I have a mild obsession with the Beatles. (Who doesn’t?) It was through this obsession that I learned of transcendental meditation. I heard about it but didn’t know what it was. I thought it was some trippy ritual they did in India in the sixties. I was not from that era, I am old enough to be their child, so I didn’t have the opportunity to grow up when Beatlemania occurred. I decided, just recently, to give transcendental meditation a try.
How to get started
I looked online for more information on Transcendental Meditation. I searched and searched hoping to find a video that could walk me through the process. I couldn’t find a credible one, so I continued to look and kept stumbling upon the website www.tm.org. Videos were explaining the benefits of TM, but nothing gave you the process. I kept seeing a link to find a teacher near you. I clicked on it and found one, so I emailed the teacher and set up a time to meet for a free introductory talk. I attended the meeting and decided to give the course a try.
My First Impression
I attended my first one on one class with my certified TM teacher. At first, I thought this was a little strange because certain rituals occur at the beginning that are required. Nothing crazy, merely felt a little spiritual. I wasn’t there for that part of the course, which the teacher explained is alright. Once the spiritual ritual was completed, which was described to me as solely being respectful and thankful for the meditation, my teacher whispered my chosen mantra to me. I was instructed not to share it or speak of it and I never will. I was also encouraged to keep the meditation process to myself and not share the details with others. At first, I thought this was purely a business scheme, but once I started having questions about my experience, I realized it would be best not to leak the process to anyone, because they wouldn’t get the same experience if I did. The trained TM teachers know what they are doing and know how to guide a person through their experience appropriately. If I tried, I might ruin the experience for that person.
My Experience
Transcendental Meditation has helped me become less tired and has helped me see that I have been ignoring the correct path in life. I was stagnant in my job, which knew before this, but I wasn’t doing anything to change it. TM has made me realize that I need to take time for myself first before I can help anyone else. I used to be a fun and motivated person, then I went through some rough spots in life, took a detour in life, and TM brought me back to where I initially left off twenty years ago. Countless times when I am meditating, I think that I didn’t do it right because I felt I couldn’t settle down my thoughts. But I’ve learned that I am progressing even when I think I am not. You don’t always “feel” anything when you meditate. Transcendental meditation is supposed to be effortless, which sometimes I try to control and cause myself headaches. For me, letting go of the control that I think I have, is the hardest part.
Trying Transcendental Meditation was something I believe I was supposed to try over twenty years ago when my obsession with the Beatles began. But the important thing is that I am doing it now, and it has made an enormous impact on my life. I would urge everyone to give it a try and make it part of their life. Primarily in today’s stressful world full of expectations for instant gratification, we need to take a little time for ourselves.
