A growing trend in the country that may reduce stress, create clearer thinking and help academic achievement is here. And it's not in pill form.

Transcendental Meditation is hitting the mainstream via universities and training sessions across the country.

And, just as intelligent design has sparked a religion-in-the-classroom controversy, a similar fear from meditation at U.S. colleges has been lurking in the shadows, said Bob Roth, a 33-year meditation instructor.

"There's no belief involved; it's a mechanical process," Roth said. "Do you need to believe in electricity to turn on a light or even understand it?"

And since transcendental meditators don't need a specific belief system, the focus should be on the myriad of benefits, said Greg Schweitzer, director of Stress Reductions Resources in Reading.

"Stress levels go down, they feel more alert in classes and notice they're thinking more clearly," he said.

College students anticipating a few all-nighters before finals week can use meditation to help with semester study stresses.

"Just quiet the mind," Schweitzer said. "Then you become more aware of things around you. It's easier to study for an exam, and you can take in more of what your professor is saying."

The phenomenon, developed about 50 years ago, has about 5 million members worldwide, including some Penn State locals.

Education professor Catherine Augustine, a trained hypnotherapist, said meditation is such a big part of her life that she is teaching a class about its role in personal health.

She teaches the course Science Technology and Society 497 A (Science and Art of Healing: the Mind, Body, Spirit Connection) with two material science professors, who cover the science of the course.

Augustine said that she loves to help students get through their stressful times.

"A student came and talked to me about having great trouble relaxing and doing work," she said. "After sitting in on one class, it gave her the best perspective on how to care for herself. She said it was a 'lifesaver.' "

Augustine said she would love to see a specified area where students can meditate, such as in Thailand, where students begin each day with 10 minutes of group meditation.

"My dream for Penn State is to have a whole-person healing clinic," she said. "The environment would allow students to learn more about how to take care of themselves in gentler ways than Western medicine affords us."

Students at Harvard, Boston College and Yale already have meditation at their fingertips, said Roth, vice president of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-based Education and World Peace.

Roth said that the foundation distributes scholarships for studying meditation.

He said that he hopes to prevent stresses that build up and lead to depression.

"Research shows that Transcendental Meditation increases IQ and academic performance," Roth said. "It's not just to stop stress, but to move ahead in life."

Schweitzer, Augustine and Roth all said meditation can help increase a person's immunity and help with heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and migraines.

Meditation education isn't limited to students.

With 250 centers nationally, Augustine said its reach has hit some big-name companies.

"There has been research on meditation in the business world," Augustine said.

"For the workforce that has the opportunity, their productivity goes up, they miss less days of work, feel better and are happier people," she added.

While some are still skeptical, Augustine said that there is no trick to meditation.

"Scientifically, I can show you [it works] through your brain waves. I hook people up with sensors and find different brain patterns," she said.

Schweitzer, who taught meditation for three years at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, said she hopes the benefits spread further in the future.

"One person I taught had a good point," he said. "If every world leader meditated, they would be more peaceful and relaxed -- what a wonderful world we could have."