Abstract
Meditation has recently been categorised into three main areas which are concentration, open monitoring and imagining being loved or having compassion towards someone or something, and automatic self-transcending. Transcendental meditation (TM) can be placed in the category of automatic self-transcending, where the practitioner repeats a particular type of mantra that has no meaning to the practitioner, thereby helping the practitioner to transcend their thoughts to calm the active mind so that they experience bliss consciousness.
Though much research has been done on TM globally, lived experiences of the practitioners have not been adequately explored, especially in South Africa and Ghana. Therefore, the study sought to explore the lived experiences of TM practitioners in South Africa and Ghana. The study adopted the constructivist paradigm through the lens of phenomenology. In all, 28 participants took part in the study. Fourteen participants from South Africa and another 14 from Ghana. Open-ended questionnaires, observation, semi-structured interviews, and a reflective journal were used to collect the data for the study. Husserl’s transcendental phenomenological data analysis was used to analyse and synthesise the descriptions of the lived experiences of the TM practitioners.
The results from the study suggest that TM techniques enhance practitioners’ cognitive and spiritual growth, social relationships and health and reduces hospitalisation and medical bills. In addition, time to practice, scepticism of non-practitioners about the technique, and troubled thoughts during meditation were some of the challenges practitioners encounter in their practice. Furthermore, the results suggest that if TM is incorporated into traditional psychotherapeutic interventions, it will alleviate depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia etc. The themes that emerged from the data were the same from both countries. However, some participants from Ghana viewed the Puja ceremony as a bit frightening because of its perceived link to Hinduism. It is the recommendation of this study that the departments of education in South Africa and Ghana explore this technology in our schools for the benefit of our students and staff. Secondly, I recommend that psychologists or therapists explore this technique by acquiring the knowledge and implementing it in their therapeutic interventions to assist their clients to navigate difficult terrains in their lives.
Keywords: Consciousness; Transcendental; Meditation; Blissfulness; South Africa; Ghana