These days we are constantly bombarded with social media and advertising messages on our portable devices. Life has become a lot more complicated than in the past. This short poem by Wu-Men reminds us to take time to notice the simple pleasures that each season brings. And with a peaceful mind we can enjoy our best life.
I first discovered this text as one of a four-book compilation by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings, published by Tuttle in 1957. I had bought a paperback copy of the 1961 Doubleday Anchor Book from a Montreal used book store in 1967 and carried it around with me.
That summer, I had an awakening experience, and those contradictory koans I read somehow made sense. I had become a seeker and learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) on September 30, 1967, three weeks after Maharishi had visited Expo 67 to speak at the Youth Pavilion. This was during Canada’s Centennial Year and what was considered to be one of the most successful World’s Fairs of the 20th century.
When the school year started, I set up a SIMS club—a chapter of the Students International Meditation Society—then arranged for and publicized a TM Introductory Lecture on the Loyola College campus. Other new meditators had done the same at McGill University, and Sir George Williams University, which, with Loyola, would later become Concordia University.
Many hundreds of students learned TM that school year in Montreal, and some of us would go on to become TM teachers. The same situation occurred in cities across Canada and the United States. It was an exciting time, especially when the Beatles had learned TM and went to Rishikesh, India to study with Maharishi. “Dear Prudence” Farrow Bruns was on that course, along with Beach Boy Mike Love and Donovan. From June 10-14, 1968, I joined other meditators to study with Maharishi at Lake Louise.
I never imagined that posting a little poem by Zen master Wu-men would awaken memories of reading Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, and learning to meditate all those years ago. TM continues to help me live a better life.
Also enjoy reading the fine poetry of Ryōkan, another Zen master.
Stephen Mitchell later translated and read Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (The Book of The Way). I first enjoyed reading The Way of Life According to Laotzu translated by Witter Bynner. George Harrison was inspired to write “The Inner Light” based on Chapter 47 of this ancient text. It was first released March 15, 1968 by the Beatles as a B-side to “Lady Madonna”.
— Written and compiled (citing sources) by Ken Chawkin for The Uncarved Blog.
This blog post is thanks to Ellen Metropole for telling me that Markus K, a busker I follow on YouTube, attended the 10,000 course in Hyderabad, India! I didn’t know he was a TM-er. He wrote a song about the course while he was there and premiered it when he went to Morocco. It’s a catchy tune and tells the story of why everyone from so many countries attended. He performed the song on Feb 21, 2024 in Casablanca at his first Moroccan busking session.
Enjoy ‘Consciousness is All there Is’ written by Markus Koehorst, aka, Markus K, during an international Peace Project in Hyderabad, India called Ten Thousand For World Peace.
In his notes, Markus mentioned a great article about the Peace Project in Hyderabad, India published in Pressenza India: Ten thousand people meditating for world peace. I posted more articles listed below.
He also mentions 10 000 For World Peace – Transcendental Meditation, a beautiful video with images from the course, to the music of ‘Across the Universe’ by John Lennon. Unfortunately, the video was later taken down.
John Lennon wrote the song in England before the Beatles left for India. He had had a disagreement with Cynthia and couldn’t sleep. So he went downstairs and wrote down the words as they came to him. Of all the songs he had ever written he said Across The Universe was his best. It wrote itself. I remember reading somewhere that John had sung it to Maharishi in India, especially the chorus, “nothing’s gonna change my world.” Maharishi had suggested that he sing, “meditation’s gonna change my world,” but he didn’t change it. The Beatles Bible describes a complete history of Across The Universe in two parts 1 & 2.
David Lynch gave his own take on John’s expression in the song, “Nothing’s gonna change my world.” He explained that “nothing” as “no-thing”, i.e., the transcendent, which Maharishi was discussing, would change his world. John must’ve loved the double entendre, and contradictory meaning of that word in the repeating expression of his song. David mentioned that as part of his message to a DLF event via Zoom. He concluded his call with his short prayer for peace. You can listen to it here.
Born in Holland, Markus K spent 30 years in England based in Liverpool, UK and now travels the world playing on the street and connecting with people. Main instruments: guitar, vocal, percussion. Looper Master. Mostly originals; some drastic reworks of classics. Main influences: blues and anything with real soul, warts and all. Passionate about inner peace and conscious living. We Are All In This Together. In this video, Markus K – blues fusionist (presentation) Dec 31, 2017, Markus talks about his music, his busking and his travels.
On December 7, 2024, I came across a new and very cool variation of Markus K’s song, when, on May 24, 2024, he posted MAGIC on the street in HAMBURG – Consciousness Is All There Is. He wrote: “This is why I love to jam with Dominic Dobernowsky. He always brings magic to the mix, like that opening theme of his from where the whole thing evolves. Magic happens on the street!” Enjoy this new version. He also posted it a year later On This Day 24 May 2024 on TikTok.
Some of the Trinidadian participants of the 10,000 for World Peace Assembly (standing) and their facilitators. Photo courtesy Shelley Hosein. –
Concerned by the state of the world, eight Trinidadians joined over 10,000 people in India to try to bring about a decrease in the level of conflict around the world.
From December 29, 2023-January 13, over 10,000 people gathered at Kanha Shanti Vanam outside of Hyderabad, India for the 10,000 for World Peace Assembly, organised by the Global Union of Scientists for Peace (GUSP).
The aim was to demonstrate what the followers of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi called “the proven consciousness-based approach to creating world peace.”
The idea is, that if the square root of one per cent of the population, about 9,000 people, practised Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programmes twice a day consistently, it would create “the field effect of consciousness” throughout the world.
The Global Union of Scientists for Peace website called it the Brain-Based Approach to Peace. It said there had been over 50 demonstrations and 28 scientific studies over the years which proved the approach would prevent social violence, terrorism, and war.
It said, “This research has been carefully scrutinised by independent scholars and accepted for publication in leading peer-reviewed academic journals. In every case, this approach produced marked reductions of crime, social violence, terrorism, and war, and increased peace and positivity in society.”
Certified TM teachers Shelley Hosein and Anthony Grell were two of the people representing TT at the assembly in India.
Vedic pandits specially trained in chants and recitations were part of the 10,000 for World Peace Assembly in India. Photo courtesy Shelley Hosein. –
Hosein said previously, when the Maharishi was alive when there were “disturbances” in countries, he would send or arrange for groups to do meditation and the advanced TM-Sidhi programme in or near those countries.
“Of course, the individuals always feel the deeper peace and happiness but, it had the effect of reducing crime, reducing hospital admissions and a few other negative trends, and when things settled a bit people would leave.”
Grell added that such mass meditations were done in 1983 in Israel during the Lebanon war and in Washington, DC in 1993.
According to the Global Union of Scientists for Peace, over a two-year period during the Lebanon war, there were seven sessions in Israel; Utopia, US; Lebanon; Yugoslavia; Fairfield, US; Netherlands and Washington, DC, US.
It said during those periods war-related fatalities and injuries decreased by 71 per cent and 68 per cent respectively, the level of conflict dropped by 48 per cent and co-operation among antagonists increased by 66 per cent.
In the 1993 Washington experiment, measured by FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, it said soon after the study started, violent crime began to decrease, up to 23.3 per cent. And the rate stayed at those lower levels until the end of the experiment.
Hosein said, “Based on that and the state of the world, I think that is what really motivated Dr Tony Nader (chairman of the GUSP, physician and neuroscientist) to say, ‘We have a technology. It’s been scientifically proven over many years, why not let’s do a gathering so that more people will become interested and realise there is something that can be done for the individual and the world?’”
The other aim was to motivate people to establish a permanent group of meditators there for the benefit of the world.
She said India was a natural choice as it is the land of the Veda, meditation was prevalent there and a large enough space to host so many people.
Early morning mist settling over and between the tents set up for participants of the 10,000 for World Peace Assembly at Kanha Shanti Vanam, India. Photo courtesy Anthony Grell. –
Over 100 countries were represented at the event, including students who learned Yogic Flying in colleges throughout India.
Grell said he wanted to be part of the memorable event, meditating and being around people who wanted the same things for the world. He said he knew the value of TM – increased productivity, increased spiritual connection, improved emotional regulation, mental clarity, stress reduction, relaxation, perspective, increased problem-solving ability and more – and, in a group, the effect was magnified.
Hosein described the group meditating experience as profound and expressed gratitude for being there as she would have never had that opportunity in TT. She said having people from all over the world, of different races, speaking different languages, from different religions, all unified in their purpose, felt like family and like something very valuable.
Some participants of the 10,000 for World Peace Assembly during a brief meditation session at a meeting. Photo courtesy Anthony Grell. –
She recalled that their every need was taken care of and they did not have to worry about anything. There were tents for sleeping, meals, sim cards and minor health care were provided, and translation services for 30 languages. There were also book and clothes shops, a grocery, a laundry and other amenities. They were even provided with chairs, foam mats and cushions with backrests for meditating.
Every day for two weeks they would wake up, shower, meditate, have breakfast, attend inspirational or motivational talks and workshops by representatives of different spiritual organisations, have lunch, attend more talks or socialise, meditate, have dinner and then go to bed.
For meditation sessions, men were in the central area with the women in several wings or halls off the main area in smaller groups. People could walk around the central area while the women had more privacy.
She said even after decades of practising TM, she gained a deeper experience of self and more experience with inner silence.
There were live demonstrations where EEG (electroencephalogram), which measured electrical activity in the brain, leads were attached to meditators and everyone saw the changes in their brain signals shift from erratic to calm before meditating to deep meditation.
“It enhanced my strong belief that it is possible to change the world, there is a way and it doesn’t have to be with more guns. More of that type of thing that does not help and it even depletes the society. We lose so many people in war. How could that be the answer?”
“People have to start thinking outside the box, and recognise that each individual has the ability to change themselves and then have that effect on the rest of the room.”
TM teacher Anthony Grell (R) and fellow meditator Lamayani Ole Darvni from the Maasai tribe in Kenya, Africa. Photo courtesy Anthony Grell. –
Grell agreed saying people project their energy and the type of energy depends on how they are feeling. In such a large group, the benefits of TM – increased clarity of mind, harmony, tolerance and patience as well as feelings of happiness and peace – were amplified and sent outward.
“If you can actually prevent or remove enmity, take away that energy, it means the people will not want to go to war, sending young people to war to die, and they will not want to destroy.”
He said when people were living in a constant state of stress, anger and fear, they radiate that into their environment thereby affecting others. Also, under chronic stress, people react before they think or do not think clearly, increasing negative behaviours like road rage, school violence and domestic violence.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, stress could cause an imbalance of neural circuitry instrumental in promoting cognition, decision-making, anxiety and mood that affect behaviours and behavioural states.
Grell said if a person wanted peace, they had to go to where peace resided, in that inner aspect or consciousness. He noted that the bible said the kingdom of heaven is within you and, many other religions had similar sentiments. TM was a technique that allowed people to experience that inner aspect, leading to spiritual development.
He compared the multiplying effect of group meditation to a population getting vaccinated. If a certain percentage of the population was vaccinated against a disease it would protect those who did not or could not get vaccinated.
In the cause of gaining peace through meditation, at least the square root of one per cent of the population, which would be around 300 people in the case of TT, needed to practise TM consistently as stress came constantly from different avenues.
Hosein said they all knew the effect would not happen overnight and scientists were already gathering the data and doing research on the effect of the 10,000 for World Peace Assembly.
There has been a wave of publicity before, during, and after the largest group of 11,000 TM meditators from 139 countries who gathered at Kanha Shanti Vanam near Hyderabad for 14 days to help create world peace. Here is a sample of some of that news coverage starting with The Week, which came out in their print issue on Sunday, February 4, 2024.
IN EARLY 2005, security checkpoints at the Abu Ghraib prison complex in Iraq―notorious for torture and abuse of its inmates―were overrun by armed militants. The surprise attack met with strong resistance from US coalition forces guarding the site. Several American soldiers suffered injuries, and many militants lost their lives. Brian Rees, a doctor with the US military, remembers rushing out to treat civilian casualties. Whenever he got a chance, he said, he would retreat to a corner and meditate.
I felt I could use TM to reset. It kept me resilient on the ground. It is important to maintain a healthy rhythm.
—Brian Rees, us army veteran
Rees has learned to find peace among chaos. He meditates twice a day―20 minutes each in the morning and in the evening. Transcendental Meditation (TM) has been a source of strength for him while serving in Iraq and in Afghanistan. It helped him beat long periods of boredom and to cope with the shocking sights of blood and gore. “I felt I could use TM to reset. It kept me resilient on the ground. It is important to maintain a healthy rhythm or things can go very wrong,” said the veteran about the benefits of meditation in a war zone.
Rees has introduced hundreds of US veterans to TM in the last 10 years, helping them return to normalcy after stressful missions. He still remembers a veteran telling him just two minutes after attending a session that TM was going to save his life. “The veterans have a lot of questions on why this is happening. But they have no answers,” said Rees. “TM will really help them see hope and remove negative aspects.”
Nearly 4,000 TM practitioners from outside India like Rees and 6,000 Indians took part in a residential meditation programme organised by the Global Union of Scientists for Peace (GUSP), a group that works to carry forward the legacy of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was held for two weeks from December 29 at the Kanha Shanti Vanam ashram near Hyderabad. The programme was intended to trigger a world peace field based on a theory propagated by the Maharishi.
Tony Nader, chairman of GUSP, explained the idea behind getting 10,000 people at one place. “The research is based on findings of 50 years that when one per cent of the total population practises Transcendental Meditation in any city, there is a reduction in crime, conflict, hospital admission and road accidents. One per cent of the world population today would be 81 million and it is a big number to bring together for meditation. The Maharishi produced a new technique, which is based on Patanjali yoga sutras, where it was found that the square root of one per cent of the population is enough to achieve the desired effect. It means that instead of 81 million, its square root―9,000―could be used. The number 10,000 was selected to have the safety factor on top of the needed number.”
Nader, who leads TM-related organisations in more than 100 countries, hails from conflict-ridden Lebanon and credits meditation for helping him survive the horrors of the civil war in the 1970s. The 14-day programme saw participants practise basic TM, yoga sutras and flying sutras. Frederick Travis, director of the Centre for Brain, Consciousness and Cognition, Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, used a special device fitted with 19 sensors on a participant to study the impact of group meditation on the brain. He recorded a high coherence in the brain as a result of meditation practised by thousands in the vicinity.
Alex Kutai, a theatre actor-turned PR professional from Israel, said meditation was an antidote to war. Kutai, an active TM teacher, was drawn to the movement after the 1973 Yom Kippur war. “After every war, the interest in TM becomes high. Thousands learned TM after the Yom Kippur war. I thought it could support my well-being,” he said.
Kutai said many people were suffering from trauma, depression and pain because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. “When people along the Gaza Strip had to be evacuated, we taught them meditation so that they could cope with the loss. We are also teaching TM for free to those who are suffering from the loss of lives of close ones,” he said. Kutai lives in Hararit, a village near the Lebanon border which was created by a community of TM members in the 1980s. Though he has not taught TM to Palestinians, Kutai said he was willing to teach friendly Arabs who reside around his village.
Another participant in the programme was Vadym Bykovets, a Ukrainian who nurses war wounds even though he is not physically involved in the war with Russia. The 49-year-old lives in Lithuania and works in the private sector. He counts his friends and acquaintances among those who died or were seriously wounded. He encourages fellow Ukrainians to practise meditation. “I feel that they are emotionally wounded and stressed. Without meditation, they would feel terrible. They are even scared of loud sounds.” How does meditation help him? “War is a painful topic. Regardless of what information I get from back home, I meditate,” he said. “It cleans my mind and soul, and I do not feel involved in that situation.” The reason Bykovets came all the way to Hyderabad is to support the belief that meditation is the right medium to achieve global peace.
Correction: Maharishi University of Management is Maharishi International University.
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Visit Dr Tony Nader’s Instagram @drtonynader for inspiring photos, excerpts from articles, and video clips from the course and more.
They wrote: Dive into the fascinating world of Dr. Tony Nader, a Lebanese neuroscientist, researcher, and leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement. Discover his inspiring journey from the turmoil of the Middle East’s civil war to becoming a renowned figure in neuroscience. Join RJ Archana as she explores Nader’s insights on the current global conflicts, the roots of youth anger, and the importance of grassroots change. Learn about Nader’s transition from his initial days to his current stature, and gain profound insights into his work, including the founding of the International Journal of Mathematics and Consciousness. Don’t miss this thought-provoking episode on Viral City!
This first video (6:05) features Dr. Tony Nader at Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa talking about the need for TM in today’s stressful world. The video opens with students meditating with Dr. Nader. Using EEG, Dr. Fred Travis demonstrates the increase in brainwave coherence of a subject as she starts meditating. Students also discuss the practical benefits from their TM practice.
The second video (7:50) takes place in Medellín, Columbia at one of Father Gabriel Mejia’s shelters for rehabilitating homeless children with addiction problems. One of them went on to become a TM teacher and returned to teach the students how to meditate. They were inspired by the positive transformation and growth in his life.
The third video (5:02) was filmed in a Rhode Island hospital where medical staff were still dealing with the stressful repercussions from the Covid-19 pandemic. TM provided welcome relief from the traumatic loss of life and continues to be taught there. Dr. Nader mentions the David Lynch Foundation’s Heal the Healers Now campaign. They provided the funding for TM instruction, which helped thousands of healthcare professionals during the pandemic. Many continue to meditate regularly.
Embedded below are the videos with their short descriptions posted on the GWI site. Each title and chapter also take you to the BBC StoryWorks pages with the same videos plus 3 slides selected from each per chapter: Nature, Self, Community.
1. TM: Listening to your inner rhythm: Dr Tony Nader has been researching the mind and meditation since he was a medical student. Discover his methods for finding peace in a busy and ever-changing world.
2. TM: A healing journey: For Breiner, meditation had a transformational effect on his life, a lesson which he is now passing on to younger generations.
3. TM: The calm in the storm. Finding a peaceful moment to recalibrate. Ongoing strains on health clinicians from the Covid-19 pandemic are still apparent in hospitals. These medical doctors are finding strength in the moments of peace that Transcendental Meditation can provide.
On December 8, 2023 Angelina Jordan Official/Republic Records/UMG released her new 5-song Christmas album, Driving Home for Christmas. I think the first song, Driving Home for Christmas, may have been recorded this year, while the other 4 holiday tunes were taken from her live-streamed Christmas Concert Dec 23, 2021 during the pandemic.
I hadn’t heard of this song before and loved it. This popular holiday tune was written and recorded by Chris Rea in 1986. I did some research and was surprised to discover he’d also written and performed the 1978 hit song, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), which I remembered and enjoyed.
Here are videos of Angelina Jordan and Chris Rea singing ‘Driving Home for Christmas’. Chris explained he wrote the song during a snowstorm on the drive home for Christmas. He misplaced it, forgot it, rediscovered and recorded it for fun, and surprisingly, without promotion, it later became a seasonal favorite. It was voted the UK’s favorite Christmas song, and is considered to be one of their top 10 Christmas singles. I can see why. It is a very catchy tune about people driving home for Christmas. Chris Rea and Angelina Jordan also sing this song on Spotify.
This song was broadcast Dec 25, 1986 in the UK appropriately on Christmas Day. Read the music video’s notes detailing the song’s release dates and ratings in different countries over the years. TopPop have now remastered it in HD and posted it Dec 19, 2023. Enjoy listening to Chris Rea – Driving Home For Christmas [REMASTERED HD] • TopPop
Here is a longer version: Rock ‘n’ roll survivor, slide player and all-round top guy Chris Rea tells The One Show how “Driving Home For Christmas” came about. Interesting how he first got the idea for the song at Abbey Road Studios and returned years later, successful, to record it with added strings. How Chris Rea wrote “Driving Home For Christmas”.
As the world watches on in helplessness the unnerving bloodletting and destruction in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’s carnage in Israel, there is someone who genuinely believes that world can fundamentally alter its ways to achieve peace and harmony using Transcendental Meditation techniques. That someone is Dr. Tony Nader, an eminent neuroscientist, successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a Transcendental Meditation pioneer who is also a medical doctor trained at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the runup to an upcoming two-week event titled ‘10,000 for World Peace’ in Hyderabad, India from December 29, Dr. Nader is urging the world to at least attempt to change its violent ways. He spoke to Mayank Chhaya Reports about the event as well as broader themes.
New Federal Grant from Department of National Defence Awarded to the Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative
Over the last three consecutive years, the Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative (CWWI), has been awarded a grant from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) to teach the Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) program to military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) and related comorbidities while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative is a charitable organization mandated to bring the TM program to individuals whose lives are impacted by toxic levels of stress.
In February 2023, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Lawrence MacCaulay, and his team met with the National Director of the Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative, Helen Creighton, to review the work of CWWI in bringing the TM program to Veterans and their family members.
Department of National Defence Grant Awarded in April 2023
Based on the success of the VAC-funded grants, the Department of National Defence (DND) has now fully funded a new grant for CWWI to teach TM to survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) who are currently serving, or who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) or the Department of National Defence: Community Support for Sexual Misconduct Survivors Grant Program. [At this link, Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative (CWWI) is listed under Nova Scotia, where their National Office is located.]
The project can also include family members or support workers and will be taught in 8 major Canadian cities where TM teachers have taken additional training to work with this population.
This initiative aims to bring an effective evidence-based stress-reduction technique to those who have experienced sexual misconduct within the Defence community. Due to the trauma and negative emotions linked to sexual misconduct, this population is at risk for prolonged mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTS, low self-esteem, addiction and more.
Research has demonstrated that the TM program is one of the most effective methodologies for reducing the above issues, which are often present in those who have experienced sexual misconduct. Overcoming the negative effect that sexual misconduct has on one’s mental health is a critical first step in moving forward with one’s life.
Confidential quantitative surveys will be administered pre- and -post TM training for self-compassion (Neff, 2011) and trait anxiety survey (Cohen, 1983).
Self-compassion is the self responding positively in times of personal struggle. In addition to decreases in stress and improved levels of self-compassion, CWWI expects results to be similar to past research with veterans, such as:
• Reduced flashbacks and bad memories: Military Medicine 176 (6): 626-630, 2011
• Improved quality of life: Military Medicine 176 (6): 626-630, 2011
• Decrease in insomnia: Journal of Counseling and Development 64: 212-215, 1985
• Twice as effective as other relaxation techniques for decreasing trait anxiety: Journal of Clinical Psychology 45(6): 957–974, 1989
The CWWI project is overseen by several Advisory Boards, including healthcare professionals and military members and employs a researcher with expertise in qualitative and quantitative data.
CWWI is working with support groups mandated to help those affected by sexual misconduct, networking with doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists who work with this population, and reaching out to support groups.
CWWI is grateful to researchers Ann Royer, PhD, and Tanis Farish, PhD, as well as to Advisory Review Board members Dr. Raju Hajela [Major, retired], Dr. Brian Rees [Colonel, retired], and Ami Stadnick, MSc, R. Psych.
Article submitted by Helen Foster-Grimmett, Lead Instructor—Canadian Armed Forces, Veteran, Police and First Responder Outreach—Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative.
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An article by Garry Foster on both TM grant programs and research was published in a BC Navy newsletter. It was picked up in a few provinces across Canada. It appears in print and online and is read by active duty personnel, veterans, their families and the public. Click on Volume 68, Issue 25, June 26, 2023, select English or French, and go to page 12 (page 11 in the downloadable PDF) to read: New DND grant expands support for sexual misconduct survivors, including family members.
A similar article by Garry Foster written for the Canadian Women’s Wellness Initiative was published in the September 26, 2023 issue of the Totem Times in English and French on page 5, New DND grant expands support for sexual misconduct survivors. (Click to enlarge and read.)
Here is a 30-second TV news spot some Canadian friends are testing out on CHEK TV in BC. The ad airs 44 times over 3 months during the 5pm, 6pm and 11pm News. The voiceover is by a longtime TM teacher, Bob Chelmick, who was the CBC news anchor in Alberta for decades. It broadcasts throughout Vancouver Island and also in the Lower Mainland including Vancouver, and spills over into Washington State. It was first posted on Garry Foster’s Facebook page and is now on their Transcendental Meditation Canada website as The Antidote to Stress.
Six seconds into the video we see a photo of a helicopter carrying a large specialized water bucket to help put out forest fires. Don Arney, inventor of the Bambi Bucket® for Aerial Firefighting, was inducted into the 2017 National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention. It is manufactured in Vancouver, Canada and shipped to clients in more than 110 countries.
Historically, Clair de Lune, was a French poem written by Paul Verlaine in 1869, and became the inspiration for the third and most famous movement of Debussy’s 1890 Suite Bergamasque of the same name.
Also enjoy listening to Kristan Toczko, one of Canada’s premier harpists, perform Debussy’s romantic composition, Clair de Lune. That post contains links to performances by famous pianists and other musicians, some on unusual instruments, recorded for the celebration of Debussy’s life and music in 2018, the centennial of his passing.
August 4, 2024: Nadja Dornik posted this interesting Interview at the “Festival International de Colmar » Interview with Olivier Erouart and Johny Royer after my piano recital at the Festival International de Colmar.
See Canadian pioneer filmmaker Norman McLaren’s 1968 NFB film ‘Pas de deux’ for a truly spellbinding aesthetic experience. Predating digital effects, this masterpiece won many national and international awards.
‘Pas de deux’ was nominated as ‘Duo’ for Best Live Action Short Subject at the 41st Academy Awards (April 14, 1969) to honor the films of 1968. It was the NFB’s 24th Oscar®-nominated film at the time.
Some other amazing artists I’ve been inspired by and written about are available in the Archive of the ‘Music’ Category on The Uncarved Blog.
— Written and compiled (citing sources) by Ken Chawkin for The Uncarved Blog.
The Uncarved Blog 