Transcendental Meditation

"The goal of the Transcendental Meditation technique is enlightenment. This simply means we experience inner-calmness, that quiet state of Stillness, even when we are outwardly busy. If world peace is to be established, peace in the individual must be established first. Transcendental meditation brings peace directly to the individual, so meditate and enjoy!"

Maharishi Mehesh Yogi

This Blog is dedicated to the late David Lynch; a pioneer of the inner realms.

As the world around us continues to speed up and become ever more challenging, many people are finding it difficult to relax the mind and feel any sense of peace, as they grow increasingly overwhelmed by fear, worry and anxiety about what may happen next. Even people who have meditated for many years are reporting that it is sometimes difficult to enter the Stillness of meditation and let go of the growing concerns that they face each day. Spiritual teacher Mooji has echoed this growing anxiety by saying that many people are now experiencing 'mind storms', which make it very difficult to keep perspective, and remain calm and centered. One of the good things that has happened because of this growing uncertainty in the world is that many people are now turning to meditation as a way to alleviate this overwhelming sense of fear and unease that they feel in their everyday lives.

Luckily, for those who wish to learn how to meditate, there are really only two techniques to explore (though if you look online, you might believe that there are hundreds), and both are simple and very easy to practice. The first is mindfullness meditation, which is a technique of following the breath and relaxing your awareness in the present moment; and the other is mantra meditation, where you simply focus on a word (sound) that you repeat over and over in the mind. While I teach both, and find them to be highly effective, I tend to feel that, given the difficulty most people have of staying focused on just the breath, that using a mantra makes meditation much more easy and enjoyable. Mantra meditation, which we have been using in our Tao Tribe gatherings for a number of years, includes the very popular and well researched technique of Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM is a very simple but effective way of calming and relaxing the mind into a profound state of Stillness and peace. Instead of allowing the busy mind to chase after every useless thought that arises, we give it a one or two syllable word - called a mantra - to repeat over and over and over again, thereby allowing us to 'transcend' beyond our identification with the thinking mind, into the vast ocean of Awareness, where true peace and stillness can easily be found. This form of mantra meditation has a way of focusing the mind and settling it down naturally and easily, without effort or struggle.

For anyone who wishes to learn the basic technique of TM, and how to practice, you can do so by joining us at our Wed. evening meditation, where we will be practicing a mantra that has been used in TM initiations for many decades. I encourage you to give it a try, and by try, I mean to treat it as a precious gift, and make it a part of your regular practice for at least the next few weeks (or even months). This way, you can see for yourself what happens, and whether you have benefited from doing it. My feeling is that, no matter how long or what other types of meditation you have tried, Transcendental Meditation will calm the 'mind storms' you may be going through at this time, and make it possible to feel the joy and inner-fulfillment that may seem to be lacking in your life right now. If you would like to join us, reach out through the contact page and I will send you the details about how you can do that, either 'live' or on Zoom. Remember this; for those who are willing to be still and turn within; peace, joy and a sense of delight are available right here and now - no matter what the outer circumstances of your life may be. Given the growing uncertainty that we now live in, what else are you going to do with your time?