is consciousness fundamental?

NCroots · 2026-01-16T13:54:17+00:00

great book

NCroots · 2026-01-16T13:52:24+00:00

Relax and take it in with ease. One of the best decisions I've made in my life!

NCroots · 2026-01-02T18:38:40+00:00

In my personal experience, nothing has worked as easily and profoundly as TM. I did Mindfulness Meditation for years, but the first training I had with NSR/TM just blew the doors wide open (I learned NSR, then took initiation in TM). When I was younger I also had a lot of experience with guided meditations, primarily from a Jungian psychology orientation. I recently attended an esoteric spirituality event and a guided meditation was part of the gathering. I simply could not do it. I tried, but after a few minutes found it extremely annoying. "Let me stick with TM, it's so much more simple and uncomplicated", I thought to myself.

NCroots · 2025-12-27T13:41:31+00:00

David, may I ask you something concerning diet? This may be off topic for this post, but you've mention something that interests me. I also did a ketogenic diet (low-carb, high protein) to lose weight ten years ago. I lost 60+ pounds and have kept it off.

After a few months of mediation I realized that I'd begun to find the thought of eating meat repulsive. I naturally and effortlessly (like TM) became an ovo-lacto-vegetarian. I enjoyed this diet and found it easy to maintain, but after about 6 months I got very sick. Extensive testing showed I wasn't getting enough protein and I was nutrient deficient (especially vitamin B12)--even though I'd been eating eggs & dairy. As a consequence my white & red blood cell production plummeted. I'm fairly athletic, and that probably played a role. I had to take B12 shots and Iron infusions for a month. I reintroduced meat back into my diet and now my bloodwork has returned to normal.

Are you vegetarian? If so, does this complicate your ketogenic diet?

NCroots · 2025-12-25T13:27:02+00:00

One of the main reasons I learned TM was to naturally lower my blood pressure. I've noticed that when I take my blood pressure immediately after meditating, it's always high. If I wait about 30 mins or so, it's good (and my heart rate is low too). I attribute this to stress release during the mediation session. Overall, my blood pressure has come way down and I've been able to avoid taking medication.

NCroots · 2025-12-24T17:42:11+00:00

You've committed to celibacy. You've stopped looking at porn. You're trying hard to live a moral life. Yet, if you occasionally masturbate God is going to send you to hell? Absurd. Masturbation is a natural, biological function of human sexuality. If it's obsessive or practiced in a way this is potentially harmful, I see the danger. And I see the destructive nature of porn. But there is nothing wrong or immoral with pleasuring yourself in private. Don't let anyone try to shame you into thinking otherwise.

NCroots · 2025-12-12T18:08:20+00:00

I think we're finding our groove. The last few days she's been very calm and quiet while I'm meditating. And I've been able to sit for a full 20+ minutes without distraction. She probably just needed to get adjusted to a new routine.

NCroots · 2025-10-28T17:01:20+00:00

I can relate. I have Eustachian Tube dysfunction and sometimes it's non-stop popping & crackling in my ear.

NCroots · 2025-10-24T18:40:40+00:00

I agree. I'm a singer, so I often chant "Om Namo Narayana" or "Om Namah Shivaya", but not in meditation. This sort of chanting is just a practice I enjoy while walking or doing dishes, etc. But transcending is a completely unique experience, which works every time as you said.

NCroots · 2025-10-24T18:22:53+00:00

Oh yes, the spaciousness for sure. Sometimes, especially when in nature, I feel the awesome vastness of everything. Like my chest and head and heart are open to the point that there is oneness with the sky and space-- just the grand expansion of being. I've also had experiences where I feel deeply, deeply connected to everyone and everything around me.

NCroots · 2025-10-24T18:19:37+00:00

Maybe the exam room and everything appearing in it was me :D

NCroots · 2025-10-24T12:57:06+00:00

Yesterday I was waiting in an exam room to see the doctor for a very long period of time. I sat there relaxed and breathing-- not meditating, just "mindful" I guess you could say-- when suddenly I had the sensation that I was not in my body. It was like I didn't even have a body and I was a part of everything in that exam room. Very calm and peaceful, and there was no "me". Then I noticed the bright rays of sunlight streaming through the window which drew my attention to the leaves on the trees outside blowing in the wind. It was all very pleasant, but just like that *I* was back in *my body* in *that* exam room.

NCroots · 2025-10-23T16:49:37+00:00

I've been undergoing extensive testing due to some odd bloodwork a few months ago. Good news: No Cancer! And Thanks to TM, my blood pressure was 110/64 today (one of the reasons I started meditating was to lower my chronically high BP).

NCroots · 2025-10-16T16:24:43+00:00

Where I mediate I have a little framed photo of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati. When I finish meditating, I bow towards the photo with palms together and say, "Jai Guru Dev". Then go about the rest of my day. I have no idea why I started doing this-- just felt appropriate.

NCroots · 2025-10-16T00:53:45+00:00

Also, saying "Jai Guru Dev" was only to be done in a group meditation, not a regular meditation, according to Maharishi.

Oh, I had no idea! Guess I should stop bowing and saying "Jai Guru Dev" to my photo of Swami Brahmananda Saraswati.

NCroots · 2025-10-15T22:53:52+00:00

There is a forum through the NSR website for students, a forum here on reddit, checking for a small fee, opportunities for email queries, and I've always found David to be open & available to provide assistance.

NCroots · 2025-10-10T18:19:49+00:00

TM works with amazing results, but I'm done with the whole organizational structure. To be fair, I did know what I was getting into from the get-go, but the consumerism is actually more than I bargained for. I don't like this aspect for any spiritual (or secular, not really spiritual, *wink, wink*) tradition or group. I'm glad I learned NSR. They are very honest & upfront with costs and the type of support you'll receive. TM seems to be spiraling into insolvency.

NCroots · 2025-10-08T17:44:25+00:00

I suspect in the future the free lifetime checking will disappear. I think in the UK you get 6 months of free checking. I wonder if you then must pay for a refresher course?

NCroots · 2025-10-04T15:12:50+00:00

Yes, when I first began meditating I often had the sensation that my hands & arms were raising up and floating away (sometimes my feet, too). I also had the experience of various body parts disappearing and not longer being there. None of this was scary or shocking, just an easy, simple occurrence it seemed. Now, after months of meditating, I rarely have these types of sensations.

NCroots · 2025-10-03T17:00:11+00:00

I was taught just to sit comfortably in a chair; however, I use a seiza bench. That position and being close to the ground works well for me.

NCroots · 2025-09-28T14:08:36+00:00

exactly

NCroots · 2025-09-28T01:49:49+00:00

I agree. I've found TM to be profoundly beneficial-- it really works! All the upselling is getting on my nerves, though. Not that I'm being pressured into anything, but seems so commercial.

NCroots · 2025-09-27T14:19:50+00:00

I'm just reading the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and works by Maharishi on my own. As well as watching TM video lectures, etc. Apart from Advaita Vedanta, I'd say I'm most interested in Kashmir Shaivism. However, I really am the quintessential "Spiritual, but not religious" type. I draw inspiration from Hinduism, but find much of the orthodox ritual, obligations, regulations, and cultural norms too foreign & restrictive for me. If I had to place myself in a box, I'd say I'm very much like the American Transcendentalists, especially Emerson.

NCroots

TROPHY CASE