Tell us about yourself Mete?
I am originally from Istanbul, Turkey. Studied college and lived/worked in Chicago for 11 years and moved to London 4 years ago. I have been working in quantitative trading at various trading firms and hedge funds as a trader and manager.
How is life?
Life is pretty good to be honest, really cannot complain. Quite happy with how things have turned out in my career, family and I am quite grateful.
How many years have you been Meditating?
It has been 3 years since I have started practising Transcendental Meditation.
What drew you to Meditation in the first place?
I was at a quite miserable spot in my previous job. It was quite stressful and amount of money I earned definitely did not justify the torture back then. I quit without planning the next steps which was something I never did before and that made me even more stressed because of the ambiguity in my future right around when I was getting married as well.(Being a Turkish citizen finding a job that sponsors you in London could be quite challenging when there is a big-time pressure.)As I was researching potential tools and techniques, and after a few failed solo attempts at meditation, I found out about Transcendental Meditation on an online post. Reading wonderful various reviews of many people, I decided to give it a shot.
What first 3 words come to mind when describing the benefits of your Meditation Practise?
Bliss, clarity of mind and inner peace
How has it affected you in the workplace?
The nature of our job is quite stressful in the day and the meditation puts me into a state of mind where the challenges become fun and easy. I don’t lose my composure easily and always have the energy to attack the next problem or mission. The effect got compounded over the time and I achieved success that I couldn’t possibly dream of but really it did not even feel difficult.
Outside of work has there been many changes?
Outside of work the benefits were huge as well. First of all, let’s say after 5-6 months into your Transcendental Meditation (may vary from person to person) you realize the real happiness what we can call bliss comes internally from the mind and I cannot think of anything else that triggers it more than Transcendental Meditation including some of the popular drugs such as MDMA , marijuana etc. When you actually figure that out, you realize you really don’t need external triggers in fact you know external triggers are not going to be as good and satisfying so you stop feeling FOMO or unhappy when you miss parties or when you cannot travel or when things don’t happen the way you planned it in general. Similarly, you stop caring or feeling bad about little or even big things that go wrong in your life. If your boss yells at you or if some guy steals your spot in a queue or if you have an argument with your spouse, you don’t feel as angry or unhappy anymore. Ironically though, it does not make you oblivious in any way, it just becomes a lot easier to handle your negative emotions while trying to resolve a challenge It is definitely a life changing skill and experience. Everyone’s goal in life is to ultimately be happy.
Why would you recommend Meditation to Colleagues and Friends?
Everyone can have different goals and means to reach that happiness but the goal is the same. Meditation is the most powerful tool I have experienced so far that can get you to happiness in the fastest way.
Finally, anything you would like to add?
One of the greatest things about learning Transcendental Meditation is you get lifetime support from Andre as well as joining a community of people that are passionate about this practise. Having access to him and this community of experienced meditators is crucial because the reality is learning to meditate is not the easiest thing in the world. Everyone talks about meditation, and probably attempted at some point in their lives yet still a small percentage of the population meditates regularly and gets these great benefits. Lot of people give up easily just like the way I did before starting my course with Andre. Along with self dedication, discipline and patience, It requires external support until reaching a certain level and then it becomes the greatest habit that is almost impossible to ever give up. Having access to him beyond the 4 days of courses is crucial. One really masters this art by sharing his own experience to get feedback and learning from other meditator’s experiences.
For more information on upcoming events including courses on Transcendental Meditation please contact me directly at hello@andreberrymeditation.co.uk
