May 2023
Dear Friend,
The month of May was named for Maia, conflating the Roman and Greek goddesses. The root of the Greek name Maia means “mother, nurse, midwife.” The Greek goddess merged over time with the Roman Maia Majesta, a goddess of fertility. During May in the northern hemisphere, Spring nourishes our senses, hearts, and minds by delicately gracing the earth with tender new life, prolific growth, color, and beauty.
This issue of our mini-magazine features today’s nourishers and caregivers and the nurturing nature of life itself.
- Last month’s blog posts by women for women
- Game Changer for Women; Why we teach women (video 6 min)
- National Nurses Week is May 6-12: Supporting those who give
- Mother’s Day is May 14th: Mothers of humanity
- Springtime and Consciousness: nature’s potential to grow
- What women say: Dr. Jennifer Ashton’s prescriptions
In case you missed them, below are links to the articles published on our blog in April 2023. We invite you to share them. To see previous posts on diverse topics, please visit and search our archives on tm-women.org/blog/
Anxiety, Depression, and Mental Health
According to a recent survey by CNN, “Ninety percent of US adults say the US is experiencing a mental health crisis.” Twenty percent of adults characterize their own mental health as being only between poor and fair. About 22% of adults received treatment for mental imbalances in 2021, up 19% from 2019. Even before the pandemic, mental health in the USA was a problem but it has grown exponentially.
Pilates, Anyone? A Pilates Master Teacher on How Pilates Works and How Transcendental Meditation Helps
Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1883 to a father who was a gymnast and a mother who adhered to naturopathy. With these influences, Joseph grew up with the understanding that the body can heal itself and that exercise is a powerful force in achieving that goal. His studies of the human body started at an early age, including studying anatomy, Greek gymnasia, eastern movement systems, and yoga.
TM is a “Game-Changer” for Women
Enjoy our lovely six-minute video about why our women’s organization specializes in teaching Transcendental Meditation to support girls and women in the blossoming of their fullest potential in life.
“If the world were in the hands of mothers, the world would not have gone into the influence of ignorance and suffering. Mother is the first teacher. If every mother is a teacher of Supreme Knowledge, the Total Knowledge of Natural Law, the children will not go into ignorance. They will not suffer. They will not grow weak.
“Therefore (we are creating) an organization which will safeguard human life from falling in the hard rocks of ignorance… this organization will be cared for and nourished and brought up and breathed progress and fulfillment through the breath of mothers of the world.”
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Founder
National Nurses Week: Supporting Those who Give and Give and Give….
Demands on nurses are more than physical and mental—nurses are often the emotional support for their patients. When nurses get burned out, compassion fatigue is a symptom. The TM technique reduces their stress and revives their compassion:
The Transcendental Meditation technique helped to reduce compassion fatigue and burnout in a group of 27 nurses. Nurses who regularly practice TM experience reduced anxiety and burnout, according to a study published in the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, along with increased resilience and restored compassion satisfaction.
Nurses are the heart of the healthcare system so it is our joy to help sustain them:
“I view my practice as a much needed and beneficial form of self-care that then extends to better outcomes in both my personal and professional life. I have more creative energy than previously, more patience and more joy.” Amy Sannes RN BSN
“In a profession full of people used to giving and serving and taking care of others, we find many of us don’t have time or energy to take care of ourselves. I am grateful for the opportunity to do just that by embracing this course.” C.S. RN Cleveland Clinic
“Transcendental Meditation has allowed me to clear my mind before going to work so that I can give my patients the care that they need and deserve. Before I learned Transcendental Meditation I would go to work dreading my assignment and a sense of worry about whether or not I would have to be mandated to stay over my shift to fill staffing holes. After learning Transcendental Meditation I have been able to focus better on my patients and the tasks at hand. I feel that Transcendental Meditation gives me an energy boost to start my shift and allows me to start my shift with a positive mindset for myself, my patients, and my interactions with my fellow colleagues.” Tina B. BSN, RN, HTP
All women are the mothers of humanity.
In his book, Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi talks about the importance of transcending to a refined state of consciousness that promotes harmonious behavior, supporting and enriching life.
“It is the love of a mother for her child that makes her look kindly upon his mistakes. In fact, a mother enjoys the mistakes of the child because, when he commits a mistake, she is able to give him more of her love. In that love, the child grows to be better able to overcome the weakness of committing mistakes. This is how, by the tolerance and love of the mother, the child improves, and the art of behavior is naturally infused in him.…
“Children of good families are trained in better behavior. But the root of the art of behavior lies in the polished state of one’s mind. The refined state of mind depends, as we have seen, upon the system of Transcendental Meditation, wherein the conscious mind is brought into communion with the bliss of absolute being.
Science of Being and Art of Living by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
The Nature of Life is to Grow
In Springtime the same force of nature that brings forth renewed growth from seeds inspires our hearts to celebrate and display our inner inspiration. Life seeks to expand, express itself, and realize its potential, in the same way that even a part of a leaf will grow to regenerate a whole plant.
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a natural and effortless way to enhance our growth and enliven all our creativity by awakening our inner potential. This experience is akin to Mother Nature providing April showers to give rise to May flowers. With the right nourishment, a dazzling display of multiplicity comes out of silence. Every one of us has the creative potential to flower like Spring.
“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!”
St. Catherine of Sienna
Jennifer Ashton is a physician, author, and chief medical correspondent for ABC News and Good Morning America. She seeks to improve the life of her patients by encouraging them to learn TM:
“I do write it on a prescription…as I write down ‘7-9 hours of sleep’ with every patient, as I write down ‘you must move your body every day,’ and then I write that ‘you need to meditate.’”
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
