By Kate Allt

Friday, May 25, 2012

Greenhouses at Maharishi University KTVO’s Kate Allt

FAIRFIELD, IOWA — The cafeteria at Maharishi University is like no other dining hall on any campus in the country. Every meal is vegetarian and organic, and many of the ingredients are grown right on campus by students and staff.

Ayurvedic food preparation, which pays particular attention to seasonal foods, is a growing trend and the roots of the movement are planted in the greenhouses at Maharishi University.

“This greenhouse has been here since 2004; we put it up,” said Steve McLaskey, Director of the Maharishi organic farm. ”The university had been organic – the food service had been organic for quite a number of years before that and then in 2003, they decided to take the next step and grow as much of their own food as possible.”

Maharishi’s greenhouse is the first of its size to grow crops year-round in a cold climate. The students and staff who work with the plants have learned much more than identifying a cucumber from a zucchini.

“I get a lot of satisfaction out of growing good produce and providing it to the university,” McLaskey said. ”We also sell at the Golden Dome market, the little market on campus, and at the farmer’s market, and I get a lot of comments from customers who appreciate the quality, the freshness.

“When we’re eating good food, then the action that happens from putting good things in is more directed and its more focused,” said Molly Haviland, a MUM student. “So it goes along with the principle of do less, accomplish more.”

James Gavin, a worker at the greenhouse, said he has learned so much from working at the greenhouse and it has improved his quality of life.

“This greenhouse is a real opportunity for all of us… and for the county, I think,” he said.

“I really encourage everyone to grow their own garden and to look up alternative methods of making sure everything is natural, no chemicals, and everything like that,” said student Sultan Salah. “So I would say the experience of working with fresh vegetables is probably the best experience.”

“We grow some of the tastiest vegetables there are,” said Edward Hipp, another greenhouse worker. “When its fresh off the plant, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Then – fresh off the plant – the food goes to the Maharishi kitchens, where vegetarian, organic recipes and Ayurvedic methods are utilized.

“We’re trying to keep all the Ayurvedic guidelines in touch with the recipes so that it still tastes really good for everybody,” said Sharon Stinogel, Maharishi Executive Chef. ”So it’s kind of a challenge, but it’s fun.”

“Since we’ve arrived here at Maharishi, we’ve shared the fact that organic and vegetarian is out there,” said Ken Zimmerman, food service director at Aladdin Food Management Services. ”There’s a lot of our accounts that do offer organic vegetarian but not on a wide range like we do here in Fairfield.”

The cafeteria serves 800 to 1,000 people a day and after the meal, the leftover food is collected to be turned into compost, completing the cycle back to the earth.

]]> http://theuncarvedblog.com/2012/05/25/ktvos-kate-allt-from-the-earth-to-your-plate-one-universitys-lesson-in-sustainable-agriculture/feed/ 1 kennyji greenhouses 3-2-CBS-News_promo_banner_r http://theuncarvedblog.com/2012/05/23/cnns-candy-crowley-to-give-commencement-address-at-maharishi-university-of-management/ http://theuncarvedblog.com/2012/05/23/cnns-candy-crowley-to-give-commencement-address-at-maharishi-university-of-management/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 00:35:04 +0000 Ken Chawkin http://theuncarvedblog.com/?p=20896 ]]> FAIRFIELD, IA: The entire Fairfield community is invited to attend the Maharishi University of Management 2012 Commencement in the Men’s Dome at 1 pm on Saturday, May 26.

A total of 275 degrees will be given to 268 graduating students: 67 undergraduates for 74 degrees, including 7 double-majors, and 201 graduate degrees, for 196 Master’s and 5 Ph.D.

M.U.M.’s Commencement speaker is Candy Crowley, CNN’s award-winning chief political correspondent and anchor of “State of the Union with Candy Crowley,” a political hour of newsmaker interviews and analysis of the week’s most important issues.

In her role as chief political correspondent, Ms. Crowley covers a broad range of stories, including presidential, congressional and gubernatorial races and major legislative developments on Capitol Hill.

Since arriving at CNN from NBC in 1987, Ms. Crowley has won some of broadcasting’s major awards: a Peabody, Emmy, and Gracie Allen Award.

Ms. Crowley has been practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique since 2008. Along with Dr. Mehmet Oz, she was a co-host of the David Lynch Foundation “Change Begins Within” benefit gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2010. She also hosted the 2011 launch for DLF’s Operation Warrior Wellness in Washington, DC.

Ms. Crowley was nominated for a Maharishi Award by the Maharishi University of Management (MUM) Global Student Council this past December but was unable to attend the award ceremony. This award will be presented to her when she is on campus.

“She said she is ‘very honored and excited’ to be able to speak at our 2012 commencement ceremony,” said MUM executive vice-president Craig Pearson.

Candy will be attending many of the Commencement events, but has to return immediately to Washington, DC after graduation in order to anchor her national political talk show on Sunday morning.

Florence Lillian Nickerson is this year’s Salutatorian, and the Valedictorian is Patrik Nils-Olof Siljestam.

The University of Iowa Faculty Brass Quintet will play the music for the Graduation Processional.

Numbers and Types of Degrees

74 Undergraduate degrees:

BA Art 2
BFA 1
BA Business 14
BA in Sustainable Community Development 1
BA in Education 1
BA in Literature 7
BA in Media and Communications 12
BA in Maharishi Vedic Science 2
BA in Physiology and Health 8
BA in Physiology and Health, Pre-Medicine 7
BS in Mathematics 1
BS in Sustainable Living 18

196 Master’s degrees:

MA in Education 3
MA in Maharishi Vedic Science 15
MA in Teaching 3
MBA Sustainable Business 33
MBA Accounting 23
MS Computer Science 119

5 Ph.D. degrees:

Ph.D. in Management 5

By Marianne Power
12 May 12, 2012

Down time: Marianne Power meditates as she waits for a Tube train in London

Soon I was meditating twice a day, too, even learning to fit it into train journeys to work or sneaking a few quiet minutes in a bathroom cubicle at the office.

Before I bumped into my colleague I was running on empty. By day I was stressed by silly things that made me snap at people.

By night I would try to unwind with too many hours of television and too many glasses of wine before lying awake in bed stewing over all my worries.

I was run-down, got every cold going and at my very lowest points was prescribed antidepressants. My friend recommended Transcendental Meditation, which is different from other forms of meditation.

Instead of focusing on your breathing, you are given a Sanskrit word, known as a mantra, that you repeat in your head. The idea is that the repetition of the sound calms your mind.

The practice was made famous by The Beatles, who became devotees after meeting its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in the Sixties. Since then everyone from Clint Eastwood to William Hague and Nick Clegg has become a fan.

Latest research from Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry has shown that meditation brings about neurological changes. After  a few months of meditation, the parts of the brain with a tendency to worry are switched off.

Clinical trials have proved that as a standalone treatment it can  prevent relapse of depression and is effective alongside medication.

But I was most interested in its effects in counteracting stress. And I can say that learning to meditate has changed my life.

At my first lesson I was given my mantra, which you don’t share with anyone, and told to close my eyes and repeat it again and again in my head. Straight away I was hooked.

There’s something about the sound vibration of the mantra going over and over in your mind that lulls you into a kind of trance. The repetition of the sound is like a lullaby.

You go into your own world and yet you are still aware of your surroundings. You’re neither awake, nor asleep, nor dreaming – just beautifully relaxed. It’s like a warm bath for your brain.

After that first lesson, I felt calm and focused and that night I enjoyed a longer, deeper sleep than I’ve had since I was a child. And I’ve been sleeping well ever since.

The more I meditate, the less I seem to be bothered by things. Situations that would once have sent me into a tailspin no longer have the same effect.

My heart doesn’t race in the way it once did; I have become more calm and rational; my concentration at work has also improved.

I think this is primarily because I am better rested and less stressed, but scans have shown that meditation actually increases the size of your hippocampus – the part of the brain associated with memory and learning. I also feel healthier.

I have had only one cold in the past seven months. And then there are the less tangible changes, the ones to your personality and relationships.

Friends have commented on the fact that I seem more relaxed. I  certainly feel more content, less inclined to snap or overreact.

So is this a miracle? Am I now the perfect person? Hardly. Like most of the good things in life, it takes work. Like going to the gym or eating well, you have to keep doing it even on days when you tell yourself you are too busy.

I meditate for 20 minutes morning and night. After breakfast, and then at 4pm – and on days when that’s not possible, on the train or in a taxi. Every little helps. It doesn’t matter whether I close my eyes for two minutes or 20, when I open them I feel better.

I have yet to experience the so-called ‘bliss’ that devotees talk about but I’m just so happy that I’ve found a tool that helps me perform well in the day and sleep better at night.

I wish I’d been taught this at school – it’s the best life skill I’ve ever learnt. But it’s not cheap.

When I turned up for the first open evening at my local TM centre (they’re all over the country), I was told that fees were charged according to income. I would have to  pay £490.

But I did it – and it was the best money I’ve ever spent.

• t-m.org.uk

 Find this story at www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2143485/The-8-15-train-Nirvana-How-meditate-stresses-away–daily-commute.html

The May 9 issue compiled a list of 14 successful business executives who meditate, 9 of whom practice TM. They swear by it. This makes sense as a growing number of business executives have been turning to the Transcendental Meditation program to increase alertness, eliminate stress and fatigue, and enhance their creativity. It’s a major factor accounting for their ongoing success.

This list is posted on the website’s War Room page filed under Strategy. Not all the executives say what kind of meditation they practice, but their reasons for doing so are practical and compelling. The ones who do mention TM are: Bridgewater Associates founder and CEO Ray Dalio, who tops the list; Def Jam Founder Russell Simmons; Oprah Winfrey; Legal Sea Foods CEO Roger Berkowitz; Ramani Ayer, former Chairman and CEO of The Hartford Financial Services Group; Steve Rubin, former CEO and chairman of United Fuels International; Executive Management Associates CEO Nancy Slomowitz; Marnie Abramson, of the family-owned Tower Companies real estate firm; and Tupperware CEO Rick Goings.

14 Executives Who Swear By Meditation

Jhaneel Lockhart and Melanie Hicken | May 9, 2012, 2:40 PM

CEOs have stressful jobs, and some have taken to intense hobbies to find solace from the daily grind.

Some practice meditation—or even Transcendental Meditation, a mantra-based technique derived about 50 years ago from ancient Indian practices.

We’ve compiled a list of leaders who say that meditating gives them an edge in the competitive business world. Some have even built it into their company’s culture.

Speaking of Ray Dalio, he’s mentioned in a new book by Maneet Ahuja that comes out May 29, 2012: The Alpha Masters: unlocking the genius of the world’s top hedge fund managers. (ISBN: 979-1-118-06552)

I haven’t seen it yet, but a friend said the first Chapter is on Ray Dalio. In it he speaks highly of TM and is quoted saying it is “the single biggest influence” on his life. He later gives more reasons why he finds it helpful.

Kelsey Minor visits Maharishi School for a special report on Fairfield Iowa’s Key to Education Success, on FOX 28 News at Nine and CBS 2 News at Ten, May 17, 2012.

Thursday, May 17 2012, 10:05 PM CDT | Kelsey Minor | FOX 28 | CBS 2

Tiffany O’Donnell: On the surface it looks just like any other Iowa town square, but if you look a little closer, you’ll find it’s international flare.

Jack Miller: And that’s not the only reason people are flocking to Fairfield. It’s the center of a meditation movement. And our Kelsey Minor spent some time there to uncover the big mystery behind how meditating is helping the people there thrive. Kelsey?

Kelsey Minor: I know Tiffany’s excited about it; she’s been there. Jack, you need to get there.

You don’t often hear of Iowa being associated with meditation, but it’s happening right here in Eastern Iowa, and it’s in the process of shaping some of our state’s youngest minds, as well as the minds of Fairfield’s leaders.

FAIRFIELD, IA (KGAN/KFXA) — Tucked deep in Iowa’s flatland, among the barns and fields, is one of the 12 great places Mother Earth News says you’ve probably never been. It’s Fairfield, Iowa, and something’s been happening in this city of 95-hundred, a mystery, until now.

“Trust me, we want to get the secret out. We’d love for people to come and discover our community. We believe that’s happening now,” says Mayor Ed Malloy.

This small place, less than a two-hour drive away from Cedar Rapids, has its international flavor with its Indian restaurants and Italian coffee houses. But that’s not the mystery. I have to bring you here, to the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment, where for nearly four decades, the simple act of meditating, twice a day, everyday, has attracted all sorts of people, including the students in this private school.

“We’ve been the kind of pioneering or flagship school for this approach we call Consciousness-Based education,” says Head of School, Dr. Richard Beall.

It’s like any other college prep school across the State of Iowa but here the students, faculty, and staff all take time to practice Transcendental Meditation or T-M.

“So we are taking a significant amount of time in the morning and afternoon, bookends, before and after school, to practice meditation and yoga, so that our kids when they go into the classroom are wide awake,” Beall said.

Those 20 minutes, says school officials, rids everyone of stress making it easy to learn and perform better.

“Of course there are cynics out there who may say that this doesn’t work, and your argument against that would be what,” CBS 2′s Kelsey Minor asked.

“We kind of welcome skepticism because you can put it to the test and I think it stands up really well,” says Beall.

And so far it has. This consciousness-based learning helps send more than 95 percent of its seniors to top colleges and universities across the country. They always score in the top one percent in Iowa’s standardized test, not to mention the top honors in Math, Science, the Arts, and Sports.

“All that’s evidence that something good is happening here,” says Beall.

But this isn’t just a school thing. Roughly 25 percent of Fairfield’s population practices TM, including Mayor Ed Malloy who’s been practicing for 38 years.

“The science shows that there is an influence of reduction of crime and stress,” says Malloy.

A town that takes TM seriously.

“You have arrived right when people are first arriving for their meditation,” says resident Jim Mayhew.

Each day between four and five o’clock the cars and the people start to arrive, joining together in large numbers for meditation groups. This is the end result of that rush hour traffic—a parking lot full of cars, their owners meditating inside these golden domes. It’s a town like no other, and the people who practice TM say what they do inside these domes helps create change. And it all started here, at the school where consciousness-based learning is helping to shape tomorrow’s leaders.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child and I couldn’t imagine a better village,” says student Caroline Fulcher.

(A great village it is indeed.) Now Transcendental Meditation has become so popular that other schools across the country are now implementing the program for its students. As for Fairfield, there’s plenty to do there, and if you haven’t been already, they sure would like to see you.

In the studio, Kelsey Minor, FOX 28 News at Nine/CBS 2 News.

Links to see this news report on FOX 28 News at Nine: http://www.kgan.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kgan_vid_11222.shtml, and on YouTube for CBS 2 News at Ten, which includes introductory comments by the news anchors: http://youtu.be/FZdOStcEkC4.

Related stories on Fairfield: Video segments of Oprah’s Next Chapter on OWN: Oprah Visits Fairfield, Iowa—“TM Town”—America’s Most Unusual Town | The Iowan: Sizing Up Small Towns: Rethinking Success in Rural Iowa: Fairfield Thinks Inclusively | The Cultural Oasis of The Midwest: Fairfield, Iowa | Finding peace in Fairfield by Diane Vance

May 16, 2012 | Lifestyle | Star Tribune | Kristin Tillotson

Transcendental meditation has its detractors, but many veterans say it helps them with post-war stress.

Fernando Franco, who served in both Bosnia and Iraq, uses meditation techniques to control stress. — Photo: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

“I was amazed at how completely calm I felt,” said Watson, 54. “It’s like pancake batter spreading across a griddle, slowly turning golden brown. You really are resting but awake. After I meditate, people ask me what I’ve been doing.”

“I was really energized after the first time I did it,” said Ditto, 25, who works with disabled veterans at the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living in St. Paul. “I went home and did a bunch of yard work. It’s helped me to focus better, too.”

Ditto likes to visit the center to do her meditating because its minimally decorated rooms are ideal for it. But, she says, she sometimes encounters a problem.

“I meditate facing Culver’s, and instead of my mantra I start saying in my head, Chocolate custard. Chocolate custard. Chocolate custard.”

Kristin Tillotson • 612-673-7046

For more information visit these websites:

www.tm.org and www.operationwarriorwellness.org.

Related articles: Washington Post: VA testing whether meditation can help treat PTSD | POLITICO: Coping with PTSD | Norwich University President Receives “Resilient Warrior Award” at National Veterans Summit in Washington, DC | Washington Post: Does Transcendental Meditation help veterans with PTSD? | Transcendental Meditation Drastically Turns Life Around For Veteran With PTSD | David Lynch gives $1M to teach vets meditation | David Lynch donates $1 million in grants through his foundation to teach veterans to meditate | Replay of David Lynch Foundation Launch of Operation Warrior Wellness Los Angeles | Post Traumatic Stress and How Transcendental Meditation Can Help [Infographic]

Dr. Oz tastes a simple food to help with weight loss: spiced mung bean soup.

One Ayurveda expert, Sunita Mohan, explained the six tastes, shared knowledge of various spices and their beneficial effects, and recipes to help you eat healthy and lose weight! Links to segments provided below.

Another Ayurveda expert invited to participate in the show was Candace Badgett, owner of The Raj, an authentic award-winning Ayurvedic health spa located in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa.

Candace discussed traditional Ayurvedic approaches to losing weight by demonstrating certain procedures on selected audience members, including Dr. Oz. These treatments are known to improve digestion, remove toxins, nourish the tissues, and reduce stress, which disrupts normal bodily functions causing weight gain. Here are pictures of Amy, Katy, and Dr. Oz receiving Udvartana, Swedana, and Shirodhara, respectively.

Candace explains that a Vata imbalance is almost always at the root of excess weight. She recommended mixing chickpea flour with herbalized Vata oil to the consistency of peanut butter and applying it as a friction massage, which heats the tissues and removes the appearance of cellulite.

Candace and Dr. Oz discuss the recipe for Udvartana as Amy receives the treatment.

Dr. Oz looks at Katy as Candace explains the value of Swedana, usually taken after abhyanga, an oil massage. The steam allows the oil to penetrate deeply into the tissues, helping to remove the toxins that disrupt hormones, impede proper communication between cells in the body, and are usually responsible for weight gain. “The removal of toxins,” Candace emphasized, “is absolutely crucial to a successful weight-loss program!”

“The removal of toxins is absolutely crucial to a successful weight-loss program.”

Candace Badgett describes Shirodhara as a stream of herbalized warm oil rhythmically poured back and forth across the forehead. This treatment deeply relaxes the mind and body powerfully removing stress and fatigue. It also enlivens the happiness hormones. Dr. Oz was pleasantly surprised and said it was “such a spectacular feeling having the oil rushing up your scalp…it is a very soothing experience…it is a life-changing experience. I recommend any of you who have the ability to try this out at least once. This is so cool as it goes back and forth.”

Dr. Oz describes Shirodhara as a “life-changing experience.”

Continuing to lay on the table Dr. Oz began to close out that segment of the show. He thanked Candace for all her advice. “I really appreciate it. Wonderful job.” He said, “Be right back, everybody,” then told the Ayurvedic technician to, “Keep going, it feels good.”

Click the link to watch this Ayurvedic Treatments to Slim Down segment on the Dr. Oz Show website: http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/ancient-ayurvedic-secrets-lose-weight?video=13504.

Click this link to see the three other excerpts from the show: http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/ancient-ayurvedic-secrets-lose-weight.

Read more about The Raj Weight-Loss Program, and other programs, at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Spa website: www.theraj.com.

Also see Dr. Oz on Transcendental Meditation and Some Reports on Dr. Oz’s Interview with Oprah about TM and her Next Chapter.

The South Asian Heart Center (SAHC) at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California has developed a four-pronged approach to prevent and successfully manage heart disease among men and women of South Asian descent living and working in America. Here is an introduction to their work presented by Executive Director Ashish Mathur, and SAHC Medical Director Cesar Molina, MD, FACC: South Asian Heart Center Helps South Asians Fight Heart Disease.

In this fourth of a four-part series on Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Dr. Molina focuses on the importance of deep rest and its effect on heart-health and diabetes. He specifically covers the importance of meditation (or restful alertness) on longevity and health, and the science behind the effective technique of Transcendental Meditation (TM), which produces a “hypo-metabolic state of restful alertness.” Learn the evidence on the profound impact of this unique form of meditation on a whole class of chronic ailments. This is a very clear and comprehensive presentation!

South Asian Heart Center Webinar: TLC – Restful Sleep & Restful Alertness April 25, 2012, published on Apr 26, 2012 by sahcsathi.

At 26:26 of Part 4, Dr. César Molina begins talking about resting while awake with Transcendental Meditation and how it impacts our health, especially for South Asians and their propensity toward heart disease. One of the therapeutic modalities from the South Asian Heart Center is Transcendental Meditation as a stress-reduction technique. Dr. Molina reviews his talk starting at 56:18. He summarizes the lifestyle methodology to prevent heart disease and enhance longevity at the South Asian Heart Center: nutrition, physical activity, the importance of restful sleep, and the importance and benefit for stress reduction through Transcendental Meditation decreasing cardiovascular risk factors, decreasing hospital expenditures and admissions, and enhancing longevity.

Dr. César Molina presents Wednesday Lunch-hour Webinar Series TLC: Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes. Here are the 4 topics where you can download the video and a PDF of the main points and graphs for each talk. The recommendations can be applied to all Americans regardless of ethnicity or geographical location.

1. TLC: Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Overview: May 2, noon
2. TLC: Exercise as Medicine: May 9, noon
3. TLC: The Dinner vs. the Diner: May 30, noon
4. TLC: Restful Sleep and Restful Alertness: June 20, noon

For more information: www.southasianheartcenter.org and www.tm.org.

Here is a partial transcription of Olivia’s acceptance speech. Very beautiful and wise! Olivia is an exceptional person!

Here I go again. I can talk about George, you know, forever. But uh, I won’t. There was a quote by the Indian poet Tagore that George read to me one day. He said, “Blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.” And here we are in the Hall of Fame. But the inductees are not chosen because of their fame, but because they expressed their truth through their music. George said that he tried to write songs that would, uh, still mean something years from now. And I think it’s safe to say that in spite of his immense fame his truth will never be out-shined or forgotten. (applause) Good.

Olivia went on to say that had George been there that night he would have thanked a lot of people. But she did thank one person in the room that George knew the longest in his life—”someone who looked after him, and all of them, from the time they were 13, for George, the end of his life, and that’s the mysterious Neil Aspinall.” And she thanked Neil for holding it together, otherwise the phenomenon might not have happened as long as it did.

Seven years later, with Olivia’s help, Martin Scorsese’s film, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, premiers at the Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts in Fairfield, Iowa. Also see: George Harrison: The not-so-quiet Beatle, article by Philip Goldberg in LA YOGA Magazine.

On Sunday Night, February 5, 2012, Channel 7 reporter Ross Coulthart conducted an exclusive interview with Ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney for Channel Seven’s Sunday Night. Besides talking about his latest CD, Kisses on the Bottom, Paul answered questions about his earlier days in the Beatles and visit to Australia, his music, and his wives.

Speaking of Paul’s wives, here’s something I caught by surprise on YouTube while watching Paul McCartney on Ellen recorded November 2005—Nancy Shevell in the audience! Paul was still married to Heather Mills at the time. The lady in the front row audience shots 0:22–0:25, and 5:15–5:16 definitely look like her.

According to Wiki, McCartney started dating Shevell in November 2007, before he finalized his divorce with Heather Mills. But this show was taped 2 years earlier in Nov 2005. Wonder if they knew each other back then, if she actually met Paul back in 2005 on the Ellen show? If not, 2 years seem to have passed until they started dating. Either way, it’s kind of prophetic! They announced their engagement three and half years later on 6 May 2011, and were married after five months on 9 October 2011. This one looks like a keeper. We wish them both much happiness. I especially love the beautiful song Paul wrote for Nancy, which they danced to on their wedding night, My Valentine.

Related: Paul McCartney and Nancy show up to see James play, and surprise the small Brighton club audience and ‘My Valentine’: Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman Star in Paul McCartney-Directed Video.