Top FAQ
It’s a simple, natural, effortless technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed.
The TM technique allows your active mind to easily settle inward, through quieter levels of thought, until you experience the most silent and peaceful level of your own awareness — pure consciousness.
Transcend means to go beyond. When we talk about transcending in the context of meditation, we’re talking about going beyond the active level of the mind.
The mind is like the ocean: on its surface it’s active, but at its depth, it is exceedingly quiet and still. With the TM technique, the mind settles more and more until it reaches a level where you have no thoughts and a completely settled mind — and yet you are totally awake and alert.
This is the experience of transcending — going beyond the faintest impulse of thought to a state of complete silence and complete awareness all at once.
In the TM course, you learn how to effortlessly transcend — to go beyond the surface level of your awareness. Transcending is a state of deep inner silence typically unavailable from meditation apps and other techniques.
A study published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition identified the following three meditation categories based on measured brain wave differences:
- Concentration or focus: Zen, Vipassana, etc.
- Open monitoring: Mindfulness, Kriya Yoga, etc.
- Self-transcending: Transcendental Meditation
Hundreds of published research studies have found the TM technique to be highly effective for stress-related conditions, brain function, insomnia, and cardiovascular health.
The hundreds of studies have been conducted at more than 200 independent universities and research institutions and published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals.
Yes, unlike other forms of meditation, TM practice involves no concentration, no control of the mind, no trying to clear the mind of thoughts, and no mental monitoring.
What’s more, research shows that TM helps improve focus, attention, working memory, and organization skills.
Learning Transcendental Meditation starts with the 4-day TM course. Led by a Certified TM teacher over four consecutive days, your TM course starts with personal instruction in Transcendental Meditation. Following your personal instruction, you’ll join three days of small group sessions for interactive lessons based on your new experiences.
After you complete the TM course, we recommend attending the TM Essentials. The Essentials are a series of four weekly sessions where we’ll show you how to manage your practice under unusual circumstances and answer any questions. We’ll explore meditation experiences, ways to grow your TM practice, and simple steps to help you develop a consistent meditation routine.
The TM course fee is $1400 + tax. The course fee includes the 4-day TM course, the TM Essentials sessions for new practitioners, and Ongoing Learning & Support for a lifetime.
A non-profit organization means we don’t have shareholders and don’t issue dividends. That means that our primary commitment is providing the TM course and supporting the meditation practice of those who learn — not increasing shareholder value.
But we still have financial commitments which we take seriously. This includes the overhead of running commercial centres where we teach. And most importantly: our commitment to paying our employees a professional wage, as well as supporting the teaching of TM in less prosperous parts of the world.
Your TM course fee supports those commitments, not just for the TM course but for all the ongoing learning and programs we provide for free.
The TM course is not covered by provincial health insurance or other extended health coverage. We are classified as a not-for-profit educational organization. We are not health care providers, and the value of TM should be primarily considered a wellness or preventative health practice.
Some employers do offer health and wellness benefits, for which the TM course typically qualifies.
Full-time students can save on the TM course with our student pricing of $980.
Yes, couples or parents and their dependent children under 18 years old can enjoy learning Transcendental Meditation together for the TM for Families course fee of $2650.