Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation is a book written by psychiatrist and researcher Norman E. Rosenthal, published in 2011 by the Tarcher imprint of the Penguin Group. It presents the author's personal experiences and professional views on Transcendental Meditation research, as well as interviews with celebrity practitioners. The book contains a foreword by Mehmet Oz and four main sections entitled: "Transcendence", "Healing", "Transformation", and "Harmony."
An updated paperback edition was released in 2012 that contained a new final chapter titled "After Transcendence."[1]
According to the publisher the book describes how Transcendental Meditation is learned and "what they [the readers] stand to gain, physically and emotionally, from achieving transcendence".[3] According to the author it is "not a manual on how to do" the Transcendental Meditation technique.[4]
Part I, Transcendence, has three chapters; Introduction: My Journey Back, A Return to the Self: Aspects of Meditation, and The Mind Within the Mind: What is Transcendence? This section, describes the author's personal history with the Transcendental Meditation technique; how he first heard about it, when and why he learned and the people he has met who are practicing the technique.
Part II, Healing, has a single chapter called, Decompression: Managing Toxic Stress. This section discusses the concept of "transcendence" and its potential relationship to toxic stress, particularly in regard to heart disease and hypertension.[6]: pp 55–86
Part III, Transformation, has seven chapters:
Turning Off the Brains Alarm System: Treating Anxiety and Anger
The Schoolboy Who Pulled Out His Hair: Attention, Priorities, and Effectiveness
Helping the Spikes and Valleys: Meditation and Moods
Silencing the Bubble Machine: Addiction and Recovery
An Island of Safety in a Sea of Trouble: Transformation in Schools
Learning to Love Yourself: The Long Road Back from Prison
Self-Actualization—Your Personal Best[6]: 'Contents'
Part IV is called, Harmony and has one chapter called, Harmony: Coherence at Many Levels. In this section the author discusses the concept of coherence and postulates parallels between coherence in the brain and harmony in society.[6]: pp 241–252
Reception
The book appeared at number seven on the NY Times list of Best Sellers: Hardcover Advice, How-To And Miscellaneous,[7] number eight on the Washington Post Non Fiction list, and number 14 on the ABC News, Best seller, Hardcover Non-Fiction list during its first week of publication.[8][9]
A reviewer at PsychCentral, wrote: "I opened the book and began to read stories that inspired me and gave me hope that one day I might be a meditator too" and the chapters on "acute anxiety, major depression, and bipolar disorder" were "especially enlightening".[10]