Finding Oneself
through meditation, enquiry, & chanting
What is TM?
What happens in TM?
Stilling the mind opens a door to discovering that beneath the active mind are quieter layers, and beyond those there is simply awareness itself. When we touch that quietest point, we experience being ourself in the absence of thinking and doing. It may be a pleasant surprise to find that as thought fades away, our experience of who we are becomes more complete rather than less. If we had been troubled by thoughts, feeling that they were painful or limiting us, we might find an unexpected refuge in stillness.
While the mind comes towards stillness, the body automatically relaxes. At times the metabolic rate can become lower than during sleep. Stresses that have accumulated over the years can unwind in that deep rest, leaving mind and body feeling refreshed and ready for activity.
How does it work?
When a person learns TM, they are given a mantra. The TM mantras have been used from time immemorial to produce a quietening effect on the mind. They are sounds that don’t really have a comprehensible meaning - but are something to do with the totality of existence, or the depth of our own being. One important thing about the mantras is that there isn’t any logical meaning to explore. This means that thinking the mantra keeps the mind awake and alert, but not causing rational thought. The mind is then free to move in the direction that it wants, which is towards quieter levels of mental activity that are peaceful and which naturally attract us. At times it happens that we step off the thinking process and transcend thought altogether.
What long term effect does it have?
The origins of TM
Learning TM
Links
Through the regular daily practice of meditation we become familiar with the experience of momentary stillness, where we are simply being ourself without engaging in thought or trying to achieve anything. Over time, it may become increasingly clear that all we essentially are is consciousness itself. This consciousness appears to be a field: it has no edges, no size or shape, no colours; it is nothing that we can describe in terms of other things.
But it’s not just a curiosity or something remote from us - this infinity is who we are. If we had previously believed we were just a mind/body, discovering ourself to be infinite, or at least beyond thought, might be a welcome surprise. There may be a sense of waking up, as
TM is a simple and easy way to relax the mind and body. It is practised sitting comfortably with the eyes closed for 20 minutes, and people find this effortless practice enriches their life in a variety of ways. It comes from an ancient Indian tradition but requires no belief in order to practise it.
Transcendental Meditation (or TM)
What are the benefits in daily life?
The simple process of meditating affects every part of our life, just as water applied to the root of a plant enables every part of the plant to flourish.
- Profound mental relaxation produces a fresh mind.
- Deeper rest than sleep unwinds long hidden stresses.
- Meditating after work means that you don’t bring work troubles home, so you are more likely to have harmonious relationships with family and friends.
- Find peace in the unchanging source of your mind and be in a position to contribute peace in your communities.
if from a troubled dream. There is the possibility of a real change of perspective about who we are, bringing contentment and enjoyment to every area of life.
Aware of the inner reservoir of energy and natural intelligence, it becomes ever more clear to us that satisfaction and contentment are our natural properties, and we don’t have to expend effort to search for them in the outside world. Instead it becomes natural to help our fellow human beings from our own stable centre.