Author's Note

On January 29, 1959, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi arrived at San Francisco International Airport. It was his first visit to the United States, and the second continent on his global tour to introduce his Transcendental Meditation technique to the world.

Maharishi lectured to hundreds of people during his 2-month stay; many people learned the technique. The San Francisco Chronicle covered one of Maharishi's lectures and published the first article on Transcendental Meditation ever in America.

Maharishi's message then was simple and direct, and it's the same today. Life is bliss. Man is born to enjoy. Within everyone is an unlimited reservoir of energy, intelligence, and happiness. Transcendental Meditation is a simple, effortless procedure to experience it. The technique can be easily learned by anyone of any age, culture, religion, or educational background.

In those early days, there were no other Transcendental Meditation teachers, no Transcendental Meditation centers. After San Francisco, Maharishi spent several months in Los Angeles, then traveled on to New York. From New York, Maharishi went to England, Germany, Greece, and on around the world.

The Transcendental Meditation movement started simply and grew steadily. Then suddenly, with the first published scientific research on the technique, Transcendental Meditation gained worldwide recognition.

The first study on Transcendental Meditation was conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1968 by physiologist Robert Keith Wallace. His thesis, "The Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation: A Proposed Fourth Major State of Consciousness," earned him his Ph.D., and his findings were published in the journals Science and Scientific American. This also inspired a huge upsurge of research into the effects of Transcendental Meditation.

By 1975 Transcendental Meditation was a household word.

And today? More than four million people worldwide -- including more than one million people in the United States -- from every profession, age, educational background, and religion practice Transcendental Meditation. And the number keeps growing.

The technique has been learned by over 6,000 medical doctors in the U.S. and by tens of thousands of executives, managers, and employees of large corporations and small businesses throughout the U.S. and the world.

Homemakers practice Transcendental Meditation. So do attorneys, computer programmers, teachers, students, sales clerks, clergy, athletes, factory workers, architects, airline pilots, electricians, chefs, and artists.

Why? Transcendental Meditation is easy to learn. Anyone can practice it. And it works.

During the past 25 years, more than 500 scientific research studies have been conducted on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique at 210 independent universities and research institutions in 33 countries. The studies -- many of which have been published in leading scientific journals -- have shown that the Transcendental Meditation program:

• Reduces stress
• Increases creativity and intelligence
• Improves memory and learning ability
• Increases energy
• Increases inner calm
• Reduces insomnia
• Increases happiness and self-esteem
• Reduces anxiety and depression
• Improves relationships
• Improves health
• Promotes a younger biological age.

Since Maharishi first began teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique over 36 years ago, modern science has made major breakthroughs in understanding how nature functions. Recently, scientists have glimpsed the deepest level of nature's functioning -- the unified field of natural law -- which is the source of the unlimited creative potential displayed throughout the universe.

As we'll see in this book, the unlimited potential found deep within human consciousness and the unlimited potential found at the level of the unified field are not different; they are the same.

Transcendental Meditation is a simple, effective technique that enlivens the unlimited potential of life from its source in the unified field. It enriches all areas of life, just as watering the root of a plant brings nourishment to all parts of the plant.

This book has been written to provide you with a brief and complete introduction to the Transcendental Meditation program. It is an introduction to the technique that can change your life for good.

I hope you enjoy it.