Transcendental Meditation TM

I have tried different types of meditation over the years. In fact I think I was around 15 or 16 years old when my sister gave me my first book on meditation so no it’s not new to me. I was never able to really get the meditation thing. I tried but I just couldn’t get a handle on it. The method that I remember most was Focused Meditation. Seeing I have suffered from racing thoughts for most of my life I found this method to be too difficult. Though I had almost given up on the thought of doing meditation altogether, I did from time to time entertain the thought of trying it again. 

 My sister has practiced meditation for many many years and she swore by it. She would occasionally bring it up within our correspondences but I would only give it a quick thought. I believe she had sent me some literature as well but I don’t believe I ever got to it. But last year for my 54th birthday I visited my sister for the first time in over 8 years. I have moved from the US to Norway, I don’t think I have mentioned that. Anyway during my visit my sister gifted me a 4 day class on Transcendental Meditation or TM as it’s known. This was an amazing gift to say the least. 

 I took the classes in North Carolina where my sister resides. Each day was a few hours long and I enjoyed every minute of it. The instructors were just amazing and so were those that attended. I found TM to be much easier than any any type of meditation that I had tried in the past. The method coupled with the way they instructors taught it just made it easy for me personally. By the second day I was able to transcend into a deep meditative state fairly easy. 

 It’s recommended that you mediate twice a day for 20 minutes, once in the morning and once in the evening. The way one meditates basically sitting upright in a chair it can be done literally anywhere. No special sitting positions, no chanting none of that at all. You are given a personal mantra which you use as a tool to help you to reach your meditative state that’s it. I liked the simplicity of it. If thoughts came into your mind you are instructed to just allow them to pass. If you have an itch on your nose, just scratch it no worries. It’s not like other methods where you are required to sit still in awkward positions, chanting and trying to not let anything break your concentration. These methods weren’t relaxing to me at all they were just stressful. 

 So I had a positive experience form the start with TM. I believe on my third day I went into so deep of a meditative state I wasn’t conscious of my insanely loud tinnitus. I embraced that totally. It has made a huge impact on my life. For well over 30 years I struggled with sleeping, I sleep 4 to 5 hours per day on average. Taking a nap at anytime of day just wasn’t in my cards at all till I started practicing TM. I still sleep well under 8 hours per day but I do sleep a bit more than before averaging 6 hours now and I have also been able to nap from time time. The quality of sleep I do get is much more restful and I have grown to enjoy being able to nap. I now know what I have been missing out on all these years. The bonus aside from being able to sleep more soundly is I no longer have these reoccurring nightmares I have had for a couple of decades that stem from PTSD. It was a miracle. 

 I still struggle with issues such as anxiety and bouts with depression but overall I handle them much better since I started practicing TM. I also give a good amount of credit to TM helping along this new path towards adopting a healthier lifestyle. The discipline of meditating twice everyday has just worked wonders and there are more benefits than I can count. I am much calmer and just handle day to day stresses much better. I have been able deal with peoples bullshit in a less Brooklyn type manner. In a fast moving world TM slows things down just enough to allow you to see everything much clearer. 

 Meditation may not be for everyone, but if someone is interested in it I highly recommend checking out the TM method. I don’t know the costs but I do know once you take the classes you are a member for life. They have check up centres all over the world. They were able to find me one in Norway that was 30 minutes from where I live. You also get access to all kinds of great information on their website. TM has definitely been a great addition on my journey to adopting a brand new healthier lifestyle.