5 November 2012

School for Practical Philosophy?

| Deref
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A mob going by the name of the School for Practical Philosophy has been running ads in the Crimes for some time now.

I’ve long suspected that it’s one of Scientology’s sock puppets. Does anyone know anything about them? Has anyone attended one of their sessions?

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Nothing to do with Scientology, and exactly what it says on the tin. Good, practical wisdom applied to modern life. No dogma, no huge fees, no pressure.

Disclaimer here: I’ve been a member of the School for several years. It’s a non-profit organisation, definitely not a religion or a cult. We respect all traditions and draw upon wisdom from all times. Shakespeare and Plato, Zen and Rumi, Chief Seattle and the Buddha all have their various inputs.

Realistically, mindfulness is our core. Being able to stop, enjoy the present moment, avoid stress and frustration, feel the beauty. Just having enough energy to get through the day is a struggle sometimes; we offer advice on how to make life and work less of a battle and more of a joy.

I know I had a lot of misgivings when I started. Was I getting caught up in a cult of some kind? But no. It’s all innocent. Mostly cakes and coffee and talking things over.

random said :

Deref said :

AFAICR there’s no information in the ads referring to the NY organisation (and I’ll apologise if my recollection’s wrong there). If so, the fact that they use the same name as an overseas organisation tells you nothing.

Their website does link to the New York organisation and others around the world so you can probably assume they are affiliated.

That said, Google around and there are many accusations that it is a similar organisation. It wouldn’t make a great deal of sense to hide being Scientologists by masquerading as affiliates of another organisation which has also been accused of being a cult…

Haha – good point!

Deref said :

AFAICR there’s no information in the ads referring to the NY organisation (and I’ll apologise if my recollection’s wrong there). If so, the fact that they use the same name as an overseas organisation tells you nothing.

Their website does link to the New York organisation and others around the world so you can probably assume they are affiliated.

That said, Google around and there are many accusations that it is a similar organisation. It wouldn’t make a great deal of sense to hide being Scientologists by masquerading as affiliates of another organisation which has also been accused of being a cult…

davo101 said :

RiotFrog said :

Wow, that was hard: http://bit.ly/SKcyXs

That actually doesn’t help. What the original poster was looking for was an opinion from someone who has attended one of the sessions.

Thank you.

AFAICR there’s no information in the ads referring to the NY organisation (and I’ll apologise if my recollection’s wrong there). If so, the fact that they use the same name as an overseas organisation tells you nothing.

The Scientologists are very good at this kind of thing. Knowing that, you’d think that a worthy organisation would take some serious pains to publicise their bona fides – I know I’m not the only one who’s made the assumption.

if I’ve maligned a worthwhile organisation I’ll certainly apologise, but I’d like some first-hand info if there is any.

RiotFrog said :

Wow, that was hard: http://bit.ly/SKcyXs

That actually doesn’t help. What the original poster was looking for was an opinion from someone who has attended one of the sessions.

TheDancingDjinn10:37 am 05 Nov 12

RiotFrog said :

Wow, that was hard: http://bit.ly/SKcyXs

OK i must be old, because that was actually cool.

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