Falling Down the TM Rabbit Hole, How TM Really Works, a Critical Opinion

You get caught in "The TM Catch-22": "Something good is happening!"

Who is crazy, Alice or the Mad Hatter? It depends on your point of view.

But what happens when you come to a TM teacher or to a "checker" with symptoms of "heavy unstressing" (which I believe are really symptoms of chronic dissociation or bizarre ideation)? No matter what unpleasant effects you are experiencing from TM, the parroted response of the TM teacher or "checker" will be TM's version of "Catch-22", which is the phrase "Something good is happening!'

The foundation for such a statement is based on TM's dogma of "unstressing" (or "stress release"). Once again, I recommend reviewing the TM spiritual dogma on "unstressing" (called "stress release in that document") as taught in the second group meeting after initiation.

If whatever distress you are experiencing is extreme, they may recommend that you see a physician. The dogmatic basis of such advice would be to rule out that the possibility that the difficulties are being caused by something other than "unstressing", something physical. But if the health professional can't find anything, then TM dogma is that "something good is happening" whenever negative experiences occur. If your TM advisors behave as trained, they will always recommended against completely dropping the TM practice no matter what is happening to you. To recommend abandoning TM practice would be an extreme heresy under TM dogma.

Let's assume that in your case sources other than "unstressing" been ruled out, yet you are extremely uncomfortable emotionally, extremely spacey, and perhaps having unpleasant muscular sensations. TM unstressing doctrine says that these "bad" experiences are merely the result of "deep-rooted stresses" that are being released by the "deep rest experienced during the practice of TM". You will never, ever, be told by a doctrinally correct TM representative that TM has any "bad" effects, just temporarily unpleasant "something good is happening" effects.

Perhaps, they may admit, there is more "good" going on than you are able to handle well at present, in which case you may be advised to cut back on the number of minutes per meditation. However, TM dogma is that TM never causes a problem, at most it may cause "good things" to happen faster than you are prepared to handle them! You will never ever be told by an obedient TM representative that you should completely drop the practice because of what you are experiencing.

The most you can expect is advice on getting through this distressing "something good is happening" period. Again, sometimes you are told to see a health practitioner to check for causes other than "unstressing". Sometimes you're told to temporarily reduce the number of minutes of each daily meditation. There is a practice called "feeling the body" that may be recommended, consisting of closing the eyes and letting the attention rest on the unpleasant physical sensations. Otherwise, they can't help you much and you just have to "ride it out". At least, that's your only option under TM doctrine.

But the "TM Catch-22" will clamp you even tighter. Supposedly, any time that you're experiencing the worst "unstressing" is actually the worst time to drop the practice of TM. Why? Because "only by continuing with the practice of TM can you finish the process of allowing the deep rooted stresses to completely release". Supposedly, if you dropped the practice these stresses would be left in "unstressing" state, with accompanying unpleasantness, indefinitely. So if you feel good with TM, you should continue. But if you feel horrible, you should even more emphatically continue, perhaps at most temporarily reducing the dosage.

That's what they'll tell you, and they are obediently parroting Mahesh, which is exactly and precisely what they have been trained to do. However, what is really happening under the theory that I am presenting to you?

What I think is happening is that you're becoming increasingly screwed up because all of this trance and dissociation, combined with bizarre dogmatic ideation, is actually unnatural and unhealthy! You should consider the possibility that TM has proven toxic for you, and that you should stop TM completely!

But let's assume that you're listening to the TM teachers and checkers, which means that you are listening to Mahesh by proxy, so let's continue the journey. Let's suppose that either you did not have unpleasant effects as a result of the TM practice so far (sometimes difficulties don't arise until/unless you go to longer courses), or you got through any difficulties, or you are still enduring the difficulties thinking that "something good is happening". Perhaps, over time, you have gone to several weekend courses, and perhaps even to a weeklong course or two. You've learned to deal with any "unstressing". A couple of years may have passed.

At this point, many "meditators" are pretty thoroughly "cooked" frogs. That is, many are pretty much completely invested in the TM doctrinal worldview. Regular periods of trance induction and dissociation have become a regular part of their lives. Not only that, but many will volunteer for extra post-trance dogmatic indoctrination by attending meetings at the TM center, or they may read TM literature and Mahesh's books at home. They are committed to the principle that deep rest and the resulting release of "deep-rooted stress" are the keys to happiness, and eventually the keys to that state of perfection that I mentioned earlier, not only for themselves but also for all human beings. Not only that, these are the keys to world peace, and TM is therefore the ultimate hope for mankind!

Let's assume that this describes you. But you still haven't reached the bottom of the TM rabbit hole.

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