Seven Reasons to Learn Transcendental Meditation

Meditator Testimonials

Girl Meditating on a Bench
Girl Meditating on a Bench. Malcolm MacGregor

1. Worth the Investment

Venusji says: I learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) over 10 years ago. At that time was exploring many meditation techniques and feeling quite unsuccessful. A friend recommended I read Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's book, The Science of Being and the Art of Living, so I did and it really struck a chord in me. From there I learned TM. I saved up for it, at the time it cost $2500 to learn (it's less now). It was a big deal to save that kind of money but I did and I learned and it was the BEST expense ever made.

For me, it was the one and I knew it immediately. It was easy, so nourishing for my stress out system. I loved it from the start.

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - For me my regular TM practice helps me connect into a deep quiet part of me; it is calming and easy and sweet. My senses are more awake, and my perceptions are broader, more open and accepting. My work, my relationships, my health, my art - everything and every area of my life has benefited from my practice. And it feels so sweet and the longer I practice the more that sweetness seeps and colors the rest of my activities outside of my meditation.

Advice

  • If you have stress, if you are ready to be the best person you can be, to grow and transform your life, your relationships, your emotional and physical health, TM can help.
  • There are scholarships available - check out their website - tm.org to find a qualified teacher
  • Really important to learn from someone who knows what they are doing.

2. Life Gets Better and Better with TM

Sam Harshaw says: Because the teacher seemed to truly know what he was talking about, on the basis of direct experience; he wasn't just conjecturing or making a "mood" of being spiritual. He radiated the qualities of life that I was drawn to TM. Also, it all made sense, theoretically: these is a vast untapped potential deep within the mind, and if you have an effortless technique for transcending, you can experience that and and enliven it and infuse it into daily life. Also, there are hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies on this technique, from hundreds of medical schools, verifying the benefits.

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - My daily experience, for many years now, has been a validation of everything I was told in my Introductory TM lecture. To the T.

I grow more and more satisfied with the practice as the years go by. It just gets better and better — life gets better and better.

Advice

  • Learn only from a certified teacher of TM. Accept no substitutes — don't try to learn it on your own, because you can't.
  • Other forms of meditation, like mindfulness, you can learn anywhere, but to learn TM is to learn how to transcend. The transcendental state is deeply transforming and restorative to mind and body. But learning to transcend is very delicate and you need a trained teacher to teach you the technique — with live, one-on-one, personal instruction. Then it becomes effortless.
  • If you cannot afford the full tuition, the non-profit organization offers scholarships, so anyone who wants to learn can learn.

3. Sensible, Not Mysticism

David says: I learned TM in September, 1970. I chose it because it provided sensible explanations about meditation, not mysticism, New Age vagueness, or pseudoscience. I also chose it because so many people found that its instructions worked. The technique was specific, and addressed the actual experiences that I had.

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - I do not skip meditation sessions. TM is my most consistent area of life. The reason is that the refreshment is so deep that I can do anything in life without fear of accumulating stress. I know that I am progressing on a path that will take me beyond complaining and suffering to a state of flexibility, satisfaction, and fulfillment.

Advice

  • I advise those who have problems and limitations in life to get themselves to a certified TM teacher and learn transcending for themselves.
  • I advise those who do not have problems, who have a good life, to become a teacher of TM so they can help others become strong so they get out of suffering.
  • If you cannot afford the high course fee, and cannot work out alternative forms of payment, or if you believe that TM is religious (it is not) or you object to some other TM policy, I recommend that you look into TM's competitor, Natural Stress Relief (NSR). Our price is tiny. Caveat: I am the NSR president.

4. Gives Peace of Mind

Alex says: My good friend practiced TM and he had an air of happiness and contentment that I wanted to have. I didn't feel that I had problems but I felt that I could not cross the bridge to lightheartedness, which was frustrating to me. I was ready to lose that burden, to have peace of mind, and to feel happy inside. My friend suggested that TM would do this for me so I took the course and learned TM.

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - After a couple of meditations, I noticed I felt lighter emotionally. After about a week of meditation, I felt much happier, just so much lighter. As I continued to meditate, I felt more and more positive and my thoughts were more upbeat and optimistic. I was in college and my grades went from B's to A's. My focus and concentration are so much better, like a different person, and my thoughts are generally positive pretty much all the time now. This was something I really wanted because peace of mind makes everything in life easier and more enjoyable.

Advice

  • Look at TM.org and call the number they give to find a teacher. Their presentation gives an overview of the program. There are seven parts to the course and the first two are free so you get a good idea of the program before spending any money.
  • I recommend the program to everyone. TM gives the experience of rest and relaxation twice a day. It is completely refreshing and energizing and the benefits keep coming.

5. Nourishing Experience

Ticcbin says: I chose TM after exploring other meditation options and was completely blown away at how easy it was (with other techniques I found myself procrastinating and avoiding doing it) and how much I loved doing it. Seriously, I wanted to do it all the time. But I followed my teachers instructions and only did it 20 minutes twice a day. : ) 9 years later I still love it!!

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - To learn TM I had to find a qualified and trained teacher and had to meet with her a few times before I learned and a few times after. Throughout the process I felt completely honored and respected - all questions were answered. It was a very nourishing experience. My regular practice has been a gift. I feel better, have better relationships with people including myself and life in general is just sweeter overall.

Advice

  • Go for it!
  • Find yourself a qualified teacher - it's important to go this route.
  • At one time TM instruction cost $2500 to learn (it is still hard to believe it cost that much :) But seriously it was hands down the most worth while expense of my life. I can't think of one other thing or experience that I could have spent and gotten as much from... for the rest of my life.
  • TM is pretty cool and totally worth it!
  • Enjoy, if you practice regularly (ya gotta be disciplined) you will have a whole new, expanded connection to your life. YAY!!

6. Deep Inner Silence

Keith DeBoer says: I had tried tried some guided meditations and other meditations that I learned from books. But they were really boring and didn't seem to give any real effect. Then, I saw a funny looking poster on the way to my American History class. It had a large black and white picture of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on it and a lecture on Transcendental Meditation® (TM) technique was announced for the next day in the school auditorium. I was intrigued and showed up to check it out. The speaker was a young man in a suit and I was very impressed with his calm demeanor and he seemed to really embody the principles of which he spoke.

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - I attended the seven step course and boy was it great! I experienced a deep, sweet indescribable silence right on the day I learned. Right away my life began to change. Not because of any information I was given but because of the beautiful experience of deep inner silence that I now experienced twice a day as I practiced my Transcendental Meditation in the privacy of my bedroom.

Suddenly my life became hopeful again and I was full of enthusiasm for it. Immediately my grades improved and I was accepted to college. After a few months I spontaneously quit smoking and became a vegetarian. I entered college, made the Dean's List.

Advice

  • TM costs money but you get what you pay for.
  • TM gives you personal instruction and a center to go to for unlimited follow up.
  • Meditation learned from a book is like learning how to sky dive from a book. It's possible, but by having a personal instructor you know you are going to get it right.

7. Development of Individual and Collective Consciousness

Sean Burns says: Wish I learned TM earlier. I had been reading about meditation for a couple of years and even tried to learn it from a book. In the Summer of 1974 I decided I needed to attend a class. There happened to be a TM Centre on Dublin's northside where I lived.

I went to an introductory presentation on Transcendental Meditation, felt it made fairly good sense and decided to learn a few weeks later.

At the time I wondered whether I would get value for my money. I have been practicing it regularly and receiving its benefits for 37 years. It is the best investment I have ever made.

About My Transcendental Meditation Practice - I immediately became so fascinated by the potential for development of individual and collective consciousness through Transcendental Meditation that I trained to become a TM teacher in 1975 and 1978. This happened primarily as a result of personal growth from my own practice of the technique and the clarity and coherence of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's understanding of consciousness.I was riveted and very intellectually stimulated by his very clear expositions on the subject.

I practice TM every day. I still love the routine of doing it before the day's work and then again at the end of the working day. I particularly like when my wife and I do our TM together.

It is a very simple experience and happens more or less by itself. It is not always the same. Sometimes I am very settled and other times not so. But this makes no difference to the effect of the technique. The mind is enlivened and the body rested afterwards. I enjoy doing TM and the added depth it has brought to my life.

Advice

  • Find a certified teacher of Transcendental Meditation.
  • Attend an introductory presentation on the technique.
  • Examine the research on TM. If you are satisfied with what you hear and feel, learn to practice the technique as soon as you can.
  • I learned it when I was 18 years of age and wished I had done so when I was 13/14.
  • Many of those whom I have instructed wish they had learned earlier in their lives.

Also see:

Seven States of Consciousness
TM and Managing Coronary Heart Disease

Disclaimer: The information contained on this site is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for advice, diagnosis or treatment by a licensed physician. You should seek prompt medical care for any health issues and consult your doctor before using alternative medicine or making a change to your regimen.

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Desy, Phylameana lila. "Seven Reasons to Learn Transcendental Meditation." Learn Religions, Sep. 9, 2021, learnreligions.com/transcendental-meditation-1732296. Desy, Phylameana lila. (2021, September 9). Seven Reasons to Learn Transcendental Meditation. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/transcendental-meditation-1732296 Desy, Phylameana lila. "Seven Reasons to Learn Transcendental Meditation." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/transcendental-meditation-1732296 (accessed March 29, 2024).