Transcendental Meditation

So, on a whim, I decided to fork out €900 for a course on Transcendental Meditation (TM). Basically it's a course that helps you to experience enlivened consciousness. You are given a mantra by your teacher and you practice it twice a day for 20 mins each. The mental and physiological benefits mentioned are pretty sweet and I have been doing it now for the best part of a month, but I'm not sure if it's doing the job. The thing is, I'm a student and €900 is a lot of money (If my dad finds out I spent that much on a meditation, he's kill me!)

The main reason I decided to take on the course is because of American filmmaker David Lynch (hence the handle). I am fascinated with his movies, and when he released a book called 'Cathing the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, & Creativity' advocating TM as a way to experience bliss and enlightenment, I was sold. However, now I'm not so sure. But it's early days yet I suppose...

Anyway. I didn't post this in a spiritually section because for me it's not anything to do with religion or beliefs. So, has anyone else done this course, or know of someone who has?

Sherifu

Money > Sense

kittensoft1984

Why would you fork out €900!??

thats mental! Buy some mediatation CD's and do it yourself!

I meditate using CD's...! and its just as effective!

TPD

Couldnt you find out how to do it for free on the net somewhere?

kittensoft1984

kittensoft1984 wrote: »

Why would you fork out €900!??

thats mental! Buy some mediatation CD's and do it yourself!

I meditate using CD's...! and its just as effective!

Well, it just seemed like the ultimate type of meditation. Just google TM and the extensive information is very convincing. And I thought the fact that it costs so much meant that it HAD to be good. Oops.

I have tried other meditation before and didn't like them. In contrast, from what I have experienced so far, TM is much easier and rewarding. However, I'm not sure if it was worth the money. Maybe someone has done it for some months/years now?

Muggy Dev

David Lynch also did "Eraserhead" but it did´nt endear me to parenthood.

I did the course back in the late eighties for a small fraction of the price
you´re paying and all it did was give me migraines.There are better ways to piss 900 quid away.

Voodu Child

OP, want to buy a bridge? I'll throw in some magic beans if you order today!

WindSock

Ouch, that hurts. E900 for what exactly? lets hope you will be able to not have that in the forefront of your mind when you are trying to meditate. Thats an awful lot of money to be spending on something you don't really know about. Get your money back and do a bit more research.
The beauty of meditation is that we can do it ourselves and it costs nothing.

Kold

You could've gotten like... loadsa whores for that cash.

Nevyn

David Lynch wrote: »

So, on a whim, I decided to fork out €900 for a course on Transcendental Meditation (TM). Basically it's a course that helps you to experience enlivened consciousness. You are given a mantra by your teacher and you practice it twice a day for 20 mins each. The mental and physiological benefits mentioned are pretty sweet and I have been doing it now for the best part of a month, but I'm not sure if it's doing the job. The thing is, I'm a student and €900 is a lot of money (If my dad finds out I spent that much on a meditation, he's kill me!)

There are other courses that I think you can try and tbh there are free meditation groups around the country you are getting hung up on the name of that process and are being fooled into paying for that name.

Mahatma coat

so, you paid a guy 900 YoYo's to tell you HOW to sit alone in a quiet room not really thinkin about anything, emptying your mind shal we say, E900? dont you think you might have already been there.

My bridge is the best you should deffo buy mine

Kold

Hahaha how do you relax knowing how much you've been ripped off? However if you're a student with an expendable 900 euros, I'd imagine you can sleep easier than I would.

Well, I have been researching it on and off for the best part of a year, so it was on my mind for a while. It was just when I heard that there was a teacher in Cork that I decided to pay for it. I am glad that I did it, I think. I am hopeful that it will be beneficial in the coming months.

The main reason why I wanted to do Transcendental Meditation is because I have spent much, much more money on psychiatrists, psychologists, and medication because of very bad anxiety and depression, without much resolve, and I wanted to try an alternative route.

voodoo_child, where can I score some of these 'magic beans' you speak of?'

An Bhfuil tu sa

I looked into meditation recently and decided heavily against TM. It seems not too disimilar to a cult to me. Did you read about the possible negative effects they don't tell you until you're well into the course? Some people can't snap out of the spacey feeling very easily and I believe they also don't tell you alot of things before you're already in it.

No one should have to pay that sort of money to be guided to enlightenment. Another farce for the western world.

The Dublin Buddhist centre have a 5 week meditation course starting on the 14th of May for 100 euro unwaged and 150 waged. It is not the teaching of buddhism so people of all faiths are welcome.

18AD

I'll resolve your indecisiveness for E50.
And don't trust people who charge more. E50 is it's real value. Anything less and you'll get a wishy-washy job.

WindSock

Just because something costs a lot of money doesn't mean it will be good.
Have you heard of www.dhamma.org for Vipassana meditation? There are places here in Ireland that do it. You go to a place for 10 days and talk or make contact with no-one. There are people there, but there is no communication between you. I have spoken to people who have done it and they said it's fantastic but hard for the first few days. and you start crying for no reason, but it's good as people don't bother you.

Defenestrate

David Lynch wrote: »

voodoo_child, where can I score some of these 'magic beans' you speak of?'

Dont buy his beans, I have a whole bag of Transcendental Magic Beans here! They're exactly the same but cost twice as much. That means they must be twice as good, right?

leninbenjamin

I know people who've done TM and found it to be very effective. the approach works for some and doesn't for others. I've tried CDs before and found them to be useless, so meh... stick with it seeing as you've already paid the money i guess. meditation takes years to be effective because it's all about inducing certain ultra low brainwaves, and that's not an easy task anyway, don't expect immediate results. CDs claim to achieve similar results a lot quicker by carrying different frequencies in each ear but I found it to be counter productive. it's not the fact your have the waves i reckon, it's what you have to do to get there, the level of mental control, that makes mediation effective.

Jigsaw

Was never one for all this meditation carry on. A lot cheaper to throw yourself onto the sofa, smoke some drugs then order a pizza. The contentment is without comparison.

An Bhfuil tu sa

Jigsaw wrote: »

Was never one for all this meditation carry on. A lot cheaper to throw yourself onto the sofa, smoke some drugs then order a pizza. The contentment is without comparison.

This is all well and good if you want non productive hippy crap. It's escapism and doesn't actually deal with anything other than a bit of temporary relief.

Don't get me wrong though, I do take alot of drugs.

Four-Too

I think you need to get in touch with the higher authority, if you become God conscious, your problems will dissolve.
You need to be enlightened, no doubt. You must get on the spiritual level for it to be effective, not easy. In the current age of darkness, the best way is to chant hare krishna, find out about this chanting from a guru or whoever might know about it.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

aye, that's all the people in africa and the middle east need.. more god in their lives.

Sherifu

Mordeth wrote: »

aye, that's all the people in africa and the middle east need.. more god in their lives.

TIA my friend. They need the anti-aids tbh. That, or start using condoms.

slipss

An Bhfuil tu sa wrote: »

It's escapism....doesn't actually deal with anything.....temporary relief.

Yeah that sums up TM pretty adequately.

But seriously it can work, what it does is no different than what praying to God does for religious people, or what certain breathing techniques involved in some martial arts do for martial artists the exact same physiological responses are involved, don't expect it to solve all your problems, or any of your problems for that matter, at most it does what it all these things do provide a short term mode lift and/or lower anxiety in the time period imediatly after you do them, and for the love of god don't give anyone any more money, all this information is available for free online exactly how someone who takes nearly 1000 is going to give it to you.

RealEstateKing

By getting fools to pay hundreds to be taught a tecnique anybody can learn for free , the Maharish Mahesh Yogi (Founder of TM) managed to buy himself a fleet of Rolls Royces, and as many naive young Califiornian girls as his tongue could cope with.

All while preaChing non-attachment to material things. The Beatles song Sexy Sadie on the white album is all about him. They changed the name at the last moment.

Dave!

Ever hear of magic mushrooms? They GROW IN IRELAND!!! Ya woulda been better off buying a book about identifying mushrooms, and reached nirvana that way