Transcendental meditation; also known as TM, was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid-1950s. By the early 2000s, TM has been taught to millions of people; the worldwide TM organization had grown to include educational programs, health products, and related services.
A great resource on TM is the work of Bob Roth CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, who has taught TM for nearly 50 years. In this article, we aim to provide a guide to transcendental meditation.
What is Transcendental Meditation?
The TM is a technique that involves the use of a silently-used sound called a mantra and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day. According to the transcendental meditation (TM) movement, it is a non-religious method for relaxation, stress reduction, and self-development. According to supporters of TM, when meditating, the ordinary thinking process is “transcended.” It’s replaced by a state of pure consciousness. In this state, the meditator achieves perfect stillness, rest, stability, order, and a complete absence of mental boundaries.
Benefits Of Transcendental Meditation
1. Reduced stress and anxiety. As your mind experiences quieter, subtler levels of the thinking process, your body gains a state of profound rest, much deeper than ordinary relaxation. This deep, healing rest allows for accumulated knots of stress to be released—studies show that the body’s natural balance is restored. 2. Improved sleep. It is also true that meditation influences sleep and its functions. It appears that various components of sleep generating mechanisms can be altered with meditation. Meditation, with its global effects on body and brain functions, helps to establish body and mind harmony. Thus, meditation practices as an autoregulatory integrated global phenomenon opens a wider scope for understanding the unique aspects of human sleep and consciousness. 3. A greater sense of clarity and productivity. Transcendental meditation (TM) improves the quality of sleep, directly impacting the level of productivity as they are closely tied. Transcendental meditation reduces stress and anxiety resulting in improved clarity and clear thinking. 4. Lower blood pressure. Research has found that transcendental meditation practice has a truly holistic effect on health, with normalization of hormone levels, blood pressure, and measurable improvements in diabetes, cholesterol, cardiovascular health, and brain functioning. The body starts to maintain a more rested, calm, and energetic style of functioning even outside of meditation, making us more resilient to stress. 5. A greater sense of calmness throughout the day. Transcendental meditation releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects your feelings of wellbeing and happiness.
6. Reduced cortisol.
Medical studies have shown that individuals who practice transcendental meditation daily had lower blood levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol.
7. Lower the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Studies concluded that transcendental meditation led to lower respiration rates, heart rate, and better blood flow to the brain, indicating less constriction of blood vessels.
8. Improved brain function and memory.
In just three months of transcendental meditation practice, you could see a significant decrease in theta/beta ratios and increased verbal fluency. This translates into improved executive function and more efficient cognitive processing.
Transcendental Meditation Guide
1. Sit in a comfortable chair with your feet on the ground and hands in your lap. Leave your legs and arms uncrossed. 2. Close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths to relax the body. 3. Open your eyes, and then close them again. Your eyes will remain closed during the 20-minute practice. 4. Repeat the mantra in your mind. This is typically a Sanskrit sound or word phrase learned from a TM teacher. But you can make your own as well. 5. If you recognize you're having a thought, simply return to the mantra. 6. After 20 minutes, begin to move your fingers and toes to ease yourself back to the world. 7. Open your eyes. 8. Sit for a few more minutes until you feel ready to continue with your day.
Creating A Mantra
Begin your mantra with “I” or “My” – mantras are for you, so you give them maximum power and effect by starting with these personal statements. Sometimes this is not possible, however, so this is a soft rule that can be broken if the right words come together.
Make your mantra short – you’ll get the most out of a mantra if you can easily remember it and easily repeat it again and again in your mind or out loud.
Make your mantra specific – again, for a mantra to be effective, it must focus on a particular issue or challenge that you are facing in the here and now.
Make your mantra positive – the way you word things matters, and a good mantra will always use positive words. For example, rather than saying “I will not let X defeat me,” you might say “I will triumph over X” instead. This way, you avoid the double negative “not defeat” and replace it with the positive “triumph.”
If you are spontaneous, Soul Flower offers a creative way to get a mantra by selecting the first three words you spot on a word search puzzle. That then becomes your personal mantra.
Conclusion We all desire and aim to live a happier and healthier life. We tend to thrive personally and socially when we are happy and feeling good. It also helps us improve and evolve into the social beings that we are meant to be. Our life and the world as a whole takes a better and healthier direction, especially in areas concerned with our collective mental state. This direction can not only improve our own life but affect how generations to follow will experience their life as well. The beautiful thing about meditation is as Russel Simmons puts it; “You’ll be able to access the part of you that people like to be around. The part of you that feels upbeat about things. It feels like you’re moving toward your goals without frustration or anxiety. It feels ecstatic to be alive! The more I meditate, the more I have these moments.” The point is you are in control of your destination. The question is, do you believe it? Please tell us in the comments section below. Thank You
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