Students can achieve the goals of wisdom, happiness, academic success, and get the best out of all aspects of life through Consciousness-Based Education.

'The best education for any child anywhere in the world'
by Global Good News staff writer
9 January 2009

'The best education for any child anywhere in the world.' These are the words of a Chilean couple who moved to Fairfield, Iowa, USA, leaving friends, family, culture, and job behind. The reason: They wanted their children to attend Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment. They rejoice in their decision  saying: 'We are seeing them every day growing in terms of wisdom, happiness, and academic skills, so much so that we cannot think of a better legacy to leave them for getting the best out of life.'

The special feature of Maharishi School
The focus of education at this school is the full development of consciousness of every student. This Consciousness-Based Education is 'education for enlightenment'— education for living 200% of life—100% full inner self-awareness and 100% outer achievement.

Offering traditional academic study along with the arts, physical education, and a multitude of extracurricular activities, the Maharishi School adds a special element, Maharishi Vedic Science—the practice of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) Technique and its advanced programmes, and the principles of the Vedic knowledge, from where the techniques come.

In the Hall of Bliss
In the morning, the liveliness of arrival at Maharishi School is quickly replaced by a peaceful silence. The students are seated in the Hall of Bliss, settling down in their morning meditation to give a wonderful start to the school day. During their TM practice, the students naturally and effortlessly experience their own deep inner silence, enlivening coherent, total brain functioning. The result: The students are able to use more of their creative genius and thereby experience greater fulfilment and success in all that they do.

The children speak
The words of the children themselves offer delightful confirmation of the success of their TM practice. In the book, Growing Up Enlightened, authors Sanford and Randi Nidich quote Maharishi School children of all ages. First, they quote students under 10, who practise a special Children's TM Technique, relating what they feel during TM and some of its effects in their daily activity.

First grader, Johnny: '"I feel great. I feel happy. I feel good. I feel nice. I feel loving."'

Second grader, Bobby: '"I feel very intelligent inside."'

Third grader Allan: ''"I feel happy when I meditate. It is fun, too. It makes me learn better every day."

The older students, starting in grade 4, practise the TM Technique as it is practised by adults. A taste of their experiences in offered in Growing Up Enlightened.

Sixth grader, Arnie: '"When I meditate, I am happy and glowing. Sometimes I get a very profound feeling like I am floating on a cloud."'

Fourth grader, Jim: '"I feel more creative. Inside of me, I feel more calm and relaxed. I feel like I can do anything."'

Tenth grader, Gail: '"It usually feels like you're submerging into a deep ocean of quietness and peacefulness. It is unlike any kind of rest or sleep that one experiences if one is not practising the TM Technique. Once in a while, when I've submerged into the quietness, my body becomes one with everything."'

Fourth grader, Jesse: '"I feel relaxed, peaceful. It is neat because my mind gets cleared instantly."'

Tenth grader: '"I've learned more in one semester here than I learned in an entire year at my previous school."'

Twelfth grader: '"There are a lot of different interest groups, but the school has a wholeness, a unity that works together.

Alumni reflect on their Consciousness-Based Education
The 'Consciousness-Based' value of Maharishi School extends into the academic subjects where the deep, underlying reality of life, experienced through the practice of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation, is seen in all aspects of life. In expressing what they gained through their Maharishi School education, alumni speak of both the growth of values—such as inner peace, confidence, creativity, and the ability to develop good relationships—and the tremendous significance of seeing the underlying connectedness of everything.

Kelley Malloy, daughter of Fairfield Mayor Ed and his wife Vicki Malloy, told her parents: '"I really liked the deep friendships I made with the other students and with many of the teachers. It always felt like one big extended family. I also enjoyed being in a school where the atmosphere is saturated with the calming influence of meditation. For me, it made the whole learning experience more enjoyable.

'"Everything my instructors taught us always had a wholeness point. This point would relate to the subject we were studying and to ourselves. This knowledge created a huge unifying experience for me because I realized how everything is connected to everything else, not only in Nature but in my self."'

Ben Podoll, Class of 1993: The teachers at Maharishi School instilled in me an understanding of universal connectedness; learning something new just seems like a natural extension of something I already know. >From my perspective today, I see the whole map—and getting to where I want to go is just a matter of following the most effortless and logical path. Thank you, teachers. We want our children to have every bit as inspiring an education as we had."'

Arjuna and Lucie Martlin, Class of 1993: Attending Maharishi School  was one of the greatest privileges of our lives. . . .To grow up in this atmosphere of overwhelming positivity has allowed us as adults to aim high with our goals and go after these goals with confidence because we believe in and have experienced the infinite creative potential within ourselves."'

Heidi Cleveland, Class of 1992: '"My appreciation of Maharishi School continues to grow with every year. I think that Maharishi School instilled in us a sense of self-confidence, awareness and peace that becomes increasingly evident with the passing of time. In college [Dartmouth College], I realized that the comprehension, writing and presentation skills I learned were at or above the level of my colleagues from respected east coast prep schools. In the positions I have had held since college, I have succeeded with creativity, problem-solving skills and the ability to develop strong, profitable relationships with customers. I feel that many of these qualities are the  result of the unique environment created by the teachers at Maharishi School. However, I think that the most important gift that Maharishi School bestows upon every student is the belief that there are limitless possibilities in life, and that we truly can fulfill all of our dreams and desires. For this, I am eternally grateful."'

Consciousness-Based Education for all children
Having heard from the students and alumni of Maharishi School, it is not surprising that the Chilean couple, who moved to Fairfield, expressed their desire for all parents to be able to 'achieve these goals for their precious children'. Now any parent can achieve the goals of wisdom, happiness, academic success, and getting the best out of all aspects of life for their children as Consciousness-Based Education is quickly spreading throughout the world.

The seed sown by the Consciousness-Based schools which have existed for many years—in England, India, New Zealand, Australia, and Holland, as well as the United States—are sprouting today on all continents. Called 'Invincibility Schools', these schools truly offer 'education for enlightenment' to all children through Maharishi's Consciousness-Based Education.

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