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Meditating Moms 2: Becoming their best selves, no matter what life throws their way
by Harbour Fraser Hodder

Enjoy TM News Translate This Article
6 June 2018

If you missed the first installment of Meditating Moms on Enjoy TM News, you can still enjoy it now by clicking here.

Whether these moms have been meditating a few years or for decades, they carve out time to nourish themselves and grow through their Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) practice. Here they share how TM has helped them become their best selves, while weathering the challenges of work, family, and motherhood.

''TM Has Been the Greatest Gift in My Life!''
Krista Kiaha, California

''When I first learned TM, my five children were all under the age of 10,'' writes Krista Kiaha, 44, an archaeologist and manager of the Environmental Planning branch of the California Department of Transportation. ''As a single mom, I didn't know how I would be able to find 20 minutes by myself to meditate.''

Krista Kiaha with her children (clockwise), Kawailani, 14,
Keakeaalani, 10, Kaimana, 12, Keanu, 7, and Kekoa, 5
But Krista found ways to fit her TM practice into her kids' lives. ''I'd meditate on the bed next to my one-year old. If he woke up, I'd let him lay on my lap while I finished, and he'd fall asleep again quickly,'' she says.

''Now, after four years, my kids are so used to me meditating that I'm rarely disturbed,'' she adds. ''I just get up 30 minutes before I anticipate them waking up, and meditate where the boys are sleeping. If they wake up, they know I'm meditating. I just whisper I'll be done in a few minutes, and they quietly wait for me to be done.''

''A More Calm, Relaxed, and Fun Mom''

Krista also finds her car to be a life-saver: ''I usually try to get my evening meditation done in my car after work before coming home. The car is really a great place to do TM undisturbed.''

The benefits of her TM practice have been many. ''TM has helped me to be a more calm, relaxed, and fun mom. I am able to handle the stresses of their squabbles and demands much more easily. I also feel that they are calmer after I meditate,'' Krista says. ''TM has been the greatest gift in my life!''

''Faced with a Really Difficult Time in My Life''

Learning the TM technique played a significant role in helping Krista through an especially challenging transition. She'd been interested in TM long before, ''but it intimidated me to contact someone, so I figured the right time would present itself,'' she recalls.

''Fast forward many years, and I was faced with a really difficult time in my life. My marriage was ending, despite my hopes it could be repaired. I had five young children and was heartbroken, yet I knew I needed to move on with my life and heal,'' shares Krista.

''Moving on to Higher and Greater Things''

. . . . Krista found a friend's invitation to a talk on TM [one] evening. . . . Full of gratitude and a desire for forgiveness, and remembering her earlier interest in TM, she said, ''Yes.''

''When the TM teacher started talking, I was enthralled. Every word he spoke seemed to resonate . . . . I knew then and there that the knowledge he was presenting was meant for me,'' she says. '' 'How do I learn?' I asked. And within a week I had been given the greatest tool in my life! By the time the divorce date had come and gone, I was meditating regularly and moving on to higher and greater things in my life.''

''Meditation Keeps Me Calm through the Storm''
Vanessa A. Carter-Bos, Florida

Vanessa A. Carter-Bos, with her sons Vincent Bos, 19, and
Ivane Bos, 14, and their ''Shepsky'' dog Zeus
''I am a meditating mom, but I first sought out Transcendental Meditation in college, to relieve the anxieties of being a student with my first serious, working-world job,'' writes Vanessa Carter-Bos, 49, of Holiday, Florida, where she's raising two sons as a single mom. She provides customer service for companies from home.

Vanessa's passion is sewing the creative clothing and accessories offered in her Etsy shop, Scorpio Twins. When she reflects on the impact of her TM practice, she notes its stress-relieving effects and how it enables greater ''flow'' in everyday activity. ''The main thing I've noticed from the beginning is that when I meditate daily, things just seem to flow naturally and fall into place without causing stress,'' she says.

While giving birth to her first child at 30, Vanessa intuitively decided to meditate between contractions. Her mother and twin sister were in the delivery room with her and remember this vividly.

''They said the monitors would show that I was having a strong contraction, but it seemed like I was sleeping through them,'' Vanessa says. ''I still laugh at that, because I know I felt every contraction and was not sleeping—I was meditating like there was no tomorrow!''

Based on that and other experiences, ''I would say that meditation keeps me calm through the storm, even though I am very aware of the storm,'' she says.

''TM Has Been My Partner in Raising These Kids with a Loving Heart and a Calm Mind''

Wanting to share this tool for handling life's ups and downs with grace and resilience, Vanessa introduced it to her sons, who took the TM course three years ago.

''Vincent, my firstborn, who's now 20 and working full-time, usually invites me to meditate with him,'' she says. ''He has had his share of life stresses, but I believe meditation has helped him keep a calm head through it all. Our slogan is: 'More Meditation, Less Medication.' ''

Her second son, Ivane, who's in high school now, isn't as interested in meditating at this time. ''But I am confident that he knows how to do it and that it will cycle into his life when he most needs it,'' says Vanessa.

Vanessa closes by saying, ''As a single mom, TM has been my partner in raising these kids with a loving heart, a calm mind, and the strength to know that I can remain calm, even through the difficulties of my life.''

SOURCE: Excerpts from article originally published on Mother's Day, 2018 in Enjoy TM News.

Global Good News will feature more women's stories from ''Meditating Moms 2''.

Copyright © 2018 Maharishi Foundation USA

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