Maharishi

"Maharishi just laughed. “We’re doing research into consciousness as a field of all possibilities,” he told me. “If it’s natural and blissful, Brad, go for it.” Those words freed me to explore even more deeply, blending meditation with other schools of thought, including Milton H. Erickson’s self-hypnosis, Richard Bandler’s Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Paramahansa Yogananda’s Kriya Yoga, and the teachings of Thích Nhất Hạnh, the father of mindfulness."

"TM is a process of thinking a thought in an increasingly abstract way, until you go beyond the thought and experience a state of unbounded awareness. One metaphor that’s sometimes used is the ocean, where all evident activity is near the surface—waves, fish, boats, birds—and the more you sink down into the depths, the more boundless and abstract it becomes. In those early days, meditation felt to me like entering a vast space that was both calming and exhilarating at the same time. I was hooked. It wasn’t just about the relaxation; I was discovering a deeper, subtler state of awareness that was beyond everyday thought yet profoundly practical for daily life. Maharishi had described it as experiencing bliss within yourself, and for me, it delivered exactly that: a sense of ease that made everything feel more manageable."