Linda Egenes: What is the significance of these EEG patterns?

Dr. Orme-Johnson: It is known that EEG, and particularly alpha coherence (orderliness) organizes the functioning of the brain for memory, creativity, perception, motor behavior—just about everything.

Coherent alpha waves function something like a conductor in an orchestra. When the conductor waves his baton, it provides the timing that organizes all the different components of the orchestra to work together to create a symphony—analogous to the harmonious brain functioning that is created by the coherent frontal alpha waves spreading throughout the brain during TM.

This ability to create more coherent, orderly brain functioning is unique among meditation practices. That’s the real value of the Transcendental Meditation technique: an experience that transforms the way we function, even after meditation.

Linda Egenes: How do brainwaves change when you experience deep transcendence during TM?

Dr. Orme-Johnson: It’s known that when a person is having the experience of pure consciousness, beyond thought, the breath stops for a while, from 10 to 40 seconds. How do we know this? Since the 1970s we’ve asked subjects in experiments to push a button immediately after they have had this experience of pure, silent, unbounded awareness and are thinking thoughts again.

We found that during the periods of respiratory suspension during the TM technique, which correlates with the person’s experience of transcending, the whole brain becomes coherent. The EEG frequencies in all the different areas of the brain synchronize with each other.

Even more significantly, the coherence occurs across all frequencies—alpha, beta, gamma, theta—so it’s broadband coherence. In other words, transcending creates a state of total brain coherence. And this sets a baseline for the brain to be able to integrate.

Having an integrated brain, where the different parts of the brain—and therefore different parts of the body—are in harmonious communication with each other, is perhaps the reason why the TM technique has such powerful healing effects.

Linda Egenes: What are some of those healing effects of TM?

Dr. Orme-Johnson: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have shown that the reductions of blood pressure in TM practitioners not only can result in reduced use of anti-hypertension drugs; regular TM practice also results in reduced heart attacks and strokes. This has been demonstrated in a comprehensive 10-year study that found 48 percent fewer heart attacks, strokes, and deaths in heart patients who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique.

In fact, an American Heart Association (AHA) committee headed by Robert Brook, M.D., evaluated alternative practices for lowering blood pressure and published their findings in the AHA journal Hypertension in 2013.

In their scientific statement, they concluded that “the Transcendental Meditation technique is the only meditation practice that has been shown to lower blood pressure… all other meditation techniques (including MBSR) received a ‘Class III, no benefit, Level of Evidence C’ recommendation and are not recommended in clinical practice to lower blood pressure at this time.”

Linda Egenes: It seems like the effortlessness of TM is another way that it differs from other techniques.

Dr. Orme-Johnson: That’s correct. Focused Attention and Open Monitoring require focus and mental effort, which engages the mind at the surface level of thinking. Correct practice of TM is effortless, and the brain is able to experience its own transcendental nature, which is correlated with global coherence or orderliness of the brain.

In a way, TM and mindfulness approaches are opposites. For example, the mindfulness approach to treating PTSD is to train the mind to detach from traumatic memories. It attempts to use volitional control of the mind to change how one reacts to stresses. Mindfulness programs do not provide the deep rest that dissolves stress. Rather, they teach people to change their attitudes and reactions toward stress.

The mechanism of TM, on the other hand, is to put the body and mind into a healing state of deep, coherent rest. When the physiology has a chance to rest so deeply, it releases stress and heals itself. Consequently, the stressful emotions associated with the disturbing memory are softened.

Mindfulness tries to teach you to use your mind to cope with stress, but it doesn’t get rid of it. TM dissolves the stress; it does get rid of it. The deep, coherent rest of TM makes your physiology more coherent and less stressed, and on that basis improves everything in your life.