Transcendental Meditation
A morning meditation allows you to begin the day with a sense of calm. At the end of the day, meditation is my daily reboot to rediscover the peace that is omnipresent within me.
What happens when you practice TM (Transcendental Meditation)? Here's a visual to explain:
It has been one of the best investments of my life.
What Transcendental Meditation has done for me?
(Originally written in 2015)
The mind is something we have to workout like our bodies. TM has allowed me to deepen my awareness in my day to day, hour by hour existence. I feel as if the learning, reading, sharing, and this entire experience is more efficient now. I am simply getting more out of every moment of life.
- More love
- More knowledgeable
- More authentic
- More joy
- My relationships have improved.
I simply find more meaning in every moment.
Too often we get in our own way, and let ourselves drift off course. My increased self awareness (thanks to TM) is helping me see the times when I drift.
I have had so many new epiphanies as a result of my meditation practice, and here are just a few things I've jotted down over the past year since I started TM:
- I am learning to detach from the past and the future to fully experience the present moment. When I do, the experience of life becomes richer, fuller, more rewarding. I want to live life full throttle. Why live any other way?
- The twice daily meditation is what keeps me intertwined with life in the moment.
- It is a technique to expand your consciousness.
- The benefits of expanded consciousness are beneficial in EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE!
- Meditation is a purification of the mind and body.
- Only by experiencing complete stillness, complete and utter relaxation can we begin to cultivate it in our daily lives.
- It teaches you a deepness in listening to your world. Once you hear the this richness, it never again goes away.
- Meditation slows our mind and body down so we can listen to our soul (Mediation is a reminder that the soul exists).
- Meditative increases mind and body awareness.
- As yoga is to the body, meditation is to the mind.
- It's the benefits of meditation, not the meditation itself that matters.
- Just do the work. The work will teach you how to do it.
- Who we truly are is pure awareness... which is limitless.
- Who we are cannot be changed by what happens to us. Only to the extent that we let it change who we think we are. But who we are is not anything we can think. To discover who you are you must go beyond words/thoughts.
- What we have is the result of our thoughts and actions. But what we have is not who we are. Who are instead is our capacity for experiences, and our limitless capacity for love.
- Who we are cannot be measured, there's only judgment in measurement.
- What we have is determined by our ability to do the work that brings forth the things we want.
- We need to be aware that others will constantly try to define our wants for us.
- All we need is to be fully aware. To be pure awareness. To trust that everything is perfect. Our only task in life is to get out of our own way.
- TM is an effective way to rid the body of unnecessary stress. Stress is not optional. It's as constant as the air we breathe. What’s optional are the things we do to destress. Unnecessary stress is defined as a lack of awareness of the things we do to create stress.
Close your eyes. Remind your mind that it (along with your body) exist for one purpose only: To serve the soul. Let it be your guide. We exist to serve our soul, until this body expires and the soul finds another vessel. Our soul entered this world to be. It’s the proving ground. It is up to us to play full out, learn from our experiences... So embrace every experience, release judgment of whether the experience is good or bad. Truthfully there is aren't good or bad experiences, only new and old ones.
Be kind & have fun,
Brian
TM Retreat (Nov-2020) Take Aways
"I never let my life get in the way of my meditation." - This is because the goal of mediation is not meditation itself - rather to live life between meditations with greater presence. This is what makes meditation an impersonal act. It's never selfish to meditate because mediation makes you a better person for the benefit of others and the world as a whole.
I think I've always had an issue with self-care because I viewed it as being selfish. So this in a way, this is pretty major realization for me.
The goal of the mantra in meditation is not to find it, but rather lose it. The one thing Vidya wanted us to get was to approach our TM practice effortlessly. The more we try to turn it into a 'workout' the less effective it is.
Moving Towards Cosmic Consciousness
It's a sense of always being in an enhanced state of awareness - even while meditating or sleeping - we don't 'check out.' Rather we are fully aware of everything happening around us, down to the most minute detail. This takes some of the pressure off your practice. If you feel you're not able to 'get into it' because your are tuned it to everything else that is happening (even your thoughts), you are in a heightened space of awareness and that's a good thing!
Enjoy Less More
It's the minimalists mantra - The reward of this minimalists life is that they find greater enjoyment with less. The trap of maximalism (or consumerism) is that you always crave more, yet enjoy all of it less (while also contributing to the destruction of our planet).
If you want to live twice as long, eat half as much. Instead of 4 meals/day, eat 2. You will find you have more energy and greater focus. You will spend less time on meals, but enjoy them more. Who came up with the concept of breakfast/lunch/dinner anyway? As an intermittent faster, your find that breakfast was never needed and we often eat breakfast out of habit (or because we need a distraction from something else).
If you want to enjoy more, do less.
One thing mediation has done for me is to help me enjoy less, more. By experiencing the finer details of every moment, I am able to find enough joy in the little things. It's not about living a smaller life, it's about freeing myself from the shackles of always wanting more.