The dangers of startling the hypnotized or meditating

By Mona Goldwater, Religions Ed.

Jack texted me tonight from Yosemite:  Can't get to the blog due to spasmodic wifi connection.  But post this: /xoxo jack

You know, I have a lot of friends & family who are devout meditators.  When I was a kid I remember people telling stories about the dire consequences if you startle or arouse people in a hypnotic state.  A great pop culture reference to this is the movie Office Space, when Peter Gibbons is hypnotized.  His therapist dies of a heart attack before releasing him from the hypnotic state and his personality is transformed, with hilarious consequences.

I am at this family shindig in Yosemite and I realize you have to tread lightly if you walk into a room or somewhere outside and someone appears to be deep into meditation.  I mean, if you break their meditation, they could end up like being stuck in neutral forever, right? /Jack in central California

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Communism, Hypnotism, and The Beatles

by Jack Brummet, Music Editor

I am assuming this pamphlet by David A. Noebel was written sometime after John Lennon's statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. I remember when this happened in 1966, and how the Tea Party forebears held Beatle burnings across the south and midwest--huge bonfires of LPs, 45s, Beatle wigs, posters, books, and souvenirs. Even then it was clear these people were the lunatic fringe; it wasn't us, listening to what turned out to be fairly innocent and beautiful music. But the religious right aside, I dig the communism angle. Like The Beatles were channeling messages from Nikita Kruschev to the Youth of America.

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