135 the O’ spa dhanvantari and aesculapius: a bibliography Transcending leads to a profound state of rest of the mind, superior to that of any other experience - including deep sleep itself - and has a cascading effect on the body's state of well-being. The superiority of Transcendental Meditation, compared to other techniques and experiences, has been scientifically demonstrated scientifically demonstrated in numerous studies, including one published by the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 198917, a meta-analysis of previous 146 studies comparing Transcendental Meditation with other forms of relaxation, such as Progressive Muscle Relaxation and other types of meditation and concentration. The daily experience that the practice requires always brings back the mind to the meditative state, also called Fourth State of Consciousness, where brain’s accumulated stress dissolves. Consequently, stress reduction coincides with the stress reduction coincides with the reduction of the incidence of diseases related to it. A study published by the scientific journal Psychosomatic Medicine highlights, among others, an 87% drop of cardiovascular diseases, two thirds of cancers, 93% reductions for the nervous system diseases18. Neutralization of stress has proven its usefulness even in nicotine addiction. A meta-analysis of 131 previous studies on the use of cigarettes19 showed how the daily practice of Transcendental Meditation has the most significant impact in decreasing dependence when compared with other techniques, from pharmacological to less conventional ones. Smoking cessation is usually a maid of this practice, and never directly involved in it. Far from proposing itself as a source of eternal youth, this practice profoundly affect biological age of the human body. Tests carried out on those who transcended at least for four years achieved results of reduction of the biological age by reduction of the biological age by twelve years compared to the non-practical counterpart, a result accompanied by a significant and progressive increase in those capacities that inevitably degenerate with age - including memory, creativity and intelligence20. The darkest colors of psychic aging - anxiety, insomnia and depression - fade out. Not only that: Transcendental Meditation would be the only method, according to those who practice and promote it, able to develop human intelligence during adulthood21, as it is capable of activating at the neuronal level all areas of the brain in a holistic way, contrary to what normally happens in it when only determined sections are active. Under stress, the prefrontal cortex - that section of the human brain responsible, among other things, for complex behavior, logical decisions and moderation of social conduct - stops working properly, giving way on stage to our primitive, animal brain, which lives on instinct and allows us to react to sudden situations of danger. Transcending may help the prefrontal cortex to restore its role as a guardian of logic, and consequently to avoid violent and anti-social behavior avoid violent and anti-social behavior22. In other words, Transcendental Meditation can act on the individual - and, through it, on the whole community. 17 K. Eppley, A. Abrams, J. Shear, Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait anxiety: a meta-analysis, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1989 18 D. W. Orme-Johnson, Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation program, Psychosomatic Medicine, 1987 19 C. N. Alexander, P. Robinson, MV Rainforth, Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: a review and statistical meta-analysis, Alcoholism Treatment �uarterly, 1994 20 A. Jedrczak, M. Toomey, G. Clements, The TM-Sidhi program, age and brief tests of perceptual-motor speed and non-verbal intelligence, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1986 21 K. T. So, D. W. Orme-Johnson, Three randomized experiments on the holistic longitudinal effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on cognition, Intelligence, 2001 22 S. Yamamoto, Y. Kitamura, N. Yamada, Y. Nakashima, S. Kuroda, Medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex in the generation of alpha activity induced by Transcendental Meditation: a magnetoencephalographic study, Acta Medica Okayama, 2006
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