Anyone Remember Transcendental Meditation? Writing as a Meditation Practice.

TM? Maharashi University ring a school bell? Writing is a form of meditation? I grew up in the sixties with fond memories of the possibilities one could do with one's life. Meditate? Wow? Yea. It was the coolest thing going. Conscientious objector status, anti-war, make art, not bombs. Liberty. Choices where they were not anymore, war protest, the end to the madness of Vietnam and all other wars, wellness, well-being alfalfa sprouts, wheat germ, anti-DDT, mild drugs, psychaedelia and paisley, rock-and-roll, an education ... drop out and tune in, yoga, anti-counter-counter culture, open-mindedness, awareness in the deepest sense-focus-flow state, peaceniks, peace-mongers, Timothy Leary, Don McLean-American Pie, slang-slanguage within the counter-culture, a generation gap, little mention of the homeless, jail cells full of protestors, Allen Ginsberg, May Fourth, protesting in "hot spots" around the world, desire for governmental change, Woodstock, free love, manifestation of creativity; tie-dye shirts, beads, love beads. Recognition of being on the same side (see CSNY; Wooden Ships), sandals and sideburns and freedom of the bra, James Taylor, Carole King, communes, farms, the ranch, Berkeley, Quark and the Jaguar 1969 Nobel Prize, love child/children.

Meditation is a way of life. It has been around a while longer than an historical decade. As been said; Don't just sit there. Meditate! What I have also heard/been said ... Don't just sit there. Write.

What? Write? Yes. What is meditation? What traits are there? First response (in many ways) ... breathing. Focusing on inhaling/exhaling (and top/bottom of the breath cycle) one can see they are equiped for the task at hand. Breathing is very important. It is the first to check in the health field (emergency/paramedics/Fist Aid). The relaxation response (Dr. Benson) was a westernization that was more widely respected.

It is a good therapy for anxiety with no side effects, if one can master breathing slower, deeply in a relaxing manner which may and/or can feel "foreign" (like going sane feels crazy). Focus now on writing. It is a repetitious movement like breathing in one sense although removed from actually the more common association with meditating, id est breathing. Whether it is keyboard and/or pen, say even an audio recorder can be used in the meditation process. Keep moving with the characters, letters/numbers/symbols, find a rhythm, a pace. Reach for the optimal.

Currently I am using African drums as a background, a rhythmic auditor input. It is non-distracting, pleasant, and fits a steadiness of progress. Just a sidetrack. Okay, two. First the Losonov learning technique uses intervals of eight seconds rhythmically. Eight on for rest. Eight on for the information to be learned. The mind in meditation and relaxation is much more near its capabilities than otherwise. Processing the information in an eight seconds on/eight seconds rest allows for a more efficient use of the brain and its nearing in the right direction total capabilities/capacities.

Secondly in TM, the breath is held equally on the top and bottom of the breath. The focus is on a chosen word that is in a sense a gift from a guru-type. This word has a deep meaning pertinent to the individual. Inclusively with this picture is that a schedule of 20 minutes twice a day is satisfactory for a maintenance level.