Maharishi: "Leben ist Glückseligkeit, und Ausdehnung von Glück ist der Sinn der Schöpfung. Transzendentale Meditation ist ein müheloser und natürlicher Weg, um ein Leben in Erfüllung und in Harmonie mit allen Gesetzen der Natur zu leben."
Transzendentale Meditation und das TM-Sidhi-Programm werden seit 1969 bzw. 1977 wissenschaftlich untersucht. Es gibt z.Z. etwa 650 Studien, wissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen und zahllose wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen durch von hunderten von Wissenschaftler an ebensovielen Universitäten in über 70 Ländern und an über zehntausend Probanden gemacht wurden...
Hier wird demnächst eine Präsentation der wichtigsten Ergebnisse veröffentlicht werden:
Research studies on the Transcendental
Meditation® technique have been published in more than 100 scientific
journals. The bibliography below lists samples from each of the major
categories. See also an annotated bibliography of Scientific Research on
the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi® Program: Collected Papers
Volumes 1-6.
Brain Functioning
Travis FT,
Haaga D, Hagelin JS, Tanner M, Nidich SI, King CG, et al. Effects of
Transcendental Meditation practice on brain functioning and stress
reactivity in college students. International Journal of
Psychophysiology. 2009;71(2):170-6.
Dillbeck MC,
Cavanaugh KL. Societal violence and collective consciousness: Reduction
of U.S. homicide and urban violent crime rates. SAGE Open.
2016;April-June:1-16.crime
Travis, F., Haaga, D.H.,
Hagelin, J., Tanner, M., Arenander, A., Nidich, S., Gaylord-King, C.,
Grosswald, S., Rainforth, M., & Schneider, R. (in press). A
Self-Referral Default Brain State: Patterns of Coherence, Power, and
eLORETA Sources during Eyes-Closed Rest and the Transcendental
Meditation Practice. Cognitive Processes.
Travis, F.
and S. Brown, (2009). My Brain Made Me Do It: Brain Maturation and
Levels of Self-Development, in The Postconventional Personality:
Perspectives on Higher Development, A.H. Pfaffenberger, P.W. Marko, and
T. Greening, Editors, Sage Publishing: New York.
Travis,
F.T (2006). Are All Meditations the Same? Comparison of Brain Patterns,
Benefits, and Descriptions of Mindfulness Meditation, Tibetan Buddhist
Meditation and Transcendental Meditation. Towards a Science of
Consciousness: Abstracts, 263, p. 181.
Travis, F.T.
and Arenander, A. (2006). Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study of
Effects of Transcendental Meditation Practice on Frontal Power Asymmetry
and Frontal Coherence, International Journal of Neuroscience, 116(11):
1519-1538.
Hebert, R., Lehman, D., Tan, G., Travis,
F., and Arenandar, A. (2005). Enhanced EEG alpha time-domain phase
synchrony during Transcendental Meditation: Implications for cortical
implication theory. Signal Processing, 85(11), 2213-2232.
Travis,
F.T., Arenander, A., DuBois, D. (2004). Psychological and physiological
characteristics of a proposed object-referral / self-referral continuum
of self-awareness. Consciousness and Cognition, 13/2, 401-420.
Travis,
F. Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation
characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states.
Biological Psychology 61: 293–319, 2002.
Gallois, P.
Modifications neurophysiologiques et respiratoires lors de la pratique
des techniques de relaxation. L’Encéphale 10: 139–144, 1984.
Wallace,
R.K. et al. Modification of the paired H reflex through the
Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Experimental Neurology
79: 77–86, 1983.
Nidich, S.I. et al. Kohlbergian
cosmic perspective responses, EEG coherence, and the Transcendental
Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Journal of Moral Education 12: 166–173,
1983.
Orme-Johnson, D.W. and Haynes, C.T. EEG phase
coherence, pure consciousness, creativity, and TM-Sidhi experiences.
International Journal of Neuroscience 13: 211–217, 1981.
Warshal,
D. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on normal and
Jendrassik reflex time. Perceptual and Motor Skills 50: 1103–1106, 1980.
McEvoy,
T.M. et al. Effects of meditation on brainstem auditory evoked
potentials. International Journal of Neuroscience 10: 165–170, 1980.
Banquet,
J.P. and Lesevre, N. Event-related potentials in altered states of
consciousness: Motivation, motor and sensory processes of the brain.
Progress in Brain Research 54: 447–453, 1980.
Bennett,
J.E. and Trinder, J. Hemispheric laterality and cognitive style
associated with Transcendental Meditation. Psychophysiology 14: 293–296,
1977.
Hebert, R. and D. Lehmann (1977). Theta
Bursts: An EEG Pattern in Normal Subjects Practising the Transcendental
Meditation Technique. Electroencephalography and Clinical
Neurophysiology 42(3): 397-405.
Creativity/Intelligence/Learning Ability
Dixon,
C., Dillbeck, M.C., Travis, F., Msemaje, H., Clayborne, B.M., Dillbeck,
S.L., and Alexander, C.H. (2005). Accelerating Cognitive and Self
Development: Longitudinal Studies with Preschool and Elementary School
Children. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 17, 65-91.
So,
K.T. and Orme-Johnson, D.W. Three randomized experiments on the
longitudinal effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on
cognition. Intelligence 29: 419–440, 2001.
Cranson, R.W. et al.
Transcendental Meditation and improved performance on
intelligence-related measures: A longitudinal study. Personality and
Individual Differences 12: 1105–1116, 1991.
Dixon, C.A.
Consciousness and cognitive development: A six-month longitudinal study
of four-year-olds practicing the children’s Transcendental Meditation
technique. Dissertation Abstracts International 50(3): 1518B, 1989.
Warner,
T.Q. Transcendental Meditation and developmental advancement: Mediating
abilities and conservation performance. Dissertation Abstracts
International 47(8): 3558B, 1987.
Jedrczak, A. et al. The
TM-Sidhi programme, age, and brief test of perceptual-motor speed and
nonverbal intelligence. Journal of Clinical Psychology 42: 161–164,
1986.
Dillbeck, M.C. et al. Longitudinal effects of the
Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on cognitive ability and
cognitive style. Perceptual and Motor Skills 62: 731–738, 1986.
Jedrczak,
A. et al. The TM-Sidhi programme, pure consciousness, creativity and
intelligence. The Journal of Creative Behavior 19: 270–275, 1985.
Dillbeck,
M.C. Meditation and flexibility of visual perception and verbal
problem-solving. Memory & Cognition 10: 207–215, 1982.
Aron,
A. The Transcendental Meditation program in the college curriculum: A
4-year longitudinal study of effects on cognitive and affective
functioning. College Student Journal 15: 140–146, 1981.
Dillbeck,
M.C. et al. Frontal EEG coherence, H-reflex recovery, concept learning,
and the TM-Sidhi program. International Journal of Neuroscience 15:
151–157, 1981.
Travis, F. The Transcendental Meditation
technique and creativity: A longitudinal study of Cornell University
undergraduates. Journal of Creative Behavior 13: 169–180, 1979.
Shecter,
H.W. A psychological investigation into the source of the effect of the
Transcendental Meditation technique. Dissertation Abstracts
International 38(7): 3372B–3373B, 1978.
Tjoa, A. Increased
intelligence and reduced neuroticism through the Transcendental
Meditation program. Gedrag: Tijdschrift voor Psychologie 3: 167–182,
1975.
Educational Performance and Behavior
Barnes,
V.A. et al. Impact of stress reduction on negative school behavior in
adolescents. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1:10, 2003.
Nidich,
S.I. and Nidich, R.J. Increased academic achievement at Maharishi
School of the Age of Enlightenment: A replication study. Education 109:
302–304, 1989.
Nidich, S.I. et al. School effectiveness:
Achievement gains at the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment.
Education 107: 49–54, 1986.
Kember, P. The Transcendental
Meditation technique and postgraduate academic performance. British
Journal of Educational Psychology 55: 164–166, 1985.
Schecter,
H.W. A psychological investigation into the source of the effect of the
Transcendental Meditation technique. Dissertation Abstracts
International 38(7): 3372B–3373B, 1978.
Special and Remedial Education
Wood,
M.F. The effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation as a means of
improving the echolalic behavior of an autistic student. Paper presented
at the International Symposium on Autism Research, Boston,
Massachusetts, July 1981.
Eyerman, J. Transcendental Meditation
and mental retardation. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 42: 35–36,
1981McIntyre, M.E. et al. Transcendental Meditation and stuttering: A
preliminary report. Perceptual and Motor Skills 39: 294 (Abstract),
1974.
Subrahmanyam, S. and Porkodi, K. Neurohumoral correlates of Transcendental Meditation. Journal of Biomedicine 1: 73–88, 1980.
Allen,
C.P. Effects of Transcendental Meditation, electromyographic (EMG)
biofeedback relaxation, and conventional relaxation on vasoconstriction,
muscle tension, and stuttering: A quantitative comparison. Dissertation
Abstracts International 40(2): 689B, 1979.
Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
Schneider,
R.H. et al. A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction in the
treatment of hypertension in African Americans during one year. American
Journal of Hypertension, 18(1): 88–98, 2005.
Barnes, V.A. et
al. Impact of Transcendental Meditation on ambulatory blood pressure in
African-American adolescents. American Journal of Hypertension 17:
366–369, 2004.
Walton, K.G. et al. Psychosocial stress and
cardiovascular disease, Part 2: Effectiveness of the Transcendental
Meditation program in treatment and prevention. Behavioral Medicine 28:
106–123, 2002.
Schneider, R.H. et al. A randomized controlled
trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African Americans.
Hypertension 26: 820–827, 1995.
Medical Care Utilization and Hospitalization
Orme-Johnson,
D.W. and Herron, R.E. An innovative approach to reducing medical care
utilization and expenditures. The American Journal of Managed Care 3:
135–144, 1997.
Herron, R.E. et al. The impact of the
Transcendental Meditation program on government payments to physicians
in Quebec. American Journal of Health Promotion 10: 208–216, 1996.
Haratani,
T. and Hemmi, T. Effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on the
health behavior of industrial workers. Japanese Journal of Public Health
37 (10 Suppl.): 729, 1990.
Haratani, T. and Hemmi, T. Effects
of Transcendental Meditation (TM) on the mental health of industrial
workers. Japanese Journal of Industrial Health 32: 656, 1990.
Orme-Johnson, D.W. Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine 49: 493–507, 1987.
Anxiety and Stress
Alexander,
C.N. et al. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on stress
reduction, health, and employee development: A prospective study in two
occupational settings. Anxiety, Stress and Coping: An International
Journal 6: 245–262, 1993.
Gaylord, C. et al. The effects of the
Transcendental Meditation technique and progressive muscle relaxation on
EEG coherence, stress reactivity, and mental health in black adults.
International Journal of Neuroscience 46: 77–86, 1989.
Eppley,
K.R. et al. Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait
anxiety: A meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology 45: 957–974,
1989.
Brooks, J.S. and Scarano, T. Transcendental Meditation in
the treatment of post-Vietnam adjustment. Journal of Counseling and
Development 64: 212–215, 1985.
Dillbeck, M.C. The effect of the
Transcendental Meditation technique on anxiety level. Journal of
Clinical Psychology 33: 1076–1078, 1977.
Candelent, T. and
Candelent, G. Teaching Transcendental Meditation in a psychiatric
setting. Hospital & Community Psychiatry 26: 156–159, 1975.
Orme-Johnson, D.W. Autonomic stability and Transcendental Meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine 35: 341–349, 1973.
Aging and Longevity
Schneider,
R.H. et al. Long-term effects of stress reduction on mortality in
persons > 55 years of age with systemic hypertension. American
Journal of Cardiology 95: 1060-1064, 2005.
Alexander, C.N. et
al. Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 57: 950–964, 1989.
Wallace,
R.K. et al. The effects of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi
program on the aging process. International Journal of Neuroscience 16:
53–58, 1982.
Self-Actualization and Integration of Personality
Alexander,
C.N. et al. Transcendental Meditation, self-actualization, and
psychological health: A conceptual overview and statistical
meta-analysis. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6: 189–247,
1991.
Gelderloos, P. Field independence of students at Maharishi
School and a Montessori school. Perceptual and Motor Skills 65:
613–614, 1987.
Gelderloos, P. Cognitive orientation toward
positive values in advanced participants of the TM and TM-Sidhi program.
Perceptual and Motor Skills 64: 1003–1012, 1987.
Holt, W.R. et
al. Transcendental Meditation vs. pseudo-meditation on visual choice
reaction time. Perceptual and Motor Skills 46: 726, 1978.
Pelletier,
K.R. Influence of Transcendental Meditation upon autokinetic
perception. Perceptual and Motor Skills 39: 1031–1034, 1974.
Frew, D.R. Transcendental Meditation and productivity. Academy of Management Journal 17: 362–368, 1974.
Appelle,
S. and Oswald, L.E. Simple reaction time as a function of alertness and
prior mental activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills 38: 1263–1268, 1974.
Nidich, S. et al. Influence of Transcendental Meditation: A replication. Journal of Counseling Psychology 20: 565–566, 1973.
Seeman,
W. et al. Influence of Transcendental Meditation on a measure of
self-actualization. Journal of Counseling Psychology 19: 184–187, 1972.
Substance Abuse
Alexander, C.N. et al. Treating and preventing
alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A
review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11:
13–87, 1994.
Aron, E.N. and Aron, A. The patterns of reduction
of drug and alcohol use among Transcendental Meditation participants.
Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors 2:
28–33, 1983.
Monahan, R.J. Secondary prevention of drug
dependence through the Transcendental Meditation program in metropolitan
Philadelphia. The International Journal of the Addictions 12: 729–754,
1977.
Shafii, M. et al. Meditation and the prevention of alcohol abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry 132: 942–945, 1975.
Shafii, M. et al. Meditation and marijuana. American Journal of Psychiatry 131: 60–63, 1974.
Wallace,
R.K. et al. Decreased drug abuse with Transcendental Meditation: A
study of 1,862 subjects. In Drug Abuse: Proceedings of the International
Conference, ed. Chris J.D. Zarafonetis (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger):
369–376, 1972.
Criminal Rehabilitation
Alexander,
C.N. et al. Transcendental Meditation in criminal rehabilitation and
crime prevention. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36 (1/2/3/4): 2003.
Bleick,
C.R. and Abrams, A.I. The Transcendental Meditation program and
criminal recidivism in California. Journal of Criminal Justice 15:
211–230, 1987.
Abrams, A.I. and Siegel, L.M. The Transcendental
Meditation program and rehabilitation at Folsom State Prison: A
cross-validation study. Criminal Justice and Behavior 5: 3–20, 1978.
Dillbeck
MC, Cavanaugh KL. Societal violence and collective consciousness:
Reduction of U.S. homicide and urban violent crime rates. SAGE Open.
2016;April-June:1-16.
Social and Economic Applications
Orme-Johnson,
D.W., et al. Preventing terrorism and international conflict: Effects
of large assemblies of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and
TM-Sidhi programs. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 283–302,
2003.
Hagelin, J.S. et al. Effects of group practice of the
Transcendental Meditation program on preventing violent crime in
Washington, DC: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June–July
1993. Social Indicators Research 47: 153–201, 1999.
Hatchard,
G.D. et al. A model for social improvement. Time series analysis of a
phase transition to reduced crime in Merseyside metropolitan area.
Psychology, Crime, and Law 2: 165–174, 1996.
Dillbeck, M.C. and
Rainforth, M.V. Impact assessment analysis of behavioral quality of life
indices: Effects of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and
TM-Sidhi program. Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of the
American Statistical Association (Alexandria, VA: American Statistical
Association): 38–43, 1996.
Assimakis, P.D. and Dillbeck, M.C.
Time series analysis of improved quality of life in Canada: Social
change, collective consciousness, and the TM-Sidhi program.
Psychological Reports 76: 1171–1193, 1995.
Gelderloos, P. et al.
The dynamics of US–Soviet relations, 1979–1986: Effects of reducing
social stress through the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi
program. Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of the American
Statistical Association (Alexandria, VA: American Statistical
Association): 297–302, 1990.
Dillbeck, M.C. Test of a field
theory of consciousness and social change: Time series analysis of
participation in the TM-Sidhi program and reduction of violent death in
the U.S. Social Indicators Research 22: 399–418, 1990.
Davies,
J.L. Alleviating political violence through enhancing coherence in
collective consciousness. Dissertation Abstracts International 49(8):
2381A, 1989.
Orme-Johnson, D.W. et al. International peace
project in the Middle East: The effect of the Maharishi Technology of
the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution 32: 776–812, 1988.
Dillbeck,
M.C. et al. Test of a field model of consciousness and social change:
The Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program and decreased urban
crime. The Journal of Mind and Behavior 9: 457–486, 1988
Dillbeck
MC, Cavanaugh KL. Societal violence and collective consciousness:
Reduction of U.S. homicide and urban violent crime rates. SAGE Open.
2016;April-June:1-16.
Cavanaugh, K.L. and King, K.D.
Simultaneous transfer function analysis of Okun’s misery index:
Improvements in the economic quality of life through Maharishi’s Vedic
Science and technology of consciousness. Proceedings of the American
Statistical Association, Business and Economics Statistics Section
(Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association): 491–496, 1988.
Dillbeck,
M.C. et al. Consciousness as a field: The Transcendental Meditation and
TM-Sidhi program and changes in social indicators. The Journal of Mind
and Behavior 8: 67–104, 1987.
Cavanaugh, K.L. Time series
analysis of U.S. and Canadian inflation and unemployment: A test of a
field-theoretic hypothesis. Proceedings of the American Statistical
Association, Business and Economics Statistics Section (Alexandria, VA:
American Statistical Association): 799–804, 1987.
Dillbeck, M.C.
et al. The Transcendental Meditation program and crime rate change in a
sample of forty-eight cities. Journal of Crime and Justice 4: 25–45,
1981.
This
article explores transcendental experiences during meditation practice
and the integration of transcendental experiences and the unfolding of
higher states of consciousness with waking, dreaming, and sleeping. The
subject/object relationship during transcendental experiences is
characterized by the absence of time, space, and body sense—the
framework that gives meaning to waking experiences. Physiologically,
transcendental experiences during Transcendental Meditation practice are
marked by slow inhalation, along with autonomic orientation at the
onset of breath changes and heightened α1 (8–10 Hz) frontal coherence.
The integration of transcendental experiences with waking, dreaming, and
sleeping is also marked by distinct subjective and objective markers.
This integrated state, called Cosmic Consciousness in the Vedic
tradition, is subjectively marked by inner self-awareness coexisting
with waking, sleeping, and dreaming. Physiologically, Cosmic
Consciousness is marked by the coexistence of α1 electroencephalography
(EEG) with delta EEG during deep sleep, and higher brain integration,
greater emotional stability, and decreased anxiety during challenging
tasks. Transcendental experiences may be the engine that fosters higher
human development.
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Introduction
Meditation practices are embedded in conceptual frameworks that describe states beyond ordinary waking experiences.[1]
Most meditation research, however, has focused on changes in cognition
and performance rather than probing relational and
transpersonal/transcendent aspects of meditation experiences. This
article explores transpersonal/transcendent experiences during and after
meditation practices. Meditation techniques investigate
consciousness from different angles and are associated with different
patterns of brain activation.[2] Practitioners of meditation in the focused attention and open monitoring
categories develop cognitive and affective skills during the meditation
session that are then available to deal with challenges in daily life.[3]
For instance, compassion meditation, which is in the focused attention
category, leads to higher γ (20–50 Hz) electroencephalography (EEG) and
activation of limbic brain circuits, including the insula and amygdala,
during the practice.[4] This meditation practice leads to more compassionate behavior after the practice.[5]
Mindfulness meditation, which is in the open monitoring category, leads
to increases in bilateral frontal theta 2 (6–8 Hz) EEG[6] and activation of anterior cingulate cortices during the practice.[7]
Developing mindfulness during the meditation practice helps one to be
more mindful during stressful experiences, which helps to decrease the
effects of stress on one's mind and body.[8] Meditation practices in the automatic self-transcending
category transcend cognitive and affective processes to reveal a
nondual state of pure self-awareness—a state of being rather than
thinking or doing, called pure consciousness.[9]
Transcendental Meditation (TM), which is in the automatic
self-transcending category, is marked by frontal α1 power and coherence[10, 11] as well as elevated frontal blood flow and reduced brain stem blood flow.[12]
Transcending during TM practice transforms the mind as a whole, leading
to substantial improvements across a wide range of psychological and
physiological variables.[3, 13-16] Meditations
in the focused attention and open monitoring categories are embedded in
philosophical traditions that also discuss the importance of nondual
experiences.[1]
However, the majority of research on meditations in these two
categories have investigated easier-to-quantify domains, such as
attention and emotional regulation, rather than the nature and
physiological characteristics of nondual experiences during these
practices. Collaborative research is needed to bring out the full
picture of nondual experiences across meditation traditions. A
review of the literature found systematic investigation of nondual
experiences during TM practice. Nondual experiences have been reported
during Dzogchen meditation (a practice in the Buddhist tradition) in
relation to patterns of intrinsic/extrinsic brain systems.[17]
However, researchers have not yet probed first-person descriptions and
third-person physiological measures of nondual experiences during
Dzogchen practice. This article will focus on nondual experiences during
Transcendental Meditation.
Turiya chetana: the “fourth”
When thoughts are stilled, pure self-awareness is gained.[9]
It is written in the Katha Upanishad, which discusses the nature of
pure consciousness (p. 31): “The Self is without sound, without touch
and without form…You will know the Self when your senses are still, your
mind is at peace, and your heart is pure.”[18]
The word “Self” is capitalized to distinguish it from our waking state
sense of self that is identified with thoughts and actions. Figure 1
compares subjective and objective experiences during waking, sleeping,
dreaming, and pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is pure in that it
is Self-awareness free from changing mental content. This figure
presents a 2 × 2 table—the presence/absence of sensory, mental, or
affective content, and the presence/absence of self-awareness. Notice
that the subject–object relationship during pure consciousness is
completely different than that during waking, sleeping, or dreaming. In
sleeping, there is no sense of self and no content; in waking, there is a
sense of self and changing content. In dreaming, vivid dream images
overshadow one's sense of self. That leaves the bottom right cell—sense
of Self with no mental content.
Comparison of subjective and objective experiences during waking, sleeping, dreaming, and pure consciousness.Some
scientists might comment that the experience described in the bottom
right cell—pure consciousness or pure Self-awareness—is not possible.
They might ask: How can you be aware of yourself without also being
aware of your body, or your feelings, or what you are thinking?[19] William James, in his Principles of Psychology[20] observed (p. 300):
…it
is difficult for me to detect in [mental] activity any purely spiritual
element at all. Whenever my introspection glance succeeds in turning
round quickly enough to catch one of those manifestations of spontaneity
in the act, all it can ever feel distinctly is some bodily process, for
the most part taking place within the head.
This
conclusion is a valid conclusion for waking experience, which always
includes a sense of self with changing content. However, pure
consciousness is an experience during Transcendental Meditation
practice. Transcendental Meditation practice can be superficially
described as thinking or repeating a mantra—a sound without meaning—and
going back to it when it is forgotten.[21]
A person with this understanding might maintain that thinking a mantra
and experiencing pure self-awareness are mutually exclusive; they are
right. In pure consciousness, there can be no shadow of thought or
individual intention. Other mantra meditations involve keeping the
mantra in awareness, linking the mantra with our breath, or thinking
about the meaning of the mantra. These would be counter to the process
of transcending. The TM technique does involve a mantra; but TM is a
process of transcending perception of the mantra. Transcending means
appreciating the mantra at finer levels in which the mantra becomes
increasingly secondary in experience, ultimately disappearing, and
self-awareness becomes primary.[9, 22]
Silence, expansion, and evenness begin to dominate awareness, while
mental activity decreases in intensity and frequency, and ultimately
ceases. Transcending is automatic, conducted by the natural tendency of
the mind,[9]
and must be an automatic process. Any intention or individual directing
of the mind leads to increased activity in a localized area—the mind
cannot transcend. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who brought the TM technique to
the West, described pure consciousness in this way:
The
state of Being is one of pure consciousness, completely out of the
field of relativity; there is no world of the senses or of objects, no
trace of sensory activity, no trace of mental activity. There is no
trinity of thinker, thinking process and thought, doer, process of doing
and action; experiencer, process of experiencing and object of
experience. The state of transcendental Unity of life, or pure
consciousness, is completely free from all trace of duality.[9]
The
experience of pure consciousness is called Transcendental
Consciousness. In this state, one has transcended the subject/object
dichotomy that marks waking experiences; the subject—self-awareness—is
both the subject and object of experience. It is a Self-referral
experience. On one hand you can say there is no content in pure
consciousness. On the other, you could say the content is wakefulness
itself[23] or consciousness itself.[24] In the Vedic tradition, Transcendental Consciousness is called “the fourth” or turiya chetana.[24] Transcendental
Consciousness occurs spontaneously during TM practice. One starts the
mantra, and then the process unfolds in its own time. There may be
momentary experiences of Transcendental Consciousness during a
meditation session, or these experiences may last from 10 to 40 s in
duration.[25]
First-person investigation of Transcendental Consciousness
Fifty-two
college students who practiced the TM technique for a few months to
over 8 years were asked to describe their deepest experiences during TM
practice. They were asked to imagine that they were describing this
state to someone who did not meditate. All of their reports were of a
state where thinking, feeling, and individual intention were missing,
but Self-awareness remained. A content analysis of their descriptions
yielded three themes that were common to all reports—absence of time,
space, and body sense.[22]
Time, space, and body sense make up the framework that gives meaning to
waking experience. Note that Transcendental Consciousness was not
described in relation to distorted content—strong emotions, or vivid
visual, auditory, and tactile sensations, or a distorted sense of self.
Rather, Transcendental Consciousness was described by the absence of the
customary framework and characteristics that define waking experience.
Physiological patterns during Transcendental Consciousness
Changes
in breath rate, skin conductance, and EEG patterns have been reported
during Transcendental Consciousness. Refined breathing was the first
published marker of this experience. Farrow and Hebert[25] and later Badawi et al.[26]
observed suspension of normal respiration from 10 to 40 s during
Transcendental Consciousness. Subjects marked these periods with button
presses indicating the transition from Transcendental Consciousness to
thinking and experiencing outer objects. This type of breathing, while
initially termed respiratory suspension, is very often an example of apneustic breathing—slow, prolonged inspiration.[27]
Apneustic breathing is supported by different respiratory drive centers
in the brain stem than those that drive breathing during waking.[28] A second marker of this state is skin conductance responses at the onset of breath changes.[29]
These autonomic responses are similar to those seen during
orienting—attention switching to environmental stimuli that are novel[30, 31] or significant.[32, 33]
These autonomic responses could mark the transition of awareness from
active thinking processes to the mental silence of Transcendental
Consciousness. A third marker of Transcendental Consciousness is
increased frontal α1 (8–10 Hz) coherence as reported in two random
assignment studies comparing TM practice to eyes-closed rest—one study
had a within-subjects design[34] and the other had a between-subjects design.[11]
The within-subjects study compared 10-min counterbalanced TM and
eyes-closed resting periods. Significant condition differences were seen
in the first minute of TM practice characterized by higher frontal α1
coherence, lower sympathetic activity, higher parasympathetic activity,
and slower breathing rate. The measures reached similar levels at the
fifth and tenth minutes during TM practice. The authors used these data
to suggest a two-circuit model of TM practice in which one brain circuit
activates a neural switch to lower levels of physiological activation
while maintaining alertness, while the other brain circuit maintains
this restfully alert state with minimal resources. The between-subjects
study was a 3-month longitudinal analysis of TM practice and eyes-closed
resting controls. In this study, TM practice led to higher frontal
interhemispheric α1 coherence and α1 frontal log power, and lower β1 and
γ frontal log power. It is important to note that α1 (8–10 Hz)
brain waves are seen during TM practice rather than α2 (10–12 Hz) waves.
The α2 frequency is associated with cortical idling,[35]
as indicated by lower thalamic activity and lower cerebral metabolic
rate in sensory and motor areas during simple sensorimotor tasks.[36] Alpha 2 activity has also been reported in sensorimotor areas during mindful body scanning.[37] Typically, theta and β EEG are reported during mindfulness practice.[38] This report of α activity during mindful body scanning is probably an instance of the well-researched mu rhythm (11 Hz)[39] associated with the motor cortex at rest. Alpha
1 activity in frontal association cortices, in contrast, is correlated
with higher cerebral metabolic rate. It is called paradoxical α and is
reported during tasks involving internally directed attention,[40] such as imagining a tune compared to listening to a tune.[41]
Alpha 1 activity is thought to represent heightened alertness or
wakefulness. For instance, when solving a problem by intuition or
insight, a burst of α1 EEG occurs first—the “aha”—followed by
high-frequency EEG (γ) when the details of the idea come to mind.[42] Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research reports increased frontal blood flow during TM practice,[12] along with α1 EEG, which supports the association of α1 EEG with TM practice. A
theoretical paper suggests that pure consciousness experiences may be
supported by activation of thalamocortical matrix circuits, known to
diffusely activate layer I of the cortex and so modulate wakefulness
levels; and by deactivation of thalamocortical core circuits, known to
project to layer IV of the cortex and so modulate the content of
experience.[43]
Turiyatit chetana or Cosmic Consciousness
The
experience of Transcendental Consciousness during TM practice occurs
for many seconds spontaneously throughout the practice. By alternating
the experience of Transcendental Consciousness during TM practice with
waking activity, the experience of Transcendental Consciousness begins
to be integrated with waking, dreaming, and sleeping. Now the rest of
sleep, illusory dream images, and changing waking experiences come and
go on a continuum of inner self-awareness.[44, 45] In the Vedic tradition, this state is defined as a fifth state of consciousness, called turiyatit chetana or Cosmic Consciousness.[24]
In Cosmic Consciousness, all activity is on the surface of life; deep
within is immovable silence, uninvolved with ongoing experience.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi describes Cosmic Consciousness in the following
way:
…[in
Cosmic Consciousness] Being is permanently lived as separate from
activity. Then a man realizes that his Self is different from the mind
which is engaged with thoughts and desires. It is now his experience
that the mind, which had been identified with desires, is mainly
identified with the Self. He experiences the desires of the mind as
lying outside himself, whereas he used to experience himself as
completely involved with desires. On the surface of the mind desires
certainly continue, but deep within the mind they no longer exist, for
the depths of the mind are transformed into the nature of the Self. All
the desires which were present in the mind have been thrown upward, as
it were, they have gone to the surface, and within the mind the finest
intellect gains an unshakeable, immovable status. ‘Pragya’ is anchored
to ‘Kutastha’. This is the ‘steady intellect’ in the state of
nitya-samadhi, Cosmic Consciousness.[9]
In
Cosmic Consciousness, the immovability of inner silence becomes the
predominant element of experience because it does not change; while
outer activity leaves less and less of a mark because it is always
changing. One identifies with the nonchanging continuum of inner
Self-awareness. During sleep, this state was described in the following
way by a 65-year-old male TM practitioner with 39 years of practice:
…there's
a continuum there. It's not like I go away and come back. It's a subtle
thing. It's not like I'm awake waiting for the body to wake-up or
whatever. It's me there. I don't feel like I'm lost in the experience.
That's what I mean by a continuum. You know it's like the fizzing on top
of a soda when you've poured it. It's there and becomes active so
there's something to identify with. When I'm sleeping, it's like the
fizzing goes down.
Inner wakefulness during sleep is the marker of Cosmic Consciousness in the Vedic tradition.[24]
It is a state that cannot be faked. The body is asleep, the senses are
shut down, the thinking mind is quiet, while a continuum of
self-awareness persists from falling asleep to waking up. The quote
above uses an analogy: during sleeping, the “fizzing” or
stream-of-consciousness experience goes down to reveal the underlying
“soda” or pure Self-awareness that continues throughout the night. When
one wakes up, the fizzing simply begins again.
First-person perspective during Cosmic Consciousness
A
cross-sectional study compared descriptions of the sense of self in
three groups of age- and gender-matched subjects: 17 meditation-naive
subjects, 17 subjects with 7 years of TM experience (approximately
4900 h), and 17 subjects with 24 years of TM experience (approximately
18,000 h), reporting inner awareness throughout the night. Subjects were
interviewed and were given tests measuring inner/outer orientation,
moral reasoning, anxiety, and personality. Scores on the psychological
tests were factor analyzed. The first unrotated principal component
analysis (PCA) of the psychological test scores yielded a consciousness
factor, analogous to the general intelligence or g factor in
intelligence research. This first factor accounted for over half of the
variance among groups on these personality tests.[46] Analysis
of interviews of these subjects revealed fundamentally different
descriptions of self-awareness. The meditation-naive subjects described
themselves in relation to concrete cognitive and behavioral processes
(object-referral mode) and exhibited lower consciousness-factor scores
and lower frontal EEG coherence. In contrast, individuals reporting the
state of Cosmic Consciousness described themselves in terms of a
continuum of inner self-awareness underlying thought, feeling, and
action (Self-referral mode) and exhibited higher consciousness-factor
scores and higher frontal coherence.[46] Physiological measures were also assessed in these subjects and are reported in the following section.
Physiological patterns during Cosmic Consciousness
The study discussed above also compared brain wave patterns between these three groups of 17 subjects.[47]
An electroencephalogram was recorded during simple and choice-paired
reaction-time tasks. Each reaction-time task included a warning
stimulus, a 1.5 s blank screen, and a second stimulus requiring a
response. The brain preparatory response (contingent negative variation)
was calculated before the second stimulus in both the simple and choice
reaction-time tasks, and EEG patterns of power and coherence were
calculated during the choice reaction-time tasks. During these
challenging computer tasks, the subjects reporting Cosmic Consciousness,
in comparison to subjects in the other two control groups, exhibited
higher levels of broadband frontal EEG coherence (F3–F4), higher frontal
and central α relative power, and a better match in brain preparatory
response to task demands during the simple and choice reaction-time
tasks. These brain measures were transformed to z-scores and added
together to yield a composite measure, the Brain Integration Scale.[47]
Scores on the Brain Integration Scale significantly increased with 3
months of TM practice in a random assignment study with college
students.[48] Scores on this scale were also reported to be higher in successful athletes, managers, and musicians,[49-51] suggesting the practical value of developing brain integration for success in life. Brain
patterns have also been investigated during sleep in a similar set of
subjects: 11 meditation-naive subjects; 11 participants who practiced
the TM technique for an average of 4 years (approximately 2800 h) but
did not report inner wakefulness during sleep; and 11 participants who
practiced the TM technique for 20 years (approximately 16,000 h) and
reported the experience of inner wakefulness during sleep for at least 1
year. The group that reported inner wakefulness during sleep had higher
rapid eye movement (REM) density during dreaming, similar levels of
delta EEG during stage-3 and -4 sleep, but higher levels of α1 activity
during slow-wave sleep.[52]
It is interesting to note that the experience of inner wakefulness
coexisting with the body sleeping deeply was associated with the brain
wave pattern of transcending (α) coexisting with the brain patterns of
deep sleep (delta).
Discussion
Brain
patterns that defined transcendental experiences during TM practice and
the integration of transcendental experiences with waking, dreaming,
and sleeping were mainly found in frontal brain areas. This suggests
that frontal circuits may play a critical role in transcendental
experiences and the growth of higher states of consciousness. These
states could be called higher states in that (1) the subject/object
relationship is different in these states compared to waking, sleeping,
and dreaming; (2) the sense of self is more expanded in these states;
and (3) the physiological patterns are distinct from those during
waking, dreaming, and sleeping. The development of higher states
may be an extension of the developmental trajectory that began as a
toddler and continued into adulthood, supporting the emergence of adult
abstract reasoning. Brain development begins in posterior sensory areas,
which myelinate by age four. Posterior areas process sensory
experiences and create the concrete present. Activity in posterior areas
are associated with the first two stages of cognitive development
described by Piaget—the sensorimotor and preoperational stages.[53]
The corpus callosum, which connects the left and right hemispheres,
myelinates from age 7 to age 10. Now the dominant level of awareness
de-embeds from sensory experience and reintegrates at the level of
concrete operations—the ability to think about the objects that you see.
The last brain circuits to myelinate are connections with frontal
executive areas. These circuits begin to myelinate around age 12 and end
around age 25.[54]
With frontal myelination, the dominant level of awareness de-embeds
from thinking and reintegrates at the level of formal operations—the
ability to think about thinking. Now the teenager can see consequences;
they can generate different reasons to explain observations. Language
learning is considered the engine for the development of abstract adult
thinking. Language provides a symbolic system to represent objects and
so allows a child to mentally manipulate concrete objects.[55]
However, we can become stuck in our words and concepts. To develop
beyond language-based thinking, we need a technique to transcend
language and enable the experience of pure (content-free) consciousness
underlying the changing activity of thinking and feeling. The experience
of Transcendental Consciousness transcends language and provides a
platform for experiencing the world more with repect to inner abstract
structures and less with respect to outer, changing concrete objects.
This experience of Transcendental Consciousness is not a luxury and
should not be isolated to a few individuals transcending during
meditation practice. Rather, the experience of Transcendental
Consciousness should be available to everyone to allow them to realize
their full human birthright.
