If you are thinking of entering the world of meditation, you have probably noticed there are numerous types of which to choose. Many meditation beginners believe all meditation is essentially the same, but that could not be farther from the truth. If you are looking for an easy way to enter this world, you can try transcendental meditation.
Transcendental Meditation uses a mantra to go beyond a surface level of thought and transcend to a natural state of restful alertness. It works with Alpha brainwave activity, which is the trait for reduced mental activity and relaxation, to help you relax in deep rest for at least twenty minutes.
If this sounds confusing to you, read on to discover what Transcendental Meditation is, where it originated from, and how it is different from the other forms of meditation out there today. Then you can decide if Transcendental Meditation is right for you or if you would rather have a more intense form of relaxing your mind, body, and soul.
Article Contents
What is Transcendental Meditation?
Transcendental Meditation stems from the Vedic Meditation, which is the oldest documented form of meditation. Unlike Vedic Meditation, which has you focus on a specific mantra in order to transcend and requires quite a bit of effort to work, Transcendental Meditation is nearly effortless while promising life-changing results.
Transcendental Meditation is also a mantra-based form of meditation in that you sit down, close your eyes, and repeat a mantra in your mind, given to you by an instructor, for twenty minutes twice a day. For example, you may wake up in the morning and perform your Transcendental Meditation and then again in the afternoon for best results.
During Transcendental Meditation, there is no requirement that your mind must be completely clear for the entire twenty minutes. You may become distracted, thoughts may enter your mind, and you may even forget the mantra that was given to you. All of these things are okay, which makes this type of meditation effortless while beneficial:
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Improves sleep (Here are the best meditations for sleep on YouTube)
- Improved memory and cognitive function
- Enhances creativity and productivity
- Increases energy
- Reduces blood pressure, cholesterol, and the risk of a heart attack and stroke
- Better control over emotions
- Increases overall happiness
Just because Transcendental Meditation is nearly effortless compared to other types of meditation does not mean it is easy. During your early stages of meditation, you may find it extremely difficult to sit with your eyes closed for twenty minutes, repeating the same mantra over and over. Like anything, Transcendental Meditation takes practice.
Where Did Transcendental Meditation Originate?
Transcendental Meditation originated from the ancient Vedic tradition that was created in India. Vedic Meditation came from the Vedas, which were ancient religious texts found in India between 1500 and 500 BCE. They had first originated as oral stories that were passed down through generations before being composed into four Vedas.
Although Transcendental Meditation originated from texts that were written thousands of years ago, the Transcendental Meditation Movement became popular in the 1950s all across India under the leadership of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It expanded beyond the Indian borders in the 1960s when the musical band, The Beatles, touted its benefits.
The Beatles had traveled to India to learn from Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation organization. Through the influence of The Beatles, Transcendental Meditation would finally reach the western world in the 1970s. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was integral in bringing this meditation to the world, and today it is endorsed by:
- The Beach Boys
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Hugh Jackman
- Howard Stern
- Clint Eastwood
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Martin Scorsese
- Lenny Kravitz
- Gwyneth Paltrow
Yogi’s movement of bringing his Transcendental Meditation to the entire world continued after his death in 2008. The movement that Yogi promoted more than fifty years ago is one of the most popular forms of meditation methods, with more than six million people learning this technique of relaxing the body, mind, and soul.
What Happens During Transcendental Meditation?
Transcendental Meditation is a way to relax your body and mind in order to transcend, which is the natural process of experiencing a pure state of awareness and restfulness. When you perform Transcendental Meditation, your mind instinctively travels inward. This means your mental activity diminishes while your alertness increases.
If everything works correctly, your mind will reach a perfect state of rest while you remain awake and alert. You are essentially conscious and have maximum comprehension through the focus on your mantra. This is essentially transcending in that you are experiencing the fourth state of consciousness and restful alertness.
You may not reach this fourth state of consciousness overnight in that it can be difficult to reach this deep state of relaxation and rest. But with consistent practice—twice a day, every day—Transcendental Meditation can be used to keep your mind actively concentrating in a waking state through some easy-to-follow steps:
- Find a quiet place that is free from distractions
- Sit comfortably and quietly with your eyes closed
- Breathe normally
- Repeat your mantra to yourself
- Use your mantra to return to meditation if you find your mind starts to wander
The above process should be repeated twice a day, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. Your mantra will probably be a word or sound from the “Vedic Sanskrit,” which is a language known for Vedic Mantras today. The main reason for the mantra is to give you focus and something you can use to rest your attention for twenty minutes.
How is Transcendental Meditation Different From Other Types of Meditation?
There are many types of meditation out there today, so how does Transcendental Meditation differ from other types of meditation? Believe it or not, there are more differences in effort, how much concentration and focus is needed, and the impact they have on your brain. The three main types are as follows:
- Transcendental Meditation—Less effort, Alpha brain wave activity, easy way to focus on a mantra without fully concentrating and controlling the mind or monitoring thoughts.
- Mindfulness Meditation—Moderate effort, Theta brain wave activity, as you reflect on your thoughts and accept them without judgment.
- Concentration Meditation—Stronger effort, Beta brain wave activity, more concentration on a single thing to relax the mind and body.
Mindfulness Meditation (Open Monitoring) requires your mind to pass through awareness without any control or manipulation. Your mind is trained to enter mindfulness and then return to the present by focusing on an object, your breath, or your own body. It derives from Buddhist traditions that train the mind in the present.
Concentration Meditation (Focused Attention) requires quite a bit of effort to maintain your controlled attention on an object and includes Vedic, Zen, Vipassana, and Qi gong meditation methods. This form of meditation requires the most effort because you are focusing on the vibrations made by the mantras, not the mantras themselves.
While most other forms of meditation try to control and train your mind, Transcendental Meditation does not involve this same amount of concentration, control, or training of one’s mind. Instead, your mind goes beyond a surface level of thinking, through the repetition of your mantra, until you reach silence, concentration, focus, and control.
Transcendental Meditation Versus Mindfulness
As noted above, mindfulness derives from Buddhist traditions that quietly train the mind to be in the present moment of meditation. Mindfulness uses your breath, your body, or an object like a flickering candle to train the mind and reach silence. Transcendental Meditation, on the other hand, uses a specific mantra.
This mantra is meant to liberate the mind to enter this restful world of silence, not train the mind like the practice of mindfulness. With mindfulness, you are paying attention to the thoughts that pass through your mind without judging or becoming involved with them. Instead, you are observing their patterns and then moving on with thoughts.
Mindfulness is definitely a popular term heard today that has you focus on reflecting upon the thoughts that enter your mind and then accept them without judgment. However, you are not necessarily using an object or mantra to focus on your silence instead of the thoughts. You simply observe that you have thoughts and move on.
Transcendental Meditation also allows you to take note of your thoughts and not try to control them. However, your specific mantra is meant to help guide you back into meditation and transcending into a controlled sense of awareness and silence. Therefore, it is ideal for individuals who like structure in their mediation practices.
To learn more about the differences between meditation and mindfulness, you may want to check out some books on meditation and mindfulness.
Other Types of Meditation
You can also compare Transcendental Meditation to other types of meditation to see if it is the right choice for you. There are numerous types of meditation to help reach enlightenment. In addition to mindfulness and concentration/focused meditation, there are forms that have benefits depending on what you are looking to get out of meditation:
- Spiritual meditation—you reflect on the silence that surrounds you to get a deeper connection to God.
- Movement meditation—Movement specifically guides you to enlightenment, such as using Tai Chi or yoga.
- Progressive relaxation—This is a practice aimed at reducing tension in your body as well as encouraging relaxation.
- Loving-kindness meditation—Used to strengthen loving feelings, such as compassion, acceptance, and kindness, by opening the mind to receive love.
- Visualization meditation—You focus on certain images or scenes that promote feelings of peace, relaxation, and calmness.
If you are unsure which type of mediation to choose, you can start by simply sitting down quietly in a room without distractions and focus on your breathing. Maybe do this for just five or ten minutes to see if you can maintain your focus. Then you can move up to the twenty minutes, twice a day, required for Transcendental Meditation.
If you would like a specific goal for your Transcendental Meditation, try doing it for twenty minutes, twice a day, for 100 days in a row. You can use a calendar to mark your progress and even keep a journal of how you feel before and after each session of Transcendental Meditation. Write down any benefits you see or feel over time.
Transcendental Meditation is customized to you personally through your specific mantra and has been proven in numerous studies to have many health benefits. By starting off small—five to ten minutes a day—and then working up to 100 consecutive days of two twenty-minute sessions, you may reduce your stress and achieve enlightenment.
Outro
Transcendental Meditation may be based on ancient traditions, but it has become a popular practice in the world today by celebrities and everyday individuals. There are numerous benefits to meditation in general, and Transcendental Meditation is a popular practice of using a mantra in a more customizable manner to achieve transcendence.
