When I was 11, I discovered the Beatles. They had disbanded years before, but their music was still fresh to me. I was a student of classical violin and was awed by the evolution of their music (how simple at times, so complex at others). I also found them personally fascinating – their movies and music portrayed an image of fun-loving, mischievous geniuses.
Eager to learn more about the legendary mop-tops, I read a comprehensive biography of their lives. I was captured by their childhoods in less-than-posh areas of England and days of playing in smokey cavernous bars all leading up to their arrival in New York City and subsequent worldwide fame. One part of their history really caught my attention -- their discovery of the teachings of Maharishi Mehesh Yogi. They spent time in India studying under the Maharishi, but left after becoming disillusioned when they found out he was boffing his female followers. However, as we all know their experience greatly influenced their music (the Indian influence is noticeable in the beautiful blending of sounds in George’s Norwegian Wood and Within Me, Without Me), and their groovy modes of dress.
Despite the weirdness of the Beatles experience in India, I became fascinated with the idea of Transcendental Meditation. The idea of controlling one’s body with one’s mind really appealed to the sci fi buff in me. I bought the Maharishi’s TM book. Much of it went over my 11-year-old head, but I loved the relaxation exercises. From the book, I learned a technique of tensing, then releasing, various muscles throughout my body, bit-by-bit, from toe-to-head. I've used this successfully, throughout my life, when I have trouble falling asleep. I also learned to focus and empty my mind. I decided to try it out at my sixth-grade physical. '
The doctor took my vitals, then asked me to step up and down a two-step block several times. When he took my pulse and heart rate afterward, he was very surprised to find they had actually decreased. "That's interesting," he said, looking me in the eye. I responded with a knowing look. I’m not sure why I didn’t tell him what I had done, and he didn’t ask. But now that I think of it, he spent every summer in India donating his medical services, so he would probably not have been surprised in the least.
When I was 11, I discovered the Beatles. They had disbanded years before, but their music was still fresh to me. I was a student of classical violin and was awed by the evolution of their music (how simple at times, so complex at others). I also found them personally fascinating – their movies and music portrayed an image of fun-loving, mischievous geniuses.
Eager to learn more about the legendary mop-tops, I read a comprehensive biography of their lives. I was captured by their childhoods in less-than-posh areas of England and days of playing in smokey cavernous bars all leading up to their arrival in New York City and subsequent worldwide fame. One part of their history really caught my attention -- their discovery of the teachings of Maharishi Mehesh Yogi. They spent time in India studying under the Maharishi, but left after becoming disillusioned when they found out he was boffing his female followers. However, as we all know their experience greatly influenced their music (the Indian influence is noticeable in the beautiful blending of sounds in George’s Norwegian Wood and Within Me, Without Me), and their groovy modes of dress.
Despite the weirdness of the Beatles experience in India, I became fascinated with the idea of Transcendental Meditation. The idea of controlling one’s body with one’s mind really appealed to the sci fi buff in me. I bought the Maharishi’s TM book. Much of it went over my 11-year-old head, but I loved the relaxation exercises. From the book, I learned a technique of tensing, then releasing, various muscles throughout my body, bit-by-bit, from toe-to-head. I've used this successfully, throughout my life, when I have trouble falling asleep. I also learned to focus and empty my mind. I decided to try it out at my sixth-grade physical. '
The doctor took my vitals, then asked me to step up and down a two-step block several times. When he took my pulse and heart rate afterward, he was very surprised to find they had actually decreased. "That's interesting," he said, looking me in the eye. I responded with a knowing look. I’m not sure why I didn’t tell him what I had done, and he didn’t ask. But now that I think of it, he spent every summer in India donating his medical services, so he would probably not have been surprised in the least.
Recommended reading:
* The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
* Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God through Meditation by Dr. Wayne Dyer
* TM Technique: An Introduction to Transcendental Meditation and the Teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi by Peter Russell