Coming down out of the freezing sky with its depths of light, like an angel, or a Buddha with wings, it was beautiful and accurate, striking the snow and whatever was there with a force that left the imprint of the tips of its wings– five feet apart–and the grabbing thrust of its feet, and the indentation of what had been running through the white valleys of the snow–
and then it rose, gracefully, and flew back to the frozen marshes, to lurk there, like a little lighthouse, in the blue shadows– so I thought: maybe death isn’t darkness, after all, but so much light wrapping itself around us–
as soft as feathers– that we are instantly weary of looking, and looking, and shut our eyes,
not without amazement, and let ourselves be carried, as through the translucence of mica, to the river that is without the least dapple or shadow, that is nothing but light–scalding, aortal light– in which we are washed and washed out of our bones.
The ideas and imagery of light and dark that Mary Oliver uses remind me of William Stafford’s poem, Rx Creative Writing: Identity, where he describes “then that bone light belongs inside of things. You touch or hear so much yourself there is no dark. You know so sure there burns a central vividness.”
— Written and compiled (citing sources) by Ken Chawkin for The Uncarved Blog.
January 12th has been traditionally celebrated as the birthday of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This year, January 12, 2018, is the centenary of his birth. After taking a Week of Silence at the start of every year, Maharishi would use the occasion of his birthday to inaugurate a new theme for the new year for his worldwide Transcendental Meditation Movement. See a PDF of Maharishi’s Achievements for each year.
For example, on January 12, 1975, after hearing of a few cities in the United States where 1% of the population were practicing TM and the crime rate had gone down compared to similar cities where it had gone up, he inaugurated the year as the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, saying, “Through the window of science, we see the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment.”
On January 18, 2011, The Times of India published an article about Maharishi by Lane Wagger, The Prime Mover of Life. In this article, titled, Transcendental Meditation, Lane Wagger recalls the legacy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for his centenary year. Don’t know the date and paper it was published in, but here is an image of the article I had converted into a PDF: Maharishi’s Legacy by Lane Wagger. If you open it, go to Tools, Rotate Clockwise, then Zoom up to 110% to read it.
These remembrances are just a fraction of what he had accomplished. He created schools, universities, revived ancient Vedic medicine, architecture, music, encouraged scientific research on TM, and so much more. Maharishi’s Vedic knowledge and technologies continue to transform millions of people’s lives for the better, and for that we are very thankful. Jai Guru Dev.
SUMMARY: A study published in Military Medicine showed that after 30 days of practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, 80% of the 46 veterans and active-duty personnel no longer had PTSD. All participants had been clinically diagnosed with PTSD using a standard assessment. By comparison, standard treatments for PTSD—prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and medication—are only partially successful: approximately two-thirds of patients receiving cognitive processing therapy or prolonged exposure still have PTSD after treatment.¹
Participants in the study went from an average PCL-5 pretest score of 51.52 (with a score of 33 or above indicating PTSD) to an average posttest score of 23.43 after 30 days of practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM).
Veterans of the war in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found significant relief from their symptoms as a result of practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, according to a new study published in Military Medicine. (PDF)²
The 41 veterans and 5 active-duty soldiers in the study had been diagnosed with clinical levels of PTSD, as measured by the PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-5). After one month, 87% had a clinically significant decrease of more than 10 points. The reduction was so great that 37 participants (80%) had their symptoms reduced to below the clinical level, meaning that they were no longer considered to have a disorder.
The effect size, which is a measure of the magnitude of a treatment, was 1.91. This is unusually high, with a value of .8 considered to be a strong effect. In addition, the very low p-value (p < 0.0001) indicates these results were probably not due to chance. The study included a 90-day posttest; PTSD symptoms continued to improve.
“It’s remarkable that after just one month we would see such a pronounced decrease in symptoms, with four out of five veterans no longer considered to have a serious problem with PTSD,” said lead author Robert Herron.
More effective than standard treatment
By way of comparison, the standard treatment, which entails veterans attending counseling and re-experiencing their trauma as part of the therapy, is typically only partially successful, with approximately two-thirds still suffering from PTSD after being treated.
“Transcendental Meditation is very easy to do and results come quickly,” said James Grant, Director of Programs for TM for Veterans, which provided partial funding for this study. “TM promotes self sufficiency – it’s a tool that the veteran can use for life, on his or her own.”
In addition, research has shown that Transcendental Meditation has a positive benefit for many of the conditions associated with PTSD, such as high anxiety, insomnia, depression, and high blood pressure.
“Because it works on the neurophysiological level to reduce stress, it has broader impact than cognitively-based therapies,” he said.
Veterans able to help themselves
An interesting facet of the study was that the veterans were recruited through media advertising rather than through a veterans hospital.
“The importance of this study is that it shows that veterans are able to help themselves,” said lead author Robert Herron. “After learning about the opportunity to participate in the study, they went to local Transcendental Meditation centers to be instructed in the practice.”
Dr. Herron said that because of their huge caseload, the Veterans Administration hasn’t been able to help all veterans in a timely manner. And veterans are often in desperate need of help.
Veteran practicing Transcendental Meditation
“The veterans involved were pleased that they were able to do this on their own, and no doubt the VA hospitals appreciate that there are therapeutic approaches that can be undertaken without the costly intensive care of a therapist that treatment typically entails,” he said.
Dr. Grant said some veterans are reluctant to go to counseling because of the perceived stigma, but that there’s no stigma associated with meditation, which is widely practiced by healthy people.
Practiced 20 minutes twice a day
The participants learned the standard Transcendental Meditation technique, which is practiced 20 minutes twice a day. The study found that the veterans who practiced twice a day as recommended had greater benefits than those who practiced once a day.
This approach to meditation, which was introduced in the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi beginning in the late 1950s, has been widely researched over the past 50 years, with over 400 peer-reviewed studies. It is unique in that it doesn’t entail contemplation or concentration and is easy to learn and effortless to practice.
“Researchers have been calling for new approaches to PTSD treatments, and Transcendental Meditation seems to be particularly effective,” Dr. Grant said. “Veterans who elect to learn Transcendental Meditation themselves can find significant reductions in PTSD. The results are promising and suggest that this is a treatment modality that deserves more rigorous study as a potential treatment for PTSD.”
DoD supports researchon TM
The current study follows four previous studies on veterans that suggested a benefit for PTSD. Because of these promising findings, the U.S. Department of Defense has supported a randomized controlled trial involving 210 veterans that is now nearing completion.
“The evidence is mounting that Transcendental Meditation is an effective treatment for PTSD,” said Colonel Brian Rees, MD, coauthor of the current study. Dr. Rees was the lead researcher on two earlier studies on Congolese refugees suffering from PTSD, and found a significant benefit after just 10 days of TM practice.
Funding for veterans to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique in this study was provided by the Wege Foundation of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Watch veterans describe their PTS symptoms and how TM changed their lives in this video made by the David Lynch Foundation: Real PTS Relief for our Veterans.
Listen to this excellent interview about TM for Veteranswith Colonel Dr. Brian Rees on Better Worldlians, Podcast #109 — Aired November 7, 2016, in honor of Veterans Day: Transcendental Meditation and PTSD.
David Lynch Foundation CEO Bob Roth talks TM with BUILD host Charles Thorp
David Lynch Foundation (DLF) CEO Bob Roth joined BUILD Series NYC host Charles Thorp to talk about the work of the global charitable organization. DLF addresses the epidemic of trauma and toxic stress among at-risk populations. It hosted “Change Begins Within: Healing the Hidden Wounds of War,” a benefit dinner and conversation, which featured meditating actors Tom Hanks and Mary Louise-Parker. The proceeds benefited David Lynch Foundation programs, including the Center for Excellence in Military Health, a division of the David Lynch Foundation helping veterans and those in the armed services dealing with post-traumatic stress (PTS). Watch this engaging interview here: https://goo.gl/zpKLwa.
Bob Roth, DLF CEO. (Photo Alexander Berg)
Bob Roth is the most experienced and sought-after meditation teacher in America. Over the past forty-five years, Bob has taught Transcendental Meditation to thousands of people, from billionaire CEOs to combat-scarred veterans, to at-risk students in violence-filled schools, to leading figures in government, business, medicine, media, the arts, and more. In addition to serving as the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation he also directs the Center for Leadership Performance.
In Strength in Stillness, Roth breaks down the science behind meditation in a new, accessible way. He highlights the three distinct types of meditation—focused attention, open monitoring, and self-transcending—and showcases the evidence that the third, Transcendental Meditation, is the most effective and efficient way to reduce stress, access inner power, and build resilience. Free of gimmicks, mystical verbiage, and over-inflated research studies, Strength in Stillness is a simple and straightforward guide to calming mind, body, and spirit. Read more here: www.stillnessbook.com.
Watch this excellent book promo video, containing excerpts from various presentations, interviews, and famous meditators talking about what TM does for them, and others in need, on Bob Roth’s (@meditationbob)Twitter feed.
Jan 10, 2018: Bob Roth explained his book on his Facebook page live.
This is the one-year anniversary of the start of my trip to India. A year ago today, I boarded a very long non-stop flight from Chicago to New Delhi. After clearing customs I went to an airport bank to change some money. It took a while, but a driver who had been sent to pick me up waited to take me to a Holiday Inn, where I finally crashed. The next morning another driver took me to the airport for a flight to Jabalpur. My sister and brother-in-law where there to welcome me when I arrived, which was very nice. We then traveled to the holy Narmada River, to fulfill the prime purpose of my long journey.
As it turned out, November 14, 2016 was a very significant day in three major religious traditions at this celebratory time of year. We hired a boatman, and after some special prayers, I spread Sali’s ashes on this peaceful celestial river as he rowed the boat towards and around a small Mother Narmada Temple at the foot of the Gwari Ghat.
This took place during the late afternoon on a Monday, a moon day, but the largest full moon in 70 years, the supermoon! It was highly significant, worthy of Sali’s spiritual merit she had earned offering a lifetime of one-pointed devoted service to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Movement. Some of his ashes had been spread at this holy place as well.
It was evening by the time we arrived at the Bijouri Campus in the Brahmasthan of India. During my 3-week stay there I would meet many wonderful meditators and sidhas from different countries around the world who came for the Maharishi India Courses, to meditate and enjoy the recitations of the Maharishi Vedic Pandits. It was a very healing atmosphere to settle into. Just what I needed, thanks to my family.
Traditional Indian Greeting
To start our course, we were each given a special welcome by the Maharishi Vedic Pandits and garlanded with flowers. Here is a photo of me, taken last year, November 16, 2016, after that warm reception.
I purposefully stood in front of a large beautiful painting of Guru Dev, Maharishi’s master. I had purchased a print of this latest painting of Guru Dev the previous summer, having seen it featured at Art Fifty Two in Fairfield during a reception for the artist and her work. I had taken a photo of Frances Knight at the gallery standing in front of the original painting. You can also see part of a large Holy Tradition painting on the back wall behind her, one of many she had painted in the past.
Visiting the Maharishi Vedic Pandit Campus
On one of our trips we were taken to the geographical center of India known as the Brahmasthan. We shared a short group meditation and took photographs. And once a week we were driven to the Maharishi Vedic Pandit campus to hear 1,500 pandits recite Atirudrabhishek, an ancient Vedic performance to create world peace.
Sitting there with my eyes closed listening to the powerful Vedic recitation, I started to feel a deeply relaxing peacefulness growing inside my body. Soon, much to my surprise, I started to smile, then chuckle! I felt an inner happiness welling up within me that was totally unexpected. This bliss was a welcome contrast, a relief from the grief I was carrying around with me, mourning the loss of my sweetheart. This profound experience was worth the long tiring trip over there!
We put on traditional Indian clothing for these special occasions and posed for a group photo before boarding the buses back to our campus. I am standing in the upper second-to-last row on the far left. The course participants came from England, Ireland, USA, Canada, several European and Asian countries, Israel, Australia, and many from Iran. We were a diverse and harmonious group.
Now that I finally transferred all of my photos from my iPad onto my computer, I could post some of them related to this story. Who knows, maybe other photos will spark new stories.
Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Entrepreneur aired a profile of a local sustainability company in Fairfield, Ideal Energy, co-founded by two MUM graduates, Troy Van Beek and his wife Amy Van Beek. The show first aired on IPTV July 28, 2017. Here’s the hyperlinked title and description to the video: Ideal Energy, Fairfield.
After returning home from active duty, a Navy SEAL sought an education in sustainability at a small Iowa university. Now, he and his wife work together, using renewable energy to sow the seeds of peace.
The show opens with a description of what makes Fairfield unique and the influence of the local university, Maharishi University of Management. The university was the first in the country to offer a four-year degree in sustainability. Students and faculty practice Transcendental Meditation.
The video profiles Troy’s time as a U.S. Navy SEAL in Afghanistan, a lead sniper, part of a team, to protect the head of the country. We later see him setting up his own security company in Africa. During this time he was having second thoughts about his chosen profession using guns to create peace. When he found Fairfield and MUM on the internet, he was inspired to make a life-changing decision and moved to this small Midwest city to become a student. It was there that he would meet his future wife, Amy Greenfield, an eco-developer.
Troy was immediately recognized as someone exceptional and was asked to help with projects to upgrade the university’s buildings to greener standards. They supported his ideas and he learned by doing. He graduated in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Sustainability (now a BA in Sustainable Living) and the skills to make a difference.
Mayor Ed Malloy invited Troy Van Beek and Lonnie Gamble, one of his teachers and a founding faculty member in MUM’s Sustainable Living department, to join a select committee to put a Go-Green Strategic Plan 2020 together for Fairfield. Reducing energy usage and making buildings more energy efficient was part of the plan. Companies supported this vision, but there was no one to help implement it.
To fill that void, Amy and Troy started their own sustainability company, Ideal Energy. They became one of the first solar companies in Iowa, installing around two megawatts of solar power on various buildings across the state. Thanks to their efforts, Fairfield has the highest number of solar energy installations per capita in Iowa. They received national and international recognition. In 2014, Troy and Amy were featured in a Huffington Post article and video: What the EPA Clean Power Plan Means: More Jobs, Less Carbon. And they were invited to speak at the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris.
I asked Troy how this IPTV show had come about and he said, “They reached out to us. We just made ourselves available. They did reference the Oprah video though. That may be where they heard of us.” Troy and Amy were included in Oprah’s televised visit to Fairfield, America’s Most Unusual Town, which featured an impressive profile of Troy.
In the Iowa video, this dynamic young couple explain how they started the company with just the two of them doing everything. As the demand for more solar installations increased, they needed to hire staff. Troy feels his experiences as a Navy SEAL prepared him to build a team and inspire them with the vision they were manifesting. Not only were they saving energy costs for local businesses, they were also providing jobs, and improving the local economy.
Troy also describes what he saw overseas—the disparities between the haves and the have-nots—especially when it came to energy and power. He sent me a quote for this article. It’s a powerful statement that sums up the core value of their company’s mission—to offer a proven solar solution that could put an end to wars over oil.
“We are moving to an abundant sustainable world. Every solar panel adds to this movement. The technology makes it possible to move away from fossil fuels. It’s our mindset and entrenched vested interest that slow the transition. With that said, we are moving from a system of centralized energy and power to one that is distributed. This opportunity makes it one of the most important liberation movements of human history.”
Watch this inspiring 13-minute video profile of Troy and Amy Van Beek’s company, Ideal Energy, in Fairfield, Iowa. Visit their website: www.idealenergysolar.com. The 27-minute show of Iowa Entrepreneur, CapArms & Ideal Energy, aired July 28, 2017.
Fast Forward: On Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2018, Ideal Energy Solar honored all who served. They also posted a video on their Facebookpage of company founder & former US Navy SEAL Troy Van Beek talking about War and Sustainable Energy. It was a rebroadcast from his May 8, 2017 birthday video, on how clean energy is shaping our future. It’s a sane vision of equitable access to energy and what that technological change can do for the world’s economies and our planet’s resources.
Related News on Fairfield, Maharishi University, and Ideal Energy
The university did build their off-the-grid Sustainable Living Center, the first of its kind. Troy installed a wind-turbine, with the help of students who built it, and added more solar panels on the energy cottage and new SLC classroom building.
Last year the Des Moines Register’s Kevin Hardy wrote a profile on Fairfield’s entrepreneurial spirit and the University’s sustainability efforts, which included a video interview with Troy: Why this Iowa town is thriving when so many aren’t. And, while ABC News was in town covering the political campaigning, Josh Haskell dropped by for a live report from MUM’s SLC to interview students and learn about sustainability and Transcendental Meditation from Department head David Fisher.
The Smithsonian Magazine rated Fairfield in their top ten list (No. 7) of The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2013. Later that year, Des Moines Register columnist Rox Laird featured Fairfield’s civic collaboration and Maharishi University’s Sustainable Living Center in his Op-Ed piece: Fairfield defines community action.
The following year, BuzzFeed named Fairfield No. 2 of their 11 Coolest Small Cities It’s Time To Road Trip To. Mayor Ed Malloy and Fairfield Iowa Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Rustin Lippincott were interviewed on Moving America Forward, a national television show hosted by William Shatner. In 2004, Fairfield was selected Most Entrepreneurial Capital in Iowa, and in 2003, as the Most Entrepreneurial City in America (with a population under 10,000). Read more: Fairfield: The “Entrepreneurial Capital of Iowa.”
The Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative [CWWI]—the women’s wing of the Transcendental Meditation organization in Canada—has partnered with the Central Saanich Police Service [CSPS] near Victoria, British Columbia to offer Transcendental Meditation to their officers and staff. Given how stressful law enforcement can be, this comes as welcome news, for police officers and the general public.
The study, conducted by Kwantlen Polytechnic University psychologist Lisa Kitt for the Vancouver Police Union, surveyed officers in the Vancouver Police Department. Of the 1,100 officers who were emailed questionnaires, 765 replied, a participation rate of more than 70 per cent, which is considered extraordinarily high for a social sciences study. The report found that approximately 32 per cent of the respondents were in the diagnostic range of PTSD.
The results show that police departments must address the mental health issues confronting officers. “They’re suffering,” Kitt said in an interview. “They’re suffering and they want people to know.”
Kitt explained that the post traumatic stress experienced by officers is the result of years of stressful job-related calls, witnessing distressing deaths and repeated violence.
Moved by the article, Helen decided to reach out to the Central Saanich Police Service with a solution. When she mentioned the 30% statistic in her presentation to the Central Saanich officers, some indicated that it may be higher, since officers may not want to report signs of PTSD due to concerns they may be overlooked for promotion.
Central Saanich Police Service and Area Police Officers Learn and Benefit from Transcendental Meditation
CSPS Police Chief Les Sylven
When Helen Foster-Grimmett approached CSPS Police Chief Les Sylven to ask him about including their wellness program for his officers and staff, he agreed, based on his own personal experiences with the meditation technique. “I feel very fortunate to have found TM early in my policing career. I believe daily TM practice has helped me deal with the long-term physical and emotional demands that come with serving the community through police work.”
Chief Sylven said that his TM practice helped him stay calm, present, and focused during many high-risk and complex situations. With regular TM practice, he believes that other police officers would experience similar benefits, including decreasing the wear and tear caused by years of shift work and sudden adrenaline surges, which may lead to serious illnesses.
Constable Kathleen Thomson
Kathleen Thomson, Constable [retired], who was with the Saanich Police Department for over a decade, also took the wellness training with the CSPS officers. After being instructed in TM, Thomson said she found that each sitting of meditation was like having a restorative vacation.
“Afterwards I have sustained, fresh energy. I feel far more settled, and little things that used to bother me, don’t as much anymore.” She says she feels more present, and more easily able to listen to and engage with others without her mind wandering. “Each sitting of meditation leaves me feeling both incredibly relaxed and energized at the same time. I wish I’d discovered TM years ago.”
Reviewing the ongoing project, Police Chief Sylven said, “Recently, we have been very fortunate to have some of our staff trained in TM. This training has included not only our police officers, but also our valuable civilian employees who support them. They are often the first to interact with the public when they need help.”
Less Reactive, More Responsive
Although it has only been a few months since the program was introduced, some of Chief Sylven’s people are already noticing subtle differences, including feeling less reactive and more responsive. At the end of the day they often sit to meditate together.
“This is particularly rewarding for me,” says Sylven, “as I know how important it is that we go home to our loved ones and families feeling calm, present, and at our best for them.” To better support officer wellness Police Chief Sylven feels it would be ideal to have a meditation room in every police department in Canada.
Along with the Central Saanich Police Service officers, several officers from other policing departments also took part in the training.
Helen Foster-Grimmett has been invited to join Chief Sylven in speaking about this wellness program for police officers at the Central Saanich Police Service during an upcoming conference that will be attended by 11 British Columbia municipal Mayors, 11 Police Chiefs, and 11 Police Boards.
Researched TM Benefits Specifically Relevant for Police Officers
• greater resilience • greater ability to focus and have broader comprehension at the same time [field independence studies; formerly thought to not improve beyond early adulthood] • faster reaction time • decrease in PTSD • decrease in general stress • better decision-making [fewer “knee-jerk” reactions] and higher moral reasoning • reduced insomnia, anxiety, depression • reduced alcohol or substance abuse • reduction in high blood pressure • reduction in sick days • increased brain coherence • restfully alert mind • increased energy, less fatigue • decreased cortisol [stress hormone]
Contact Information
For more information about the Transcendental Meditation program for police officers at the Central Saanich Police Service and on-going outreach programs, contact Helen Foster-Grimmett at Helenbythesea@shaw.ca.
A month following Helen’s article, Dec 29, 2017, Transcendental Meditation for Women published, Extinguishing Stress in Women Firefighters, by Deboragh Varnel. Deboragh is a TM teacher, Director of the Vancouver TM for Women Centre, and National Board Member of the Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative. She brings the TM program to women in high stress professions, including firefighters, police, first responders, nurses and teachers.
Transcendental Meditation in Military and Medical Education
Victoria City Police Union (VCPU) True Blue Podcast
(Left-Right) S/Sgt Matt Watterman; Constable Todd Mason, Victoria Police; Garry Foster, TM Teacher; Les Sylven, retired Police Chief, Central Saanich Police, PhD Candidate, University of Victoria. (Todd and Les practice TM.)
Update: (March 2021) Helen’s husband and TM teacher Garry Foster appeared with Police Chief Les Sylven on Victoria City Police Union, VCPU’s True Blue Podcast. Garry said that Police Chief Les Sylvan’s contribution about halfway through added a lot to the discussion. Constable Todd Mason organized it and invited Garry, and S/Sgt Matt Waterman was a very supportive host. This is great exposure for TM. Les has retired from the police force and is pursuing a PhD at the University of Victoria exploring leadership in the RCMP. Enjoy this (55:40) podcast posted on their website: Transcendental Meditation – Garry Foster & Les Sylven. Also posted on their Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and Spotify.
During difficult times, and Sali’s final days, we were helped by the kind staff from Hospice Compassus. After Sali passed, they continued to offer me support with their bereavement program throughout the year. On the one-year anniversary of her death they sent me a letter and a brochure, Journey Through Grief: Looking back at your first year. They encourage “Grief journaling and all forms of writing as an important and helpful tool for healing.” They offered helping prompts to those grieving to get started with these two Reflective Questions.
As you look back at the past twelve months:
1. When thinking about the life of the person that you’ve lost to death, what — of themselves — have they given you to help you move through the rest of your life?
2. During your walk through grief, what have you learned about yourself that will assist you in moving forward?
I had been writing in a journal all along, and posted some entries and many poems. After reading these questions I was moved to write a haiku, then extended it to this tanka. I will give more thought to these questions and write something later, but wanted to post this tonight to mark the one-year anniversary of Sali’s passing.
Tanka for Sali A remembrance of you and your gift to me
What you did for me
Was draw Love out of my heart
And into our lives
It completely transformed me
To become a better man
This entry, 9 months after her passing, reviews our relationship and what it meant: For Us—a tanka honoring Sali and what we shared. I also updated the entry Celebrating the Glorious Life of Sally Monroe Peden, which contains newer descriptions about Sali by friends who spoke at her Memorial Service. There are many beautiful tributes there, and now, halfway down, you’ll see today’s date, October 1, 2017, with new entries from David and Rhoda Orme-Johnson, Kate Ross, and later Rannie Boes.
True to the end, Leonard Cohen‘s work charted the arc of his career, between life and death (Sept 21, 1934 – Nov 7, 2016). His search for redemption also influenced his fans. Cohen’s evolving understanding of life, beautifully expressed through his music, shone a light through the cracks of a broken humanity in a dark suffering world. He never claimed to have found all the answers, but seemed to have reached a kind of inner peace toward the end of his life, between himself and his God.
There is a repeated stanza in one of his songs, Anthem, that conveys the redeeming acceptance of light illuminating the darkness, compassion and love overcoming bigotry and hatred: “Ring the bells that still can ring/ Forget your perfect offering/ There is a crack in everything/ That’s how the light gets in.”
There may be a crack in everything, but how does the light get in—from without, or is it released from within? I’ve often thought about the profundity of those lines, and there have been many interpretations of what he may be implying. See mine below.* I think he sang about finding that divinity within and among our broken humanity. I wrote this tanka in honor of Leonard Cohen.
Leonard Cohen’s music lit up a dark world A tanka in honor of the poet by Ken Chawkin
Leonard Cohen said There’s a crack in everything How the light gets in
It came through him and lit up a broken humanity
Of course there is a kind of irony here when he says, “Forget your perfect offerings,” since he labored for months, sometimes years, on getting the lyrics to his songs perfect. At some point, though, he must’ve given up, admitted his imperfection, and sent them out into the world. As Leonardo da Vinci once said: Art is never finished, only abandoned. Other famous artists and writers have said and done the same thing.
Artistic Genius—Two Creative Approaches
There is a story about Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. They happened to be in Paris at the same time and decided to meet at a certain café. During their conversation, Dylan, one of the first to sing Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” in his concerts, asked Cohen how long it took him to write it. Cohen was embarrassed to tell him the truth so he lied and said 2 years. Then Leonard asked Bob how long it took him to write “I And I“, and he replied 15 minutes. I think he said he wrote it in the back of a cab. Cohen later told this story to an interviewer and confessed that it took him more like 5 years to write that song. He never could complete it, even after 30 verses! Their styles reflect thedifferent philosophical approaches of ‘first thought, best thought’ versus ‘revise, revise, revise’.
You can read the fascinating history of that song in Alan Light’s book, The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah”. Malcolm Gladwell, in Season 1, Episode 7 of his Revisionist History podcast, discusses the history of “Hallelujah”with Alan Light. That segment starts at 21:35 and explains how this obscure song was first covered by only a few artists 15 years after Cohen had recorded it. The theme is about two kinds of artists—those who seem to create spontaneously, and others who labor for a very long time—the differences between Mozart and Beethoven, or Picasso and Cezanne. It first aired July 28, 2016. Later added on YouTube March 8, 2023 starting at 18:13. Also listen to BBC – SOUNDS – Soul Music – Series 20 – Hallelujah. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 14, 2015. (27:50)
During Leonard Cohen’s final public appearance at the Canadian consulate in Los Angeles on October 13, 2016, the day Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, he was asked what he thought about that and said: “To me, it’s like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain.”
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
I later read the Guardian article (6-29-2022) that this book served as the basis for the new documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song. Directed and produced by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, the film takes both a micro and macro view of the song and Cohen, along with their respective and deeply intertwined places in culture. See ‘More than a song’: the enduring power of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. In a new documentary, fans and experts explore the legacy of a song originally shunned before becoming a timeless classic.
I saw this documentary at the FilmScene in Iowa City (Saturday, August 6, 2022). It was very well put together. The ending moved me to tears. Netflix later offered it: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song. From there it would later move to Hulu and Disney+. You can rent it on Amazon and other platforms.
Murals mark 1-year anniversary of Leonard Cohen’s death
Montreal murals made by Gene Pendon (l) and Kevin Ledo (r)
November 7, 2017 is the 1-year anniversary of Leonard Cohen’s death. To personally commemorate this date, Sylvie Simmons tweeted a picture of herself standing in front of a large mural of Leonard Cohen painted by Kevin Ledo on the side of a 9-storey Montreal building close to where Leonard kept a home. It was the center piece for the fifth Mural International Public Art Festival in June. CBC Arts interviewed Kevin Ledo while he was working on it: Montreal Remembers Leonard Cohen With This Massive Mural. The Montreal Gazette’s Bill Brownstein had written an article about the making of it. He also mentions another mural, a tribute to Leonard Cohen made by artist Gene Pendon, which was painted on the side of a 20-storey downtown building, as part of Montreal’s 375th billion dollar birthday bash. The Globe and Mail described them in detail: Leonard Cohen and a tale of two Montreal murals. ET Canada reported on the official inauguration today, a year after Cohen’s passing. Josée Cloutier posted photos of both murals in one tweet, shown above.
The M.A.C.’s Exhibition on Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything
The Guardian published Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything – Montreal’s tribute to its favourite son. The new exhibition was conceived as part of the city’s 375th anniversary celebrations – but has morphed into a thorough investigation of all things Cohen. On 9 November, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (AKA the Mac) will open the doors to Leonard Cohen : une brèche en toute chose/A Crack in Everything, a tribute to the artist, poet and musician, filled with multi-disciplinary works inspired by Cohen’s songs of life. This special exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art will conclude 9 April 2018.
The show takes its title from Cohen’s song Anthem, which contains the famous line “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” The song also inspired artist Kara Blake’s piece for the show, an immersive installation called The Offerings. “The song apparently took Cohen 10 years to craft and is just one example of his many artistic offerings that get inside the beautifully flawed nature of being human,” says Blake. “I wanted my piece to present visitors with a sampling of the creativity, wit and insight Cohen has gifted us with.”
Julia Holter contributed a cover of Cohen’s Take This Waltz, which will play on rotation in the Listening Room. “I enjoyed getting into the feeling of this passionate, seductive, demented waltz,” says Holter, who incorporated field recordings she made during a visit to the Greek island of Hydra, where Cohen had a home. “Being there was incredible,” she says.
For Holter, being invited to contribute to the show is the perfect way for her to give back to an artist she was introduced to as a child and who inspired her love of poetry. “What was special about Leonard Cohen’s work was its calm mystery. I think that can be an inspiration to the world right now,” she says. “The world needs this subtle beauty right now.”
And of course, who could ever forget Suzanne, Leonard’s mysterious poetic song that started it all, thanks to Judy Collins who wanted to cover it right after she heard Leonard sing it to her. It launched his career as a singer-songwriter. The song was inspired by Suzanne Verdal, the then estranged wife of his friend, sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. Read Suzanne’s 1998 BBC Radio 4 interview.
I enjoyed reading Sylvie’s wonderful biography, I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen. It will be published next year in a new French edition with an added afterword that will be included in a revised English edition by McClelland & Stewart.
The afterword is Cohen’s response to the question about what was the driving force that propelled his output. Simmons calls it Traveling Light, and quotes Cohen’s answer in this interview for The Senior Times: Biographer Sylvie Simmons pays tribute to Montreal’s favourite son.
Leonard Cohen was very active towards the end of his life. Due to his declining health he tried to bring as many projects to completion as possible. One of them was his last album, You Want It Darker, produced by his son Adam Cohen. A new poetry book, The Flame, will be released next year.
The Flame: Poems Notebooks Lyrics Drawings
On Oct 1, 2018 CBC q host Tom Power interviewed Adam Cohen on the legacy of his father Leonard Cohen. It’s been almost two years since the passing of Leonard Cohen, but we’re about to hear from the legendary singer and poet again. The Flame is a posthumous collection of his final writing that features never before published poems that Leonard Cohen wrote in the final few years of his life. The day before it’s release, Adam Cohen returns to q to talk about mourning his father’s life and and celebrating his legacy on the morning of the book’s release.
*My reply to Quora question about the crack and the light
I agree with a number of interpretations posted here, quoting William Blake, the Kabbalah, and other esoteric sources, to explain what Leonard Cohen may be referring to in that line. They all make good sense to me. I also think that the light, of clarity, understanding, call it what you will, comes from within, not without. Metaphorically we may imagine light coming into a dark broken place from outside. But it can also light up the darkness from inside, if one knows how to turn on the switch. Another interpretation then, is no matter how broken, incomplete we are, with the proper approach, meditation technique, one can transcend, go beyond our limitations and just Be, experience that unbroken inner light of pure consciousness. With repeated exposures to one’s inner divine nature, the outer vessel, our body, can begin to heal, mend the broken cracks, and become whole. One way to experience this inner and outer development is with the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation.
New information on this topic later found and added
I recently discovered a quote by Rumi, which led me to believe this is where Leonard may have received the idea of the light entering the crack. Rumi wrote: “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
In the documentary, Andrea Bocelli – The Power of Silence, the interviewer quotes Rumi to Andrea. Here, ‘wound’ replaces ‘crack’, and he changes ‘you’ to ‘the heart’, but the idea is the same. It seems more intimate. “The wound is the place where the Light enters the heart.” They discuss the notion of the value of suffering and he asks him, “When did the light enter your heart? When did that light strike Andrea?”
Andrea gives him an unexpected, beautiful, religious answer. “So the vision of Rumi the philosopher that you quoted is very interesting and I agree with what he says. In my case I didn’t think it was a wound, not such a painful wound that opened up and allowed the light to enter. No, I think the light entered my heart thanks to the grace of God.”
He asks him, “Are you happy?” and Bocelli replies, “I am happy, yes, but more importantly, I am serene. To me happiness is a transitory condition and it can sometimes be a bit dangerous; whereas being serene is a state of mind that can be consolidated and it can stay with us forever.”
In 1991 media mogul Moses Znaimer inducted Leonard Cohen into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at The JUNO Awards in Vancouver. Leonard gave a brilliant and humorous acceptance speech.
k.d. lang agreed to pay tribute to the legendary singer-songwriter with a rendition of his beloved song, “Hallelujah.” She had never performed the song for Cohen and “was excruciatingly nervous” knowing he would be in the audience. She received a standing ovation, and as the credits began to roll, she ran down the stage steps towards Leonard to offer him her reverence and appreciation. He rose to meet her and they warmly, respectfully embraced. Cohen’s partner, singer Anjani Thomas, looked at Cohen and said, “Well, I think we can lay that song to rest now! It’s really been done to its ultimate blissful state of perfection.” He agreed. A few years later, in a CBC interview, Cohen recalled that performance and said, “that really touched me.” He was asked about the history of that song, and said, “the only person who seemed to recognize the song was Dylan.” During her world tour in 2008, lang gave a beautiful performance of the song backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra in a concert filmed at St. Luke’s Church in London. And two years later, lang sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremony. It was spectacular!
Leonard Cohen on Q TV (CBC exclusive). To celebrate Q’s 2nd anniversary — poet, novelist, songwriter, legend…a special exclusive feature interview with Leonard Cohen… recorded at his home in Montreal. Posted Apr 15, 2009.
Listen to CBC Radio’s As It Happens interview Marianne’s close friend, filmmaker Jan Christian Mollestad, the week she died: So long, Marianne. Leonard Cohen’s final letter to his muse. At Marianne’s request, Jan had conveyed a message to Leonard that she was dying. He wrote back to her, the subject of the interview. There is also a link to Leonard Cohen’s Facebook page with Jan’s reply to Leonard, saying his letter to Marianne gave her deep peace of mind, and described her peaceful passing to him.
Jan Christian Mollestad was one of the executive producers on the film. He had posted a video celebrating Marianne’s 80th birthday that previous year on Hydra, including Adam Cohen singing “So long, Marianne” in Oslo, and Marianne and Judy Collins enjoying singing “Famous Blue Raincoat” together.
Listen to the beautiful soundtrack by Nick Laird-Clowes: Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love (Original Score) https://lnk.to/WordsOfLove. Where you can watch the movie.
Leonard and Marianne: A portrait of Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, the woman who inspired Cohen’s song ‘So Long, Marianne’. Based on Kari Hesthamar’s NRK award-winning documentary ‘So Long, Marianne’. Falling Tree Productions made this 27:33 minute piece. Produced by Alan Hall, it was first broadcast August 2, 2008 on BBC Radio 4. Leonard Cohen’s muse when he turned from poetry to song-writing was a beautiful Norwegian woman immortalised in the song So Long, Marianne—this is their story. Listen to in on SoundCloud. It won Best Feature Bronze Award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards (2009).
November 22, 2019 brings the release of the first posthumous Leonard Cohen album, Thanks For the Dance. For the nine-track LP, Cohen’s son, Adam, took leftover sketches and poems from his father’s 2016 LP, You Want it Darker, and fleshed them out with the assistance of Beck, Damien Rice, The National’s Bryce Dessner, and others. Following last month’s teaser track, “The Goal”, “Happens to the Heart” has now been released as the album’s first official single.
July 7, 2022, Directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, and head of the Cohen estate/Executive Producer Robert Kory discuss HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This was the first RRHF screening and discussion since the covid pandemic had shut them down for a year. See the 42-minute video.
Speaking of The Coming of Wisdom in Time, as William Butler Yeats put it, Leonard Cohen came to a similar realization when he said: “The older I get, the surer I am that I’m not running the show.”
I later found this video posted on YouTube by AirGigs on Jan 18, 2022: 10 Pearls Of Wisdom From Leonard Cohen. In this episode we look at his thoughts on success, writing, talent and much more.
Apr 9, 2024, Contra Costa JCC presented, Leonard Cohen: Untold Stories. Award-winning writer, playwright, journalist, and author of seven books, Michael Posner, joined the Under One Tent audience online on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. He introduced the third volume of his book, “Leonard Cohen: Untold Stories,” a must-read for fans of Leonard Cohen.
I discovered jazz in high school and soon became aware of Bill Evans. An accomplished musician educated in classical music, he chose to become a jazz pianist instead, and took elements of those influences to create his own unique style.
As a young man, Evans went on to compose and perform modal music with Miles Davis. Miles praised Bill’s contribution in the groundbreaking Kind of Blue LP released in the summer of 1959 by Columbia Records, often considered the best-selling jazz album of all time. Evans later left Davis to play solo, and form his own jazz trios. Bill Evans became one of the true jazz legends of our time.*
In this intimate 1970 interview and concert at the rural home of Finnish host Ilkka Kuusisto, a very wealthy and very highly regarded classical musician, with jazz musicians in the family, Evans was asked if his group practiced. He explained that “the trio has never rehearsed. … All the things that we play have grown out of performance.” They shared “a natural development through common desire to make it more musical all the time as much as we can.” It was “freedom with responsibility…to the total performance.”
In his solo work, Bill Evans’s Peace Piece is musical onomatopoeia. The calming repetitive left hand chords juxtaposed with the right hand animated notes evoke fluttering doves of peace calling to each other. Pure genius! It reminds me of the French impressionistic sounds of Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, and Ravel, but this is distinctly his own music.
“Peace Piece” was an unrehearsed modal composition he recorded December 15, 1958 for his Everybody Digs Bill Evans LP released in early 1959 on the Riverside label (Riverside RLP 1129). It’s been hailed as one of the most beautiful and evocative solo piano improvisations ever recorded. I totally agree. One of the most beautiful jazz recordings I’ve ever heard. A peaceful masterpiece. A masterpiece of peace!
In this 1966 documentary, Bill Evans talks with his composer brother Harry about the creative process and self-teaching. Evans spoke of a Universal Mind. “I believe that all people are in possession of what might be called a universal musical mind. Any true music speaks with this universal mind, to the universal mind in all people. The understanding that results will vary only in so far as people have or have not been conditioned to the various styles of music in which the universal mind speaks. …”
Click SHOW MORE under that video to read the rest of the transcription. Evans also analyzes the melody and harmonics of Star Eyes, and performs other pieces, in between musical discussions with his brother.
Bill Evans (August 16, 1929–September 15, 1980) was one of the most famous jazz pianists of the twentieth century. Along with McCoy Tyner and Oscar Peterson, he was the force behind the biggest evolution in jazz since Art Tatum and Bud Powell.
Evans won seven Grammys during his career, the first for Conversations With Myself (1963), [which I had bought back then] although not for his most celebrated work, Sunday At The Village Vanguard (1961) with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian.
His use of impressionistic harmony, his inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and his syncopated and polyrhythmic melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists, including Herbie Hancock, Denny Zeitlin, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett, and his work continues to inspire younger pianists such as Fred Hersch, Bill Charlap, and Lyle Mays, as well as other musicians such as guitarist John McLaughlin.
In 1994, Bill Evans was posthumously awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) “for altering the course of jazz piano with his lyrical, impressionistic solo and trio recordings, characterised by the understated intensity, distinctive chord voicings, and unique harmonic sensibility that opened up the vocabulary of modern jazz.”
Taken from the notes to the video: Bill Evans was often asked to perform “Peace Piece” in later years after the 1959 recording, but he usually resisted, claiming that it had been the inspiration of the moment, and not something that could be recreated, he considered it as a one-time thing. Only on this occasion in 1978 he performed “Peace Piece” with the Bill Evans Dance Company in Seattle. This Peace Piece, extracted from the video, recorded in 1978, is probably the only recorded performance after “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” from 1959. Peace Piece is a “practiced improvisation” and you can hear how Bill adapts his playing to the choreography of the dancers compared to his 1959 solo performance.
Emanuil Ivanov covers Bill Evans Peace Piece 2022
Emanuil Ivanov performed Bill Evans – Peace Piece beautifully at Bulgaria Hall, Sofia on October 3, 2022 as a Prayer for Peace. It is the closest to the original. Ivanov’s playing is very refined and delicate, capturing the peaceful feeling perfectly.
September 24, 2025, Daniel Anastasio posted on Instagram how Bill Evans came to write Peace Piece. He said he came into the studio to record Leonard Bernstein’s Some Other Time from his musical On The Town. But he never got past the opening bars because they turned into this: and he starts playing Bill’s improvisation. He gives a commentary about playing in the moment and not trying to be perfect. I posted a comment on his reference to the left hand playing like a non-wavering mantra while the right hand improvises, suggesting another metaphor, like a metronome, explaining the proper use of a mantra in meditation. Another reminded him that the right hand evolves a melody based on bird calls! True genius. I agreed and said: Exactly! That’s why I call this Peace Piece musical onomatopoeia.
— Written and compiled (citing sources) by Ken Chawkin for The Uncarved Blog.
The Uncarved Blog 