By Robert Meredith
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| Brighton |
I first learnt to meditate in 1969, It was my birthday present to myself when I was living in Brighton, a town on the South coast of England, and working with Apple Theatre, The Beatles theatre company.
The person who taught me was an Australian woman called Edna Linnell, who I was sure, must have mispronounced the mantra she gave me because of her Aussie accent. In spite of this (or maybe because of it!) my very first meditation was an amazing experience, the beginning of a lifetime practice and an important part of my work.
The practice that Edna taught me was Transcendental Meditation, brought to the West by the Indian teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I went on to become a T.M. teacher and national co-ordinator for the T. M. organisation in the UK, and spent many months studying with Maharishi.
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| Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with The Beatles |
Maharishi’s intention was to take meditation out of the realm of the mystical and make it accessible to as many people as possible. To do that he gathered around him a group of physicists and medical professionals who carried out the first research into the physiology of meditation, demonstrating objectively the effectiveness of the practice. He also trained teachers and established teaching centres all over the world.
Literally millions of people have learnt the T. M. technique, and to this day it is the most researched and validated meditation practice available, bringing measureable benefits to virtually every area of life.
How did you get started? What prompted you to learn to meditate? We'd love to hear your stories... feel free to add your comments.
