Really good article that describes the systematic chiseling away of the capacity for reason and honest questioning when one “believes” in “the answer”. 

It starts with telling all your friends about a great idea or a great technique that you have discovered / invented / experienced.  Then it follows that you should tell strangers about this great thing because everyone deserves to know!

Having become emotionally invested in the correctness of the thing you’ve found, you now have to spend time isolating and belittling detractors and skeptics. 

Then, you need to begin to manufacture your own legitimacy by conducting shoddy, misleading and possibly false “scientific studies” and “proofs” of your great truth. 

All of this takes so much energy, and is so much fun, that you never really have to do the serious work of challenging yourself anymore.  You are secure in your rightness, and confident of the stupidity of all those who don’t see the truth.

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Why not just teach kids Scientology in school?  At least it has an entertaining story.

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With an origin in Hinduism, it is unlikely that this will make its way into, and remain at any public school.
A wave of lawsuits will follow…

The cultish aspects of TM should serve as a red flag to any parent.  There is not a thing wrong with deep breathing, head-clearing, calming meditation.  I often do it to counter a genetic high blood pressure condition. 

Sometimes I chant the names of my favorite free-thinkers. It gives me their combined powers - you should try it.

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“Sometimes I chant the names of my favorite free-thinkers. It gives me their combined powers - you should try it”

I think you just made a case for TM with that statement.

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Good reporting. So what says Mr. Harris about this eastern practice begetting the darkness we’re already so familiar with here. Hitchens seems prescient at this moment…

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I have been practicing Transcendental Meditation since 1971 and have been a teacher of it since 1976. I am a philosophy professor whose specialization is comparative spirituality. There are many forms of meditation, and most religions and wisdom traditions teach at least one variety. The value of TM is that it has been standardized by a mediation master for universal application, and it is simple to practice because it is based on the natural tendency of the mind rather than concentration, self-discipline, and effort. Moreover, a great deal of peer-reviewed scientific research shows that regular practice improves health, mental well-being, social relations and even world peace. I can testify that it has been a very worthwhile addition to my daily schedule, and I encourage others to investigate it. Regardless of which form of meditation one chooses, however, adding a meditation practice is beneficial not only for children but for all. It is never too soon to start, nor too late.

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As the article says, there is evidence that TM is no better than other relaxation techniques.  Keep it out of the schools.

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A bit of meditation can do a person good, but there’s nothing “transcendental” required. No need to chant, adopt a belief, sign up to any organization, and definitely no need to give anyone any money. Just find a quiet place and sit still for a while. No, it doesn’t have to be in a strange pose on the floor - a chair is fine. Just sit still and quietly.

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Does it bother anyone else that not once in the entire article (which is otherwise very good) are we told what TM is? We are told about some the claims of what its practice can do but never what the practice actually is. What the fuck?

Nor does Tom Hickey (comment #6) tell us what TM is. You would think it is kind of important information you would include in your promotion of it. But this professor of philosophy does inform us that it is based on the “natural tendency of the mind” as if that phrase had meaning. Mr. Hickey then asserts the existence of the wealth of scientific data showing that TM is good for you in all kinds of ways…but doesn’t cite even a single source. And such a statement suggests he didn’t even read the article, else he might feel a need rebut the quite credible statements therein calling such data into question. Christ.

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nice…!

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@ reconsidereverything

Search on “Transcendental Meditation” and you will find many explanations of what it is and how it differs from other forms of meditation and relaxation practice. Search on “scientific research” AND “Transcendental Meditation” and you will find many references and criticisms. The article deal with this topic rather summarily, and a comment here is necessarily limited in scope. But there is a wealth of information available on the net about this subject, pro and con, that I cannot begin to deal with here. As I said, based on my positive results over decades and similar reports of many others, I encourage you to investigate it for yourself instead of accepting someone else’s opinion in an article.

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I have been a practitioner of meditation for many, many years. However, like another person pointed out, there’s no need for TM. I have been meditation on my own and with help via cd’s from perfectmeditation.com. Their binaural tracks will have you meditating deeply and peadefully. No religion involved!

I don’t have anything against TM but I don’t believe that it’s superior to any other form of meditation. However, i do admire David Lynch and his project. If the youth of our nation can benefit from 30 minutes of meditation then just imagine how many other people can be helped.

Unfortunately, Meditation is grouped in the “New Age” grouping and it’s only a select few that have discovered the wonders of clearing the mind for an hour a day.

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Transcendental Meditation…
I live in Indonesia, now meditation is more popular in my country…. a lot of seminar, tv program that discuss meditation technique, how to aplly meditation, etc…..

In my opinion everyone must know, and applied meditation…...

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LearN How To Open Our Third Eye With Meditation

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