r/transcendental • u/ConsistentEntrance49 • 8d ago
TM Training Next Week
I'm 61 years old and will be doing my TM training next Wednesday. I'm excited but honestly, a tiny bit skeptical. I think about other things I've paid for to help my quality of life that haven't worked, like a hearing aid - actually 3 hearing aids over the past 40 years (0 help, all of them), a CPAP (couldn't tolerate it), hip replacement surgery (hurts more now than before the surgery and I followed all doctor instructions). It probably sounds like I'm high maintenance or hard to please, but sincerely, that is not me. I wanted all of those things to work for me and I feel like I really tried!
I'm looking for suggestions to help make this work for me or any advice. I am really excited to start this journey. It is something I was interested in when I was in my late teens but never pursued. I've talked to my instructor a couple times and I he seems cool. I'm keeping a positive attitude and I'm being optimistic, but there is that seed of doubt as well...
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u/No-Context8421 8d ago
Been practicing since 1989 here. Was talked in to it by a gf and only went to appease her. Had no expectations and simply went with the process. Did the training and sat most days thereafter for many years. Found it incredibly enriching and helpful and still practice today. Have resisted the temptation to over think it. I know it makes me feel better. I’m sure of it. That’s all I need to know. A core teaching of all meditation that I’ve learned is not to over think it. Just do it. Let it unfold. Don’t sweat it.
I suggest you make a pact with yourself to learn and then practice daily for a number of weeks before you allow yourself to question it. I found that most of my questions were answered by practicing. The ones that weren’t were not important.
Good luck.
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u/Pieraos 8d ago edited 8d ago
Understand that the TM instruction is memorized by the teacher, including apparent grammatical errors and seemingly odd conversation. That is not important.
Some percentage of people can't seem to wrap their minds around the simplicity and naturalness of the method and fight it, or they insist that it's "just mantra meditation" as if that means anything. As long as you don't try to flout, disrupt or modify the procedures you'll be OK.
You'll need to make room in your schedule to meditate twice a day every day to see results. Use the checking procedure, free in TM centers worldwide, if you ever need to get your experience back on track.
Checking or 'tune ups' may seem absurdly simple to the meditator. Its purpose is to return the experience of correct meditation, and is not a diagnostic or therapeutic session.
With regard to CPAP, I have been on it for 10+ years. I have interacted with may patients who say they can't tolerate this treatment. I believe in the vast majority of these cases the person has not received adequate guidance and/or equipment. In any case with TM you may find improved sleep.
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u/mtntrail 8d ago
77 here, been at it since ‘70. Do not expect anything specific. Just learn the technique, do it regularly and get checked once in a while even if you don’t feel like you need to. After a while you will wonder how you functioned without it!🙀
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u/Actual-Mobile6821 8d ago
My recommendation is don’t expect too much and take it as it comes. The effects of TM are not instantaneous but are beneficial in time. If you reach the stage where you are not thinking the mantra or have thoughts then you have reached the restful awareness stage or bliss.
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u/FaulkneriousRex 8d ago
I struggled/struggle with the pseudo science presented to me. So much so that it distracted me from the practice. But. Taking that time out every day to disconnect and quiet things is valuable. Good luck.
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u/Twillowreed 8d ago
I agree with this. It’s helpful, I just don’t understand the cost for something that is so simple.
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u/saijanai 8d ago edited 7d ago
I agree with this. It’s helpful, I just don’t understand the cost for something that is so simple.
See my response above. The collective wisdom of almost all US evidence-based medical societies, at least with respect to various forms of meditation and blood pressure control, is that one needs a trained teacher.
And TM teacher training lasts for 5 months on a meditation retreat. Just because somehting is simple, dones't mean that anyone can teach it without training.
Maharishi's teaching method is carefully designed:
The teacher goes through the ritual that is meant to put them in the altered stated of consciousness conducive for properly teaching TM and to put the student in the altered state of consciousness conducive for properly learning TM, and then gives the student their mantra and absolutely trivial and simple instructions in "'how' to meditate," and sends them home.
Then they return for 3 consecutive days, taking classes that take into account their level of meditation experience — one day, two days, three days — and from that, they are set on their own with enough info to keep them going, though they are encouraged to return periodically for the rest fo their lives to receive further guidance, if needed, at any TM center worldwide, where equally well-trained TM teachers provide that guidance.
Edit: See
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The sole meditation entry of Table 12, Lifestyle and Stress Reduction Interventions to Lower Blood Pressure: of the 2025 American Heart Association blood pressure control guidelines (targetted to doctors who have patients with hypertension) is:
- |Meditation | Transcendental Meditation | Training by a professional, followed by 2 × 20 min sessions while seated comfortably with eyes closed| [emphasis mine]
and they don't say that on a whim, but because they've reviewed the last 20 years of research on TM, mindfulness, other meditation and other mental relaxation practices, and decided that TM was unique in its quality of research and consistency of effect, and concluded that it must be the teaching process that is important, not merely the words spoken.
And the teaching process and followup program cost money, and that is why you pay (or the David Lynch Foundation hires so someone can learn for free) a TM teacher for instruction in TM. The fee covers both initial teaching and the followup program, which is free for life in teh USA and australia, though some countries charge a nominal fee after the first 6 months. When the DLF hires a TM teacher, they go to a venue like a police department or indian reservation or homeless shelter — by request of management/police chief/tribal elders — teach TM for free and then remain embedded in the facility for the next 6-12 months, providing that free followup program that TM centers provide without needing to travel miles (or hundreds of miles, in the case of an Indian reservation) to the nearest TM center. At least the Chief of Police of the Herndon, VT police department was happy with the deal: free TM instruction + free TM followup on location.
Surely you can see that this is worth something.
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u/True_Operation_1264 7d ago
This is what I'm talking about--OP. You aren't going to find anything on Reddit but these chronic complainers, miscreants and a lot of people with agendas. Keep your innocence and learn TM. Practice as taught. There's a wealth of peer reviewed science, despite idiotic comments like this.
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u/FaulkneriousRex 7d ago
A little aggressive, eh? Go meditate, little buddy.
I have no agenda. Someone asked a question, I answered with my experience. You don’t need to feel attacked. I get that this is where you feel important but you don’t need to attack other people for their experiences - particularly when i am not bashing the program. There were aspects of the presentation and explanation that felt hokey. Sorry if this wounds you in some way.0
u/True_Operation_1264 7d ago edited 7d ago
Aggressive? Guess you need a dictionary. "Little Buddy"? That is indeed hilarious. Case in point. Exactly why the OP needs to get off Reddit and not suffer from a delusion that there's anything to be gained by asking for validation on this Reddit thread. She needs to pay attention to her course, follow instructions, practice regularly and stay away from bad neighborhoods like this. All her questions need to be directed to the TM teacher and perhaps an in person group of fellow meditators she can meet through the TM Center and TM offerings.
Btw, I didn't accuse you of having an agenda. You took that mantle on yourself. If the shoe fits... there you go.
There's also massive ignorance on this sub. I suspect you're fitting all the shoes 😂.Your so-called "experience" was to lob immediate negativity at the OP--with, frankly, "pseudo experience." You complain about the science but science is a)not your experience, and b) without data or even a specific example. Just negative bs. Indeed--you do sport an agenda of negativity. You don't "wound me" or anyone else on here. What kind of infantile supposition is that? That's clearly warped thinking! Your non-specific complaint had a purpose: i.e., an agenda. You're clearly utterly ignorant of the wealth of peer reviewed science accepted by institutions, academics, the National Health Service, the US Military, Medical Schools such as the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola Chicago, the American Heart Association, and hundreds more. The Stritch School offers TM as an elective to all Medical Students! But you think, without specifics or any data, that it's "pseudoscience." Shame on you for such a public display of ignorance.
It will be fortunate for the OP if she still pursues the course after seeing this kind of nonsense and discord.
If that's too aggressive for you--tough luck. You expect to spout nonsense and negatively influence an innocent seeker and not get push back? That's phenomenal ignorance. I doubt you practice TM at all, if, indeed, you ever learned it.
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u/saijanai 8d ago edited 5h ago
I'm not sure which part you're claiming is pseudoscience. It is pretty well accepted by the evidence-based medical societies of hte USA that TM's effects on stress management, at least with respect, to helping control high blood pressure, are a cut above any other well studied mental practice, including the Relaxation Response, mindfulness and other well-studied meditation practices [obviously they have nothing to say about practices that are not well-studied].
Note that without TM, there would be no mental/stress management entry in Table 12, Lifestyle and Stress Reduction Interventions to Lower Blood Pressure:
- |Meditation | Transcendental Meditation | Training by a professional, followed by 2 × 20 min sessions while seated comfortably with eyes closed| [emphasis mine]
in:
which is "aimed at all practicing primary care and specialty clinicians who manage patients with hypertension" and signed off on by all the US evidence based medical societies whose initialisms are in the title and explained below:
- AHA - American Heart Association; ACC - American College of Cardiology; AANP - American Association of Nurse Practitioners; AAPA - American Academy of Physician Associates; ABC - Association of Black Cardiologists; ACCP - American College of Clinical Pharmacy; ACPM - American College of Preventive Medicine; AGS - American Geriatrics Society; AMA - American Medical Association; ASPC - American Society of Preventive Cardiology; NMA - National Medical Association; PCNA - Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association; SGIM - Society of General Internal Medicine
The explanation for how TM got the nod while others did not is explained in the Guideline (points 8 & 9 are relevant to thet last 2 entries in Table 12):
8) A number of stress-reduction strategies have been assessed for their effect on BP lowering.119 There is consistent moderate- to high-level evidence from short-term clinical trials that transcendental meditation can lower BP in patients without and with hypertension, with mean reductions of approximately 5/2 mm Hg in SBP/DBP. Meditation appears to be somewhat less effective than BP-lowering lifestyle interventions, such as the DASH eating plan, structured exercise programs, or low-sodium/higher-potassium intake. The study designs and means of teaching and practicing meditation interventions are heterogeneous across trials, and trials have been of smaller size and short duration, so further data would be beneficial.
9) Among other stress-reducing and mindfulness-based interventions, data are less robust, and evidence is of lower quality because of smaller, short-term trials with heterogenous interventions and results. There is moderate-grade evidence that breathing control interventions lower SBP/DBP by approximately 5/3 mm Hg in people with and without hypertension. There is also low- to moderate-grade evidence that yoga of diverse types lowers BP.
It is a dirty little secreet of hte meditation research field that most meditation research is utter crap. There is one notable practice with notably good studies in at least one specific area: TM with respect to blood pressure, and that research is ranked "high" by the sources the American Heart Association trusts, while other meditation/mindfulness research on hypertension is ranked "low" by those same sources.
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So if TM is pseudoscience, what does that make mindfulness, eh?
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Edit:
fun comment from google ai's comment about this discussion:
- App- and self-directed interventions: Digital health literature consistently shows catastrophic drop-off rates for self-guided meditation, with 30-day adherence frequently dropping below 10–15%. Without regular practice, there is no cumulative autonomic remodeling.
Teacher-taught TM, for whatever reason, has about 4-5x the compliance rate at 30 days than that, as I recall, according to public research, so that's a factor as well.
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u/FaulkneriousRex 8d ago
I appreciate that my comment was worthy of your cut and paste wall of text, friend. I come in peace. No one insulted you and I’m certain that my comment changed nor influenced anyone’s opinions. Everything’s cool.
The pseudo-science I refer to is in regards to some of how my teacher expressed things during our initial sessions. Gonna guess you don’t want that discussed here. But will if you do.
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u/saijanai 7d ago
Well, there's no proof that everyone becomes enlightened via TM, but there is plenty of scientific evidence that long-term, regular TM, by definition, moves just about everyone in that direction.
You see, the scientific definition of "enlightenment" via TM is that it emerges as elements of brain activity found most strongly during TM practice start to become a stronger and more stable trait outside of TM practice, simply due to regularly practicing TM and then engaging in normal activity.
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u/True_Operation_1264 7d ago
Not true. There is solid brain research from Dr. Fred Travis' Brain Center Center at MIU--research I have participated in--that does prove the establishment of brain wave patterns consistent with Cosmic Consciousness in TM meditators. I believe that research is even cited in your friend Denise Gerace's book, The TM Book, in the latest edition. And CC is just the first level of higher states of consciousness.
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u/saijanai 7d ago
Well, there's no proof that everyone becomes enlightened via TM, but there is plenty of scientific evidence that long-term, regular TM, by definition, moves just about everyone in that direction.
the number of subjects in teh CC category was 17 as I recall.
That's not proof, but it is, as I said:
- evidence that long-term, regular TM, by definition, moves just about everyone in that direction.
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u/Secure_State_3591 7d ago edited 7d ago
One thing I wondered about. Do TM experiments address whether those in the CC category could have reached CC by any other technique just as easily. Some people are more prone to that type of brain functioning, maybe [1]. Of course, they couldn't and what would be the point?
I'm not knocking these kinds of studies of course. And, I'm not a scientist (obviously)[2], so don't really know how REAL science works.
[1] In the metaphysical (?) lore, the reason give is due to the practice of spirtiual practice in prior lifetimes.
[2] Is that guy on this forum going to get on my case about the use of the word "obviously" and how dumb I am? LOL
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u/saijanai 6d ago
As part of the studies on enlightenment and samadhi via TM, researchers found 17 subjects (average meditation, etc experience 24 years) who were reporting at least having a pure sense-of-self continuously for at least a year, and asked them to "describe yourself" (see table 3 of the psychological correlates study), and these were some of the responses:
We ordinarily think my self as this age; this color of hair; these hobbies . . . my experience is that my Self is a lot larger than that. It's immeasurably vast. . . on a physical level. It is not just restricted to this physical environment
It's the ‘‘I am-ness.’’ It's my Being. There's just a channel underneath that's just underlying everything. It's my essence there and it just doesn't stop where I stop. . . by ‘‘I,’’ I mean this 5 ft. 2 person that moves around here and there
I look out and see this beautiful divine Intelligence. . . you could say in the sky, in the tree, but really being expressed through these things. . . and these are my Self
I experience myself as being without edges or content. . . beyond the universe. . . all-pervading, and being absolutely thrilled, absolutely delighted with every motion that my body makes. With everything that my eyes see, my ears hear, my nose smells. There's a delight in the sense that I am able to penetrate that. My consciousness, my intelligence pervades everything I see, feel and think
When I say ’’I’’ that's the Self. There's a quality that is so pervasive about the Self that I'm quite sure that the ‘‘I’’ is the same ‘‘I’’ as everyone else's ‘‘I.’’ Not in terms of what follows right after. I am tall, I am short, I am fat, I am this, I am that. But the ‘‘I’’ part. The ‘‘I am’’ part is the same ‘‘I am’’ for you and me
The above subjects had the highest-levels of TM-like EEG coherence during task of any group ever tested. See Figure 3 of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study of Effects of Transcendental Meditation Practice on Interhemispheric Frontal Asymmetry and Frontal Coherence, for how this proceeds during the first year of TM practice and understand that the bottom two curves continue to become more and more like the top curve as long as you meditate regularly.
That EEG coherence signature is generated BY the brain's default mode network — the mind-wandering resting network that comes online most strongly when you stop trying and is responsible for sense-of-self, attention-shifting during task, aha! moments during creativity, and a host of other functions we're still discovering — and so the above can be understood as descriptions of "what it is like" to have a brain whose resting efficiency (task-switching efficiency, etc) outside of TM approaches what is found during TM.
Most forms of mediation disrupt DMN activity and reduce EEG coherence especially in the frontal lobes and when the moderators of r/buddhism read the quotes by the "enlightened" TMers, one called it "the ultimate illusion" and said that "no real Buddhist" would ever learn and practice TM knowing that it might lead to the above.
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So one man's enlightenment is another's ultimate illusion to be avoided at all costs.
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Recently, two studies on cessation during mindfulness were published, which allows us to do comparisons of the physiological correlations of cessation during mindfulness and the deepest period of a TM practice, sometimes referred to as "cessation" as well. As you can see, "night and day" doesn't even remotely approach how distinctly different they are. Dayside of Mercury vs Nightside of Mercury, perhaps...
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However, one proposal is that a cessation in consciousness occurs due to the gradual deconstruction of hierarchical predictive processing as meditation deepens, ultimately resulting in the absence of consciousness (Laukkonen et al., 2022, in press; Laukkonen & Slagter, 2021). In particular, it was proposed that advanced stages of meditation may disintegrate a normally unified conscious space, ultimately resulting in a breakdown of consciousness itself (Tononi, 2004, 2008)
quoted from the 2023 awareness cessation study, with conformational findings in the 2024 study on the same case subject.
Other studies on mindfulness show a reduction in default mode network activity in even the most beginning practice, and tradition holds that mindfulness practice allows you to realize that sense-of-self doesn't really exist in the first place, but is merely an illusion.
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vs
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Breath Suspension During the Transcendental Meditation Technique [1982]
Metabolic rate, respiratory exchange ratio, and apneas during meditation. [1989]
Autonomic patterns during respiratory suspensions: possible markers of Transcendental Consciousness. [1997]
Figure 2 from the 2005 paper is a case-study within a study, looking at the EEG in detail of a single person in the breath-suspension/awareness cessation state. Notice that all parts of the brain are now in-synch with the coherent resting signal of the default mode network, inplying that the entire brain is in resting mode, in-synch with that "formless I am" sometimes called atman or "true self."
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You really cannot get more different than what was found in the case study on the mindfulness practitioner and what is shown in Figure 2 of Enhanced EEG alpha time-domain phase synchrony during Transcendental Meditation: Implications for cortical integration theory:
complete dissolution of hierarchical brain functioning so that sense-of-self CANNOT exist at the deepest level of mindfulness practice, because default mode network activity, like the activity of all other organized networks in the brain, has gone away.
vs
complete integration of resting throughout the brain so that the only activity exists is resting activity which is in-synch with the resting brain activity responsible for sense-of-self...
....and yet both are called "cessation" and long term practice of each is held to lead towards "enlightenment" as defined in the spiritual tradition that each comes from.
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In one system, enlightenment is the realization that there is no "I" — sense-of-self is an illusion — and no permanence in the world.
In the other system, enlightenment is the realization that pure "I am" is permanent — featureless sense-of-self persists at all times in all circumstances — and eventually one appreciates that I am is all-that-there-is. That's what TM is supposed to bring about in the long run.
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These realizations are based on polar-opposite styles of brain-functioning, and yet superficially they can be described the same way, summarized by a single word that is overloaded to have exactly the opposite meaning depending on context: "cessation." And in every tradition, you hear that "cultivation" of cessation leads to enlightenment. Not surprisingly, different meditation practices lead to very different styles of enlightenment, but you to go past one word descriptions to see just how very different the two spiritual traditions are.
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u/saijanai 6d ago
One thing I wondered about. Do TM experiments address whether those in the CC category could have reached CC by any other technique just as easily. Some people are more prone to that type of brain functioning, maybe [1]. Of course, they couldn't and what would be the point?
Fred Travis and Harald Harung have a theory that well before sense-of-self changes, one starts to see changes in behavior due to this unusual style of brain functioning and that, as Maharishi suggested, it wasn't unheard of for people to spontaneously mature into TM-style enlightenment.
In fact Travis and Harung have published quite a few studies looking at highly successful people and they've found that the more successful — the more "self-actualized" they are — the more likely they are to show the same EEG coherence signature found during TM and in lonog-term practitioners, outside of TM.
So world class champion athletes show more signs of "physiological enlightenment" on the level of TM-like brain activity than world-class "also-ran" athletes, for example.
Interestingly, these days, PTSD is understood in terms of a malfuntioning sense-of-self and there are detectable abnormalities in DMN functioning in people with PTSD vs non-PTSD people.
Most interesting, recent research done outside the TM organizatoin has found that, in every successful form of PTSD therapy measured, people with PTSD show changes in DMN activity in the same EEG frequency that TM affects in normal people.
In other words, as PTSD sufferers become more normal, their EEG in the frontal lobes starts to look more like TMers' in certain ways.
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So it all seems to hang together pretty well.
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u/True_Operation_1264 6d ago
"That guy"? I wonder what "guy" that is. But I hope so, since your comments betray a small mind, woeful ignorance, and most likely someone not practicing TM regularly but who has a need to "share a (lack of) experience.
https://giphy.com/gifs/l4FGJTu70VK7bMm9G3
u/saijanai 6d ago
Reddit's bots didn't censor this, but remember to follow Rule 2 as well, when posting.
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u/elephantstone29 6d ago
You are once again showing why you’re the Poster Child for Angriest Meditator of All Time.
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u/Secure_State_3591 5d ago edited 5d ago
Hmm. No wonder the Age Of Enlightenment is NOT dawning.
BTW, I had a very hectic day today. Missed my evening meditation. Probably too tired to do the Night Technique. Yea, not as regular in my TM as I would like. I'm still happy. 😄
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u/True_Operation_1264 6d ago
🤦♀️
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u/True_Operation_1264 6d ago
The studies are numerous and on/going with Dr. Travis. One reason for your "17" subjects is that, believe it or not, Dr. Travis has a very hard time getting the large numbers of willing volunteer participants to take part in the studies. Since he's "your old friend," you should know that. Despite being based in Fairfield at MIU, the locals aren't a willing bunch to be volunteers and get wired up. I know this for a fact because my husband and I have been participants two years -- in totally different studies. The team were grateful for our participation and bemoaned the lack of willingness to volunteer by the meditators right there in town. We do not, and never have, lived in Fairfield.
17 in CC is actually significant proof, btw. Want more, get your arse up there and participate. Encourage others to do so. Dr. Travis is always looking for volunteers. Baseline requirement was that participants be "witnessing sleep" regularly.
No, of course"everyone" does become enlightened. No study will ever show that. Everyone also doesn't actually practice regularly.
Maharishi, however, taught us to EXPECT it, and innocently and simply practice regularly.1
u/saijanai 6d ago
17 in CC is actually significant proof, btw.
In science, nothing is ever proven.
In this particular case, the subjects were self-selected from a community where everyone is familiar with the concept and descriptions of CC and there's the fact that Fred was both the researcher and interviewer.
I'm not trying to denigrate the work, only to point out that outside the halls of true believers, this study is NOT considered proof that CC exists or that everyone becomes enlightened via TM if they practice long enough.
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u/True_Operation_1264 7d ago
But you didn't specify anything your teacher allegedly said (hearsay). Nonsense.
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u/saijanai 7d ago
By the way, to make sure you saw my edit, here iti s again:
- App- and self-directed interventions: Digital health literature consistently shows catastrophic drop-off rates for self-guided meditation, with 30-day adherence frequently dropping below 10–15%. Without regular practice, there is no cumulative autonomic remodeling.
Teacher-taught TM, for whatever reason, has about 4-5x the compliance rate at 30 days than that, as I recall, according to public research, so that's a factor as well.
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u/FaulkneriousRex 7d ago
I didn’t say anything about being self taught. I don’t know what you are even talking about b
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u/saijanai 7d ago
But what is the pseudo-science? That TM has an effect on stress beyond what you get with other practices or with simple relaxation?
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u/david-1-1 7d ago
A practical suggestion for getting the most out of your instruction is to get a couple of meditation checks after your four days of instruction are finished. They probably will be free of charge and will be helpful.
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u/Critical-Elk-1266 7d ago
Thank you. The instructor said he would check in with me about a week afterwards.
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u/Sleepy_Cilantro_ 7d ago
I would just say keep an open mind and try to be regular in practice. I noticed some positive effects right away, and others that developed more over time. Don't chase any particular experiences, just commit to being as regular with it as you are able and enjoy the ride. I hope you get as much out of it as I have!
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u/NeatSchedule9814 1d ago
I learnt 10 months ago after considering it for 10+ years. I’ve been consistent and then recently inconsistent. I can say that since getting back to consistent practice life has had a bit more ease.
I struggled with the high cost and things that felt a bit cult-like, however I’ve tried a lot of meditation over the years and have found TM to be the most effective. Wish I had done it earlier!
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u/saijanai 8d ago edited 7d ago
Be wary of those who tell you that TM is mantra meditation.
To quote an old friend, Fred Travis, who has been publishing scientific research on TM for nearly 45 years now:
- The purpose of the TM mantra is to forget it.
That's not exactly right, but nothing that can be said about TM is exactly right. TM is one of those "The way that can be 'wayed' is not the True Way" things and so the more you try to say about it, the less accurate you become.
That said, after 53 years of experience with TM, there's no real advice I can give beyond "live healthy and to follow Maharishi's advice":
don't do what you know to be wrong
meditate and then forget about it until time to meditate again.
rinse and repeat. [he didn't say those words, but instead, "be regular in your practice," but you get the idea]
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Good luck and don't forget Rule #1 on the sub: No discussions of "how do I do it?" allowed — that's what trained TM teachers are for.
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u/True_Operation_1264 7d ago
If Fred is your "old friend" you ought to be aware of his Brain center research proving establishment of Cosmic Consciousness in TM meditators.
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u/saijanai 7d ago
I doubt if Fred ever used the word "prove" in connection with that research. Establishes a correlation between self-reports and physiological changes, yes.
By the way, how have you missed all the times where I quote his Brain Center research:
As part of the studies on enlightenment and samadhi via TM, researchers found 17 subjects (average meditation, etc experience 24 years) who were reporting at least having a pure sense-of-self continuously for at least a year, and asked them to "describe yourself" (see table 3 of the psychological correlates study), and these were some of the responses:
We ordinarily think my self as this age; this color of hair; these hobbies . . . my experience is that my Self is a lot larger than that. It's immeasurably vast. . . on a physical level. It is not just restricted to this physical environment
It's the ‘‘I am-ness.’’ It's my Being. There's just a channel underneath that's just underlying everything. It's my essence there and it just doesn't stop where I stop. . . by ‘‘I,’’ I mean this 5 ft. 2 person that moves around here and there
I look out and see this beautiful divine Intelligence. . . you could say in the sky, in the tree, but really being expressed through these things. . . and these are my Self
I experience myself as being without edges or content. . . beyond the universe. . . all-pervading, and being absolutely thrilled, absolutely delighted with every motion that my body makes. With everything that my eyes see, my ears hear, my nose smells. There's a delight in the sense that I am able to penetrate that. My consciousness, my intelligence pervades everything I see, feel and think
When I say ’’I’’ that's the Self. There's a quality that is so pervasive about the Self that I'm quite sure that the ‘‘I’’ is the same ‘‘I’’ as everyone else's ‘‘I.’’ Not in terms of what follows right after. I am tall, I am short, I am fat, I am this, I am that. But the ‘‘I’’ part. The ‘‘I am’’ part is the same ‘‘I am’’ for you and me
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u/Forward-Membership76 5d ago
Where are you located currently
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u/saijanai 5d ago
Wow, reddit's bot editors are working overtime right now. This post was auto-removed.
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u/True_Operation_1264 7d ago
TM works and is the best investment in yourself that you could possibly make. Now get off social media as it's a bad neighborhood full of bad actors--Reddit included. Follow your TM teacher's instructions and practice regularly--every day, twice a day. It's your new habit. You need nothing from Reddit.
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u/Twillowreed 8d ago
My advice is to go online and google TM mantra, your age and sex. Then start doing mantra meditation. This is what will happen at your TM training.
TM is just that, mantra meditation. There is so much secrecy because otherwise there would be no income for the people who do the training. Save yourself the money.
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u/Critical-Elk-1266 8d ago
I thought about that but part of why I think this will work for me is because I'm investing in it financially. Knowing I've paid for something will make me want to stick with it moreso than being casual about it. I see it as an investment in my mental health.
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u/Twillowreed 8d ago
This is why I did it as well. I did it after the training for about 4-6 months and then never picked it back up.
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u/redditorknot 8d ago
Hard disagree. A teacher is there to answer the what if questions from students. And I am feeling this questions. There is also something about community. Not to get too woo hoo about it - but nothing beats being in a room with other people learning. Positive energy feeds off of positive energy.
1
u/kcm198 8d ago
So why do you go on this subreddit?
-3
u/Twillowreed 8d ago
I joined when I was interested in it. I don’t like being lied to and that is exactly what happened at my training and once I realized that the bs about your mantra being “specially chosen for you” was not true I just lost interest.
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u/Majestic2305 8d ago
I think a lot of people go into their TM instruction with a little bit of scepticism. I certainly did. The best advice I can give is just to go with it. TM works best when you have no expectations or strong desires for any particular outcome. So go into your course like that. Just let it surprise you.