Transcendental meditation involves silently and repeatedly focusing the mind on a single mantra. This mantra can be different for every person depending on personal characteristics. Transcendental meditation can help you improve your relationships, make you thrive at work, regain your inner peace, and even make you become calmer! How can you engage in this rich and helpful form of meditation without having to pay for the usually expensive courses?
Transcendental meditation can be practiced, without paying for transcendental meditation courses, by simply following its rules, and choosing a mantra that works for you. The mantras help to create a state of awareness while the meditation takes the student into a tranquil state.
Unlike the popular mindfulness-based meditations that focus on clearing the mind of thoughts and gently bringing the attention back to the present moment when the mind wanders, transcendental meditation is based on focusing the mind on a single mantra. Is it possible to teach yourself this form of meditation, and how can you do it without paying? How can you choose the right mantra? Keep reading to get all you need to know about this rich and beneficial form of meditation.
Can I Teach Myself Transcendental Meditation?
The official recommendation on transcendental meditation is that it must be taught by a certified teacher for four consecutive days. This is because the learner may not know if they are doing it correctly. Also, the mantra you are given as a learner, and not sharing that mantra, is an important part of the meditation. Engaging the service of a certified transcendental meditation teacher is often expensive, hence many people seek to learn it on their own.
Teaching yourself this form of meditation has its benefits. In fact, with persistence and continuous improvement, the learner may become very good in the practice with time. You can start slowly, and many people have said they have experienced good results by learning transcendental meditation on their own. There are many helpful books and videos on this form of meditation that anyone interested in the practice may use. Overall, what a transcendental meditation course gives you, that you can’t get on your own, is accountability and the support of a group of like-minded people.
How to Do Transcendental Meditation without Paying—Step By Step
Transcendental meditation is backed by science emphasizing the many benefits. This form of meditation requires little effort and helps your mind to settle down. Perhaps this is why over 5 million people across the world practice it every day. Although transcendental meditation involves the use of a mantra, it is not mantra-oriented. The mantras help you create a state of restful awareness while the meditation takes you to a tranquil state. Transcendental meditation leads to the deepest depths of your mind where it is calm and peaceful.
All the other types of meditation use a similar pattern to mindfulness, except transcendental meditation. We all experience many thoughts that distract us from what is in front of our eyes, all the other mindfulness meditation attempts to repeatedly return our conscious awareness to the present moment. For instance, we are told to focus on our breath, body parts, or an object. The process of actively observing our thoughts, and making effort to let go of those thoughts by focusing on some other thing, serves as a way of training our brains. The more we exercise it, the more we empower ourselves to make conscious choices rather than being controlled by negative thoughts.
While the goal of mindfulness meditation is to train the brain in conscious awareness, transcendence meditation involves going beyond the thinking process, and the means through which this state is reached is the mantra. The effect of transcendental meditation is felt when we can reach the state of transcendence. This is where we feel an increase in mindfulness and a deep stress relief.
To practice transcendental meditation, all that is needed is to sit and close your eyes. You don’t necessarily need to take any particular posture or position. You should do this in a quiet room with a comfortable seat. Once you get a grip of it, you can do it in public places.
The rules of transcendental meditations are easy but only demand continuous practice and dedication. To do transcendental meditation, follow the step by step guidelines:
- Sit in a comfortable chair, placing your feet on the floor and putting your hands on the lap. It is best to leave your legs and arms uncrossed.
- Close your eyes, relax your entire body and take some deep breaths
- Open the eyes, and close them yet again
- Ensure you keep your eyes closed throughout the 20 minutes of practice of transcendental meditation
- Repeat the mantra silently in your mind with concentration (this can be a mantra you got from your practice book or video)
- Anytime you notice that you are having any thought, return to your mantra and chant it repeatedly in your mind
- After 20 minutes of practice, start to move your toes and fingers to make you comfortable and return to the world
- Open the eyes
- You can sit for as long as you want till you feel good about carrying on with your day
Benefits of transcendental meditation
- Makes you calmer
- Reduces your level of stress and anxiety
- Gives positive and renewed energy
- Helps to regain inner peace
- Positively impacts the immune system, eating habits, sleep pattern, blood pressure
How Are Transcendental Meditation Mantras Chosen?
Mantras are somewhat meaningless sounds. In transcendental meditation, it is generally accepted that the more we don’t know about our mantra, the better. Mantras are positive sounds that will help you grow in your meditation. Usually, mantras are suggested by certified transcendental teachers to their students. These mantras are assigned based on your experience in practicing transcendental meditation.
Examples of transcendental meditation mantras include:
- Kirim
- Shirim
- Inga
- Aema
- Aing
When chanting these mantras, they sound like:
- Kiiiiiiiiiiririmmmmm Kiiiiiiririmmmm
- Shiririiiiim Shiiiiiiiririmmmm
- Iiiiiiiiiiiingaaaaa Iiiiingaaaa
- Aaaaaaenma Aaaaaaaaaenmaa
- Aiinnggg Aiiiiiiiinnnnnggggggg
It is right that you vary the length and tone of each letter of your mantra while you’re chanting it. This way, it will be easier to bring about the ‘trance’ effect on your mind. How you chant your mantra does not matter as long as you chant it throughout your session.
If you are doing transcendental meditation on your own and notice the mantra you chose reminds you too much of something in real life, pick another completely meaningless to find what works for you.
