Scientology, Mindfulness, Kripalu Center for Yoga, Conspiracy Theories
South China Morning Post: Church of Scientology hands out 50,000 coronavirus pamphlets resembling New Zealand government advice
"Shops in New Zealand's largest city have scrambled to remove thousands of Scientology booklets that resemble the government's coronavirus posters, as the country slowly reopens after one of the world's strictest lockdowns.
The "How to Keep Yourself & Others Well" booklets, which feature a striking yellow-and-white design not unlike the one used by New Zealand's government in its Covid-19 messaging, were handed out to stores in central Auckland last week, local media reported.
The information published appeared to be based on coronavirus advice from the United States government, rather than official New Zealand Ministry of Health guidelines, Newshub reported.
As many as 50,000 booklets were distributed in Auckland as part of the organisation's efforts to support the community during the pandemic, a representative from the Church of Scientology said on Monday.
Allison Axford, its community relations manager, told Newshub the design similarity to the government's Covid-19 campaign was "pure coincidence".
"Our volunteer ministers have for decades been well known for their distinctive yellow colour [attire] since long before the Covid-19 outbreak," Axford said."
" ... A former teacher and principal, Spring, 59, was hand-picked by First Deputy Chancellor Cheryl Watson-Harris for the role, with the Carranza's support.
"The chancellor is familiar with the practice of meditation and mindfulness," Spring told Mindful . org. "They understand the cost-effectiveness of this, almost as a preventive health-care initiative."
Spring's salary is $183,781, but he collected $194,947 last year as a principal on special assignment.
One of the first steps Spring took as mindfulness director was to forge a partnership with the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, which Forbes in November named among 'the best meditation retreats in the world.'"
Wikipedia: Amrit Desai
"The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health was an Ashram. One of the spiritual practices that the single residents were expected to practice was celibacy (brahmacharya). Although sex within marriage was condoned at the ashram, after his third child was born in 1968, Desai declared that he would now practice celibacy too. A large celebration was held for this event. So important was this practice of celibacy that occasionally meetings were held and residents were asked to divulge anyone they thought might have violated that sacred practice. As a result, some residents were kicked out of the community. The irony was that the two most senior members of the community, including Desai, were practicing adultery. After years of infidelity with numerous people, in 1994, it was revealed and admitted that Desai had had sexual contact with at least three female resident disciples and was forced to resign his position as Spiritual Director."
BBC: What we can learn from conspiracy theories
"From political upheavals to anxieties about sex, technology and women, it turns out conspiracy theories can tell us a lot about what's going on in our societies – and how to fix them."
"In 331 BC, something was wrong with Rome. Across the city, swathes of eminent men were succumbing to sickness, and practically all of them were dying. The losses were as baffling as they were alarming.
Then one day, a slave approached a curule aedile – a kind of magistrate – and hinted that she might know why. The girl led a team of investigators to various houses, where she claimed they would find an alliance of upper-class women secretly preparing poisons. They did.
The accused were dragged to the central square, and asked to prove their innocence. Since they claimed their concoctions were medicinal, would they drink them?
Alas, two of the suspects obliged – and promptly dropped dead. Mass arrests followed, and a further 170 women were found to be involved. The incident was a huge scandal. In the aftermath, the people of Rome elected a dedicated official to perform a ritual banishment of evil, a tactic which had previously only been used as a last resort after extreme civil unrest.
Or, at least, this is the version of events that was dutifully recorded by the respected historian Livy, who was born a few hundred years later. But he wasn't convinced that the women were really responsible, and neither are modern-day experts. Instead, Livy pointed to a far more rational explanation: an epidemic.
At the time, the city was in the grip of an unknown plague – a common cause of death in the classical world. Mass poisonings, on the other hand, were unheard of. The case discussed by Livy was the first of its kind, and the whole affair had struck Roman citizens as distinctly odd.
In fact, the women probably really were preparing medicines – and the rest of the story was heavily embellished or entirely made up. The infamous poisonings of 331 BC are thought to be a conspiracy theory, to explain deaths that had an obvious cause all along.
Amid the current pandemic, this scenario is oddly familiar. Since the beginning of April, at least 77 phone masts and 40 engineers have been attacked in the UK, after some people bought into the erroneous idea that Covid-19 is somehow being spread by powerful forces in the global telecommunications industry. Now the rumour has spread to the US, where there are fears it may lead to further violence. Yet again, reason is being cast aside, in favour of a niche explanation that involves a convoluted secret plot. (Find out why 5G is not responsible for transmitting Covid-19.)
The question is, why did these alternative stories catch on?
From alien lizard rulers to shark attacks instigated by spies and elaborate multi-billion-dollar hoaxes, the menagerie of conspiracy theories in existence is so bizarre, the reasons some take off – and others vanish without a trace – may seem almost random. There's even a conspiracy theory about how conspiracy theories were invented (in keeping with the standard conspiracy formula, the CIA were allegedly involved).
But there are patterns hidden in their strangeness. The latest thinking suggests that conspiracy theories are filtered by a kind of natural selection, which allows those that fit certain requirements to spread rapidly through our societies – while others are confined to the darkest corners of the internet.
What makes a conspiracy appealing to the masses? And is there anything they can teach us about the problems we face – and how to fix them?"
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