Benefits of
Transcendental Consciousness

In Vedic science, Transcendental Consciousness is considered highly beneficial. Regular experience of this fourth state is said to lead to rapid and cumulative benefits for the individual—growth toward the highest states of consciousness (enlightenment). Maharishi explains that when people experience Transcendental Consciousness, they directly contact the unified field of all the laws of nature. When the individual is thus attuned to the source of all the laws of nature—the organizing intelligence that upholds life throughout the vast cosmos, and promotes the evolution of millions of species on earth—both body and mind function with the efficiency and effectiveness of nature’s intelligence.

As many hundreds of studies on the Transcendental Meditation technique have demonstrated, regular experience of Transcendental Consciousness does in fact dramatically improve both physical and mental functioning. Although this site focuses primarily on peace creation in society as a whole, a brief review of individual benefits can serve to demonstrate the profound nature of Transcendental Consciousness.

Reduced Anxiety through Transcendental Consciousness

Anxiety is a psychological measure of an individual’s level of inner peace—or lack thereof. If Transcendental Consciousness is indeed a state of inner peace, regular experience of that state should reduce anxiety markedly. A statistical comparison (meta-analysis) conducted at Stanford University of all available studies (146 independent outcomes) indicated that, as compared with all other meditation and relaxation techniques tested to date, including the widely used technique of progressive muscle relaxation, Transcendental Consciousness (as experienced during the Transcendental Meditation program) reduces anxiety at least twice as effectively. When the analysis was limited to only those studies with the most rigorous experimental design, the anxiety-reducing effectiveness of Transcendental Consciousness, as compared to other approaches, doubled yet again. Analysis showed that these positive results could not be attributed to subject expectation, experimenter bias, or research design.

References:

1. Journal of Clinical Psychology 45 (1989).
2. Journal of Clinical of Psychology 33 (1977).

Optimization of Brain Functioning through Transcendental Consciousness

Higher levels of EEG coherence measured during the experience of Transcendental Consciousness are significantly correlated with a wide range of mental and psychological improvements. The four studies included in this chart indicate that the enlivenment of total brain functioning during the fourth state of consciousness results in increased fluency of verbal creativity, increased efficiency in learning new concepts, more principled moral reasoning, higher verbal IQ, decreased neuroticism, higher academic achievement, clearer experiences of pure consciousness, and increased neurological efficiency, as measured by faster recovery of the H-reflex.

References: Chart 1 was constructed with data from the following four studies:

1. International Journal of Neuroscience 13 (1981): 211–217.
2. International Journal of Neuroscience 15 (1981): 151–157.
3. Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program: Collected Papers, Volume 1 (1977): 208–212.
4. Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme: Collected Papers, Volume 4 (1988): 2245 –2266.

Increased Self-Actualization through Transcendental Consciousness

The concept of self-actualization is the closest modern psychology comes to the Vedic understanding of enlightenment. People who are self-actualized are said to have realized (or actualized) more of their inner potential, as expressed in every area of life, including: integration and stability of personality, self-regard, emotional maturity, capacity for warm interpersonal relationships, and adaptive response to challenges. A statistical meta-analysis of all available studies (42 independent outcomes) compared relaxation and meditation techniques based on concentration or contemplation with the experience of Transcendental Consciousness (during the Transcendental Meditation program).This large body of comparative evidence showed that Transcendental Consciousness increased self-actualization much more effectively. In fact, people who practice the TM technique regularly score at high levels of self-actualization rarely seen in the scientific literature. These studies provide strong objective evidence that regular daily experience of this fourth state of consciousness produces rapid evolution toward higher states of human functioning.

References:

1. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6 (1991): 189–247.
2. Journal of Counseling Psychology 19 (1972): 184–187.
3. Higher Stages of Human Development: Perspectives on Adult Growth (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990): 286–341

Decreased Hospitalization and Doctor Visits through Transcendental Consciousness

In addition to rapid improvement in psychological health, regular experience of Transcendental Consciousness also produces marked benefits for physical health. A five-year study of insurance statistics on 2,000 people throughout the U.S. who regularly practiced the Transcendental Meditation program found that their overall rate of hospitalization was 56% lower than the norm. The decreases were highly significant in the most serious conditions, including 76% less hospitalization for major surgery, 55% less for cancer, and 87% less for heart disease and stroke.

Reviewing these four studies on Transcendental Consciousness (which are backed up by hundreds of others), regular experience of this fourth state of consciousness produces rapid evolution toward higher levels of human functioning—in terms of inner peace, mental abilities, psychological maturity, and physical health. The ancient Vedic descriptions of Transcendental Consciousness, and the profound growth brought by regular experience of that state, have both been thoroughly validated by modern science.

References:

1. Psychosomatic Medicine 49 (1987): 493–507.
2. American Journal of Health Promotion (1996, in press).