Editor’s Note: This website is not designed to, and should not be construed to, provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion or treatment to you or any other individual, and is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional care and treatment. Always consult a health professional before trying out new home therapies or changing your diet.

I suffered a brain injury at birth.

An EEG test showed chaotic, abnormal brain waves, and in school I had attention deficit disorder.

I couldn’t concentrate, and my thoughts were cloudy. My grades were mediocre, and I flunked out of my first university. I wanted to become a writer, but my writing was disorganized and unclear.

In despair I took marijuana and other drugs, but they made my thoughts even foggier.

Then I started Transcendental Meditation.

My thoughts became clearer, and I didn’t want drugs anymore. I could concentrate.

And I could write. One of my essays gained me entrance to a much better university—Columbia in New York City—and this time my grades were so good I received a scholarship. My first novel won a Rinehart Foundation Award, and I became a professor of creative writing. I’ve now published eight books and many shorter pieces.

My EEG now shows normal, orderly brain waves with no sign of damage. TM healed my birth injury and gave me access to my talent and mental abilities.

Without meditation, this change would not have occurred.

How did it happen?

Physiologists have discovered that during Transcendental Meditation nourishing blood flow to the brain increases by 20 percent. Our brain waves become more coherent, synchronizing and coordinating across both hemispheres—an indication of more integrated mental functioning. The whole brain becomes more activated, and that gives us access to more of our potential.

In the blood stream, arginine vasopressin, a hormone that improves memory and learning ability, increases, as do serotonin and melatonin, hormones that indicate relaxation and well-being. Adrenalin, cortisol, blood lactate, and blood pressure decrease, indicating lessened anxiety.

TM produces mental and physical rest that is twice as deep as in sleep, even though we’re fully awake. This rejuvenating state enables the body’s self-healing mechanism to repair the damage from traumatic events and illnesses.

With all of these blockages gone, we are more able to develop our full capabilities.

For further reading:

David Lynch Foundation 

Truth about TM 

Relephant Read:

How Meditation Cured My Depression.

Author: William T. Hathaway

Apprentice Editor: Toby Israel/ Editor: Renee Picard 

Photo: Flickr