Super Mind. A book by Norman E. Rosenthal

CLICK TO FIND OUT HOW MEDITATION CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

In his best-selling Transcendence, Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal looked at the effects of Transcendental Meditation on our body and physical health. He has now dived even deeper. Dr. Norm’s 2nd book — SUPER MIND: How to Boost Performance and Live a Richer and Happier Life Through Transcendental Meditation — is about the root of it all.

super mind book chapters Norman rosenthal — **THE MIND BEHIND THE SUPER MIND:** Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal is the world-renowned researcher and psychiatrist who first diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and light therapy to treat it. Besides his latest, “*Super Mind,”* he is the author of eight other books including “Transcendence,” a New York Times best-seller, and “The Gift of Adversity,” a LA Times best-seller.

How to upgrade yourself to a 24/7 Super Mind

Dr. Rosenthal, your new book has a very catchy title. Could you please tell us what is the Super Mind?

NORMAN E. ROSENTHAL: The Super Mind is a mental state comprising expanded consciousness, reduced stress, and the emergence of better physical health and life-enhancing personal qualities.

Sounds great… but is it really possible to get there?

NORMAN E. ROSENTHAL: It turns out that our ordinary states of consciousness – sleeping, waking, and dreaming – that are familiar to all of us do not offer us a full picture of the possibilities for human consciousness.

CLICK TO FIND OUT HOW MEDITATION CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

Specifically, when people meditate using the TM technique, they experience a state of transcendence. Now, I want to point out that as people continue to meditate, this state of transcendence moves into their everyday lives, side by side with everything else that they’re doing. So this is what I mean by “expanded consciousness,” and it appears to be the key to some of the remarkable life-enhancing changes that occur as we develop the Super Mind.

How does it feel?

NORMAN E. ROSENTHAL: When a person transcends, the feeling is often one of bliss and quiet as the body and mind settle down.

Transcendence has been called “pure consciousness,” because although you may be alert, you are not thinking about anything in particular. Boundaries seem to dissolve – such as exactly where you are or what time it is. Time may seem to pass quickly. Sometimes people aren’t even aware of what has happened while they have been meditating – just that they feel physically and mentally refreshed and invigorated when they emerge.

So isn’t it rather distracting when transcendence enters daily consciousness? In other words, as we develop a Super Mind, doesn’t it cause hick-ups in our normal, regular life?

CLICK TO FIND OUT HOW MEDITATION CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

NORMAN E. ROSENTHAL: Not at all. People describe it as operating on two channels simultaneously: On one channel, there is a sense of calm steadiness or heightened awareness or both; on the other channel, a person goes about all his or her usual activities, often with greater skill and effectiveness than before.

VIDEO: Dr. Rosenthal introduces his new book, Super Mind

What you will find in Super Mind: A few telling excerpts

“In this book, I will describe many instances of people who have enjoyed the transformative changes that accompany expanding consciousness. These people include superperformers in their chosen field, which I would claim is no accident. I now think that all high performers have in common, knowingly or unknowingly, qualities and characteristics of the Super Mind. That is, they are calm under pressure and uncannily resilient to stress. They take care of their health, set high standards of innovation and creativity, and are not only intensely engaged in their actions but also capable of detaching when need be. They choose their projects carefully, keep the big picture in mind, and ignore trifling details. It is not necessary, however, to be a superperformer in order to develop your Super Mind. What matters is to reach your own potential, not some idealized standard.” — p. 6-7

“Some have compared our different states of consciousness to wearing different colored glasses. Red glasses will make the world look red, blue glasses blue. According to this metaphor, the Super Mind allows you to wear colorless glasses — so that you see everything clearly, in its actual color.” — p. 11

CLICK TO FIND OUT HOW MEDITATION CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

“I will show you [in this book] how the gifts of the Super Mind occasionally occur soon, but generally develop over time. These gifts include better physical well-being and mental functioning […], being in the zone and accelerated inner growth […], the curious way in which people feel luckier after starting to meditate, as though they are being supported by the world around them. […] I will explain how, as consciousness grows, people can almost automatically attain happiness and sometimes even wealth.” — p. 13

“[In the last part of the book,] I will show you how the developing Super Mind can transform people’s lives, and how the Super Mind develops to such an extent that they experience this state of consciousness and its benefits continuously through the twenty-four-hour day — a state that has traditionally been called Cosmic Consciousness. […] I will then introduce you to a less typical way in which consciousness may develop — by “transcendent surprises,” intense mystical experiences that arise unbidden (and therefore cannot be planned), but that can have powerful long-term repercussions. In the final chapter, I will briefly discuss how the Super Mind keeps growing beyond our individual concerns, thereby providing a channel for greater connection between and among individuals, their fellow human beings, and the universe as a whole.” — p. 13