Can meditation improve happiness?

The research says “yes” – but not just any meditation.

Attend a free info lecture on the Transcendental Meditation technique on Sunday 11 October,13:30 in Stockholm. Number of seats is limited, reserve your seat through the form at the bottom of this page.

Serotonin is our “happiness hormone”. A study in a research institute in Vienna found that after 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice there was a significant (50%) increase of the 5-HIAA serotonin metabolite. Even before they practiced TM, the levels of the TM group were already twice as high as the control group, indicating a long-term permanent increase.Ref.BUJATTI, M., and RIEDERER, P. Serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine metabolites in Transcendental Meditation technique. Journal of Neural Transmission 39: 257–267,1976.

This kind of increase has not been found with other meditation or relaxation techniques. So what is Transcendental Meditation, why is it different, and how does it improve happiness?

On this page you will find:

True meditation is easy, enjoyable, and anyone can learn
The key: being yourself
Happiness: The goal and the way
Stress kills happiness… transcending is the antidote
Happiness: only one side benefit of a complete transformation
Free introlecture: Do you have 90 minutes to discover how everything can change?

True meditation is easy, enjoyable, and anyone can learn.

“I have tried meditations but I could not do it. I concluded that I’m apparently incapable of meditating… when I learned TM it was exactly what I needed! The thing that blew me away the most about it was that it was the easiest thing I’ve ever done… I got my entire family to learn.”
Cameron Diaz. 

Transcendental Meditation is the most practiced (6 million practitioners), most widely researched (600 studies), and, according to the research, the most effective meditation technique in the world.

Because it is easy.

Anyone can learn it in a few evening sessions, and it takes just 20 minutes of practice – twice a day – to get the effects. For most people this 20 minutes is so enjoyable that they look forward to it every day.

Most people understand “meditation” to be some form of controlling the mind, usually through some kind of concentration (on a sound, the breath, or “being in the now”), with the aim of getting some relaxation. Concentration usually takes a lot of disciplined training, and is not all that enjoyable.

The Transcendental Meditation technique was rediscovered 60 years ago when a young Indian scientist, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, discovered that true meditation is not about controlling the mind at all. He developed a way to train people to activate a completely effortless and natural process where the mind will go to a state of inner silence by itself. Below we explain how it works.

The key to happiness: Being yourself.

When the attention is directed outside, towards what we see, do, or think, the attention goes away from ourselves. The “I” literally loses himself in the world around him.

However, if we could bring the mind in a state where there are no perceptions, no doing, and no thoughts, yet where we remain fully alert, then our conscious “I” can experience itself, a state of pure inner silence, pure “being”.

Truly being yourself is a powerful experience that can create profound changes on almost all aspects of life. Unfortunately most people go through their entire lives without ever having this experience, because they don’t know how.

How do we bring the mind to a state of pure silence? Not seeing or doing anything is easy, just sit on a chair and close your eyes, but how can we have no thoughts? We can’t force the mind not to think. The more we try not to think the more we are actually thinking.

The trick is not to try, but to let it happen naturally. Being yourself is a state of coming home for the mind, and coming home is the most enjoyable state there is. Actually, the mind is already genetically programmed to come home. There’s no need to control, it will go there by itself if it only has the chance.

Happiness: The goal and the way.

All 8 billion human beings on this planet are different, but there is one thing we all have in common: we all want to be happy. Happiness is like gravity for the mind, and the mind will be spontaneously drawn to any enjoyable experience. The state of being yourself – coming home – is the most enjoyable state there is for the mind, and the mind will be drawn to this experience more than anything else.

All we have to do is put the mind in the right direction and then allow this natural process to take place. That means that we don’t try to control or concentrate the mind. This requires a specific technique, which is called the Transcendental Meditation technique. Once this technique is taught correctly there are only 2 requirements for it to work:

1. You can think a thought.
2. Your mind is looking for happiness.

So unless you’re the only person in this world who wakes up with the thought: “I hope I’m going to be really unhappy today”, you can be pretty sure that it will work. Even people with the most busy minds, who think they will never be able to quieten their minds, usually experience a deep silence and inner happiness within the first few sittings after learning the TM technique.

This simple formula is why Transcendental Meditation is the most successful meditation technique in the world. Happiness is both the goal and the way.

Stress kills happiness…TM is the antidote

“No other ‘stress management technique’ has anywhere close to TM’s amount of hard data in support of its claims to reduce stress.”
Norman Rosenthal, MD, U.S. National Institutes of Mental Health

When we are stressed, the brain starts producing stress hormones and will shut down the production of our happiness hormones, so it’s natural that we don’t feel happiness under stress. Under chronic stress the brain is trained to permanently reduce or shut down our serotonin production, leading to all kinds of problems, such as  depression, anxiety, emotional instability, migraines, insomnia, Alzheimer’s, eating disorders, addictions etc. Not being happy is just not good for our health.

When the mind spontaneously goes to a state of complete inner silence through TM practice, the body will follow. It will spontaneously come into a very deep state of relaxation as well, far deeper than even deep sleep.

This graph from a Harvard Medical School research study shows that during TM the body comes into a state of rest that is twice as deep as even the deepest rest during sleep (here measured by reduced oxygen consumption). More than 30 studies around the world have confirmed this deep rest during TM practice.Ref.American Psychologist, 1987, 42: 879-881.

This deep rest activates a powerful inner healing power, where the body will spontaneously remove any tensions (stress) it has accumulated. This is what automatically happens during sleep: we recover from the tensions of the previous day. The problem is that the rest during sleep simply doesn’t go deep enough to remove all the tensions we accumulate in our busy lives, especially the deep-rooted traumatic stresses.

Sometimes, the results can be most dramatic with those who need it most. Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) is generally considered incurable, yet a recent study with US Iraq War veterans showed a 50% reduction in PTSD and depression after only 8 weeks of TM practice. Ref.Military Medicine, june 2011 The results were so impressive that CNN did a feature on it on US Veteran’s Day. Watch the CNN video

In a study done in Vietnam war veterans, the TM group saw such significant reductions (in PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc.) that after only 3 months of practice 70% of the war veterans required no further treatment. They showed a much higher stress-resistance as well. The control group that received standard psychotherapy showed no improvement.Ref.Journal of Counseling and Development 64: 212–215, 1985

Many war veterans have problems that go far deeper than most. If TM can help them – where other approaches have had limited success or failed – it can help anyone.

Stress is the root cause of 90% of all diseases, so teaching people how to remove their own stress is essentially teaching them how to heal themselves. This is why many doctors now advise Transcendental Meditation to their patients.

“The amazing thing about Transcendental Meditation is the very well established research showing the technique impacts things, that we didn’t think were changeable.”
Dr. Oz

“I encourage all my patients to practice Transcendental Meditation. Experience Shows and research confirms, that it is the best vaccine against stress-related conditions. Regular practice keeps you inwardly settled despite being surrounded by chaos.”
Dr. Donn Brennan (MRCGP), General Practitioner

The video below shows several more examples of just how powerful TM can be for those who are suffering from traumatic stress. It also shows why more and more scientists, educators, celebrities and governmental institutions are supporting the TM technique.

Happiness: only one side-benefit of a complete transformation

The ancient texts described how regular experience of “transcending” the finest stages of thought and coming back to yourself is essential, not just to remove stress and improve happiness, but for our full development as human beings. Over 600 studies and 350 scientific publications have confirmed that TM practice doesn’t just improve our health and well being, but even improves our brain functioning, resulting in:

• More emotional stability
• More self confidence
• More energy
• Better relationships
• Improved creativity and intelligence
• Improved memory and concentration

How can I learn?

The Transcendental Meditation technique is individually taught by a professionally trained teacher who is able to lead a person through the experience of transcending in a completely natural way.

This technique is taught step-by-step during four consecutive meetings. This is followed by a detailed support and follow up program over the next six months to ensure the correct practice.

The first step, however, is simply to attend a free info seminar.

Do you have 90 minutes to discover how everything can change

To understand how a simple technique can provide so many benefits, sign up for our free informational seminar. Just fill out the form below. You will be able to:

• Meet a certified TM teacher
• Learn all the benefits 20 minutes twice a day of TM practice can bring
• Ask any question you may have
• Schedule a TM course