A 7-day online spiritual retreat combining self-inquiry, meditation, and breathwork can support transformative experiences, including inner peace and ego challenges. Analysis of 56 participants' feedback identified three main themes: inner peace, transformation process, and emotional and ego challenges. The findings introduce digital containment as a framework for supporting unitive states in virtual settings, show that emotional and somatic intensity are central to spiritual transformation even online, and reframe post-awakening uncertainty as a deepening of existential surrender rather than regression.
Transcendental Meditation (TM) acts as a catalyst for spiritual growth, according to practitioners in South Africa and Ghana. Most of the 28 participants reported spiritual upliftment, experiencing a sense of connection with a transcendental being and witnessing daily activity in blissful freedom. Two female participants, however, stated that TM had nothing to do with their spirituality. The study used open-ended questionnaires and interviews, analyzed through Husserl's transcendental phenomenological method, to explore these lived experiences. The authors recommend TM as one path among others—such as Christian contemplative prayer or Sufism—for those seeking spiritual purpose and meaning.
Transcendental Meditation (TM), a technique from the Vedic tradition, is presented as a useful spiritual tool during the pandemic, with benefits for education, mental health, and physical health. A review of scientific studies on TM supports its practical relevance for holistic growth, emphasizing the technique's scientific validity.
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials found moderate to strong support that two religious or spiritual practices—breathwork and chanting—can alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and PTSD. The review included 15 studies of varying quality, assessed using the PEDro scale and Cochrane risk of bias tool, and was registered with PROSPERO.