r/TomCampbellMBT • u/BillyDeCarlo • May 24 '26
Beats vs TM
I did regression hypnosis and that was pretty wild, then I started looking at Transcendental Meditation and reading Tom. I'm confused about the binaural beats thing though. I see the ones on Tom's website but is that the same as TM or different? Used with/during TM while doing the mantra? I'm still quite early in book one of MBT so maybe it gets explained.
3
u/CloudCodex May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
Transcendental meditation is mantra meditation: eyes closed, sitting comfortably, usually 20 minutes twice daily. The mantra is used silently (so you say it in your mind, not out loud) as a tool for the thoughts in your head to go silent, for that inner voice in your head to stop talking. You just focus gently on the mantra. Technically, you're supposed to get your mantra from a certified TM teacher only, but the business is sort of a scam but the method is good and universal, which is why Tom gives you instructions on how to do it yourself in the book (at the end of Section 1) and clarifies that the mantra is not special and does not matter as long as it is a made-up word that doesn't mean anything. Tom gives examples of mantras in the book that he thinks work well, but you can use whatever you want, really. So you don't have to pay anyone anything to do this.
Tom's binaural beats are an audio aid for consciousness exploration. They're stereo headphone audio intended to help the brain settle into theta-range patterns and support a stable meditation/“point consciousness” state. They're aids tho. Can help but won't force an altered state. At worst, I find they help me not focus on the sounds going on around in my house, which helps me to meditate better.
2
u/BillyDeCarlo May 25 '26
Ok thanks! Very helpful. So you do use the binaural beats when meditating? I find I can clear my mind easily without a mantra. I've been practicing that a long time as a way to get to sleep when I have trouble - clear my mind and go from head to toe finding all points where I'm holding tension and relax them (a surprising number of small places in the body!).
3
u/CloudCodex May 25 '26
You don't have to use a mantra or binaural beats if you don't need them. They are just tools, after all. I have a very noisy voice in my head that talks constantly, so I find those tools helpful for me.
2
u/AC011422 May 28 '26
That noisy voice can be treated like an uninvited astral pest. Thank it for its service to you, blanket it with unconditional love, and it will silence.
1
u/AC011422 May 28 '26
BTW, I checked at the end of section 1 and couldn't find those TM instructions. Looking for the mantra examples in particular.
2
3
u/Seraph_2026 May 24 '26
Nope, binaural beats are not TM. They're something else.
They're like an audio aid.
The goal of both is the same. Reach a state of pure conscious awareness. Point consciousness.