What are the benefits of Maum meditation

The Maum meditation method itself is nothing new. Some aspects of it are discussed, for example, in the Tibetan Book of the Dead and there are similarities also to Vipassana. The idea is to purify one’s mind of garbage, illusion and attachments to worldly things, to become free and “clear.” If that sounds familiar it’s because it is also an aim of Scientology. Becoming “clear” is a nice idea in general, but then what? The problem is, both Maum and Scientology are cults which charge you lots of for this “clearing out” process and then reprogram you to do their bidding, namely to recruit more paying members! If you are attracted to this form of meditation you’d be better off attending old-fashioned Vipassana classes which are much cheaper and lack the brainwashing part.

Maum meditation was founded in 1996 in South Korea by Woo Myung.

Maum means the mind, soul and spirit in Korean. 

The method promises oneness with Truth by covering 8 levels of meditation. 

The underlying philosophy of Maum meditation is that the human mind is an accumulation of pictures that are stored within our mind and body.

Pictures taken by the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and body – “the 5-senses camera.” These stored pictures dictate our thoughts, emotions, desires, behaviors and health. And although they are mere illusions, we unknowingly live inside them thinking them to be real. 

The way to move from the false, illusory world of our mind to the True, infinite universe mind (Bonbadak in Korean) is by discarding the images that we have accumulated since birth. 

• A slick video with hundreds of smiling faces (always great to see happy people, but at times looked more like a toothpaste commercial than a meditation group’s video)
• Exact numbers. 453 to be precise. The number of people who have ‘attained enlightenment’ (level 8) through Maum meditation in the area where I live (impressive, but I wonder how those numbers are tracked)
• No disclosure of the meditation process (my repeated requests, four in total, were waived off, as it simply cannot be told without getting enrolled first)
• No meditating at home! You have to go to their centers to meditate (other than being highly inconvenient and impractical for most people, I found it just strange)
• Each meditation sessión should be at least 2-3 hours, preferably 3 hours (well, if you can meditate for 3 hours every day, you will succeed with any method or technique under the sun)
• Regular practice for 6 weeks will take you to level 2 (hmm, a big red flag, a definite promise doesn’t work in the field of inner transformation, heck, it usually falls flat even for the easier to achieve outer transformation, as countless diet/weight loss programs will testify)
• 7-step ‘guided’ method of subtraction that “allows you to become free of your human mind by changing to the infinite universe mind.” (good, but you will depend on external help throughout the entire process. Not bad in itself, especially if you find the right master, but why should one have to go to their center until ‘achieving’ enlightenment)
• More numbers. In a survey conducted by the Korea Association of Statistics and Information, more than 90% of 473 meditation students in levels 3 and 4 reported feeling less stressed, happier, having improved relationships and becoming better at self-reflection (dubious sounding authority body, which by the way, I couldn’t find through Google; wonder how they define their various levels and classify people into them)
• Some testimonials including the personal experience of the mentor/facilitator holding the session 
• Finally, you are URGED to immediately sign-up. No need for deliberations, as it is a “question of your life and death” (really? – I mean it may be, but paying someone $200 will instantly put me out of harm’s way?) 
• And the best, “If you think too much you will never join.” So PAY $200 per month NOW (became quite desperate toward the end)  

To sum it all up, it is hard to argue with Maum meditation’s core philosophy. It makes sense. The stored images it talks about are nothing but sanskars or impressions, which find mention in Vipassana, Sahaj Marg and various Buddhist schools.    

But, the whole secrecy around the meditation process, the forced method, whereby you can only meditate at their centers, and the urgency to get your money totally put me off.

It may still be a good method and a good organization, if they can deliver on their promise to “make you free of the pictures, free of the incessant recording and hence free of the illusory false world.” 

But the way the free seminar was conducted, I wouldn’t bet on it. 

So, there you have it. Give Maum meditation a try, if you will, but there are enough resources out there, starting with this website, that can be utilized for free to start your meditation journey.

Why Maum?

As the process started being introduced to the English-speaking community, Koreans just introduced the meditation as ‘maum‘ meditation. However, ‘maum‘ means nothing in English and as a result, Americans started accepting ‘maum‘ to only be a name for a brand of meditation.

are ordinary Korean words that any Korean would understand as “mind/heart” and “meditation”. Likewise, in English, “subtraction” and “meditation” are ordinary words that any American understands. This is why in English-speaking communities, the meditation started being called “subtraction”.

I find it truly unfortunate that the meditation is represented so negatively online. If you are looking for more information about Maum Meditation or subtraction meditation, I would like to ask that you take everything you see, hear, and read–including this blog–with a grain of salt. Please keep your mind open to experiencing it yourself in order to make a decision for yourself, uninfluenced by any external sources.

As much as I have benefited from this meditation, I myself have also had my share of doubts, troubles, discontents, and frustrations during my time with this process. I was often considered “a problem child” within the organization because I rarely hesitated to express my discontent.

Koreans have a difficult time accepting belligerent people like me because culturally, they are submissive to elders and order and therefore, expect the same submissive attitudes from people who are younger and have less experience than they do. There were so many times that I’ve wanted to quit because I just couldn’t stand how stubborn and unaccepting they were. But a few things kept me going.

I’m an extremely stubborn person as well. If the helpers tried to make me accept what they were teaching me, I just gave them a glare, continued throwing away my minds, and tried to figure it out on my own. I don’t like being given orders or being told what to think. When I ignored the helpers and thought only about the meditation process, it was pretty clear to me that it was simply guiding me to subtract out what is in my mind.

When I focused only on subtracting my minds, regardless of what kind of B.S. helpers tried to feed me, I could feel my heart getting lighter and my mind getting clearer. I could easily see what is the real thing I need to focus on, instead of getting hung up on the differences in opinion between myself and the helpers.

There were some helpers and senior members of the meditation who were definitely very warm and accepting, in contrast to the ones I had problems with. They were always there for me to hear me out.

The biggest factor that kept me going was that I felt it would be my own loss if I continued to keep inside me all those suspicions, doubts, fears, anger, frustration, and whatever else I had against the process. Even if I quit, I’d still be carrying all that noise in me. If I could find peace of mind and freedom from this negative chatter, then I wouldn’t give a d*mn whether the helpers mistreat me or not. I felt hopeful and confident that I’d be able to deal with any external negativity very differently if I didn’t have any negativity inside me first.

With this blog, I plan to elaborate on
(1) how I have personally benefited from this meditation,
(2) some cultural differences that could easily come across like a cult, and
(3) tips that will help you to overcome any frustrations that you face with this process.

What is Maum Meditation? Does Maum Meditation benefits you ?

I used to practice Maum Meditation and I have much experience with Maum Meditation. Recently this organization start changing their name on the Facebook and on the Internet, I think it because people start posting their true experience with this organization, now they go under something like “Meditation Method”, “Meditation North America”, “Arlington Meditation” and etc. I would guess they are doing this because under new names it will be harder to find the truth about this organization. On the Yelp website you can find some good and some bad reviews about their centers, it is obvious that some very good reviews are removed by Yelp because they were posted by Maum organization themselves using same IP address.

I would like to share my experience and I hope that it will be helpful for somebody out there. If you are reading this you ether are involved with Maum Meditation or you just discovered it and looking for more information. First, what is maum meditation ? During the introductory lecture Maum Meditation helpers (people who work their, guiding during meditation, are called “helpers”) will tell you that your mind is full of garbage, and they will help you to clean it. So is maum meditation good and right method to reduce stress and (as Maum Meditation promise) spiritual enlightenment, and peaceful mind? My experience in the beginning was really good, right now not so good.
“When a person first begins in their spiritual journey they are like babes in the woods. They are prey to every cult, religion and con artist out there”. Inelia Benz. https://ascension101.com/en/awakening/46-dangers-of-spiritual-awakening.html
If you practicing maum meditation you would say “but I am getting amazing results”, “I can sleep better, I am more relaxed, I tried many other methods and only this feels right, or my relationship improved dramatically, or I felt something extraordinary” or similar feelings. Yes, you are right, in the beginning some of us getting some results, and here is why- what’s happening with us during this meditation its nothing new, those techniques are used for over 200 years (studies are done and books are written by neuroscientist and psychiatrists Kathleen Taylo, Ivan Pavlov, William Walters and other scientists ). A brief explanation – during this meditation our body goes through stress, because Maum Meditation is not a meditation that you sit quietly and suppress your thoughts, during maum meditation you are doing subtraction, you constantly in your mind bringing up your memories from the past (pictures) and mentally destroying them, also destroying your body, your friends, your family, destroying everybody and everything (as you progress in Maum meditation levels), so during long hours of this kind destruction our body goes through stress and brain releases chemicals called Endorphins. Endorphins are feel good chemicals our bodies release under pain or stress. They are considered the bodies own opiates. So we kind drugging our self during this meditation. And as we practice this method more and for longer hours per day, the result of this mental stage we get is impaired mental judgment and increased suggestibility.Basically our brain goes flat – “clean slate state”, and existing mental programming is replaced, by maum meditation helpers, with new patterns of thinking and behavior- our mind is reprogrammed to serve maum meditation group. Once a person has been “reprogrammed” they often cannot think for themselves, and become intellectually as well as emotionally dependent upon Maum meditation helpers and leaders, a person starts trusting them completely, a person’s ability to question information and use critical analysis are eliminated. We start going door to door to distribute Maum meditation flyers to recruit more members, start using food supplements Maum meditation sells us, and so on and on. This state of mind is a reversion to an earlier state of evolution.
In my opinion Maum meditation using mind control techniques, after receiving this new programming we passionately defend Maum meditation and their leaders, and we start claiming that we been “shown the truth”, “we will be saved”. . . or “this is amazing method”.
So is Maum Meditation a cult?
A while ago I would said no way Maum meditation is a cult, everybody so nice and loving, no way I am in a cult. Now I can say- nobody ever joints a cult, nobody joins something they think is going to hurt them. We join a religious organization, some movement, a yoga class or similar, and we join with people that we really like. Don’t you?

“The first rule of a cult recruitment, is that a recruit must never suspect he or she is being recruited” (psychologist Margaret Singer)
No one has ever been brainwashed and realized, or believed, that he or she had been brainwashed. Those who have been brainwashed will usually passionately defend their manipulators. I can tell from my personal experience If you are in a relationship and in to this meditation then most likely your relationship will be ruined as more and more you progress in Maum Meditation levels. Cults usually try to cut you off from your friends and family because they hate others being able to influence you. So what is this maum meditation ? My opinion its a destructive cult. Do search on the internet and you will find many cases and testimonials of ex Maum meditation members, calls for help from kids, spouses, friends about losing loved ones to Maum Meditation.

How did I awakened from this Maum meditation dream? More you progress in Maum Meditation levels more some cultic signs start appearing, thats where a lot of people start leaving the group. My experience was more painful, but I realised that Maum Meditation is about money and recruiting more people who will bring more money to the organization, Inelia’s Benz article for me was like a breath of fresh air. I just realised what the truth is, what is true freedom of mind and soul, we just can’t pay a fee and meditate our self to salvation or enlightenment, I wish this for everyone, for Maum Meditation helpers and for everyone who got in to a similar group or organization.

As old Korean quote says Don’t drink the Kim chi soup first”, my advice for those who just discovered Maum meditation- don’t jump ahead of your self, don’t think you found the right method before you will do research about Maum meditation group, read testimonials of people who left the group, read what is mind control, find information about destructive cults and what they do.
Here is few questions

• Does Maum meditation operates using deception ? Is it true that when you first sign up they don’t tell you about a large sum of money you will have to pay for the “culmination process” (also called “chaMaum meditations education” to receive “human completion”)with the Maum meditation founder?
• Does Maum meditation needs to hide the truth until they think you are ready to accept it? If people knew their true practices and beliefs beforehand then they would still join them or not?
• Is it true that after completing few levels (and when they think you are ready) Maum meditation helpers ask for $1000 Sky fund donation so that their group founder can remove your deceased family members from purgatory ?
• Is it true that to finish and pass level 4, you have to accept and be certain that Maum meditation founder and his wife are creators of the Universe?
• Is it true that Maum meditation also practice what they call “active meditation” to distribute maum meditation flyers and recruit new members?

5 Things to Know when Meditating

1. Meditation is not instant gratification

A single meditation session may uplift your mood and bring your mind at ease. However, if you do not remove the roots of that mind, the effects will only be temporary. It is when you meditate step by step that the root cause of the mind will disappear. You will then be able to live with a true mind, which is the fundamental purpose of meditation itself.

2. Meditation requires effort and patience

The life you have lived so far is incomparably longer than the duration you get to reflect on while meditating. This means that when looking on at your life, often it will require much patience and effort. The effects of meditation are directly related to how much time and passion you invest doing it.

3. Do not follow that somebody, follow the method.

When you are solving difficult mathematics, it isn’t the help of others that allows you to solve the problem, it is the formula. The meditation method may be a simple formula but the effects and changes people undergo are different for everyone. The meditation process that people undergo is unique for each person so don’t compare yourself to someone else.

4. Be honest with yourself.

There are people who cannot be honest with themselves when they meditate. Be truthful to your current state and the process of change will occur. If you are having difficulty in knowing yourself, it may be helpful to consult with a Helper the meditation center. Helpers are meditation experts who have spent numerous hours meditating and consulting with many people. When you honestly express what you feel in your mind, it is easier to meditate and you will be able to find and empty out more minds.

5. Meditate anywhere, anytime

Meditation can be done anywhere and can be easily incorporated into your daily life. On your way to work, when you’re getting ready for your day, during lunch, on your promenade, in front of the stop light, at the grocery store, there is no place where you can’t meditate. When you meditate to clean out your mind, you can see what minds still reside within you and you can better understand how you are spending your time by reflecting back. It is through this process that you can change and develop