Blog

Classical Guitarist Sharon Isbin on Creativity and TM

When you hear a musician play who stirs your soul and at the same time is so in command of her craft that she makes it look simple, you know you are in the presence of a true artist.

Sharon Isbin has made the intricate art of performing classical guitar look simple. Considered the leading classical guitarist of our time, she was named “Best Classical Guitarist” by Guitar Player magazine and is the first guitarist in over 43 years to receive two classical GRAMMY Awards (in 2001 and 2010). A former student of Andrès Segovia and a graduate of Yale University, she has played at the White House and Carnegie Hall. Her rise to stardom as a woman playing an instrument that is usually played by men was chronicled in Sharon Isbin: Troubador, a recent documentary on her creative performances and collaborations with artists in a variety of genres that was released last fall by American Public Television.

Behind the Scenes at TM for Women

Often women want to know more about our organization and history so here is some information that I hope you will find interesting. The Transcendental Meditation technique is a specific form of meditation that was

Multitasking and the Transcendental Meditation Technique

Have you ever noticed that when you really focus on something—writing, cooking, creating a work of art, playing a musical instrument, reading a great book—you end up feeling refreshed, renewed, revitalized? Yet when you do the same task while also texting your kids, talking on the phone, listening to the radio and keeping up with each email that comes in, you end up feeling exhausted?

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin says there’s a reason for this: multitasking takes a toll on our brains. Not only does it wear us out, it basically doesn’t work.

Pregnancy and the Transcendental Meditation technique

After my delivery of twin daughters I was very committed to nursing them. Since newborns nurse round the clock, this meant my sleep was broken and interrupted for weeks, especially because of nursing two infants. It was my experience (and it is often reported as other mothers’ experience) that with the TM technique I was able to relax and get the rest I desperately needed. TM definitely got me through my first year of caring for twins.

What type of harm do stress and sleep problems cause to pregnancy? How can the expecting mother reduce the negative impact of stress, hypertension or high cholesterol, and take the best care of herself and her fetus?

Epigenetics: Yes We Can!

There are always shifts in our world view based on new information uncovered by accident, by persistence, or by the systematic focus of research scientists. Some breakthroughs have brought dramatic systemic change, such as the

Is it Possible to Become Resilient to Stress?

Yesterday I was shopping at the mall and overheard a conversation between a salesperson and a grandfather pushing a beautiful 18-month-old girl in a stroller while her mother tried on clothes.

“You won’t find many kids like this one,” the proud grandfather was saying as we all watched the healthy infant smile and coo and stretch her feet and clap her hands. She was the picture of contentment and ease even though there were now three strangers (including me) gathered around her. She wasn’t just performing, either. She was looking me straight in the eye with pure love and delight.

The Double-Edged Sword of Resilience

We’ve all been inspired by stories of women who faced extreme adversity as children yet grew up to do great things—think Maya Anjelou, Oprah Winfrey, Eleanor Roosevelt. It turns out that such natural resilience (i.e. the ability to thrive whether living in a supportive environment or not) may be found in our genes.

In his thought-provoking NY Times Sunday Review essay,“The Downside of Resilience,” researcher Jay Belsky reports that children with certain genetic predispositions to depression or ADHD are more influenced by their environment than others.

Why You Can’t Learn the TM technique From a Book or CD

It’s all in the name: Transcendental Meditation. The word transcend means to go beyond—beyond the norm, or beyond the material to the spiritual. We might say that “supper was transcendent,” indicating it was heavenly or

Joining the Universal Peace Corps: Transforming the World from Within, Part II

Most of us have been trained to view the world from a material perspective, although this outlook is indeed changing. We have tended to think that the only way to cause change is through direct action on the surface level of life—like a billiard ball hitting other balls. But this, modern physicists tell us, is the “old school” perspective in science (sometimes referred to as “material realism”). Science is now revealing with ever greater clarity what the ancients understood : to affect change in life, we must engage deeper levels of nature.

Modern physics explains that our material world is an expression of deeper, invisible fields of existence. Whether we consider the flowers in a garden or the stars in the night sky, a computer screen or the cat jumping in front it, physical matter is not wholly what it appears on the surface.

A New Noteworthy Partnership

In December, TM for Women was honored to begin a formal partnership with Million Hearts®, an organization that brings together existing efforts and new programs to improve health across communities and help Americans live longer, healthier, more productive lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are the co-leaders of Million Hearts within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Million Hearts is a national initiative that has an ambitious goal of preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Partners of Million Hearts includes federal agencies; doctors, nurses, pharmacists, health care professionals; health advocacy groups; and community organizations. According to published research funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, the TM technique can reduce heart attacks and strokes by 48 percent and so we feel this partnership is a perfect fit. In the US, 25% of women pass away from heart disease. Narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself, is the most common cause. This coronary artery disease builds over time and is a significant cause of heart attacks.