Friday, 12 October 2012

Transcendental Meditation


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Logo of TM.org
Transcendental Meditation (TM) refers to a specific form of mantra meditation called the Transcendental Meditation technique[1] and an organization called the Transcendental Meditation movement.[2][3] The TM technique and TM movement were introduced in India in the mid-1950s by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918–2008).
The Maharishi personally taught thousands of people during a series of world tours from 1958 to 1965, expressing his teachings in spiritual and religious terms.[4][5] TM became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s, as the Maharishi shifted to a more scientific presentation and his meditation technique was practiced by celebrities. At this time he began training TM teachers and created specialized organizations to present TM to specific segments of the population such as business people and students. In 1977, a U.S. district court ruled that a curriculum in TM and the Science of Creative Intelligence that was being taught in some New Jersey schools was religious in nature and in violation of the First Amendment.[6][7][5] By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of people, and the worldwide TM organization had grown to include educational programs, health products, and related services.
The TM technique involves the use of a sound or mantra and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day. It is taught by certified teachers through a standard course of instruction but fees vary by country. It is said to be a means of relaxation and stress reduction. Skeptics question its scientific value while proponents contend the practice can lead to higher levels of consciousness and have a positive influence on society. It has been marketed as a scientifically proven technique while many scholars and some governmental agencies have categorized it as part of a new religious movement.
TM is one of the most widely practiced, and among the most widely researched meditation techniques.[8][9][10][11] Research reviews of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique show results ranging from inconclusive [12][13][14][15] to clinically significant.[16][17][18][19][20]

Contents

  [hide] 

[edit]History

Main article: History of Transcendental Meditation

Brahmananda Saraswati
The Transcendental Meditation (TM) program and the Transcendental Meditation movement originated withMaharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the organization, and continue beyond his death (2008). He first taught the technique in the late 1950s. After personally initiating thousands of people, the Maharishi developed a program to create more teachers of the technique as a way to accelerate the rate of teaching TM to more people.[21][22]He also inaugurated a series of world tours which promoted Transcendental Meditation.[23] These factors, coupled with endorsements by celebrities who practiced TM, and also, scientific research validating the technique, helped to popularize it in the 1960s and 1970s. As well, in the 1970s advanced meditative techniques were introduced.[24] By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of individuals and the Maharishi was overseeing a large multinational movement.[25] In present times, the movement has grown to encompass schools and universities that teach the practice,[26] and includes many associated programs offering health and well-being based on the Maharishi's interpretation of the Vedic traditions. Despite organizational changes and additional techniques, the Transcendental Meditation technique has remained relatively unchanged. Among the first organizations to promote TM were the Spiritual Regeneration Movement and the International Meditation Society. In the U.S., major organizations included Students International Meditation Society,[27] AFSCI,[28] World Peace Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Corporation, and Global Country of World Peace. The successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and head of the Global Country of World Peace, is Tony Nader.[29]

[edit]Technique

Main article: Transcendental Meditation technique
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a specific form of mantra meditation[30] developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It is often referred to as Transcendental Meditation or simply, TM. The meditation practice involves the use of a sound, called a mantra, and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day, while sitting with closed eyes.[31][32] It is reported to be one of the most widely practiced, and among the most widely researched, meditation techniques, with over 340 peer-reviewed studies published.[33][34] Research reviews of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique have yielded results ranging from inconclusive[12][13][35][36] to clinically significant.[37][38][39][40][41] The technique is made available worldwide by certified TM teachers in a seven step course.[31]
Advanced courses supplement the TM technique and include an advanced meditation called the TM-Sidhi program. In 1970, the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) became the theoretical basis for the Transcendental Meditation technique, although skeptics questioned its scientific nature.[42] According to proponents, when 1 percent of a population (such as a city or country) practices the TM technique daily, their practice influences the quality of life for that population. This has been termed the Maharishi Effect.
Beginning in 1965, the Transcendental Meditation technique was incorporated into selected institutional programs such as schools, universities and corporations, as well as social programs aimed at veterans, prison inmates and the homeless. In 1977, a U.S. district court ruled that a curriculum in TM and the Science of Creative Intelligence that was being taught in some New Jersey schools was religious in nature and in violation of the First Amendment.[43][44][5] The technique has since been included in educational and social programs worldwide.
The Transcendental Meditation technique has been described as both religious and non religious, as an aspect of a New Religious Movement, as having it roots in Hinduism, and by the TM movement as scientific and non-religious. Publicity campaigns for the TM technique have varied over its 50 year history. It has been praised for its visibility in the mass media and its effective global propagation, and criticized for turning its celebrity and scientific endorsements into propaganda. The fees for the TM course vary from country to country.[45]

[edit]Movement

Main article: Transcendental Meditation movement
The Transcendental Meditation movement (also referred to as Transcendental Meditation or TM, Maharishi's worldwide movement, and the Transcendental Meditation organization) is a worldwide organization, sometimes characterized as a neo-Hindu new religious movement, and also as non-religious,[46][47] founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s. Estimated to have tens of thousands of participants, with high estimates citing as many as several million,[48] the global organization also consists of close to 1,000 TM centers, and controls property assets of the order of USD 3.5 billion (1998 estimate), including real estate holdings, schools, and clinics.[49][50]
The term Transcendental Meditation movement refers to programs and organizations connected to the Transcendental Meditation technique that were developed and or introduced by the founder. These programs include the TM-Sidhi program, Maharishi Ayurveda andMaharishi Sthapatya Veda. The TM-Sidhi program is an advanced form of Transcendental Meditation and includes "Yogic flying". Maharishi Ayurveda is an alternative system of health care that aims to restore balance in the physiology, eliminate impurities, and awaken the body's natural healing mechanisms.[51] Maharishi Sthapatya Veda is a system of architectural and planning principles based on "ancient Sanskrit texts"[52][53] The movement also operates numerous schools and universities, offers monastic programs called Mother Divine and Thousand Headed Purusha, operates health centers such as The Raj and Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center, assorted businesses such as Maharishi Ayurveda Products International and several TM-centered communities.
The first organization of the Transcendental Meditation movement was the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, founded in India in 1958. The International Meditation Society and Student International Meditation Society (SIMS) were founded in the US in the 1960s. The organizations were consolidated under the leadership of the World Plan Executive Council in the 1970s. In 1992, a political party, theNatural Law Party (NLP) was founded based on the principles of TM and it ran candidates in ten countries before disbanding in 2004.[5]The Global Country of World Peace is currently one of the primary organizations.
The TM movement has been described as a spiritual movement, as a new religious movement, and a "Neo-Hindu" sect.[54] It has been characterized as a religion, a cult, a charismatic movement, a "sect", "plastic export Hinduism", a progressive millennialism organization and a "multinational, capitalist, Vedantic Export Religion" in books and the mainstream press,[54][55] with concerns that the movement was being run to promote the Maharishi's personal interests.[56][57][58] Skeptics have called TM or its associated theories and technologies a pseudoscience.[59][60][61] Other sources assert that TM is not a religion, but a meditation technique; and they hold that the TM movement is a spiritual organization, and not a religion or a cult.[62][63] Participation in TM programs at any level does not require one to hold or deny any specific religious beliefs; TM is practiced by people of many diverse religious affiliations, as well as atheists and agnostics.[64][65][66]

[edit]Research

Main article: Transcendental Meditation research
There has been ongoing research into the Transcendental Meditation technique since studies first conducted at UCLA and Harvard University in the early 1970s, with over 340 peer-reviewed studies published.[67][68] The research has included studies on physiological changes during meditation, clinical applications, cognitive effects, mental health, addiction, and rehabilitation. Beginning in the 1990s, a focus of research has been the effects of Transcendental Meditation on cardiovascular disease, with over $20 million in funding from theNational Institutes of Health.[69]
Research reviews of benefits for the TM technique show results ranging from inconclusive [12][13][70][71] to clinically significant.[72][73][74][75][76] More research is needed to determine the therapeutic effects of meditation practices. Sources vary regarding their assessment of the quality of research. Some cite design limitations and a lack of methodological rigor,[13][77][78] while others assert that the quality is improving and that when suitable assessment criteria are applied, scientific evidence supports the therapeutic value of meditation.[79][80][81] According to Canter and Ernst, some studies have the potential for bias due to the connection of researchers to the TM organization.[82][83] In a published response, TM researchers suggested that the studies were not biased due to the fact that they were conducted in collaboration with independent researchers at several other universities.[84][85]
Practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) claim that in its practice and results, the technique is distinguished from other types of meditation or self-development "by its naturalness, effortlessness and profound effectiveness".[86]

[edit]References

  1. ^ "Transcendental Meditation". Oxford English Dictionary.
  2. ^ "Transcendental Meditation – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica Online Encyclopedia.
  3. ^ Dalton, Rex (July 8, 1993). "Sharp HealthCare announces an unorthodox, holistic institute". The San Diego Union – Tribune: p. B.4.5.1. "TM is a movement led by Maharishi Mehesh Yogi,...."
  4. ^ Dawson, Lorne L. ((2003) Blackwell Publishing, Cults and New Religious Movements, page54
  5. ^ a b c d Cowan, Douglas E., Bromley, David G. (2007). Cults and New Religions: A Brief History (Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 48–71. ISBN 1-4051-6128-0.
  6. ^ Church-state issues in America today (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Praeger. 2008. pp. 159. ISBN 978-0-275-99368-9.
  7. ^ American Bar Association (Jan 1978). "Constitutional Law... Separating Church and State". ABA Journal 64: 144.
  8. ^ Murphy M, Donovan S, Taylor E. The Physical and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A review of Contemporary Research with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931–1996. Sausalito, California: Institute of Noetic Sciences; 1997.
  9. ^ Benson, Herbert; Klipper, Miriam Z. (2001). The relaxation response. New York, NY: Quill. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-380-81595-1.
  10. ^ Sinatra, Stephen T.; Roberts, James C.; Zucker, Martin (December 20, 2007). Reverse Heart Disease Now: Stop Deadly Cardiovascular Plaque Before It's Too Late. Wiley. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-470-22878-4.
  11. ^ Travis, Frederick; Chawkin, Ken (Sept–Oct, 2003). New Life magazine.
  12. ^ a b c Ospina, MB.; Bond, K.; Karkhaneh, M.; Tjosvold, L.; Vandermeer, B.; Liang, Y.; Bialy, L.; Hooton, N. et al. (June 2007). "Meditation practices for health: state of the research".Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) (155): 1–263.PMID 17764203. "A few studies of overall poor methodological quality were available for each comparison in the meta-analyses, most of which reported nonsignificant results. TM had no advantage over health education to improve measures of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, body weight, heart rate, stress, anger, self-efficacy, cholesterol, dietary intake, and level of physical activity in hypertensive patients"
  13. ^ a b c d Krisanaprakornkit, T.; Krisanaprakornkit, W.; Piyavhatkul, N.; Laopaiboon, M. (2006). Krisanaprakornkit, Thawatchai. ed. "Meditation therapy for anxiety disorders".Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (1): CD004998.doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004998.pub2. PMID 16437509. "The small number of studies included in this review do not permit any conclusions to be drawn on the effectiveness of meditation therapy for anxiety disorders. Transcendental meditation is comparable with other kinds of relaxation therapies in reducing anxiety"
  14. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2004). "Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure: results of a systematic review of randomized clinical trials". Journal of Hypertension 22 (11): 2049–54.PMID 15480084. "There is at present insufficient good-quality evidence to conclude whether or not TM has a cumulative positive effect on blood pressure."
  15. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2003). "The cumulative effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive function--a systematic review of randomised controlled trials". Wien. Klin. Wochenschr.115 (21–22): 758–66. doi:10.1007/BF03040500.PMID 14743579. "The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomized controlled trials."
  16. ^ John Vogel, Rebecca Costello, and Mitchell Krucoff, Chapter 47 in Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, Peter Libbie, et al, eds, Saunders Elsevier, 2007, p. 1157. Quotation: "TM has been shown not only to improve blood pressure but also the insulin resistance components of the metabolic syndrome and cardiac autonomic nervous system tone."
  17. ^ Italo Biaggioni, ed. (November 2011). Primer on the Autonomic Nervous System. Geoffrey Burnstock, Phillip A. Low, Julian F.R. Paton (3rd ed.). USA: Academic Press. pp. 297–298. "A meta-analysis of these studies indicates that TM significantly decreased low and high risk participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressures. . . . In addition, psychological distress and coping abilities were significantly improved compared to control TM groups in both low and high risk groups."
  18. ^ Shapiro, Shauna (2009). "Meditation and Positive Psychology". In Lopez, Shane; Snyder. Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 601–610. ISBN 978-0-19-518724-3. ". . . the TM group demonstrated . . . significantly decreased anxiety compared to a control group. The results suggest that TM’s effects extend beyond those of ordinary rest."
  19. ^ Chen, Kevin W.; Christine C. Berger, Eric Manheimer, Darlene Forde, Jessica Magidson, Laya Dachman, C. W. Lejuez (June 2012). "Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials".Depression and Anxiety 29 (7): 1, 11-12.doi:10.1002/da.21964. "From abstract: “This review demonstrates some efficacy of meditative therapies in reducing anxiety symptoms, which has important clinical implications for applying meditative techniques in treating anxiety.” (From Table 1, p. 7-9): "Nidich et al. (2009): The TM group showed significant(ly) more improvement in anxety at 3-month follow-up (p = .003) as compared to the WL control. CLEAR score: .89; Kondwani et al. (2005): TM group had a decrease in anxiety over time (p = .02) and a significant decrease in anxiety as compared to the control (p = .03). CLEAR score: .80; Sheppard et al. (1997) The TM group showed more decrease in anxiety at 3 months (p < .05) as compared to control and this pattern continued at 3 years follow-up. CLEAR score: .64""
  20. ^ Stephen Devries, ed. (2011). "The Integrative Approach to Hypertension, Ch. 11". Integrative Cardiology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 236, 237. 978-0195383461. "A 2008 meta-analysis of nine studies found a 4.7 mmHg systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mmHg diastolic blood pressure decrease in those who practiced TM compared to control groups that included health education. These decreases were judged to be clinically significant."
  21. ^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Thirty Years Around the World, Volume One, 1957-1964. MVU Press. p. 302. ISBN 90-71750-02-7.[need quotation to verify]
  22. ^ Russell, p 26
  23. ^ Olson, Helena; Olson, Roland. His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: A Living Saint for the New Millennium : Stories of His First Visit to the USA. Samhita Productions. p. 297.ISBN 978-1-929297-21-4.
  24. ^ Oates, Robert M. (1976). Celebrating the dawn: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM technique. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-399-11815-9.
  25. ^ The Times London, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Feb 7 2008, pg 62
  26. ^ Irwin, T. K. (October 8, 1972). "What's New in Science: Transcendental Meditation: Medical Miracle or 'Another Kooky Fad'". Sarasota Herald Tribune Family Weekly: pp. 8–9.
  27. ^ Chryssides, George D. (1999). Exploring new religions. London: Cassell. pp. 293–296. ISBN 978-0-8264-5959-6.
  28. ^ "Behavior: THE TM CRAZE: 40 Minutes to Bliss". Time. 1975-10-13. ISSN 0040-718X. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  29. ^ MIZROCH, AMIR (July 23, 2006). "Forget the F-16s, Israel needs more Yogic Flyers to beat Hizbullah. 30-strong TM group, sole guests at Nof Ginnosar Hotel, say they need another 235 colleagues to make the country safe". Jerusalem Post: p. 04.
  30. ^ "Transcendental Meditation". Oxford English Dictionary.
  31. ^ a b "Learn the Transcendental Meditation Technique – Seven Step Program". Tm.org. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  32. ^ Lansky EP, St Louis EK (November 2006). "Transcendental meditation: a double-edged sword in epilepsy?". Epilepsy Behav 9 (3): 394–400. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2006.04.019.PMID 16931164.
  33. ^ Rosenthal, Norman (2011). Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation. New York: Tarcher/Penguin. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-58542-873-1. "By my latest count, there have been 340 per-reviewed articles published on TM, many of which have appeared in highly respected journals."
  34. ^ "transcendental meditation (TM) is the most widely practiced and investigated"
  35. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2004). "Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure: results of a systematic review of randomized clinical trials". Journal of Hypertension 22 (11): 2049–54.PMID 15480084. "There is at present insufficient good-quality evidence to conclude whether or not TM has a cumulative positive effect on blood pressure."
  36. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2003). "The cumulative effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive function--a systematic review of randomised controlled trials". Wien. Klin. Wochenschr.115 (21–22): 758–66. doi:10.1007/BF03040500.PMID 14743579. "The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomized controlled trials."
  37. ^ John Vogel, Rebecca Costello, and Mitchell Krucoff, Chapter 47 in Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, Peter Libbie, et al, eds, Saunders Elsevier, 2007, p. 1157. Quotation: "TM has been shown not only to improve blood pressure but also the insulin resistance components of the metabolic syndrome and cardiac autonomic nervous system tone."
  38. ^ Italo Biaggioni, ed. (November 2011). Primer on the Autonomic Nervous System. Geoffrey Burnstock, Phillip A. Low, Julian F.R. Paton (3rd ed.). USA: Academic Press. pp. 297–298. "A meta-analysis of these studies indicates that TM significantly decreased low and high risk participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressures. . . . In addition, psychological distress and coping abilities were significantly improved compared to control TM groups in both low and high risk groups."
  39. ^ Shapiro, Shauna (2009). "Meditation and Positive Psychology". In Lopez, Shane; Snyder. Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 601–610. ISBN 978-0-19-518724-3. ". . . the TM group demonstrated . . . significantly decreased anxiety compared to a control group. The results suggest that TM’s effects extend beyond those of ordinary rest."
  40. ^ Chen, Kevin W.; Christine C. Berger, Eric Manheimer, Darlene Forde, Jessica Magidson, Laya Dachman, C. W. Lejuez (June 2012). "Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials".Depression and Anxiety 29 (7): 1, 11-12.doi:10.1002/da.21964. "From abstract: “This review demonstrates some efficacy of meditative therapies in reducing anxiety symptoms, which has important clinical implications for applying meditative techniques in treating anxiety.” (From Table 1, p. 7-9): "Nidich et al. (2009): The TM group showed significant(ly) more improvement in anxety at 3-month follow-up (p = .003) as compared to the WL control. CLEAR score: .89; Kondwani et al. (2005): TM group had a decrease in anxiety over time (p = .02) and a significant decrease in anxiety as compared to the control (p = .03). CLEAR score: .80; Sheppard et al. (1997) The TM group showed more decrease in anxiety at 3 months (p < .05) as compared to control and this pattern continued at 3 years follow-up. CLEAR score: .64""
  41. ^ Stephen Devries, ed. (2011). "The Integrative Approach to Hypertension, Ch. 11". Integrative Cardiology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 236, 237. 978-0195383461. "A 2008 meta-analysis of nine studies found a 4.7 mmHg systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mmHg diastolic blood pressure decrease in those who practiced TM compared to control groups that included health education. These decreases were judged to be clinically significant."
  42. ^ Science of Creative Intelligence Reserve Collection MUM web site, retrieved May 30, 2012
  43. ^ Church-state issues in America today (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Praeger. 2008. pp. 159. ISBN 978-0-275-99368-9.
  44. ^ American Bar Association (Jan 1978). "Constitutional Law... Separating Church and State". ABA Journal 64: 144.
  45. ^ TM Course Tuition TM official web site, retrieved May 30, 2012
  46. ^ For new religious movement see:
    Beckford, James A. (1985). Cult controversies: the societal response to new religious movements. Tavistock Publications. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-422-79630-9.
    Parsons, Gerald (1994). The Growth of Religious Diversity: Traditions. The Open University/Methuen. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-415-08326-3.
    For neo-Hindu, see:
    Alper, Harvey P. (December 1991). Understanding mantras. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. p. 442. ISBN 978-81-208-0746-4.
    Raj, Selva J.; William P. Harman (2007). Dealing With Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia. SUNY Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-7914-6708-4.
  47. ^ Chryssides George D. Defining the New Spiritualityhttp://www.cesnur.org/conferences/riga2000/chryssides.htmOne possible suggestion is that religion demands exclusive allegiance: this would ipso facto exclude Scientology, TM and the Soka Gakkai simply on the grounds that they claim compatibility with whatever other religion the practitioner has been following. For example, TM is simply – as they state – a technique. Although it enables one to cope with life, it offers no goal beyond human existence (such as moksha), nor does it offer rites or passage or an ethic. Unlike certain other Hindu-derived movements, TM does not prescribe a dharma to its followers – that is to say a set of spiritual obligations deriving from one’s essential nature.
  48. ^ "tens of thousands": New Religious Movements (University of Virginia) (1998), citing Melton, J. Gordon, 1993, Encyclopedia of American Religions. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale Research Inc, 945–946. Occhiogrosso, Peter. The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World's Religious Traditions. New York: Doubleday (1996); p 66, citing "close to a million" in the USA. The three million estimate appears to originate with The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993); pg. 35. O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993); p. 35. Petersen, William J. Those Curious New Cults in the 80s. New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing (1982), p 123 claims "more than a million" in the USA and Europe. The Financial Times (8 February 2003) reported that the movement claims to have five million followers, Bickerton, Ian (February 8, 2003). "Bank makes an issue of mystic's mint".Financial Times (London (UK)): p. 09.
  49. ^ "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". The Times (London (UK)). February 7, 2008.
  50. ^ "Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.
  51. ^ Sharma & Clark 1998, Preface
  52. ^ Welvaert, Brandy, Vedic homes seek better living through architecture", Rock Island Argus, (August 5, 2005)
  53. ^ Spivack, Miranda (September 12, 2008). "Bricks Mortar and Serenity". Washington Post.
  54. ^ a b Persinger, Michael A.; Carrey, Normand J.; Suess, Lynn A. (1980). TM and cult mania. North Quincy, Mass.: Christopher Pub. House. ISBN 0-8158-0392-3.
  55. ^ Sagan, Carl (1997). The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 16. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.
  56. ^ McTaggart, Lynne (July 24, 2003). The Field. HarperCollins. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-06-093117-9.
  57. ^ Syman, Stefanie (2010). The subtle body : the story of yoga in America (1st ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 201–202. ISBN 978-0-374-23676-2.
  58. ^ Mason, Paul (2005). The Maharishi : the biography of the man who gave transcendental meditation to the world (New ed. revised and updated. ed.). Lyndhurst: Evolution Publishing. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-0-9550361-0-1.
  59. ^ "James Randi Educational Foundation — An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural".
  60. ^ Sagan, Carl (1997). The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 16. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.
  61. ^
  62. ^ "TM is not a religion and requires no change in belief or lifestyle. Moreover, the TM movement is not a cult."
  63. ^ The Herald Scotland, April 21, 2007 Meditation-for-old-hippies-or-a-better-way-of-life?
  64. ^ "the TM technique does not require adherence to any belief system—there is no dogma or philosophy attached to it, and it does not demand any lifestyle changes other than the practice of it." [1]
  65. ^ "Its proponents say it is not a religion or a philosophy."The Guardian March 28, 2009 [2]
  66. ^ "It's used in prisons, large corporations and schools, and it is not considered a religion.” [3] Concord Monitor
  67. ^ Rosenthal, Norman (2011). Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation. New York: Tarcher/Penguin. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-58542-873-1. "By my latest count, there have been 340 per-reviewed articles published on TM, many of which have appeared in highly respected journals."
  68. ^ Lyn Freeman, Mosby’s Complementary & Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach, Mosby Elsevier, 2009, p. 163
  69. ^ QUICK, SUSANNE (October 17, 2004). "Delving into alternative care: Non-traditional treatments draw increased interest, research funding". Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI). Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  70. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2004). "Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure: results of a systematic review of randomized clinical trials". Journal of Hypertension 22 (11): 2049–54.PMID 15480084. "There is at present insufficient good-quality evidence to conclude whether or not TM has a cumulative positive effect on blood pressure."
  71. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2003). "The cumulative effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive function--a systematic review of randomised controlled trials". Wien. Klin. Wochenschr.115 (21–22): 758–66. doi:10.1007/BF03040500.PMID 14743579. "The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomized controlled trials."
  72. ^ John Vogel, Rebecca Costello, and Mitchell Krucoff, Chapter 47 in Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine, Peter Libbie, et al, eds, Saunders Elsevier, 2007, p. 1157. Quotation: "TM has been shown not only to improve blood pressure but also the insulin resistance components of the metabolic syndrome and cardiac autonomic nervous system tone."
  73. ^ Italo Biaggioni, ed. (November 2011). Primer on the Autonomic Nervous System. Geoffrey Burnstock, Phillip A. Low, Julian F.R. Paton (3rd ed.). USA: Academic Press. pp. 297–298. "A meta-analysis of these studies indicates that TM significantly decreased low and high risk participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressures. . . . In addition, psychological distress and coping abilities were significantly improved compared to control TM groups in both low and high risk groups."
  74. ^ Shapiro, Shauna (2009). "Meditation and Positive Psychology". In Lopez, Shane; Snyder. Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 601–610. ISBN 978-0-19-518724-3. ". . . the TM group demonstrated . . . significantly decreased anxiety compared to a control group. The results suggest that TM’s effects extend beyond those of ordinary rest."
  75. ^ Chen, Kevin W.; Christine C. Berger, Eric Manheimer, Darlene Forde, Jessica Magidson, Laya Dachman, C. W. Lejuez (June 2012). "Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials".Depression and Anxiety 29 (7): 1, 11-12.doi:10.1002/da.21964. "From abstract: “This review demonstrates some efficacy of meditative therapies in reducing anxiety symptoms, which has important clinical implications for applying meditative techniques in treating anxiety.” (From Table 1, p. 7-9): "Nidich et al. (2009): The TM group showed significant(ly) more improvement in anxety at 3-month follow-up (p = .003) as compared to the WL control. CLEAR score: .89; Kondwani et al. (2005): TM group had a decrease in anxiety over time (p = .02) and a significant decrease in anxiety as compared to the control (p = .03). CLEAR score: .80; Sheppard et al. (1997) The TM group showed more decrease in anxiety at 3 months (p < .05) as compared to control and this pattern continued at 3 years follow-up. CLEAR score: .64""
  76. ^ Stephen Devries, ed. (2011). "The Integrative Approach to Hypertension, Ch. 11". Integrative Cardiology. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 236, 237. 978-0195383461. "A 2008 meta-analysis of nine studies found a 4.7 mmHg systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mmHg diastolic blood pressure decrease in those who practiced TM compared to control groups that included health education. These decreases were judged to be clinically significant."
  77. ^ Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M, et al. (June 2007). "Meditation practices for health: state of the research". Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) (155): 1–263. PMID 17764203. "Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence."
  78. ^ Krisanaprakornkit T, Ngamjarus C, Witoonchart C, Piyavhatkul N (2010). Krisanaprakornkit, Thawatchai. ed. "Meditation therapies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)".Cochrane Database Syst Rev 6 (6): CD006507.doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006507.pub2. PMID 20556767. "As a result of the limited number of included studies, the small sample sizes and the high risk of bias"
  79. ^ Sedlmeier, Peter; Eberth, Juliane; Schwarz, Marcus; Zimmermann, Doreen; Haarig, Frederik; Jaeger, Sonia; Kunze, Sonja (May 2012). "The Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Meta-Analysis". Psychological Bulletin.doi:10.1037/a0028168. Retrieved Aug 9, 2012. ". . . notwithstanding the not so positive conclusion of Ospina et al., the claim of therapeutic benefits of meditation is backed up by growing empirical evidence."
  80. ^ Chen, Kevin W.; Christine C. Berger, Eric Manheimer, Darlene Forde, Jessica Magidson, Laya Dachman, C. W. Lejuez (June 2012). "Meditative Therapies for Reducing Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials".Depression and Anxiety 29 (7): 545–562.doi:10.1002/da.21964. "(referring to studies included in their review) “The general quality of these RCTs were acceptable as per CLEAR-NPT: sixteen (40%) studies had a quality score of 0.8 or better, indicating a good quality in research design (p. 5) . . . . the majority of existing reviews have applied evaluation criteria based on pharmaceutical RCT’s that tended to underestimate the actual quality of these studies, since many of the traditional criteria for quality assessment may not apply to the study of meditative therapies (p. 3) . . . . the overall quality of meditation studies have increased continuously in the past 10 years. Our analysis of study quality over time indicates that studies published prior to 2000 had a relatively lower quality score (CLEAR = .66), studies published in 2000-2005 had a slightly higher score (CLEAR = .69), whereas studies published after 2006 has a mean quality score of .75 (p. 13)"
  81. ^ Walsh, R. (2011, January 17). "Lifestyle and Mental Health".American Psychologist: 8. doi:10.1037/a0021769. "It is now clear that meditation, either alone or in combination with other therapies, can be beneficial for both normal and multiple clinical populations. (Cites Anderson, Liu, & Kryscio, 2008, among others.)"
  82. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2004). "Insufficient evidence to conclude whether or not Transcendental Meditation decreases blood pressure: results of a systematic review of randomized clinical trials". Journal of Hypertension 22 (11): 2049–54.PMID 15480084. "All the randomized clinical trials of TM for the control of blood pressure published to date have important methodological weaknesses and are potentially biased by the affiliation of authors to the TM organization."
  83. ^ Canter PH, Ernst E (November 2003). "The cumulative effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive function--a systematic review of randomised controlled trials". Wien. Klin. Wochenschr.115 (21–22): 758–66. doi:10.1007/BF03040500.PMID 14743579. "All 4 positive trials recruited subjects from among people favourably predisposed towards TM, and used passive control procedures … The association observed between positive outcome, subject selection procedure and control procedure suggests that the large positive effects reported in 4 trials result from an expectation effect. The claim that TM has a specific and cumulative effect on cognitive function is not supported by the evidence from randomized controlled trials."
  84. ^ Schneider RH, Walton KG, Salerno JW, Nidich SI (2006)."Cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion with the transcendental meditation program and Maharishi consciousness-based health care". Ethnicity & Disease 16 (3 Suppl 4): S4–15–26. PMC 2267926. PMID 16938913.
  85. ^ David W. Orme-Johnson, Vernon A. Barnes, Alex M. Hankey, Roger A. Chalmers (2005). "Reply to critics of research on Transcendental Meditation in the prevention and control of hypertension". Journal of Hypertension 23: 1107–111. "The six RCTs were co-authored by 10 independent collaborators from Harvard University and the University of Maryland [7], West Oakland Health Center, University of Arkansas, and the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic [8,12], University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics [9], and the Georgia Institute for Prevention of Human Disease and the Medical College of Georgia [10,11]. Blood pressure data were collected blind by personnel at independent institutions. The collaborators did not have any particular commitment to TM or the TM organization and none would gain financially from the research results. The studies were funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health [7], the National Institutes of Health, including the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute [8–12], the Retirement Research Foundation [8], and the American Heart Association [10,11]. Grant proposals from these agencies are subject to stringent peer review under highly competitive conditions, and only those proposals with the best research designs conducted under the most objective conditions are funded."
  86. ^ "The Transcendental Meditation program". TM.org. Retrieved 27 August 2011. "The Transcendental Meditation technique is unlike any other form of meditation or self-development—in practice and results. The technique is distinguished by its naturalness, effortlessness and profound effectiveness."

[edit]Further reading

  • Alexander, Charles and O'Connel, David F. (1995) Routledge Self Recovery: Treating Addictions Using Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi Ayur-Veda ISBN 1560244542
  • Bloomfield, Harold; Cain, Michael Peter; Jaffe, Dennis T. (1973) TM: Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress
  • Clark, Christopher and Sharma, Hari (1995) Churchill Livingstone, Contemporary Ayurveda ISBN 0 443 05594 7
  • Deans, Ashley (2005) MUM Press, A Record of Excellence, ISBN 0923569375
  • Denniston, Denise, The TM Book, Fairfield Press 1986 ISBN 0-931783-02-X
  • Forem, Jack (2012) Hay House UK Ltd, Transcendental Meditation: The Essential Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ISBN 1848503792
  • Geoff Gilpin, The Maharishi Effect: A Personal Journey Through the Movement That Transformed American Spirituality, Tarcher-Penguin 2006, ISBN 1-58542-507-9* Pollack, A. A., Weber, M. A., Case, D.
  • Jefferson, William (1976) Pocket Books, The Story Of The Maharishi, ISBN 10: 0671805266
  • Kropinski v. World Plan Executive Council, 853 F, 2d 948, 956 (D.C. Cir, 1988)
  • Marcus, Jay (1991) MIU press, Success From Within: Discovering the Inner State That Creates Personal Fulfillment and Business Success ISBN 0923569049
  • Oates, Robert and Swanson, Gerald (1989) MIU Press, Enlightened Management: Building High-performance People ASIN: B001L8DBY2
  • Rothstein, Mikael (1996). Belief Transformations: Some Aspects of the Relation Between Science and Religion in Transcendental Meditation (Tm) and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Language: English. Aarhus universitetsforlag. p. 227.ISBN 87-7288-421-5
  • Roth, Robert (1994) Primus, Transcendental Meditation ISBN 1556114036
  • Skolnick, Andrew "Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Guru's Marketing Scheme Promises the World Eternal 'Perfect Health'!", JAMA 1991;266:1741-1750,October 2, 1991.
  • Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh (1968) (Bantam Books) Transcendental Meditation: Serenity Without Drugs ISBN 045105198X
  • Yogi, Maharishi Mahesh (1967) Penguin, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita : A New Translation and Commentary ISBN 0-14-019247-6.

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