The Modern-Day, Generic Meditator – Who It Is And How To Tell If You’re One

Honestly, meditator is barely a word. Google even asked me, “Did you mean: define mediator?” But really, practicing a meditation technique is not all that abnormal in 2015. How many of you had “meditate regularly” on your list of New Year’s resolutions? Be honest! Medical Daily writer Stephanie Castillo agrees: “It would seem the conversation surrounding meditation is no longer concerned with the ‘why;’ it’s undeniable the practice elevates health and wellness.”

But whether you call them “meditators” or the more grammatically correct “people who meditate,” the question still stands – who are these people? In the ‘60s, you could stereotype anyone who meditated as a hippie, and you were probably right. Not so today! The variety of people who practice Transcendental Meditation is as wide as the sky (literally; they circle the earth). You don’t have to be into spirituality to be into TM, or wear flowy clothes, or be from a certain religious background, or believe anything at all, really. The technique fits into any lifestyle.

Some of the last people on earth you would typically expect to see meditating practice the Transcendental Meditation technique, and some of them have been practicing it for decades! Among them are the founder and president of the largest hedge fund in the world, Ray Dalio; NYC-based fashion blogger Madison Stephens; tech entrepreneur Blake Ian; pro soccer coach Alejandro Altamirano Sandroni; Jerry Seinfeld; and soldiers and veterans of the US Armed Forces.

David Lynch, when asked about the apparent incongruity between his work and his Transcendental Meditation practice, answered, “That’s the whole thing… You have a foundation you can leap off and go to any place you want. If your life is really scattered, there’s not a lot of time to sit and let the mind go freely. But if you can meditate and expand that consciousness each time you transcend, you catch ideas at a deeper level, you have more energy, more intuition, more comprehension… And it’s amazing because you get more and more creative—you find ways to solve problems. That creativity within is an ocean of solutions to our problems. Things start getting better and better.”

In other words, the 20 minutes twice a day spent practicing the TM technique has nothing to do with what you choose to make of the other 23 hours and 20 minutes of your day (except in the sense that it probably enhances your ability to enjoy and excel at whatever you do). #HumbleBrag

TL;DR There is no longer a “generic meditator” (if there ever was). Transcendental Meditation is for anyone and everyone.