For many years I have been actively practising transcendental meditation.
This all started for me in the mid 1970’s when I wanted to know what all of the fuss was about as newspapers of the day were issuing warnings that it was a dangerous practise.
I felt that they were wrong and needed to find out for myself.
To this day I have no idea where their fears came from, to my understanding they were incorrect.
I know that my practice of T.M. has benefitted me greatly over the years. My first gain was a sense of bliss which was a good experience. My mentor told me that was just the first rung and I needed to work beyond that, to get past the greedy ego. I recall feeling a bit disgruntled at the time for what seemed great to me was just swept away as if it was nothing. I know now that it was nothing
and merely like learning how to look into the mirror when first driving a car.
After a few years my mentor said “It is time now for you to deliberate on your own, for you do not need to consult with me.” Had that been said earlier it would have been a big wrench for me however, we both knew that the time was right for me to go forward alone.
My practice of morning and evening meditations every day of the year became second nature to me and still are. When necessary I can drop into that mode momentarily for it is a useful tool to aid concentration, as well as relieving stress and lowering blood pressure.
I also receive information regarding my inner self and have strengthened my intuition, which I have learnt to rely upon.
This learning is an ongoing quest, the more I have understood, the more I desire to know.
There are other attributes that one gains which I decline to share, for I believe that they need to be gained by each practitioner lest they become a target of egotism.
Today there is a similar exercise known as Mindfulness which has it’s base in T.M. from what I have learned it is a shortened version of 6 to 8 weeks with specific targets such as Behaviour and Relaxation etc. for which an expensive fee is charged. I do not endorse business.
It would help my TOurettes I suspect, but I find being still a massive effort.
ReplyDeleteBest way is to try for say five minutes at a time ?
DeleteThank you for your comment Simon.
I tried TM probably at about the same time you started it, but I never got the hang of it and never benefited from it so I eventually gave up. I'm a somewhat anxious person and I suspect the anxiety hinders the meditation process.
ReplyDeleteI'm also sceptical about all these mindfulness exercises. I think those teaching it need proper training to avoid any negative outcomes. In a significant minority of those trying it, it sets off very disturbing emotions that can last for years.
What you have not said is whether you had a mentor Nick ?
DeleteNo mentor. I went to the local TM centre, wherever that was, I can't remember (I lived in London at the time). They never mentioned mentors.
DeleteHave you tried hypnosis?
ReplyDeleteThere is no connection Bill.
DeleteIn the method, certainly, but surely the goals are similar - a change in behaviour or state of mind?
DeleteNo, not really because what you have mentioned there are only fripperies, when compared to the overall gains that transcend the mundane.
DeleteT.M. and the practice of other meditations have worked wonders for my PTSD. A quick self instruction to calm the mind and I am at peace instead of looking for cover. My first out of body experience happened during T.M. Even the Catholic Church is promoting it but calling it Centered Prayer, using a mantra or word to bring the mind back from 'fight or flight'. I begin in the early '70's also, which I attribute to my authority issues!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your positive comment Toni.
DeleteInteresting that you say 'five minutes at a time' to Simon, Heron.
ReplyDeleteI havetried to get involved with it over the years, and failed miserably. I have a real butterfly mind and can't keep it still for a minute. I just might try the idea of five minutes at a time.
That's all the time it needs at the start Pat and when a thought comes into your mind, say "No!" to it; also mentally count the breaths 1 the in breath and 2 on the out breath, it is only perseverance.
DeleteThank you for your comment.
I need to try again. I am like Pat, a butterfly mind. I did yoga and TM years ago, but life's journeys got in the way of my routines and I stopped. It was a good way of stilling my butterfly.
ReplyDeleteI wish you every success Val and thank you for the comment.
DeleteHi Mel - I keep trying but don't last long .. but it's something I really should bring into my life - thanks for the reminder ... and Mindfulness comes up quite often ... I need to re-schedule my life and must include this aspect into my daily routine. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteYes well T.M. is a discipline, like a lot of things and it is easy put the practise on the long finger until we forget about it altogether. I find that early mornings and about an hour before retiring to bed the most satisfactory times. After that disconnect the phone, turn off the TV, sit in an upright chair, take a few deep breaths, start off with 5 minute sessions and then as you get the hang of it gradually lengthen the time to 20 or 30 minutes.
DeleteThank you for your comment Hilary.
Thanks Mel for that advice ... sometime I will give it a try ... it's in my thought process though .. cheers H
DeleteYou are very welcome Hilary.
DeleteThank you so much for sharing this, I will look into it.
ReplyDeleteJolly good :)
DeleteI am going to look further in to this too, sounds fascinating xxx
ReplyDeleteI have received a great deal of benefit from doing so Fran.
DeleteI have tried meditation with success Mel, it is a wonderful thing to calm the mind and see more clearly, but I also used it to get over travel sickness. To my surprise I found it took the edge off my arachnophobia-a 'side effect' I was not expecting. I keep meaning to start this again as I like the peace it brings to me and hopefully makes me a better person in the world.
ReplyDeleteYes agree that Mindfulness seems to be the new buzz word!
Thank you for the positive feed back with your experience of T.M. I to am hooked on the feeling of serenity that it brings into my life.
DeleteWhen I'm running in the woods after about 20 minutes or so I feel totally relaxed and at one with nature, almost as if I am a wild animal, a deer perhaps. My senses are sharpened. Sometimes I pause for a brief rest and find I'm standing next to a creature that would normally run away, say a fox. I think I'd like to try TM but I'm afraid to. My mother was very ill once and remembered being out of her body and looking down on herself from the ceiling. I think something like that would make me nervous. I'd be frightened I couldn't get back to my body.
ReplyDeleteGood comment Gwil.
DeleteWhen learning T.M. it is always best to have a mentor/teacher to go for advice because there are occasions when you have questions.
Going out of body is not the sole aim of T.M. It is something which can be done if there is a need to do so and I stress again it is not a requirement.
To Transcend, is to spiritually rise above the mundane, to access other states of mind. When the brain waves change from beta to alpha, then the more it is practised a person can eventually progress to gamma.
The ultimate purpose of transcendental meditation is enlightenment.
I have been out of body a few times by intent. Other than that there were two occasions when it was not with intent. On one occasion I had a similar experience to your mother which was from taking a strong sleeping pill. Several years later when in a workshop meditation I slipped out of body and visited Montreal. As soon as I discovered where I was my immediate thought was "How do I get back to my car from here" and quite literally in a flash I was back into my body. Nobody in the room was aware of what had happened to me. Gwil, I really think you need have no concerns, though it is your decision.
That's interesting. Fodd for thought there.
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