studies on meditation increasing levels

William,

I have read a critique of the specific claim “4 years of meditation results in two stages of growth” that suggests it may be traced back to The Eye of Spirit. The studies referenced therein were apparently described in the appendix of Alexander and Langer's book Higher Stages of Human Development. One study involved a population of maximum security prisoners performing TM meditation for one year. Another involved a group of students (not formally meditating) going to college for four years. The critique asserts the data has been conflated to make the claim.

I have not sourced Alexander's book to verify the details. If you are able to do so, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the studies...

Ken prioritizes the interior over the exterior life conditions, because he has been cut off from the effects of the exterior to a large enough degree through out his life.

Generationally, Ken was born during an enlightenment era [1949] (boomeritis), at a time of great wealth in american society. 

Enlightenment era generations (like the transcendentalists coming of age in 1890's & 1840's) see: http://www.fourthturning.com/my_html/body_turnings_in_history.html ... more often than not, swung towards interior structures taking precedence. 

However, children born during the renewed economic crisis (NOW) (which happens about every 65-80years) swing back towards the exterior as dominant(which it seems to me by the way). 

I conquer with Don Beck and Graves on that one, and would add, that the seemingly dichotomous chasm between exterior and interior structures, at a certain threshold of of material life support,  looks more like a möbius strip than any real separation.

However, drop down to a life in the slums from birth to age 25, and ones perspective can quickly change on the subject, and move one towards the exterior as taking precedence. 

This is why Marvin Harris, who was born of age in the 1930's/40's (versus the 1950's/60's like Ken) and consequentially experienced the great depression as a child, posited that interior and inter-subjective cultural states were secondary to the material, vis a vi his cultural materialist outlooked inspired by the works of Marx.

Wilber's selection bias towards the interior, was just now clearly pointed out to me by the following analysis/critique of his claims on meditation being the best causative agent towards stage development growth...

http://www.normaneinsteinbook.com/nechapters/integralmeditation.php

On TM meditation from a more personal angle,I'd like to say that I am highly suspect of the organization. At a yoga conference, I was told that if I signed up for TM, that I would be given a specific mantra, tuned to my individual make up, and it that would resonate specifically with me in order to work it's transcendental magic. Of course, it wasn't advertised as magic, but deep science.

All I had to pay was a special limited time offer of 750 dollars for the training. The sales agent who hounded me on the phone to get with the program and look at the thousands of scientific papers on their website, was relentless in trying to give him my credit card digits and close me on the sale. 

Having done many sales myself, I was suspicious, and did some research online. It turns out that one is actually given the name of a recycled Hindu god, arbitrarily I might add, by ones birth-date. One is then told not to repeat the proprietary mantra to anyone. 

John Lennon (apparently not the rest of the Beatles) seems to have been highly suspect of the Maharishi (TM founder) as well. Maharishi claimed he could levitate and fly by the power of his internal state. There seems to be quite a bit of evidence pointing towards John writing the song Sexy Sadie, originally as a song about the Maharishi. George Harris claimed that John retracted his claims against the Maharishi, and that he had John agree to switch the lyric to Sexy Sadie. John is dead, and can't tell his side of it today, sadly....

However, take a look....

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) what have you done

You made a fool of everyone

You made a fool of everyone

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) ooh what have you done.

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) you broke the rules

You layed it down for all to see

You layed it down for all to see

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) oooh you broke the rules.

One sunny day the world was waiting for a lover

S(he) came along to turn on everyone 

(maharishi) the greatest of them all.

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) how did you know

The world was waiting just for you

The world was waiting just for you

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) oooh how did you know.

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) you'll get yours yet

However big you think you are

However big you think you are

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) oooh you'll get yours yet.

We gave her/(him) everything we owned just to sit at her/(his) table

Just a smile would lighten everything

Sexy Sadie (maharishi) s(he's) the latest and the greatest of them all.

S(he) made a fool of everyone

Sexy Sadie / (maharishi)

However big you think you are 

Sexy Sadie/(maharishi)