Bruce Brooks is a versatile and prolific award-winning author who has
written 11 books -- 5 novels and 6 non-fiction -- in 10 years. He has won
the national Newbery Honor for two of his children's books, and he recently
completed a sports biography and a collection of essays on fatherhood.
Bruce travels throughout the country, giving several hundred presentations
a year, to children, teachers, librarians, and parents, on reading and
writing -- how to use literature in education and for personal enrichment.
Bruce's wife, Penelope, is an accomplished artist, housewife, and mother
of their 10-year-old son, Alex, and their 16-month-old son, Spencer. Penelope
does three-dimensional art work in sculpture and lighting, and for several
years she taught art and was assistant art director at the Jewish Community
Center in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.
Bruce and Penelope have been married 16 years. They live in Silver Spring,
Maryland.
Bruce: "I remember the introductory lecture that I attended
on Transcendental Meditation. The teacher said, 'When two people come together
and both expect to get, then neither receives. When two people come together
and both are ready to give, then both receive.'
"Transcendental Meditation allows you to discover just how vast
an amount you have to give. You become more secure in yourself by discovering
how big you really are; that, in fact, you are infinite. You can give and
give and give and you will never exhaust yourself. In my experience that
is the secret of relationships, and that has been the secret to raising
our children -- the capacity for complete giving. And just as you practice
Transcendental Meditation as the basis for action, for bringing more of
yourself into your work, so, too, in a relationship, you meditate as the
basis for bringing more of yourself into the relationship. Only by giving
more will you receive more."
Penelope: "Transcendental Meditation has allowed me to experience
the depth of love that's within me. It has allowed me to become more aware
of my own feelings, desires, and needs, so that I am able to relate more
clearly to the feelings, desires, and needs of others. You can only relate
to other people -- your husband, your children, your friends -- based on
how you relate to yourself. If you have love in your heart, but your love
is buried under stress, it's lost. Since I've been practicing Transcendental
Meditation, I've found that love has become a continuum in my life -- and
not just on certain days, like holidays or birthdays. The love within me
comes up and supports me and my activities all the time."
Bruce: "Marriage and raising children have gotten easier
and easier because we are meditating and growing toward enlightenment."
"A strong mind is tolerant; a weak mind is easily
overcome by the surroundings." -- Maharishi
The World Is as You Are
It's a common experience: One morning you wake up as tired as when you
went to sleep. The day moves slowly; complications arise; problems seem
to be overwhelming. You feel worried; relationships suffer.
But the next morning, after a deep sleep, you feel fresh and alert.
The circumstances of the previous day may remain the same, but your evaluation
of them differs dramatically. You are more relaxed, yet more energetic,
more productive. Relationships are smoother, more harmonious.
Why the difference? Basically, it's because the world is as you are.
Put on green glasses and everything appears green. Put on yellow glasses
and everything is yellow. Look through tired eyes with an anxious mind
and your vision is clouded with problems, many of which, in reality, may
not exist.
Look through fresh eyes with an alert, creative mind and you are better
able to see solutions to the problems that do exist. When you are rested
and fresh, you have the stability, adaptability, energy and intelligence
to solve problems and make improvements in all areas of your life.
What's needed? A fully developed consciousness.
Good Social Behavior
In his book Science of Being and Art of Living, Maharishi writes,
"Really good social behavior between people will only be possible
when their awareness is broadened, when they are able to see the whole
situation, to understand each other more thoroughly, to be aware of each
other's need and attempt to fulfill that need. This naturally necessitates
a fully developed consciousness, a right sense of judgement, and all the
qualities that only a strong and clear mind possesses."
And without this developed consciousness?
"Small minds always fail to perceive the whole situation and in
their narrow vision create imaginary obstacles that are neither useful
to themselves nor to anyone else," Maharishi writes. "Then their
behavior towards others only results in misunderstanding and increase of
tension."
Relationships Thrive on Giving
It's also a common experience that relationships thrive on giving. At
home it's the father giving time and attention to his children. At work
it's the manager giving enough supervision and support to the sales staff.
But we can only give from what we have. The father who returns home
from work exhausted can hardly give his children the love and help they
need. Likewise, the manager who is anxious and short-tempered can hardly
give the necessary patience and insight to properly train his staff.
What is the solution?
Transcendental Meditation
and Relationships
It's a matter of common sense to understand how Maharishi's Transcendental
Meditation can improve relationships.
If you're able to think more clearly, you'll be better able to properly
evaluate situations and circumstances as they arise. With broader vision
you'll be naturally more understanding and patient.
Because you have an effective way to eliminate stress and develop your
own unlimited potential, you'll be more fulfilled within yourself, and
you won't suffer from the build-up of tension and fatigue. The result?
More happiness, less worry, more energy, and a fuller heart. Relationships
spontaneously improve, and life naturally becomes much more enjoyable,
much more satisfying.
Ralph and Dian Gumpf have been married for 38 years.
Ralph and Dian and their two grown daughters, Sara and Julie, learned Transcendental
Meditation in Madison, Wisconsin. Ralph is a learning coordinator at Black
Hawk Middle School in Madison; Dian is a homemaker; Sara is married and
has gone back to college; and Julie is a senior at the University of Wisconsin,
majoring in wildlife ecology. The Gumpfs have been meditating for one year.
Dian: "Right after learning Transcendental Meditation, I
noticed that we were able to communicate better with each other -- the
edges of things were softer. We've always had a good time together as a
family, but now we're more open with each other; we're able to say more
things to each other."
Julie: "I used to be so negative, especially coming out
of my teenage years. Interacting with friends, we didn't have anything
to talk about unless it was, 'Life is terrible.' I am a lot more positive
now -- less judgemental and more patient with people. Studying goes more
quickly now, too. I absorb more information a lot faster. And when I go
into a test and don't know the information right away, I don't freeze up
as I used to. I can sit back and think it through. That's something new
for me. It's been very easy to find time to meditate at school. There have
been many times when I've postponed studying for 20 minutes -- even though
I had a test the next day -- so I could meditate. I would never miss it,
because it helps me so much."
Ralph: "I think the interactions with my wife and daughters
are much better, much easier, since we've been meditating. We always had
a good relationship, but now we are able to tell each other things that
are accepted in a more positive way. In addition, my physical check-up
was better. My blood pressure always used to run a little high, but this
year it was down, and I hadn't taken any medication for it."
Dian: "I was always the anxious type. I had this free-floating
anxiety, butterflies in my stomach. The first thing I noticed after learning
Transcendental Meditation was that the anxiety left. I am much calmer now.
I've also seen definite changes in my husband. He has a very stressful
job. There's quite a bit of difference in him now when he comes home from
work. He's more relaxed; he's a lot easier around the house. And I also
think he has a lot easier time at work.
"We look forward to life more each day. We see fewer things as
problems. We have a growing sense of 'We can handle this, whatever comes
along.'"
"I am comfortable and secure within myself, no matter what is
happening around me, and because of that my effectiveness has multipled
many times. There is no amount of money for which I would give up all I
have gained from this remarkably simple practice. It is a priceless treasure."
-- Jonathon D. Levy, Assistant Dean, School of Industrial and Labor
Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
"Substance abuse disorders are no longer a black or Hispanic
or poor problem. They are now everyone's problem. You can go to the
best university campuses in this country, and you will find a large percentage
of kids strung out on alcohol and drugs. That's a fact. It's a nationwide
disaster. The very fabric of what constitutes the future of any society,
which is the integrated mental and physical health of all its members --
especially its youth -- it is actually being torn to pieces right now from
coast to coast.
"As someone who has treated thousands of people who have suffered
from the disease of substance abuse, I cannot make a stronger recommendation
than this: The government should research Transcendental Meditation, understand
it, and put it into practice
immediately as part of a relapse prevention program. Society cannot
afford to overlook the power that Transcendental Meditation can bring for
healing the horrible disease that now plagues us -- violence and drug abuse.
Transcendental Meditation is easy to learn, effective, and cost effective,
and the time has come for it to be used and understood."
-- Marcelino Cruces, LICSW, has supervised substance-abuse treatment
programs for over 15 years in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. He has
served as a consultant for the development of protocols for the treatment
of alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health disorders for the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services and the U.S. State Department. He is a member
of the District of Columbia Mayor's Advisory Committee on Drug Abuse and
is chief administrator for the Coalition of Latino Community-Based Organizations
and clinical director of the Salud Health Center in the District of Columbia.
The following charts are just a few of the
research studies on the effects of Transcendental Meditation for reducing
anxiety, increasing self-esteem and self-actualization, as well as for
reducing substance abuse.
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