Stories of Transformation

I started meditation about five years ago at the Main Line Meditation Center. Since I started this practice, I’ve seen many changes within myself — honestly the list is too long to write down. So I’ll share a few.

Prior to starting the meditation, I lived on a very dramatic scale of emotions. I cried a lot, I had a lot of anger most days, and I took that anger out on the people around me. It was really difficult for me to express myself to others. I lived in fear of how others perceived me and whether they would really accept me for who I am.

Through the meditation, my emotions have become more balanced. I lived really wound tight before. Even more than my mind feeling less cluttered, my body honestly feels more relaxed, and I don’t feel so overwhelmed in my day-to-day. I can make decisions and choices in my life more clearly and confidently in what my true path is. It really feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

This meditation is finding happiness, finding your true self, and really understanding the meaning of coexistence. If you’re searching because you’re feeling lost, because you went through something difficult, or maybe you just heard the meditation was great — no matter where you are in life, this meditation is everything. It has changed my life, and it’s extremely powerful. We should give it a try.

“Life-Changing” Isn’t an Overstatement

As a general dentist, I was dealing with serious stress, anxiety, and — frankly — depression. I didn’t want to take medication. I was actively looking for another way.

This meditation has been life-changing. To say it’s helped me in every way is an understatement. I don’t feel anxiety the way I used to. I don’t worry. I don’t get caught up in my thoughts. My relationships are better. I’m more comfortable at work. My overall health and anxiety level are in a completely different place than before I came here.

The tenfold math is real: whatever time you spend meditating, you get it back tenfold — in hours you’re no longer losing to worry, overthinking, and bickering with people in your life. If you think you’re too busy for this, I’d gently say the math is backward.

What makes this style different is utility. I’ve tried other meditations. You feel calmer while you’re sitting in the room — but the effect doesn’t travel. With the subtraction method, you can use what you learn from day one, in the middle of a stressful day. You can be at ease in the world, not just when your eyes are closed in a quiet room.

My 20s were hard. I had major emotional ups and downs, and I was trying everything to get out from under them. Five different psychologists. A psychiatrist. A men’s group. Personal development programs. Stacks of self-help books. Everything helped a little, for a little while, and then I’d be back where I started.

A friend told me about a meditation method and said something that stuck with me: that it could pull out the root. Find the cause, not just manage the symptoms. I’d never heard anyone describe it that way. I went.

It started working almost immediately. Within the first week at the center, the heavy mental burden I’d been carrying began to lift. I was sleeping better than I had in years — I’d been on sleeping pills for eight years at that point, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t need them the same way. The doctor visits that had become part of my routine — every two weeks for chronic things that never quite resolved — stopped too.

After six months I flew to the main center in South Korea to go deeper. Sitting with those lectures on truth and the nature of the universe made everything click. I came back committed in a way I hadn’t been before.

The biggest change, though, was with my dad. I’d been distant from him for years, carrying a quiet collection of judgments I’d treated as facts. When I actually looked at them in meditation, I saw it clearly: I was the one who had built them. He was living his life; I was building the story about him. When I let that story go, something shifted. We’re close friends now. That’s still the thing I can’t quite believe.

Eight years in, what I notice most is how much joy shows up in ordinary moments. Driving to work. Walking around. Things that used to be background noise are just — good, now. If you’re looking for something that actually goes to the root, this was the thing for me.

I’m 12, and I’ve been coming to meditation for about two years — since I was 10. I know that sounds young. But kids have stress too. Not the same kind adults do, but it stacks up: school, friends, family stuff, what people think of you. I needed somewhere to put it down.

The biggest thing for me is what changed at home. My whole family meditates now. We used to argue a lot — the normal kind, where everyone’s stressed and nobody’s really listening. That’s different now. We can actually sit down and talk. We listen to each other’s opinions without getting defensive about it. We respect each other more. That wasn’t true before.

I know meditation sounds weird to some people. Maybe like a joke. It’s really not. It helps — a lot — and I think more people should try it.

Seven years ago I was in a life I wanted out of. I hated my job and felt it as a weight I dragged around every day. I was lonely. I had nightmares. When things got hard, I’d go shopping to run away from whatever was actually going on. That was the loop.

I started this meditation practice because I wanted something real, not just temporary relief. I want to be honest about that — people sometimes think meditation is about managing stress for the next hour. For me, it’s been something different. My life is genuinely not the same as it was.

The shopping pattern is gone. I don’t hate my job. When I’m working on a task now, I can actually focus — I’m not interrupted by a constant stream of thoughts. My confidence in my work, especially the decisions I make as a manager, has soared beyond anything I thought was possible. I’m not lonely. The nightmares stopped.

I’m sharing this because I want other people to have the chance to try it. That’s the only reason I made the video. I genuinely want you to know this is possible.

Leaving Survival Mode: How We Found Our True Selves Together

Kara: I originally sought out the meditation center because I was simply exhausted from overthinking. I was struggling with the grief of losing loved ones and felt entirely empty inside, even though I pretended to everyone else that everything was fine. Initially, I struggled with doubt, wondering if I was doing the subtraction practice correctly. But over time, the stress truly disappeared. My mornings have changed completely; I no longer feel the compulsive need to create exhaustive lists just to feel a false sense of control over my life.

Matthew: I had reached absolute rock bottom. I was facing severe financial instability and living entirely in what I can only describe as “survival mode.” I used to look for any distraction I could find — bars, the gym, loud music — anything to escape the reality I needed to face. Through the subtraction method, I stopped avoiding difficult situations. I procrastinate far less, and my speech is much more sincere.

Together: We now share goals that aren’t based on selfish desires. When conflicts arise between us, instead of arguing just to win the fight, we use the method. We recognize the need for space, step back, and reflect. This practice has given us a deeper connection characterized by genuine understanding and deep respect for one another.

Letting Go of the False Mind: Overcoming Suffocating Thoughts

I always considered myself to have a bright and energetic personality, but after a series of difficult and tormenting events late one year, I found myself mentally exhausted and entirely unable to sleep well. I was terrified that I would literally lose my mind or harm my body because of the suffocating weight of my depression.

I sought out the level 1 meditation program to escape. The core of the process involved actively reflecting upon and discarding specific thoughts and emotions from my mind. It was not easy at first — disturbing anxieties would frequently surge to the surface. But with the caring, personal training from the meditation guides, I maintained my will to sit down and continue the practice.

Eventually, I reached a profound cognitive realization: my mass of stifling and depressing thoughts were all false. By understanding that these thoughts were not my actual reality, I concluded that I no longer needed to be swayed by them. There was absolutely no need for my mind or body to suffer. Today, I feel much freer, and that heavy mass of depression has disappeared.