Customer Reviews

Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Occasionally, an important scientific discovery comes along that surprises even the scientists themselves. World-renowned psychiatrist Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D., writes here about just such a discovery: the experience of "transcendence" is a powerful antidote, he believes, for many of our modern woes, a way to help overcome stress and stress-related disorders while opening a new window to the potentialities of the human brain.

Dr. Rosenthal was a senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School. He has spent three decades conducting medical research, first at Columbia University and then at NIH. Famous for pioneering the study and treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), his focus recently turned to the Transcendental Meditation technique.

With a forward by Mehmet Oz, M.D., this gracefully narrated, reader-friendly account takes a subject that is subtle and, for many, elusive and renders it simple, clear and vitally relevant.

In addition to exploring the extensive scientific documentation of healing and transformation through TM practice, the book features case studies and interviews with meditators -- including Paul McCartney, Russell Brand, Martin Scorsese, Moby, Laura Dern and David Lynch -- who share with us their life-changing experiences.

Dr. Rosenthal says, "If TM were a new prescription drug, conferring this many benefits, it would be a billion-dollar blockbuster."

I recommend this book to anyone interesting in improving their life and health, gaining relief from stress, or attaining inner peace.

My copy arrived today. It's a fascinating journey of how a distinguished modern scientist comes to terms with an ancient meditation system that really works-- and works on his own scientific terms. I think it's time we all take a lesson from Dr. Rosenthal and incorporate techniques that are useful and effective, regardless of their source. Bravo, Dr. Rosenthal. If we are to maximize our opportunities for growth, we need more like you.

I read mostly fiction and I'm rarely able to get through a self help book but this one moves along nicely and is an entertaining read as it takes you through the topic through the eyes of people you feel like you know. I'd recommend it for anyone who is considering taking up meditation.

Great stories and surprising endorsements from a wide variety of celebrities including Dr Oz
It seems it's all within each of us and this particular meditation technique has something unique about it - it's easy for anyone and it actually works with a large body of research to support it. I am giving copies to a few relatives. Get it, you won't be disappointed.

The author, psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal, says that no book can teach you how to do TM; you must be taught by an individual teacher in a personalized course of instruction. This costs $1500 or more when last I checked. I have taken the TM course of instruction and found it so rigidly scripted as to seem almost stock, one-size-fits-all. In my opinion, Dr. Herbert Benson's book The Relaxation Response (and his subsequent books The Breakout Principle and Your Maximum Mind) presents the basics of a meditation practice that is essentially the same as TM, and in such a way that the reader can begin meditating on his or her own by following the simple steps outlined in the books.

Dr. Rosenthal says that TM involves no religious belief or faith -- yet practitioners are asked to believe that their mantra, even though it has no meaning at least to English speakers, has some deep transforming power and must be personally selected for each individual by a highly trained teacher. Dr. Benson on the other hand advises choosing a word of personal spiritual significance to you to use as your mantra. Either way, we seem to be talking about faith.

In Dr. Rosenthal's favor, he does lay out the benefits of meditation clearly and persuasively. I have experienced these benefits through regular practice of meditation for almost thirty years; sometimes using my TM mantra, sometimes using a phrase from the Psalms that is more connected with my spiritual beliefs. In either case I have experienced relaxation, increased creativity, surprising insights, greater energy, deeper calm, more organized thinking. I leave it to neuroscientists to prove that there is a difference between the effects of TM and that of The Relaxation Response, Christian Centering Prayer, or other kinds of meditation. A large number of studies cited by Dr. Rosenthal touting the unique benefits of TM seem to come from Maharishi University in Fairfield Iowa, founded on the principles of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the popularizer of TM, and thus seem to me to be of questionable objectivity. I am not saying that TM is worthless or a hype -- but if the same effect can be gained from a book costing less than 1% of the TM course of instruction then maybe that's a good first step for neophyte meditators.

One last point: all 20 of the customer reviews could have been written by the same person, so alike are they in tone and in complete suspension of critical evaluation.

In "Transcendence", Norman Rosenthal encapsulates in words both wise and clear his experience with, and understanding of, the Transcendental Meditation technique. Reading his careful review of the scientific research on TM in a variety of areas (stress, cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety, etc.), it's striking to consider that a fundamentally simple and easy meditative practice can produce such a complex and widespread range of benefits for both mind and body.

It's also fascinating to witness Rosenthal carefully distinguishing the TM technique from other meditative practices; he makes it clear that different meditations use different methods and produce strikingly different results. He focuses on the TM technique in this book, noting that it is the most extensively studied meditation practice. He also cites study after study supporting his statements.

My favorite parts of the book are those where he relates the personal experiences of people suffering from various conditions, and the results they experienced directly in their own lives after starting TM. While Rosenthal is careful to say that such stories indicate or point to the benefits of TM (rather than to prove them), he puts them in a broader context by citing the research studies in those areas.

One of the surprising parts of the book is the section on PTSD. Rosenthal cites preliminary studies on the positive benefits of TM. From what Rosenthal says, the results are very promising. I find it odd that more research has not been done on this, especially since TM has been shown to be so effective for treating things like anxiety and stress.

We have anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 (or more) soldiers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD. They're self-medicating themselves with alcohol or drugs. They're receiving prescription drugs to damp down their symptoms from their mental health care providers (when they admit to suffering from PTSD). Perhaps this book will encourage more veterans (and their caregivers) to consider TM for self healing or as an adjunct to their other care for PTSD.

Rosenthal is a doctor who listens to and learns from his patients. He tells us in the book that he learned the TM technique when young, then fell away from it. Later a patient of his, suffering from bipolar disorder, reported great results from TM and suggested that Rosenthal take it up again. He resumed his TM, and then delved into the hundreds of research studies conducted on the technique since he last paid it any attention. Now he regularly recommends it to patients in his practice.

Rosenthal is one of the discoverers of Seasonal Affective Disorder. These days it seems like an obvious thing. But it was brand new when he and his colleagues first figured it out, to everyone's benefit through light therapy, etc. Rosenthal applies this same uncommon common sense to the TM technique. His conclusions are well supported. This book is an authoritative review of the TM technique; it's well worth reading and heeding if you're interested in meditation in general or TM in particular.

VERY comprehensive look into Transcendental Meditation. Enjoyable to read with good stories to liven up the doctor's perspective on what TM does and why it provides such comprehensive holistic benefits. This book is really useful and informative for the "thinking" reader like me :) I had no idea there is so much university research -- he says over 300 published studies and he draws on a lot of them to analyze the physiological effects of TM and the associated mental and social effects....I've read about half of it so far and will definitely read to the end with pleasure. The website TM.org is also helpful.

If you're exploring the various meditation techniques in the world today, there's a fair chance you're looking for practical information on technique, rather than an exhaustive sales pitch. If so, then you'd be smart to avoid anything branded with the words "Transcendental Meditation," as it's all a bunch of fluff.

In a nutshell, Transcendental Meditation is a simplified approach to the already-simple technique of mantra meditation. In mantra meditation, the practitioner focuses on a word or phrase of some significance in an effort to induce a mildly hypnotic state of mind conducive to meditation. There is an incredible amount of information on the subject freely available online, so there's no need to buy this book. In fact, the book not only skirts practicality, but actually suggests its uselessness by repeatedly insisting that the reader pay $1500 to a TM instructor, who will then assign them a mantra and tell them how to use it.

If you're one of those people who take comfort in burning money in exchange for some escapist fugue with a "meditation instructor," then hey, buy the book. Spend the money. Do whatever makes you happy. For the rest of you, do yourself a favor and search online for info on mantra meditation. Many cities in the western world are also now home to monasteries, temples and other such places where traditional mantra meditation is taught for free, or at least for much less money.

I have read my share of "self-help" books. God knows, I need help with stress. Happily I found this book to be really interesting and useful.

I have never been much attracted to meditation because I had tried different kinds of relaxation methods and found none of them very effective. As a matter of fact, I actually disliked the effect they had on me. I felt fairly bored doing them, and found they made me sluggish and less focused, like the feeling you get after a really heavy meal.

This book has opened my eyes about what meditation really is--well, what it can and should be. What Dr. Rosenthal describes as "transcendence" is just what I want and need. He describes the transcendental meditation experience so clearly, and tells about its transformative effects in interesting ways--ways that kept me reading right through to the end. I am definitely impressed by its potential to help solve stress-related problems, and can see what he means by meditation being a way to promote important aspects of personal development.

I think our society desperately needs an antidote to the rising stress we are all experiencing. I shutter at all the drug commercials on TV for depression, anxiety and all the other problems that seem on the rise. They seem to designed to give everyone the feeling that happiness and living a good, healthy life is just a tablet away. I have complained too many times that all doctors seem to do it hand out pills. Well, good for you, Doctor Rosenthal! You are bringing out a more natural way to get healthy and happy.

The title tells you that this book is more than just a book about meditation. It is about the universal experience of inner silence and its effects on the individual and society. The book has the virtue of being free of TM movement jargon. It also deals with the scientific research on Transcendental Meditation in a very balanced manner. Many of the case studies deal with extreme examples of problems but this does make them interesting to read. It struck me that this would be a great book for people involved with social policy as it looks at research showing how Transcendental Meditation can help with prison reform, drug addiction and behavioural problems in schools. It is a good balance of the spiritual, the practical and the aspirational.