Transcendental Meditation

[Luna]

Has anyone tried it? is it worth the money? i am a little iffy about spending that much money on meditation but if it is really helpful i would be down

please comment about your experience if you had tried it  

[snowyowl]

I learned TM a long time ago (1980s) so my experience may be too out of date but here goes, I haven't heard it's changed much since then anyway.

It was really just a mantra meditation which they taught me with a Hindu ritual (Puja), I had 3 meetings before this where we were told about it by the teacher and how much scientific research had been done (apart from telling us the actual technique itself of course).  What I was paying for wasn't only the initial teaching, but was told I could get checked by an official TM teacher if I wanted it for the rest of my life. I didn't take it much further, I practised by myself for a few years and didn't get involved in the TM organisation. You don't get to choose your own mantra, it's a Sanscrit word or syllable assigned to you based on your date of birth (mine was "aing", you can find them on the internet nowadays). 

In hindsight, it was a lot of money to pay upfront for a basic technique which you can find anywhere else, and is only worth it if you continue to be a part of the TM scene in future. If, like me, you decide to move on to something else, it's money you can't get back. But I was young and naive back then, and didn't do my research into other options - at least I was young enough to pay a smaller fee.  When I got involved in organised meditation groups after then, I made sure to just pay small ongoing subscriptions rather than lump sums up front. Unless there's something substantial like a proper course or retreat to pay for. 

My advice would be to try out some mantra meditation (if that's what appeals to you) first from one of the many teachers in books, youtube videos etc, and if you like mantra practice, do more reading around different schools. There's many other types of meditation to try out too, of course - eg Leo has done free meditation videos. You may still decide TM is the one for you, but you will be committing your money after you've made an informed choice. For me, I've learned a lot of different techniques over the years and adjust my practice based on my own intuition about what I need. I occasionally use mantras when I can't relax into a more unstructured practice like do nothing or resting in being.

Good luck and I'd love to hear how you get on

Edited November 19, 2020 by snowyowl

[nitramadas]

lmao u wot m8?  (^～^;)!?  

lmao, I can't stop laughing..（≧U≦）

 

Quote

i am a little iffy about spending that much money on meditation

lol, that's hilarious.

Ummm.. ever heard of YouTube?  

You don't even need that.  You know how to have thoughts?  Can you repeat them?  Well you've just graduated from my 20th-degree-black-belt-TM™ course.  You can forget the rest, you won't need it.  Really, you won't.

[Luna]

@nitramadas I have asked a lot of people who have tried TM and 99% of the time they say stuff on youtube isn't accurate and you cannot master it until you go to teacher and pay for it. i just want to make sure i do it the right way i dont' want to waste time doing an incorrect practice of meditation and i know there isnt "right or wrong" in doing meditation but TM isnt like mindful meditation 

[Luna]

15 hours ago, Tim Ho said:

nootropics supplements

can you tell me about these @Tim Ho

[Michal__]

The transcendental meditation technique is different from normal meditation. I tried it. However it is not worth the price.

There's another technique called "Natural stress relief". You should use that instead in my opinion. The experience of transcending stays the same. 

Here's a comparison: https://www.nsrusa.org/compare.php

I stopped using automatic self transcending techniques because in the long term the more classic techniques proved to be better for me.

These techniques actually put you into some kind of a thought construct that feels nice, is beneficial but it is not meditation. It will raise your consciousness though.

There have also been some horror stories, so if someone claims transcendental meditation & the like are completely harmless they are either trying to sell you something or are wrong.

If you are going to try it I would recommend either a (solid & maybe long) research of how the technique looks/works or buying natural stress relief, instead of spending that much money.

Even though the technique is a legitimate way to increase consciousness the organization is still a cult.

If you find a correct self transcending technique & haven't had an interesting/slightly mystical experience with conventional (which means you are a beginner) then it is worth it to either find the correct technique or buy Natural stress relief.

I could send you the correct technique for free once I have time. If you want to then message me.

[nitramadas]

7 hours ago, Luna said:

@nitramadas I have asked a lot of people who have tried TM and 99% of the time they say stuff on youtube isn't accurate and you cannot master it until you go to teacher and pay for it. i just want to make sure i do it the right way i dont' want to waste time doing an incorrect practice of meditation and i know there isnt "right or wrong" in doing meditation but TM isnt like mindful meditation 

Well they're wrong.  How would you get good at running?  How much theoretical knowledge would you need?  Knowing nothing at all you could reach top tier levels.  How do tribes in Africa hunt?  They can chase an animal for days.  Those people would be considered absolute pros at long distance running, yet they've never studied anything.  Meditation is no different.  If you're improving, you're doing it right. 

You can't really get it wrong, especially TM.  Can you think of a single way in which you could do TM wrong?  The point is to notice yourself failing.  If you notice you've failed, you've succeeded.  

[snowyowl]

On 20/11/2020 at 0:49 PM, Luna said:

@nitramadas I have asked a lot of people who have tried TM and 99% of the time they say stuff on youtube isn't accurate and you cannot master it until you go to teacher and pay for it. i just want to make sure i do it the right way i dont' want to waste time doing an incorrect practice of meditation and i know there isnt "right or wrong" in doing meditation but TM isnt like mindful meditation 

Hi, the TM I was taught, by an official teacher, wasn't a different technique to the other youtube / book ones really. I sat, eyes closed, and repeated the mantra silently to myself for 20 minutes, twice a day. That's it. I've had the same method in regular yoga classes. I think there are more advanced TM stages, called the Siddhi programme, but they didn't explain them, they weren't included in the price. But good on you for wanting to commit this much to your practice, whatever you choose - I just looked up the price on the official TM website. Don't forget it's the practice you put in which brings results, not the money or how it's packaged by the teachers. Think about how you're going to establish a regular daily practice in your schedule. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by snowyowl

[Luna]

@snowyowl Thank you so much for your reply ! ! ! I 

[snowyowl]

@Luna you're welcome By the way, you're quite right that manta meditation is different from mindfulness meditation. They're just different methods, mindfulness isn't some sort of standard to compare others to. I did actually get good results from TM and 'transcended' regularly, my first mystical experiences, got relaxation, de-stressed, low blood pressure etc,  so I'm grateful for all of that. It was a valuable learning experience for sure, I've no regrets, no hard feelings to the TM people, but no doubt we all would do things differently with the benefit of hindsight. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by snowyowl