Why does one of the richest men in the world practice Transcendental meditation

Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. His work in the investment arena has changed the landscape of the industry. He is so confident in his firm's ability to generate returns that he now gives life lessons and principles on how to manage a fund, investments, and life. He is so confident that no one can replicate his success that he has made the basic principles of his flagship fund public.

Ray Dalio is now a sort of grandfatherly figure, considering he has been in the investment industry for over 30 years now. His advice, his comments, about macroeconomics (his forte), and various asset classes in a particular, matter. Basically, when he speaks, the press listens. Therefore it was quite peculiar when a few years ago he revealed that he has been practicing Transcendental Meditation for decades!

When, Why, How?

Apparently, Ray Dalio picked up this habit when Transcendental Meditation became quite the rage in the US a few decades. It was even revealed that one of the Beatles practices it. Transcendental Meditation involves the help of a master, who gives you a specific phrase, and it is specific to you, that you use during the meditation. It can supposedly not be initiated without a master.

Ray Dalio does 10 mins of Transcendental Meditation throughout the workday. He says it helps to center him and think more clearly. He credits this practice with his success in the business world and even promotes it among his employees.

But does it really help? well, if Ray Dalio says it helps him, I don't think we can question it. In fact, if anyone finds strength or benefit in a certain practice for decades, no one can really claim otherwise. 

But what is going on here?

Why does it help?

Traditional meditation practices are aimed to help develop mindfulness, i.e. to be here and now. Essentially concentration and focus in the moment. Practitioners claim it helps develop focus and clarity, similar to the claims made by Ray Dalio. Therefore what might be going on with Transcendental Meditation is that it provides Ray Dalio a 'reset' from his obviously extremely busy workday, and practice his 'mindfulness muscle'. This may even be akin to a sort of 'break', which will have its own therapeutic value.

It is also generally believed that mindfulness meditation can help lower stress and anxiety with regular practice. No doubt factors that can improve corporate life. It is not far fetched to believe that perhaps the practice is also used as a 'relaxation exercise', again providing relief from a busy corporate life.

What does it mean for me?

The science on mindfulness is very definitive in terms of its benefits and a real-life example of Ray Dalio certainly adds weight to the argument for it. However for those who may still find it 'woo woo', let me add that I do not believe the lesson here is to practice Transcendental meditation.

I believe the lesson to be able to have some kind of practice that takes you away for a while, perhaps to relax, perhaps its slightly more proactive. Progressive Muscle Relaxation may work for some, Self-hypnosis may work for others, and you know what, a simple game of ping pong may be what works for someone else. Everyone is different and the answer might be different for everyone too.

In reality, I believe it's up to us to figure out what works best for us. Transcendental Meditation may have worked for Ray Dalio, but perhaps for you, its something else.

Umair Usman is a Rapid Transformational Therapy Practitioner, a businessperson, and a blogger. You can know more about him at www.thecognitiveconsultants.com. To book a free consultancy session, please fill the form https://tinyurl.com/y6n2vv8w