Meditation—My daily spa treatment

Three-day weekends are nice, but do you already feel like you need another one? Trips to Italy, a luxurious spa, or camping in the Smokies are nice diversions, but don't we mainly just want some freedom from the "daily grind"?

Every morning and evening, I go on vacation and come back refreshed. The airfare is cheap. The accommodations are comfortable. I don't even have to leave my house. I simply close my eyes and access my own inner spa, a reservoir of rejuvenation. Sometimes the place I go to is a still pond with quiet ripples that wash away fatigue. Other times it's a deep ocean of pure bliss, with waves that energize and nourish me from the inside. This is my daily practice of Transcendental Meditation.

Meditation experts, Tom and Jeanne Ball, are giving a free introductory talk about Transcendental Meditation—and specifically the scientific research on the health benefits—next Wednesday evening, 7:15 at the Asheville TM Center (165 East Chestnut St). Tom is an Asheville native, poet, writer and musician, with a BA in Philosophy, and an MA in Creative Writing. Both Tom and Jeanne earned PhDs in World Peace Studies, and have taught meditation for over 35 years, all over the world.

Check out www.meditationasheville.org for lots of interesting information, including links to a recent David Lynch Foundation benefit concert, featuring Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, that raised money to teach TM to at-risk kids. Scroll all the way down for delightful and insightful comments by some local Asheville musicians (a well-known folk singer, and a home-schooling mom who is an ace on the fiddle and violin).

There are many good reasons to do TM, and lots of endorsements by credible health professionals and businesspeople. For me it's simply that I always feel better after doing TM. It's refreshing and balancing. It cultivates a profound basis for enjoying my life. Even my eyes and skin look better after meditating—It's the very best kind of spa getaway!

See also www.tm.org and www.doctorsontm.org

To see more articles on this site, click on "home" below.