Transcendental Meditation

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION TECHNIQUE

The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique has been revived from the Vedic tradition of India and disseminated worldwide by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The TM technique is easily learned and practiced 15 to 20 minutes twice a day. It requires no change in lifestyle or belief, and consequently is practiced by over 5 million people of all faiths, from all walks of life, and from all cultures. More than 600 studies have been conducted on the TM technique at more than 200 universities and research institutions worldwide, although TM's critics say that many of the "studies" are in fact psesudoscience.

The following descriptions of TM are based on statements of its supporters and have not necessarily been scientifically verified. TM involves the recitation of a word, known as a mantra. Published reports indicate that the mantra is often the name of or invocation for a Hindu deity, and that it is assigned to the practioner based on age. During the initiation ceremony, an offering including flowers and fruit is symbolically given to Hindu deities and teachers, causing some critics of TM to conclude that TM is, despite the position of its advocates, a type of religious practice.

TM practice is a dynamic process characterized by movement of attention from the active, surface level of thinking and perception to more silent and abstract levels of thought, called transcending. Then the mind moves beyond even the subtlest thinking level to a state of fully awake self- awareness, called Transcendental Consciousness. And then attention moves back to more active levels.

Research shows that these three phases are characterized by distinct physiological states in the body. A person practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique cycles through these phases many times in each TM session. Together these phases define a state of "restful alertness"-- deep rest for the body and increased alertness for the mind.

Transcendental Consciousness is the defining experience of TM practice. It is characterized by "silence," "unboundedness," and "the absence of time, space, and body- sense." It is a state of pure, self-awareness without the usual mental processing and thoughts that occur when one is awake.

While the prevailing view of conscious awareness is that consciousness is never found without objects of experience, the experience of Transcendental Consciousness is a direct experience of pure awareness without objects of experience. Further, it is a direct experience-not merely a conceptual reality. And research shows that this state has defining physiological characteristics, including spontaneous quieting of breath, autonomic orienting at the onset of breathing changes, and marked changes in brain wave patterns.

These unique subjective and objective markers of Transcendental Consciousness suggest that this state is a fourth major state of consciousness, in addition to the three commonly experienced states of waking, sleeping, and dreaming. Repeated experience of Transcendental Consciousness, followed by daily activity, leads to the integration of the inner silence of Transcendental Consciousness with ongoing waking, sleeping, and dreaming processes. The result is a sequential unfoldment of three higher states of consciousness.

Initial findings suggest distinct physiological patterns in subjects reporting the experience of Cosmic Consciousness, the first of these three higher states, including uniquely efficient brain processes and brain wave patterns.

Research shows that TM practice is fundamentally different from other meditation techniques as evidenced by physiological states and a range of psychological and behavioral measures.

Research has also shown that TM practice has practical benefits for many areas of life. Studies have been done in the areas of health, longevity, prison rehabilitation, psychological well being, and quality of life.

Critics of TM have questioned these "scientific" findings, claiming that they have largely been done by advocates of TM. Also, the TM organization has declined to provide scientific information on some of the processes involved in TM, such as how the mantra is assigned.

The practice of TM allows a person to systematically enliven the full range of the mind and dissolve mental and physical stress. Supporters claim may be instrumental in unfolding the full range of human potential.

For more information visit http://www.tm.org.