Teacher: Greetings

Teacher: What were your feelings as you read the instructions about snoring meditation?

Student: I thought it was funny but there were a few groans -- the type evoked by Groucho Marx -- as well.

Student: I didn't have a problem shifting gears.

Teacher: Have you experimented with psychedelics?

Student: Ultimately, I prefer to have more control over my mental state than drugs allow.

Teacher: "control over my mental state" Do you at all feel that you hold on too tightly to consensus reality?

Student: Perhaps. Or perhaps I feel my hold on it is tenuous.

Teacher: Has your "way of looking at things" your "way of thinking about things" your "way of coming at life" at all changed since reading Perennialist propaganda?

Teacher: You are losing your tenuous hold on reality as you read this hypnotic command--I think

Student: Yes! I had read Plato in college and had decided I preferred him to Aristotle but the notion of Forms and their realm seemed unreal.

Teacher: What do you fear might happen if you lost your hold on "reality?"

Student: I might lose my ability to function in the world.

Student: There's always the spectre of the "basket case" huddled in a padded cell.

Student: Now, though, I've come to accept that other realities do penetrate our own and that people have learned to shift from one to the other.

Teacher: Have you experienced losing your hold on reality?

Teacher: Has your "way of looking at things" your "way of thinking about things" your "way of coming at life" at all changed since reading Perennialist propaganda?

Student: Certainly some of my psychedelic experiences affected my ability to function in ordinary reality.

Student: Also, in the last couple of years, I've had moments of vertigo -- especially while driving -- that have created some challenges.

Teacher: How did they affect your ability to function in ordinary reality? Over long periods of time? In ways that you could not control?

Teacher: Why do you think you experience vertigo? Triggering mechanisms?

Teacher: Can you respond more quickly?

Student: While under the influence, I tended to lose the ability to speak. As for the vertigo, no one knows why I have it -- no brain tumor or similar.

Student: It is triggered by focusing on large open areas of sky, bright lights, and strobe effects .

Teacher: What feelings accompanied your loss of the ability to speak?

Student: The first time it occurred I had just passed under the light and shadows of bridge girders.

Student: I was content not to speak. I could vocalize but it took too much effort to form words that other people could understand.

Student: Once, much later, I took peyote and was actually unable to move.

Student: Just lay there immobile while my cells chattered to me about the similarity between viruses and psychedelics and how Vitamin C promoted oxygenation that helped both.

Student: Fortunately, in all these experiences, I knew what was "real" and what was not.

Student: And, I didn't develop a passion for experience the alternate reality.

Student: ... make that "experiencing"

Teacher: Can you conceive of gaining the ability--through specific exercises in the study program--to let go and enter just such states of altered consciousness--but without the fear of getting too far out to come back?

Student: Yes. The sequence of articles in your last assignment convinced me of that.

Student: While reading the fourth process article, I actually did sense a change in consciousness that was intriguing and pleasant.

Student: It appeared that I was actually peering in the door to higher consciousness and it seemed possible to enter at some point.

Teacher: Can you conceive of developing a passion for alternate reality? If not a passion, at least an infatuation?

Teacher: What kept you peering in the door and not entering do you feel?

Student: This was a revelation since I'd always approached the articles intellectually only.

Student: Re passion for alternate reality -- Yes, if it were entered slowly and safely and appeared worthwhile to visit.

Teacher: What is involved in the "groan" you experience when coming into "humor" pieces?

Student: It was the same groan that goes with bad puns...

Teacher: Question: How many metaphysicians does it take to change a light bulb?

Student: Perhaps a touch of corn along with the humor.

Student: Don't know, unless they're like therapists and the light bulb has to really want to change.

Teacher: "I'd always approached the articles intellectually only" Was it not clear from the material that you were supposed NOT to approach the mateiral intellectually exclusively?

Student: Yes, but my attempts to enter into them more directly had met with limited success.

Teacher: So it would take at least two metaphysicians to change a light bulb: one to make it want to change and one to turn it on.

Student: Well, have to take your word on that one.

Teacher: Do you think it possible that some aspects of what you read in the Perennialist material are too frightening and that you feel you must "hold on" to yourself, holding yourself back from going forward?

Student: Re peering in the door but not entering, I had the feeling that with a little more study and looseing up, it could happen.

Teacher: I don't really feel that any word is really mine, so I don't feel any loss if you take my word on things.

Student: Less frightening than unknown, perhaps, although the unknown is somewhat frightening to me.

Student: I'm easily frightened, I guess. Can't watch horror movies, for example, and used to have bad nightmares when I was young.

Teacher: Would you feel "safe" in loosening up in this program to the point of feeling that you have lost control?

Student: To me, "safe" and "lost control" are oxymorons.

Student: I have experienced the feeling of losing control in mild white water canoeing, but didn't feel safe until I was through the rapids.

Student: Overall impression of the experience was fun and exhilirating, though.

Teacher: They may not be morons but they're reality challenged

Teacher: Losing control in canoeing, of course, is mostly physical, whereas we're speaking of psychic loss of control

Student: I think it's a question of practice and learning to feel safe.

Student: Guess there's either the sink or swim method or the old rat training method of "successive approximations."

Teacher: It may be a matter of holding on so tightly that you never let yourself get through that door

Student: Well, I am motivated to do so. It's a question of overcoming fear.

Teacher: Yes, as Nasrudin carried out scientific experiments with his donkey, teaching it to live with less food until the experiment ended in a negative outcome for the donkey but important data for Nasrudin

Student: That which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger, says Nasrudin -- not the donkey.

Teacher: I'm glad to see that you have enough sense not to enter into the bad humor that someone keeps interjecting into this interchange

Student: Actually, I'm not quick enough... snappy comebacks are not my long suit. (and I shudder to think what could be done with that.

Teacher: Whoops, while I was typing you went and somewhat involved yourself with the bad humor element. Oh well . . .

Teacher: But, interesting that you had the sense to remain with potted humor, none of that ridiculour original stuff . . .

Student: Yes, sadly, I've been more appreciative than creative in that dept.

Teacher: The land of the snappy comebacks--as you call it--is your feeling of failing to come up with something acceptable/exceptable

Teacher: You're involved in a course in appreciative writing, certainly not creative writing

Teacher: Creative writing might involve you in producing material that would be utterly and unkindly rejected

Student: Yes. Part of the curse of recognizing quality is being afraid to come out with something inferior.

Teacher: But of course there is rejection from the Great Army of the Foolish who go into battle after having sharpened their wits

Teacher: Recognizing quality can (and, let's admit) should allow you to come up with some quality material yourself

Student: Yes, but there needs to be the sense of abandon that lets it come out without editing.

Teacher: That would help you get away from completing assignments as if they were college essay requirements

Student: Yeppers.

Teacher: That response is unkindly rejected

Teacher: Whoops, I meant kindly rejected

Teacher: No, I guess I meant unkindly rejected so as to bring mortification and fear to the recipient

Student: Actual response: I guess it's a question of getting rid of ego involvement in whether something is received well or not.

Student: Must one be enlightened to do that?

Teacher: That was certainly not well received (I think there's static in my receiver)

Teacher: Did your not being well received destroy you?

Teacher: Has your being been taken away by not being well received?

Student: No, it might even be comfortable. Oh, well, that's just the way it is.

Teacher: Oh, well, i guess she's no longer existent.....

Student: Makes me think of unprepared moments in French class where I worked hard to be invisible.

Teacher: Being you must have been too much of a pother

Teacher: I'm receiving echoes but I know it's not really the Being of you, being that she's no longer in the land of being

Teacher: Please immediately get rid of all ego involvement!!!

Teacher: By command of the Sensible Thought Police!!!

Student: Je n'existe pas. Quelle domage.

Student: Particular since the wrong verb form was probably used .

Teacher: I don't parlee the voo, but I think you're talking something about cheese?

Student: Pretty cheesy at any rate.

Teacher: From age to fromage

Teacher: Do you feel that work in the study program might at some point feel too dangerous to you (in terms of grasp on reality)?

Student: No, it would have to get pretty extreme for that to happen. And I'm open to overcoming the fear that holds me back.

Student: From here, it looks like fear of losing control and fear of rejection are main obstacles in my life.

Student: Is there anything you can recommend? To me, the cure would be sampling those situations and surviving them.

Teacher: You are losing control as you read this hypnotic command--Yes?

Teacher: What I'm encouraging you to do in this session is to get into exactly that kind of "loss of control" atmosphere, through humor and "exalted thinking"

Student: Absolutely powerless.

Student: Well, so far, I haven't really sensed a scary loss of control in this session.

Student: I don't control what you're saying but I don't find it threatening either.

Teacher: You'll notice that by remaining in the "ordinary mode" (ala mode) you turn most everything we do into a theraphy or a college course environment.

Student: Yes, I was just thinking that but have no idea where else to go or how else to take it there.

Teacher: You are losing control as you read this hypnotic command--well maybe not

Teacher: Who died and made you the president of the Straight Arrow Club?

Student: Whoever it was, they departed about 60 years ago.

Teacher: I suggest you try, in the next assignments, to avoid any "canned" response or "canned" material/ideas. Wait until something "original" and "inspired" comes--even if it takes some time and fails at "snappy response" quality.

Teacher: I now declare myself to be the President (and commander in chief) of your Straight Arrow Club?

Student: Ok, here's the gavel. Re original and inspired, might take a while considering the subjects of the assignments.

Teacher: Or if it fails in the "great thoughs" or "remarkably original" or "this is stupendous" category

Student: I've actually done some pretty brilliant free writing in classes. Subject wasn't Humility.

Teacher: The "subjects" of the assignments is not subject to being subjects, unless you subject them to being that; they are as free-floating as everything else in this Perennialist propaganda picnic

Teacher: Oh I bet it was "brilliant" ha ha. Maybe a little better than average but "brilliant" is way too exalted for you.

Student: Just had the image of a sheep trying to pass herself off as an otter.

Student: Stranger things have happened I guess.

Teacher: Miss Muffit trying to pass herself off as a tuffet

Student: So, the task seems to be stripping away all garbage that prevents creativity and originality?

Teacher: Would you like to stop here for today and give you some time to work on letting loose and becoming brilliant?

Student: All right. Thanks for trying to prod me into flight.

Student: 'Til later, bye.

Teacher: In the essay assignment, avoid any "canned" response or "canned" material/ideas. Wait until something "original" and "inspired" comes--even if it takes some time and fails at "snappy response" quality.

Teacher: Blessings