It was June 2013 when I started meditating. Battling a crappy job in an unwelcoming new town, a failing relationship and debilitating anxiety, it started as a coping mechanism pure and simple.
The initial benefits were palpable – better sleep, feeling more grounded and more easily managing my stress levels – and had that been all, it would have been a worthy investment of my time and money.
But over the years what I could never have expected was that it would open the door to finding and living my true purpose. When you have inner peace, you wonder what you’ve ever done before. But there’s also an inherent peacefulness knowing that you couldn’t have got there any faster. The important thing is that you did.
There are many different forms of meditation, but the one that got me hooked is Transcendental Meditation, or TM. What I loved about it was the vision of its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. When I say founder, I mean the guy who rebadged and rebirthed a Vedic practice that’s been around since life’s been recorded.
Maharishi’s vision was to bring about a world at peace with itself, by each of us first finding peace within. So simple, yet so profound. Over the years I have come to experience this innate power first hand, and realise the infinite possibilities of what we can achieve as a collective.
Every day I close my eyes to meditate I take another step closer to realising Maharishi’s vision. Care to join me?
Transcendental Meditation (TM)
It’s a mantra-based practice, which means you’re given a personalised mantra to focus on and help clear your mind of thought. As it gradually fades away, you transcend into a blissful state of awareness called the fourth state (the other three being awake, asleep or dreaming). This state is your connection with Source Energy, and each time you come out you bring a little bit back into your everyday life. So that gradually, day by day you forge a stronger connection with your true self.
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Visit the TM website to arrange a free introduction: tm.org.au/tm-centres
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi equated the state of transcendence during meditation to being one with God. He likened all religions to branches of a mango tree, with meditation at the base of the tree, nourishing its roots. He was always very clear that Transcendental Meditation is not in itself a religion but a technique for finding greater fulfilment through one’s chosen beliefs.
Saturday mornings on Manly beach.