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The renowned yoga guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918-2008) created the technique of Transcendental Meditation1 in 1955, and by the 1960s, it had spread worldwide. Due to the numerous health advantages, it provides, particularly for cardiovascular health, this meditation technique is still practiced today.
Transcendental Meditation is no longer often used; instead, the term “TM method” is used.
1. What is Transcendental Meditation?
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a type of meditation that allows you to experience higher states of consciousness and awareness. Additionally, it might help you feel less anxious right away and improve your health over time. Many people who have used this strategy for a long time have praised it for being straightforward and for increasing their level of happiness in life.
Twice a day, for a total of twenty minutes, are advised for practicing the Transcendental Meditation Technique. This can be done without any particular settings. All you need is to be relaxed and peacefully seated.
It is thought that by using this technique consistently, you can repair your body. It provides numerous inventive benefits and benefits to your health, according to research. It may help you focus more clearly and feel more energized. Its practitioners’ stress levels and blood pressure have been demonstrated to have significantly decreased.
Transcendental meditation (TM) differs from other types of meditation2 in that you are not required to actively focus on anything, unlike mindfulness meditation.
It is claimed that your mind will naturally ascend to higher states of consciousness if you allow it to do so. This tutorial may be useful if you’re new to meditation and interested in the various styles you can try.
During this meditation, a certified TM teacher will normally provide you with a mantra to repeat in your mind. However, since it is private information, you are free to repeat any mantra you like using the numerous online tools that are available for free, or you can schedule a Transcendental Meditation session for yourself at a nearby center.
Here is a video of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968 at Lake Louise, Canada, explaining the basics of this approach.
2. How Did Transcendental Meditation Mantras (TM) Gain Popularity?
Nowadays, practically everyone is aware of the idea of meditation and the different advantages it provides. Now, how did Maharishi Mahesh Yogi successfully propagate his Transcendental Meditation philosophy3 to the point where it is still practiced today all over the world?
2.1 Support From Well-Known, Powerful People
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi began traveling over Asia to promote his teachings after mastering the technique, but he ultimately wanted to bring it to the rest of the globe. The Beatles, a famous rock band, were said to have been involved in the popularity of this meditation technique in the late 1960s, especially after they traveled to India in 1968 to learn it.
The Beach Boys were one of the notable figures that contributed to the dissemination of this method throughout the west. One of the Beach Boys’ vocalists, Mike Love, was a fervent TM practitioner who later, in 1971, earned his certified TM teacher.
The participation of such well-known figures, which hastened the teaching of transcendental meditation, cannot be disregarded. These rock musicians, who practiced TM and had a sizable following around the world, attracted a lot of media attention, which helped the Transcendental Meditation Movement4 gain further traction.
This council was established to propagate TM around the world and eliminate hatred and greed-induced conduct in society, even though Maharishi never claimed to have any legal affiliations with WPEC.
A former instructor who claimed that WPEC had “failed to produce promised outcomes” filed a lawsuit against the organization after it faced controversy in 1985. In that case, the majority of the later disputes were ultimately resolved out of court, and the council has since maintained a low profile.
Even amid such controversy, individuals continued to learn more about the TM practice.
The Maharishi foundation is still actively overseeing its teaching institutions all over the world to disseminate the power of Transcendental Meditation today.
3. How Can You Practice Transcendental Meditation the Right Way?
The fact that TM is so straightforward for anyone to practice daily is one of the primary reasons it has become so popular and successful.
Transcendental meditation: what is it? Transcendent refers to something outside the realm of ordinary human experience. This meditation method seeks to calm your mind, soothe your mental problems, and heal your physical body at the same time. TM seeks to instill inner peace and tranquility in your life.
3.1. Certified TM Teachers and TM Organizations
The most common way to practice TM is through a certified teacher or a TM organization. Due to its enormous popularity, there are several Transcendental Meditation groups in the United States and other countries. Finding a qualified teacher would be simpler because many TM practitioners take this route after years of practicing the method.
The best way to start your path to inner peace is to learn TM from these accredited organizations and individuals. Before receiving their certification, these teachers go through a five-month residential training program and accumulate years of TM practice.
Beginners frequently find it difficult to understand TM because of this particular question: If it’s so straightforward, why can’t we just learn it from books, movies, or blogs online?
Many long-time TM practitioners will urge you to sign up for a Transcendental Meditation course and conduct the meditation session under a teacher’s supervision. They firmly think that only individuals who have received the appropriate training are qualified to teach real TM.
Long-term Maharishi devotees think that working with a certified teacher is the only way to fully harness the potential of TM. So it’s advised to seek the approved resources close to you if you want to experience the advantages of TM for yourself.
4. Benefits of Transcendental Meditation Mantras
Millions of individuals worldwide practice meditation every day. Different meditation techniques have emerged over time and have succeeded when orthodox medicine and medical professionals have failed.
People who struggle with stress and anxiety in their daily lives are more likely to exhibit this. Many people think that using meditation to treat anxiety-related diseases is a far better option than experimenting with medicines. However, there isn’t any scientific evidence that one is unquestionably superior to the other.
5. What Makes Transcendental Meditation Practice Different From Other Forms of Meditation?
TM differs from other forms of meditation5 in numerous ways. One of the most crucial aspects of TM is that you don’t need to “believe” in anything to use it. It is open for anybody to attempt and benefit from because it is not entirely religious or demands rigorous attention.
As long as you have to sit comfortably in silence, you can practice TM anyplace. Although it is a mantra-based meditation, it differs from other types in that you are not required to speak the mantra aloud or to ‘believe’ in what you are saying. Technically, the mantra that your certified instructor will teach you is only a sound because its main objective is to make your mind completely motionless.
6. Proven Benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Technique
Numerous research has been carried out to examine the effects of TM on its followers ever since it first gained popularity in the 1960s.
The official website of TM links to numerous studies from Harvard Medical School, Stanford Medicine, and many other research organizations that demonstrate the technique’s potent ability to significantly reduce stress and anxiety.
7. Transcendental Meditation is Still Popular Among Celebrities and Prominent Figures in the Media
Many well-known people have raved about how TM has improved their life. Some of the celebrities who have complimented it include Ellen DeGeneres, Clint Eastwood, Cameron Diaz, Oprah Winfrey, Ivanka Trump, Lena Dunham, Katy Perry, Hugh Jackman, and Tom Brady.
7.1 David Lynch Foundation
Popular director David Lynch has been outspoken about his support for transcendental meditation. The renowned David Lynch Foundation, which aimed to provide university scholarships for individuals who were interested in studying TM, was founded by him in 2005.
Additionally, this foundation supported research groups into transcendental meditation since it thought that in today’s hectic society, young people required this. David began practicing Transcendental Meditation in 1973 and keeps doing so now because he thinks it has the real potential to unleash high levels of creativity, a higher state of awareness, and happiness.
8. Take a Step Closer to Improving the Quality of Your Life
A vast organization with millions of adherents worldwide, Transcendental Meditation started out as a spiritual movement in the 1960s with the goal of providing inner peace and tranquility to everyone who is ready to try it out and benefit from it.
While occasionally written by guest authors, our content is routinely checked for accuracy and applicability by medical experts. We take great pleasure in our high-quality information and work hard to provide authoritative knowledge. Doctors, nurses, mental health specialists, and even medical students have reviewed our work.
- Orme-Johnson, David W., and Vernon A. Barnes. “Effects of the transcendental meditation technique on trait anxiety: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 20.5 (2014): 330-341. ↩︎
- Bhajanananda, Swami. “Types of meditation.” Prabuddha Bharata 86.5 (1981): 202-207. ↩︎
- Fink, Eugen. Sixth Cartesian meditation: The idea of a transcendental theory of method. Indiana University Press, 1995. ↩︎
- Sawyer, Dana, and Cynthia Humes. The Transcendental Meditation Movement. Cambridge University Press, 2023. ↩︎
- Ivanovski, Belinda, and Gin S. Malhi. “The psychological and neurophysiological concomitants of mindfulness forms of meditation.” Acta neuropsychiatrica 19.2 (2007): 76-91. ↩︎
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I was facing problems mentally, i was depressed in short, the motivation to do work or to do anything. The things in life was not going the way I imagined. I was searching for solutions online and found this article talking about meditation . I practiced it for at least a month, and felt changes, the motivation, the urge to work was coming back to me slowly, it was like meditation was making me focused and teaching me about life .and till thi sday i wake up early, do exercise and then atleast 30 minutes of meditation .