Transcendental Meditation

So I just starting reading My big Toe by Thomas Campbell who originally came from a very scientific background. His first introduction into the metaphysics was through a uni advertised crash course of Transcendental Meditation, some what sceptical of such practises he decided to give it a try. He was told to bring a banana and a white handkerchief to the first lesson, well you could imagine the questions bottling in his mind.

Anyway Transcendental Meditation involves sitting down with your eyes closed for about 15-20 mins whilst repeated in your mind a mantra, allowing a trip inward beyond thought. There are many benefits including improved sleep, health and more mental clarity etc.

There is one thing I don't agree with, the fee's one must forfeit to learn TM from an instructor, an exploitation I believe however there is absolutely no reason why you can't learn it for free. The selection of a mantra could easily come to ones self, something I've yet to try but am willing to explore. Picking the right mantra for a specific vibration to suit your own energy field could be done with trying a list of mantra's on a trial and error basis till you find the right one. Would be interesting to combine it with a mudra too.

Quote :

Lola Williamson states that the mantras used in the Transcendental Meditation technique come from the Tantric tradition, while Russell says the sounds used in the technique are taken from the ancient Vedic tradition.[37][38] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi explains that the selection of a proper thought or mantra "becomes increasingly important when we consider that the power of thought increases when the thought is appreciated in its infant stages of development".[39] The Maharishi says that certain, specific vibrations suit certain people and that this method of meditation enables the mind to experience subtler phases of the vibration until the source of all vibration is experienced.[40]
William Jefferson, in The Story of the Maharishi, explains the importance of the "euphonics" of mantras. Jefferson says that the secrets of the mantras and their subsequent standardization for today's teachers of the technique were unraveled by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi after his years of study with his own teacher, Guru Dev (Brahmananda Saraswati) so that selection is foolproof, and that the number of mantras from the Vedic tradition, which could number in the hundreds, have been brought to a minimum number by the Maharishi.[41]
Author George Chryssides says that, according to the Maharishi, the mantras for "householders" and for recluses differ. The Transcendental Meditation mantras are appropriate mantras for householders, while most mantras commonly found in books are mantras for recluses. Chryssides says that TM teachers claim that the results promised by the Transcendental Meditation technique are dependent on a trained Transcendental Meditation teacher choosing the mantra for the student.[30]
TM meditators are instructed to keep their mantra private. Robert Oates writes that this is a "protection against inaccurate teaching".[42] In his 1997 book, The Sociology of Religious Movements, William Sims Bainbridge wrote that the mantras given for Transcendental Meditation are "supposedly selected to match the nervous system of the individual but actually taken from a list of 16 Sanskrit words on the basis of the person's age".[43]
A list of mantras has been published in various sources, including the January 1984 edition of Omni (magazine), which says it received them from "disaffected TM teachers".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation

Here are some I found -

Om (ohm) The greatest of all mantras it is the representation of the Supreme Being. The past, present and the future are all included in this one sound. Meditation on this sacred syllable is said to satisfy every need and leads to liberation.

Om Shanti (ohm shahn-tee) The peace of God.

Om mani padme hum (ohm mah-nay pahd-may hoom) For opening the heart center and developing compassion.

Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha (gah-tay gah-tay pah-rah gay-tay pah-rah-sahm gah-tay bow-dee svah-hah). To go beyond all illusion to the ultimate reality of God.

Shivo ham (shi-voh-hum) To awaken to one's own spirituality.

Tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha (ta-ya-ta ohm moo-nee moo-nee moon-aye-yay so-ha) To awaken the Buddha mind - the mind of enlightenment.

Om tare ture tuttare ture soha (ohm ta-ray too-ray too-t-tar-ray too-ray so-ha) To liberate oneself from fears.

Hari om tat sat (huh-ree ohm tut sut) For purification and for the benefit of departed souls.

Om namo bhagavate vasu devaya (ohm nam-o bhag-a-va-tay va-sue day-vai- ya) 12 lettered mantra. Oh infinite Lord, indweller in the heart of all beings, unto you do I turn my consciousness. To see the God within everyone and everything.

Ah (ahh) Seed mantra for manifesting thoughts into the physical world. Begin by chanting or repeating this mantra, then visualize whatever it is you'd like to manifest. See it clearly and then repeat the mantra again until your visualization has been penetrated with the mantra.

Thiru neela kantam (theeru nayla kan tam) To remove current karmic conditions.

Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha (ohm goom gana-pa-tie-ay na-ma-ha) To remove obstacles that are standing in the way of your progress.

Om Shrim Mahalakshmiyei Swaha (ohm shreem maha-lak-shmee-yay swa-ha) For prosperity and for attracting wealth of all kinds - such as friends, family, health, etc.

Om Namah Shivaya (ohm nah-mah shi-vay-ya) Salutations to that which I am capable of becoming. Use this mantra to ease your spiritual unfoldment.

Om Sri Rama Jaya Rama, Jaya, Jaya Rama (ohm sree ramah jah-yah ram-ah jah-yah, jah-yah ram-ah) To enable one to live a divine life within a human body. This mantra was used by Mahatma Gandhi for over 60 years.

Om Sharavana-bhavaya Namaha (ohm sha-ra-van-a bha-vai-ya) To brighten and increase the positive effects of everything in your life.

http://www.spiritofangels.com/mantras.html

This is very interesting for me in many ways. I started using a mantra several years ago and honestly I didn't have much belief in them but I agree they are more powerful if someone chooses one for you designed for the situation you are experiencing in life. Mine was chosen for me and has been extremely successful.

L222 do you think you could be my guru and pick a mantra for me?

I'll tell you what, I'm going to my Reiki chakra balancing session in about a half an hour. I haven't been for over 9 months so this is a treat for me. Let me think about that during the session and see if I come up with something that fits you.

Cool thanks, remember it must be private

No problemo!

Nice thread reuniteR. Interesting info.

Cool let us know how it works out R

I've not yet had time to look into this much but I found this interesting.

Quote :

The Maharishi says that certain, specific vibrations suit certain people and that this method of meditation enables the mind to experience subtler phases of the vibration until the source of all vibration is experienced.

Does he elaborate on more on Vibration?

IIRC, I think I told you about an experiment I did where I took a recording of Tibetan Monks chanting Om mani padme hum and duplicated the chants so I had three copy's of the file. I kept one file as is, another I pitched down one octave and the third file I pitched up an octave from the original. I played all the files back at the same time and found that physical objects resonated... who knows what would happen if it was played on Big Day out size PA lol

I remember your experiment soma, think you should do a few more and try and get some acoustic levitation happening.

soma check this link out - Maharishi Vedic Vibration Technology

http://www.vedicvibration.com/

I'll let you know how it goes

Awesome thread...

I use the Gayatri Mantra from time to time if I need to yank myself back into focus.

Its good for when waiting for things as well.

Here it is as a song. (Quite a powerful version - watch out, it might make you happy!!).



and a more meditative version

Quote :

Om Bhur Bhuvah Svaha
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat

Quote :

Om: Para Brahman
Bhur: The Physical plane
Bhuvah: The Astral plane
Svaha: The Celestial plane
Tat: Ultimate Reality
Savitur: The Source of All
Varenyam: Fit to be worshiped
Bhargo: The Spiritual effulgence
Devasya: Divine Reality
Dhimahi: We meditate
Dhiyo: Intellect
Yo: Which
Nah: Our
Prachodayat: Enlighten

Approximate translation (within the limits of Sanskrit to English) could be:

We meditate upon the spiritual effulgence of that adorable supreme divine reality
Who is the source of the physical, the astral and the heavenly spheres of existence.
May that supreme divine being enlighten our intellect, so that we may realise the supreme truth.

Om Namah Shivaya Mate!

Namaste (lol)

John..

I went to a sound and light meditation class and they used this one for helping me open my throat chakra it really helped. I was supposed to say it while gently hitting my upper chest to cause vibrations to open up the blockage:

Ah (ahh) Seed mantra for manifesting thoughts into the physical world. Begin by chanting or repeating this mantra, then visualize whatever it is you'd like to manifest. See it clearly and then repeat the mantra again until your visualization has been penetrated with the mantra.

Thanks for the link R, much appreciated mate!

Its amazed me for a long time how ancient languages may be more in tune (haha) with resonant effects upon the blueprint for lack of better words.

These two video's are quite interesting regarding the aspect of using chants. I do wonder if the Tibetans found a Chant which enhanced Telepathy which resulted in acoustic levitation.



Quasi-crystals



Love the thoughts all round in this thread!

I have this image in my head of them gathering at a site and all chanting in unison gradually raising the pitch until they accomplish levitation of rocks and other objects both to unite as one force and secondly to accomplish hard labor in the most effective manner possible. Maybe just a dream but it always made sense to me.

I think your insight Lightning is right on because the Bible teaches that when more than one gather together in agreement the power multiplies exponentially and that is why it is so important to find some one to agree with you anytime you need prayer for personal healing or anything else.

One can put a thousand to flight and two ten thousand.

Your insights are Spirit led and right on.

Lightning that is full of awesome mate

What you wrote makes a whole lot of sense!



One thing i do also ponder is how long it may have taken in linear time for the Tibetans to figure that out, as I sorta believe that it was knowledge passed down from else where and they had to monkey it out to some degree.

Nealry bed time, but i must say thanks to AJ for the cool vids and the great humour ( I did lol)

Thanks for the vids Soma & Anchor man and Gabes insights into L222's insights..lol

Time to throw in one about the pineal gland

Thanks for this info R, i am gonna start having to bust out some mantra's for sure. I just dont get why you cant tell anyone your mantra or how you get your own one.

Mate all I could find as to why keep it private is this -

Quote :

In this personal instruction, you will receive a mantra, or sound, and then the procedure how to use it properly. Once you know the mantra or sound, by tradition, we keep it to our self. Also the actual procedure of meditation that you receive is to be kept private. For maximum results, all that we learn in private, we keep private

http://minet.org/steps.html

I'm just guessing here but I'd think it would have something to do with holding onto your personal power since your mantra connects you to the ability to tap into and increase that power.

Sergeant Pepper's Healthy Hearts Club Band: How meditating like the Beatles can HALVE the risk of a heart attack

Transcendental Meditation works by repeating a sound twice daily for 20 minutes
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 11:27 AM on 28th June 2011


Transcendental Meditation, made popular by the Beatles during the flower power era of the 1960s, could cut heart attack rates by half, researchers claim.
The mantra meditation, which involves repeating a sound repeatedly twice daily for up to 20 minutes, lowers death rates from heart attack and strokes.
The relaxation technique was used by patients with heart disease during a nine year £2.25million trial at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Professor of Medicine Theodore Kotchen said: 'These findings are the strongest documented effects yet produced by a mind-body intervention on cardiovascular disease.
'The effect is as large or larger than major categories of drug treatment for cardiovascular disease.
'However, subjects were already taking standard medications and this effect was on top of that.'
It followed 201 African-American men and women with an average age of 59 who suffered from the narrowing of arteries in their hearts.



They were selected to do the Transcendental Meditation technique or to participate in a control group which received health education classes in traditional risk factors, including dietary modification and exercise.
Professor Kotchen said: 'In African American men and women with heart disease, Transcendental Meditation, a technique for stress reduction, decreased the likelihood of mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke by 47 per cent.

'At the same time, study participants remained on their usual medications for cardiovascular disease risk factors, including anti-hypertensive agents and lipid-lowering medications.
'Consequently, meditation should be considered an adjunct, not a substitute, for usual medical care. Although provocative, these observations should be confirmed in other patient populations.'
The researchers did further analysis of two subgroups, those participants who had high compliance with the meditation program, and a high stress group, and found even greater reductions in death, infarction and stroke in those groups.
The high compliance subgroup showed a 66 per cent reduction, while the high stress subgroup showed a 64 per cent reduction.
Co-author Dr Robert Schneider claimed the results are the strongest documented effects yet produced by a mind-body intervention on cardiovascular disease.
The findings were published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Internal Medicine.
At a press conference two years ago before a concert to promote Transcendental Meditation, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney recalled their 1968 trip to India to learn meditation from the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
'Over 40 years ago, we ended up in Rishikesh,' Starr said. 'That is where we hung out with Maharishi. We had met him a few months before in Wales. Since then, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, I have meditated. It’s a gift he gave me.'
McCartney added: 'It’s one of the few things anyone has ever given to me that means so much to me. For us, it came at a time when we were looking for something to stabilise us at the end of the crazy Sixties.'


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2008910/Research-shows-meditating-like-Beatles-reduce-risk-heart-attack-HALF.html