I first heard about “support of nature” soon after learning the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) technique. I quickly began to see what this concept meant in my own life: Everything just got easier. With TM, the stressful things I’d previously struggled with seemed to melt away.

The TM teachers explained that support of nature happens spontaneously with regular TM practice. When we transcend and experience pure consciousness regularly, we become more attuned to the foundation of life, which supports and facilitates our desires and actions.

When I started TM, this support of nature came rolling in. Now five years later, I’m living the life I desired, simply by doing my meditation twice a day, every day. My TM practice removes stress and blockages, allowing the natural flow of my innate desires and affinities to emerge.

When I started TM, this support of nature came rolling in. Now five years later, I’m living the life I desired, simply by doing my meditation twice a day, every day.

Success and Struggle

I learned the TM technique in January 2013 in Carmel, California, five years after attending David Lynch’s Catching the Big Fish 2007 book signing in Chicago. I’d known of the TM technique since the 70s, and intuitively I sensed it would make all the difference, both to my inner well-being and outer circumstances.

But I was in a doctoral program at Loyola University Chicago and didn’t have funds. After a successful 25-year career in radio broadcasting around the United States and Europe, changes in the industry signaled the end of an era, and I’d gone back to school. My radio work had a certain cachet but never paid well, so I’d always struggled as a single parent.

I loved the scholarship in theology and history, but not the academic politics, so with two M.A.s and just shy of a dissertation, off I went to explore other options—including volunteering with AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps.

That brought me to Monterey County in California and put me in view of the Carmel TM Center. To my delight, there was a new payment plan to learn TM. I was approved and on my way!

I’d known of the TM technique since the 70s, and intuitively I sensed it would make all the difference, both to my inner well-being and outer circumstances.

This Is It

At the time, my life involved enormous stress, from work to housing to transportation and food. After two AmeriCorps stints, I briefly worked as a live-in caretaker, with 24-hour/5-days-a-week demands. In my search for fulfilling work, it became clear I was overqualified, in my 50s, had too much education, or not enough experience—it was dire.

The day for my TM instruction came, and I learned to meditate. The immediate result was mind-blowing, as I went down the elevator shaft to pure consciousness and peace. From my very first meditation, I felt a tremendous sense of “This is it!” This is what I’ve been looking for; this is the real deal.

My initial experiences brought profound relief from the stress of my daily life and enabled me to cope with a calm sense that things were going to improve. Little did I know how quickly they would change and get better!

From my very first meditation, I felt a tremendous sense of “This is it!” This is what I’ve been looking for; this is the real deal.

Facing New Challenges with Inner Peace

Two weeks after I started TM, I fell and broke my hand while caring for my elderly charge. Frantically, I called my TM teacher, Lindsay Dyson. She assured me not to worry. It might seem to be an impossibly unhappy situation, she said, but just hang in there, keep doing my best in the job, and keep meditating, which I did.

My situation was precarious. I could not reasonably do the job with one hand, and the family could not afford to keep me on for physical rehab. Had I not learned TM, I would have been in a state of panic. Instead, I found myself handling one difficult day at a time with inner peace. Ultimately, the family gave me a small severance and a week to move on.

Had I not learned TM, I would have been in a state of panic. Instead, I found myself handling one difficult day at a time with inner peace.

The Clear Beginnings of Support of Nature

At first I wondered why my life got more complicated after starting TM, but I was about to see the unfolding of better things. First, a new friend in Monterey invited me to stay with her, making things much easier.

Next, my intuition, sharpening as a result of my TM practice, nudged me toward the Southwest. I had long harbored an interest in living in New Mexico, so I called an old friend who was an HR director at a resort in Santa Fe. Before long, I was living there in an efficiency apartment, with a low-paying but stable job I enjoyed.

I felt all this was a direct result of learning TM. After a five-year period of great struggle, it was as if I had been taken off a rocking boat in stormy waters and plunked down on solid ground.

Effortlessly, my life continued to increase in stability, security, and happiness. I completed the rehab of my hand in Santa Fe, while fulfilling my interest in New Mexico’s beauty, art, and history. I worked in a beautiful environment of gardens and art, all so pleasing to my spirit. The people were welcoming, and the days pleasant. It was a great relief.

After a five-year period of great struggle, it was as if I had been taken off a rocking boat in stormy waters and plunked down on solid ground.

Support from the TM Community and More Knowledge

I also wanted to learn all I could about the Transcendental Meditation program, so I attended group meditations and knowledge meetings at the Santa Fe TM Center. This was invaluable, both as support for my TM practice and for meeting like-minded people in my new home.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s video presentations were wonderful building blocks for me, as my inner realizations expanded, and I settled into what I knew would be a committed daily practice for the rest of my life.

I made friends with other meditators and enjoyed learning about the scientific research on the TM technique and the history of the TM organization. I also enjoyed feeling grounded, secure, and positive about life’s prospects again, all in an effortless way.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s video presentations were wonderful building blocks for me, as my inner realizations expanded, and I settled into what I knew would be a committed daily practice for the rest of my life.

Finding a Partner on the Path to Enlightenment

Within six months of learning TM, another big event occurred: I met the man who would become my husband.

We were both attending a course at the Center to learn an Advanced Technique of the TM program. I arrived early, and shortly after, Gregg Valenzuela joined me in the waiting room. I soon learned he is a habitual early-arriver, and this time it was quite fortuitous! A physician who learned TM in medical school in 1975, Gregg was also a 20-year practitioner of the TM-Sidhi® Program. Like me, he was eager for more knowledge about consciousness and enlightenment.

While stress relief and good health are huge incentives for practicing the TM technique, I knew from the start that there was even more to this knowledge—profound growth in which our very state of being becomes established in a new and higher level of life and perception.

Gregg and I both wanted to take advantage of any and all advanced programs that would facilitate our evolution in higher states of consciousness.

He was a Harley Davidson rider too, which piqued my interest. Though at first glance he didn’t seem to be my “type,” an inner voice told me, “Here, try this.” So I did.

While stress relief and good health are huge incentives for practicing the TM technique, I knew from the start that there was even more to this knowledge.

Life Expands beyond My Dreams

Gregg and I were married in Hawaii in 2015—on a boat, by the captain, in Honolulu Harbor. Marriage at sea suited us perfectly. We entered a union where our dreams merged with rare compatibility and shared interests grounded in our TM practice. He not only became my meditation partner; he also encouraged me to pursue every avenue of advancement I could. In 2015 I took the TM-Sidhi course, too.

As growing enlightenment takes priority, my life has truly expanded beyond my dreams. My health improved as I addressed long-neglected concerns. My home went from a furnished efficiency to a large home filled with art, in a lovely area of Albuquerque.

I had always wanted to travel extensively, not just relocating for new jobs as I had in radio. Now I’m living that dream with a partner and a secure home base. We’ve walked the Camino de Santiago twice, another dream, and we rode the Pacific Coast Highway end-to-end on our motorcycle.

My friends and family have expressed astonishment at this turnaround from a low point to an extravagant fulfillment of desires. They keep asking me what happened, and I point to TM!

Just the other day, a friend in the UK posted on my Facebook page his amazement at the changes in my life in recent years, referring to them as “some mystery” that had taken place. “It is called, ‘Transcendental Meditation,’ ” I commented. “Life just gets better. It’s a law of nature.” He liked that, and maybe he’ll decide to check out the TM technique, too.

My friends and family have expressed astonishment at this turnaround from a low point to an extravagant fulfillment of desires. They keep asking me what happened, and I point to TM!

Dreaming Big and Paying It Forward

We learned from Maharishi to desire big, and I take that at face value. I’m not afraid to dream big anymore!

It is not that there are never any problems in life now—of course there are. But how we navigate these problems is a whole new ball game. Stress doesn’t accumulate anymore, providing a basis for health and well-being to face life in an imperfect world.

As a couple, the good in life also gives us the ability to support others in learning the TM technique. One of our pet projects is providing matching funds for young people from the Zuni Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico to learn the Transcendental Mediation® technique. For three years, Gregg and I have sponsored 20 young Zunis as they graduate from high school and go out into the world.

Giving back and paying it forward are great joys in this life of expansion.

It is not that there are never any problems in life now—of course there are. But how we navigate these problems is a whole new ball game.

The Greatest Gift

Today I am retired, while Gregg continues to practice medicine. I am able to focus on my passion for photography and writing. Each morning I wake up and look forward to the new day, watching the good and the beautiful unfold. Bliss has become a very real companion.

I consider the TM technique to be the greatest gift I have received in life. As Maharishi taught, I intend to continue living life 200 percent. My gratitude to Maharishi is infinite. Jai Guru Dev.

Each morning I wake up and look forward to the new day, watching the good and the beautiful unfold. Bliss has become a very real companion.

 

Marielle Valenzuela is a photographer, writer, and retired radio broadcaster, and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband, Gregg Valenzuela, M.D. (Lead photo by Forever Maui Photography.)