“The drink and drugs have been replaced by transcendental meditation.”
‘It’s a northern thing’: Tim Burgess of the Charlatans on Manchester, music and meditation
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/06/tim-burgess-charlatans-free-tickets-surprise-gig-manchester-international-festival
For Hollywood actor and Golden Globe winner Hugh Jackman, Transcendental Meditation has been a “life-changer.” Before he learnt in 2012, Jackman described how his mind had previously been on a constant lookout for something to do, and this had led to bizarre habits. For example, while driving, he would raise his left foot every time a telegraph pole went past the window: “There was no fear of something bad happening, just the need to ceaselessly occupy the mind,” he said.
“In meditation, I can let go of everything … Nothing has ever opened my eyes like Transcendental Meditation has. It makes me calm and happy, and, well, it gives me some peace and quiet in what’s a pretty chaotic life!” he says.
“Anyone can do it. You can be an atheist who meditates, a Christian who meditates, a Muslim who meditates. It’s like saying. Is walking a religious thing? No. It’s available to anyone, and the quality of your life is changed forever.”
No scientific research on the benefits of Transcendental Meditation on MS (Multiple Sclerosis), but anecdotally the effects can be very profound, as well described below.
http://www.overcomingmultiplesclerosis.org/Community/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4369
I was diagnosed with MS in June and did my course in Transcendental Meditation last weekend. I went undiagnosed for 4 years and all my attacks were preceded by long periods of high stress. I have previously attempted various forms of ‘concentration’ meditation learnt from books without any success, and Tai Chi as ‘moving meditation’ (more moving than meditation, but it has its other uses).
The naturopath I have started seeing recommended TM, and I remembered that George mentioned it positively as the form of meditation that he used to practice (at the time of writing his book, he practiced another type of meditation).
The course I did was well taught (independent TM teachers in the UK) and, importantly, the meditation is very easy to do, helped by the fact that it is not a ‘concentration’ meditation as such. Two major effects of continued practice are reduced stress and reduced fatigue.
I have only been doing it for a few days, but I find I go very deep into the meditation and am calmer afterwards, for a while at least. I am still a seething ball of stress but I have faith that, with application, TM will in time reduce stress and reduce the likelihood of future attacks.
I have had MS-related fatigue for about 10 weeks following a number of attacks, and TM has already helped to greatly boost my energy levels for a few hours after each meditation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/05/jerry-seinfelds-secret-for-dads_n_6804656.html
“The practice of meditation gives you those crucial extra few seconds to gather yourself. It’s an actual physical change in the brain. Instead of a reflexive moment of anger, you might be able to go, ‘well let me not do that right now. Let me not scream right now.’”
Seinfeld is a long-time meditator and has practiced Transcendental Meditation for over 40 years. It is a tool that has greatly impacted his life as a parent, he says. “In family living, there are what Harry Truman would call ‘borderline moments’ — where you get close to the borderline of snapping,” he said.
Again very relevant to meditation, point 5 :
“By the time I had finished The Brain That Changes Itself, there were significant studies, which no one disputes, which show major changes in the structure of the brain of Tibetan monks, for example, brought about through the practice of meditation. I suppose it is not really a hard sell once you have grasped that the brain is plastic, that someone who has spent 30,000 hours meditating might actually have changed the structure of their brain. I mean, a London taxi driver can change his brain by studying routes through the city for a year or two.”
Norman Doidge: the man teaching us to change our minds
Do you believe you can think yourself well, changing the very structure of your brain over time through rigorous training? Norman Doidge does…
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/08/norman-doidge-brain-healing-neuroplasticity-interview?CMP=fb_gu
Not TM & a tiny study, but significant !
Building on their earlier work that suggested people who meditate have less age-related atrophy in the brain’s white matter, a new study found that meditation…
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150205142951.htm
The David Lynch Foundation is doing some really good work in the States for war veterans who have suffered from the trauma of war.
Real PTSD Relief for our Veterans
http://davidlynchfoundation.org/
“The first 15 years I was in the army, really a nice place to be, but I didn’t have no idea that it was gonna turn…
“I did 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night, and I would say within 14 days or three weeks, I got to the point where I could really disconnect my mind … and learn how to focus more and calm down,” Schwarzenegger says.
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