Have you ever personally known a millionaire? How about someone who has the career, house, significant other(s)? That is… have you ever really been close with someone who “has it all” ? yes, no?

Well then, have you ever heard about a celebrity who has the money, good looks, adoring fans and the rest of ..it all?

How about yourself? What about the times when you got that next part of it all? You know the significant-other experience, the job, the promotion, the apartment, the house, the car, the vacation. .. the this … and the that.

It was nice wasn’t it? Even exhilarating. And then even ordinary. But not really a substantial transforming experience. Not anything that continues to nourish your soul. “Not all it’s cracked up to be” as the saying goes. But just you wait. Wait until they see this. Whoa boy then I’ll have it good… 

Stillness … peace … contentment. You had these with you all the time. You were, and are, carrying them around. within yourself.

The Master does his job
and then stops.
He understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn’t try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn’t need others’ approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.

Tao

Let go of results. They just tie your insides up in knots. Do the only thing you can do… one foot in front of the other. Move, look, change path if necessary.. But results, forget about them and let whatever will be will be after you give putting one foot in front of the other it’s best shot.

The reason? There’s just too much happening , an infinite number of factors influencing the outcome. The best you can do, the only thing you can do, is to do what you can. So, do this and let the results go. Maybe things will go as planned. Or maybe you’ll be surprised by the outcome. .. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many, many people have been grateful in the long run for not getting what they had longed for. Remember “Be careful what you wish for as you may get it”? The reason for this is that it’s impossible for us to see the full ramifications of any outcome.

So focus on doing what you can this day and accept the outcome that will arise. And if you don’t particularly like this outcome, just repeat the process until you get what you really want as this will eventually be revealed.

Too often we tend to focus almost exclusively upon getting our mental attitude optimized in order to create the life of our dreams. Problem is, if we do this exclusively we will only create a life of dreams. And the cost of this unreal life is expensive. … Time … as Ben Franklin had said “this is the stuff that life is made of”.

Look at the truly great men and women of the world. Athletes, writers, philosophers, scientists… Many times we tend to admire them and wonder at how lucky they are to have such abilities. Now although it’s true that their abilities are extraordinary they also cultivate them with the correct attitude and plenty of action. If you look under the surface you’ll see someone totally dedicated to their craft. They practice, practice and practice. They learn. They simply get better. .. and better.

Don’t forget to add plenty of action to get to your dreams. Properly prep but action is the means that bridges the mental and the physical worlds together.

Now from this place you stop damaging your body and spirit with the deadly effects of stress. You start to heal. And you become empowered to face anything in life. You can now take action, effectively, and calmly. … Not necessarily slowly if that’s not appropriate, but more deliberately, intelligently and productively. … Just consider Chelsey Sullenberger, “Sully”, who walked the length of his plane twice before leaving it after a successful landing on the Hudson River. .. No struggle with what is but timely, decisive, intelligent action. First get the plane down and second insure that everyone had safely exited. Evaluate, accept what is and take appropriate action. .. repeat as necessary.

Reign in the stress and feelings of being out of control by acceptance of circumstances, events, your feelings, … your weight. Then take calm and timely action… make that appointment with the therapist, join that gym and then… look around and see what is …. again.. and  again as you travel down life’s path. Accept what is, take action, accept the results and then calmly take more, less and or different actions and create something even better.

This is a superior way to live. … Being at peace in the now instead of at some indefinable time in the future. … Taking real action steps instead of struggling with imaginary battles in your mind. Battles that you can never win. Step into the now, relax in the now and take real steps to better the world you’re no longer afraid to see and accept.

Now up to this stage my recommendation is give a listen to what they have to say but by all means go out and look at the quality of the research and contradictory opinions that are out there. One of the positives for me wasn’t in their website (which is a fantastic site, don’t get me wrong, but I needed independent sources) but by the status of some of the groups conducting the research. Any research conducted by the Transcendental Meditation Organization was taken with a grain of salt and more credibility given to the independent sources.

So, all in all I felt that these credible sources were showing that this program could have some of the positive benefits that I was looking for. And with this I was good for attending the second meeting.

• The official TM Site is very impressive but since there’s a conflict of interest you really can’t rely on their claims, you need to go independent. However, one thing I did take away from this site was the support from people who you would assume really believe in the effectiveness of this program. .. That is, those who really don’t need the money but nonetheless offer their support. Of this group are Jerry Seinfeld, Paul McCartney and Ringo Star (that is I think Ringo doesn’t need the money ).
• Elsewhere I found endorsements from the filmmaker David Lynch who set up the David Lynch Foundation to teach this technique to school age children to better their academic performance and improve other areas of their lives. David is an extremely creative individual who reportedly put up a significant amount of his own money to fund this project.
• A compelling endorsement from, of all people, Howard Stern. Now Stern’s humor is a bit raw to say the least but here’s where I’m coming from by giving this credibility. He is the most successful person in the field of morning radio with a reported $500 million contract with Sirius Satellite Radio (note: for full disclosure I want to report that I am a stockholder in Sirius Radio and Stern brought a lot of new subscribers in .. so I may harbor some subconscious bias towards the man). Anyway, judge for yourself as Stern frankly discusses the effects of TM on his life, his mother’s life, curing his insomnia and quitting a 3.5 pack a day smoking habit in these YouTube Clips (Stern on TM Clip# 1, Stern on TM Clip# 2).
• Research from independent reputable groups speaking to the benefits of TM. A New York Times Article summarizes some of the findings. The American Medical Association found TM to provide beneficial changes to blood pressure and insulin resistance as summarized in this article. And there are many more. A good list of additional credible research can be found at the David Lynch Foundation Website Research Page. Just check out the links to the right for detailed information.

I was also concerned about rumors that TM was a cult-like organization (see Ruth’s thoughtful comment on the previous post). Did some checking and they seem emphatic that this is not a religion or a philosophy but rather a mental technique. From what I could find they don’t seem to hook you into taking more of your money or time so I just decided to dive in and see for myself. At any signs of them trying to fill my mind with doctrine or making money or time demands I would immediately pull the plug (note: so far so good after almost three weeks).

So the bottom line was that I found claims of reduced stress, greater creativity, improved social relations, improved business performance, greater intelligence, improved health etc and these claims seemed to be supported by credible independent research. There are also credible endorsements from successful people who do not have an apparent motivation to promote the program other than wanting to share a positive experience.

Are they a substitute for professional psychological, medical or spiritual help should you have issues that require it? Absolutely not! Do the TM people feel they are a substitute for professional help? They don’t seem to. .. And my friends that was the final positive that proved to be the tipping point that got me to go through the door of the local TM Center to give this thing a try.

TM seemed to fit these objectives and the plethora of solid medical studies supporting it’s effectiveness helped to make me comfortable with it. If you would like to learn more, the place to start is the TM website on the Benefits of Meditation Page. This can be accessed here.

In terms of required commitment I was looking at a cost of $1500 (they recently reduced prices from $2000, but they also have grant programs that can cut this cost in half if you have financial issues, are a single Mom..things like that). Now in addition to the cost the program, they also require about six days of visits to the TM Center (I went to the one in Boston, MA). Each visit was about 1 to 1.5 hours long.

So I’m about a week into it and will be blogging about the experience of learning and living with TM and how it’s effecting my life. One thing though, you give your word that you will not reveal your mantra or the training technique to anyone and I’ll respect this. So no confidential information will be shared. But so far my experience has been that you really do need the personalized instruction in order to learn this correctly, so the confidential info wouldn’t be of much help anyway.

The next few posts of this TM Series will be on the introduction and learning phase (again no confidential info). …. I hope things are good with you and that you have an incredibly good day.

Accept, calm down, and enjoy all your journeys wherever they may lead.

  These consequential feelings tend to crystallize fairly quickly once you start living with an attitude of gratitude. What you’ll find is that it’s not just about you. It’s about you AND the Universe. You see, the Universe works to create good on this planet for you and everyone else as well. Now you can be cynical and say that the world is going to hell in a hand basket but if you study your history you’ll see that the overall level of justice, opportunity and health in the world today is incredibly greater than it was just a few hundred years ago. Back then a small cut could easily turn gangrenous leading to an amputation without anesthesia, the wealthy could rape their female servants with impunity and if you were born into a class you stayed there your entire life there with no chance of moving up.  So while there’s absolutely no doubt that there are many problems, things things are infinitely better today than yesteryear. The world just continues to improve. .. So the level of good is increasing, and this is happening for you and through you. .. Yourself and others like you are actually main conduits through which the Universe creates a better world.  For instance, maybe you’ve been given the drive, the passion, the talent for such things as music, gardening, cooking, humor, business, medicine, parenting, friendship etc. etc. .. And by being given these gifts as well as the opportunity to use them you create more good for yourself and others. And when you feel gratitude for this you send the intention out there. And the Law Of Attraction states that whatever we send out we will attract more of. So more good things come into your life to feel grateful for… Nice .. You know this is the kind of cycle I really enjoy.

 Now to start this cycle is easy, you just have to intelligently observe that you already have been given the most valuable things to be grateful for and that anything else that comes your way is only icing on the cake. The most obvious of these blessings is that you’re alive. Now don’t say  “Ya-ya I know that, now what about the finances and great relationships.” .. Well, look at it this way. You are on a plane and you’ve just scratched off a $10 million dollar lottery ticket. Then the gorgeous person sitting next to you asks where you’re staying and maybe you’re available for a late night dinner. Wow, talk about feeling grateful! Then silence ..the engines fail and the plane starts going down. And you know what happens.. you are now so aware of how precious a gift your life is. To say that you would be an extremely grateful person if you could be saved would be an understatement. .. At that point you realize in a very visceral way that the most basic blessing from which everything else is possible is your very life.  .. So think intelligently and know that you already have the greatest gift that could ever be given (not to mention your sight/hearing/touch/movement, the ability to think, the people you love). .. Now don’t get me wrong, dinner that night with the gorgeous person before picking up your million dollar winnings the next day isn’t too bad either .

  So how do you develop and maintain such a strong sense of gratitude? Well first just be aware of what you currently have in your life and realize that much of this is simply given to you without any effort on your part. Just be aware of this and then say AND FEEL sincere thanks. For instance, when driving, realize how amazing the roads are and how you are given free use of them without any effort on your part even though they costs tens of millions to construct. See the clouds, the grass, the stars and say and feel thanks for these things of breathtaking beauty that are just given to you, and all you have to do is simply look around. Everything from the food you eat to the people in your life to whatever the level of health you retain. Say and feel the thanks. You will soon get to the point where it almost brings a tear to your eye. You will realize how incredibly blessed you are. It will bring appreciation, joy and a feeling of being the wealthiest person on earth.

 So do this and you will begin to look at everything from your cell phone to your kitchen stove with a renewed sense of appreciation. And do this on a continuous basis. Then, something that’s usually forgotten, use the Law Of Attraction to recreate yourself into a grateful person. Go through the steps outlined in the previous parts of this series .. visualize yourself as a grateful person. Then feel the belief, happiness and even gratitude that you are a grateful person. Send this intention out there and you will manifest that personal change in your life. .. At one point I was a negative thinker and then the idea came to me that if I can attract anything in my life why not attract the personal characteristics that would make life better and manifesting easier? I did this and everything started to become magical. You see before I was doing things like saying “The glass is half full not half empty, .. half full, .. half full..” And you know what? It was half full .. but it was also half empty! I really wasn’t getting anywhere. Then, when I started using the Law Of Attraction to become grateful my thinking began to change. I now said to myself “Hey, I have half my glass full, that’s incredible and I’m so lucky and grateful to have been given this. Thank you”. Now that was a much more powerful shift based in reality and focused on what I have been given without the thought of what I did not have (the half empty part). And this of course attracted more into my “glass” until it was eventually completely full.

 Now thinking in this way and attracting a grateful personality will cause you to change. Your belief in the Law Of Attraction will increase and you will begin to feel gratitude for the things you are manifesting in your life, even before you have actually receive them. And this gratitude for the things to come will facilitate their manifestation so you will realize them easier & faster. 

  For instance, I am very grateful for you and all the other readers from America to Australia. I am also grateful for this fantastic technology that enables me to communicate with people around the world and the good that’s produced in people’s lives as a result. .. And what did I do to create this wonderful technology? Nothing. It’s just here for me to use without any effort to develop it on my own part. And being grateful for the technology and the opportunity to communicate ideas with others attracts even more to be grateful for. .. Touching more readers in more countries leading to even greater gratitude etc. etc.  Like I said, this is the kind of positive and energizing cycle that I want in my life .. and yours as well.