Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

EEG Demonstration of the Enlightened Brain

May 8, 2010

Michael Beresford, Sara Hea and Rich Van Shaik present the TM Program

Transcendental Meditation Brainwave Coherence Demo

Michael Beresford, brain researcher, businessman, and teacher of the Transcendental Meditation Program, demonstrates how TM increases EEG brainwave coherence and improves mental performance.

The Men Who Stare in Peace: An Interview with Dr. David Leffler | plausible futures newsletter

May 6, 2010

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The Men Who Stare in Peace: An Interview with Dr. David Leffler

In the movie The Men Who Stare at Goats, military interest in psychic research is portrayed as an utter failure. The movie is not meant to be science journalism but pure entertainment. However, buried beneath the satirical and banal surface of this movie lie many interesting scientific theories. A proposed theory of a collective consciousness is one of them.

The origins of our understanding of collective consciousness can be traced to the Vedic texts of ancient India. This multidimensional science of the mind had its revival with such luminaries as Gustav Fechner, William James, Emile Durkheim, and C.G. Jung. Recent advances in quantum physics, especially Unified Field Theory, are now providing some fascinating parallels with these schools of thought.

The late Vedic scholar Maharishi Mahesh Yogi majored in physics at the University of Allahabad and later revived the concept of collective consciousness from the ancient Vedic tradition of India. He proposed that through the practice of his Transcendental Meditation (TM) program and its advanced techniques the unified field could be directly contacted and experienced. Through this process he predicted that both stress in the individual and stress in the collective consciousness of society could be reduced for the betterment of mankind. Scientific research later bore out his prediction, and scientists named the social dimension of this phenomenon “The Maharishi Effect” in his honor.

Harvard-trained physicist Dr. John Hagelin, whose research in quantum field theory includes some of the most cited references in the physical sciences, was one of those pioneering scientists who tested Maharishi’s theory and wondered how such an action-at-distance effect might work. In his article “The Power of the Collective” published by Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness, Hagelin says:

But how we do have such an influence on one another at a distance? There are no clear answers yet, but I believe that the clue lies in the notion that beneath the physical levels of human existence – our bodies and the quantum realm of molecules, atoms, quarks, and leptons – is a unified field of pure, abstract, universal consciousness. It’s at this level of reality, this level of nonlocal mind, where you discover that the qualities of space are, at least in theory, capable of accommodating extraordinary experiences…. If we assume that at our core level of being we are all intimately connected in a unified field where we are all one, it becomes very easy to understand how we influence one another. And when we contact this unified field of being, we enliven that unity, that harmony, and that coherence in the collective consciousness of society.

The Maharishi Effect is this positive transformation of social trends created by the enlivenment of the unified field through the TM and TM-Sidhi program. If more than one percent of a population is meditating regularly or if large groups practice the advanced TM-Sidhi program twice a day, extensive peer-reviewed research indicates that stress decreases in the entire population. This effect is now being harnessed for crime reduction, peace-keeping and conflict prevention. Even in war zones, meditation is becoming accepted as an effective stress management tool for citizens, soldiers, and society at large. An online video (1:13:00) specifically explaining the defense applications of the Unified Field by Dr. John Hagelin is available at the International Center for Invincible Defense website. A transcription and full-sized images are available here.

Skeptics point out that if the Maharishi Effect really works, then why didn’t it prevent the social stress responsible for the 1950-1951 annexation of Tibet? At the time more than 5,000 monks were said to be meditating in various monasteries throughout the country. Proponents of the TM program point out that scientific research shows that meditation techniques differ in procedure, EEG patterns, neural imaging patterns and benefits. They also attest that the TM program and its advanced practices are the only meditation methods verified by peer-reviewed research to reduce social problems like crime, terrorism and war.

Do these outcomes sound unbelievable or too good to be true? Many find these ideas rather exotic, and others wave them off as another New Age scam. Documentary films like What the Bleep Do We Know and The Secret and books like The Holographic Universe may be great entertainment to some, but do they have any basis in good science?

I had the opportunity to interview Dr. David R. Leffler, a US Air Force Veteran with a Ph.D. in Consciousness-Based Military Defense, about this new approach to peace:

(more…)

Radish: MLG seeks healing through light and gems

May 6, 2010

Apr 28, 2010 10:18AM

MLG seeks healing through light and gems

By Linda Egenes

When Jim Fairchild, a 68-year-old college professor, signed up for a session of Maharishi Light Therapy with Gems (MLG), little did he know that this holistic new therapy would provide relief from a serious injury.

“Ever since a car ran over me when I was 3 years old, I’ve lived with constant pain and pressure in the back of my neck,” he says. “As a result, I’ve been on a lifelong quest for relief — consulting legions of chiropractors, massage therapists, and others. But nothing worked.”

At first, Fairchild found that light and gem therapy treatments simply made him feel more relaxed.

Then, to his surprise, he felt a profound shift in his level of pain. “I came out of a session feeling almost no discomfort in the back of my neck,” he says. “I quietly waited for the inevitable. But the pain didn’t return. My neck isn’t perfect, but the difference is profound. The amazing thing is that during the session I didn’t feel anything extraordinary in my physiology. Yet somehow relief came to me, without my even asking.”

The oldest and most refined members of the mineral kingdom, gems have long been known for their healing qualities. For thousands of years, the Ayurvedic tradition of India has employed gems for prolonging life span and promoting health, wealth, happiness, charisma and the fulfillment of desires. In fact, Ayurvedic texts describe mantras, gems and herbs as the three fundamental means to support the development of higher states of consciousness and perfect health.

Today the healing power of gems is available in an affordable new treatment called Maharishi Light Therapy with Gems (MLG), offered at The Raj Maharishi Ayurveda Health Spa in Fairfield, Iowa. In this treatment, the profound orderliness of 13 gemstones, each with their own unique crystalline structures, is made available to the mind and body. This occurs by using special “light beamers” which project soft light through the gems.

Dr. Keith Wegman, an MLG practioner at The Raj, explains, “The light frequencies act as a carrier for the orderly structure of the gems. They resonate with subtle frequencies of our physiology and trigger profound self-healing and self-repair.”

During the past year, over 2,000 treatments given at The Raj have provided strong evidence of the long-term benefits of this approach.

“Individuals have reported relief from chronic disorders, such as decreased anxiety and decreased joint, muscle, and bone problems, as well as improved emotional stability, better sleep and expanded self-development,” says Dr. Wegman. “Now a six-month research study is being conducted to quantify the long-term effects of the treatment.”

The results of MLG are different for each person. A woman from Montreal found relief from asthma, while Adile Esen from Turkey noticed her emotions were more stable.

“The feeling of nourishment and balance coupled with calmness and clarity have continued,” she says. “In addition to becoming more aware, open, and clear, I realize that even in very difficult situations that could have made me doubt and tremble, I have remained calm like the pearl at the bottom of the ocean.”

The equipment used in MLG treatments was developed over a period of 30 years by Dr. Yoachim Roller, a German gemologist, under the direct guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who founded the Transcendental Meditation technique and Maharishi Ayurveda. Trained practitioners offer MLG exclusively at The Raj in Fairfield and in facilities around the world.

The Raj is the only place in North America to offer treatments using larger, more powerful instruments, affectionately called “Big Beamers.” The 13 Big Beamers contain 12 gems each, with a total of 145 gems to magnify the effect.

“The Big Beamers have a unique ability to transform any rigidity or obstruction to the flow of energy in the physiology,” Dr. Wegman says. “The transformation is more significant than with the regular beamers because the body is being submerged in profound coherence. The more powerful orderliness of the large beamers takes over any disorder, restoring balance in previously weak or compromised areas of functioning.”

Adds Dr. Wegman, “Gems are crystalline structures that are as old as our planet. Their inherent orderliness resonate with the inherent orderliness in the physiology, and that produces the profound results for mind and body that thousands of people have already experienced.”

For more information or to schedule Maharishi Light Therapy with Gems, contact The Raj Maharishi Ayurvedic Health Spa in Fairfield, Iowa, (800) 864-8714, extension 5300, or visit theraj.com/mlg/index.php.

MHN Interview with Jeffrey S. Abramson: Vedic Architecture Changes Way People Feel, Work

May 6, 2010

MHN Interview with Jeffrey S. Abramson: Vedic Architecture Changes Way People Feel, Work

Headline News, National, News, Today’s Headlines May 5, 2010

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor

The Harvard Business School/Harvard University Graduate School of Design recently presented a case study: “Design Creates Fortune: 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard,” on the 200,000 square foot LEED Platinum and Fortune Creating Architectural/Vedic-designed office building co-developed by The Tower Companies and Lerner Enterprises of Rockville, Md.

The presenters challenged students to consider the fact that human capital costs were higher than energy costs, and, perhaps it made more business sense to focus on improving the efficiency and productivity of the employees by employing ideas like Vedic Architecture.

Jeffrey S. Abramson, Partner, The Tower Companies’ talks to MHN about why he believes Vedic Architecture is the wave of the future and how it can also change people’s lives by being implemented in multifamily buildings.

MHN: What is Vedic Architecture?

Abramson: Vedic architecture is architecture in accord with natural law. Natural laws are those governing intelligence found in nature, which uphold life in perfect order. It is electrons and magnetic fields and all those impulses of nature that uphold everything in nature. Everything that happens in nature happens by the functioning of natural law. This architecture connects individual life with cosmic life using the same intelligence that governs nature. These expressions like you see in Vedic architecture are expressions you find in almost all cultures, in all systems of architecture, since the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians.

MHN: What are the principles of Vedic architecture?

Abramson: There are about 100 principles that make up Vedic architecture. Orientation—states that the front entrance should face east; how the building is sited on the land—which is called Vastu; determining the center point or nucleus of building; water placement etc. Taken in isolation these principles don’t have much of an impact, but taken together, they create the ideal building.

We incorporated all the 100 principles in the office building. We didn’t try to fool Mother Nature.

MHN: Why is this form of architecture important?

Abramson: Buildings affect people. And if buildings can affect people, they can affect their behavior, their outcomes and their success. Buildings can elevate life and if you can figure out those architectural principles that can uphold the life of the occupant, make them more successful, brighter and smarter, it can be very useful. The built environment can enhance productivity of the company and collectively this is going to have huge ramifications on the health and economic development of the U.S. Reduce pollution; create new jobs and new technologies. It’s not an intellectual concept, its not like there’s a sign that says you are about to experience something. But people come in and say they feel peaceful and energized. It has nothing to do with style, it can be any style the architect chooses.

MHN: Where does Vedic architecture come from?

Abramson: It is about 5000 years old and is associated with India but in its absolute essence, where we are not talking about interpretation etc, these are really just principles found in nature. It could be like saying physics is Austrian or German because we associate Einstein with it. So in that sense, it transcends culture. It was however, enlivened, and somewhat maintained in India.

MHN: How many building that incorporate Vedic architecture exist today?

Abramson: There is 500 million dollars worth of Vedic construction around the world. There are some very small multifamily buildings that incorporate it as well but it so happens that the office one is the largest right now. The next goal for us is to incorporate it in multi-housing. In fact, we now have the opportunity to build about 2,500 apartments at Metro station. This is the direction in which real estate is moving.

MHN: Are there any additional costs involved?

Abramson: There is a small cost—about 2-3 percent more, which is about 10 cents or so per sq ft. It is a minimal cost to make a massive contribution.

Maharishi School Students Win State Science Fairs Researching Jefferson County Farming Effects on Area Waterways

April 30, 2010

Maharishi School Students Research Jefferson County Farming Effects on Area Waterways, Win State Science Fairs

Maharishi School Students, Minna Mohammadi (l) and Pearl Sawhney (r), win at State Science Fair. Their research investigated Jefferson County Farming Effects on Area Waterways. – Photo clickphotographyonline.com

Pearl Sawhney and Minna Mohammadi, Maharishi School sophomores, swept the top prizes at the Eastern Iowa State Science Fair (EISEF) on March 21, as well as the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa (SSTFI) on March 26th and 27th with their project entitled, “Farm Feeding Practices: Exploring Solutions for Environmental Sustainability.” They also won the most coveted prize – a free trip to participate at the INTEL International Science Fair in San Jose with their teacher and mentor, Dr. Mousumi Dey, on May 8th – May 14th.

They won the following categories: first place and $100 at the EISEF, special prize: Iowa Environment and Water Pollution Board, first place and $100 in the Seminar Team Project category, the Power Point Hope Award, first place and $75 in the Environmental Science Senior High category, first place and $1000 for Senior High team, grand prize overall and $1000 in the Senior High category, Iowa Angus Auxiliary Award.

Mohammadi and Sawhney were sponsored in part by Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors Association. They received mentorship and testing materials from the USDA. Dr. Dennis Dey and Dr. Rajeev Sawhney provided additional mentorship.  The research team examined the relationship between animal feed and pollution in streams. The project impressed and intrigued judges, as it is an area not previously researched. They tested three different types of farms: confined animal feeding operations, conventional farms, and organic farms.

“Animal feed was tested for unbound phosphorous, important for bone growth, and phosphorous bound to phytates, which is indigestible and excreted by the animals,” explained Sawhney. “Manure is applied to fields as fertilizer. Pollution occurs when bound phosphorous enters local streams with run-off. We tested nearby streams, upstream and down, for bound phosphorous levels and biological oxygen demand. Biological oxygen demand is the level of oxygen needed to decompose dead organic matter. High levels of bound phosphorous increases the algae and phytoplankton populations. When the phytoplankton and algae die naturally, they use more oxygen to decompose than they did when living. This significantly lowers oxygen levels, creating an uninhabitable environment. The effects of the bound phosphorous are compounded when the streams enter the Mississippi River. This type of pollution has created a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that is the size of New Jersey.”

“We found that water running downstream organic farms had the lowest phosphorus content, and biological oxygen demand, and that water running downstream CAFOs had the highest phosphorus and biological oxygen demand. This indicates that organic farms, of the farms we tested, have the least negative effect on nearby water bodies,” explains Mohammadi. “We plan to continue our research and extend it to other counties.”

“The students performed multiple tests,” said Dr. Dey. “All the results were highly statistically significant. The girls collected water under extremely difficult conditions to minimize errors. Also, they took great care and every precaution to get the most accurate results. Such dedication and focus at such a young age is rare. They are continuing to collect more samples. If the area farmers could allow these two young researchers to collect water and soil samples from their land on a regular basis and organizations could help them with some more monetary support, we can have even more thorough results.”

When asked how the students chose their topic, Sawnhey said, “We wanted to find a local solution to a global problem.”

“We didn’t realize what we were getting into,” added Mohammadi. “It was difficult, cold, muddy work collecting samples!”

“We are extremely proud of the high level of scientific research that Minna and Pearl produced,” said Maharishi School Head, Dr. Richard Beall. “As much as their accomplishments, we’re also proud of the social significance of their topic. This research bears real consequence on public health.”

Maharishi University hopes to set the standard for “green” buildings

April 28, 2010

Maharishi University hopes to set the standard for “green” buildings

by Matt Kelley on April 26, 2010

in Education, Health & Medicine

A new classroom and research building is under construction on a college campus in southeast Iowa that aims to set a new global standard for green buildings.

David Fisher, director of the Sustainable Living program at Maharishi University in Fairfield, says the building promises to be unlike any other structure on the planet.

“It will be off the grid completely with respect to electricity, heating, cooling, water and waste disposal,” Fisher says. “In addition, the building will be day lit throughout the building.”

Banks of solar panels will provide the electricity for the Sustainable Living Center, Fisher says, and solar energy is being used by workers during the construction phase, as well. During the warm months, he says the building will be kept cool using a geothermal system.

“The heating will be done with solar water heaters on the roof,” Fisher says. “We will have insulation provided in part by very local materials, that is compacted earth blocks which came from some earth right across the street that was being cleared out for a parking lot.” That dirt was compacted into 26,000 bricks that will make up the building’s insulation. The building’s skeleton will use whole tree post and beam techniques.

“Water will be all rainwater,” Fisher says. “It will be collected on the roof and stored in a cistern and, of course, for drinking purposes, it’ll all be filtered with (an ultraviolet) filter.” Fisher says the system for handling waste is also accounted for as a green effort. Fisher says, “We have a constructed wetland and we’re planning to use a system that’s similar to what they use in submarines and on space capsules, purifying the water with a system that puts very, very finely-divided bubbles through the water to keep it aerobic and to completely degrade all of the organic matter so as to purify the water.”

Fisher says the building is designed to meet the Living Building Challenge, the highest standard for sustainable design and green building in the world. It will also be the first to combine that standard with the standards of LEED Platinum certification, Building Biology and Maharishi Vedic Architecture.

The building will serve as the base for the university’s Sustainable Living major. It will have classrooms, a workshop, a meeting room, a greenhouse, a kitchen, a research lab, a recycling center and offices. Fisher says it’ll be a building that teaches. The one-point-seven million dollar project is expected to be complete late this year.

Sustainable Living Center is unique in USA

April 26, 2010

Sustainable Living Center is unique in United States

Front page, Friday, April 23, 2010; published online: 4/26/2010

As ancient walls continue to crumble the world over, a few new ones went up yesterday in Iowa’s hippest farmtown.

The Sustainable Living Center at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield was the scene of a modern-day barnraising. Walls were tilted and roof trusses placed during the Earth Day event.

The structure uses “whole tree” post and beam techniques.

“It will set a new standard for green building in America by being completely off the grid with respect to electricity, heating and cooling, water and waste,” MUM director of media relations Ken Chawkin said.

Innovative Design of North Carolina conceived the building to meet the Living Building Challenge, a standard for sustainable design introduced at the 2006 Greenbuild Conference in Denver, Colo. The SLC is the first to combine that standard with those of LEED platinum certification, Building Biology standards, and Maharishi Vedic architecture guidelines.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system was created by the U.S. Green Building Council and is an internationally recognized third-party certification. Vedic architecture is based on Hindu traditions emphasizing the use of natural materials such as wood, bricks, adobe, stucco and marble.

“There’s no other building like this going up in the nation, or in the world for that matter, that we know of,” said Mike Nicklas, SLC co-designer and president of Innovative Design.

The company has created over 4000 structures that use renewable energy solutions. Nicklas participated in the first Earth Day in 1970.

The SLC building is slated for university occupation this fall.

“It’s a building that teaches,” Chawkin said. The SLC will provide students with classrooms, workshop, meeting room, greenhouse, kitchen, research lab, recycling center and offices.

In addition to embodying sustainability, the SLC will allow students to interactively monitor performance and energy efficiency.

MUM Sustainable Living Department head David Fisher, who helped plan the building, said the SLC will be a living, evolving project.

“The building itself is an educational tool, not just a passive one like most classroom buildings,” Fisher said. “It will provide participatory education where students will be continually adding to or altering the building and grounds, as well as systematically checking its effectiveness.”

The SLC is designed to be completely off-grid. Construction uses all non-toxic materials from local sources, as defined by the Living Building Challenge requirements.

All energy will be provided from solar panels on the building and from an outside wind turbine. Rainwater catchment will be the complete source of the building’s water, with purification of drinking water via ultraviolet technology.

Wastewater will be treated on-site using a constructed wetland. Natural daylighting will illuminate the entire interior. Geothermal technology will assist with heating and cooling.

None of the planned systems in the building are new or experimental, according to construction manager Dal Loiselle, who said the SLC uses “state-of-the-shelf” technologies.

“This building proves that we can meet our environmental goals for our built environment with the materials, technologies, and green building protocols we already possess,” Loiselle said.

Sustainability is a major focus at MUM, which has long promoted techniques for living in harmony with nature. The school was founded in 1974 by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as an international center for teaching Transcendental Meditation.

MUM filed a climate action plan to be 100 percent carbon-neutral by 2020 as part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy, named in 2009 by MSN.com as one of the nation’s 15 greenest mayors — alongside those of New York, Seattle and San Francisco — said the SLC holds promise for a sustainable future.

“Our city will benefit enormously by having this building on the campus of MUM as a demonstration of a new standard of design,” Malloy said.

The Sustainable Living Center includes material donations from nationally recognized leaders in green building materials, including Gerdau AmeriSteel, Pittsburgh Corning and United States Gypsum Corporation, as well as Green Building Supply of Fairfield.

Yesterday’s event was part of MUM’s tenth annual EcoFair, which runs from April 30 to May 2 at the Argiro Student Center, 1000 N. Fourth St., Fairfield.

2 comment(s) found

Prgressive!: 4/27/2010

Fairfield,Iowa/Maharishi University of Management is a creative outpost ~ of a life worth living; healthy, in tune with nature, cutting edge and friendly. Thank you to all involved.

Small Town USA: 4/26/2010

Its great to see even the small towns and universities going full swing into this Green thing. Whoo Hoo!

David Lynch on Transcendental Meditation: an interview with David Servan-Schreiber in Paris

April 26, 2010

What is Transcendental Meditation?

David Lynch Interview with Dr. David Servan-Schreiber

Paris, April 17, 2010

David Lynch, director, tells David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, about the benefits of a daily use of Transcendental Meditation. Mr. Lynch is working on a film about the life of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who brought back Transcendental Meditation in Occidental countries in the 60s. Interviewed in Paris, April 17, 2010. Here is a link to the full interview posted on DailyMotion: http://dai.ly/a9wgDS.

Visit the David Lynch Foundation to see the amazing work that is being done for at-risk populations: www.davidlynchfoundation.org

This interview was later uploaded onto YouTube in 4 parts by on Jun 22, 2010, in English and French versions. It includes this bio on the interviewer, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber.

Paris, 17 April 2010. Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, is a French physician and neuroscientist. Clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, he is also co-founder of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Following his volunteer activity as physician in Iraq in 1991, he was one of the founders of the US branch of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), the international organization that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. He also served as volunteer in Guatemala, Kurdistan, Tajikistan, India and Kosovo. In 2002 he was awarded the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society Presidential Award for Outstanding Career in Psychiatry.

Author of “Healing Without Freud or Prozac” (translated in 29 languages, 1.3 million copies sold), and “Anticancer, a New Way of Life” (translated in 35 languages, New York Times and international best-seller, 1 million copies in print) in which he discloses his own diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor at the age of 31 and the treatment program that he put together to help himself beyond his surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Dr. David Servan-Schreiber is also a regular columnist for Ode Magazine and other publications, and the founder of the French anti-cancer site Guerir.org (“Healing”). See also www.anticancerbook.com.

I just checked his website and discovered that after a 20-year battle with cancer, David Servan-Schreiber passed away on July 24, 2011.

France24 Interview – David Lynch, film director

April 23, 2010

In this edition our guest is American filmmaker David Lynch, famous for directing such films as ‘Elephant Man’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’. But today he tells us about his experiences in Transcendental Meditation, which he has been practicing for over 30 years. This is a two-part interview.

David Lynch, film director

David Lynch, film director (part two)

THE F24 INTERVIEW

‘Green’ learning in sustainable classrooms

April 23, 2010

Local News April 23, 2010

‘Green’ learning in sustainable classrooms

Maharishi University of Management constructs an off-the-grid academic building for sustainable living majors

MATT MILNER Courier Staff Writer

Matt Milner/The Courier Construction workers had to move carefully to avoid excessive damage to the tree trunks that will be a signature element in the new building for MUM’s sustainable living program. The school held a ceremony at the site on Thursday to mark Earth Day

FAIRFIELD — Builders and backers of the new home for sustainable living majors at Maharishi University of Management say nothing like it has been attempted anywhere.

It’s easy to believe them.

The construction brings together four basic philosophies. Three are focused on environmental impact and resource demands. The fourth is, as all new buildings at the college are, based on Vedic concepts. It’s a tough combination to pull off.

When complete, the building will be completely off the grid for electrical power, climate control and waste removal. The goal is creation of a building that meets the university’s needs for classroom and office space while demonstrating concepts the students learn inside.

Dr. David Fisher, director of the sustainable living department, thinks the building will help draw students. That has not been a problem for the program, which opened in 2003 with six students and now has 80 sustainable living majors. He called it an “incredible environmental building.”

It is not large as academic buildings go. That’s intentional.

“We didn’t want to make it too large because we’re trying to do so much,” Fisher said.

Right now the site doesn’t look markedly different from any other building under construction. Stud framed walls are the exterior on two sides. The other two are still open. The biggest clues that something different is going on are the nearly full-sized tree trunks that form part of one hallway. Others lay around the site, ready to be raised.

The trees being used are aspens. They are fast-growing and were harvested from a farm dedicated to sustaining its population. A slight sheen and a lack of bark are the only things that show they have been processed for construction. Builders said the trunks have strength similar to steel when they are maintained instead of sawed into boards.

Dal Loiselle, the developer and construction manager for the site, has worked on “green” building sites for 21 years. He said the costs are not all that different from those involved in traditional construction, provided the effort is made from the start. Adding environmentally friendly traits to an existing project can be expensive.

“It entails commitment, basically,” he said. “It’s just a matter of having the desire and doing it.”

Loiselle emphasized that none of the technology being incorporated is new. It’s off the shelf stuff that any builder can use.

The completed structure will be LEED platinum certified and meet the requirements for building biology, Vedic architecture and the Living Building Challenge. Students will have access to the roof and walls to study the concepts they learn in class. Monitors will track every shift in temperature, humidity and environmental change, wired into a website people can check from anywhere in the world.

Thursday’s ceremony was somewhere between a groundbreaking and a dedication, tied into Earth Day at MUM. It’s the 40th Earth Day, noted Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy. He expressed the hope that the building’s edge-of-the-envelope attempt today will be standard in another 40 years.

Matt Milner can be reached at (641) 683-5359 or via e-mail at mmilner@ottumwacourier.com