Transcending = Much more than relaxation

Meditation is becoming more and more popular to manage stress, but the true experience of transcending has a far more profound effect than just relaxation. Unfortunately, the knowledge of how to easily transcend had been lost to the world until recently. The ancient texts from the oldest tradition of knowledge describe transcending as the highest human experience, essential for our full human development. Today we can confirm this through modern science, by measuring what happens in the body and the brain during the practice of Transcendental Meditation:

1. A profound state of rest: much deeper than ordinary relaxation, even deeper than sleep.
2. Inner peace and happiness: significant decrease of stress hormones and increase of happiness hormones
3. Wholistic brain development: measurable through EEG brain wave coherence measurements.

All these together make the TM practice so effective for all areas of life.

Transcending = Deep Rest

When the mind transcends the finest impulse of thought, it comes into a state of complete inner silence. This happens in a completely natural and effortless way. We can’t try to make the mind silent, nor do we have to. With the right technique the mind will go there by itself. When the mind transcends, the body spontaneously comes into a very deep state of relaxation as well, far deeper than sleep.

This can be objectively measured by monitoring oxygen consumption.Ref.Science 27 Vol. 167 no. 3926 pp. 1751-1754 1970,Ref.Scientific American 226:84-90 1972 This graph, from a Harvard Medical School research study, shows that during TM, the body comes into a state of rest that is twice as deep as even the deepest rest during sleep. More than 30 studies around the world have confirmed the deep rest during TM practice.

This deep rest activates the inner healing power in our own bodies.

Relaxation means relaxing tensions. The body has a completely natural way to remove all the tensions it accumulates. This is what we do during sleep, but the rest during sleep doesn’t go deep enough to remove the deeply rooted traumatic stresses. Transcending will do exactly that.

The results are most obvious with those who need it most. A recent study with Iraq war veterans showed a 50% reduction in PTSD and depression after only 8 weeks of TM practice.Ref.Journal of Counseling and Development 64: 212–215The results were so spectacular that CNN did a feature on it on US Veteran’s Day. (Watch the CNN video.)

This was just another confirmation of earlier research with Vietnam war veterans that was done 25 years ago.

In this study the TM group saw such significant reductions (in PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc.) that after only 3 months of practice, 70% of the war veterans required no further treatment. The control group that received standard psychotherapy showed no improvement.Ref.Military Medicine, june 2011

These people have problems that go far deeper than ours. If TM can help them, even when nothing else that has ever been tried works, we can imagine that it can help anybody.

The video below shows several more examples of just how powerful TM can be for those who are suffering from traumatic stress. It also shows why more and more scientists, educators, celebrities and governmental institutions are supporting the TM technique.

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Stress disturbs the normal functioning of the brain, causing among other things, a decrease in the production of the “happiness hormone,” serotonin. A lack of serotonin influences not only our inner sense of happiness, but is also associated with migraines, sleep disorders, anxiety, anger outbursts, Alzheimer’s, eating disorders, addictions and many others. One can try to influence serotonin artificially (as antidepressants do), but this only treats the symptoms, not the real problem itself.

The experience of transcending on the other hand activates the body’s own healing ability, so that the brain can function normally. The result? An increase in serotonin production completely naturally during the TM practice, and eventually during the rest of the day.Ref.BUJATTI, M., and RIEDERER, P. in Transcendental Meditation technique. Journal of Neural Transmission 39: 257–267,1976 This has implications in all areas of life, as you can discover on this site.

Transcending = Measurable Brain Development

Transcending not only has an effect on our health, our well-being, our self-esteem and our relationships, but it also influences our brain development, even in adults, whose brains are supposedly already fully developed. How can a simple experience effect the brain in a way that was considered impossible, (such as disappearance of ADHD, increase IQ and creativity in adults etc)? This requires a little more explanation.

But the effects themselves are clearly measurable, for example through EEG coherence.

Every time a part of our brain is active, the electrical activity can be measured through an electroencephalogram (EEG) and the results can be displayed as a waveform. Nowadays, one can send two of these waveforms from different parts of the brain to a computer and mathematically calculate the extent to which these waves are similar, or coherent. A high coherence means that these different parts of the brains work together as one whole.

Transcending is essentially the experience of unity. This is directly measurable in the brain. Here’s a video where you can see how EEG coherence rises to a maximum during the TM practice in real-time.

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The more someone has this experience of high EEG coherence, the more the brain gets used to optimal functioning, after which the EEG coherence outside of the TM practice rises as well. A higher EEG coherence is associated with higher IQ, more creativity, more emotional stability, better reflexes, and more ethical thinking, etc.

How can I learn to transcend?

Real meditation is effortless and pleasant to do, it can be learned by anyone, and gives immediate results.

The experience of transcending can be achieved only in a completely natural and effortless way. It is an experience of complete, inner silence; that can not be achieved by trying to be quiet. The more you try, the more it keeps the mind active. This is why most current meditation methods that require concentration have little effect.

The Transcendental Meditation technique is taught individually, by a professionally trained teacher who is able to lead anyone in a completely natural way to the experience of transcending.

If one has had this experience once, then the mind remembers it and afterwards it can go back there spontaneously, in a totally natural and effortless way, provided that one uses the correct technique. This technique is taught step by step, during four consecutive meetings. This initial training course is followed by a extensive program of follow-up meetings to ensure continued correct practice.

Do you have 1 hour to discover how everything can change?

Through these links, you can find more information on what TM is and how it works and how you can learn TM. The first step, however, is simply to attend a free, no-obligation information seminar. These seminars are organized in various locations in Switzerland on a regular basis (See dates and locations of the free introduction seminars.) During these seminars, you’ll hear in more detail how the TM technique actually works and what you can expect from it. You’ll receive information and answers to all your questions so you can decide whether you’d like to learn the technique.