The experience from someone who learned Transcendental Meditation a few months ago on last Edinburgh TM course :
“For me it is a time of day when I can shut “reality” out and charge my batteries and it’s a stress free and performance free moment. I can’t say that I experience feelings of bliss or joy, but it’s relaxing and it gives me energy to last throughout the day. Before I knew TM I was dead tired in the evenings and couldn’t stay awake, now I can stay up later without effort.

Also, I pretty soon noticed that time had “slowed down” for me, or that was my perception because I got things done without stressing about them and running around, until I realized that my frame of mind must have changed. I still do the same things as I used to do, but I spend less time flapping. Does that make sense?

Another thing that has happened in my life since May is that my contract as a temp ended in min July and I have been unemployed since. I have always been resourceful and easy going, but I do believe that meditating has made me less restless and more patient about my situation (and I’ve been surprisingly enthusiastic about job searching, seeing this as an opportunity for a fresh start!).

When traveling I make sure to fit in a meditation session, and apart from making time fly on trains/buses/planes I also notice that my slight fear of flying (take off and landing) has basically disappeared. The revelation came when me and my boyfriend flew domestic in Iceland this summer and the plane was tiny. I worried about the flight the whole time until we were in the air and I could meditate. The rest of the flight it didn’t even cross my mind, not even during landing! I have put these observations down as benefits from meditation.
I honestly don’t know how I was getting by without it before I did the course… ”
Lea, Stockholm.

Another in our continuing series of TM testimonials :
I attended my TM course around three years ago (actually this could have been four, a lot has changed since then!). Some years before this I had become interested in meditation whilst at high school; I was lucky enough to have an adventurous religious studies teacher who did a kind of secular guided meditation with her classes, and this was a lovely experience, but I wanted to take it further. After leaving school I researched on the internet around other types of meditation and felt that TM would be ideal for me, because I could easily fit it in with the rest of my time. I visited the official TM organisation website but during that period, to my disappointment, I found that no new TM courses in the UK were being taught. There didn’t seem to be any explanation on why this had happened on the website, but I learned from news websites that they had withdrawn the course because Maharishi had decreed the UK a ‘scorpion nation.’ Later, when the ban was lifted, I found that the fees were unaffordable, so I put my plans to learn on the backburner.

Several years later, after leaving university and getting a job, I found I was experiencing depression. I’m not sure of the underlying reason as to why I had become depressed but I went and visited my doctor, who diagnosed that I had a moderate case of depression. I was provided with SSRI medication but shortly became concerned about the side effects. I began looking around on the internet for alternative ideas and TM sprung up once again. I was intrigued to read some well-researched studies on the benefits of TM on alleviating depression and improving general well being. I took these studies to my doctor. I was pessimistic about the response i’d get from her but to my surprise she had read about TM and of its effects on depression, she thought it would be worth trying. So I went back on the internet and that’s when I came across Twenty Minutes Meditation (Independent TM teacher) and booked myself in..

The course was easy to understand and the technique and background was broken down over three days. Initially I didn’t ‘feel’ anything, but I returned home and it became a part of my routine. After several weeks I began to feel a general sense of wellness. After some months I noticed my depression had gradually lifted. My mood continued to improve and today I have a broad sense of wellness across my life. It is difficult to describe with words – language is a limited tool in dealing with the beauty of TM. The main thing I would say is to follow the teaching and just to let things unfold. The biggest surprise for me was that many people over the years have commented on my unstressed nature. Initially this began with family and, later, work colleagues. I work in an environment which can be testing, it’s the local authority social services line, for which i’m a customer services officer. This involves taking calls and answering enquiries from concerned members of the public, elderly and vulnerable people, police and medical professionals. The content of the calls can be stressful so TM is absolutely invaluable. In the rest of my life, several strangers, including a joiner who was doing work at my house, my dentist and an independent financial adviser, have all commented on my stress free nature. All of which was pretty unexpected.
Craig, Preston

My Personal Experience of TM. HEALTHY SCEPTICISM

There were the Beatles, on the telly with (what to me) seemed a rather
strange but interesting man with long hair & a beard. It was 1968 and I was
13. The strange man in question was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi the founder of
Transcendental Meditation, little did I realise the major impact this man
would have on my future. The Beatles had taken up T.M and were off to India
to train as teachers of the technique. Like thousands of others over the
next few years, I finally decided to give it a go in 1971, encouraged by a
friend who thought it was wonderful. Skeptical I was, yet aware that there
is more to this world then what we percieve on the surface. Fortunately
skepticism is no bad thing for prospective T.M’ers, because it is a
technique and doesn’t rely on belief.
I must say I didn’t notice anything at first, aged 16 patience was
definately not one of my virtues.. However over the next couple of months
the benefits almost crept up on me, nothing mindblowing, but significant, a
greater ease within myself, more confidence, greater clarity of mind and
perhaps most importantly, the ability too seriously relax on a daily basis.
But as many people will tell you there is more to it then that. As I have
discovered over the years, T.M is a wonderfully simple and uncomplicated
procedure to allow the mind & body to regain a state of balance through a
really profound state of deep relaxation. Yes, it is enjoyable to do and
quickly becomes something that you look forward to doing. It isn’t just
easy, it is completely effortless. Consequently anybody can do it. There
is no effort, no trying, no concentration, no attempt to empty the mind of
thoughts. In other words, you don’t have too work at it, the beauty of
Transcendental Meditation is that rather then trying to force the mind, you
are allowing it to settle. As so many people have said, it’s a nice place to
go… You know that whatever may come up that day, at some stage you will be
able to sit and meditate and come back to that quietest level of yourself,
but ultimately meditation is a preparation for activity, an overall quality
of life enhancer. Something that has it’s origins in ancient India, today
offers huge benefits in a modern stressed world.
Encouraged by my experience and curious too find out more I went out to
Switzerland to work with the T.M organisation for a couple of weeks in the
summer of 1974. Two weeks turned into two and a half years during which I
trained and qualified as a T.M teacher. Being able to mix with thousands of
people from all over the world, of different backgounds & age groups was a
very enriching experience, not to mention attending daily lectures by
Maharishi, boy was I inspired! By now I was a T.M evangelist and really
thought it was the answer to all the world’s problems. Naiveity of youth?
Well nearly 30 years later I still meditate and certainly wouldn’t be
without it. Unfortunately the T.M organisation has become ever more
fanatical and bizarre in promoting itself, convinced that it is right.
Eventually in 1995 I decided to make the break, having taught T.M and worked
with the organisation all over the UK and abroad (including 15 months in
India) . The final straw had come with the huge increase in the course fee
for learning T.M, in 1993 it was raised from £180 to £490 and then £1280!!!
So much for peace and love. Although still high, over the past 3 years the
TM org have twice reduced their fees, free market ah, it’s enough to make
you believe in competition.
I’m no saint, but do enjoy teaching Transcendental Meditation and seeing the
results in peoples lives. In the UK, myself, Colin
Beckley & a growing band of TM teachers continue to teach T.M at affordable fee’s,
independently of the TH organisation. Many thousands of people have taken up T.M
with us, often travelling from distant parts of the UK & abroad and increasingly we
are running T.M courses in business, education authorities & government
agencies.
Yes what started out as a slightly hippyish, quasi/spiritual meditation is
increasingly practiced by ordinary, everyday people who just want something
that actually works, without any “bull”!

Chris Greathead (teaching TM for 42 years)

Nice comment, must say an awful lot of people feel the same about   their TM practice : “Continue the good work!! The best investment my partner and I ever made. Something every child and every person should be able to learn. So thank you for making it affordable for more people.”

Natalie

Improved sleep through TM :
“I decided to learn TM because I wanted to find a way to deal with my sleep problems that did not involve medication. A couple of years ago I went through a particularly stressful time and unsurprisingly my sleep became very disrupted. However it never righted itself even when things calmed down again in my life. I had gotten into bad sleep patterns/routines that I just couldnt get out of – namely, waking up lots of times during the night with a racing mind that just wouldn’t calm down, and then waking up for good around 5-5.30am. It was leaving me exhausted, and I felt like my life was shrinking as I was going to bed ever earlier in an attempt to get at least a few hours decent kip every night.
I researched solutions on the internet and came across TM. I didnt
know anyone who had done it before, so it was a bit of a risk-take,
but the testimonials I read indicated that it could really help with
sleep, amongst many other things, so I thought I should seize the
opportunity and give it a go.
I took the course in January of this year and now meditate at least once a day (usually twice a day but not always).
Within a few weeks I noticed a difference. My sleep improved
considerably. It is now the norm for me to get 7-8 hours no problem and if I do wake up during the night, I usually get back to sleep really quickly, no more lying there with thoughts/worries racing round my mind – even if I wake up at 5, I still get back to sleep!
This was all I had hoped for with the TM but I have noticed other
benefits in my life too. The things that used to upset me/rile me/make me anxious, still do, but just not to the same extent. I just feel stronger inside, more calm, like I have a protective emotional armour that I did not possess before. Stressful situations are now more “water off a duck’s back” than they previously used to be. And generally, I just feel more positive. It has been a real eye-opener to me, that the “me” I was two years ago when I was stressed, and which I was in danger of remaining, was not the real “me” but just a series of bad patterns/routines I had temporarily gotten into. There is a different, stonger “me” inside and TM is helping that come out. And for that I am very, very grateful.”

Alison
Marketing Manager
Edinburgh

Comment from participant on Manchester TM course last weekend :

“Best thing ever, feel absolutely fantastic, ability to stay calm, happy & clear. Feel I could conquer the world!”
Claire, Manchester

Comment from participant on Newcastle TM course 10 days ago :
“The meditation is going well, and the fatigue stage has passed. I am now energised and feeling nicely ‘bright’! I am putting this down partly to the quality of the sleep I’ve had since the course – the most peaceful, deep and refreshing I’ve ever experienced in adulthood.”
Annette, Sunderland

Continuing our series of peoples experiences of TM :

I was first introduced to the practice of TM in 2010. After the training I did not consistently meditate initially because I think it took me a while to understand what I was actually doing and whether I was doing it right. On the whole I have consistently done about 20 minutes TM a day (evening times).
I know I have discovered a very valuable skill that will help me through the rest of my life. With TM I am able to go to a place in my ‘mind’ that I cannot ordinarily access. It is a simple technique that allows me to tap into a different sort of energy, psychological, emotional, spiritual – I do not know which and it does not matter to me. All I need to know is that it has had a powerful effect on my daily life, one upon which I am keen to expand and nurture.
I have been dealing with infertility issues for some years and although I feel I am coming through the intense feelings of bereavement and devastation that this brought to my life, I use TM to help me through the dark moments that still crop up. I find I emerge from a 20 minute session with a much stronger sense of clarity and perspective. It feels like I am tapping into what I call ‘the real me’, the one underneath the layers of negativity, pain and emotional exhaustion that distract me, and prevent me from functioning the way I want to and the way I know I can. After TM, I can emerge with a feeling of calm and a deeper acceptance of my situation and myself. Sometimes things are what they are and I have learnt that is ok, and in fact, I am ok and life is ok. TM has brought me to that way of thinking. It has increased my capacity to cope with the big things and the little things in life. I am SO much better now at standing back from situations (big or small) that in the past might have swallowed me up and left me feeling like I was not coping or overwhelmed by the weight of it all. My intention is to build up to doing 20 minutes TM in the morning as well as in the evening and to observe the effects. It will be a good thing – I know that for sure. It might even be amazing!

Christina, Teacher, Tyneside

This weeks testimonial on TM & its benefits :

‘At a time when we are bombarded by information, communication and constant background noise, it comes as blessed relief that something called TM exists. It’s free and it’s yours and it’s as natural as breathing itself! I learned TM because I needed a coping mechanism from the stresses of life that was free from jargon, gimmicks or false promises. What I received was a complete lifestyle change ….’
‘There are so many benefits to TM. Cravings for alcohol and nicotine vanish naturally. Bad habits and negative routines can be broken. You are calmer and you are better equipped to deal with setbacks and problems. You are more focused in daily activities and your relationships improve.You can actually lose weight, too!’

Steve, Headteacher, Newcastle upon Tyne.