SES Forums

The salami tactic isnt so much a gradual progress into a weird thought system, it's rather the killing, or non-use, of the critical mind. Group speak (sanskrit words) and a hierarchic system (if a mentor says something, who am i to disagree), and supportive observations gradually draws students int...

Thanks - I've read a few Tepper books, including "Gate To Women's Country", but prefer Bradley. I didn't study geography in primary school either - unless you count what was taught in Social Studies class; I don't think that's really a valid point of contention. It is when we're talking about high s...

ADG, I'm a huge reader. I read popular fiction like Anne Rice, Tom Robbins and Marion Zimmer Bradley, classics, as well as the more "serious" titles in the SOP library collection. It's just a library, btw - it's a collection of books that people can borrow as they like, and student donations make up...

Heh. Annoyed, here's an excerpt from the blurb on "Zen & The Art..." : Phaedrus, our narrator, takes a present-tense cross-country motorcycle trip with his son during which the maintenance of the motorcycle becomes an illustration of how we can unify the cold, rational realm of technology with t...

The idea is that something is more or less "fine" depending on the amount of ego that goes into producing it, and the purity of intent behind its creation. The ideal creative method for the SES is that of something akin to divine inspiration, where the writing or painting or whatever just "gets done...

ADG, my school does have a "use now pay later" system available for fees, so yes - it is possible that your relatives owe the SOP money for fees. To my knowledge, they don't let it get too far though. I know members who have been told they should not attend a residential until they're up to date wit...

Mike, perhaps. My train of thought at the time of writing was that it wouldn't be repeated back to the relos, and I still believe it wouldn't. In any case, it's surely possible for ADG to get some general information about fee policies without having to put her family members on the block. I have no...

Yes your tutor has agreed with you not attending a residential, and you've annouced (without censure) that you are ducking out to the pub - but would you say you were a typical member? Honestly, I don't know. I saw a few out there buying their Cadbury TopDecks. And if a number of people ARE taking ...

Cheers, ADG. The couples I have in mind have been attending for about the same amount of time. I think you're probably right when you suggest my husband acts as a sort of buffer for over-immersion in the school. You're also right when you suggest that I'm a pretty strong-willed person (some people m...

ADG (that's you :), what you describe does sound like a system of operating that would lead family members and friends to worry. I know of a couple or two like that myself. First, may I ask how long they have been attending the SOP? I do have some comments, but some of them would only be relevant if...

Mike, members who've spent several years with my school are expected to attend their own group evening, as well as volunteer one other time during the week - "second-line work". This can take the form of helping on a refreshment team on a weekday evening; helping arrange the flowers for the building...

Voice2balance, I guess you weren't aware that these boards were set up to warn people off organisations considered to be more or less dangerous cults. Many of the posters here are posting specifically because they have had bad experiences with the SES and their affiliated schools, and wanted a forum...

Without trying to be incendiary, there's not a lot one can say in reply to a post full of quotations.

In the words of Emerson: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

Wow, I think it would be awful to tell your kids that the big reason for living a good life and being kind to their fellow humans is because of an afterlife or metaphysical consequence. Maybe 'purpose' is being defined differently, but I firmly believe virtue is its own reward, and combined with joy...

From the homepage: This course of 10 weekly sessions offers an effective and novel approach to the great questions of life. It examines how the master philosophies of East and West can be put to immediate use. Through discussion, practice and observation, participants explore such questions as: Who ...