Anyone here tried meditation or Transcendental Meditation?

Hi! I'm new to the forum (and, indeed, new to the whole AS thing, as I've only recently discovered that I have it) and just wanted some feedback from anyone who's tried meditative techniques with any success. I have problems with sleep (mind racing redundantly at night) and anger management (especially when someone distracts me while I'm engaged in something). Does daily meditation actually help? I mean, when I'm learning something new/watching a film/reading a book/daydreaming, I feel like I'm already in a Zen-like state of mind; it's only when someone breaks my train of thought or intrudes on my info-gathering that I feel violently shaken from or taken out of this state. I'd love to find a way to keep an even keel during these moments. It'd also be nice if I could train my mind to "tune out" other distractions, such as outside noise or inner "looped" thoughts/songs on repeat play, as it were. (If I have to listen to the chorus from "The Art of Parties" one more time, I swear, I'll end it all. Undoubtedly while humming.)

whilst i can and do meditate, i find it impossible to reach such states when i'm agitated. i have to 'reset' first and i do this through the opposite form of activity: loud music, rocking, etc. after i've done that i can then relax sufficiently to reach a state of calm that's conducive to meditation.

I have tried meditation, via Journey of Awakening by Ram Dass. It worked very well when I had low expectations. The success increased my expectations, and the high expectations killed my success. Apparently this is the classic pattern; meditators usually face a "sophomore slump" of sorts. Ram Dass devotes chapters to this; chapters to how to regain the beginner's mind once you've made the inevitable mistake of thinking, "What an ego boost it is to be so awesome at meditating. I can unwind and achieve inner peace any old time I want now!"

Short story: I haven't tried meditation for a while. My next go at it will be to take a pagan rather than a Buddhist approach.

I did that stuff when I was younger and it helped me learn how to concentrate,which is all meditation,hypnosis,

etc, really are,just states of intense concentration combined with sensory deprivation so you can reach your

"inner" self.

Yoga,tai chi, karate,dance,can all produce similar states of mind as meditation through physical expression.

As someone who has practiced Transcendental Meditation for three decades, I can tell you that if you do it REGULARLY it is extremely effective. Most people who say they "did it when they were younger" or who have criticisms of the technique most likely didn't practice it regularly or long enough to see the benefits. In my case, I have seen meditation work wonders in people's lives, including my own. I came from a highly dysfunctional family, was abused physically, emotionally, and sexually in childhood, and was diagnosed with ptsd, Borderline Personality Disorder (now called Emotional Intensity Disorder), and other common results of such abuse, including having dropped out of college because I apparently had a learning disorder. My other siblings became alcoholics, were in trouble with the law, and also, three members of my family have died of lung cancer from smoking. When I began practicing TM at age 27 or 28, I was well on my way to those ends.

However, within three years of regular practice of TM, without outside help, I spontaneously stopped using drugs, alcohol, tobacco, promiscious sex, and the cola habit, and had returned to college, where I ended up with a master's degree because my IQ and ability to concentrate had risen remarkably. I saw many other spontaneous changes, and so did my family, some of whom began TM because they saw such radical changes in me. They, however, didn't meditate regularly enough to see the benefits so quit before it had a chance to save their lives or to bring them the intellectual, emotional, and personality/character changes it had brought me.

But the benefits really showed themselves when I began serious therapy. As all therapists know, treating EID (Borderlines) is difficult and they most often don't complete therapy. I spent 3 years in regular therapy and give 100 percent credit to Transcendental Meditation for allowing me to utilize the benefits of therapy. (I give credit to my patient therapist, too, but he could not have succeeded had I not been a meditator!) I grasped Ellis' list of irrationality, took responsibility for my own feelings and needs, learned to be authentic, developed anger-management skills and learned non-violent communication interpersonal skills, became a community leader, and successful at work. I still have problems with relationships but it is not the same kind of problems--it is that I am now more advanced in terms of emotional development than the average person and have developed a great compassion for others.

The benefits of Transcendental Meditation are profound and invaluable, but it is a great mistake to assume that there will be and instant cure-all. The people who quit too soon do not get to see the long-term physical, mental, and emotional, benefits which accumulate and which are reflected in hundreds of scientific studies. Some people dislike the TM movement and quit in criticism of them, but the practice of TM does not require that they follow any belief system but only to continue the mechanical practice of TM, which, IF PRACTICED REGULARLY works automatically to reduce stress to bring positive development.

Finally, comparing TM to other forms of meditation, meta-analysis studies have shown that TM works better and faster than other forms. It is also easier to practice. Some people will object to the cost but it insures that one is taught properly. Unlike other forms of meditation, TM is tailored to the individual to insure effectiveness and ease of practice, does not require concentration, and is pleasant and easy.

I think I should end this by saying that I am not a teacher of TM, but only a grateful meditator who had the sense and/or good fortune to continue the practice regularly. I absolutely do not believe I would be alive today, in my late 60s with a BP of 110 over 60 and a blood panel that looks like that of a 40 year old, a face that looks 15 to 20 years younger, and the satisfaction of being a published author and other marks of success, had I not been a regular meditator.

Did you intend your post to be in reference to mine? If so, it is entirely lacking in comprehension of what I said and intended. Perhaps you took the scientific facts I referred to, that meta-analysis indicates that TM works faster and better than other meditation techniques as a form of arrogance or intolerance? I can't apologize for facts, and stating facts is not an indication of intolerance. Maharishi, the man who brought TM to the world, taught us to honor all cultures, and TM itself expands one's tolerance and respect for others. But your comment about the Dutch appears to be openly racist, which I would think would be unacceptable on this site. Generally, what we are intolerant of is indicative of what we are. When I find something or someone that I feel intolerance toward, I use it as an entry point for self-examination and always find that it opens to door to greater personal growth.

I am dutch, it's a line from a movie and its purpose is to show how absurd political correctness is.

The tumbleweed was meant to invoke the image of dead silence and the blowing over a dusty road. Both are (attempts at) humor.

I love humor, but sometimes it goes right over my head.

It does raise the issue about cultural differences. I am often amazed at how differently cultures see and understand the world and each other, but grasped why it is so from the famous (if awful) experiments done with kittens who were kept in the dark except for one hour a day during which time half were shown only vertical lines and nothing else, and half were shown only horizontal At the end of the experiment, the kittens shown only vertical lines had no ability to see horizontals and would, for instance, fall off tables, while those shown only horizontal lines had no ability to see verticals and would, for instance again, bump into the legs of chairs and tables.

Thus so, we humans are all raised to see only those things which were cultured into us and literally do not see the rest. I believe this to be the source of negative judgments toward others, in that from our particular perspective,our own seems to be patently obvious while the other person's viewpoint simply makes no sense. In the practice of Transcendental Meditation, I have had many startling revelations as my world expanded and larger viewpoints became apparent, including the ability to see that universally we are all just pscyhoneuorphysiologies moving around in the world like bumper cars at an amusement park, all different colors of the same species, but not able to respect or appreciate others because we are so locked into our own viewpoints. My observation of Americans as a whole is that we are obnoxious and lacking in manners, still rather crude cowboys at heart and I sometimes feel embarrassed to be one, but I also know that we are highly creative and have other virtues. I read a Dutch book once and somewhere recently read that the cold countries there have a larger happiness rating which is believed to be because they, overall, have lower expectations and higher tolerances. I would think that is a condition to be emulated.

The Netherlands have a seaclimate, and it has a moderate temperature. The cold countries are higher up and the closer one gets to the polar circle the higher the suicide rate.

The dutch are overall happy because it's one of the richer nations per capita in the world, and the 3rd richest of the EU. Life could be good there if it weren't for their obsession with equality.