"Today's young woman is feeling more conflicted and concerned about her image and value than ever before," says Jess Weiner, author of A Very Hungry Girl. "Here's a sobering fact: when girls feel bad about their looks, 70 percent disconnect from life, avoiding normal activities like attending school or even giving their opinion. Sure, we all have bad days and moments when we want to pull the blanket over our heads, but when an entire generation of future leaders, thinkers and mothers disconnects from life because they are unhappy with their appearance, the possible repercussions on our society are profound.”
As a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation technique, I’ve taught many girls and young women to meditate. I find that meditation helps build self-confidence in women. Our culture spurs women to evaluate themselves in terms of outer appearances, money, and status. When a young girl meditates, she experiences deeper levels of her mind and heart — levels of mind teaming with intelligence, creativity, happiness and energy. At the same, time meditation reduces stress and increases flexibility, social abilities and self‐worth.
Young women who naturally find self-approval from within, rather than seeking it mostly from the outside, are less influenced by peer pressure. Transcendental Meditation is a valuable tool for a young woman to use as she matures, better preparing her to meet the stresses and challenges of adulthood. It goes hand in hand with the nourishing attention she needs from her mother or other caring adults in her life.
As Weiner points out: “Girls of all ages overwhelmingly report that they still value their mothers over celebrities and supermodels as their number-one source of inspiration. Moms and mentors across America, here's an invitation to you: Own that special relationship with the young girl in your life and start taking simple actions to build her self-esteem.”
When I was initiated into TM, my wife went for TM initiation when I was in office and gave me surprise. Then as a parent of two daughters, the first thing that we choose to give them was tm.
ReplyDeleteBeing living in exile after mass exodus of Hindus from Kashmir, TM has kept us intact. Thanks for this beautiful post. JAI GURU DEV