The mantra that you're given in Transcendental Meditation you

In the quiet cadence of reflection, the artist and filmmaker David Lynch once spoke words that shimmer with inner truth: “The mantra that you're given in Transcendental Meditation you keep to yourself. The reason being, true happiness is not out there, true happiness lies within.” These are not the musings of a man content with surface pleasures, but the declaration of one who has journeyed into the depths of the mind and glimpsed the eternal light that dwells there. In this teaching lies a sacred wisdom — that the treasure all humankind seeks in the noise of the world is already present, waiting in the stillness of the soul.

Lynch, known for his mysterious and dreamlike films, is also a devoted practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM) — an ancient practice of quiet inward focus that leads the mind beyond thought into pure awareness. When he says that one must keep the mantra — the sacred sound or vibration — to oneself, he speaks not of secrecy born of pride, but of reverence. The mantra is a bridge between the conscious and the divine; it is a personal key, given to each seeker to unlock the boundless peace that lies beneath the turbulence of thought. To reveal it carelessly is to profane something sacred, for its power is not in the word itself, but in the silence it leads to.

This truth — that happiness lies within — is as old as humanity’s first awakening. The sages of India called it Ananda, the bliss of the Self. The Stoics of Greece named it eudaimonia, the harmony of the soul. And the Christ in the Gospel proclaimed, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” Yet still, across the ages, people have sought happiness in the shifting sands of the outer world — in wealth, in fame, in the approval of others. Lynch’s words remind us that such pursuits, though seductive, are hollow reflections of the light we already carry. To seek happiness “out there” is like searching for the sun by chasing shadows.

Consider the story of Prince Siddhartha, who became the Buddha. Surrounded by every comfort, he lived amid luxury but felt a strange emptiness — for even surrounded by beauty, the mind can remain restless. Leaving behind his palace, he sought truth in asceticism and hardship, but found only more suffering. At last, sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, he turned inward. There, in the stillness of his own being, he discovered enlightenment — the serene joy that is untouched by circumstance. His journey mirrors the path Lynch describes: the realization that true happiness cannot be given by the world; it must be uncovered from within.

To keep one’s mantra private, then, is to honor this inward journey. In silence, the heart deepens. The mantra becomes a companion in solitude, a thread leading through the labyrinth of thought back to the center of peace. When repeated with love and attention, it dissolves anxiety, dissolves fear, and opens a space vast and still — a space where joy arises naturally, unforced, like the dawn after the storm. In this sacred quiet, the soul rediscovers itself.

Yet Lynch’s wisdom is not merely spiritual — it is profoundly practical. The world of noise and motion will always tempt us to look outward for satisfaction: to chase success, to compare, to consume. But the ancients taught that happiness found in things is fleeting, while happiness born of stillness endures. Thus, each person must cultivate the discipline of inwardness. Whether through meditation, prayer, or silent reflection, one must learn to listen to the deep hum of life beneath the chatter of the mind. The one who does this finds a strength that cannot be shaken, a joy that needs no reason.

Let this, then, be the teaching for those who seek wisdom: Guard your inner practice as you would guard a flame in the wind. Do not scatter your mantra, your sacred focus, into the noise of the world, for its power grows in silence. Learn to sit quietly each day, if only for a few moments, letting your thoughts fall away like leaves in autumn. In that stillness, you will touch the wellspring of true happiness — not a passing emotion, but the abiding peace of being one with yourself.

For as David Lynch teaches, happiness is not found in the applause of others, nor in the triumphs of the world. It is found when the heart turns inward and remembers its own divine light. There, in the still chamber of the soul, beneath the noise of time and fear, lies the treasure that no one can take from you — the happiness that lies within.