Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation
Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal is a 20-year senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School. His new book Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation is garnering superlative reviews from diverse quarters. Filmmaker David Lynch calls it, “The best ever book on Transcendental Meditation: accessible and substantive, engaging and scientific, practical and profound. A very enjoyable read that can change your life, for good.” Cardiac surgeon and media personality Mehmet Oz calls Transcendence"a profoundly important book ... incredibly valuable.”
Rosenthal’s broad ranging book will appeal both to newcomers, who want to know the basics about this ancient technique, and to seasoned meditators, wishing to broaden their knowledge and deepen their understanding about it. By presenting a mix of fascinating stories, high-caliber research and his own clinical experience, Rosenthal illustrates the value of TM in promoting cardiac health, reducing anxiety and depression, and helping people recover from drug and alcohol abuse. He devotes chapters to the benefits of TM for helping children in inner-city schools, as well as for rehabilitating people who are often left behind, such as prisoners and homeless men and women. But Rosenthal emphasizes that TM can help even highly successful people to live fuller and richer lives. He illustrates this in interviews with celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Martin Scorsese, Russell Brand and Laura Dern, all of whom have practiced TM. Rosenthal’s central point is that because TM changes the brain, it can help a vast array of different people to live longer and better lives, and achieve lifelong success.
"If TM were a new drug conferring this many benefits, it would be the biggest, multi-billion-dollar block-buster drug on the market."
—Norman E. Rosenthal, MD, Bestselling author and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine, 20-year Senior Researcher at the National Institutes of Health
“Over the past 10 years the editors and reviewers of the International Journal of Neuroscience (IJN) have accepted several papers on Transcendental Meditation because they have met the rigorous standards of scientific publication. IJN is honored to have two Nobel laureates on its editorial board, and has a distinguished group of scientists from leading universities on every continent who judge the scientific value of the papers submitted for consideration. Not once have these scientists ever questioned the integrity or scientific validity of the papers on Transcendental Meditation. The fact that the articles on Transcendental Meditation continue to appear in large numbers in reputable journals in addition to IJN demonstrates, at least to me, that this is an area of scientific research that’s here to stay. Any review of Transcendental Meditation literature which overlooks these publications smacks of scientific censorship. Perhaps such reviewers would find it instructive to read about the Galileo affair."
—Dr. Sidney Weinstein, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Neuroscience (IJN)
On the Sociological Effects of the TM program
("The Maharishi Effect"):
“I have been following the research on peace-creating groups as it has developed over the last twenty years. There is now a strong and consistent body of evidence showing that this innovative approach provides a simple and cost-effective solution to many of the social problems we face today. In my view, this research is so strong that it demands action from those responsible for government policy.”
—Huw Dixon, Ph.D, Professor of Economics, York University, England
“I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other ongoing social or psychological research program. It has survived a broader array of statistical tests than most research in the field of conflict resolution.This work and the theory that informs it deserve the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike.”
—David Edwards, PhD, Professor of Government University of Texas (Austin)
“In the studies that I hae examined, I can find no methodological flaws, and the findings have been consistent across a large number of replications. As unlikely as the premise may sound, I think we have to take these studies seriously.”
—Ted Robert Gurr, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Government and Politics University of Maryland
“When you can statistically control for as many variables as these studies do, it makes the results much more convincing.”
—Raymond Russ, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Maine; Editor, Journal of Mind and Behavior
Life happens within the realm of three, ever-changing phases: waking, dreaming and sleeping. Yet most of us intuit there's more to human consciousness than what we ordinarily experience.
Scientists have long said each of the three major states of consciousness has its own distinct style of physiology and brain activity. Could there be a fourth major state of consciousness that likewise has its own physiological signature and brain pattern, a state that's been overlooked or forgotten?
What if the loss of this state were the cause for much of what ails us -- personally and collectively?
Transcendental Consciousness
Scientists first proposed the existence of a fourth state of consciousness in the early 1970s, when UCLA researchers discovered that people practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique shifted into a state never before seen in a physiology lab. In the history of science, if there has been a single, overarching moment of "East meets West," surely, it was this. The pioneering research appeared in Scientific American, American Journal of Physiology and the journal Science.1 The findings were expanded by numerous follow-up studies done at other research institutes and medical schools, establishing meditation as a new frontier of scientific research.2
The mind-body state associated with TM practice is very different from waking, dreaming or sleeping and distinct from other meditative states or ordinary relaxation.3 Your muscles become deeply relaxed while your breathing slows markedly. There's a sharp decrease in cortisol and plasma lactate. There's a natural re-balancing of biochemicals, such as serotonin. Changes in Galvanic skin response and other markers reflect a state of whole-body relaxation. But perhaps most interesting is what happens in the brain.
Neuroscientists know that when we're sleeping, our brain produces mostly delta waves, and during dreaming, theta. When we're awake, there can be a scattered mix -- beta, theta, gamma or even alpha. During TM practice there are widespread, high-amplitude alpha waves (10-12 Hz), which shows this is not merely a restful state, but restful alertness.4 More important, the alpha waves are rising and falling together, in phase. This EEG coherence -- strongest throughout the prefrontal cortex -- indicates brain functioning has become more holistic and integrated.5
Typically, during this fourth state, thoughts subside and one becomes increasingly more awake; the mind settles down and consciousness itself becomes primary. Meditators describe this as pure consciousness or unbounded awareness.
Why We Need to Transcend
"We propose that what happens during TM is a fourth state of consciousness, because it's very different from the other three states," says neurologist Gary Kaplan, M.D., Ph.D., of New York University School of Medicine. "After 40 years of research, we now know that TM produces a unique, wakeful, coherent state of deep rest -- physiologically the opposite of stress. The science also suggests that experiencing this state twice daily through TM is the key to maximizing well-being and overcoming stress."
The fourth state may be a new discovery for modern science, but knowledge of this state has existed for thousands of years in the traditions of yoga and meditation. In ancient Sanskrit, this state is called turiya, meaning "the fourth."
Experiencing the fourth state repeatedly over time is said to be the key -- the elusive "requisite stimulus," to borrow from William James -- for positive human transformation and full awakening of consciousness.
Transcendence Deprivation
When you're sleep deprived, you know what happens: alertness, reaction time, tolerance and appreciation of others and the world around you all diminish. You're not yourself, and you're probably less fun to be around.
Similarly, research shows that subjects deprived of dream state become anxious, confused, suspicious, withdrawn, irritable and have difficulty concentrating.
If we're hardwired to experience a natural, rejuvenating, fourth state of consciousness, what is the consequence of omitting this fourth state from daily life? Dr. Kaplan says: "There's a growing pandemic of stress. There's a healthcare crisis. As a nation we have widespread anxiety, depression, hypertension and stress-related disorders that costs us billions every year, with untold costs in human suffering. This is what happens when life is lived without the restorative experience of transcending. Human history becomes the story of stress and suffering."
Restoring the Fourth State: A Return to the Self
What happens to people who routinely experience transcendental consciousness?
Renowned author Norman E. Rosenthal was a senior researcher at the National Institutes of Health for 20 years. He's now clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School and oversees pharmaceutical trials. His new book, "Transcendence", is about what happens when you experience the fourth state twice daily. Dr. Rosenthal: "There's something about entering that state of transcendence twice a day that has a remarkable effect. In the morning, it seems to put the mind in a positive state for facing the day -- everything feels more manageable. In the evening, it seems to erase the accumulated burdens of the day, like grime off a windshield. When you enjoy transcendence twice a day, every day, the overall effect is to experience life as less stressful and more vibrant."
Iowa psychologist and TM instructor Patrick Pomfrey has used meditation as a clinical tool for decades, often prescribing it to patients. He sees transcending as the primary human mechanism for creating a higher state of mind-body health. "The ultimate goal of psychology is to develop the whole person," says Pomfrey. "But you cannot develop the whole person without including the whole person. To do this, each person must discover for themselves this lost experience of the fourth state."
Sages throughout history, from Laozi to Ralph Waldo Emerson, have sung the praises of this exalted "lost" state. Transcendental consciousness is the essence of who we are -- our inmost self. If we don't have an effective technique for diving deep within and taking our attention there, then this rich, vibrant field of all possibilities may remain virtually of no use to us. A person can live an entire lifetime not even knowing it exists.
Awakening to this state, we access a limitless wellspring of energy, creativity and intelligence. Even if we were already happy, when we start transcending we discover there's more to life than waking, dreaming and sleeping.
References:
1. Scientific American, 226, 84-90, 1972; American Journal of Physiology, 221, 795-799, 1971; Science, 167, 1751-1754, 1970
2. American Psychologist [42] 879-81, 1989; Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 16(3): 415-424, 1992; The Journal of Mind and Behavior 10(4):307-334, 1989
3. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12, 297-299, 1998
4. International Journal of Neuroscience, 14: 147-151, 1981
5. Consciousness and Cognition, 8, 302-318, 1999; Cognitive Processing, 11:1, 2010
Scientific and scholarly literature has identified three major categories of meditation techniques, classified according to EEG signature (electroencephalograph) and the type of mental activity or cognitive processing involved.
Controlled focus (concentration) techniques involve the most mental effort or cognitive control. Open monitoring (mindfulness-type practice) involves less cognitive control. Automatic self-transcending (TM technique) uses still less mental effort (no cognitive control).
The term "automatic" is derived from the phrase "automatic processing," a phrase used in cognitive science to describe the type of cognitive processing or mental activity that is not consciously controlled, but is more natural and automatic, such as ordinary, spontaneous thinking or perception. "Controlled processing" refers to another type of mental activity identified by cognitive science, in which the subject is consciously directing attention or attempting to control the mind's focus, as in ordinary mental concentration. Each of these three major categories of mental activity has its own distinct EEG pattern:
1. Focused attention techniques are characterized by concentration or controlled focus on an object of meditation. Brain waves recorded during these practices are typically in the gamma frequency, a pattern commonly seen during any highly focused or controlled mental activity. (Lutz A, et al, 2004)
Focused attention: Gamma waves (20-50 Hz)
2. Open monitoring (mindfulness) involves monitoring the content of mental experience non-reactively. These practices are characterized by frontal theta brain waves, an EEG pattern seen during memory tasks and internal focus, and also associated with drowsiness (Cahn, Delorme, & Polich, 2010).
Open monitoring: Theta waves (4-8 Hz)
3. Automatic self-transcending describes meditation practices designed to transcend or go beyond their own mental activity—not engaging the mind in sustained mental or sensory activity, as in controlled focus or open monitoring, but allowing mental activity to subside spontaneously. Whereas concentration and open monitoring techniques require some mental effort (holding attention onto its object or maintaining a mental attitude of "mindfulness"), automatic self-transcending allows the mind to effortlessly transcend the meditation process itself. The Transcendental Meditation technique is this type of practice. The category is called automatic because the meditator is not involved in any attempt to control or sustain the process. The EEG pattern associated with this approach is frontal alpha coherence, characteristic of a more restful mind (reduced mental activity) along with increased inner wakefulness. (Travis, Arenander, & DuBois, 2004; Travis et al., 2010)
During the Transcendental Meditation technique, the meditator effortlessly, systematically transcends: the mind spontaneously settles inward, away from the surface, active levels of thinking, enjoying progressively more settled and refined levels of experience—going beyond mental activity entirely to arrive at the silent state of restful alertness or pure consciousness. In this low-stress state, the mind is said to access its inner reserves of intelligence, creativity and order.
Neuroscientists have found that the meditative state experienced during TM practice corresponds to a distinct style of brain activity and range of physiological changes that has not been reported from controlled focus or open monitoring practices—a state characterized by significantly lowered breath rate, decreased cortisol, reduced basal skin conductance, reduced plasma lactate, decreased activation of the sympathetic nervous system and increased EEG coherence. Scientific research shows that the experience of twice-daily transcending through the TM technique reduces anxiety, depression and stress-related disorders, improves cardiovascular health and stimulates growth of creativity and intelligence in daily life.
Because the TM technique is itself non-religious, it does not conflict with religious practices or other kinds of meditation. People involved in other meditation practices, whether religious or non-religious, commonly report that the TM technique helps fulfill the aims of their practice and can be enjoyed as a complementary way to gain deep relaxation, improve focus and clarity, alleviate stress and accelerate personal growth.
The diverse forms of meditation available engage the mind in different ways and naturally have different effects on mind and body—as the independent scientific research clearly shows. Because people often ask how the TM technique differs from other meditation, relaxation and wellness practices, the following summary of research is provided, including randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses comparing various techniques. This is a small sampling of research on the TM technique's benefits for mind, body and behavior—validated by 350 peer-reviewed studies. _____________________________________________________
1. RELAXATION: The TM technique is the only mind-body practice shown by scientific research to consistently provide a state of rest significantly deeper than ordinary, eyes-closed relaxation.
2. ANXIETY: A meta-analysis of 146 independent studies on a variety of meditation and relaxation practices—conducted at Stanford University—found the TM technique significantly more effective at reducing stress and anxiety than other practices.
Reference:Journal of Clinical Psychology [45] 957-974, 1989
3. PHYSIOLOGICAL CALMNESS: Produces more relaxed physiological functioning outside of meditation—throughout the day—compared to other techniques researched.
4. BLOOD PRESSURE: The Transcendental Meditation technique produces a statistically significant reduction in high blood pressure that has not been found to result from other forms of meditation, relaxation, biofeedback or stress management.
5. INTELLIGENCE: Randomized controlled research has found the TM technique to holistically improve mental performance—measured by increased IQ, creativity, working memory, practical intelligence, comprehension, and focus.
Reference:Intelligence 29: 419-440, 2001
International Journal of Neuroscience 13: 211–217, 1981; 15: 151–157, 1981
Personality and Individual Differences 12: 1105–1116, 1991
8. FOURTH STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: The TM technique is the only meditation practice found to consistently produce a distinct, major fourth state of consciousness unlike waking, dreaming or sleep.
References:International Journal of Neuroscience 100, 77-89, 2000
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 16(3):415-424, 1992
The Journal of Mind and Behavior 10(4):307-334, 1989
9. BRAIN FUNCTION: Only the TM technique has been found to consistently produce widespread alpha brain wave coherence, indicating more efficient and integrated bran function.
References: Consciousness and Cognition, 8, 302-318, 1999
International Journal of Neuroscience 14: 147–151, 1981
10. REDUCED MEDICAL EXPENSES: The Transcendental Meditation technique is the only meditation practice shown by research to significantly reduce hospitalization, doctor visits and medical expenses, including 87% less hospitalization for heart disease.
Reference:Psychosomatic Medicine 49: 493–507, 1987
American Journal of Managed Care 3(1):135-144, 1997
American Journal of Health Promotion 10(3):208-216, 1996
11. LONGEVITY: The Transcendental Meditation program has been shown to promote longevity, resulting in a younger biological age—an effect not seen in research on other mind-body practices.
Reference:International Journal of Neuroscience 16: 53–58, 1982
Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17(1):201-216, 2005
American Journal of Cardiology 95(9):1060-1064, 2005
12. REDUCED MORTALITY, HEART ATTACK, AND STROKE: Clinical trails funded by the NIH found that practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique reduced the chance of heart attack and stroke by 50% and resulted in longer life spans, compared to controls.
Reference:Archives of Internal Medicine 166: 1218-1224, 2006 Circulation 120: S461, 2009
The most comprehensive of the "no benefits" reviews is the AHRQ paper (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). Experts in meditation research note that the review is methodologically flawed, laden with errors and grossly amiss in its conclusions.
Faulty research design: Scientists who conduct research on exercise, meditation or other behavioral health modalities have developed rigorous and widely accepted ways to determine effects. As a result of using such established methodologies, much of the research on the Transcendental Meditation technique is considered to be on par with the highest quality pharmaceutical research. However, if the research criteria used by this review, such as the double-blind experiment, were used for all scientific studies, there would be no acceptable research showing that cigarette smoking is harmful or proper diet and exercise are good for you. (The double blind experiment would require you to study smoking without the smokers knowing that they are smoking cigarettes—which is obviously not possible. Similarly, you cannot do a double-blind study on meditation whereby the subjects would not know whether or not they are meditating or practicing a particular technique.)
Yet, we know that cigarette smoking is bad for one’s health, and that a balanced diet and exercise are good for you, and that meditation does have many beneficial effects. How do we know this? Because scientists have ways other than double blind studies to identify effects.
Questionable conclusions: Based on its faulty approach, the review concluded—using unusually strong language—that all research on meditation is of “poor quality.” One can say “unusually strong language" because the wording used by the review’s authors is nonstandard and in fact rather odd for science journals.
Studies that have the most rigorous designs are often the largest (i.e., have the highest number of subjects and control groups, are conducted over longer time periods, etc.). They are also exceedingly expensive—typically costing several million dollars for a single research project.
Smaller studies (which are more common) can still employ rigorous clinical controls. They have their place and play a significant role in the scientific literature. Smaller studies point the way to further research, or, in combination with other studies, can strongly suggest an effect or benefit. Usually the researchers themselves will explicitly acknowledge the limitations of a study’s design and the limited conclusions that can be drawn from a single study. And that is the language that is typically used: “only limited conclusions can be drawn” or “further research is needed.”
But the ARHQ reviewers instead chose to characterize such studies as poor: “Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality.”
Quite a number of the studies so described were published in major medical journals, which generally would not be said to publish “poor research.” In fact, there have been over 350 research studies on the TM technique published in peer-reviewed science and medical journals (studies that were conducted at 250 independent research institutes and medical schools worldwide). The National Institutes of Health has awarded $26 million for scientists to further the body of research on the TM technique. NIH grants are intensely competitive and given only for studies that meet high standards of research. The NIH reviewers are no fools; they would not continue to grant millions of dollars over a 20-year period for research on the TM technique unless there was a precedence of promising findings based on quality research. Independent, peer-reviewed journals and their editors and peer-reviewers would not risk their reputations and continue to publish research on the TM technique if all previous research in the field was known to be “poor.”
Criticism of AHRQ: A number of meditation researchers have said that due to its methodological errors, the review's conclusions are invalid. One of the paper’s reviewers, Professor Harald Walach of the University of Northampton and School of Social Sciences and the Samueli Institute for Information Biology in England, strongly urged the authors to withhold publication. “When I looked carefully into the details of the study, the whole analytical strategy looked rather haphazard and ad hoc,” Walach said.
Theoretical perspective: Moreover, experts in the various, long-standing traditions of meditation would flatly deny the review’s reference to meditation practices lacking a “theoretical perspective.” In the case of the Transcendental Meditation program, there has been 50 years of theoretical development aimed at providing a scientific understanding of the mechanism of the TM technique and integrating technique’s theoretical framework into modern science—especially with regards to quantum field theory. The TM program has its basis in a tradition of theoretical analysis that, according to scholars, is at least 10,000 years old.
The Fourth State of Consciousness — Experienced during the Transcendental Meditation technique by Steven Rector, MD
"Scientists call what happens during the practice of Transcendental Meditation a fourth state of consciousness, a state of restful alertness unlike waking, sleeping or dreaming. This fourth state, called Transcendental Consciousness, has it’s own physiological style of functioning—slower breath rate, reduced stress hormones, more orderly brainwaves. We know from hundreds of research studies that experiencing this fourth state of consciousness for twenty minutes twice a day through the TM technique leads to a wide range of health benefits. Scientists around the world have lauded the discovery of this fourth state as a major breakthrough in health and human potential, because experiencing it twice daily appears to be the key to maximizing health and overcoming the ravaging effects of stress.
"As many research studies have shown, the fourth state of consciousness experienced during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique is a much deeper state of relaxation than rest gained during meditation practices that keep the mind actively attentive in common waking state. This proposed fourth state of consciousness also has a unique brainwave pattern, distinct from ordinary waking: high levels of EEG brainwave coherence are seen throughout the brain, indicating more holistic and balanced brain functioning.
"Everyone knows what happens when a person is deprived of sleep, and researchers have found that dreaming state is also necessary to function in daily life. What is the result of omitting the fourth state, Transcendental Consciousness? What results is the widespread condition of anxiety, hypertension and general ill health that I see everyday as a physician, and which costs America billions every year in the treatment of stress-related diseases and behavioral disorders.
"There’s an epidemic of stress in the world. This is what happens when the restorative experience of the fourth state of consciousness is excluded from daily life. This is why as a doctor I wholeheartedly endorse the Transcendental Meditation program."
Dr. Steven Rector has practiced emergency medicine for 18 years in Iowa and Georgia. A Diplomate of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, he currently works as an emergency physician and is involved in the education of paramedics and other emergency medical personnel. In Georgia he served as Medical Director of the Atlanta Center for Chronic Disorders. Aren't all forms of meditation transcendental?
