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Three studies of 362 high school students in 3 schools in Taiwan tested the hypothesis that regular practice of transcendental meditation (TM) for 6 to 12 months would improve cognitive ability. TM practice produced significant effects on all seven variables studies, and the TM technique was superior to contemplative meditation for five of the seven variables. Napping for equivalent periods of time had no effect on cognitive ability. (SLD)

The Maharishi University of Management locates transcendental consciousness at the basis of the universe, experienced through transcendental meditation. Disciplines are taught as expressions of one unified field of consciousness. Research demonstrates the benefits of this integrated system for management education students. (SK)

Describes a theory about consciousness and leadership practices derived from the Hindu Vedas. Shows how subjects who learned Transcendental Meditation as a self-development technique improved their leadership behaviors as measured by the Leadership Practices Inventory. (SK)

Outlines the theoretical basis of Maharishi's Integrated System of Rehabilitation, which includes transcendental meditation, offering a uniquely effective approach to correctional rehabilitation. An example from Senegal shows significant decreases in violence, medical needs, and recidivism. (JOW)

Discusses the context within which office automation takes place by using the models of the Science of Creative Intelligence and Transcendental Meditation. Organizational structures are compared to the phenomenon of the "collective consciousness" and the development of automated information systems from manual methods of organizational structure is outlined. (EM)

Unique experiences of transcendental levels of awareness are examined relative to theories of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Plato, and C. Jung; autobiographical reports by geniuses of their creative processes; correlations measured between transcendental experiences, physiological functioning creative ability; and the effect of these experiences on relative ability. (MC)

Summary: Psychological distress has a demonstrable impact on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and risk factors. Transcendental Meditation (TM) has been shown to reduce stress and improve health and well‐being. The current review aimed to synthesize the evidence on the effects of TM on cardiometabolic outcomes and identify gaps for future research. We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases for relevant literature. Forty‐five papers that reported studies of TM on cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases were included. Evidence shows that TM is effective in reducing blood pressure (BP). We found some evidence that TM can improve insulin resistance and may play a role in improving dyslipidemia, exercise tolerance, and myocardial blood flow, and in reducing carotid intima‐media thickness and left ventricular mass. Studies show that long‐term TM practice can reduce the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and CVD mortality. This review identified that certain studies have high participant drop‐out rates, and fewer studies targeted comprehensive cardiometabolic outcomes beyond BP with longer follow‐up periods. We found that most studies were conducted in specific populations, which may limit generalizability. In conclusion, TM has the potential to improve cardiometabolic health; however, research gaps highlight the need for larger phase III multicenter clinical trials with long‐term follow‐ups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality involves being in harmony with the cosmos or nature and a willingness to engage in good works for the sake of mankind; for instance, love for one another, care for the environment, and the production and protection of the common good for society. Spirituality could also be defined as the connectedness with nature or the cosmos, seeing beyond the circumstances of one’s limitation and the suffering one encounters (transcendence) and understanding one purpose and meaning of one existence. In an African context, spirituality is experienced by many people as being in touch with one’s spirit which is an indication of integration of the body with the spirit and without this spiritual aspect of the essence of oneself, it becomes natural to see and feel problem. When one is permanently established on the platform of the Transcendental Being, life is lived in eternal freedom and enjoyment of blissfulness throughout the day. In this vein, the self silently witnesses daily activity. This is the essence of TM practice where practitioners experience spiritual upliftment. Though much research has been done on TM globally, the spiritual lived experiences of the practitioners have not been adequately explored, especially in South Africa and Ghana. Therefore, the study sought to explore the spiritual lived experiences of TM practitioners in South Africa and Ghana. The study adopted the constructivist paradigm through the lens of phenomenology. In all, 28 participants took part in the study − 14 participants from South Africa and another 14 from Ghana. Open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data for the study. Husserl’s transcendental phenomenological data analysis was used to analyze and synthesize the descriptions of the spiritual lived experiences of the TM practitioners. The results suggest that TM act as a catalyst for the spiritual growth of the participants from both countries and that they experienced spiritual upliftment with the practice of TM. However, two participants both females were of the view that TM has nothing to do with their spirituality. It is the recommendation of this study that people who seek a spiritual path to discover their purpose and meaning in life explore this technique although there are other paths toward spiritual enlightenment. For instance, Christian’s contemplations player and Sufism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contentless experience (sometimes termed pure consciousness) there is an absence of mental content such as thought, perception, and mental imagery. The path to contentless experience in meditation can be taken to comprise the meditation technique, and the experiences ("interim-states") on the way to the contentless "goal-state/s". Shamatha, Transcendental, and Stillness Meditation are each said to access contentless experience, but the path to that experience in each practice is not yet well understood from a scientific perspective. We have employed evidence synthesis to select and review 135 expert texts from those traditions. In this paper we describe the techniques and interim-states based on the expert texts and compare them across the practices on key dimensions. Superficially, Shamatha and Transcendental Meditation appear very different to Stillness Meditation in that they require bringing awareness to a meditation object. The more detailed and systematic approach taken in this paper indicates that posturally Shamatha is closer to Stillness Meditation, and that on several other dimensions Shamatha is quite different to both other practices. In particular, Shamatha involves greater measures to cultivate attentional stability and vividness with respect to an object, greater focusing, less tolerance of mind-wandering, more monitoring, and more deliberate doing/control. Achieving contentless experience in Shamatha is much slower, more difficult, and less frequent. The findings have important implications for taxonomies of meditation and for consciousness, neuroscientific, and clinical research/practice, and will provide new and useful insights for meditation practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of interventions that can produce altered states of consciousness (ASC) have shown utility in the treatment of substance misuse. In this review, we examine addiction-related outcomes associated with three common interventions that produce ASCs: psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PP), Transcendental Meditation (TM) and hypnotherapy (HT). While procedurally distinct, all three interventions are associated with some common phenomenological, psychological, and neurobiological features, indicating some possible convergent mechanisms of action. Along with addiction and mental health outcomes, these common features are reviewed, and their impact on substance misuse is discussed. While our review highlights some mixed findings and methodological issues, results indicate that PP and TM are associated with significant improvements in substance misuse, alongside improvements in emotional, cognitive and social functioning, behavior-change motivation, sense of self-identity, and meaning. In contrast, and despite its broader acceptance, HT has been associated with mixed and minimal results with respect to substance misuse treatment. Authors identify key research gaps in the role of ASC interventions in addiction and outline a set of promising future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A set of interventions that can produce altered states of consciousness (ASC) have shown utility in the treatment of substance misuse. In this review, we examine addiction-related outcomes associated with three common interventions that produce ASCs: psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PP), Transcendental Meditation (TM) and hypnotherapy (HT). While procedurally distinct, all three interventions are associated with some common phenomenological, psychological, and neurobiological features, indicating some possible convergent mechanisms of action. Along with addiction and mental health outcomes, these common features are reviewed, and their impact on substance misuse is discussed. While our review highlights some mixed findings and methodological issues, results indicate that PP and TM are associated with significant improvements in substance misuse, alongside improvements in emotional, cognitive and social functioning, behavior-change motivation, sense of self-identity, and meaning. In contrast, and despite its broader acceptance, HT has been associated with mixed and minimal results with respect to substance misuse treatment. Authors identify key research gaps in the role of ASC interventions in addiction and outline a set of promising future research directions.

Contentless experience involves an absence of mental content such as thought, perception, and mental imagery. In academic work it has been classically treated as including states like those aimed for in Shamatha, Transcendental, and Stillness Meditation. We have used evidence synthesis to select and review 135 expert texts from within the three traditions. In this paper we identify the features of contentless experience referred to in the expert texts and determine whether the experiences are the same or different across the practices with respect to each feature. We identify 65 features reported or implied in one or more practices, with most being reported or implied in all three. While there are broad similarities in the experiences across the traditions, we find that there are differences with respect to four features and possibly many others. The main difference identified is that Shamatha involves substantially greater attentional stability and vividness. Another key finding is that numerous forms of content are present in the experiences, including wakefulness, naturalness, calm, bliss/joy, and freedom. The findings indicate that meditation experiences described as contentless in the academic literature can in fact involve considerable variation, and that in many and perhaps most cases these experiences are not truly contentless. This challenges classical understandings in academic research that in these so-called contentless experiences all content is absent, and that the experiences are therefore an identical state of pure consciousness or consciousness itself. Our assessment is that it remains an open question whether the experiences aimed for in the three practices should be classed as pure consciousness. Implications of our analysis for neuroscientific and clinical studies and for basic understandings of the practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcendental Meditation is a new religious movement that has recently started to make its name known in the world and in Turkey. Issues such as the emergence of this movement, its historical development, its current situation, its nature, activities and members arouse curiosity. It is especially questioned whether it has anything to do with Indian and Far Eastern religions. Transcendental Meditation is one of the reformist movements of Hinduism. The Transcendental Meditation movement, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, originated in India in 1957 and spread to America. This movement was founded on the philosophy called Advaita of the reformist philosopher Shankara, who lived in the ninth century, based on the sacred texts of Hinduism, the Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita. The meditation technique originating from Indian culture is not only an Eastern technique and worship; has spread all over the world. The Transcendental Meditation movement is among the most effective and important formations in the spread of this technique. Transcendental Meditation, which has a unique mantra meditation technique, is described as a technique of transcending thought by allowing the mind to remain naturally quiet and alert. It is claimed that this technique provides many benefits such as reducing stress, managing anxiety, lowering blood pressure, and increasing life satisfaction. Many questions about Transcendental Meditation occupy minds. These include the giant companies, holdings, schools, media organizations, economic and political power, state, ministers and currency that this movement has, although it has no land, homeland or borders. The reason why we are working on Transcendental Meditation is its worldwide influence and rapid spread with the meditation technique and other practices it highlights, and especially its increasing activities in Turkey. In this study, the emergence of Transcendental Meditation, the life of its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, his teachers, works, activities, the phases of the movement from its beginning to the present day, and discussions about its nature will be discussed. In addition, the formation and development process and activities of Transcendental Meditation in Turkey will be examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch's Dune" by Max Evry is a comprehensive book that explores the production, release, and legacy of David Lynch's film "Dune" (1984). The author provides a detailed history of the film, contextualizing it within Lynch's career and the era of production. The book includes curated interview material from cast and crew members, offering diverse perspectives on the film. It also delves into alternative production possibilities, casting choices, and the challenges faced during filming, including the exploitation of low-paid extras in Mexico. Overall, the book provides valuable insights for those interested in film research, history, or Dune fandom. [Extracted from the article]

This article redacts certain sections of the author's recent book on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement. Specifically, it offers an updated overview—based on earlier studies—of the TM movement's development and what led to its enormous success, while also providing analysis of the movement using metrics gleaned from the academic study of new religious movements. The author places primary attention on assessing whether or not TM and its attendant philosophy constitutes a religion, and, based primarily on metrics offered by Bainbridge and Stark, argues that it is not only a religion but a variety of Neo‐Hinduism. Attention is also given to the TM movement's deep appeal for the youth culture of the 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examined whether studying in a Consciousness-Based Education institution influenced college students’ mental and physical health. Participants and methods: Undergraduate college students (n=321) completed the Duke Health Profile, assessing 11 areas of mental and physical health, both as entering freshmen (2008-2014) and at graduation. The archived data was analyzed from 2019 to 2020. Results: Using ANOVA for all 11 subscales revealed significant increases in physical, mental, and general health, self-esteem (P<.001), perceived health (P<.017); and significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and anxiety-depression (P<.001). There were no significant group effects on pain, disability, or social health. Conclusions: Consciousness-Based Education was found to buffer the effects of stress on mental and physical health in college students. Consciousness-Based Education’s influence in lowering anxiety and depression while improving self-esteem and general health presents an effective tool for educators and administrators to consider in assisting students combating the stress of college life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there have been many new treatments discovered for brain disorders over the past few decades, we are still facing a major problem when it comes to treating these disorders throughout the world. This means we need better tools for improving mental health. Meditation is a technique that people have used for thousands of years to learn how to better regulate their minds. Although the benefits of meditation are well known, many people never learn how to meditate, often because it can require having many meetings with people who teach meditation. To try to solve this problem, scientists have begun to use modern technology (like smartphones) to help people learn how to meditate. This article will explain how meditation can improve the brain's ability to focus, how apps can be important tools for teaching people how to meditate, and how using meditation apps can benefit mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the midst of global armed conflicts, notably the Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia wars, there is an urgent need for innovative public health strategies in peacebuilding. The devastating impact of wars, including mortality, injury, disease, and the diversion of healthcare resources, necessitates effective and durable interventions. This perspective aligns with WHO recommendations and examines the role of evidence-based meditation from Ayurveda and Yoga in public health to mitigate collective stress and prevent collective violence and war. It highlights the Transcendental Meditation program, recognized for reducing stress, with contemporary evidence supporting its effectiveness in mental health, mind–body disorders, cardiovascular disease, and public health. Empirical studies with cross-cultural replications indicate that these Traditional Medicine meditation practices can reduce collective stress and prevent collective violence and war activity while improving quality of life. The mechanisms of group meditation in mitigating collective violence are explored through public health models, cognitive neuroscience, population neuroscience, quantum physics principles, and systems medicine. This perspective suggests that Transcendental Meditation and the advanced TM-Sidhi program, as a component of Traditional Medicine, can provide a valuable platform for enhancing societal well-being and peace by addressing brain-based factors fundamental to collective stress and violence.

Introduction: Burnout is pervasive among physicians and has widespread implications for individuals and institutions. This research study examines, for the first time, the effects of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique on academic physician burnout and depression. Methods: A mixed methods randomized controlled trial was conducted with 40 academic physicians representing 15 specialties at a medical school and affiliated VA hospital using the TM technique as the active intervention. Physicians were measured at baseline, 1 month, and 4 months using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Insomnia Severity Index, Perceived Stress Scale, and Brief Resilience Scale. Repeated measures analysis of covariance was used to assess adjusted mean change scores for the 1- and 4-months posttests. Qualitative interviews were conducted at baseline and 4 months and compared with the quantitative measurements. Results: Significant improvements were found for the TM group compared with controls at 4 months in total burnout (p = .020) including the Maslach Burnout Inventory dimensions of emotional exhaustion (p = .042) and personal accomplishment (p = .018) and depression (p = .016). Qualitative interviews supported quantitative outcomes. Physicians reported classic burnout and depression symptoms in baseline interviews. Those regularly practicing the TM technique reported relief from those symptoms. The control group did not state similar changes. Discussion: Mixed methods findings suggest the TM technique is a viable and effective intervention to decrease burnout and depression for academic physicians. Larger longitudinal studies with a wider range of health care providers are needed to validate these findings for extrapolation to the greater medical community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique in schools and universities throughout the world has been well researched over a 50-year period suggesting it is a useful tool for student development and learning. However, introduction of the practice into school systems throughout Latin America is a relatively recent phenomenon and no research has been published on the likely or actual outcomes from this initiative. Moreover, research conducted on the practice in international settings has typically involved investigation of standard educational variables – such as academic performance, intelligence, and behavior – and has mostly used only quantitative methods and designs to do so. For this study, conducted on the practice in Puno, Perú, we have adopted a learning history approach using a third-person action research method of semi-structured interviews to hear and understand the distinct voices of parents and teachers about the consequences of practicing Transcendental Meditation on the personal, academic and social lives of Aymara school children. Results from frequency and saliency analysis indicate that a series of confirmatory as well as unique knowledge outcomes have emerged in this setting, and these are discussed in the context of international empirical results to create a learned history of the practice in Perú. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Frontline Healthcare provider (HCP) burnout has dramatically increased due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Hospitals are supporting wellness programs and techniques to reduce burnout including the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. This study evaluated the use of TM on HCP symptoms of stress, burnout and wellness. Methods: A total of 65 HCPs at three South Florida hospitals were recruited and instructed in the TM technique which they practiced at home for 20 minutes twice a day. A parallel lifestyle as usual control group was enrolled. Validated measurement scales (Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey [MBI-HSS (MP)] and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (WEMWBS) were administered at baseline, 2 weeks, one and three months. Results: No significant demographic differences were seen between the 2 groups; however, some baseline scales were higher in the TM group. TM average weekly session completion rate was very high at 83%. After 2-weeks, symptoms of somatization, depression, and anxiety in the TM group had all shown near 45% reductions, while insomnia, emotional exhaustion, and well-being had improved by 33%, 16%, and 11% respectively (P = 0.02 for somatization and <.001 for all others); no significant change was noted in the LAU group. At 3-months, in the TM group, the improvement in symptoms showed a mean reduction of in anxiety, 62%, somatization, 58%, depression, 50%, insomnia, 44%, emotional exhaustion 40%, depersonalization, 42%, and improvement of well-being 18% (for all p<0.004). P-values for between-group differences in change from baseline, based upon repeated measures ANCOVA covarying for baseline measurements, showed significance for all scales at 3-months. Conclusion: The study confirmed the reported significant and rapid benefits of the practice of TM and demonstrated its positive psychological impact on healthcare workers in a high stress setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: CDC data indicate that the U.S. is experiencing a sustained epidemic of drug-related mortality, with such deaths exceeding a record 100,000 in 2021, up 47% from 2019. Opioids, especially the synthetic opioid fentanyl, account for approximately 75% of this mortality. This study evaluates a proposed Consciousness-Based® approach that may possibly help reduce trends in drug-related fatalities by mitigating what WHO refers to as an "epidemic of stress" in society that helps fuel drug misuse and other negative public health trends. This approach involves providing support in public and private sector public health initiatives for individual and group practice of a subjective, evidence-based meditation procedure suitable for those of all educational, cultural, and religious backgrounds: the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) technique and its advanced aspect, the TM-Sidhi® program. Materials and Methods: Segmented-trend regression analysis of monthly CDC data on U.S. drug-related fatality rates (dfr) from a prospective social experiment (2002–2016) was used to replicate and extend prior peer-reviewed research. Results: As hypothesized, (1) practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program by a group of theoretically predicted size (√1% of the U.S. population) was associated with a statistically and practically significant reduction in dfr trend during the five-year "demonstration period" of the quasi-experiment; and (2) monthly dfr trend subsequently increased during the five-year follow-up period when the group fell below the required size (both p's < 0.0001). The estimated total percent decrease in dfr during the demonstration period was 35.5%, calculated relative to the baseline mean. This decline was followed by total dfr increases of 11.8% and 47.4% relative to the demonstration-period mean during the two phases of the follow-up period. Conclusion: Existing evidence warrants implementation and further evaluation of this approach in U.S. public health initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laws described in Islamic Shariah are related to many things, some of these laws are compulsory and relate to things that must always be performed or acted upon while some of these relate to thing that should be avoided at all costs. Jurists have described two types of ahkam e shariah; one is “Azimat” and second one is “Rukhsat” Azimat has a very high reward and then there are some laws in which Shariah has granted relaxation if there is a genuine excuse and if such types are not obliged with at that time and are acted upon later when there is an ease in executing them then that is totally allowed these are called Rukhsat. In the start of this article I have described various types and meaning of words “Hukam”, “Shariah”, “Hukam Sharaee” and have also described “Ilm-e-Sharaee”. Have also described literal & technical meanings of word “Azimat” and its types. There is also some details on which laws/orders in Shariah are “Farz”, “Wajib”,” Sunnat”, “Nafl”, “Mubah” and “Makrooh” and then literal and technical meaning of “Rukhsat” are also detailed. This is a prerequisite for every Muslim to be aware of the status of the laws/orders of Shariah that are imposed on him. What is rightful for him and will elevate his/her status in the sight of Allah and what is forbidden or has some relaxation for him so that he does not commit a sin and fall in the category of sinner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 2000 indigenous students at Institución Educativa Privada Prescott in Puno, located in the Andes high on the Altiplano of Lake Titicaca, have been instructed in Transcendental Meditation. In this study, we examine the impact of home isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic on physical, cognitive, and emotional health, and school performance for a group of 54 meditating students, and contrast these results to a comparison group of 53 meditating students who reported their health and learning prior to the pandemic. The study is the first to consider the association of home isolation on students practicing meditation in a group: (A) at the same time of day and in the same place as part of their daily school routine and (B) during online sessions at the same time of day but in a different place. Findings indicate both approaches to group meditation before and during the pandemic produced favourable results for health and school performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]