I started out in life wanting to be a hippie. I LOVED the Monkees and liked the Beatles (yes, only "liked") and saw how the "peace and love" movement and music had a trace of the mystical. There was something echoing about the words "Transcendental Meditation". And even in the 1990's and beyond, I made friends who were into hummus, tofu, yoga and the teachings of India. But they did not seem to be into "Indians". That is, they didn't seem to know any.
I've been working in Technology for the past few years and have been making friends with a lot of people who were born and/or raised in India. I've been amazed at their levels of devotion in this secular American society, as I am with any devoted religious group.
I have one friend who left when he was 13, and how he mentions the deepness of Hinduism and meditation as holy things, but not things which take him over in his everyday life. It is not something that he can aspire to. He pointed me in the direction of Deepak Chopra for the Pop Psychology introduction to it.
He was careful to talk about separation, of spirit and the rest of the ego and the titles that you associate with yourself. That "detachment" is a bad translation. That emotion is a thing which washes over you like a wave, and you must let it. And that things are only there to evoke emotions, but are not significant in and of themselves.
The longer I am on this earth, the more I am grateful for forests. And lakes. For the healthy bodies of the people I love. For things which mean other things, but which hold significance in and of themselves.
I do not want to "appropriate culture", not even the culture of the 60's. But I still see some divides across beliefs. And I'm noticing that although Henry mentions his books, there are not a lot of books on the topic. Or plays......
I've been working in Technology for the past few years and have been making friends with a lot of people who were born and/or raised in India. I've been amazed at their levels of devotion in this secular American society, as I am with any devoted religious group.
I have one friend who left when he was 13, and how he mentions the deepness of Hinduism and meditation as holy things, but not things which take him over in his everyday life. It is not something that he can aspire to. He pointed me in the direction of Deepak Chopra for the Pop Psychology introduction to it.
He was careful to talk about separation, of spirit and the rest of the ego and the titles that you associate with yourself. That "detachment" is a bad translation. That emotion is a thing which washes over you like a wave, and you must let it. And that things are only there to evoke emotions, but are not significant in and of themselves.
The longer I am on this earth, the more I am grateful for forests. And lakes. For the healthy bodies of the people I love. For things which mean other things, but which hold significance in and of themselves.
I do not want to "appropriate culture", not even the culture of the 60's. But I still see some divides across beliefs. And I'm noticing that although Henry mentions his books, there are not a lot of books on the topic. Or plays......
