Enlightened Management through Transcendental Meditation

To manage the nervous system, to produce both increased dynamism and increased relaxation, we must transcend (go beyond) the ordinary thinking level of the mind. We must experience pure consciousness deep within the mind. What does that mean? And how can it be achieved?

On those points, the expert of choice is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, TM’s founder, the most recent in a long line of Vedic scholars and teachers. The research validating the TM technique has added objective support to Maharishi’s explanations of the mechanics of effective meditation.

“The Transcendental Meditation technique is a simple, natural procedure,” Maharishi has said. “It can be learned easily by anyone. We take fifteen or twenty minutes morning and evening and let the active mind transcend, to settle down to the state of pure consciousness – a state of least excitation in the mind, where the mind is wide awake, but without a thought.

How can the mind be wide awake if it is not actively thinking?

“It is a phenomenon we witness at the start of every activity. We see a runner who is about to run, but he has not yet started. He’s so full of liveliness inside, yet he’s steady, not active. This is like the state of pure consciousness, the state of least excitation in the mind. The mind is wide awake but without a thought. We can call it pure consciousness, or pure intelligence.”

How can this mental experience transform the body?

“For the simple reason that the mind is responsible for the activity of the body and, looking from the other side, the activity of the body and nervous system is responsible for the state of the mind. If the mind wants to run, then the body runs. And if the body becomes a little tired, then the mind decides to sit. Mind and body work together. So with the Transcendental Meditation technique, the mind settles down to the state of pure consciousness. When the mind transcends all activity, then the body assumes a unique style of operation.”

Isn’t it difficult to make the mind concentrate like this?

“The TM technique is unlike any practice of concentration. Concentration is static, but the mind wants variety.”

Then what do you think about during meditation?

“Thinking about things is also not the process of TM. Thinking about something is contemplation – one’s attention goes from meaning to meaning, but all on the conscious thinking level of the mind. It is like floating on the surface of a pond. But the TM technique is not a horizontal mental activity. It is vertical. Transcending is like diving inwards to the depths of the mind. It allows the conscious thinking level of the mind to experience the pure field of creative intelligence deep within.”

Most people think that meditation requires a high level of concentration. Staring at a candle flame, pushing thoughts out of your mind, straining to make your mind be quiet – these are the most common ideas (in the public arena) about how to meditate. Even in India, in fact, where the idea of meditation is widespread, this notion of strenuous concentration is dominant. This is why the actual practice of meditation is no longer common in India; most people think transcending so difficult that it suits only a few gifted people willing to retire to Himalayan caves. One reason the TM programme works so well in the corporate environment, however, is that it requires no concentration at all.

Managers need programmes that everyone can master, and programmes that fit naturally into their busy, distracting world. TM is such a programme: anyone can learn and practice it easily. In Maharishi’s words, “The experience of pure consciousness is completely natural, without difficulty. For centuries past, the message has been broadcast that meditation is difficult, that it is for some chosen few. But the reason for that has just been lack of guidance, lack of proper guidance.”

Although the mind is frequently jumpy and excited, in Maharishi’s view there is no need to force it to stand still during meditation. Although the mind does wander around, he says, it wanders for a reason. It is always seeking experiences that will bring it greater satisfaction, greater fulfillment.

“Outside in the world the mind is not found steady on one point,” says Maharishi. “No point is able to fascinate the mind and that is why the mind is being tossed about from point to point. But once the mind turns within, then spontaneously it is drawn toward that field of pure consciousness. There is an area deep within the mind where thought starts, and that area (The Unified Field) is a reservoir of immeasurable energy and intelligence – a field, we can say, of pure intelligence. Since the mind is always seeking more fulfillment, naturally it moves in that direction.”

-from Enlightened Management by Gerald Swanson and Robert Oates.
http://www.mumpress.com/business-management/g01.html