July 2025
The anniversary of the birth date of the United States as an independent nation is July 4th. Aside from being a national holiday, it’s a reminder of the spirit and intention of the new nation, conceived in the ideals of liberty, self-determination and the right of all citizen to pursue happiness.
- Last month’s blog written by women for women
- Articles
- The freedom to pursue happiness
- TM: creating a healthy America
- Do great things
- What women say: What does independence mean to you personally?
If you missed our June blog posts, the links are below. You can also visit our blog homepage at any time to use our search feature for previous topics as diverse as Women Artists and the Freedom to Create from 2016 and The Truth Is Out—Aging Can Be Fun from 2019.
How Does TM Heal the Mind
Excerpted from a lecture by Maharishi on May 2, 1959
“How does meditation heal the mind? The suffering, the agony of mind is: the poor fellow is not satisfied for his thirst of happiness. Mind is thirsty for happiness, greater and greater. At every moment it wants greater and greater joys.
From where it may come, but it should come, the joy should come and the joy should be added on, greater and greater. Mind is not finding any object anywhere which could satisfy this great thirst of the mind. It’s always wandering from here to there, just in search of great happiness, in search of that great happiness which will be permanent in its nature and which will be able to satisfy the great thirst of happiness of the mind.
Transcendental Meditation Strengthens Heart Health in Women of All Ages
There are many choices a woman can make to protect her heart health and possibly the most powerful of these is to learn and regularly practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. It’s estimated that 80% of heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes, can be prevented through lifestyle changes.
The Freedom to Pursue Happiness
On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies declared their independence from England, stating that the separation would give the people of the colonies the rights to which the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” would entitle them—life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….
Afforded the opportunity, are we happy?
Meanwhile, every July we remind ourselves, celebrate, and congratulate each other on the outstanding fact that we have the freedom to pursue fulfillment in our lives. And yet by the end of every July, nothing seems to have changed. Many people are still unhappy or depressed. Many others actually might be happy but are continually pursuing further happiness. It seems that even with an abatement of stress, depression, anxiety, fatigue and other imbalances that have plagued us, we find ourselves wanting something more. When we have finally achieved that great job and the type of family we desired and a lovely home then we suspect that we need a new car. Or we need to refurnish our living room. Or we need to go on a more exciting vacation. We will be just a little happier if….
The mind perpetually seeks great happiness and won’t be satisfied until it achieves permanent happiness.
It seems that the most natural tendency in our life is to continue to pursue more. I believe that poetry, religion, the study of physics and our own intuition sometimes give us a hint as to why:
Inherently—at the deepest level of our being—we are infinite in nature and will never be satisfied until we experience that limitlessness concretely in our daily lives. So we pursue fulfillment through our five senses, our intellect, our relationships and our actions—but we will never achieve it that way. Infinitude can only be achieved by realizing ourselves as the immeasurable being we are—with no lack, no boundary, nothing missing or needed.This experience would be akin to being an unbounded ocean, in which all our myriad achievements and acquisitions and smaller fulfillments will be like a lighthearted play in our own waves. It is easy to assume that our innate natural tendency to have more and be more will never be satisfied, and we will never be truly and completely fulfilled, without this direct experience.
Having celebrated the best intentions of our nation’s constitution this year, TM for Women is happy to offer every girl and woman the fulfillment of those intentions in the most powerful, natural way—fulfillment that might have been imagined but was not within the capacity of the founders and generations of lawmakers to grant. We are happy to be in a position to offer this simple natural method of Transcendental Meditation to uplift women beyond the capriciousness of circumstance to their rightful fulfillment in freedom and happiness.
This is a segment of an article that was published in its entirety on our blog on July 2018. You can read the entire article here.
TM: Creating a Healthy America
The United States is often described as a “nation of disease care” rather than a “nation of health care” due to a focus on treating illness rather than preventing it. Also, the US has lower life expectancy and higher rates of avoidable deaths compared to other developed nations. While the U.S. spends a significant amount on healthcare, health outcomes and access to care are lacking compared to many other high-income countries.
In contrast, a focus on prevention and public health efforts, along with universal access and affordability, are key characteristics of a system that prioritized the well-being of its citizens.
Nothing but a greater emphasis on prevention will stem the tide of the modern day epidemic of stress and stress-related diseases. Prevention can be aimed at specific narrow channels of physical and mental functions, however a broader perspective reveals that there can be one effective far-reaching solution to a myriad of problems.
A simple solution
During the practice of the TM technique, the meditator experiences a unique state of restful awareness, in which the metabolism slows measurably and the mind is settled but awake. The palpable deep rest at that time triggers the body’s own innate healing mechanisms, causing normalization chemically and structurally.
Studies illustrate that the Transcendental Meditation technique is a natural, cost-effective, powerful tool for improving mental and physical well-being, particularly in reducing stress and cardiovascular risk. Among the broad range of its benefits, published research shows that TM can reduce cardiovascular events, mitigate stress-related health issues, slow the aging process, improve brain function, reduce ADHD and PTSD symptoms, and improve cognitive function and resilience.
To date, over 430 published studies are available for review; this astounding body of research gives us a glimpse into the possibility of a new paradigm in health and health care.
Do Great Things
“The essence of America, that which really unites us, is not ethnicity or nationality or religion. It is an idea, and what an idea it is—that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” — Condoleezza Rice
Heroes and leaders
A hero might help others and achieve a worthy goal by demonstrating courage and other noble qualities. She sees what needs to be done and uses speech or action to achieve a positive and lasting impact. She would likely be compassionate and empathetic, have a strong sense of right and wrong, and have the integrity to act in accord with her convictions—even in the face of difficult circumstances and consequences to herself. Think Malala Yousafzai.
A leader can accomplish great things, whether in the field of science or business or education or government—and will contribute to humanity with determination and resilience. She will favor ethical practices and sustainability to establishes a positive impact on the world, aligning her goals with broader societal values. She will be creative, intelligent, organized, and harmonious in her relationships with her associates. Think Greta Thunberg.
One such woman—a hero and a leader, is Robin Lim. Robin was the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year. She is a Filipino-American midwife, humanitarian, and author of international renown who founded the Bumi Sehat Foundation (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation) in Bali, Indonesia. She’s delivered over 9,000 babies and is known as “Ibu Robin” (“Mother Robin”). She is a leading advocate for environmental responsibility, human rights at childbirth, and women’s and children’s access to healthcare. She focuses on providing free prenatal care, birthing services, and medical aid to those in need, particularly in Indonesia and in disaster zones.
Robin has been recognized for her humanitarian efforts and has received many awards. She practices the Transcendental Meditation technique and reports:
“Transcendental Meditation gives healthcare providers that needed deep well from which we can draw strength and increase our capacity for compassion. From the silence, healing begins.”
What Does Independence Mean to You Personally?
We asked a few women who practice Transcendental Meditation what independence means to them personally. Here are their answers:
AW: “Independence to me means being self reliant and self sufficient. It’s being in the state of unified transcendent consciousness where all the laws of nature are intimate and harmonious with you and you are not dependent on others to make your life work.”
LE: “Freedom to me is realizing I feel stable and steadfast in myself internally—my emotions are even, and much less “swayed” than I would have thought when those winds of chaos are swirling around.”
RE: “When I look in the mirror, I have a deep acceptance of my face and body. I. no longer feel dependent on what I grew up thinking I should look like, based on magazines and movies.”
SL: “By late afternoon, I can feel a bit tired, so TM at that time not only refreshes me but also gives me a feeling of a fresh start. I am freed from carrying over the day’s fatigue and emotions. I look forward to a fresh start each evening. It is the same feeling I get when waking up to a new day.”
DG: “My TM time gives me independence from all the demands and responsibilities of my life. It is a few minutes twice each day when I can settle into true ‘self-care,’ time for healing, time for collecting myself so that I am truly ‘there’ for all the people and projects in my life. As Oprah said, ‘With TM I center myself every day. I am a 1000% better person when I do that, when I take myself back to something bigger than myself.'”
RP: “You know that feeling you get when something or someone you counted on completely fails you? For me, independence is when the experience of well being is still there, even at those times.”
JH: “I love when my thinking is independent of all that I hear and read, so that somehow my ideas are innovative, creative, out of the box. This happens most in the hours just after doing TM.”
ND: “My definition of independence and freedom has grown as I have grown through TM practice. TM helps me connect to a deeper level of myself, which is whole, happy, and free. That inner freedom starts to spill over into my life outside of meditation too—so that I don’t feel bound by worry and stress or disturbed by outer circumstances or events. No matter what I have to deal with on the surface of life, it is liberating to have the experience of real freedom inside. It’s not a mood—it feels very real, solid, and invincible. As this inner stability has unfolded, I have gained confidence to be the very best version of myself. I would never have imagined that I could feel as competent, independent, and self-sufficient as I do now. The true value of that independence comes not from separating myself from others, but from tapping into that bigger, deeper value of pure consciousness which we all share.”
Editor’s note: We’d love to hear your comments on the benefits you’ve received from the TM practice. And, with your permission, we’ll publish them here for other women to enjoy. Send your comment to info@tm-women.org
