Everything You Want to Know About TM: Including How to Do It

by John Warren White

Wildly popular in the 1970s and 80s, Transcendental Meditation (TM) continues to be one of the most accessible forms of Eastern spiritual practice in the West. But does it live up to its hype? In this objective exploration of TM, consciousness researcher John White looks at what's billed as "a simple, natural, and effortless mental technique, practiced twenty minutes a day" and takes on its critics as well as its cheerleaders.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

John White, M.A.T., is an internationally known author, educator and lecturer in the fields of consciousness research and higher human development. He has held positions as Director of Education for The Institute of Noetic Sciences, a California-based research organization founded by Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell to study human potential for personal and planetary transformation, and as President of Alpha Logics, a Connecticut school for self-directed growth in body, mind and spirit.

He is author of America, Freedom and Enlightenment; The Meeting of Science and Spirit; Pole Shift; A Practical Guide to Death and Dying; The Gulf of Tonkin Events—Fifty Years Later; and two children's books, The Christmas Mice and Santa's Climate Change Problem. He has also edited nearly a dozen anthologies, including Frontiers of Consciousness; Psychic Exploration; and What Is Enlightenment?.

His writing has appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, Omni, Esquire and Woman's Day, and his books have been translated into ten languages. He holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a master of arts degree in teaching from Yale University. He has taught English and journalism on the secondary and college levels, and has served on the governing and consulting boards of various academic and research organizations. He has also served on the editorial boards of various scholarly and popular publications. He has lectured at various colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has made numerous radio and television appearances.

He and his wife Barbara have four grown children and six grandchildren, and live in Cheshire, Connecticut, USA.

Reviews

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author genuinely tries to evaluate Transcendental Meditation and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi objectively, and seems to succeed. The book is evaluative, shows pros and cons, and leaves the decision up to the reader. It is well–researched. White seems to have depth and breadth of knowledge. There is a good description of how to do TM. He even reveals his own mantra, which TM forbids that he do. He also explains the basis on which mantras are assigned, also forbidden by TM. However, White is vague about his own educational background. He has degrees from Dartmouth and Yale, but doesn't say what in or how advanced. He also at times allows his own prejudices in, although they don't directly involve TM. My biggest problem with the book is that the science (and there's a lot of it) is way out of date, since the book was published in 1976.

[Phil Calandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very poor assessment of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation. The author's initial involvement in TM was not for spiritual purposes or inner peace but, on the contrary, solely for the investigation of the TM Organization. This was, in my opinion, hardly an ethical endeavor. In addition to the foregoing, the author clearly violated the terms of TM by divulging his own mantra. He also used his learning experience from the TM Organization to describe his own view of TM practice and, perhaps, to launch his own book. Furthermore, the author criticizes TM by using a few studies from disgruntled detractors notwithstanding the fact that there have been numerous peer reviewed scientific studies over the decades attesting the efficacy of TM. I would not recommend this book.

[Tim J Farmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is not a TM enthusiast. The author is a TM critic, even though he tries profusely to claim he isn’t. I was just trying to learn more about how to do TM and it’s positive benefits, and the book takes you on meandering pathways of the author insulting TM, while trying to convince the reader he isn’t. It’s a bit of an odd read. I don’t recommend.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my bag. The book has a small section on the how-to aspect only. I was hoping to read more on the meditation act itself rather than commercialized TM.