Nice one Songster. I think it is important to emphasise the separation between the experience you get when you meditate, and the rest of it - the devotion to M, the experience at events, the camaraderie of meeting other prems.
When I was a prem, I heard plenty of rumours about M, but always dismissed them, because 'Knowledge works'. I had plenty of experience that told me that M was genuine, therefore the rumours couldn't be true. However, the experience of 'Knowledge' is quite a fudge, made up of the ingredients listed above.
The experience in meditation is just as available when you are an ex. It has nothing at all to do with M. Once that link is recognised as bogus, the rest of the structure soon falls down.
