Principles by Ray Dalio is one of my favourite books of 2018.  Meaningful work and meaningful relationships resonate perfectly with what I want for my life.  Radical transparency in an idea meritocracy is an idealistic way to lead an organization.  The most influential takeaway from the book was the introduction to Transcendental Meditation.

Founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi around the mid-twentieth century Transcendental Meditation (TM) became popular among celebrities in the 60s and 70s.  Ray Dalio says he learned about it through The Beetles.  Still today it is popular among celebrities like Ellen, Oprah, Seinfeld and many more.

I’m at a place in life where I’m searching for meaning.  My survival needs are well taken care of so I’ve turned my focus on to development.  So when a billionaire hedge fund manager who writes about principles that I highly respect says TM changed his life and helped him achieve success I knew it was time to take action.

Mindfulness meditations, Loving-Kindness meditations, exercise, and yoga-style stretching have become a regular part of my life but I was looking for more.  After attending the introductory talk by Sarah Hea on the 4th of July at the Toronto TM Centre I signed up for the four day instructional course.  I was in a class with four others that was taught by David Shaw.  My follow-up classes were taught by Razvan Ionescu.  All three teachers were great to learn from and very experienced with teaching meditation techniques.

Instruction includes your own personalized sound-mantra given to you in the traditional manner by your instructor with coaching on how to use it. In the follow up courses you gain an in depth understanding of the process with personal checks to make sure things are going well.

It’s been almost three months now since learning the TM technique.  I’ve been consistent in my daily practice.  In just three months I feel it has been a game changer for me.  My mind is clearer and my ability to stay present is much greater.  With clarity and presence of mind life is way more meaningful.  I’ve already accomplished things and become someone I used to only dream of and talk about.  I am confident that there is so much more good heading into my life in the near future.  And that’s a good feeling!