Transcendental Meditation-Discover Your Inner Calm and Peace

 

Why Meditate?

If you’re considering or have ever considered meditating, stop thinking about it and DO IT! Give yourself about 21 days to try a new meditation technique. Usually, after a few weeks of daily practice, you will feel and see benefits. Do you crave decreased stress & anxiety, clarity of mind, inner calm & peace, improved decision making, and increased positivity?!  These are just a few of the positive effects you can experience from meditating regularly! I don’t know about you, but I was ready to jump on that bandwagon. I will discuss the specific (fancy!) benefits of transcendental meditation, specifically, below.

There are several main meditation techniques, as I briefly describe on my meditation page. I have tried each technique, and transcendental meditation (TM) is BY FAR the best fit for me. Don’t let the idea of meditating scare you off though. Meditation is not a religion, faith, a set of beliefs or anything similar! It does not replace any of those things, it will only enhance those areas for you if you do have them. Meditation is simply a technique to bring your mind to a calm, still place. This stillness becomes a part of you, this pause that you can access at any time.

What is Transcendental Meditation?

Transcendental meditation is simply an easy-to-learn technique to bring your mind to your most pure form of aware, alert consciousness. It’s practiced twice daily for about 20 minutes each session, sitting upright comfortably. It can be practiced anywhere you can close your eyes- at a noisy mall, in a parked car, at a pool, or in a break room at work! I prefer a quiet room but have found that I’m still able to have a great session with noise around me. TM brings your focus inward, into the stillest, most quiet level of thought.

A mantra is uniquely selected for each person and is used to help turn the mind inward towards this extreme stillness that exists within us all (No really, it’s in there!). The mantra isn’t mystical or magical, rather a tool. It’s not something you’re placing any effort or concentration on. The mantra is more like an idea floating around that comes effortlessly and then once your mind settles in, it can melt away and float back in occasionally.

Out of all the meditation techniques, TM is the only effortless one (Yes, I think this was what drew me in initially!), where you aren’t actively trying to focus on something specific or repel thoughts, etc. Many people ask about the word “Transcendental” and what it’s referring to. I’ve even been asked if it means to leave your body! It is simply referring to transcending your thoughts, accessing a deeper level of quiet and calm. Bob Roth creates an image of our mind as the ocean, with our buzzing, turbulent, active minds on the surface, like the choppy waves on top of the sea, and our inner quiet space is like the silence at the depths of the ocean. During TM, we are diving deep into this sanctuary.

The Fancy TM Benefits

There have been hundreds of evidence-based research studies conducted showing how TM can positively impact your life. Several of the benefits include:

• Relief from anxiety & stress
• Improved heart health (decreased cholesterol, reduction in heart attack and stroke, reduction in atherosclerosis and blood pressure)
• Clearer mind/improved decision making
• Improved memory and brain function. With long-term consistent meditation, brain density in certain areas is increased, and new neural pathways are formed, making your brain “communicate” better within itself. Your brain starts to function less from the “fight or flight” area and more from a rational decision-making area.
• Decreased cortisol (“stress hormone”)
• Improved sleep
• ADHD symptom relief

So next time you’re facing that screaming toddler, irate coworker, or having some good ole fashioned road rage, you may not go all cray cray! That part really spoke to me!

Transcendental meditation is taught through one on one instruction, from a certified TM teacher. It’s typically a 4 consecutive day course, about 1-2 hours each day. If you’re looking to change your inner world, I highly recommend it, it’s transformational! It may seem impossible to fit two 20 minute sessions into your schedule, but I promise you can make it work, and you’ll want to. It’s funny how you are able to find the time for the things you truly desire.

I’ll show you mine!

I took the TM course about a month ago, from certified teachers here in Orlando and have been practicing twice daily ever since. The positive effects have been surprising to me. I went into it expecting a positive experience and outcome but didn’t realize how significant it would be for me. Honestly, I was just hoping it would help me be a better-equipped parent to my “independent”, “spirited” wild child of mine (I won’t say which daughter I’m referring to here!). I thought I had all the rest pretty much figured out in my “inner world”.

What I’ve gained from TM so far has been so much more than what I was looking for. I feel as if I’m operating from a different command center. It’s a lightness of mood really. It changes your whole world. I feel that stress and anxiety are something I’m better able to observe rather than internalize, I’m more able to see each situation clearly and respond appropriately.

Now, this doesn’t mean that stressful things don’t bother me at all now! It has certainly improved my positive responses and decreased any negative reactions though. I find myself pausing and seeing the whole picture and then responding, rather than just reacting quickly and harshly. I like to keep a daily journal, so I can see when and what causes me to react negatively. Then I can visualize and plan how I can do it differently next time.

If I’m keeping it 100 (you like that trendy reference there?!), the biggest area for improvement for me has been this overall well being and calm. That surprised me because I thought I already was pretty calm and well! Now I realize that was not completely the case. It’s like thinking you have a clean carpet, and then have it cleaned and realize how much dirt was in it! Parenting my little wild one has also changed a lot. You know, the one that picked the cat up by her tail the other day. It has not only helped me parent from a more rational place but also to see her more clearly so that I can actually better help her. I feel more connected to the emotions of everybody in general.

The rest and relaxation from TM is not to go unmentioned. It is definitely not to replace sleep, but absolutely gives you energy and rest/relaxation. I know that sounds crazy, aren’t those opposites?! The extreme calm and rest that you get from that meditation session can counteract a lousy night sleep, or just a busy day and then leave you with increased energy after. You’re carrying these effects with you throughout your day afterward. I crave the meditation sessions now because I know how they make me feel and how they help the path of my day. When I miss a session or one gets cut short because occasionally life might get in the way and that’s ok, I feel as if I’ve missed a meal or something! It’s just this necessary part of my day now.

You Know You Want To

Go ahead, go for it, start a positive change today! With other meditation techniques, I always felt like I was failing if my mind wandered or I was having thoughts, etc. With TM, that doesn’t exist, the technique is so simple, easy and effective, it can work for anyone, including the skeptics! If you have any questions, go ahead and send them my way!