Horn - Perennial Solution Center Intro and 1st Dialogue

8/7/2019 Horn - Perennial Solution Center Intro and 1st Dialogue

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THE PERENNIAL SOLUTION CENTER

by Walter Horn


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Introduction

Why would anyone pick up a book with the audacity to trumpet a claim to

some kind of perennial solution? And, more fundamentally, the perennial

solution to what? A good portion of what follows is devoted to answering thosetwo questions, but Im happy to provide a sneak preview here. I anticipate that

most readers with even a passing interest in the pages that follow will be

individuals who harbor the age-old suspicion that there is something missing in

their lives, a gap that resists being filled by cultural distractions, material wealth

or accomplishments, sexual or other adventures, artistic/intellectual endeavors, or

even romantic or familial love. They may suffer from a gnawing sense that life is,

in some perhaps hard-to-explain way, entirely meaningless. Or, while not

denying that their lives have a certain significance during the few short years

allowed them by the unmerciful gods of biology, these individuals may

nevertheless be haunted by recurring thoughts of their own mortality. It is often

such qualms, with their implication of a final separation from all we know and

love, that engender a turning from worldly pursuits to the quieter hunt for

psychological, philosophical, or religious solutions.

In his Perennial Philosophy, Aldous Huxley sought to alleviate worries

about human transience by setting forth some of the more consoling common

threads that run through many of the great world religions. Huxley noticed, for

example, that both Christian and Eastern mystics have repeatedly claimed that

each of us is in some sense identical to God. But these assertions, no doubt made

sincerely by those favored with the requisite visions, can seem little more than

half-mad rantings to the rest of us. A Vedantist conviction that the universe

somehow flows from a common, impersonal Self found deep inside each of us

doesnt seem like the sort of thing one can gain simply by being informed that

innumerable others have shared this belief. After all, think of the many peculiar,

but now provably false things people have believed during the past 3000 years.

Isnt any supposed fact that there are mystical tenets that are common to a number

of religious traditions just a bit of anthropological trivia we can use to impress

people at cocktail parties? And isnt it just an inappropriate appeal to authority to


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point to these common threads in the context of a philosophical discussion about

the meaning of life? I hope that what follows will provide an indication of how

such appeals may be useful to spiritual seekers, but its important to proceed with

extreme caution here. The fact that a large number of otherwise intelligent

individuals have insisted that we are in some sense part of an Eternal Absolute or

something of that kind, doesnt by itself prove anything about our real nature

other than that there seems to be a recurring tendency to embrace a specific set of

religious viewpoints. The mere rattling off of the opinions of brilliant or saintly

pundits is unlikely to satisfy anyone with a skeptical bent.

The Perennial Solution Centeruses a different method to illuminate a

perhaps theway to a particular kind of solace, and it is extremely important not

to be distracted when carrying this lantern. We could, for example, get lost in

discussions about whether any deity must be personal or impersonal, about what

sort of life is possible after bodily death, about the nature of mind, or about

countless other interesting and pertinent issues. We could also (if I were capable

of it) spend chapter upon chapter discussing the nature of human knowledge and

the types of evidence or warrant needed to obtain it. We cannot go far without

touching on all these topics. But while there are arguments aplenty in what

follows, were not principally looking for philosophical information here. I want

to emulate a certain Enlightened One of the distant past in focusing as exclusively

as possible on suffering and the end of suffering. It is a method rather than a

philosophy that will provide our solution. I dont deny that there are important

objections to this sort of approach, but it is better to attempt to answer those

criticisms as we go along than to lose sight of the central issues this book is

intended to address.

Though the title of the book does indeed trumpet loudly, I am acutely

aware of how slight my own contributions are. I have done little more than riffle

the contents of a particularly exotic intellectual treasure chest, holding first this

and then that jewel aloft. No doubt I have left many of the most valuable gems at

the bottom, and held others at angles that have kept their most beautiful facets

hidden from view. When excerpting from Eastern and Western religious writings,


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I have often been mindful of the obnoxious Mr. Casaubon of Eliots

Middlemarch, the self-centered misanthrope who spent most of his life revising to

his never-completed Key to AllMythologies. I make no claim whatever that the

solution discussed in this book is to be found in every religion, or that there are no

important differences in the dress it has received from those traditions where it

can be found. I am no expert in comparative religion, and have no particular

interest in anthropology. I do find it both interesting and comforting that

solutions of the type I discuss have found their way into a number of widely

different traditions (including entirely secular ones) and that they have re-emerged

regularly throughout recorded history. But, unlike the dauntless Casaubon, I have

neither the expertise nor the inclination to make the kind of study necessary to

assert that solutions of this sort have shown up in every major religion from time

immemorial. In fact, whatever the word perennial may suggest, I dont even

claim that such answers have remained a constant feature in those belief systems

in which they have turned up. My goal isnt anthropological at all: I simply want

to provide a new description and defense of an ancient mode of thought and

method of consolation.

Let me now say a few words about the dialogue format I have chosen, a

conceit that will certainly seem odd or circuitous to many readers. The

fictionalizing of philosophy and theology is nothing new. Using stories to

make what would otherwise be dry argument entertaining is at least as old as

Plato or the Gita. Surely The Bible would have had many fewer readers than it

has actually enjoyed if it contained nothing but commandments, prophecies, and

theological discussions. I knew I wanted to quote extensively from a number of

sources in describing the virtues of and arguments against mystical approaches to

the world, but I wasnt sure how to do this without producing a textbook or a

dusty (if meaty) anthology in the style of Huxleys Perennial Philosophy. I was

then struck by the idea of a series of conversations-with-quotations as a way of

keeping the readers interest. How better to get the full flavor of a flood of

excerpts from religious, psychological and philosophical works, than to have

these words play an essential role in the lives of characters who, over time, may


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become important to the reader? In keeping with this model, what follows are

discussions that take place among a couple of modern day aspirants and the

man to whom they have come with the hope that he can, like a Zen sensei,

somehow free them from fear and invest their lives with meaning. The book can

thus be seen as a kind of progress report on two seekers who spend three months

in a Vermont retreat called, of course, The Perennial Solution Center. Because

of the dialogue format, what follows will look something like a play, but it would

doubtless make for several very unusual evenings at the theatre.

I call the spiritual founder of this center Rabi both because it was the

nickname of Rabindranath Tagore, a favorite writer of mine, and because it

resembles rabbi, which is Hebrew for teacher. We will not be told much

about Rabis history besides what we can glean from his conversation, the books

that comprise his library, and the rule of his center. He is a dark-complexioned

man in of Indian descent in his sixties who grew up and was educated in England

and America. He has taught and written on spiritual matters, and has been able to

attract a sufficient number of students to keep his center running for about ten

years. He dresses something like a professor, in sports jacket and slacks through

three seasons, but in golf shirt and khakis in Summer. There is no beard, turban,

or any of the other occasional indicia of guruhood about Rabi.

I think it will be necessary to tell a bit more here about the two students

whose discussions (both with Rabi and with each other) during their stays at The

Perennial Solution Center will be set forth in these pages.

Gina (or G) is a 32-year-old single woman, a graduate of a small private

liberal arts college in upstate New York, where she majored in religion. She

toyed with the idea of going to divinity school after college, but ended up taking

an editorial job in Boston. She has never been married, but has had a couple of

live-in boyfriends during the past decade: theres no one special right now,

however. She was raised as an Episcopalian and has long enjoyed inspirational

literature and attending various churches and temples. She believes in God and

considers herself a Christian. She has remained close to her family, though she

has an uneasy relationship with her sole sibling a younger sister for whom


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things have always seemed to come more easily. Although she is reluctant to talk

about herself, G is outgoing and gregarious. At times, shes a bit too quick to

laugh or get angry, making her seem nervous even to casual observers. In fact,

she is anxious about things in general. In her late twenties she had several years

of psychotherapy which she found somewhat helpful, but then she drifted away,

largely because of the cost and inconvenience. She read a magazine article about

The Perennial Solution Center and its founder, and decided to take three months

off from work so to attend the twelve-week summer session.

Paul is 40. He and his wife of nine years have been separated for eleven

months. They have a seven-year-old daughter. He has always been witty,

outgoing, and smart. He earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from one

Ivy League school before receiving a masters degree in philosophy from another.

He then moved to New York City to look for a job. While working as a technical

writer for a brokerage house, he made enough money in investments to quit work

completely after his daughter was born. He continues to enjoy reading and

discussing philosophy and psychology, but he has always been skeptical about

religion, considering it little more than an opiate. Hes been so unhappy lately,

though, that a dependable opiate doesnt seem like such a bad thing to him

anymore. His wife sent him away when she discovered that he had engaged in a

number of extra-marital affairs. Like G, Paul has had several years of

psychotherapy. He began therapy while in college soon after his mother died, and

continued it intermittently until getting married. Lately he has suffered frequently

from insomnia and anxiety attacks, but he hasnt had much luck with prescription

drugs, and he just hasnt felt like seeing any more shrinks. He came across a

brochure for The Perennial Solution Center at an Indian restaurant. The idea of

philosophical/psychological treatment in a naturalistic setting appealed to him.

The Center itself is little more than a big old Victorian house in the

woodsy hills of central Vermont. It has a sizeable lawn and garden, with a few

metal chairs and tables about, and the rolling green mountains and rippling rivers

are close by. Whatever its original design, the house has been converted to

something like a ten-bedroom inn. Instead of a great room, there is a high-


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ceilinged library, with rolling ladder-stools and a large marble fireplace. In

addition to a couple of small library tables, the room is furnished with a number

of comfortable leather chairs and side tables, as might be found in a Victorian

mens club. There are also two sofas. The west-facing wall has a large picture

window through which one can see several soft-peaked, pine-covered mountains.

Rabis individual sessions with his students are held in this room, but it is also

available for browsing, chatting, and book-borrowing from 7-10 in the morning

and 7-11 in the evening. As one would expect, the selection of books is heavy on

philosophy, religion, and psychology, but there are a smattering of non-fiction

books on other subjects as well as many novels and books of poetry. There are

several copies of each title and visitors are encouraged to borrow books during

their stay. One copy of each book is marked Not To Leave The Library: as we

will see, this is because reading aloud from library books plays an important part

in the sessions with Rabi.

There is a kitchen in the Center, but it is reserved for use by Rabis family,

and no common meals are provided. Each bedroom is equipped with a small

refrigerator, a hot plate, a few dishes and kitchen utensils, and a sink. Each is also

fitted with a private bathroom. Some visitors cook in their rooms, but many

prefer to eat at one of the four or five restaurants in the town, about four miles

down a dirt road.

Rabi gives no lectures, and there are no officially scheduled meetings

among the guests, but the visitors often get together for informal chats in the

library or the garden. They occasionally eat out together or make hiking, skiing,

golfing (or supermarket) trips as well. There are few rules, but visitors are

requested to return to their rooms each night by 11:30, and it is suggested that

they not enter into any new romantic relationships while at the Center. Each

bedroom contains a bed, a portrait of some inspirational figure (Spinoza, Jesus,

Buddha, William James, etc.), a bookshelf, a writing table, a couple of chairs, a

meditation mat on the floor, and a radio/alarm clock. There is also a small

washer/drier for laundry. There are never more than eight individual visitors (no

couples or groups) at one time. Visitors must send an application form describing


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themselves and what they hope to gain from their visits. Each visitor is scheduled

for a session with Rabi three times per weekeither on Mondays, Wednesdays,

and Fridays or on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Nothing is scheduled on

Sundays, when the library is open to visitors all day. Sessions can last up to two

hours, but they generally run a little over an hour. Visitors may also see Rabi at

night if they feel they are having some sort of crisis and cannot wait until their

next scheduled session. They do this by ringing him up on the house phone.

Night sessions are generally briefer than regularly scheduled meetings.

Promotional materials for the Center stress that Rabi is not a licensed

physician or psychotherapist: people who think they may need professional

psychiatric care are encouraged to postpone their visits until they feel confident

about their ability to handle the secluded life offered by the Center. The cost for a

three-month stay, which does not include housekeeping, is significant, about what

it would cost to stay in a mid-range hotel in rural New England for the same

period of time. The tuition must be paid in advance. Rabi, his wife, Vera, and an

old gardener/caretaker are the only permanent residents.

Thats the set-up. Perhaps a gradual shift into a Stephen King-style rural

horror fest or a D.H. Lawrence fantasy about what happens between the gardener

and a few of the more lonely and uptight female visitors would make the

following pages more traditionally dramatic. But such plot turns, even if I could

navigate them, would not serve the function played by the fictional characters and

backdrop here: the provision of an additional, non-distracting motive for readers

to push on during abstract discussions of spiritual or philosophical matters. This

device is why certain works of Plato and George Bernard Shaw are so much fun

to read despite their weighty subject matter, and its the quality that makes Saint

Theresas Autobiography so much more engaging than many straightforward

discourses on mysticism. This tack has also been taken by many novelists of

ideas in developing their pet theories. Perhaps, if my own history had been more

dramatic, I could have dispensed with the dialogue format and seasoned the

philosophy and psychology with riveting stories about my own spiritual

development. But, alas, we must play with the cards we are dealt.


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I. Week One

Monday, 10 AMThe Library

Paul (entering, walks over to Rabi sitting at one of the chairs). Good morning.

Rabi (standing up) Good morning, Paul. (Shakes Pauls hand and motions for

him to sit down). I hope you slept well?

Paul. Yes, thanks. I was very comfortable. (He sits down and there is an

awkward pause). I guess I really dont know how to get this started.

Rabi. Well, why dont we start by discussing why you have come here. You

know, what you think we may be able to do for you, what you hope to find here,

that sort of thing. Of course, Ive read your application, but perhaps youd like to

elaborate.

Paul. I guess theres a bunch of reasons. A lot of it was curiosity. I have a

background in philosophy, and I was attracted by the philosophical approach you

take here. Also, while Ive always been kind of skeptical about religion, Ive

been pretty worried about dying lately, and I guess I figured a relaxing stay here

couldnt do any harm...Plus, I...well, I was kind of interested in meeting a...I dont

know....guru...a religious leader. Is that what you are? I m not trying to be

smart here, I really dont know.

Rabi (smiling). Maybe you wanted to see how similar I was to Chance the

Gardener?

Paul (laughing). The guy from BeingThere? Yeah, maybe there was some of that

too.


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Rabi (portentously). In the Spring there will be growth.

Paul (laughing). You know, I feel better already. This place was really worth the

money....But, really, do you consider yourself a guru?

Rabi. If you mean teacher, yes, I do.

Paul. Well, what can you teach me?

Rabi. I want to teach you how to be happier. I may be able to help you

understand a part of the world that has been eluding you. You said you have been

worried about dying lately?

Paul. Yeah. It seems like Ive been plagued by this terror of dying ever since I

can remember. You know, ceasing to be, the end of everything. It just seems so

horrible...Unutterably horrible.

Rabi. Do you mind if I get a book? I often like to use them as resources during

these talks. And sometimes its easier if I walk around and grab books rather than

sit. I hope it wont disturb you.

Paul. Not at all. Go ahead.

Rabi. (fetching a book) Thank you. (From this point on, he gets up frequently and

sometimes paces as he talks, listens or reads aloud.) And please feel free to do the

same, especially if you think what you are trying to say is expressed well in one

of the books hereor another you have brought with you....Here it is. Tolstoys

Death of Ivan Ilych. Is this what you have in mind?

Ivan Ilych saw that he was dying, and he was

in continual despair.


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In the depth of his heart he knew he was

dying, but not only was he not accustomed to the

thought, he simply did not and could not grasp it.The syllogism he had learnt from

Kiesewetters Logic: Caius is a man, men are

mortal, therefore Caius is mortal, had always

seemed to him correct as applied to Caius, but

certainly not as applied to himself. That Caius

man in the abstractwas mortal, was perfectly

correct, but he was not Caius, not an abstract man,

but a creature quite, quite separate from all others.

He had been little Vanya, with a mamma and a

papa, with Mitya and Volodya, with the toys, a

coachman and a nurse, afterwards with Katenka

and with all the joys, griefs, and delights of

childhood, boyhood, and youth. What did Caius

know of the smell of the striped leather ball Vanya

had been so fond of? Had Caius kissed his

mothers hand like that, and did the silk of her

dress rustle so for Caius? Had he rioted like that

at school when the pastry was bad? Had Caius

been in love like that? Could Caius preside at a

session as he did? Caius really was mortal, and it

was right for him to die; but for me little Vanya,

Ivan Ilych, with all my thoughts and emotions, its

altogether a different matter. It cannot be that Iought to die. That would be too terrible.1

1 John Bayley (ed.) Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy, Louise and Aylmer Maudetranslation, (Harper & Row, 1967).


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And...what does it say...no matter how Judge Ilych tries to distract himself, to

banish this thought of death, this It...

It would come and stand before him and look at

him, and he would be petrified and the light would

die out of his eyes, and he would again begin

asking himself whether Italone was true. And his

colleagues and subordinates would see with

surprise and distress that he, the brilliant and

subtle judge, was becoming confused and making

mistakes. He would shake himself, try to pull

himself together, manage somehow to bring the

sitting to a close, and return home with the

sorrowful consciousness that his judicial labours

could not as formerly hide from him what he

wanted them to hide, and could not deliver him

from It. And what was worst of all was that Itdrew

his attention to itself not in order to make him

take some action but only that he should look at

It, look it straight in the face: look at it and

without doing anything, suffer inexpressibly.

Paul. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Doesnt Ilych have some kind of

revelation on his deathbed? He sees a bright light, understands everything and

dies happily?

Rabi. Right.

Paul. Well Id really prefer not to wait until my last breath to get past this It

problem. I guess thats the main reason why Im here.


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Rabi. Even more important than meeting Chauncey Gardener?

Paul (laughing). Well, of course, thats pretty big too...So what solution do you

have for this issue here at the Center?

Rabi. Its pretty simple, really. I talk to you. I advise you to spend a great deal

of time praying, or, if you prefer, meditatingI use the two words

interchangeably. I try to help you look at things a bit differently than you may

have seen them in the past. And I try to do this in ways that I think will be

beneficial to you.

Paul. With all due respectand Joni Mitchell notwithstandingthe term

praying suggests that theres someone or something out there that youre

praying to.

Rabi. I didnt get the reference. You mean Joni Mitchell the folksinger?

Paul. Right. She has a song that has the line So I sent up my prayer wondering

whos there to hear.

Rabi. Interesting. I often quote her line, Never mind the questions theres no

answers to. But to get back to your point, as I said, if you prefer the term

meditate, thats fine, too.

Paul. So youre saying that we should meditate as a simple psychological

palliative, whether or not theres any kind of God? That doesnt seem very

religious.

Rabi. Well, to use a couple of clichs, we have to begin at the beginning and keep

our eyes on the prize. You tell me youve come to the Center because of a

psychological issue: you have this persistent anxiety about dying that youd like


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to do something about. I suggest to you that a steady diet of meditation could

help that problem. Lets not bother about whether this is a religious prescription

or not at present. Lets see, (gets book) the American physician Dr. Herbert

Benson wrote,.

The altered state of consciousness associated

with the Relaxation Response has been routinely

experienced in Eastern and Western cultures

throughout all ages. Subjectively, the feelings

associated with this altered state of consciousness

have been described as ecstatic, clairvoyant,

beautiful, and totally relaxing. Others have felt

ease with the world, peace of mind, and a sense of

well-being akin to that feeling experienced after a

period of exercise but without the fatigue.2

Paul. I suppose thats fine, but you might just as well prescribe Prozac or St.

Johns Wort or whatever is being used for anxiety these days. I mean, even if

this...self-hypnosis...helps control my unpleasant symptoms. Its just kind of atrick really, isnt it? I mean, to have something called The Perennial Solution

Center and have the solution just be the repetition of a nonsense syllable for a

couple of hours straight. Its sort of unsatisfying. I dont know if thats because

of its lack of any actual religious content, or because if you simply waved a

pocket watch in front of me and convinced me that I was an untroubled duck

swimming around a pond, wed see it as a circus act rather than as a solution

with a capital S. Again, Im sorry if this seems disrespectful, but since I dont

have this fear of dying while Im asleep, why not just give me a sleeping pill and

put me to sleep: that would seem to me to be more honest than having me repeat

some gibberish for long periods and calling it prayer. It would probably be more

2 Herbert Benson with Miriam Klipper, The Relaxation Response, (Avon Books, 1975).


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effective too, which is why Western medicine seems to prefer it to prescribing

mantras and incense.

Rabi. Ah, youve made a number of complaints here, covering any number of

important issues, and we probably wont be able to discuss all of them today, but

theyre sure to come up again, numerous times. For now, Id just like to suggest

that you seem to have come to me with something more ambitious than the simple

desire to be released from your persistent fear of dying. You want a general

contentment with life.

Paul. Right.

Rabi. And you want this contentment to be based on your beliefs, rather than, say,

by the operation of some psychotropic drug or the electronic stimulation of some

part of your brain.

Paul. I guess so, yes.

Rabi. And theres more. You want these beliefs to be reasonable. You dont

want to have come by them by being brainwashed at the hands of some...lets say

cult leader. Youd like to be convincedby the clear light of your reason that the

world has a meaning, that death is not something to be feared.

Paul. Yes. I suppose thats all true. It does seem kind of a lot, but remember the

capital S in the solution offered here.

Rabi. I dont mean to rule out anything; but I will point out youve invested a

very great deal in a couple of capital letters. In any case, its usually better to take

one step at a time, isnt it? After all, Im certainly no Buddha, and even the

Enlightened One himself became impatient with those who wanted more than to


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understand the causes of their sufferings and the way out of them. When his

disciples showered him with Byzantine metaphysical questions he responded,

Did you ever say to me, Reverend Sir, I will

lead the religious life under The Blessed One, on

condition that The Blessed One elucidate to me

either that the world is eternal, or that the world is

not eternal...or that the saint neither exists nor

does not exist after death?...So you acknowledge

that I have not said to you, Come, lead the

religious life under me and I will elucidate to you

either that the world is eternal, or that the world is

not eternal, or that the saint neither exists nor

does not exist after death....The religious life does

not depend on the dogma that the world is eternal;

nor does the religious life depend on the dogma

that the world is not eternal. Whether the dogma

obtain that the world is eternal, or that the world

is not eternal, there still remain birth, old age,

death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and

despair, for the extinction of which in the present

life I am prescribing. The religious life does not

depend on the dogma that the world is finite. The

religious life does not depend on the dogma that

the soul and the body are identical. The religious

life does not depend on the dogma that the saintboth exists and does not exist after death; nor does

the religious life depend on the dogma that the

saint neither exists nor does not exist after

death....And why have I not elucidated [these

things]? Because this profits not, nor has to do


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with the fundamentals of religion nor tends to

aversion, absence of passion, cessation,

quiescence, the supernatural faculties, supreme

wisdom, and Nirvana; therefore I have not

elucidated it.

And what have I elucidated? Misery have I

elucidated; the origin of misery have I elucidated;

the cessation of misery have I elucidated; and the

path leading to the cessation of misery have I

elucidated. And why have I elucidated this?

Because, this does profit...3

Paul. I take your point, and Im willing to slow down and discuss matters in the

order you suggest. But I must say that if Buddha was nothing more than a

psychotherapist, its at least possible that therapeutic devices have improved a bit

since his time. Today, at any rate, most of us in the West have gone beyond

imparting what are really just psychological exercises with religious significance.

Rabi. Most people come to the Center knowing full well that there is a healthymeasure of what youre calling religion in the solutions offered here. Like you,

they dont just want to learn how to calm down. But they dont mind learning

that as well: in fact, they demand it. Im not entirely sure whether one musttake

meditation to be a form of religious practice, rather than, say, a mental exercise or

a psychological game, but it may be a start toward such practice, an essential first

step, as breathing is to growing. To me, the two approaches of psychology and

religion seem complimentary rather than contrary. So, I do believe Im offering

something more than a relaxation technique here, but you must be the judge.

3 Sutta 63 in Henry Clarke Warren (ed. and trans.) Buddhism in Translations,(Atheneum, 1968).


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Paul. Well, I guess I cant really tell yet whether what youre offering is the sort

of religion Im searching for, or youre just profitingforgive me, I dont mean

to suggest youre doing anything unethicalfrom the fact that certain people

have remained ignorant of the long-known fact that repeating a mantra can make

one senseless. When I was in college, there was a young man known as the 16-

year-old-perfect-masteror something like thatwho made millions of dollars

simply by waiting until his crowds of followers were mentally and physically

exhausted and then whispering a secret mantra in their ears. He used to put out

magazines of himself being driven around in expensive cars or luxuriating in

lavish mansions. I think he may have ended up being involved in some scandal

and falling out of favor.

Rabi. I think I remember the boy youre talking about.

Paul. Well, whats supposed to follow from the fact that someone can be

hypnotized or put himself to sleep by the repetition of a word one thousand times?

Rabi. The Benson book provides data seeming to show that the physiological

effects of meditation are distinguishable from those associated with sleep or

hypnosis. But, be that as it may, I think you are forgetting again why you have

come here, and what you expect from me. You say you are sick and tired of your

death anxiety. I want to help you with this, and I claim that meditation may be

useful in this regard. You then balk, saying what amounts to Well, if all I wanted

was to get over my anxieties, I could have gone to a psychoanalyst, or a hypnotist,

or gotten an anti-depressant. What do I need your so-called Perennial Solution

for? Obviously, you are free to try any or all of those things, and I get the sense

you may have tried some already. When you come to me, I try to help you

according to my lights, just as other healers will try to help you according to

theirs. If you try my solution diligently and fail, so be it. We will at least have

tried. Whats more (smiling), if you fail miserably, and I have been convinced of


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your diligence, maybe you will even be able to get me to drop Perennial in

favor of occasional and eliminate the capital letters.

Paul (laughing). I could see you losing some clientele with that change, but what

do I know about the ashram business?

Rabi. (after a pause) You seem a bit distracted. Shall we call it a day?

Paul. Im sorry, I was just thinking. Why not get me started on this path you

recommend? What would you suggest I do for openers?

Rabi. Go to your room or another quiet place. Sit or lie down in a comfortable

position. Breathe regularly. With each breath you exhale, alternate between

whispering flow down and whispering flow out. Do this softly, so even you

can barely hear it, but dont just think these things, say them. When you whisper

flow down try to feel any tension in your chest flowing down to your waist.

When you say flow out try to feel this tightness flowing down from your waist

through your legs, down to the tips of your toes and out of your body. Your feet

may begin to tingle. Try not to think of anything else but this flowing of the

nervousness from your body, but if you catch yourself being distracted from your

relaxation exercise, dont chastise yourself: simply go back to the meditation. I

think you will find this very calming. This practice may even help when you are

having death anxieties, although it is hard to breathe calmly and concentrate only

on flowing down and flowing out, when you are in the middle of being very

scared. If you do perform this meditation while lying down, you may fall asleep.

I take it you dont object to knowing a technique that may sometimes help you

fall asleep. I suggest you try to do this exercise as much as you can during your

stay here, but no less than an hour a day in total.

Paul. Anything else?


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Rabi. If you havent done so already, I suggest you take a look through the

Benson book I read from. His approach doesnt seem so foreign to scientific

westerners. And there are some nice selections from mystical literature in it.

Paul. OK, I can do that...

Rabi. But...Something is obviously bothering you about this. You seem

distraught.

Paul. Oh, its nothing really. Nothing important, anyway. Its just that this

Benson book. Ive seen it. It was a best seller, wasnt it? It seemed like pretty

simplistic stuff to me.

Rabi. (laughing) You mean for $6,000 you should be getting something more

obscure. Perhaps I have a copy in Bengali....Look, I suppose The Relaxation

Response could be said to be simple. But so in some sense is eating or breathing

or seeing. Youd prefer something more difficult or esoteric to read. But we

dont want to miss out on something good just because it may be available to

everyone, do we?

Paul. I think I remember seeing in an article of yours that you agree with Spinoza

that All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.

Rabi. I do. I do indeed. I think that mastering the solution I recommend is

terribly difficult. Only one in a millionperhaps fewercan manage it. But the

description of the solution, which is something else entirely, is quite simple.

Even a child ought to be able to understand that. Its like running a two-and-a-

half hour marathon. Almost anyone can understand what one is supposed to do,

but the accomplishment is another matter altogether.


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Paul. Well, I hope that I wont be graded on my credulity after one meeting: I

have to admit, Im still a bit skeptical.

Rabi (laughing). Perhaps I can manage a gentlemans C for you as long as you

keep coming on time and hand in your homework.

Paul. Well, Ill try, but you see, I have this unruly dog. Hes constantly chewing

up things.

Rabi (stands up). Maybe some of his traits can also be helped by relaxation

techniques.

Paul. Hmmm. Im not sure whether that would be a good thing or not....Just how

much homework do you assign? Ill discuss it with him, anyway. See you next

time.

Rabi. Goodbye, Paul.

Horn - Perennial Solution Center Intro and 1st Dialogue

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Transcript of Horn - Perennial Solution Center Intro and 1st Dialogue