Everything You Want to Know about TM -- Including How to Do It

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This little book (190 pages) is the best book on Transcendental Meditation (TM) I have ever read. Wildly popular in the 70's and 80's, TM continues to be the most accessible form of Eastern spiritual practice in the West. It is billed as "a simple, natural, and effortless mental technique practiced 20 minutes a day". One of the greatest strengths of this book is chapter 5 ie "How to Do TM?" because every student of TM has a legal contract with the TM movement not to teach it to anybody else, let alone to reveal its precious mantra (It now costs circa $3000 to study TM). I also congratulate John White, the author of the book, to include crucial articles on TM by prominent authors in Appendixes 1-3. Finally, John White appraises TM. Does it live up to its hype? Does Maharishi Mahest Yogi enlightened? What is the purpose of mantra? What does science say about TM? And whether TM ignores the core traditional concern of Indian mysticism ie "Kundalini". Read this book and you will have a balance view of TM.

If you are interested in practising TM I recommend this book it provides a balanced view behind the controversial claims about TM on both sides. You might want to read "The Sceince of Being and The Art of Living" and Herbert Bensons "The Relaxation Response" First though. I should point out that John Whites book did not deter me from continuing with meditation, reading all three books has given me a rounded knowledge of what TM is all about and saved me a lot of money . . . this will become self explanatory the more familiar that you become with the subject.

I, for one, am very grateful to John White for his very honest and objective book. I wanted to take a TM course this month, and their corporation told me it was now $2500, since they were offering $500 off this month. I can't imagine anyone charging that much for something you can learn in, using their words, 20 minutes. You CAN learn how to meditate from a book, and I strongly oppose the reviewer you said you can't. I learned how to from John White's book, and believe me, it works. I feel the people from TM have lost their way. Was TM supposed to become an elitist method, excluding millions of people who are unable to come up with nearly $3,000?

Wer schon immer alle Hintergründe über TM und die dazugehörende Bewegung erfahren wollte, wird hier gut bedient. Das Buch bietet eine sehr gute Übersicht über alle Einflüsse, Motivationen und Fakten von TM und im besonderen über Maharishi.Der Autor schreibt aus einem sehr stark wissenschaftlich geprägten Bezug über die Meditationstechnik und ihre belegbaren Punkte, was es zum Teil für nicht-englisch-sprechende Leser schwierig macht, jedoch die seriösen Aspekte einer spirituell ausgelegten Gruppe verstärkt.Die "how to do it"-Teile könnten ausführlicher beschrieben sein, da hier der Leser alleine gelassen wird, was wiederum der Gang zu einem professionelle TM-Lehrer nötig macht.Im Grossen und Ganzen jedoch sehr seriös, interessant und unterhaltsam!