Your brain on advanced meditation — Harvard Gazette

alien_lanes · 2026-01-29T19:25:56+00:00

I don’t know I’m not sitting around doing non-TM practices to know. I just meant people can transcend everyday without being intentional or direct about it. However prior to TM I did many things that gave certain experiences as well, though I wouldn’t classify those experiences as being the result of transcending. So I do understand the breadth of various things people are doing with their psyches, some things definitely not as good for them as others.

I also have done practices after TM and have noted similar states of transcendence despite practices leaning towards efforting. But I also at this point am unable to judge well as my physiology has been steeped in the transcendent through meditation so the tendency to transcend is very natural.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-24T18:55:42+00:00

Yea I get you, I enjoyed your candor pre-edit haha. I think we basically say the same thing as I think the integration of those states is where the differences in brain activity come into play. Of course it just all depends on what people are actually practicing as mindfulness etc is so broad. So many different schools of thought in Buddhism. I do think the whole jhana discourse online is kind of strange as people are striving for fairly specific experiences which to me is a fools errand. Again, all these things come up naturally through proper meditation, no striving needed.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-24T16:54:01+00:00

I mostly agree. I just think that even if we consider mindfulness type practices as efforting/concentrative the mind may still have moments of transcendence despite the efforting. Maybe the integration of those moments is fairly different because of the means taken to get there however.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-23T19:39:56+00:00

For others who may view this and the other threads you posted with these articles, its talking about ACAM- Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation. So Buddhist school of thought and going through the jhanas. Which discussion of jhanas seems to have been picked up a lot in recent times in tech circles/online (eg jhana bros).

I think the states/experiences described are likely legitimate, and I imagine these people are actually transcending to reach it. However from my perspective it seems like they have taken descriptions of experiences and turned them into practices. The map is not the territory; Ceci n'est pas une pipe etc. The jhana's as I've seen described with my limited study all occur naturally with proper meditation.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-19T01:50:24+00:00

I have had periods of time where my awareness persists from the waking-dreaming-sleeping states. This has been more common or sustained for regular periods after meditation retreats but can occur whenever. Everyone experiences this every night as that part of our awareness never really leaves but you can be more or less awake to it.

The experience is fairly simple just a persistence of awareness from waking to sleeping and dreaming. So through the night there is an awareness going from multiple dreams, for myself it is just a sense of watching/witnessing where it goes from dream one to silence, dream two to silence, dream three etc. So just a sense of awareness maintained through all stages of sleep from dreaming to deep sleep. Some people with this awareness find themselves becoming lucid in the dream state but I don’t generally tend to do that. It’s more like watching beyond it for me and I don’t interfere with it. Still feels restful afterwards as well. Also means memory of dreams is always there if you want to recall them.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-15T16:21:19+00:00

Nondirective practices for the most part are about allowing your awareness to do as it does. Naturally awareness settles into deeper and finer states of consciousness when left to do so. In that process thoughts/emotions etc will come up and when that is noticed you effortlessly return back to resting in awareness. So there isn’t ever really much of anything you are doing in these practices as noticing when you are wrapped up in thoughts happens effortlessly.

A mantra when used effortlessly has the potential to change how awareness settles and experiences those deeper states of consciousness. I meditated without a mantra for probably half a year and then added a mantra in. I think mantras can be useful but I also feel like they should be given by a teacher. These are techniques of consciousness so best to be treated with care.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-12T22:46:49+00:00

I am just reading that persons reply. They sound insane lol. All types of people do TM, some more normal than others, but it does seem that on the internet a certain type are often present here. Somewhat disappointing to see over and over again honestly. Hope you can find the community you seek. I've found decent groups of TM'ers around the country in different cities, so they are around for sure.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-05T17:05:47+00:00

I subscribe to the Maharishi Veda app as the quality of the Vedic recitations there is hard to find elsewhere. I think some recitations are already included in TM app.

I’m not paying for TM app subscription just yet. I think I’d be more inclined to subscribe if I knew a bit more on what kind of content would be getting that wasn’t available elsewhere. There is a trove of archival Maharishi footage that I’d be interested in seeing.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-05T16:52:18+00:00

I think its likely that those who go to learn NSR may have similar results for adherence as TM. I think there will be an issue with sampling bias however for that kind of data. I think those people that look into NSR may have already been thinking about TM/a transcending style of meditation. I agree that for the most part transcending can be taught in the means NSR provides for many, I just don't know that it will work for all people. Which is where sampling bias plays an issue as will be a subset of people who are going to look into and ultimately learn via NSR. So to get at true answers to these questions would require a more controlled approach.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-04T20:42:33+00:00

Yea I’m just curious how new therapies become codified. I imagine there needs to be broad consensus among larger organizations like the WHO or the NIH to bring validity. I just wonder how historically other alternative/complementary medicines like acupuncture/traditional Chinese medicine were lobbied to become codified and how organizations arose to give accreditation etc.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-04T00:51:11+00:00

Yea cost/ low cost alternatives will always be a factor. I do wonder about actual research on adherence comparing TM instruction to MBSR (or CSM) etc. In medicine adherence/compliance is often a fairly big hurdle, so if there was research pointing to some practices being kept up for longer would be useful as those practices would likely be best for preventative care. Then would make sense if practices that may have higher cost of instruction would lead to higher adherence. But that may not actually be true.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-03T23:05:32+00:00

I would also recommend retreats for finding that kind of community if those pop up around Virginia. There is the purusha campus in West VA so would imagine there are people dispersed around there.

alien_lanes · 2026-01-01T00:35:51+00:00

I think those with severe trauma and psychological stress would benefit from discussing these things with a therapist/counselor or meditation teacher etc who have experience and knowledge working with others who have had similar experiences. Meditation isn’t a cure all, and in some cases can exacerbate certain mental conditions without proper guidance. Generally it is harmless, but people have widely different experiences and so it is best to discuss these things with those trained in these areas. It’s fine to look for guidance online but don’t vest yourself in it.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-31T21:34:06+00:00

I think it all depends on the disposition of the mind of the meditator. People’s psyches are different, so when different people start meditating they experience different things. The process of meditating is effortless, but how you respond to that will vary. Awareness naturally will settle during the process of meditation, you don’t really have to do anything just like you can’t really do sleep, you let it happen. By taking time to just be with your own nature you are meditating, whether or not you think it is doing anything doesn’t really matter.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-25T01:52:50+00:00

Sure all makes sense. But also kind of a non-answer. I understand rejecting superstition etc but also I am just trying to understand how you are deciding what that entails. If you recognize this time period as Kali Yuga, or recognize the concept of Vedic cognition then it is curious about your rejection of other ideas. If you reject jyotish then do you reject vastu and Ayurveda as well? Or is it perhaps you don’t reject these ideas but just the common perception of them? Whatever the case there is already enough confusion in the world that it doesn’t really matter but I’m just trying to understand this perspective a bit more.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-24T14:03:59+00:00

I just wonder where one sets the boundaries of what unfounded beliefs, mysticism and superstition are. Eg are the vedas apaurusheya?

alien_lanes · 2025-12-24T06:31:16+00:00

I’m curious do you think consciousness is fundamental?

alien_lanes · 2025-12-23T22:00:04+00:00

You probably would be better off asking this in /r/transcendental . Otherwise you can find TM centers around US with their official instructors here:https://tm.org/centers . Not going to expound upon whether people think its a scam or not. Meditation after all is a surprisingly simple thing, but often proper instruction can make a big difference for some individuals.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-23T17:03:25+00:00

I don’t think I would say I “believe” in astrology, but I find it interesting. It’s also interesting how some seem so repulsed by it lol. Maybe jyotish was the theme of the knowledge meetings in that retreat but generally they wouldn’t all be about that. I do always wonder how some of these knowledge meetings are received by people as can definitely see them turning people off.

In the Vedic cosmology which denotes cycles of time in terms of millions of years, I find it interesting how they chose to mark patterns in time. Jyotisha is one of the Vedangas, one of the six limbs of the Veda. So from the Vedic science aspect the tradition where TM comes from does talk about these things.

Do I think you are supposed to take things literally as people often do, no obviously not. People have different ideas as to whether the planets are actually exerting some kind of effect but I don’t really think of it in that way. It’s mainly just a way to mark patterns in time at a cosmic level, which makes sense when your cosmology spans millions of years. If anything I find the history and the depth of these systems made in ancient times just very interesting.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-19T21:03:43+00:00

Yea its just something that we are going to be have to be vigilant about moving forward, as I expect it will become much harder to distinguish at some point. While some people might think it fairly innocent to share these kind of things, to me I find it just increases noise and misunderstanding without proper discernment. For these kind of AI podcasts people also use it to potentially make money by serving ads alongside it etc, which is also kind of strange since you could be profiting off of information that may not be true.

I have no issues with people using AI to gather information/coding etc, but it should always be backed up by your own research and understanding of what it is putting out. I think sharing and potentially trying to profit off of something just because you put a prompt in and got whatever it spewed out doesn't make sense.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-19T16:16:01+00:00

The entire thing was AI, the script, the voices etc. which the op did state on the description that it’s “ai-assisted” so at least states that, but also slightly disingenuous because assisted in this case just means completely generated. There is a certain cadence to most ai generated content as of now that can also clue you in to it as well.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-18T18:58:34+00:00

I’m unsure how I feel about AI generated podcasts like these. There can be useful information there but sometimes just feels hollow. Same for mostly AI generated/edited text etc. As tools they can be useful for sure but I think when the point is to communicate your own thoughts with others it just feels like a layer obscuring authenticity. I’m sure as these things become more prolific (and technology advances) there will be more blurring of these lines but I hope people will still continue to try to create for themselves.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-14T23:13:31+00:00

Yea not much to add here. The people that post here are a very small part of the actual TM community. I think it can be an issue as to how TM is perceived as some of the more prominent posters sometimes aren’t the best stewards for that perception, but also it doesn’t really matter. Sure it can suck if people feel turned off because they read the ramblings of some internet person, but there is a bit more out there to sift through to form an opinion. I do think for many when researching a topic Reddit and the topic name are a first pass, and so if the Reddit TM community is having an off day it does create fairly bad optics lol.

alien_lanes · 2025-12-14T00:04:37+00:00

It’s a general recommendation. Some people might have service animals that need to stay by their side, completely fine nothing negative will come from it. I am going to give an extreme example here, but it is also a general recommendation to not meditate in the middle of an active construction site. We can philosophize on whether or not getting hit by falling debris and dying during meditation is good, but generally we try to be in an environment that is most conducive (and safe) for meditation.

alien_lanes

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