Hi there, I've been meditating on and off since I was 15 (I'm now 34). When I was younger I meditated very regularly, and now I try to get in 20 minutes about 3-4 times a week. I've noticed that when I meditate, the next day goes a lot better, in terms of mental clarity, peace, productivity, emotional stability, and the ability to grasp the subtleties of my own intuition. I longed for a guru when I was a teen, and by the age of 21, I found him, or rather, he found me. I followed him to his Himalayan ashram and had many wonderful spiritual experiences there, which were more than merely coincidental. I'm a healthy skeptic so of course nothing mattered to me more than the direct perception of the truths they talk about in meditation. I have experienced a few of these over the years, but they are difficult to attain and the toughest thing is that in order to experience them, you cannot want them. These experiences sort of play 'hard to get' - it's hard to explain, but I think the Universe designed it that way so we aren't attached to such experiences and we don't hanker after them -- to Hindus, that desire destroys the purpose of meditation, which "should" be done for its own sake.
I am currently reading Transcendence by Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal and wish to get involved with a TM practice once I am situated in the bay area. As with anything, meditation is a practice and I've found that only when I sustain it, do I experience sustained benefits.
My adi guru, or first guru, was my father, and he gave me my first mantra, which I repeated for 7 years. After that, I took initiation from my guru; however, I still repeat the mantra that my father gave me. Now I can get into a meditative state rather quickly without using the tool of mantra to get there, but some days it's still a struggle.
I wish you well on your journey, which is 100% inward with meditation! If you have any questions feel free to email me at reel india at yahoo dot com
Om and Prem,
Leena