What is Transcendental Meditation?

Transcendental Meditation or TM as we often call it, is a simple, natural meditation technique. Usually, people practice the technique for 20 minutes morning and evening. With TM, you experience the bliss of inner stillness just by sitting silently and comfortably with closed eyes.

During TM your mind effortlessly transcends mental activity and experiences pure consciousness at the source of thought

During TM your mind effortlessly transcends mental activity and experiences pure consciousness at the source of thought. Meanwhile, your body experiences a unique state of restful alertness.

This deep rest allows stress and tiredness to be released in a natural way. As a result of practicing everyday you experience better all-round health. By that we mean you experience less disease, but also greater energy and increasing mental clarity. Importantly, most people report a deeper enjoyment of life.

Generally with TM, you find you can achieve more with less effort, and that work, recreation and relationships are more rewarding. Furthermore, benefits are cumulative with regular practice and a number of studies document this fact.

Standardized teaching and practice

One of the unique features of TM is the systematic way it is taught throughout the world. Indeed, to achieve this standardization, TM instructors undergo several years of rigorous training before they receive their qualification. The purpose behind this standardization is to ensure a high quality of teaching and therefore consistent results for each student.

Importantly, this standardization of teaching leads to another major benefit. It means that researchers find it easier to monitor results in large scale studies. It is this feature that has allowed the development of this precious body of research into the social effect of TM.

Over 600 research studies have been conducted into the effects of Transcendental Meditation at over 200 universities and research institutes in 27 different countries

During the past 40 years, over 200 universities have conducted research into the effects of Transcendental Meditation. There are now over 600 research studies from across 27 different countries. What is more, several hundred of these studies are now published in peer reviewed scientific journals.

Extensive list of TM benefits

Benefits of TM:

I came out of the Himalayas with a method designed to raise both the head and the heart of man to the point where knowledge and appreciation of the quality of his higher nature can be attained.

I call my method Transcendental Meditation, but it is, in fact, a technique of self-exploration; it enables a man to dive into the innermost reaches of his being, in which dwells the essence of life and the source of all wisdom, all creativity, all peace, and all happiness. It is that place which has been called, in the Christian teaching, the “Kingdom of Heaven within”.

— His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – 1961, Founder of TM

Do you want to learn to meditate?

What is Transcendental Meditation? — Experiencing inner peace with Transcendental Meditation

If you live in one of the major English speaking countries, you can find out where to learn by clicking on your national flag in the right hand margin.

Go ahead and give it a go.

You will benefit directly from experiencing the daily inner silence of the TM technique. But, in addition, every time you meditate you radiate blessings to your family, your community and your whole nation. (Read more about the 1% effect or Maharishi effect here.)

Then, once you are well-established with your meditation, and if you want to take the technique further you are able to train up to become a TM-Sidha. At which point you may join one of the Super Radiance groups around the world dedicated to creating peace on earth.

Watch John Hagelin, quantum physicist, explain how consciousness is the basis of material existence