Page 241 - Demo

239Does my brain change all at once? How long do these changes last?These useful changes in how the brain works are real and lasting. It%u2019s an acceleration of natural growth that starts from the very first experience of transcending, in the first session of TM. You can think of this growth in three stages%u20141. Short term: Starting from your first TM session, attention settles toward pure consciousness, and you gain the immediate benefit of deep rest and revitalization in only 20 minutes. Just being there, experiencing the inner self without doing anything, and without falling asleep, has a profound effect on how we think and feel. This is a rare chance to truly relax free from the pressures of daily life. A few minutes of this inner calm, twice a day, can be as refreshing as a full night%u2019s sleep.2. Medium term: You soon come to enjoy the accumulation of strength, clarity of mind, and effective action. These benefits come from TM%u2019s profound healing of stress and fatigue. Day by day, you become more resilient to stress. And%u2014you enjoy a growing sense of inner stability, independent of action and the details of your life, that comes from daily experience of pure consciousness. 3. Long term: Over time, the body uses the deep rest of TM to heal the last traces of stress, so the nervous system can permanently experience pure consciousness. This inner stability and clarity is never lost, even in the midst of extreme activity, dreaming, or deep sleep. This permanent state is called Cosmic Consciousness (CC), the stable experience of the Self%u2014this is what is meant by a %u201chigher state of consciousness.%u201dThe rapid growth produced by the TM technique has finally made enlightenment, Cosmic Consciousness, a definable, practical goal for everyone. When Cosmic Consciousness is established, we are trulyIMMUNE FROM STRESS.