Imagine a wave on the sea. Even a very big wave has limitations; it is only this high and that wide. Now imagine that wave settling down, flattening out, until it merges with the sea. Its value then assumes the unlimited, infinitely more powerful status of the sea. The wave, which was bound before, has gained boundlessness.
The mind is capable of the same settling down, or transcending process. During Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (TM), the waves of thought 'retire' to the source of thought. The word "transcend" means to go beyond; "meditation" refers to thinking. During TM the mind experiences progressively less excited states of thought until one transcends thought completely, to arrive at its source. The agitated, limited value of thought gains the unlimited status of Being, the silent depth of the ocean of consciousness.
Transcending thought is as effortless as thinking. If a man can run, naturally he can walk and stand still. The active mind already contains the ability to be silently alert. No effort is required. It only needs a technique.
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