I read an article in today’s Newsday on the movie release of “Yesterday” a week tomorrow. Due to a freaky worldwide blackout, the only person who remembers The Beatles and their music is Jack Malick, a struggling singer-songwriter. His life is about to change. The film stars Himesh Patel as Jack, his girlfriend Lily James, Ed Sheeran, and Kate McKinnon. Danny Boyle directed the film based on a screenplay by Richard Curtis. Check out more on the movie’s website.
The film poses an interesting question for those who deeply love the Beatles: How would life be different if your favorite band had never existed? Film critic Rafer Guzmán interviewed Long Islanders on the impact the Beatles had in their lives and society in general. A local FM radio broadcaster’s comments are spot on!
For the on-air personality known as Donna Donna, who hosts middays on Babylon’s FM station WBAB, the Beatles’ impact went beyond music. A preteen during the first wave of Beatlemania, Donna says, she remembered the band’s 1964 visit to New York, the British Invasion that followed and, in 1968, the Beatles’ famous trip to India to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
“After they came back from India, I think every town in America had a Transcendental Meditation center,” says Donna, who grew up in Floral Park. “I went and learned TM in Mineola! Right on Old Country Road! We were all meditating.”
The band’s spiritual side “affected me in a very personal way,” Donna says, adding that she meditates to this day. “I would say they had an impact on world peace.”
That kind of wide-reaching influence is what makes “Yesterday” such an interesting thought-exercise. According to Boyle, the director, the movie’s conceit couldn’t have worked with any other band. “If you’re going to make something disappear, you’ve got to make it something truly significant,” he says. “These guys literally changed the world.”
This is a beautiful blog post by westcoastwoman—the photo, quote, and six-sentence description. She intimately makes the universal personal. Click here to see the many responses to it, including mine. Having spent some time on the west coast of Canada I appreciate how she captured the magic in words. The experience cannot be pinned down. It’s transcendent—”in-between-time” and “neither here nor there.” The deep silence of nature’s transitions between night and day, twilight and predawn, are like a metaphor for our own inner experiences—the gaps between waking, dreaming and sleeping, and the silent unbounded backdrop to them, our own transcendental Self.
“Everyday a new picture is painted and framed, held up for half an hour, in such lights as the Great Artist chooses, and then withdrawn, and the curtain falls. And then the sun goes down, and long the afterglow gives light.”
Henry David Thoreau
Afterglow
Every night they come, the watchers of the sun-set, drawn down by the need to see the light extinguish behind the islands and the sea.
I want to share with them as they slowly rise and disperse that the setting of the sun is only a prelude to the experience they had been called to witness, but I stay silent.
It is this time between the setting sun and rising moon, this short extension of the day, this in-between-time when my heart and mind settle for just a moment.
I watch as the sky paints itself with each night’s original palette, wanting only to share with those who can look out from the same place and feel the colours as they appear, understand the need for silence.
In these moments when I am neither here nor there, anything is possible, magic is afoot and I am caught in the afterglow of another original creation as it slowly fades from sight.
The darkness takes the light, the starlings swoop once more in perfect unison over the water, I share with all who stand watching… being neither here nor there, a silent good night.
Written in response to GirlieontheEdge’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt. Prompt word: Extension.
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This reminds me of a poem I wrote down while waking from a dream in a foreign land. It was during the predawn, when “the moon bows / before the rising sun.” See: Indonesian Mystery Poem honoring Nyi Roro Kidul.
Dr. Robert Schneider addressed medical doctors at a conference of the Age Management Medicine Group in Miami, Florida, April 2019. The Review spoke with Dr. Schneider about his presentation and published an article on page 2 of the May 15, 2019 issue (Vol. 34, #15, Maharishi University of Management). A video of his talk is embedded below.
Dr. Schneider Addresses Doctors on the Role of the Mind in Aging
Hundreds of medical doctors specializing in age-management medicine learned about the role of the mind in modulating the aging process thanks to a plenary address by Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, dean of the College of Integrative Medicine.
At a conference of the Age Management Medicine Group held last month in Miami, Dr. Schneider explained how stress, such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation, accelerates the aging process by causing physiological damage, including inflammation and free radicals. These in turn damage telomeres, parts of the DNA that protect cells from premature aging.
“The doctors were very interested to hear how the mind-body connection can speed up or slow down the aging process,” said Dr. Schneider. “I explained that one needs to manage the mind to manage the aging process.”
Dr. Schneider then spoke about the research on the Transcendental Meditation® technique showing that it mitigates a range of physiological conditions associated with aging.
For example, it reduces harmful free radicals, lowers blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors, and increases telomere repair. He then pointed out that indeed research shows reduced mortality rates in subjects who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique.
“The contribution of lifestyle to aging is becoming a major theme in contemporary medicine, so these physicians were fascinated to hear how Transcendental Meditation can modify aging,” Dr. Schneider said. “This was the only session to show research on how science supports the mind-body connection. My talk spoke to their desire for evidence-based recommendations in mind-management medicine.”
Medical doctors can now become certified in age-management medicine. The physicians at the conference received continuing medical education credit for participating in Dr. Schneider’s presentation.
I enjoyed reading Louise O’Neill‘s well-written Opinion piece on TM published Friday, June 07, 2019 in the Irish Examiner. Her experiences with other meditations in the past contrasted markedly when she finally took up the natural and effortless practice of Transcendental Meditation.
Louise O’Neill is the award-winning author of Only Ever Yours, Asking for It, Almost Love and The Surface Breaks, with a reputation for hard-hitting books tackling feminist themes.
My first ever experience of meditation was in the prayer room in my secondary school; a class of 20 girls lying down on the floor, listening to our religion teacher read out a guided meditation. (Most of us using it as an opportunity to take a sneaky nap, let’s be real.)
I didn’t think any more about it until, in my first year of university, I saw a flyer advertising a short course in mindfulness and it was there that I learned a very basic form of meditation — following the breath, in and out.
Coming back to the breath when my mind began to wander. The breath was the only thing that mattered.
This focus on the breath was never something that came naturally to me, although I worked hard at it. I went to an ashram in India to learn more. I joined a Buddhist meditation group in New York and went to weekly meetings, jostling for space in that cramped room above a fast food chain in downtown Manhattan.
I took up yoga, I bought the Calm app and the Insight Timer app and the Headspace app. I would try to take 10 minutes every morning to focus on my breathing, and sometimes it would feel wonderful — my mind would be clear, my breathing slow and regular — and other days, it would feel like I was fighting an uphill battle, one eye on the clock, waiting for the buzzer to ring and release me from my torment.
For years now, I’ve been reading and hearing about Transcendental Meditation. TM is a non-religious meditation that was developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was popularised in the west in the late 60s when The Beatles undertook a TM training course in India, later denouncing drugs in favour of the meditation and crediting TM for the fertile period of creativity that followed.
Since then, it seems to have become the meditation of choice for celebrities all over the world. Oprah Winfrey paid for 400 of her employees to take the TM course, declaring: “I’m a 1,000% better person if I do (TM)”. Others such as Jerry Seinfeld, David Lynch, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ellen DeGeneres have all praised the practice for increasing productivity, making them more efficient and less reactive, boosting energy levels and improving their quality of sleep.
Their claims have been backed up by hundreds of peer-reviewed medical studies, and every time I would read such a testimonial, I would promise myself that I would investigate further. It wasn’t until a friend told me that she found her TM practice incredibly helpful in easing her anxiety that I decided to take a leap of faith and get in contact with the Cork branch of TM Ireland.
Stewart and Nora Anne Luck are a married couple who have been practicing and teaching Transcendental Meditation for years, both here and abroad.
I met with Stewart (everyone who is interested in learning the technique is encouraged to attend a free introductory session beforehand) and found him to be a gentle, calming presence, as well as being someone who is clearly very passionate about the value of Transcendental Meditation and its ability to change not only our own lives, but to transform the entire world.
For the next four days, I met with Nora Anne for an hour-and-a-half lesson each day. She gave me a mantra; one that I am told is for me only. (Am I very immature that I find this oddly thrilling? It’s like a secret password in a Famous Five novel.)
We meet again a week later for a check-up, and another session is pencilled into the diary for a month after that again. In order to get the full benefit, I am encouraged to sit quietly and repeat my mantra silently for 20 minutes, twice a day. Once in the morning and once again in the late afternoon/evening, in order to give me an extra boost of energy to enjoy the remainder of my day. And that’s it.
What has surprised me so far is how unbelievably easy I’ve found the practice to be. TM is supposed to be natural and effortless, ‘trying’ to get it ‘right’ is anathema to its very nature.
But unlike every other form of meditation that I’ve attempted to master, I don’t dread the twice-daily 20 minutes that I’ve committed to dedicate to TM. With other meditations, I would sit down and I would often find it difficult to get my racing thoughts to settle, giving up after 10 minutes because it seemed like a waste of my time.
With TM, I go to that quiet place deeply, quickly, and it feels almost obscenely enjoyable. I can only describe it as being akin to the space between waking and sleep, a blissful stillness.
With TM, I go to that quiet place deeply, quickly, and it feels almost obscenely enjoyable. I can only describe it as being akin to the space between waking and sleep, a blissful stillness.
I feel more rested. I’m much more energetic than I usually am, particularly in the evenings, and I managed to get through an intensive period of work in half the time it would ordinarily take me.
I have a tendency to be evangelical when I find systems or routines that work for me, advising everyone to follow suit and I’m itching to do the same for TM.
However, I’m aware that it’s early days yet, so my
intention is to keep practicing twice a day for the next six weeks and
report back on any changes I see.
But for now? I’m hooked.
If my column has whetted your appetite for all things TM and you want to learn more, pick up a copy of Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation by Bob Roth.
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See a video of the book launch party that took place in Manhattan with Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness, and classical guitarist Sharon Isben to celebrate the publication of the life-transforming New York Times bestseller, “Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation” (Simon & Schuster) by long-time meditation teacher Bob Roth. Jerry, Hugh and Bob reveal what the TM® technique means to them, and how this tool can change your life. They also discuss the work of the David Lynch Foundation bringing TM to thousands in need. Bob is the CEO of the DLF. You can find more articles and interviews with Bob Roth talking about his best-selling book listed on The Uncarved Blog.
I saw this video (27:47 minutes) posted on a Kazakhstan TM Center’s YouTube channel. They provide close-captions and translate the interviewer’s questions into English subtitles. Here is the program description about the 1973 show. Finnish TV: interview with Maharishi and group meditation. Most or all of the meditators had flown in together with Maharishi. Note that the meditation was held before the interview. Obviously, the director thought it better not to start the broadcast with more than five minutes of virtual silence—in itself a rare feat on TV—but to show it somewhere in the middle of the program.
I found the original video on the YLE Finland TV website. The quality is sharper but the interviewer’s questions are not translated and subtitled in English as the one above. Their video description translates to: Mirja Pyykkö interviews the inventor of Transcendental Meditation and the Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the studio during this visit to Finland. They post the air date as 1.12.1973, Maharishi’s birthday!
A friend pointed out that she saw Sally Peden meditating from 11:23-11:33. What a pleasant surprise!
Around two years and 5 months later Sally would travel with Maharishi and a handful of people on a Timeless Journey in India To Jyotir Math to inaugurate the Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment.
From that interview in Finland, we would meet around 30 years later in a Maharishi Vedic Science class at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, and share an evolving 14-year life-transforming friendship.
I first met Maharishi on a course for Canadian meditators. It was held at the beautiful Chateau Lake Louise, located in Alberta’s Banff National Park. The setting was majestic! A CBC film crew showed up to interview Maharishi for their popular television series, Telescope. The episode, The Guru (aka Maharishi at Lake Louise), turned out to be the best documentary every made of Maharishi at the time. It still stands today. Watch the 1968 film of Maharishi at Lake Louise.
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost … I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in … it’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
* * * * *
This little metaphorical story has helped those dealing with bad habits, addictions, tunnel vision, ultimately the mistake of the intellect. It shows a way out of our ignorance and misery by acknowledging our mistakes and not repeating them. Becoming more conscious we can change for the better, taking responsibility for our destiny. Of course, only reading this poem won’t get the job done. We also need to change our consciousness. Change begins within, and learning to meditate can also help. It’s the 12th step of any Twelve-Step Program. The David Lynch Foundation offers scholarships to those in need to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique and improve their lives from within.
I had never heard of her and was impressed with her powerful voice and candid nature. She can sometimes sound like Stevie Nicks or Adele. Listen to this Fleetwood Mac cover of Dreams and you’ll understand why.
Around 9 minutes in she talks about a peace she found in Mt. Pleasant at her great-grandmother’s funeral. She carried it with her to California and always came back to visit family. Then she says, “I went to Fairfield and took a TM course, Transcendental Meditation.” We checked and verified that Lissie had learned TM in June 2014.
They embed the video from Oct. 11, 2016: Folk musician Lissie escapes back home to Midwest. After leaving the Quad Cities area for the fast-paced lifestyle in Los Angeles, Folk-style musician Lissie discovered an Iowa farm was better for her soul than the fast lanes of Southern California.
I’ve been to Fairfield to learn Transcendental Meditation.
Lissie says: “I spent my time growing up in Iowa. I had this kind of romanticized dream or idea that some day I’ll have a farm in Iowa. I visited the Bridges of Madison County. My mom and I took a road trip and we went to John Wayne’s house. You know, like I’ve done some things in Iowa. I’ve been to Fairfield to learn Transcendental Meditation. And I’ve just always had this soft spot for Iowa.”
Lissie identifies as a Midwesterner from the Heartland and says how much she loves Iowa, describing all the reasons why. It’s where her heart belongs. Looks like she found her roots and is at peace with herself.
Dean Hurley, the show’s music director, and a collaborator since 2005, said she “is an incredibly emotive performer who completely embodies her music and gives everything. Lissie was definitely one of the acts that David wanted involved from the beginning. He’s been a big fan of hers for years and discovered her by a series of videos she posted on YouTube covering Lady Gaga, Metallica, etc.” (See others including Bonnie Raitt and Bob Dylan.)
In that interview, The Music of Twin Peaks: The Return: Lissie, Dean further explains what David looks for in a musical performance when realizing his ideas for the series. He blends intense music, emotion and acting, so the power of Lissie’s music fulfills that for him.
He said “David doesn’t attend a lot of concerts, but when she came through LA years back, he wanted to go. I can’t emphasize how rare that is for him to want to go out to a show.”
He added, “An artist like Lissie thrives in the live performance arena, she’s one of these people that almost can’t be contained on a recording because she’s the fullest realization of herself live.”
See the Update below where Lissie explains how she and David connected, how she learned TM in Fairfield, Iowa, then went to have coffee and talk with him in LA, and ultimately received an email from him asking her if she wanted to be part of the new Twin Peaks.
I enjoyed this short video profile on iHeartRadio: Lissie – Artist Stories – Interview (2016) – Part 1 and Part 2. It starts with her intention: “I would like to be successful with my music, but it’s about more than that, it’s about, like figuring out what my purpose for being on this planet is.”
This is an interesting description from that interview: With a career that has seen her open for renowned artist Lenny Kravitz an early supporter, Tom Petty, and even been asked to perform at Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s wedding, Lissie has had a wealth of incredible experiences that have made her the confident and determined artist she is today.
Verse 2 of Ojai is pure poetry; so succinct yet says so much!
I miss the seasons, I miss the land I miss them for reasons I don’t understand I took it all for granted I bloomed where I was planted
She sums up her approach: “You know, I’m not trying to do anything. I’m not trying to be cool. I’m not trying to ever have a fresh sound or a cool look for an image. I’m just singing songs about my life in the most heartfelt genuine way I can, and I’m gonna be moving on to more songs very soon. And it’s as simple as that.”
I wonder if some of these developments may have come about after she learned TM? Lissie had the courage to trust and act on her inner yearnings and is happier for it. She followed her heart and is now living her life on her own terms.
It’d be nice if she decided to visit and play Fairfield one day. Some of us are reaching out to her. She’s on tour, so we’ll see if anything happens.
Update: Now that I’ve been finding and listening to more of her performances and interviews on YouTube, I noticed Lissie mentions again her learning TM in Fairfield, in last year’s BUILD interview, and also says it’s where Maharishi University is located in Iowa.
Further into the interview she’s asked how she got into Twin Peaks, and extends what Dean Hurley had mentioned about David Lynch going to see her in concert. “We ultimately ended up talking on the phone and he came to my show. He’s really into TM, so after I had been in Iowa to take this TM course, I had reached out, and ended up joining him at his home and drinking coffee and catching up on life. And so we just stayed in touch over the years and he’s just been very supportive and kind to me. So I think it was 2015, I got an email, ‘Hey would you want to be on the new Twin Peaks?’ So of course, like yes, that’s amazing, like this legendary status. Ya, he wanted me to be a part of it, and I performed in episode (14) for Twin Peaks!”
Further Update: A little over 7 months later I would finally get to hear Lissie perform in person. A strong supporter of Bernie Sanders, Lissie had posted on her Instagram that she was going to open for him at the Steamboat Senior Center in Burlington, Iowa on Saturday night, and then at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa the following night, Sunday, December 15, 2019.
I drove with a friend to the Ottumwa event. We sat up close to a makeshift stage in the lobby area surrounded by rows of chairs. When she sang, I felt my head tingling! Wish fulfilled. After she left the stage, I introduced myself, that I was from Fairfield, Maharishi University, mentioned her TM teacher, her meeting David Lynch, what he thought of her as an artist, and that I felt the same way.
I asked her what it was like when David invited her to perform in Twin Peaks, The Return. She was driving at the time and had to pull over to the side of the road to read his message. What an unexpected surprise!
Lissie said David’s friendship and support did a lot for her self-esteem. David’s like that. He recognizes talent when he sees it. He’s given several unknown artists a chance to shine, drawing out their best performances that would launch their careers. Naomi Watts comes to mind.
Of course in Lissie’s case, she was already a fully formed exciting artist, as Dean Hurley explained in his interview. What David did was offer her a legendary venue to perform in and be heard by a much larger audience!
None of this fame seems to have gone to Lissie’s head. She’s very down to earth, accessible. I found her to be very friendly, quite lovely actually. She introduced me to her sister Annika, who took our picture. Here is a cropped closeup of one of them. Looking forward to Lissie visiting us some time next year.
Meeting Lissie at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa after her opening for Bernie SandersonSunday, December 15, 2019
Newer addition: Feb 19, 2021: @ipondrnetwork posted a short video profile of Lissie today on her farm in NE Iowa. This musician didn’t know she was missing something. Until now. Musician @lissiemusic migrated back to the Midwest after spending time in California, and was surprised to find how creatively fulfilled she felt there. The pandemic has afforded her more time to enjoy her new home and appreciate the passing of the seasons. Lissie also posted a clip from it on her Instagram. See the full 5:09 minute video here.
Winter Holiday addition: Saturday, Dec 18, 2021: A Holiday Winter’s Eve Concert with Lissie. Just in time to kick-off the season, Lissie returned to The Parkway Theater for a very special holiday performance which was filmed and will be streaming for you. Join in for a festive show of holiday classics and some of Lissie’s originals accompanied by piano. Lissie will be live-chatting during the premiere on Dec. 18 at 1pm PT / 3pm CT / 4pm ET / 9pm UK time – come say hi! If you can’t watch the premiere you can watch the stream On Demand through December 26th. Get your tickets: https://bit.ly/lissiexmas.
New Album: Sept 2022: Lissie’s new album, Carving Canyons, is out now and she’s on tour starting in Norway. While there she collaborated with Darling West for a new Family Session where they recorded a beautiful cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
I recently discovered poets writing about telescopes, like Ted Kooser and Kenneth Rexroth, what they saw through them, and how they were transformed by the experience. Here is a poem called Telescope (Averno: Poems) by Pulitzer Prize winner (1993) Louise Glück. It was among the poems she read during a Lannan Literary Event (May 11, 2016).
There is a moment after you move your eye away when you forget where you are because you’ve been living, it seems, somewhere else, in the silence of the night sky.
You’ve been stopped being here in the world. You’re in a different place, a place where human life has no meaning.
You’re not a creature in a body. You exist as the stars exist, participating in their stillness, their immensity.
Then you’re in the world again. At night, on a cold hill, taking the telescope apart.
You realize afterward not that the image is false but the relation is false.
You see again how far away each thing is from every other thing.
Kenneth Rexroth also describes a loss of body awareness and identifies with the enormity of the star-filled summer night sky while looking through a telescope. Here’s an excerpt from The Heart of Herakles.
My body is asleep. Only My eyes and brain are awake. The stars stand around me Like gold eyes, I can no longer Tell where I begin and leave off.
Watch the very moment 2020 Literature Laureate Louise Glück received her Nobel Prize medal and diploma. Glück received the prize “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”. (This presentation took place over 2 months later still during the time of the coronavirus so she and her presenter were wearing masks.)
Watch the very moment 2020 Literature Laureate Louise Glück received her #NobelPrize medal and diploma.
Glück received the prize “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”. pic.twitter.com/IKOi0zm0bp
Poets have written about the night sky and how it’s transformed them. Pulitzer Prize winner (2005) and U.S. Poet Laureate (2004-2006) Ted Kooser read from his poetry before a standing-room only audience in Campbell Hall at UC Santa Barbara (August/2005). In his introduction to this poem, Telescope, Kooser describes how he wakes up early every morning to write. William Stafford used to do the same thing.
Telescope
This is the pipe that pierces the dam that holds back the universe,
that takes off some of the pressure, keeping the weight of the unknown
from breaking through and washing us all down the valley.
Because of this small tube, through which a cold light rushes
from the bottom of time, the depth of the stars stays always constant
and we are able to sleep, at least for now, beneath the straining wall of darkness.
As part of the Pulitzer Centennial Campfires Initiative, the South Dakota Humanities Council commissioned a series of essays about prize winners. Christine Stewart-Nuñez wrote about her poetry teacher: Ted Kooser: A poet of connection.
Kenneth Rexroth also wrote about the cosmos looking through a telescope and how it changed him in this poem, The Heart of Herakles.
My body is asleep. Only
My eyes and brain are awake.
The stars stand around me
Like gold eyes, I can no longer
Tell where I begin and leave off.
Louise Glück in her poem, Telescope, describes a similar loss of body awareness as she identifies with the enormity of the star-filled night sky.
You’ve been stopped being here in the world. You’re in a different place, a place where human life has no meaning.
You’re not a creature in a body. You exist as the stars exist, participating in their stillness, their immensity.
Poets Rumi and Octavio Paz also open our minds to a cosmic perspective. In The Essential Rumi, Coleman Barks translates his poem:
I am so small I can barely be seen. How can this great love be inside me?
Look at your eyes. They are small, but they see enormous things.
Paz’s poem, Brotherhood, translated with Eliot Weinberger, is an homage to the ancient astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy.
I am a man: little do I last and the night is enormous. But I look up: the stars write. Unknowing I understand: I too am written, and at this very moment someone spells me out.
In that blog post I conclude with my haiku, Forest Flowers, and mention my poem As Above So Below. Both describe relationships between the individual and the universal.
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