Transcendental Meditation (or “TM”) came to me at a time in my life when I didn’t know what else to do. I was making myself sick through stress; I would literally have body aches.

As soon as I learned meditation, the discomfort went away. That’s because I accepted it. I didn’t go into TM with doubt; I went in hoping that it could work. I’d tried everything at that point.

But meditation is not like somebody telling you something. It’s like you are telling yourself.

With my kids, I used to feel very agitated. As soon as I heard them scream or make any little noise, I would yell back, “Ahh! Stop!” I was constantly screaming. I didn’t want to deal with them. I kept them away from me a lot because I was sad—really sad.

I just felt like everything was nagging—too much noise and too much responsibility. That’s what I didn’t want for myself at the time: responsibility. But the meditation helped me accept the situation and not look at it as too much to do. It took away that overwhelming feeling when I dealt with them. And, now, I enjoy hearing them. Because the meditation made me rethink what’s happy and what’s not happy. And enjoying their happiness is what I should be happy about now. It made me realize: “They didn’t do anything to me! Why am I upset with them? They’re here to make me happy! As little as they are right now, I should enjoy it.”

I can’t ask for nothing more, nothing better. I can say that TM is the best self-medication. It’s medication that you don’t have to get prescribed. If you want to take that pill, you can take it. If you don’t, you stay sick. I think that’s your choice.

If you want to figure yourself out, sit for a while and take time for yourself. You have to find yourself before anything else comes about.

Everything in my life is so bright now.

--Samantha White.  Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Samantha White is no stranger to adversity. After growing up in a dysfunctional household, she was motivated to start working at the early age of 14, as a dental assistant. Since then, she has constantly sought opportunities for growth. Now, a mother of three, White prioritizes self-reflection and being in tune with her inner self, so that she may provide the love and care for her children that was absent in her own childhood. She learned Transcendental Meditation in October 2013, through the David Lynch Foundation’s partnership with the Brooklyn Family Justice Center (BKFJC), which provides a wide variety of services to victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking.