Transcendental Meditation

[glooper23]

www.tm.org

 

Has anyone tried it? What's so special about it?

[Athanor]

I only read about it. As far as I could grasp it, the whole thing is based on a personalized mantra. Now, according to the effects of sounds and vibrations (like mantra) on the mind, there might be something like a personalized mantra because one mantra has a different effect than the other. But this effect or result doesn't differ from any other noise you meet during your everyday life.

However, according to the sacred texts about mantras, the main thing about them is the transcendental connection, and not so much the vibration and the sound. If it would be the vibration and the sound, then it would only be effective if you'd say it in a specific language, in one specific dialect. But we all know that's not the case.

As far as vibration goes, sound vibrations don't make much of an impact on the mind but thoughts do. So I think it's more effective to create a right thinking routine and practice that regularly, instead of paying a lot for a TM course and talking the mantra to yourself.

 

So, if you ask me, TM might be just as effective as any placebo stuff, but you can get others cheaper

[glooper23]

Thanks for the reply!

[~jK~]

[Dainin]

I haven't done TM myself, but in my opinion, what was special about it was the influence it had on society starting back in the 1960s. A number of rock stars and movie stars of the time, most notably the Beatles, went to India to study with the TM guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. George Harrison was probably the main catalyst. This opened the door in the West to greater acceptance of Eastern philosophies of all sorts, meditation, yoga, etc. This stuff was around in our society before this time, but very low key, and became much more widespread after these meetings with celebrities. The Maharishi just died a few years ago in his 90s. The organization seemed pretty commercial in comparison with, for example, most Buddhist sanghas (it costs $1500 to learn TM). To me, it has a bit of a cult-like vibe, although not as creepy as some of the other guru groups. They also started a university in Iowa (which still exists), and did a lot of research on the effects of the TM program. I'm not sure how widely accepted this research is outside the community, as there would seem to be a bias issue. Hopefully they used good experimental design! Also, I think Deepak Chopra was affiliated with them at one time. I'm not sure if he still is though.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Dainin

[Encephalon]

I haven't done TM myself, but in my opinion, what was special about it was the influence it had on society starting back in the 1960s. A number of rock stars and movie stars of the time, most notably the Beatles, went to India to study with the TM guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. George Harrison was probably the main catalyst. This opened the door in the West to greater acceptance of Eastern philosophies of all sorts, meditation, yoga, etc. This stuff was around in our society before this time, but very low key, and became much more widespread after these meetings with celebrities. The Maharishi just died a few years ago in his 90s. The organization seemed pretty commercial in comparison with, for example, most Buddhist sanghas (it costs $1500 to learn TM). To me, it has a bit of a cult-like vibe, although not as creepy as some of the other guru groups. They also started a university in Iowa (which still exists), and did a lot of research on the effects of the TM program. I'm not sure how widely accepted this research is outside the community, as there would seem to be a bias issue. Hopefully they used good experimental design! Also, I think Deepak Chopra was affiliated with them at one time. I'm not sure if he still is though.

 

I attended the Maharishi International University back in 1995. I was intrigued with their curricula design and the scientific data on TM, and wanted to live amongst hundreds of other meditators. It was the most dysfunctional community I've ever been in and I only lasted six months. They are quite creepy, although harmless for the most part, if you consider exploiting the members harmless. The "Movement" provides a home for those committed to Maharishi's teachings and who are willing to live a very modest lifestyle amidst the cornfields of Iowa. They really blew it big time with the scientific community when they refused to share their research with other scientists. And the money issue was obscene; they rationalized it as the need to become so rich and powerful that they could sway corporations and even entire nations into behaving in a more "enlightened" manner. I won't even go into their conception of "enlightenment." TM-EX is the loose association of ex-TMrs. The assigned mantra was a meaningless sound that the mind could not attach meaning to. Mine was beautiful. I later learned that all the mantras were the names of Hindu deities and that kind of killed it for me. All mantras were published in the NY Times decades ago.

I'll take Buddhist, Soto zen, Vipassana, or Taoist meditation over TM any day for dozens of reasons, but TM did get me started on meditation over twenty years ago, and I'm grateful for that.

[innerspace_cadet]

You can go to any Borders or Barnes and Noble and buy a book of mantras for 20 bucks. There is no need to shell out a ridiculous amount of money for a single mantra, and besides, no genuine guru would charge you a dime for spiritual teachings anyway.