Meditation is in the news, as I have often said before.
Here is Dr Robert Schneider on a breakfast show recently in New Zealand -which the host says has over 40 000 meditators. Yay! South Africa has TONS more – over 100 000 at last count.
Here is a big one:
Obama Could Implement a Scientific Solution To The Syrian Crisis – A new, scientifically validated approach exists that can effectively end the Middle East turmoil and create peace. This approach has been field-tested and validated in more than 50 replications and 23 studies published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals during the past 25 years. It has been endorsed by hundreds of independent scientists and scholars. It has already been employed by non-US militaries, since it provides a statistically predictable guarantee of success.
There is hardly a day that new articles don’t pop up. It is very clear from the groundswell that Transcendental Meditation has no peer, because of the research, and because it works. Hence its popularity. And its popping up in surprising places, like the Gulf, for example.
Here is a typical post you may enjoy from a big blog, the National:
Taking Transcendental Meditation past the Flower Power stage …
Ged Valente is the chairman of the Transcendental Meditation UAE organisation, which organises classes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. He believes TM should no longer be associated with Flower Power since many practitioners these days are high-flying professionals who use TM to improve mental ability and workplace performance…
He adds that TM’s popularity is rapidly spreading to the UAE, which he believes is due to the entrepreneurial spirit in this country. “I think the reason for this is that people often come here to make money, to start new businesses,” he says. “These people are quite dynamic and they realise what TM can do to improve performance. TM is fantastic in that area. It helps you reduce stress and gives energy and vitality.”
And another titled:
Health care profession is increasingly adopting meditation.
Meditation is not just for new-agey folks sitting in the lotus position chanting “om.” Increasingly, mainstream medicine is waking up to the healing powers of daily meditation, with hospitals opening integrative medicine programs that use mindful and transcendental meditation and guided imagery, alongside traditional treatments. Research shows that meditation reduces stress, blood pressure and pain, improves attention span and the ability to focus and may even stimulate new brain cell growth. We checked with some local doctors to see why they’ve become big proponents of meditation …
If you read the article you’ll see that the staff writer got it wrong in thinking that all meditation techniques reduce stress and BP. It’s a very common error. But you know better. Transcendental meditation is the one with all the research, and the one that the American Heart Association says can be used in clinical practice by doctors to reduce blood pressure without recourse to drugs and strict diets.
And the latest celebrity new is that
Katy Perry meditates every morning. Yes its TM!
“I start the day with Transcendental Meditation. It puts me in the best mood. I wake up and just prop myself up in bed for 20 minutes. It’s the only time my mind gets absolute rest. When I’m asleep, my subconscious mind is switched on and, when I’m awake, I’m alert,” Perry said.
“Like everyone I have a four o’clock slump. I take vitamins after lunch and they give me an energy boost. I have iron, vitamins B, C and D and probiotics, which help with my digestion,” Perry added.
Good for Katy. Its a tough life and we need all the help we can get. Meditation is great, especially Transcendental Meditation.