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Trascendental Meditation?

Puppmom

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Does anyone here practice? DH and I are strongly considering learning but the thought of spending $2,500 makes me nervous. I was hoping some people on here practice and can shed some light on what it has (or has not) done for them.
 

rhbgirl24

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What is the $2500 for?

I did experiement with this for a little while in early twenties. Bought a set of 20+ cds to help with the training. I had a very hard time with it because I cannot turn my brain off. I'm always worrying, always thinking... Got it a couple of times, but lost interest because it was so hard for me.
 

JewelFreak

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I have the same question -- $2500 for what? You can do it w/a cd or even by looking it up on the internet. It ain't brain surgery. I try to do it while I do yoga & usually succeed for about a nanosecond, but it is refreshing if you can manage it. Discipline is required & that grows by doing -- it gets easier as you practice it. Anybody who charges you $2500, though, is conning you, unless they offer some very lavish accommodations in which to meditate. The floor of my family room works just fine for me!
 

kenny

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I believe brain turning off is a lifelong challenge you get better at.
Nobody can just do it right away.
It is a lot of work, but the benefit is worth it even at the beginning.
I am certainly no expert but IMHO the benefits of TM are real and not some faith thing.

I also don't think you should need to pay anything to learn TM or Yoga.
Watch some Youtube videos.
Then just do your work.

TM and Yoga are the most private and personal things I can imagine.
You don't need a social group to do them, though there are a zillion people who will gladly take your money.

There you go.
That'll be $2499. :$$):
I accept VISA, MC, American Express and Paypal. :bigsmile:
 

Puppmom

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$2,250 (sorry, not $2500) is the TM fee for a couple. MIL did it in the 70s and it cost $100! The $2,500 includes a lecture, one on one *training*, and several follow up group sessions.

The deal is it's *supposed* to be effortless. Perhaps learning from an expert one on one helps with the effortless part? :lol:

ETA - i don't know that there's any place that will teach you for free. $1,500 per person or $2,250 for a couple is the same fee I see everywhere I look. Here's the explanation of WHY the fee...

http://insidedlf.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/question-of-the-day/
 

Puppmom

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Keep the feedback coming...I'm doing a lot of research and it seems to me that the organization "TM" isn't the only one that teaches the practice. The high fee just makes everything seem a little fishy.
 

kenny

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I learned Yoga from a paperback book in the 1970s.

You can pay all the money in the world but it won't do the work for you.
Sure, learning is important but just doing the work is the main thing.
 

lyra

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I've done one on one meditation training for free though a therapist. I also had a CD as back-up. You don't need to pay $2K to learn how to do this at all. Start with a CD and see how that goes. You might be surprised how easy it is. Once you learn it, it's always available. I can lower my blood pressure and stop pain with this skill, when necessary and when I am serious enough about it. Good luck. ;))
 

JewelFreak

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Kenny's right. Meditation is also something you do alone, inside yourself, by definition. Paying somebody to "coach" you seems unnecessary. The doing of it is up to each person. Just think what kind of bling you could get for $2500!! Yummmm. :lickout:
 

Puppmom

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I realize in my quick attempt to solicit feedback on the practice, I may have come off as someone who is naive and willing to part with $2,500 easily (which is A LOT to me, BTW) but I'm not.

I do agree that meditation is something you do alone but I don't think that means coaching or instruction is out of the question.

I would still love to hear from folks who do practice this form of meditation if you're out there!
 

ksinger

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Ain't nothin' on this planet that is worth doing that is effortless. Kenny and the others are spot on. You can meditate without spending a dime - IF you're willing to do the work. After all, every Buddhist alive does it, and penniless overtone-chanting monks seem to do it the best, right?

As for 2500 or 2250 - whichever, well, the end goal of meditation (and saying meditation has a "goal" is, I understand, something weird in itself) is to quiet the mind. If it was me, I'd find a local Buddhist temple and learn there, or get a Buddhist friend (if you have one) to show you how to practice. My snake oil sense is activated by such a prohibitive cost.
 

Aoife

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If you want to spend $2500 to have someone show you the "right way" to meditate, it might be worth it--to you. My DH and I have meditation as a regular part of our day, and there is nothing inherently better in one approach over another. What can help is a small, inexpensive biofeedback monitor that you clip to your earlobe and which can help you identify when your heart and blood pressure fall into the desirable "rest" state that some people call transcendental. It is, as others on this thread have said, all about practice, practice, practice. Every day, preferably at the same time. The more you do it, the easier it is to fall into that state. It is emphatically not something someone can teach you to do the first time, every time just because you attended a seminar, any more than taking a seminar to improve your swimming stroke makes you an Olympic athlete.
 

Regular Guy

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Pup,

The cost is not a crime. They have a set of programming that provides benefit, and it costs money to have an architecture for an organization.

I trained in TM a long time ago. Later, I was motivated to explore buddhism, and I subscribe. Are we/am I foiling the moderators here?

Currently, I favor the generic presentation that is called: mindfulness over the style that is presented in TM. I'd encourage you to do what they do a lot of under Rocky Talky on this board. That is...research and compare.

Google something like: Mindfulness training.

In today's world there is a lot of it.

Despite my own association still with Shambhala (these centers are fairly widely dispersed...depending on where you are, there may be one near you), based on convenience, I just sent my own son on a 5 day mindfulness retreat. And...this...despite the fact that he's also about to attend a 3 week Jewish camping experience.

There is no denying the benefit of attending to what is happening right now. But...that is language I would use...now. It's not the language of TM, which is a different sell.

If relaxation is a specific target, TM may possibly have advantages...I don't know. If seeing things clearly, and being current with your life as it is might be a more descriptive target...I'd favor mindfulness strategies.

Best,

Ira Z.
 

jewelerman

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My mother believed in the healthful benefits of meditation.I started meditation as a child ...15 minutes twice a day and it help to rid me of migraine headaches and deal with school stress.i would do alot of research before investing a large amount of time and money so you know that you are committed...people assume because they spend alot on something they will stay committed to it over time and it just creates guilt when the commitment grows cold.Go to the library and get books,tapes and dvds on it before investing.
 

Lady_Disdain

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My mother has practiced transcendental meditation since the 70s. She loves it.

If I remember correctly, from her stories, she learned from an Indian lady, in a class. The technique certainly isn't exclusive to a corporation who certifies teachers and makes them ask for a set price.
 

platinumrock

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There's a lot of information on the web about all types of meditation, even self-hypnosis and past life regression. You can try your own research and see how it works for you.

But if you really want to learn from someone who has more experience in the matter, it may be worth taking a class. They may be able to show you valuable techniques and give feedback.

It sounds like a fun class though! I'm just not sure if I'd pay that much.

As far as meditation, being at the beach and listening to the sound of the waves is very soothing. Most of the time, I just go in a quiet room at night, close my eyes and relax.
 

packrat

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What does it do? I don't know the first thing about meditation. Is it a way to calm you down or relax?
 

platinumrock

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Packrat, it's supposed to be a way to find inner peace by relaxing your body, relaxing your mind and just listening to what your soul says. Some people call this a "safe" place where they can communicate with their higher consciousness, some people use this as a way to communicate directly to God/higher source. Some people who are very advanced or in-tuned with their metaphysical side are able to do astral projection. Basically they are able to leave their own bodies and go into another realm, even communicate with people in their dreams.

They say that when the mind rests, the body is able to rest.
 
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