Oct 1, 2023

October 2023

Dear Friend,

We are happy to share the October 2023 issue of our mini-magazine with stories and news about women, the Transcendental Meditation program, and the benefits of the development of consciousness. Our topics this month are:

Last month’s blog written by women for women
Articles
- TM for Women presents at the Mayo Clinic
- September editorial in the Heart and Mind Journal
- TM for Women holds courses for hospice nurses
Q&A: Management advice: progress vs pressure
What women say: serene, centered, and creative

In our twice-monthly blog posts, topics ranging from gambling addiction to athletic ability are discussed from the perspective of expanding awareness. You can visit our main blog page to search for any topic. If you haven’t read the September 2023 posts, the links are below.

Composer, Musician and Singer Jane Pitt: Expressing Happiness Gently in Song and Music

Jane Roman Pitt resides in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is kept busy being a mother, grandmother, educator, singer, composer, author, and TM teacher. She began performing at age 15, and in 1974 she released her first album of uplifting music, “This Beautiful Feeling,” on the New Age label Unity Records. It has been recently re-released by Merry-Go-Round Music. Five more albums followed…

The Relationship Between Mortality and Eternity: Transcending Fear of Death

As a child, I was told that every time a year was coming to an end and a new year was about to begin, the “old man” year died, and a “new baby” year was born to take his place. I was remarkably saddened by this story and wept for the frail old man, who, in my imagination, helplessly awaited his demise on his deathbed. I wept for the innocent baby, who would be doomed in twelve months’ time.

TM for Women Presentation at the Mayo Clinic

By invitation, on September 11^th, Amy Ruff BSN RN, Director of TM for Nurses, spoke at the Mayo Clinic’s Holistic Health and Well-Being 2023 CNE Nursing Conference in Rochester Minnesota. The talk was attended by 250 nurses and nurse leaders.

Most licensed professions require some form of continuing education. CNE is Continuing Nursing Education and refers to courses specifically for nursing professionals. Nurses who learn the TM technique can receive an award of 23 contact hours of continuing education (except in CA).

The presentation was titled An Evidence-Based Antidote to Burnout: Maharishi Ayurveda – Consciousness and Physiology.

The presentation defined Maharishi Ayurveda and its two primary approaches:

the development of consciousness resulting from the Transcendental Meditation technique
physiological balance resulting from Maharishi Ayurvedic preventative practices and remedies.

The address—including an explanation of the principles underlying the TM technique followed by a review of scientific research on Maharishi Ayurveda and suggestions for ideal daily and seasonal routines—was well received and generated a lively Q&A and discussion.

**New Editorial in the Heart and Mind Journal**

Clinician burnout has reached epidemic levels, with over 50% of physicians and healthcare providers reporting symptoms. Besides impairing quality of life, burnout increases risk of mental health disorders, cardiovascular disease and impaired patient care. Annual costs of physician burnout in the US alone are estimated at $4.6 billion.

Studies show TM reduces symptoms of burnout, anxiety, depression, and PTSD in healthcare providers. “After two weeks, symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased nearly 45% while insomnia, emotional exhaustion, and well-being improved significantly. These changes became even more significant throughout the 3-month study,” reported Mark Nestor, MD, PhD, lead investigator and Voluntary Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The Heart and Mind authors suggest that TM’s benefits stem from unique neural mechanisms that counter the brain patterns underlying burnout and simultaneously balance interconnections between body, mind, environment and consciousness.

TM for Women Brings Relief to Hospice Nurses

Hospice is a specialized form of health care geared toward patients nearing the end of their lives. Hospice professionals treat terminally ill patients and the symptoms of their diseases and provide highly-needed support to their families.

The challenges in this career can overwhelm even the most highly dedicated professionals, leading to burnout, compassion fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

Originally, 30 nurses at Capital Caring Hospice (CCH), which serves areas in Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland, participated in the Transcendental Meditation program through a grant awarded by the David Lynch Foundation. Then, in a second series of TM courses just completed, a generous grant from the Rona and Jeffrey Abramson Foundation enabled 50 additional nurses to learn the TM technique.

In the second phase, data was collected as part of a Quality Improvement project for CCH. Statistics showed a large effect within two months in increased resilience and compassion satisfaction, and a significant decrease in burnout and secondary traumatic stress.

A participant wrote:

With TM I have found a better way to unstress and relax. I experience so much calmness. TM makes me realize that bothersome thoughts and worries are minuscule compared to other things. TM makes me more understanding and accepting of all the realities and challenges in life.

Thank you to certified TM teachers Anne Grant, Cindy Johnson Boka, and Martha Simons for coordinating the courses and teaching these very deserving nurses at Capital Caring Hospice on behalf of TM for Women!

Q: Managers work under the pressure of time, career, and competition.

On the one hand, pressure can seem to be a positive incentive to work more. But it can create stress too. How do we stay calm and be balanced?

A: Maharishi said, “Business managers don’t have to become calmer. They have only to adopt the means of becoming more dynamic. Calmness has no place in business—and particularly in business which must grow and progress and bring fulfillment. What business executives have to do is…learn a procedure whereby they’ll be more dynamic and whereby their increased dynamism will be in the right direction. Regarding the principle of pressure: you know when the pressure increases, it increases only when there is no outlet on the other side. You’re pumping some air in a tube and if you don’t have any outlet on the other side, then the pressure will be increasing and after a time, pressure could become very uncomfortable, and it could break the container.

“Physiology is the container of the pressure of psychology. Concerns grow only when there is no outlet, that means when there is no progress. Effort is there but progress is not there. Effort without progress produces pressure in the executive’s life… the main thing is that the pressure that one feels psychologically or emotionally is due to lack of fulfilling activity.”

Maharishi is illustrating that pressure is not caused by pumping air into a tube, it is caused by the absence of a hole on the other side that would allow the air to flow out. The cause of increasing pressure is a lack of flow. People are naturally active because evolution is the nature of existence. Everything evolves. Therefore, dynamism or activity is structured in the nature of life. If our natural tendency to grow, progress, and evolve is not translated into action, achievement, and fulfillment, then we naturally begin to feel uncomfortable—this uncomfortable experience is the increase of pressure.

The Transcendental Meditation technique develops the full potential of creative intelligence spontaneously, allowing creativity to blossom in our thinking and action. Automatically, this is reflected in achievement and achievement in fulfillment. In this simple movement of the mind to its inner infinite creative resource, the basis of all pressure disappears. In TM, transcending brings fullness of energy and intelligence to every thought and action. Our life flows in progress and evolution, and pressure does not arise.

“I’m actually big into meditation, Transcendental Meditation, and that really helps create not only a sense of balance, but all the other stuff—this is gonna sound cliché… serenity and kind of a calm state of mind. And not that I’m like that all the time, but it helps me deal with life’s ups and downs, coming from more of a centered place. Also, it helps with creativity.” – Eva Mendes, mother and actress

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