Mastery of awareness requires that you never take personal offense.

As a physician who was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, getting drunk on weekends, stressed out about having 35 patients in the hospital, and not being able to help either them or myself, I had my existential crisis way before I met Maharishi. I did meet him and he was an influence, but I met many other people as well.

The more expanded your sense of self, the more possibilities are released from the level of the soul.

You are no more in your body than Beethoven is inside your radio.

Your very existence is evidence of your innate creativity. In every moment you are co-creating your reality through your thoughts, your intentions, your words and your actions.

My father was a doctor, an army cardiologist.

Ask yourself, "Is there anything in my life that is causing me to feel a sense of unease, discomfort, or pain?" You can choose a persistent issue that has bothered you for years, or it may be something that has recently come up for you. While it's fine to focus on a chronic, physical disorder, don't approach this exercise as a cure - we're focusing on patterns of perception that encourage us to hold onto suffering.