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That's interesting. I'd like to learn how to do transcendental meditation. Could you please site some good references for me to learn how to do it?

by e19293001 8y ago

swatcoder 8y ago
Technically, you can only learn it through the TM organization. They have centers in most major cities around the world. They price the training differently in different markets. Honestly, the big advantage of learning it through them is that by paying them a non-trivial amount of money you put some "skin in the game". For most people, it encourages them to stick with it and derive that value back out through practice, when they might slack off with something they just learned about for free. It's the sunk cost fallacy put to good use. That said, there are some teachers who have taken TM practice and taught it privately (even though you agree not to do that). These teachers usually adopt a different name for their practice and avoid mentioning TM directly. They may be a little cheaper, but still give you that "skin in the game" effect. There are also some people who have "leaked" the practice for free online. I don't have any of those in front of me, but the ones I've read do describe the practice reasonably. Whether you can commit yourself to practicing without an instructor to confirm your effort and clear up any ambiguities is another matter. And if you happen to be young, the David Lynch Foundation supports programs to teach it for free to children. I have no idea if there's access to it outside of the schools they've partnered with. Ultimately though, TM worked for me, but there are plenty of meditation techniques out there and in vogue. If TM proves to be hard for you to learn the way you need to learn (cost, access, whatever), do look for other styles and options! Meditation is great!
ekr 8y ago
It's the first time I've heard of TM, and having experienced some benefits from more traditional meditation in the past, I was curious. So I ran into this document, which offers a comprehensive introduction into TM: http://minet.org/Documents/TM-FAQ http://minet.org/Documents/TM-FAQ . Later edit: My personal unqualified opinion on the matter: too much involvement of religion and bullshit in this program. While there is a scientific basis to the benefits of meditation, TM is not the most direct and straightforward way to reaching that, as it seems to be organized more as a money-making machine than as a non-profit for helping people. Personally, meditation has helped me a lot in getting rid of anxiety, letting go of a lot of worries and stress, and simply having a better mental well-being, and with that comes a higher level of cognitive performance and general effectiveness. But I haven't stuck to a habit of focusing the attention towards breathing or anything like that, although I've practiced many forms. At this point it is simply a set of thought patterns, when I notice that I'm in an undesirable mental state, I simply breath, and let go, in a sort-of automatic fashion. This may be something entirely different from meditation, but I think it's a result of that practice. For a while I've actually considered meditation to be counter-productive. In most matters, if something is causing you stress and worry, there's an evolutionary purpose in that stress and worry, and namely it's pushing you to solve the problem that's at the cause of it. Meditation in a way relaxes that push for solving the issue, that stubbornness, and also helps you let go of desires and wishing the world was in a certain way. It has the effect of making you more grateful and accepting of the state of things. But of course, there are some people for whom this stress and worry is kicked into overdrive by small things, and getting rid of that effect provides an immense benefit to their well-being and productivity, and I count myself to that group. But still, I think meditation is great in moderation, like most things.

That's interesting. I'd like to learn how to do transcendental meditation. Could you please site some good references for me to learn how to do it?

swatcoder 8y ago

Technically, you can only learn it through the TM organization. They have centers in most major cities around the world. They price the training differently in different markets. Honestly, the big advantage of learning it through them is that by paying them a non-trivial amount of money you put some "skin in the game". For most people, it encourages them to stick with it and derive that value back out through practice, when they might slack off with something they just learned about for free. It's the sunk cost fallacy put to good use. That said, there are some teachers who have taken TM practice and taught it privately (even though you agree not to do that). These teachers usually adopt a different name for their practice and avoid mentioning TM directly. They may be a little cheaper, but still give you that "skin in the game" effect. There are also some people who have "leaked" the practice for free online. I don't have any of those in front of me, but the ones I've read do describe the practice reasonably. Whether you can commit yourself to practicing without an instructor to confirm your effort and clear up any ambiguities is another matter. And if you happen to be young, the David Lynch Foundation supports programs to teach it for free to children. I have no idea if there's access to it outside of the schools they've partnered with. Ultimately though, TM worked for me, but there are plenty of meditation techniques out there and in vogue. If TM proves to be hard for you to learn the way you need to learn (cost, access, whatever), do look for other styles and options! Meditation is great!

ekr 8y ago

It's the first time I've heard of TM, and having experienced some benefits from more traditional meditation in the past, I was curious. So I ran into this document, which offers a comprehensive introduction into TM: http://minet.org/Documents/TM-FAQ http://minet.org/Documents/TM-FAQ . Later edit: My personal unqualified opinion on the matter: too much involvement of religion and bullshit in this program. While there is a scientific basis to the benefits of meditation, TM is not the most direct and straightforward way to reaching that, as it seems to be organized more as a money-making machine than as a non-profit for helping people. Personally, meditation has helped me a lot in getting rid of anxiety, letting go of a lot of worries and stress, and simply having a better mental well-being, and with that comes a higher level of cognitive performance and general effectiveness. But I haven't stuck to a habit of focusing the attention towards breathing or anything like that, although I've practiced many forms. At this point it is simply a set of thought patterns, when I notice that I'm in an undesirable mental state, I simply breath, and let go, in a sort-of automatic fashion. This may be something entirely different from meditation, but I think it's a result of that practice. For a while I've actually considered meditation to be counter-productive. In most matters, if something is causing you stress and worry, there's an evolutionary purpose in that stress and worry, and namely it's pushing you to solve the problem that's at the cause of it. Meditation in a way relaxes that push for solving the issue, that stubbornness, and also helps you let go of desires and wishing the world was in a certain way. It has the effect of making you more grateful and accepting of the state of things. But of course, there are some people for whom this stress and worry is kicked into overdrive by small things, and getting rid of that effect provides an immense benefit to their well-being and productivity, and I count myself to that group. But still, I think meditation is great in moderation, like most things.