Dr. Sarina Grosswald: The TM technique allows the mind to settle inward by special use of the normal, natural thinking process. Effortlessness is key to the Transcendental Meditation technique. There’s no control or expectation, just simple innocence. That’s why anyone can learn it.

The specialty of the TM technique is that it allows the mind to transcend—to go beyond thinking. And what’s beyond thinking? The source of thought. Through the TM technique you experience the source of thought at the deepest, innermost core of your own self—the silent reservoir of limitless intelligence and creativity that resides within everybody. With the TM technique, this process happens almost automatically.

Dr. Steven Rector: Deep within the mind of every human being is a field of pure wakefulness, a field of lively silence. This is the quiet, inner source of energy, creativity, and intelligence within everyone. But most of us don’t notice it because we are constantly wrapped up in the noisy activity of our world.

The TM technique allows anyone to effortlessly access this inner field of restful alertness. This is a soothing and healing experience, as shown by more than 600 scientific studies published in top medical journals that show improvement in almost every area of life through practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique.
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Dr. Steven Rector: Scientists call what happens during TM practice a fourth state of consciousness, a state of restful alertness, unlike waking, sleeping or dreaming. This fourth state, called Transcendental Consciousness, has it’s own physiological style of functioning—slower breath rate, reduced stress hormones, more orderly brainwaves.

We know from hundreds of research studies that experiencing this fourth state of consciousness for twenty minutes twice a day through the TM technique leads to a wide range of health benefits. Scientists around the world have lauded the discovery of this fourth state as a major breakthrough in health and human potential, because experiencing it twice daily appears to be the key to maximizing health and overcoming the ravaging effects of stress.

Everyone knows what happens when a person is deprived of sleep, and researchers have found that dreaming state is also necessary to function in daily life. What is the result of omitting the fourth state, Transcendental Consciousness? What results is the widespread condition of anxiety, hypertension and general ill health that I see everyday as a physician, and which costs America billions every year in the treatment of stress-related diseases and behavioral disorders.

There’s an epidemic of stress in the world. This is what happens when the restorative experience of the fourth state of consciousness is excluded from daily life. This is why as a doctor I wholeheartedly endorse the Transcendental Meditation program.
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Dr. Steven Rector: Not according to the science. A wide range of beneficial physiological changes commonly occur during the Transcendental Meditation technique, changes that distinguish the practice from mere relaxation and other forms of meditation.

Studies indicate that TM practice produces a state of rest much deeper than sitting with eyes-closed, and also much deeper than other meditation practices. Research consistently shows a natural decrease in breath rate during the TM technique, 25% greater than controls, and an increase in basal skin resistance (a standard measure of relaxation) up to 70% higher.

Physiological indicators of deep rest also include marked changes in respiratory volume, minute ventilation, tidal volume, blood lactate and heart rate. Studies suggest that this unique state of physiology helps regulate cortisol and other hormones associated with chronic stress—and also healthier regulation of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with mood.

Even more significant, EEG measurements show high levels of alpha coherence over the entire brain—increased integration and orderliness of brain functioning—further differentiating the Transcendental Meditation technique from ordinary relaxation and other meditation practices.
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Dr. Jim Krag: Unless you are unconscious or deceased, it’s normal for your mind to be active. Fortunately, an active mind is not a problem when practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique, because the technique actually uses this active tendency of the mind to dive within. Even if your mind starts out in an active state, it will spontaneously experience more quiet, refined, settled levels of activity during the practice. As the mind becomes more settled and alert, it leads the physiology to a state of very deep rest. The process is easy, natural, and spontaneous. And research has shown that when you have this experience of restful alertness on a daily basis, you naturally start feeling calmer, more clear and focused in activity.
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Dr. Vernon Barnes: Unfortunately, no. Comparative research has shown that the various forms of meditation do not produce the same effects. Because each kind of meditation practice engages the mind in it’s own way, there’s no reason to expect the same results from the various methods or that scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation program will apply to other practices.

There have been studies comparing the effects of the TM technique, Zen, Mindfulness, Tibetan Buddhist and Vipassana meditations, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Benson’s Relaxation Response—examining such factors as brainwave patterns, levels of rest, and benefits for mind and body. While some other forms of meditation have been found to produce good effects in specific areas, these various practices have their own aims and are not necessarily intended to produce the broad range of benefits that result from the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Neural imaging and EEG studies indicate that TM practice creates a unique brain pattern: it is the only meditation technique known to create widespread brainwave coherence. The TM technique also produces deeper rest than other practices, and studies show the technique to be more effective at reducing anxiety and depression and increasing self-actualization.
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Dr. Steven Rector: A hike or run through the forest, sitting on the banks of a pastoral stream, relaxing with a good book at the beach—these are pleasant, restorative activities because they allow the mind to step out of the constraints of its habitual, narrow boundaries of focused attention. Shifting the attention from its habitual focus is refreshing, healing, restorative, especially when the shift is in a direction of greater freedom or beauty. So these are all necessary and enjoyable activities.

But activity must be balanced with rest. We’ve all had the experience of finishing up a harried month at work and escaping on a dream vacation—in the nick of time!—only to return 10 days later more tired than when we left.

It’s rest that most powerfully rejuvenates—not more activity. For increased dynamism, for consistently richer and more inspiring perception, for more generous and nourishing relationships, rest must become deeper. If we want to do more and enjoy more, to be more and give more, we must rest more deeply, more efficiently, more completely. If we want a life of growth and expansion, expressing more of our inherent potential, then our daily activity must be balanced with deeper and more efficient rest.

The TM technique is an effortless, natural process that allows the mind to move inward from the conscious, active, surface level of ordinary experience, through incremental steps, to the more refined, refreshing, nourishing levels of mind to the very source of thought. Having that experience everyday does much more for our health and well-being than a walk in the woods or another great fishing trip. And as filmmaker David Lynch says, diving within to the source of creativity is how you catch the big fish.
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Dr. Steven Rector: Perhaps reading a good book will enliven some degree of mental potential. But reading, like all mental activities, is another way of using the mind, and it keeps the mind engaged and focused.

The TM technique, on the other hand, is not just another way of using the mind. It gently settles the mind from activity and allows the mind to consciously rest within itself, turning attention inward to the source of creativity and intelligence at the innermost foundation of the mind, thereby enlivening those quiet reserves of mental energy.

Research in neuroscience shows that during TM practice there’s an increase in blood flow to the brain, there’s widespread brainwave coherence and a mobilization of the brain’s hidden reserves. Reading a good book can be a profound joy, but it doesn’t have this effect on your brain, nor does it impact your overall state of health the way the TM program does.
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Dr. Sarina Grosswald: The Transcendental Meditation technique is taught one-on-one by a trained and certified TM teacher in a standardized seven-step course of instruction. Although the process of TM instruction is highly systematized—which insures effectiveness and makes the technique ideally suited for scientific research—TM instruction is tailored to each individual who learns the practice. Every person is different, and every person has a different pace of learning and different personal experiences.

When a person learns TM, every instruction given is on the basis of the previous instruction being understood. A book or a CD can’t do that. This personalized instruction ensures that everyone learns to practice meditation correctly and gain maximum benefit.

Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary: The TM technique is unique among forms of meditation. It’s natural and effortless, but requires personal instruction to learn. Imagine trying to learn a natural golf stroke from a book. Or if you have ever learned to play a musical instrument, you know how helpful it is to have a good teacher. The teacher is needed to show you proper technique, so you can grow in confidence that you’re proceeding along correctly. Learning the TM technique is a lot easier than mastering the piano or getting a good, natural golf swing, but involves the same kind of personalized guidance.
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Dr. Steven Rector: No, the Transcendental Meditation technique does not induce a trance. Scientific research on the physiology of the TM technique shows that the practice does not remotely resemble hypnotic trance, nor is the subjective experience trance-like: mental alertness increases and the meditator does not become disassociated from surroundings, as during hypnosis.

A person can come out of Transcendental Meditation practice at any time—no one is needed to “snap you out.” And there is no suggestion involved in the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, whereas in hypnosis the physiology and behavior depend on the suggestion of another. (Self-hypnosis depends on a suggestion made to oneself, and such self-suggestion is also absent during the TM technique.)

Dr. William Stixrud: The neurophysiology of meditation is very different from the neurology of hypnosis. The Transcendental Meditation technique produces not only deep relaxation, but heightened activation, organization and integration of brain functioning. There is no trance, where you’re disconnected from your body or your surroundings. You’re actually more aware—the TM technique creates a state of heightened awareness.

Dr. Vernon Barnes: The science on this clearly shows that TM practice is nothing like a trance state. The TM technique produces a unique parameter of beneficial bodily changes, characterized by (1) a state of deep physiological rest and relaxation, and (2) enlivenment and integration of brain functioning, indicated by EEG and neural imaging research. This physiological signature (known as “the fourth state of consciousness”) is unique to the TM technique and never appears during ordinary waking, sleeping, dreaming or during hypnosis.

Also unique to TM practice, brainwave coherence spreads over the frontal regions of the brain and over the left and right hemispheres and posterior regions, clearly distinguishing the technique from hypnosis and other forms of meditation. Researchers have long known that most experiences—including hypnosis—activate only small, specific portions of the brain. Studies clearly indicate that the Transcendental Meditation technique enlivens and coordinates brain activity over a wide area—stimulating what some researchers have called “total brain functioning.” Neuroscience has found no instance of hypnotic trance producing such results.

People subjected to trance are said to have reduced critical evaluation. According to research studies, the Transcendental Meditation technique creates a more integrated functioning in the frontal areas of the brain—called the prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for higher-level discrimination and decision making. Reaction time is faster after TM practice, and research shows a general increase in creativity, IQ, comprehension, and problem-solving abilities. Those who practice the technique become less susceptible to suggestion and control by other people, as shown by increased self-sufficiency and critical thinking. People practicing the TM technique also display increased field independence, which psychologists associate with leadership qualities, self-reliance and independent thinking. Students of the Maharishi School in Fairfield, Iowa, where the Transcendental Meditation technique is an integral part of the curriculum, are national and world champions at competitions involving critical, creative and innovative thinking.
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Dr. Steven Rector: Not at all. Even a ten-year-old child can practice the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Transcendental Meditation practice is based on an intrinsic tendency of the human nervous system that everyone possesses and automatically knows how to use: the tendency to settle down to the state of restful alertness.

The TM technique is completely effortless to practice and to learn, and it doesn’t take years to master. Typically, results are there right from the start. Studies on EEG show that someone who has been practicing TM for only two weeks has about the same level of increased brainwave coherence during meditation as someone who has been practicing the technique for 20 years—although the long-term meditator will be enjoying more benefits OUTSIDE of meditation as the result of so many years of meditating twice a day. The benefits are cumulative, like a tree that grows more and more flowers and fruit over time.
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Dr. Steven Rector: Throughout time the world’s most cherished poets, artists, philosophers and scientists have glimpsed this state, even if they weren’t able to maintain it.

Inner wakefulness, or pure awareness, is the subtlest of all possible experiences. In the face of the relentless demands and distractions of daily life, its presence deep at the root of the mind simply goes unnoticed.

The Transcendental Meditation technique allows people to effortlessly and gracefully experience this state of inner silence and deep rest, which in turn allows the body to release stress. All of the documented benefits for the mind, body, and personal relationships are the result of this experience.
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Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary: The Transcendental Meditation program does provide deep relaxation, and many people have learned it for that reason. But the practice has never been presented as a mere relaxation technique. Since its introduction 50 years ago, the Transcendental Meditation technique has always been taught as a program for unfolding the full potential of one’s health and well-being.

The Transcendental Meditation program is a system: it is a systematic program of self-development, with proven benefits for all areas of life—mind, body and behavior, as well as spiritual benefits. All human activities, from enjoying a movie to running a marathon to contemplative prayer, are enhanced by a healthier mind and body and a more efficient, fully functioning brain. The enlivenment and integration of the brain that results from TM practice naturally improves one’s spiritual life along with all the other areas of life that are improved. When you water the roots, you nourish all aspects of the tree.
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Dr. Sandeep Chaudhary: They certainly have—and all the major findings have been replicated. After nearly 40 years of scientific investigation, the Transcendental Meditation program’s scientific validation is solidly established. More than 600 published research studies comprise the body of scientific literature on the Transcendental Meditation technique, along with scores of theoretical papers, PhD dissertations and critical reviews. Over 300 of these research studies have appeared in peer-reviewed scientific and academic journals, verifying benefits for mind, body, relationships and environment.
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Dr. Sandeep Chaudhary: Scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation technique has been conducted at over 250 independent institutions world wide, including Harvard Medical School, Yale Medical School, UCLA Medical School, Stanford Medical School, University of Virginia Medical School, and many others. Click here for a list of institutions where TM research has been conducted.

Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary: It’s great that meditation has become mainstream and so many people want to embrace it—and even teach it. However, the Transcendental Meditation technique is not the same kind of meditation that you learn down at the Y or at your yoga class. Those practices can be helpful, but they’re different from the TM technique in many ways.

Transcendental Meditation is taught by teachers whose training is as rigorous, committed and specialized as the training I underwent to become a licensed physician. These teachers offer a tested and proven gift of preventive health care—an authentic technology for developing consciousness. I’d say their service to society is at least as valuable as that of doctors or other highly trained professionals.

The TM technique is not just a practice of sitting around watching your breath or contemplating your navel. It’s a technique for transcending—going beyond thought to tap your inner reserves of creativity, intelligence and well-being, directly enlivening your body’s innate healing mechanisms. It’s easy to learn but requires a qualified teacher.

Dr. Sandeep Chaudhary: When you purchase anything of value, of course, cost is a consideration. But the TM technique is actually inexpensive if you consider what you’re getting: a program you’ll benefit from every day of your life—a program known to help prevent heart attack, to help people sleep better, to avert the harmful effects of stress. And those are just side effects. The real benefit is that you enjoy your life so much more.

There’s also ongoing follow-up—“checking” of meditation, to ensure correct practice—and there’s continued knowledge and guidance, if desired, at TM centers everywhere for the rest of your life.

As a physician, I see the TM technique not only as lifesaving but also as a cost-savings tool. We know how much the average American spends on health care in a lifetime. I live with these statistics. I see the cost of it everyday in human terms.

I’ve also seen the statistics on how the TM technique reduces health care costs. Let me tell you, anyone who says the TM technique is too expensive, just take a look at how much money America is spending on medical bills and health insurance every year. It’s a lame argument.

The Transcendental Meditation program is the most powerful preventive medicine we have. It pays for itself many times over.

Dr. Sarina Grosswald: Offering courses in the Transcendental Meditation technique does incur educational expenses, as do courses provided by any educational institution. The course fee is a practical necessity.

The question is: Do you need a qualified teacher and a systematic curriculum of instruction overtime to gain sufficient experience and understanding of the TM technique, so that you can practice it properly and enjoy the real benefits?

In my experience the answer is most definitely yes. Hundreds of thousands of people who have learned the TM technique in this way would agree with this assessment.

Instruction in the Transcendental Meditation technique guarantees that each student learns from a certified teacher through a personalized course of instruction and learns to meditate correctly.

The organization that teaches the TM technique is non-profit. If there were a cheaper way of properly instructing people, they would be all for it. But when you want to provide a quality educational experience, there are always expenses.

Dr. Steven Rector: You can’t put a price on the TM technique. How much is it worth to avert a stroke? How much for more energy and stamina and a better relationship with your spouse or children?

The course fee is not a reflection of the value of the practice, it’s the price necessary to maintain the local and worldwide teaching organization. Although the TM organization is non-profit, it’s pays the same overhead that businesses must pay—rent, salaries, accounting, utilities. Because there’s an established, well-run organization, the lifetime follow-up can be offered at no further charge, and you can go to a TM teaching center in almost any major city and have your meditation checked or receive further guidance from the teachers. The organization trains instructors in every country and maintains systematic teaching procedures so that the TM technique’s effectiveness is ensured, especially for future generations.

In wealthier countries, like the United States, part of the course fee supports programs in developing nations. For example, over 10,000 school children in impoverished conditions around Johannesburg recently learned the TM technique for $10 each, only because TM course fees from the US funded the project. When the devastating earthquake hit Armenia, funds and teachers from Europe and America were sent, and people received TM instruction in the back of trucks because there were so few standing buildings.
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Dr. Sarina Grosswald: The Transcendental Meditation technique is taught in the United States by Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation (MVED), a non-profit educational organization, designated 501c(3) by the IRS. In its 50-year history, the TM organization’s non-profit status has never been legally challenged.

There are no shareholders, board members or individuals who profit financially from the organization’s programs, only modest salaries for employees. All this is a matter of public record.

All of the revenues from course fees go entirely to support the organization’s educational and peace-creating activities around the world. Course fees from the U.S. and other wealthy nations support the offering of TM courses in places such as Southeast Asia, Africa and South America, where there are minimal or no course fees.

Dr. Vernon Barnes: Fifty years of teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique around the world and nearly forty years of scientific research have proven that the benefits of the program are genuine and not dependent upon one’s belief in the program. Even skeptics who learn the TM technique typically report the same results as people who are “sold out” to the practice, which would not be the case if the benefits were based on expectation.

It was natural for scientists to wonder if the placebo effect—or mere expectation and belief—played a significant role in the TM program. Thus many of the major studies on the TM technique ‘controlled’ for the placebo effect. Researchers have concluded that the benefits of the practice are far too wide-ranging and consistent to result merely from placebo.

Moreover, studies on specific areas, such as reduction of cigarette smoking, have found that the TM technique is far more effective than placebos.
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Dr. Vernon Barnes: There is absolutely no scientific evidence that the Transcendental Meditation technique is dangerous for anyone.

Although a couple of websites have called into question the safety of the TM technique, in every case their assertions have been unfounded for one of two reasons: 1) the research cited involved uncontrolled studies that were not about the Transcendental Meditation program, or, 2) the papers were thinly disguised opinion pieces containing unfounded speculation with no scientific evidence to back the assertions. Some of these papers confuse pre-existing conditions with the results of meditation. It is important to avoid “confusing the medicine with the patient.”

Someone may claim that TM produces harmful results, but it’s like claiming the world is flat—there’s just no evidence.

Dr. Sandeep Chaudhary: Absolutely not. More than 600 scientific research studies have been published on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program. No legitimate, peer-reviewed studies have ever found TM practice to be unpleasant or psychologically harmful in any way—all such studies show only beneficial results.

To determine the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program, scientists have researched virtually every area of human life that can be scientifically measured. Controlled research on the effects of TM practice has been conducted under many different settings and conditions: on general populations, people in the workplace, athletes, groups of students at all grade levels, patients at high-risk for heart disease, students with learning disorders, factory workers, members of the military, groups of corporate executives, long-term TM practitioners on advanced courses, and people with pre-existing mental health problems. All these studies show significant improvements in mental and physical health, with no negative side effects whatsoever.

Dr. Steele Belok: The Transcendental Meditation technique gives rest to mind and body and reduces stress and anxiety. How could increased rest or decreased anxiety be harmful? Research has shown that this program improves creativity and intelligence. How could one would be harmed by such improvements?

In addition, we know that most of the major risk factors responsible for cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes, are reduced with the Transcendental Meditation program. Because heart attacks and strokes, which we call cardiovascular diseases, are a major cause of sickness and mortality in our country, reducing the risk factor for these illnesses would not be something one would associate with a negative effect. In addition, a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology showed that older individuals who begin the Transcendental Meditation program have a ten-year reduced incidence of cardiovascular mortality of 30%, and a reduction in all cause mortality in ten years of 23% when compared to controls. These are very impressive statistics.

A study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that the rate of admissions to hospitals in essentially all disease categories was reduced in those practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique. This was true not only for physical illness, where researchers reported an overall reduction of up to 50% in admissions, but the research also included striking reductions in admissions for mental illness and substance abuse.

Therefore, from a purely outcomes-related assessment of the published research on the Transcendental Meditation technique, I can strongly say that this program has only a positive—and highly positive—impact on mental and physical health.

Dr. Sarina Grosswald: The TM technique is the exact opposite of harmful. It reduces your risk of getting serious chronic health problems like hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, research on the Transcendental Meditation program shows that people who practice it go to the doctor about 50% less than the general population. And if they are in the hospital for some reason, their hospital stay is 50% shorter, on average. For some conditions, the need for medical care is as much as 87% less for TM meditators. Practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique is one of the best things you can do for your health.

Dr. César Molina: The Transcendental Meditation technique is a health-promoting technique. There are no known negative side effects and it doesn’t interfere with any medication, diet, lifestyle or belief system. I recommend it to anyone without any reservations.

Dr. Steven Rector: Negative effects? No more than falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning. The Transcendental Meditation program accesses a fourth state of consciousness that is equally as natural as the three states we experience every day—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. The TM program is as natural, effortless and safe as the three commonly experienced states of consciousness.

When you sit to practice the TM technique, the process happens by itself in a completely innocent and effortless way. Just as a soft bed, warm covers and a cozy bedroom sets the stage for sleep and then sleep comes naturally, so the TM technique sets the initial conditions for the mind and body to settle down and the process unfolds naturally without effort. The TM technique doesn’t impose an unnatural state on the mind or body, it just allows the physiology to naturally experience its own least excited state. And one emerges refreshed from that experience.

Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf: The Transcendental Meditation technique has been used as therapy in psychiatric hospitals with very positive results, as research studies have verified.

For instance, a series of four research papers by Glueck and Stroebel, published in journals such as Comprehensive Psychiatry and Current Psychiatric Therapies, studied the results of using the TM technique with institutionalized psychiatric patients at a leading mental health institution, the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. Not only did Gleuck and Stroebel find no adverse effects on the psychiatric population, they reported improvement on all measures with the Transcendental Meditation technique, including improved mental health status at the time of discharge; reduced sleep medication and other medications; improvement in psychological tests; improvement in nurses’ daily notes of behavior; and in teenaged patients, increased ability to concentrate and reduced impulsive behavior.

If a person has a psychiatric illness, he or she often needs special attention from the TM instructor, just as someone with a bad back who is starting an exercise program may need special attention or some adjustment from a therapist. Gleuck and Stroebel cautioned that institutionalized psychotic patients should be monitored closely as they learn the Transcendental Meditation technique, similar to the observation that medical personnel would use administering any new therapeutic modality.

Fortunately, the Transcendental Meditation technique includes a follow-up program that everyone is encouraged to attend. If the person participates in the follow-up program, any difficulties can be addressed and corrected by the TM teacher.
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