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We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. —T. S. ELIOT

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EXONYM V ENDONYM 

Hinduism is the exonym (external name) and Sanatana Dharma is the endonym (internal name). They are one and the same, like Japan (exonym) is Nippon (endonym), or Germany (exonym) is Deutschland (endonym).

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Transcendental Meditation does more than merely correct symptoms, however. After a few years of practice, it has allowed me to enter a place inside my mind that is difficult to describe with any better word than transcendence. It is a blissful state that encompasses elements of serenity, peace, and acceptance, but also exhilaration and a sense of new possibilities, both for now and for the future. I don’t mean to imply that I always feel this way—far from it. I will say, though, that I cannot remember a time when I have felt happier or more at peace with myself and my surroundings.

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The Brain—is wider than the Sky— For—put them side by side— The one the other will contain With ease—and You—beside— The Brain is deeper than the sea— For—hold them—Blue to Blue— The one the other will absorb— As Sponges—Buckets—do— —EMILY DICKINSON

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four immeasurables—lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity

LKC-EJE

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Given the different brain wave patterns produced by each type of meditation, it makes sense that each type has its own unique effects on both the brain and the meditator. The benefits observed for one type may or may not apply to another. 

For example, in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of loving-kindness-compassion meditation, increased activity has been reported in those areas of the brain that are important for regulating emotions.4 These changes are more prominent in experienced than in novice meditators, which suggests a more stable regulation of emotions in the veterans, even when they are not meditating. 

Mindfulness Meditation, on the other hand, has been shown to increase the activity of neurons not only in certain emotional areas of the brain,5 but also in frontal regions, which are responsible for decision making and other executive functions. You might expect these changes to increase the meditator’s ability to focus attention.

 In Transcendental Meditation, however, there is a more global effect. For example, characteristic brain wave patterns (which I will discuss shortly) are seen in many different parts of the brain (though primarily in the frontal areas) during a TM session itself but also after the session is over. Knowing that, you might expect the meditator to maintain a broad perspective on things even outside of meditation sessions and not to be entirely preoccupied by the activity of the moment.6 (You can find more information about the different categories of meditation and their associated characteristics and EEG changes in the notes section.)7

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NANDA DEVI MTS 

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physician described in chapter 6, “Helping the Spikes and Valleys,” whose depression during medical school responded to TM after failing to respond to conventional treatment. This man has stayed well without antidepressants for the past thirty-five years, and to this day he continues to meditate twice a day.

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TM- 

After I close my eyes, I use the mantra in a way that allows my mind to settle into quietude. There’s no effort, no need to concentrate or control my mind. In daily life my mind is generally very busy, constantly rustling with plans, memories, the events of the day—all the miscellaneous flotsam and jetsam that the mind throws up, often without rhyme or reason. As I continue to meditate, all that mental noise quiets, and I welcome the silence.

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Our normal waking consciousness  .  .  . is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different. —WILLIAM JAMES1

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AMOR FATI 

Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life,the idea came to him of what he called 'the love of your fate.' Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, 'This is what I need.' It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment--not discouragement--you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.

Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes. ~Joseph Campbell

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There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one’s mind . . . rest on that and not rest on anything else. —MAITRI UPANISHAD

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Males are adapted females in the sense that in mammals, all embryos start out with a female body plan and then have to be modified to make them male. But that’s *all* mammals and probably goes back to the first mammal about 225 million years ago. Humans have always had a roughly 50/50 sexual split, or 49/49 plus a few intersexes.

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