The Transcendental Meditation technique has been part of my business toolkit throughout my career. However, I didn’t realize its real significance for many years.

I started my own management consulting business in 1993 on a wing and a prayer, with nothing but my determination to succeed. It wasn’t until many years later that I recognized the tremendous impact that my TM practice had made in my life.

I learned TM as a child because my entire family practiced the technique. I was the last to learn because it didn’t really interest me. Then I saw some interesting changes in my family—they became easier to get along with, and we didn’t fight as much or as loudly as we used to.

But what really piqued my interest was when my father told me that, if I practiced TM, I could one day be like the genie on my favorite TV show, I Dream of Jeannie. Once he explained that this was the potential of TM practice, I really wanted to learn.

It wasn’t until after I had started my company that I really noticed the impact and the full power of the TM technique.

As I was growing up, I had little interest in the scientific and intellectual aspects of TM. I practiced the technique because I felt better after I did it. It wasn’t until after I had started my company that I really noticed the impact and the full power of the TM technique.

Long-Term Benefits for My Life

Nancy Slomowitz is the founder of Executive Management Associates, Inc.

Over the years, my employees and my customers were asking me about my ability to deal with the incredible stress of being a company owner, and the unique ability I had to handle both left brain (practical) and right brain (creative) activities.

I was never able to give them an answer, because I didn’t think I was any different than anyone else.

However, as I thought about it more, I realized that the practice of the TM technique for almost 40 years has had a cumulative effect on my physiology, and that this happened without any effort on my part other than consistent, daily TM practice.

I realized that there are many other benefits of TM practice that I had taken for granted over the years: better health, greater stamina, and an inner happiness that is always there—to the point that my co-workers often call me “Sunshine.”

Not that I don’t get mad. I do. I just don’t hold on to it. I am just happier inside and very comfortable in my own skin. The only thing different about me is that I’ve been doing TM for almost 40 years.

There are many other benefits of TM practice that I had taken for granted over the years: better health, greater stamina, and an inner happiness that is always there.

Building a Cohesive Team

Another experience showed me that my TM practice was having not only an impact on me but also on my company. During a very difficult period for my company, I had an experience that caused me to look beyond the surface.

I was experiencing stress both from outside the company and more importantly from within my company. Turnover was high and employee morale was low.

During this period I hired an employee who had been meditating for many years. Suddenly, the dynamics within the company changed. I couldn’t deny what I was seeing with my own eyes.

It was at this time that I realized it wasn’t just me. All three of us who were practicing TM were different in the same way. The entire team became more cohesive, and the external stresses, while still there, were not having as great an impact on us.

All three of us who were practicing TM were different in the same way. The entire team became more cohesive, and the external stresses, while still there, were not having as great an impact on us.

Moving from Disorder to Order

Executive Management Associates, Inc. uses a dynamic, team-oriented approach to problem-solving

I remembered a concept from the advanced lectures my father took me to as a child, where Maharishi Mahesh Yogi talked about the “One-Percent Effect.” He said that one percent of the population of a country or city meditating could create a phase transition from a disorderly state to an orderly state. For a smaller entity such as a business, a larger percentage might be needed.

That was exactly what had happened in my company. With this additional employee, we now had 10 percent of our company meditating. It became very apparent that having more people in the company doing TM would be very beneficial, so I added it as a company paid benefit.

The first year, two employees started. The next year, six more employees signed up. Today we have more than 33 percent of the company practicing the TM technique.

Those who took advantage of the TM technique began to feel for themselves this invisible shield against stress.

Less Anger, More Focus

I was surprised to see that the first people to sign up were the ones I thought were the least likely to do so. One employee had a combustible combination of quick temper and lack of focus. He decided to try the TM technique because of what he had seen and admired in me.

He told me, “You’re so consistent. Every day you come in and you say the same thing. I’ve never seen it anywhere else. And you never hold a grudge. I thought I knew it all when I got here, but now I realize I didn’t know squat.”

The timing of the TM course could not have been better—for both of us. Once he started meditating, the change was dramatic, and everyone noticed it.

He was able to focus better on his work. He began taking more care. He listened. He became less angry with himself and with others, and the harmony of the whole group around him improved dramatically. He had tried counseling, athletics, and weightlifting, but TM was the only tool that made a significant and lasting difference.

Once he started meditating, the change was dramatic… He listened. He became less angry with himself and with others, and the harmony of the whole group around him improved dramatically.

An Invisible Shield against Stress

Another employee, an “alpha male” with a very macho attitude, started the TM technique because of the stress he was beginning to experience in work and personal life. He has a three-hour commute to work each way, and practices TM on the train. His attitude has softened. He is much more patient and friendly—both employees and customers have commented on the change.

The benefits didn’t stop there. Those who took advantage of the TM technique began to feel for themselves this invisible shield against stress. Many remarked how they began to see things more clearly, and how their energy felt much more positive.

Lack of focus is deadly in our work, taking its toll on energy levels and work product quality. But now people were able to stay “in the zone” for far longer than before.

The biggest payoff was seeing the anger and negativity within our group dissolve and a real team spirit take over.

Others around them began to comment that they looked better, were calmer, and were better able to throw off the little problems and focus on those that had a real impact on their work and lives.

The biggest payoff was seeing the anger and negativity within our group dissolve and a real team spirit take over. All this for the price of just closing your eyes twice a day for twenty minutes.

Nancy Slomowitz is the founder of Executive Management Associates, Inc. and the author of Work Zone Madness! Surviving and Rising above Workplace Dysfunction.