10 Famous practitioners of Transcendental Meditation
There are numerous celebrities and world-class achievers practicing Transcendental Meditation. Many find that a calm and peaceful mind is a reservoir of creative ideas. It can give you the power to turn dreams into reality.
On the other hand, an anxious mind full of negative thoughts can hamper your imagination and prevent you from reaching your maximum potential. Here are ten famous practitioners of transcendental meditation:
1. Oprah Winfrey
When Oprah first started practising transcendental meditation, she felt such an inner calm and peace that she encouraged her employees to practice as well. Now they have daily meditation sessions in the office.
“9:00 in the morning, and 4:30 in the afternoon no matter what is going on, we stop and we meditate,” says Oprah Winfrey. “You can’t imagine what has happened in the company, people who used to have migraines, don’t. People are sleeping better, they are having better relationships and they are interacting better with other people. It’s been fantastic.” She goes on to say that she has become a 100% better person through Transcendental Meditation.
2. Russell Simmons
“All of us want less thoughts. The calmer the mind, the happier the spirit. So, when the mind is settled: bliss,” explains Russell Simmons.
“If we have a mind full of fluctuation, then we have a mind full of suffering. When you see people and they’re starting off, there’s so many thoughts in their mind and it causes suffering and sadness. When you see people, who are awake and present and clear, then there’s happiness.”
3. Lebron James
He is probably one of the most famous athletes in the world and continues to perform after 15 seasons in the NBA. His competitive edge comes from his work ethic, natural-given talent and meditation. Lebron famously meditated during a timeout at the 2012 NBA Playoffs to help him refocus for the time ahead.
4. Ellen Degeneres
“I was very impressed by the interesting people who I learned did Transcendental Meditation. I thought I’d try this even though I’m not very good at meditating,” says Ellen Degeneres. “Something about Transcendental Meditation, about having that mantra, it’s the only time I have that stillness. The only way I have ever been able to sit still long enough, and when I open my eyes I’m sad that it’s already 20 minutes later. It gives me this peaceful feeling. There are so many benefits you can achieve by just sitting still and going within.”
5. Jerry Seinfeld
One of the USA’s all time most popular comedians has practised Transcendental Meditation for nearly 40 years.
“I described Transcendental Meditation to someone as, you know your phone has a charger, it’s like if you have a charger for your whole body and mind,” says Jerry Seinfeld.
6. David Lynch
David Lynch has practised Transcendental Meditation for over 37 years. In 2005, he founded the David Lynch Foundation (DLF) which offers financial support to those that need it most, to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique. Since the foundation opened it has helped over 250 000 students, war veterans, prisoners and people suffering from PTSD globally.
“If you have a golf ball size consciousness, when you read a book you’ll have a golf ball size understanding. When you look out with a golf ball size awareness and when you wake up in the morning, it’s a golf ball size wakefulness,” says David Lynch.
“But if you could expand that consciousness, you read the book with more understanding, you look out with more awareness and when you wake up, its with more wakefulness. There’s an ocean of vibrant consciousness inside each one of us. Transcendental Meditation is a simple, easy, effortless technique that allows any human begin to dive within and experience this ocean of pure consciousness.”
7. Hugh Jackman
“Nothing has ever opened my eyes like Transcendental Meditation has. It makes me calm and happy, and, well, it gives me some peace and quiet in what’s a pretty chaotic life,” says Hugh Jackman.
When asked how he fits Transcendental Meditation into his busy schedule he says: “Everyone takes a shower every day, and we don’t complain about it. We do it out of discipline. There will always be an excuse not to meditate…. The ego says, ‘You don’t need to meditate, man. You’re really busy. What about the kids?’ But do I say, ‘I can’t shower today because I have to make time for the kids?’ No.”
8. Katy Perry
“I start the day with Transcendental Meditation. It puts me in the best mood. I wake up and just prop myself up in bed for 20 minutes. It’s the only time my mind gets absolute rest,” she says. “It’s changed my life, it’s changed how I think about things. I meditate before I write a song, before I perform. I feel my brain open up and I feel at my most sharp.”
9. Kendrick Lamar
“I have to have at least 30 minutes to myself. If it’s not daily, every other day, to just sit back, close my eyes, and absorb what’s going on,” said Kendrick Lamar.
“When you’re in music, the years are always cut in half because you always have something to do. We’ve been in the studio for four months. Now you got to go on the road for five months. Next thing you know, five years is going by and you 29 years old. You know? So, I have to find a way to understand the space that I’m in and how I’m feeling at the moment. Because if I don’t, it’s going to zoom. I know. I feel it.”
10. Madonna
Madonna famously practises Transcendental Meditation and uses meditation to achieve spiritual peace. “Meditation has shown me how much energy silence has,” says Madonna.