Science of the Self
“Truly, there is nothing so purifying in this world as knowledge. He who is perfected in Yoga finds this knowledge within himself in time.”
— Bhagavad Gita 4:38
Trauma is not confined to the body or the psyche. It severs the human being from the very fabric of existence—consciousness. It fragments identity, distorts temporal awareness, and contracts the scope of what the nervous system can perceive and integrate. Yet beneath the fractured layers of trauma lies a deeper, indestructible field, what Maharishi Mahesh Yogi refers to as pure consciousness, and what contemporary theoretical physics describes as the unified field.
At Wolf Yoga, we understand trauma not merely as a psychological wound, but as a disruption in the natural alignment between the nervous system and the field of consciousness. Our approach integrates Transcendental Meditation (TM), Ayurvedic principles, yoga asanas, and Vedic psychology to restore the nervous system to its innate coherence. The goal is not only to reduce symptoms, but to reestablish identity in alignment with Being.
What Is Consciousness?
According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Vedic tradition, consciousness is not a byproduct of brain function, but the fundamental field from which all material phenomena emerge. It is self-referral, unbounded, eternal reality. Consciousness is structured in layers or states, each with correlating neurophysiological signatures.
Modern physics, through Unified Field Theory, confirms this perspective. As proposed by leading quantum physicists like Dr. John Hagelin, the unified field is a single, self-interacting, dynamic source field from which all matter and forces arise. Maharishi identified this unified field with pure consciousness, a field of infinite possibility, divine order, and intelligence.
When the individual mind transcends surface activity and accesses this field, it aligns with the cosmos. This experience is not abstract. It has measurable, reproducible effects on brain function, immune health, and emotional regulation.
The Seven States of Consciousness
Maharishi delineates seven distinct states of consciousness, of which the first three, waking, dreaming, and sleeping, are considered relative states. The higher states are only accessible through the stabilization of pure consciousness.
Waking State (Jagrat): Active awareness, related to sensory engagement and external perception.
Dreaming State (Swapna): Internally generated imagery and thought patterns, not grounded in objective time-space.
Deep Sleep (Sushupti): Absence of thought or awareness.
Trauma often causes disorganized cycling between these first three states, with intrusion (waking), dissociation (dreaming), and emotional numbing (deep sleep). Survivors can become trapped in what neuroscientists call limbic hijacking, dominated by the amygdala and cut off from higher cortical function.
Through regular practice of TM, the individual gradually stabilizes access to:
Transcendental Consciousness (Turiya): Silence without dullness; alertness without content. The subjective experience of the unified field.
Cosmic Consciousness: Permanent establishment of Transcendental Consciousness in waking, dreaming, and sleep states.
God Consciousness: Perception of the divine in all phenomena; heart-based unity.
Unity Consciousness: The final state in which the individual Self and cosmic Self are fully merged. All dualities are resolved. There is only one Being, knowing itself through all forms.
Trauma as a Collapse of Integration
From a neurological standpoint, trauma disables the brain’s integrative structures, particularly the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and insula. The amygdala remains hyperactive, sustaining states of hypervigilance, emotional reactivity, or freeze. This results in fragmented memory, time distortion, dissociation, and a loss of narrative coherence.
In Vedic terms, trauma shrinks the field of consciousness available to the individual. The full range of perception, emotion, and identity becomes collapsed into survival and fear. The person becomes identified not with their higher Self, but with suffering encoded into the body.
Transcendental Meditation as Therapeutic Intervention
Transcendental Meditation, unlike concentration or mindfulness-based practices, is an effortless technique that allows the mind to settle inward to quieter levels of thought until transcendence is met. The result is the experience of pure consciousness, unbounded, eternal, bliss, and profound healing.
Peer-reviewed research demonstrates that Transcendental Meditation (TM) produces measurable neurophysiological changes conducive to trauma recovery:
Deactivation of the amygdala, the brain's fear center, leading to decreased emotional reactivity and hypervigilance (Orme-Johnson et al., 2011; Leach et al., 2015).
Restoration of prefrontal cortex function, enhancing executive control, emotional regulation, empathy, and decision-making (Travis & Shear, 2010; Mahone et al., 2018).
Increased alpha wave coherence, indicating heightened integration across brain regions and states of relaxed alertness—associated with creativity, resilience, and cognitive flexibility (Travis et al., 2009).
Improved heart rate variability (HRV), a biomarker of autonomic nervous system flexibility and vagal tone, reflecting better adaptation to stress (Barnes et al., 2001).
Reduction in cortisol levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 and TNF-α, suggesting modulation of the HPA axis and a shift toward an anti-inflammatory, restorative state (Infante et al., 2001; Nidich et al., 2018).
These changes reflect a nervous system shifting into restful alertness, a unique physiological state in which both relaxation and inner wakefulness are simultaneously present. In this state, the body is better able to metabolize unprocessed sensory and emotional material, recalibrate circadian rhythms, and repair autonomic signaling pathways disrupted by chronic stress and trauma. Stillness represents the re-synchronization of physiology with cosmic rhythm.
Neuroplasticity and the Vedic Model of Healing
Neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself in response to experience. Practices like Transcendental Meditation, asana, pranayama, and Dinacharya cultivate structural and functional changes in the brain. New neural networks emerge, limbic memories are integrated, and the stress response is re-regulated.
In Vedic psychology, this restructuring is called Samskara Shuddhi, the purification of latent impressions. As the system stabilizes, trauma no longer defines identity. The individual begins to identify with the witnessing Self, the unchanging observer of all experiences.
The Unified Field and the Self
The Self in Vedic Science is not a psychological construct. It is the Atman, eternal, unbounded, and Brahman, the totality. Trauma says: “I am my suffering.” Consciousness says: “I am eternal.” When TM is practiced regularly, identity shifts from the personal to the universal. The survivor moves from a place of healing, to awakening.
The unified field, accessible through meditation, is not metaphorical. It is ontological reality. When the human nervous system is refined, it becomes a perfect conduit for that field. Healing becomes effortless, returning one to their true Nature.
Conclusion
Yoga, in its highest expression, is not merely a system of physical postures, it is a state of union between individual consciousness and universal intelligence. According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the goal of Yoga is chitta vritti nirodhah, the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind, revealing pure, unbounded awareness. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi expanded upon this in his commentary on the Yoga Sutras, stating that Yoga is the state of Self-realization, in which the boundaries of individuality dissolve into the unified field of consciousness. As he wrote:
“He who is established in the Self, to him all things are known.” – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
This understanding of Yoga as a state of consciousness rather than a set of physical poses is increasingly supported by scientific research into meditation and brain function. Studies on
Transcendental Meditation (TM) a technique rooted in Vedic knowledge, have demonstrated:
Activation of the default mode network (DMN) during restful alertness, associated with self-referential awareness and unity consciousness (Travis & Parim, 2017).
Alpha1 EEG coherence, particularly in the frontal cortex, correlating with expanded internal awareness and a sense of wholeness (Travis et al., 2002).
Reduction in mind-wandering and mental noise, facilitating direct experience of the present moment, a hallmark of yogic absorption or samadhi (Yamamoto et al., 2006).
Stabilization of the nervous system, supporting traits of equanimity, clarity, and expanded empathy often described in advanced yogic states (Orme-Johnson et al., 2006).
These physiological markers suggest that meditation can reliably induce higher states of consciousness consistent with the yogic view of unity and Self-realization, awakening pure consciousness.
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