I often wonder where I would be today if it weren’t for the Transcendental Meditation program. It came into my chaotic world just when I needed it most. The year before I learned TM was really intense for me. I was 16. I wanted freedom, fulfillment and happiness, but couldn’t find them anywhere. I resented my parents, teachers, and society for directing me down a path of life that did not fulfill my desires.

Feeling frustrated and empty inside, I rebelled in every way possible, adopting a destructive lifestyle. Relations with my family, friends, and mentors grew weak and distressed. I neglected my education. I got involved with drugs, and my physical and mental health suffered. My world soon became very dark and desolate.

One day my aunt, Elizabeth Taggart, invited me to visit upstate New York with her. Recognizing my struggle, she brought me to the one place she knew could help—the Mother Divine program. With only her brief explanation that we were visiting old friends, I walked into Mother Divine’s world completely innocent. I’d had no exposure to the TM Movement before.

The instant I arrived, an unfamiliar feeling of serenity and calm crept over me. After only a few minutes my tension was gone, and my disposition changed from anxiety to ease. As my aunt introduced me to her friends, I was amazed—they were so bright and happy. Their warm smiles and sparkling eyes radiated fulfillment. Their mere presence made me feel content. I didn’t understand what I was feeling or what the Mother Divine program was. I didn’t even know these women meditated. But I did feel that something unique and profound was happening there, and I was overwhelmed with curiosity. What was it about them that made me feel so alive? What did they know that I did not?

To find out, I decided to stay for a 3-day "Breath of Serenity" course for non-meditators. This was where I first learned about the TM program. After the lecture, I was elated. I felt I was seeing the Mother Divine ladies for the first time. Everything I had just heard about TM took form in these radiant women. Their steadiness, ease, and grace were proof of this precious knowledge. They were living that pure bliss that TM enlivened. I knew they represented what I had the potential to become.

I went home transformed and started to change my life. I returned to the Mother Divine program a few weeks later to learn the TM technique, and the following year attended many residence courses there. I became enthusiastically involved in my education. My relations with family and friends began to mend and deepen. My physical and mental health rapidly improved as I stopped using drugs and adopted a healthier lifestyle. My world grew brighter as the freedom, fulfillment, and happiness I so deeply desired became a living reality. TM established order and stability in my life, and also gave me direction. I knew clearly that I wanted enlightenment more than anything else.

With this desire, I moved to the Mother Divine program soon after graduating from high school. I worked on their Knowledge and Service program, and learned the TM-Sidhi program. Then, I joined the Mother Divine program. I spent eight months on Mother Divine.

Today I am fulfilling my deepest desires. Every second is dedicated to that supreme goal of gaining enlightenment. With no obstacles, the ultimate reality of life—unbounded bliss—is being realized for myself and the whole world. My heart overflows with joy and gratitude towards all the women dedicated to this beautiful program, for giving me this golden opportunity to fulfill my destiny.

Contribute Your Story to a New Book! Enlightenment magazine is planning to publish a collection of stories on how Meditators learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, and the benefits they’ve experienced in their lives.

To make the book complete, we’d like stories from people of all ages and backgrounds. We hope that you’ll write your story in 1,000 to 3,000 words, and send it to Enlightenment magazine: PO Box 26, Hillsboro, NH 03244 or email to editor@enlightenment-magazine.org.

Teresa Stanonik, age 20, has been practicing the TM technique for 3 and a half years, and participated in the Mother Divine program, at The Maharishi Spiritual Center of America in North Carolina, until April 1999.