Is it worth $2500 to learn Transcendental Meditation?
I assume you’ve read the pro and con websites about TM. Wikipedia has a few listed at the bottom of its TM article. Their criticism section is short but worth repeating Critics of TM assert that transcendental meditation consists simply of standard meditation as practised by many religions, and that absolutely no basis exists for anyone to claim that they invented it or spread it. Many cult researchers consider TM a cult, according to them one of the largest of the present day. My opinion, as someone who meditates for stress relief, is that while it may be a good idea to learn from someone who has experience — especially if you learn well that way — is that yes, $2500 is too much. Here is the Skeptic’s Dictionary entry for TM with much more information on the “is it a cult” aspects of TM. They say yes.
I would pass on the TM, especially if they’re looking to charge you thousands of dollars. No offense meant to any serious practitioners of TM, but that reeks of a scam. Entering the Stream has a good section on meditation. Also, if you’re interested in Buddhist meditation, particularly of the the Theravada school, check out the comprehensive Access to Insight site. Especially start with A Guided Medition, Buddho, and Starting Out Small: A Collection of Talks for Beginning Meditators.
No. It’s not worth it. There’s a huge gap between “being interested in meditation” and “dropping $2500 for a course from a strange business organization.” Please, slow down a second. You can’t buy what you’re looking for that easily. If you’ve read and generally understood someone like Pema Chodron, why are you thinking you need to spend lots of money to start some simple meditation exercises? You may want to think about that for a little bit. Are you trying to buy a calm, centered consciousness? It’s more common than you might think. I’m a jittery monkey myself who’s tried with varied success to incorporate regular meditation into my life, but I do know three things: 1) the jittery anxiousness is part of the process, 2) it’s worth keeping at it, and 3) I damn sure don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to sit quietly and breathe deeply as I watch my brain go through its ping-pong patterns. Don’t get suckered in; tru
The Vipassana Meditation Centers in North America have ten day retreats. They are funded on a donation only basis and they do not accept anything from you at all until after you’ve completed a retreat, as per the quoted text below. I’ve not gone, although I’ve wanted to for some time. I have a friend that has and this group is definitely not cultish and will not put the hard sell on you. They don’t seem to have a center near DC, but they do illustrate a great contrast with the TM folks charging $2500 up front. “Course Finances According to the tradition of pure Vipassana, courses are run solely on a donation basis. Donations are accepted only from those who have completed at least one ten-day course with S.N. Goenka or one of his assisting teachers. Someone taking the course for the first time may give a donation on the last day of the course or any time thereafter. In this way course are supported by those who have realized for themselves the benef
