocks?
rayuna Registered User (3/11/02 12:37 pm) Reply	Listen to Master's Tape And you'll hear the distinction he makes between insincere smiles and inborn ones.
Kriya Yogue Unregistered User (3/11/02 6:24 pm) Reply	Can i smile? I have the impression people get hurt, angry when i smile, they think am poking fun of them or something like that."Why are you smiling? im funny, ugly or something" They smile back but i feel something negative, an angry smile, i dont know. Someone understand that? To meet people is unbearable to me.
interesting Unregistered User (3/11/02 6:32 pm) Reply	Re: Can i smile? Are you smiling or smirking? I've known some people who seem to have a permanent smirk on their face, or whose smile looks like a smirk instead of a smile. People react very negatively to that. Other than that, maybe you have an ugly smile. It's not very common, but some people just have a very off-putting smile that people react negatively to. In that case I guess the thing to do would be not to smile too big, just a very soft, slight smile that doesn't quite scare them so much.
blindking Unregistered User (3/11/02 7:15 pm) Reply	Smile Millioners? I go to SRF temples and I see these fake smiles everywhere some much that I feel embarrassed to bring my friends for the fear that they might notice it. Why Ministers emphasize so much about smiling, id it is not natural? I have been observing the monks and ministers I don�t seem them smiling when they are not in the mood or do not have a good reason for. Why then tell the ushers, devotees, or greeters to smile? I know why, they pass it to sheep as they do not want to look like fools themselves.
Lobo Registered User (3/11/02 8:42 pm) Reply	Re: smile millionaires Unmonked, I recommend Carl Jung's book, Man and His Symbols, for an easily accessible overview of his insights into the shadow and how it can be projected. The book might not be absolutely on-point, germane to this discussion of the projection in the ashram that is, but he believes that projection is done unconsciously by everyone, and that by becoming aware of these projections, becoming more conscious of them and whom they are projected onto one can therefore become freer. The book is a great introduction to his discoveries. And it is sold in most bookstores. It also discusses the collective unconscious, the shadow, the anima and animus (or the opposite gender as a fundamental, largely unconscious part of one's psyche) etc.
Kriya Yogue Unregistered User (3/12/02 6:08 am) Reply	Can i smile? interisting, Thanks for the reply. I think my smile is a normal one. I notice this angry response to smiles not only with me but with everybody all the time. Even watching tv i perceive this and is very disturbing. Ex: Two people are talking and one of them smile for no reason(this is common), the other person thought is "why are you smiling?" and reply with a nervous, angry smile. Maybe this is my projection i dont know.

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Email This To a Friend

Email This To a Friend
Topic Control Image

Topic Control Image

Click to receive email notification of replies

Click to stop receiving email notification of replies

jump to:

- SRF Walrus - Core Issues -

Powered By ezboard� Ver. 7.32
Copyright �1999-2005 ezboard, Inc.