I gotta tell y'all -- life after maha is way better than a lite beer!

Tastes great, and more fulfilling, too.

No more boring vids.

No more sending Elan Vital my dough.

My kid even speaks to me now occasionally, instead of treating me like an idiot for following a sharkster who played us for chumps.

No more brain-dead 'synchronization.'

No more 'participation' meetings.

No more group mind-control set reinforced by cult control freaks.

No more hanging around with depressed people who have nothing better to do than ascribe everything wonderful to prempal, and everything rotten to themselves.

No more blowing my vacation time and money traipsing all over creation for programs to feed prempal's insatiable materialist desires and delusions of grandeur.

No more freaking out people I know or meet with stupid scripted cult invitations.

No more guilt and feelings of self-loathing and unworthiness.

Free to be myself again.

Free to choose my own friends and own path.

Free to meditate or Not, however I choose.

Free to discover new things.

Free to create, Free to play, Free to live without externally imposed cult concepts.

Hey, as far as I'm concerned, golf is meditation, for instance. Now, to some folks, hitting that little ball looks easy, but doing it right, hitting it straight and far, playing a fade or draw, chipping near the hole, reading the line and slope of the putt correctly, and fulfilling these aims in all kinds of weather, terrain, and conditions is not easy for most people, or to do it well consistently.

Then, there's also the discipline of focussing in the present moment and just letting the body do what one practiced on the driving range and the practice putting green, etc. Taking some nice deep breaths when a shot goes bad, or after getting a bogey or double bogey. Living in the present moment -- that birdie on the last hole is gone and in the past, and I'd better concentrate on this tee shot right here, right now. Or maybe, watch out for the hackers hitting near me who forget to yell "fore." (Getting hit in the back with a golf ball on the fly really hurts, I'm telling ya.)

So, whether it's golf, quilting, playing music, gardening, cooking, whatever... -- all of it can be fulfilling and enjoyable. My advice is to simply follow your own bliss, not somebody else's, or any dogma that doesn't suit you. Everyone is unique, and special. Let's don't ever lose that essence again. Group think and cult think destroys one's individuality.

Each of us was born with a natural gift and inclination, of some kind. If we neglect That inner child, thinking we are devoting ourselves to a higher cause, or maybe even enlightenment, then we are only fooling ourselves. Certainly, we can pursue a personal path, even spiritual, that is if one so chooses. But, I would hope, for one and all, that we won't get fooled again! [thanks, Pete T.]

I was blind, but now I see. The real guru and true teacher resides within -- and always has. We carry that guru around with us all our lives, that teacher, that witness, that conscience, that awareness. To thine own self be true, and then one can not be false to anyone else, either. Simple. We don't need no stinking badges or smart-cards -- and we never did, huh?! What the heck were we thinking, anyway? Oh, I forgot -- we Weren't thinking, were we?!! We didn't even listen to our own innate intelligence, trying to tell us something. Instead, it was "Never leave room for doubt." Catch-22. drip, drip, drip. Gotcha!

Now, more years have gone by, and with each passing day, the onion layers of reinforced cult doodoo have gradually all peeled away, until finally, all that phony groveling sniveling conditioning is gone, and one finds oneself again, strong, wise, and Free.

I see these people posing on the television sometimes, the would-be Masters sitting on their comfy chairs with crossed legs upon a platform, answering questions and intoning in slow drones, delivering the predictable answers we have all probably heard before and learned from satsang or some kinds of 'New Age' think or East Asian philosophy books, and it just makes me laugh. Sure, there is some element of truth in some things, some degrees of validity. But one must be very careful and discerning, not to get caught up in yet another trip, a web, a net, a trap -- with us as the live catch, the meal that is feasted upon by the parasite.

You see, the premies [aka pwks] were the host, not the parasite. On the surface, perhaps, it appeared that they drew inspiration from the guru. But, in actual fact, the guru and his minions sucked and sapped their vitality, their independence, their intelligence, their intuition, their energy, their precious time on this earth, their own special dreams and goals and purpose left wanting -- sucked from each of those persons (not to mention their wallets, too, of course) and replaced by the zombie idolatry of master worship, and sometimes just a framed picture by proxy. That misdirected devotion to another human being serves to empower the false guru, but it sucks the life right out of the devotee. Like some horror movie: Night of the living dead.

And what was gained? Breathe in, breathe out. Ok, my Buddhist books say the same thing, without the spoon-fed co-dependency. No strings attached.

So, what's the lesson here? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Too bad it took this naive trusting fellow many many years -- to awaken -- older, wiser -- but years that could have been better spent, without the torment of ritualized guilt inculcated by the high and mighty, the holier than thous, the Napoleonic conceptmaker and his flock of parrotheads, birdbrains, deluded, and deluding others, too, with a message that is neither his nor anyone else's exclusive property to convey or impart.

And how about that shameful process of suckering those new people, reeling in those aspirants with the bait of 'inner peace' and slowly drawing them in, disingenuously, dishonestly, step by step, concept by concept, using the videos progressively, and falsely withholding the real nature of the trip -- personal submission to the worldly master and to cult-think.

This candle was lit in each of us a long time ago, and not by anyone externally posing as a self-proclaimed master.

And let's not forget the swell-headed arrogance that comes with being in a cult, the saved vs. not, having "knowledge" as opposed to not "knowing," the smugness, the sneering at the World, the insensitivity to other human beings outside the cult, the revolting superiority complex of the cult/church member. In fact, the person who does not succumb to the cult tricks and is not ensnared in the trap is the wiser one.

But, how were we fooled? It was due to our own sincerity and naivety, our trusting - before any such trust was first earned or warranted. And that's how that cult parasite preys upon the unwary novitiate. The cult demands submission and trust first, in order to receive the dangled carrot. That's the trick -- once the trust and submission is there, the aspirant is caught.

And then in leaving, in the case of many people, one must of needs rebuild oneself, restore those personal boundaries that we let others trample upon, redefine that personal space, make others earn our trust, instead of easily trusting and then being walked upon like a doormat.

You see, pwks/premies have been systematically conditioned to be doormats, docile, subservient, weak. The cult mindset of student = weak, master = strong. That is definitely not good training for functioning healthily in this world, either. And this weakness and passivity was reinforced by bowing and scraping to Premal's picture, his body, his words, his wishes, his henchmen/women. These cults are all the same. "Oh, those other people are in a cult, but premies/pwks are not a cult, of course." Remember that kind of thinking, anyone? No, it's all the same; in every cult, the cult member thinks like that.

Once free, a person regains some sanity, strength, independence, confidence, direction, and sensibility. I can tell you this, with all honesty, from my own experience (and others, too). But it takes some unlearning, too, because of the ingrained habits formed via cult mental conditioning, which affects and alters not only one's sense of identity but also one's views about the world and life itself.

So, I posted here today not to bash anyone, not even the fallen guru, and certainly not those who are still in the same position where we once were, too. I don't wish to argue with anyone, have no particular agenda, and just thought I'd share some thoughts and feelings here. I check and read this forum from time to time, just to see how things are going, and what's happening lately. Sometimes it's the same old, same old stuff, and then again, sometimes there are new developments that I learn about, as the cult implodes and in fearful desperation the insecure inmates of the cult asylum attack the free heretics, the apostates, like some kind of medieval witchhunt in paranoid retribution towards those who have only spoken the truth.

That rabid retribution is classic cult behavior, right there. Suing journalist John MacGregor, for instance. What did the guy do? From what I've read, he simply told the truth, only publicly, in a newspaper. He wrote about things that thousands of people already know to be true, historical facts and incidents already posted on ex-premie.org. So, he revealed contents of some disks. Big deal. Hey, if somebody didn't have something substantive and wrongful to hide, then why the paranoia? REALLY!

Or, maybe somebody somewhere was petrified that the gig might be up; no more gravy train. I mean, if a person's gross addiction, their drug of choice was worldly materialism at the highest level plus the vanity of idolatrous power-tripping, then perhaps that crazed dysfunctional person would feel threatened and respond just like any other messed-up individual or racketeer would, under the circumstances. (like, a phony 'master' might sue the journalist, or have somebody beat a Detroit reporter's head in with a crowbar). But, surely not a Master (whatever that is, right?). I mean, a real Master. Someone who had mastered himself. After all, anger, desires, attachments, rob us of our spiritual light. Remember? Or, did someone forget that, too, in addition to humility long ago, and the fact that we're all human beings, and nobody is the superior power in person, better than other human beings. Sitting on a throne, like some fake divine right of kings. That's conceit. I mean, if there is such a thing as a Master, than that person should have already mastered himself or herself. Otherwise, they're a phony, even if there might be some truth in the universal techniques they show people.

You know, a real guru (if there is such a thing), would have let any criticism roll off his back, like water on a duck. You see? 'Somebody' failed that test. It wasn't like people were hammering nails into his body and hanging him upon a cross. I would say to anyone posing as a guru or master, if you can't take the heat, dude, then don't set yourself up as a master. After all, Jesus said, "Forgive them." Not, "Call my freakin' attorney, Bernie!" (Does this make any sense to anyone?)

And if it was slander or libel, whatever, hey, then have it out in court; depose all the premies and ex-premies; and get all the facts, all the financial accounts, and the sworn testimony of everybody, all the eyewitnesses, out on the table for everyone to see, publicly. From 1970 through the present. You know, when the light shines, it dispels the darkness. Right? Who's got anything to hide, right? Right?! No cheat, no deceit.

Hope this made some sense here. Anyway, I just stopped in for a visit and thought I'd share my observations this time. Ciao for now.

Best wishes,

Mick