As you know, I was lucky enough to take part in the Transcendental Meditation Retreat at East Dene in February.
I’ve been meaning to write about my experiences there for some time, but – well you know, life gets in the way … anyway, better late than never eh?
Simon and I have been practicing TM since last August and I’ve got to say that we’ve both found the rewards tremendous. Apart from the health benefits – which I go into more detail about further down, it’s also brought clarity of mind and a greater tolerance (particularly useful when having to deal with certain irritating characters – mentioning no names).
There are many reasons why people decide to take up practising TM. For some, it’s to combat the stresses that day-to-day life brings, for others, and certainly the majority of people attending the retreat in February, it is to reach a higher level of consciousness – to find the inner peace and bliss of silence that we all crave (whether we know it or not).
The weekend kicked off on Friday afternoon. Over a period of a couple of hours, everyone arrived and settled into their dorms and were introduced to each other.
Unfortunately I missed this bit as we had other long-standing plans for the Friday, so I was dropped off on the Saturday morning and joined everyone for breakfast.
Before I go on, I must say hats off to all the staff at East Dene. The food (veggie all weekend) was superb and plentiful. Some great choices of meals and always served with a smile. We ate so well that the walks around the grounds were certainly needed afterwards.
Deep Breaths Now
Once breakfast was out of the way, the morning session started. It was pretty intensive, starting with 15 minutes of yoga, followed by five minutes of pranayama – for those who have no idea what this is, and I didn’t until then – these are breathing exercises that not only clear the mind, but also the nostrils – the noise of twelve people performing pranayamas first thing in the morning was something to behold!
Following the pranayamas, we went into the TM session. These start off with 30 seconds of quiet, aiming to clear the mind of thoughts and then 20 minutes of mediatation. Immediately after the meditation, everyone lied down on the floor, stretched out and took 15 minutes rest. There was total silence in the room as our bodies relaxed into the floor and all the stresses and strains faded away.
After a quick ‘comfort’ break and cup of hot water (yes, hot water – apparently it’s really good for you and amazing how quickly you get used to it) we had a round the room discussion each person talking about their experiences. Lunch next and then a very relaxing walk down to the beach and through the landslip.
When we got back, we settled into the armchairs and watched some interviews from ‘What the Bleep (a really interesting film, ignore the acting and listen to the message).
Another meditation session followed, this time without the yoga and prana-wotsits and then it was time for dinner – another yummy feast and then a walk down to Bonchurch ponds for some night time fresh air.
Sunday was a pretty similar set up, with another four people joining us for the day (two local and two from the mainland). Once again the sessions were excellent, group meditation holds far greater benefits than solitary meditation and really increases the good energy in the room.
The day ended with some beautiful spontaneous chanting and sitar playing from one of the Island’s talented musicians (there were a couple there, btw).
Hats off the Will and Zoe for organising such a great weekend. Will has been involved in the TM movement for many many years and is a mine of information on all things transcendental. Zoe thought of everything and made sure that we were all happy and had what we needed. The dorms, although basic were more than satisfactory for their purpose and as I’ve said before the food was brilliant.
The next retreat is planned for later April. If you like the sound of what you’ve heard, I’d strongly recommend that you get in touch with Zoe and book your place, as the response so far has been brilliant.
The Health Benefits
So what about the health benefits …. perhaps you’re not that interested in finding yourself or searching for inner peace, but want to lower your blood pressure or find a way to get reasonable sleeping patterns back again – btw, I have a medical condition that has for the last five years stopped me from sleeping for more than an hour and a half at a time without waking – after starting TM that changed dramatically and I can now go for at least four hours before waking – I’m hoping that in time, this will increase to seven or eight hours and I might start to find some normality in my sleeping patterns.
There have been something like 600 scientific research studies into the effects of TM over the last 30 years at 230 research institutes and universities in 24 countries.
As the mind gets used to subtler, more intuitive and more powerful levels of thinking, brain wave activity becomes highly orderly and coherent. Alpha and Theta waves, which indicate a restfully alert state, appear in the central and rear areas of the cortex and then spread towards the frontal lobes, a phenomenon otherwise rarely seen.
Also the left and right hemispheres of the brain become highly synchronised in their activity, and the brain’s information processing systems become finely tuned. Scientists report that this unique pattern of coherent activity co-relates with improvements in mental performance found to develop with TM, such as increased creativity and intelligence, problem solving and decision making, better memory and learning ability, mental clarity, comprehension, concentration and reaction time.
Mental health also is improved as we dissolve the conditioning caused by past experience. Improvements include self-confidence, self-esteem, self-assertiveness and inner control, along with reduced anxiety and depression and reduced use of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. (Research shows TM to be by far the most powerful intervention in this latter area).
On learning TM, the benefits start right from the first day, irrespective of the person’s background, beliefs or abilities. Some people are aware of dramatic improvements straight away, particularly in sleep and blood pressure. Most people notice benefits in the first four days, and those few who don’t will notice quite soon. But the most profound benefits come gradually over time, the rate of improvement speeding up.
Here’s the official blurb on it …..
So there you have it. An amazing weekend, spent with some amazing people in an amazing setting.
