Article 8207 of alt.buddha.short.fat.guy: Path: news1.digex.net!news.intercon.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!nic-nac.CSU.net!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!olivea!uunet!news.delphi.com!usenet From: Charlie Rubin Newsgroups: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy Subject: Re: Rama book - complete text (very long, in 15 parts) Date: Mon, 25 Jul 94 20:25:29 -0500 Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice) Lines: 290 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: bos1g.delphi.com X-To: Charlie Rubin Message-ID: <164312Z11071994@anon.penet.fi> Path: news.delphi.com!uunet!EU.net!news.eunet.fi!anon.penet.fi Newsgroups: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy From: an112477@anon.penet.fi X-Anonymously-To: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy Organization: Anonymous contact service Reply-To: an112477@anon.penet.fi Date: Mon, 11 Jul 1994 16:41:23 UTC Subject: No subject Lines: 279 This book is electronically distributed with full permission of the author. Please feel free to download and pass along to interested parties. (c) Copyright 1993 by Mark E. Laxer All Rights Reserved. Outer Rim Press 4431 Lehigh Rd., #221 College Park, MD 20740 i Take Me For A R d e * * * One flew east, One flew west, One flew over the cuckoo's nest. -Childhood nursery rhyme quoted in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Fly me over the cuckoo's nest, To your *golden* side, I don't care if you're the cuckoo - Take me for a ride... - Agni * *** * TAKE ME FOR A RIDE Coming Of Age In A Destructive Cult by mark e. laxer 1993 Outer Rim Press *** *** Copyright (c) 1993 by Mark E. Laxer All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. For information, write to: Outer Rim Press, 4431 Lehigh Road, #221, College Park, MD 20740. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Simon & Schuster, Inc., for permission to reprint an excerpt from Gandhi: A Memoir by William Shirer. Copyright (c) 1979 by William Shirer. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-085777 ISBN 0-9638108-3-9 Printed in the United States of America * * * *** *** *** * * * To Patsy Sims -inspired teacher, intriguing storyteller, intrepid journalist. ( * ^ o ( * Author's Note Names in the following story have been changed, except for those already mentioned in the press. *** * * * * * * * * Contents 1. Bicycle Ride -Walden 1 2. Zapped! 3 3. The Joining 10 4. The Community 23 5. Bicycle Ride -Lenox 38 6. The Garden 42 7. Money Mantra 50 8. Fast Leader 57 9. Off The Map 61 10. Bicycle Ride -Utica 67 11. Displaced 70 12. Thwarted Escape 78 13. Breakdown 87 14. Bicycle Ride -St. Ignes 91 15. The Enchanted Taco 96 16. Ride To Heaven 111 17. On High 119 18. Where's My Tribe? 123 19. I'm Okay 136 20. The Last Supper 147 21. Bicycle Ride -The Continental Divide 154 Epilogue 159 Appendix A: Excerpts From WOOF! 185 Appendix B: Excerpts From "Welcome To Lakshmi" 187 Appendix C: Excerpts From "Sophisticated Sexuality" 189 Appendix D: Excerpts From Rama's Ads and Brochures 191 1. Bicycle Ride -Walden After I left Rama's inner circle in 1985, I occasionally bicycled to Walden Pond, where I read about Thoreau's experiment with self- reliance. My seven years in the cult of Rama -Dr. Frederick Lenz, who was known early on as Atmananda -had deeply shaken my confidence. Atmananda often assured me that I was possessed by Negative Forces, that I was barely able to function in the real world, and that I was fortunate he did not drop me off at a mental institution. I met him in 1978, when I was seventeen. Thoreau helped me recall a time, before Atmananda, when I was strong and self-reliant. I had been an avid cyclist. Pedaling thousands of miles each year helped strengthen both my legs and self-esteem. Throughout my teenage years bicycling and self-confidence were inextricably linked, and I grew to believe I could ride anywhere, under any conditions. I tried to approach life with a similar gusto, which may explain why, in 1979, Atmananda invited me to move with him to southern California to start a spiritual centre. From 1979 to 1981, I lived with him by the cliffs of La Jolla where I witnessed his rise to power. Today, in 1993, he controls the minds of several hundred computer consultants, businessmen, doctors, and lawyers. Each year he extracts from them roughly ten million dollars. As I gazed at Walden Pond in search of calm, the wind spawned new waves, and the surface swelled with complexity. I recalled what Atmananda had said after I returned from a five-day bike trip in California. He announced in front of other disciples that my aura was dark. He also said that I had been attacked by nocturnal, mountain-dwelling Entities which "cause neurosis and psychosis, obliterate lifetimes of spiritual evolution, and can possess your soul." Atmananda's Entity-prevention program included studying with a fully enlightened teacher, meditating regularly, and avoiding solitary excursions into nature. Yet in the spring of 1986, nearly one year after I left him, I reminded myself that I would rather be possessed in my world than potentially perfect in his. I planned to pedal across America not with an exorcist, but with a puppy. On May 31, 1986, as warm, moist air pushed pockets of fog over Walden Pond, I lifted the four-month-old Siberian husky, Nunatak, into the doggie-carrier. The carrier rested on top of the bicycle trailer, attached to the frame of my 12-speed. Strong headwinds soon strained my muscles, shook the lush canopy of foliage, and pelted me with large drops of rain. As I began the journey west, the front tire raced through puddles while my mind raced through painful memories and questions. How had my years with Atmananda affected me? Why was it so difficult to leave him? What was it about my past that led me to him? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.