I may get to work with Professor Noam Chomsky, or at least talk to him about what I can do to help him on his quest to disarm the weapons of the world

I wrote to Noam Chomsky several times and heard back from him. Nate O'Donnell told me I should offer to volunteer for him and eventually I decided it was a good idea and did.

Here's what I wrote him and what he wrote me back:

Dear Professor Chomsky,
I feel like I am doing nothing to contribute to the shift in consciousness and lifestyle necessary to see the disarmament of the weapons of the world that could end all life. I am doing very little to make society shift towards a sustainable economy that will prevent a huge collapse of the economy and the ecology that could happen at any time. You are the leader that has inspired me more than any other to shift how I view the government and the economy so that I can help save the world from disaster or at least stop contributing. I want to work for you. I could work for you full time and you wouldn't necessarily have to pay me anything. I could volunteer. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia so I get disability money from the government. If that could somehow pay enough for me to live in Boston where MIT is then I could donate many many hours doing whatever you think I should do. I revere you more than anyone. I was a great high school student. I did well in college until I read books like yours and others related to the problems facing the environment and I wanted an alternative path and I lost the necessary respect for the economics professors and ideas that would let me complete those assignments and studies. I don't think I could get into MIT to actually work with you as staff or as a student and even if I could you teach linguistics and not the stuff you write about in your other books. I'd imagine that there are a lot of people who want to help you. I will serve you and do whatever you think I should do. If you give me a list of ten books to read I will start reading them right away. If you tell me to write letters to specific people about specific issues I will do it. Right now I'm fixing chips in windshields. I have this hope that we can shift the tide of things so that the world starts to get better. I need someone to lead me. I expect you don't want my help, but if there is a one in a thousand chance that you could use my help it is worth the time writing this email to offer it. Below is a resume I wrote up very quickly and then I will give you contact information below that

Noam Chomsky responded:

Very pleased, and touched, to receive your very kind offer. I’d be very pleased to find a way to cooperate in matters that interest you. I have never actually had anyone working for me, but have often been involved in cooperative efforts. Maybe we could explore some options – though this is a bad time for me. For the next few months I have hardly a moment between travel abroad and intense commitments while I’m here.

Noam Chomsky

I wrote back

Dear Professor Chomsky:

I hope you remember to write to me when you have some free time after a few months. I will have to remember to write to you in a few months to remind you. The things that interest me most are
1.) getting the nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction disarmed in this country and other countries
2.) stopping the destruction of habitat such as forests and stopping pollution which are causing a mass extinction.
3.) working towards a government that respects the rights of all nations and peoples. This includes stopping the government atrocities you talked about in your book Hopes and Prospects.
4. working towards a sustainable economy that simultaneously provides everything that everyone needs. Maybe cars and computers are not sustainable enough for everyone to have one. Burning fossil fuels is unsustainable and probably is causing global warming. Two things that will limit us are soil erosion leading to desertification which is happening rapidly and the loss of fresh water through pollution as well as overuse for irrigation or other use.

I am not a Ph.D. like you. I try to read a lot. I try to live without harming anyone. I try not to contribute to the problems. I try to learn from ancient philosophies like taoism, Buddhism, yoga, and sometimes Christianity to find power within myself to be happy doing what is right. I guess that is what I can offer. I am so happy you might work with me!

Are there other areas other than the four I mentioned that you think I could help you with? Are you interested in any of those four areas?

Noam Chomsky wrote back:

These are issues of fundamental importance. If we can figure out a way in which you can work on these issues and I can offer some help, let’s try. Maybe by January there’ll be enough time at least to talk about it.

Noam Chomsky

I heard back from Chip Hartranft who translated the yoga sutras. Here' what I wrote him and what he said

Dear Arlington Center,
I wanted to ask Chip Hartranft about the practice of the yoga sutras. I want to be able to practice dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. I want insights about the universe by meditating on the sun. I want to eradicate hunger and thirst by meditating on the pit of the throat. I want to attain the perspective of the perfected ones by meditating on the light at the crown of the head. I want to become luminous by mastering the flow of energy through the solar plexus. I want to master the elements. All these things Chip Hartranft's translation of the yoga sutras says are possible. But I cannot do any of these things. What am I supposed to do from the stage that I am at now to start to develop some of these amazing attainments? Are there some gradual stages of practice that I am capable of doing? I cannot figure out how to meditate properly to get these realizations just from reading books. Is there any advice or blessings that Chip can offer me. When I read the third chapter of the yoga sutras I feel it is as if they are teaching graduate school courses to somoene who doesn't know his alphabet yet. How do I get some realization?

Liam St. John

Dear Liam

Thank you for your note, which was forwarded to me.

The portion of the Yoga-sutra dealing with sh(r)amanic/animal powers is one of the most interesting and misunderstood aspects of the ancient yoga. The shamanic attainments and their place in the spirituality of early South Asian indigenes appears to have preceded liberation yoga - the primary theme of the Yoga-sutra - and co-evolved with it. If David Gordon White is to be believed - and at least in part, I think he might be - the shamanic aspect of the yogin has predominated throughout history, perhaps owing to its precedence but more probably due to the widespread appeal and interest in powers (not to mention the easy profit to be made from their pretense or misuse). That would explain why Patañjali dutifully includes them in his compendium of yogic lore - they are associated with samadhi, even though the powers themselves are not essential to attaining the path.

You see, some - but not all - yogis who develop higher levels of dhyana/jhana often notice some - but not all - of these sorts of powers arising spontaneously. In the Buddha's circle, for example, Maha Moggallana acquired several, while the most insightful of them all, Sariputta, did not.

I don't know if it is possible to say that any given person - say, you - will be gifted in this way, no matter what level of absorption is reached. It is important to realize, though, that the 'extraordinary powers' themselves are not liberating. In fact, the higher forms of concentration that may produce the powers are not enlightening in and of themselves, either. No one awakens to things as they are (yatha-bhutam) in mind & body while ensconced in the form or formless dhyana/jhanas. However, those who develop themselves through 'yoking' and progress to any degree of authentic collectedness (samadhi), even the first stages, will find themselves in the neighborhood of wisdom. Anytime you're in the neighborhood, cessation (nirodha) is a possibility, lying within reach. Just keep letting go...

By the way, the specifics of several of the vibhuti, including the 'pit of the throat' contemplation, have been buried by the shifting sands of time. That's not to say that there aren't a few contemporary teachers who confidently claim they know what the details are, but no one can say for sure what Patañjali meant. One thing is for certain, though - these are not in fact strictly relevant to wisdom. The awakening and liberation that the Yoga-sutra maps and describes involve stilling body and mind until the transparent yet luminous emptiness of awareness reveals itself and its utter freedom from causality.

If you wish to develop insight, and are seeking happiness and freedom rather than power, look for extended meditation retreats without alot of ideology. The best 'yogic' practice being taught these days, especially in the West, is at Buddhist retreat centers like the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and Spirit Rock in Woodacre, CA. Each is located in a beautiful setting and offers inexpensive retreats ranging from a weekend to IMS's annual three month retreat, taught by the most insightful meditation teachers from the US, Europe, and Asia.

Warm wishes,

Chip