Here is a slightly altered version of some thoughts my own Reverend Ron shared with some friends and me, regarding the incorrigibility of New-Wage gurus and the reasons these gurus continue to attract followers:[Followers of New-Wage gurus] are a gullible lot, who think that the path to riches and enlightenment is paved with opportunities to suck up to [their idol(s) of choice]. There have always been and will always be gullible people who lack either the intelligence or the will to emerge from their fantasies.
The silence after [recent controversies involving a New-Wage guru], followed by the resurgence of fawning sycophants, eager to pull [their idol’s] pud, has convinced me that the best I can do is to trust that [followers will be followers] despite any effort to [present evidence that they may be misguided]; that there will always be an emerging class of [followers], eager to replace any who happened to get a clue and jump off the bandwagon; and that [the gurus] will continue to rake in the watches, cars, and wading pools they so adore, ad infinitum.
Think I’ll just go back to rolling my eyes at the whole parade, and return my own focus to things that actually improve my life. These folks deserve each other.
The Rev is right, of course, as he often is. But I have yet to reach the point where I can just sit by and roll my eyes at the parade.
I’d much rather blog about it.
PS ~ I realize that the graphic I chose does not accurately reflect the metaphor the Rev used for idol worship, but this is, after all, a (mostly) PG-rated blog.
Never a dull moment here! What a sight...
ReplyDeleteCan I see the unedited version of RevRon's anal-ysis?
Oh, and thanks for the link to my blog! (Yep, I really, really, really do not like The Secret. Poison, anyone?)
ReplyDeleteHi, Lana. I'll have to get the Rev's permission to send you the "unedited" version...
ReplyDeleteAnd you're welcome for the link!
I feel the need to quote Erich Fromm from the foreword to his book ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM:
ReplyDelete"Man's brain lives in the twentieth century; the heart of most men lives still in the Stone Age. The majority of men have not yet acquired the maturity to be independent, to be rational, to be objective. They need myths and idols to endure the fact that man is all by himself, that there is no authority which gives meaning to life except man himself. Man represses the irrational passions of destructiveness, hate, envy, revenge; he worships power, money, the sovereign state, the nation; while he pays lip service to the teachings of the great spiritual leaders of the human race, those of Buddha, the prophets, Socrates, Jesus, Mohammed--he has transformed these teachings into a jungle of superstition and idol-worship. How can mankind save itself from destroying itself by this discrepancy between intellectual-technical over-maturity and emotional backwardness?"
I feel Ron's frustration. More to the point, I understand his need to pull from the "fight." It only takes a few moments to realize that when one is debating with a New Age dogmatist, one is no longer enjoying discourse betwixt two intelligent, rational, thinking beings; one is engaged with a person whose heart "lives still in the Stone Age."
A Zen koan asks "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
It looks as if Ron has discovered that answer - and is perhaps one step closer to enlightenment.*
Have fun ... Tony.
* Those who attain enlightenment shall receive a gift certificate for dinner for two at any participating Bob's Big Boy restaurant and a one-year subscription to GAMES magazine. This offer is not valid in the states of ME, NE, and OH. These prizes may be taxable; please check with an accountant when filing your return.
Excellent comments, Tony, and I love the Erich Fromm quotation. I feel Ron's frustration too, and have to stop myself sometimes when I think I'm actually on a "mission" (apart from my mission to be entertaining).
ReplyDeleteNow, as for that prize for obtaining enlightenment: Dinner at a Big Boy sounds good. We don't have them in our neck of the woods any more. (They used to be Kip's in this part of the world.) Anyway, I'll let Ron work on winning that, and maybe he'll allow me to accompany him to dinner if I promise not to talk about any New-Wage gurus.
As for me, I'm holding out for one of the original Big Boys like the one I experienced the Miracle Occurrence with (I blogged about it last year...August 29, 2006).
http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/
2006/08/rock-solid-miracles.html
I really should have bought that BB when I had a chance; he was "only" $2,500.00. I actually wanted one of the bigger Big Boys, but they didn't have one, and besides, Ron said (and yes, he actually said this, and we still chuckle about it): "Besides, a smaller one would be more practical."
Practical?!?
I hope some day to be wealthy beyond belief, and I will blog and brag about my Big Boys and original carousel animals. And the whole world will envy me.
Or maybe think I'm a bit nuts...
Tony & CC -
ReplyDeleteThe frustration I felt has been supplanted by a kind of bemused pragmatism.
When my son was little, we lived in Colorado for a few years. I used to take the kids to a local park, where my boy loved to terrorize the ducks. One day, he spotted a goose, and asked if he could chase it, as well. I chuckled & said, "Sure."
Well, he chased the goose for about 10 feet, at which point, the thing spun around & started chasing *him.* Since the bird stood almost eye-to-eye with him, my son was the one who was terrorized. Being a compassionate father, I laughed my ass off. Took many years, but the boy eventually saw the humor in the situation.
The point of this story - and the "lesson" in it, is that each of us must be allowed to express our inner stupidity, and (hopefully) to eventually learn that even those things we do from our own passion may come back and bite us in the ass. Had I tried to stop my son, he would have resented me for it, and never learned a "truth" about geese. I guess I see the [Followers of New-Wage gurus] much as I saw my son, so many years ago.
If there's any frustration left, it is confined to my difficulty in getting the Cosmic One to walk away from her "mission" now and then.
"Or maybe think I'm a bit nuts..."
ReplyDeleteMethinks the future has already arrived, my sweet! :-)
Thank you, Ron. Of course if the goose had actually posed a real danger to your son, you would have prevented the encounter.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I well understand your frustration at my "obsession"...
:-)
ReplyDelete