Nature’s Bi-Cycle, a poem from/for the child in us

August 8, 2013

I wrote a poem the first day on my job working for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation as a paper-picker in Queen Elizabeth Park. It was in the mid-1990’s, during the wintertime. The job kept me active, walking miles each day, spent mostly in nature, in a beautiful park setting. And I made more money doing that than teaching kids writing after school at a Sylvan Learning Center in North Vancouver. It was what I needed at the time. But that’s a whole other story.

The park attendant would leave each year to go to California for the winter. Some friends who had done the job for him the previous winter introduced us. A fellow poet and a meditator (not TM), we shared common interests. He offered me the job and said I could stay in the caretaker facility he lived in across the street from Q.E. Park in Hillsdale Park. In exchange I would cover his utilities. I just had to get his boss’s approval, who did hire me, but wasn’t happy about the arrangement. He said there were people ahead of me in line for such a hard-to-come-by job. But it worked out well and he later hired me for the summer in Stanley Park when the caretaker returned from California.

I was lucky to get that prized job, doing simple work, like cleaning the park facilities and picking up trash. I also appreciated the beautiful park settings and composed poems as I walked the grounds. I actually amused myself that first day. I thought of how things grew from seed to tree, and their interrelationships with the animals. Dark berries turned white in winter and the birds who ate them caught my attention as I thought of the cycles in nature.

My inner child loved composing and hearing the sounds and meanings of the words. Every time I shared this poem with kids, they’d squeal with delight! Maybe the child in you will like it too.

NATURE’S BI-CYCLE

Berries are meant to be eaten by birds
who poop out the seeds contained in their turds
this process prepares seeds to sprout in the spring
’til one day they’re trees and in them birds sing

© Ken Chawkin

Read Park Poems from Ken Chawkin for more details on this story and other poems inspired from Q.E. Park and others I visited in the Greater Vancouver area.

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Celeb Spiritual Report: One significant day in my life by David Lynch for Jane Magazine (May 2004)

August 3, 2013

Here is an article I helped facilitate for David Lynch when we first started working with him, a year before the idea for the David Lynch Foundation was created under the dynamic leadership of Bob Roth, executive director for the Foundation. Up to this point David had kept his Transcendental Meditation practice private. When he made the decision to go public and help the TM movement he turned out to be a most unique and brilliant spokesman.

One event was a project to create world peace. We sent out our press release to the media and set up a NY press conference David would attend. Jauretsi Saizarbitoria, the entertainment editor for Jane magazine at the time, emailed back saying she was interested in David’s meditating and suggested he write an article for their special celeb issue on the topic: One significant day in my life. We mentioned it to him and he sent us an article of the day he learned that our human physiology, our body, was made of consciousness, which we forwarded to them. Knowing he was a painter, they also wanted to know what consciousness looked like to David. He sent a jpeg of an image he had created and they included it, giving him a whole page and titling it a Celeb Spiritual Report, with that announcement on the bottom right side of the magazine cover. It was published in their May, 2004 celeb issue. Jane was a popular woman’s magazine, published from 1997-2007. David posted the report on his website with other earlier David Lynch articles and interviews.

Here is David’s love of Maharishi’s Vedic knowledge explained in such a simple conversational tone that’s truly David Lynch. He’s actually a brilliant writer and speaker! They put the text on the bottom right of this photo. Here it is with the text underneath.

Jane – May, 2004
One significant day in my life
By David Lynch

This is a picture that director David Lynch (above) painted to show what consciousness looks like.

This is a picture that director David Lynch (above) painted to show what consciousness looks like.

A significant event occurred in my life the day I learned that our human physiology, our body, is made of consciousness.

Consciousness???

“What???” I asked out loud in wonder.

I learned that our human physiology is so magnificent and complex, and so exquisite in its design and makeup, as to be wondrous beyond imagination. We are spun out of unbounded, infinite, eternal consciousness.

I learned that underlying all matter is a vast, unbounded, infinite and eternal field of consciousness called the Unified Field. I found out that modern science started taking this field seriously about 25 years ago and that all matter is unified at this level in a state of perfect symmetry, or balance. The entire universe emerges from this field in a process called “spontaneous sequential symmetry breaking.”

Are you still with me?

I also learned that there is another science called Vedic Science. This Vedic Science is ancient, and it has always talked of the Unified Field.

Interesting!

Veda, I learned, means “total knowledge.” The home of total knowledge is the Unified Field. It is also the home of all the laws of nature. The branches of Veda, 40 in total, make up the language of the Unified Field, the impulses of this eternal field.

I realized this Unified Field is quite an interesting place. It is not manifest and is full, meaning it is no thing, yet all things in potential. It manifests and permeates all things: the whole universe, everything, while still remaining full and not manifest.

Amazing!

Is this mind-boggling or what?

Now comes the hippest part. I have learned that any human being can “experience” the Unified Field.

Really?

Or: So what?

Why in the world would we care to experience the Unified Field?

First, another question.

Have you ever heard that most of us human beings use only 5 percent of our brain, our mind? Have you ever wondered what in the heck the other 95 percent is all about?

This is the beautiful part coming up.

The “experience” of the Unified Field actually unfolds “enlightenment”—higher states of consciousness culminating in Unity Consciousness, the highest state of consciousness. These higher states use that 95 percent of the brain. That is what the 95 percent is there for—to give us permanent, all-time enlightenment.

Now, what is enlightenment? If you were a lightbulb, let’s say, your “glow” might light up your whole house and surrounding yard. In enlightenment, your “glow” would be unbounded, infinite and eternal. That would be some glow!

Enlightenment is fulfillment. Supreme fulfillment. Unbounded, infinite, eternal bliss, consciousness, intelligence, creativity, harmony, dynamic peace.

Enlightenment, I have learned, is our “full potential.” It is the birthright of every human being to enjoy enlightenment.

Is this good news? I think it is such good news.

In Vedic Science, the Unified Field is called “Atma.” Translated, that is “Self”—the Self of us all.

The Unified Field is not something foreign, or even something far away. It is right within each of us at the base of our mind, the source of thought. A great sage from the Himalayas, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, brought a beautiful gift to our world in the form of Transcendental Meditation. Transcendental Meditation is an easy and effortless, yet supremely profound, technique that allows any human to dive within and experience that unbounded ocean of pure bliss, pure consciousness. the Unified Field, our Self.

It may be interesting for you to know that millions of people are practicing Transcendental Meditation all around the world. People from all religions, and all walks of life. Over 600 studies have been done in universities and research institutes validating the profound benefits of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Program.

Having this kind of knowledge and technologies of consciousness available to us in this age is, in my mind, a significant event. Yet the “experience” of that Unified Field is the most significant event, because it unfolds what we truly are—totality.

David’s movies include Eraserhead, Dune, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. He is looking forward to Creating World Peace Day, to be held mid-September at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa (www.mum.edu).

Copyright 2004 Fairchild Publications, Inc.

Read the rest of this entry »

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James McCartney sings new single ‘Wisteria’ on David Letterman and ABC NEWS What’s The Buzz

August 3, 2013

This is James McCartney’s second visit to David Letterman, a year and a half after his first performance on January 30, 2012 when he sang, ‘Angel’ accompanied by his band. See James McCartney sings Angel on David Letterman. This time, July 29, 2013, he appears by himself with an acoustic performance of his current single ‘Wisteria’.

James McCartney on What's the Buzz

James McCartney on ABC NEWS What’s The Buzz

The next morning, 7/30/2013, James appeared on ABC NEWS What’s the Buzz: James McCartney Proves Talent Runs Through Your Blood. Paul McCartney’s son debuts first album, reveals some inspiration came from The Beatles. ABC NEWS anchor Dan Kloeffler asks him about all the touring he’s been doing, how his music is being received, and his musical influences. The interview closes with James singing ‘Wisteria’.

James went on to play the Cutting Room later that night. See James McCartney brings music from “Me” to NYC’s Cutting Room.

James-meJames continues to prove his originality as a singer/songwriter and talented musician. He has a new CD out. Here is a music review by blogcritics : James McCartney – ‘Me’.

It’s not easy trying to carve out a career for yourself as the son of a Beatle, playing in the shadow of the most iconic musician on the planet. But he’s accepted it and is out there making music.

Father and son share a strong bond of love, and it’s only natural for Paul to want to help his son along the way.

James has a lot of integrity. We wish him continued growth and success. Enjoy the ride, James, you deserve it. You’re paying your dues, turning out honest sensitive music we’re all rocking to.

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Inspiring excerpts – David Lynch: Catching the Big Fish – Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity

July 28, 2013

Inspiring excerpts from a book by David Lynch: Catching the Big Fish – Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity

Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re beautiful. Everything, anything that is a thing, comes up from the deepest level. Modern physics calls that level the Unified Field. The more your consciousness – your awareness – is expanded, the deeper you go toward this source, and the bigger fish you can catch.

Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity
–David Lynch

David Lynch (b. 1946) – director, visual artist, musician and, most significantly, long-term Transcendental Meditation practitioner – is best known for his surrealist films, having developed his own unique cinematic style, characterized by dream imagery and meticulous sound design. In the course of his career, he has received numerous nominations and awards, including the illustrious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival.

His most popular and critically-acclaimed film projects include Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and INLAND EMPIRE. He has also embraced the internet as a medium, producing several web-based shows, such as the animation, Dumbland, and the surrealist sitcom, Rabbits.

He has also produced a brilliant literary offering, Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity. Written in short chapters on themes as diverse as painting, filmmaking, meditation, consciousness, the texture of a dead body and other such profound matters, it is an absolute treat for any aspiring artist who is also keen to dive deep for the so-called bigger fish and is looking for a truly authentic and honest interpretation of life.

Desire
Desire for an idea is like bait. When you’re fishing, you have to have patience. You bait your hook, and you wait. The desire is the bait that pulls those fish in – those ideas.

The beautiful thing is that when you catch one fish that you love, even if it’s a little fish – a fragment of an idea – that fish will draw in another fish, and they’ll hook onto it. Then you’re on your way. Soon there are more and more and more fragments, and the whole thing emerges. But it starts with desire.

Consciousness
Through meditation one realizes the unbounded. That which is unbounded is happy. There is no happiness in the small.
Upanishads

Little fish swim on the surface, but the big ones swim down below. If you can expand the container you’re fishing in – your consciousness – you can catch bigger fish.

Here’s how it works: Inside every human being is an ocean of pure, vibrant consciousness. When you ‘transcend’ in Transcendental Meditation, you dive down into that ocean of pure consciousness. You splash into it. And it’s bliss. You can vibrate with this bliss. Experiencing pure consciousness enlivens it, expands it. It starts to unfold and grow.

Intuition
Know That by knowing which everything is known.
Upanishads

Life is filled with abstractions, and the only way we make heads or tails of it is through intuition. Intuition is seeing the solution – seeing it, knowing it. It’s emotion and intellect going together. That’s essential for the filmmaker.

How do you get something to feel right? Everybody’s got the same tools: the camera and the tapes and the world and the actors. But in putting those parts together, there are differences. That’s where intuition enters.

Personally, I think intuition can be sharpened and expanded through meditation, diving into the Self. There’s an ocean of consciousness inside each of us, and it’s an ocean of solutions. When you dive into that ocean, that consciousness, you enliven it.

You don’t dive for specific solutions; you dive to enlighten that ocean of consciousness. Then your intuition grows and you have a way of solving those problems – knowing when it’s not right and knowing a way to make it feel correct for you. That capacity grows and things go much more smoothly.

Identity
The thing about meditation is: You become more and more you.

Sound
Sometimes you hear a piece of music, and it marries to a scene in the script. When I’m shooting, I will often play that piece of music in the headphones whilst listening to the dialogue. Hearing the music is just a verification that things are going the right way – for instance, the right pace or lighting. It’s just another tool to ensure that you’re following that original idea and being true to it.

Ask The Idea
The form which embodies that wish appeared in consciousnesses – that is to be held within consciousness.
Upanishads

The idea is the whole thing. If you stay true to the idea, it tells you everything you need to know, really. You just keep working to make it look like that idea looked, feel like it felt, sound like it sounded, and be the way it was. And it’s weird, because when you veer off, you sort of know it. You know when you’re doing something that is not correct because it feels incorrect. It says, ‘No, no; this isn’t like the idea said it.’ And when you’re getting into it the correct way, it feels correct. It’s an intuition: You feel-think your way through.

You start one place, and as you go, it gets more and more finely tuned. But all along it’s the idea talking. At some point, it feels correct to you. And you hope that it feels somewhat correct to others.

Suffering
It’s good for the artist to understand conflict and stress. Those things can give you ideas. But I guarantee you, if you have enough stress, you won’t be able to create. And if you have enough conflict, it will get in the way of your creativity. You can understand conflict, but you don’t have to live in it.

In stories, in the worlds that we can go into, there’s suffering, confusion, darkness, tension and anger. There are murders; there’s all kinds of stuff. But the filmmaker doesn’t have to be suffering to show suffering. You can show it, show the human condition, show conflicts and contrasts, but you don’t have to go through that yourself. You are the orchestrator of it, but you’re not in it. Let your characters do the suffering.

It’s common sense: The more the artist is suffering, the less creative he is going to be. It’s less likely that he is going to enjoy his work and less likely that he will be able to do really good work.

Light of the Self
He who sees everything as nothing but the Self,
and the Self in everything he sees,
such a seer withdraws from nothing.
For the enlightened, all that exists is nothing but the Self,
so how could any suffering or delusion continue
for those who know Oneness?
Upanishads

Negativity is like darkness. So what is darkness? You look at darkness, and you see that it’s nothing: It’s the absence of something. You turn on the light, and darkness goes.

But sunlight, for instance, doesn’t get rid of negativity. It gets rid of darkness but not negativity. So what light can you turn on that removes negativity the way sunlight removes darkness? It’s the light of pure consciousness, the Self – the light of unity.

Don’t fight the darkness. Don’t even worry about the darkness. Turn on the light and the darkness goes. Turn up that light of pure consciousness: Negativity goes.

The Box and the Key
I don’t have a clue what those are.

Fire
Sitting in front of a fire is mesmerizing. It’s magical. I feel the same way about electricity. And smoke. And flickering lights.

Advice 
The Truth upholds the fragrant Earth and makes the living
water wet. Truth makes fire burn and the air move,
Makes the sun shine and all life grow. A hidden truth
supports everything. Find it and win.
Ramayana

Stay true to yourself. Let your voice ring out, and don’t let anybody fiddle with it. Never turn down a good idea, but never take a bad idea. And meditate. It’s very important to experience the Self, that pure consciousness. It’s really helped me. I think it would help any filmmaker. So start diving within, enlivening that bliss consciousness. Grow in happiness and intuition. Experience the joy of doing. And you’ll glow in this peaceful way. Your friends will be very, very happy with you. Everyone will want to sit next to you. And people will give you money!

Thanks to StillnessSpeaks.com for compiling this list.

See Fishing For Fallen Light: A Tanka inspired by David Lynch and Pablo Neruda with links to videos of David talking about these ideas.

Documentary film on David Lynch titled “Meditation Creativity Peace”

Since the book, David Lynch made a 16-country tour around the world when he spoke to government leaders, film students, and the press. It was made into a documentary film and premiered in NY. Watch the trailer for a new documentary film on David Lynch titled “Meditation Creativity Peace”.

This was later followed by a premier in Los Angeles: Russell Brand and David Lynch at LA Premiere of ‘Meditation, Creativity, Peace’ Documentary. Also see David Lynch, Russell Brand, Bob Roth Q&A after screening Meditation, Creativity, Peace documentary at Hammer Museum. Links to videos and articles are available at the bottom of each post.

The film continues to be shown in major cities around the world. Check your local TM center and the David Lynch Foundation for more information.

The documentary film was made available online, March 3, 2016. You can watch it here on The Uncarved Blog.

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Fishing For Fallen Light: A Tanka inspired by David Lynch and Pablo Neruda

July 28, 2013

I thought of David Lynch and his book, Catching the Big Fish, when I read a particular poem by Pablo Neruda in The Sea and the Bells. Both deal with the search for illumination; finding and clarifying a creative idea.

In this video David answers a question about his creative process, describing where ideas come from and how they coalesce into a finished product: David Lynch: ‘Ideas Are Like Fish.’ He says ideas are like fish and the deeper you go the more powerful, abstract and beautiful they are. Your desire for an idea is like a bait on a hook. When you catch one, others get attracted to it. Lynch sometimes gets a part of an idea and others come along. He writes them down. He advises that you have to stay true to the initial idea as it begins to form, even in ways you may not have anticipated, until it all comes together and you get it right. He describes how a script for a film can come about in this way.

The last line-stanza in Neruda’s poem uses the same idea, described here as sitting on the rim of a well of darkness fishing for fallen light.

Talk about transcending and patiently waiting to catch the big fish, an idea that will illuminate the mind and inform a work of art!

Here is that poem by Pablo Neruda in The Sea and the Bells (pp. 82/83):

Si cada día
dentro de cada noche,
hay un pozo
donde la claridad está encerrada.

Hay que sentarse a la orilla
del pozo de la sombra
y pescar luz caída
con paciencia.

If each day falls
inside each night,
there exists a well
where clarity is imprisoned.

We need to sit on the rim
of the well of darkness
and fish for fallen light
with patience.

Here is my tanka inspired by David Lynch and Pablo Neruda:

Fishing For Fallen Light

Catching the big fish
will illuminate the mind
and inform the work

Look within to find the light
ideas are swimming there

More information on David Lynch and his book:

This audio book review provides a clear synopsis of David’s book and the ideas expressed in it. See Inspiring excerpts – David Lynch: Catching the Big Fish – Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity, which lists quotes by topic posted on StillnessSpeaks.com. You can listen to Catching the Big Fish (FULL AUDIOBOOK) on YouTube. Excerpts by topic can be found on YouTube, for example, the notion of suffering to create.

David Lynch says meditation has allowed him to remove stress and access deeper more beautiful ideas he falls in love with and translates into film, painting, sculpture or music. In this talk filmmaker David Lynch describes his experience of the creative process in the light of his practice of Transcendental Meditation at the Majestic Theater in Boston. He says, “It’s a great thing for the filmmaker.”

See Inspiring excerpts – David Lynch: Catching the Big Fish – Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity.

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Les Crane interviews Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

July 6, 2013

This is a delightful find—early vintage Maharishi—interviewed by a popular LA television talk show host. Les Crane interviewed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in September 1967 about a month after The Beatles had met and learned Transcendental Meditation from him. They go over the basics of what Transcendental Meditation is and is not. Maharishi is delightful, laughing and quipping throughout the interview. The one-hour show, minus commercials, is 49:30 minutes long.

67_beatles_maharishi-mahesh_yogi_002-580x389

Les asks Maharishi when he first heard of the Beatles and when they first met him. He then quotes the Beatles from the current (Sept 22, 1967) Time magazine cover story, THE BEATLES / Their New Incarnation, where they favorably describe Maharishi and how TM fulfilled their search for a genuine spiritual experience.

Les asked some good questions. He was an intelligent man. Halfway into the program Les opens up questions from the audience. He also introduces Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and mentions his association with Maharishi. Les then introduces Jerry Jarvis, national director of SIMS, and asks him to explain the Five Year Plan. Maharishi mentions Charles Lutes and his plan to build an Academy of Meditation in the US. Les asks what the world would look like if many people practiced Transcendental Meditation, and Maharishi gives him a very practical description.

At the end of the program Les apologetically prefaces what he’s about to say when he announces who his guests will be on the next show. “We have been talking about Transcendental Meditation and spiritual enrichment and fulfillment tonight. Tomorrow night we’re going to have a group of people on the program who believe that the way to find inner peace and happiness is an entirely different way. We’re gonna have a few representatives of the Sexual Freedom League on the program.” [laughter, a few more comments, then adds] “I had to say that because that’s what we do here, we look at everything.”

Maharishi: “To search is good.” Les, smiling: “To search is good.” Maharishi adds: “And to find fulfillment is really great.” [loud applause] Les: “Maharishi, thank you very much.” Maharishi: “Good luck to the whole nation through you.” Les: “Good bye. Bless you all.”

See this recent post of The Telegraph reporting on a recent TM study improving graduation rates saying the Beatles may have been on to something after all during their fabled journey to India.

Also see Maharishi interviewed on the BBC in 1967.

The BBC World Service program Witness, will air an interview with Theresa Olson, Monday March 3, 2014, 8:50 GMT. In the spring of 1959, Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi set off around the world to spread the teachings of Transcendental Meditation. Witness speaks to Theresa Olson, who was ten years old when the Maharishi came to stay in her parents’ house. A photo is shown of Maharishi taken from BBC1, Sunday July 5, 1964, to promote the upcoming interview on The Maharishi’s World Tour.

Another program worth watching from those early days is the 1968 CBC documentary of Maharishi at Lake Louise.

The most recent biography on Maharishi aired on A&E’s History Channel, 40 years after the BBC and Les Crane interviews.

A new BBC report, on the 50th anniversary of that visit to Bangor to learn more about Transcendental Meditation from Maharishi was published today, August 25, 2017. The Beatles: Historians say 1967 Bangor visit was a turning point. The report  includes interviews with people who were there at that time.

Maharishi explains the reason for TM’s worldwide popularity

Maharishi always had an interesting take on world events. In this recently posted 1968 video, he discusses where the worldwide popularity for Transcendental Meditation started. During his visit to England in the summer of 1967, he describes the countrywide concern that was being expressed over the previous 8 months about the deplorable drug problem among the youth. Thanks to Patti Harrison, The Beatles heard Maharishi was going to speak at the London Hilton and got front row seats. They wanted to meet him afterwards and it was arranged. Maharishi inspired them to want to do something good for the youth and they agreed. They wanted to learn how to meditate from Maharishi and he invited them to join him on the long train ride to Wales where he was going to lead a 3-day meditation course. Some reporters overheard their plans. When The Beatles met Maharishi at the train station, they were surrounded by over 50 press and hundreds of fans. The video contains footage from that time as well as photos taken at the lecture and on the train. There is also actual footage taken privately of their discussion, but it has yet to be made public.

Maharishi explains it was not the Beatles that created the worldwide publicity about TM, but the English press who reported on their wanting to learn to meditate, which, they felt would inspire the British youth to give up drugs in favor of meditation. An example of one of the English headlines was the report from the Archbishop of Canterbury congratulating The Beatles for starting Transcendental Meditation. Then the world press picked up this Beatles story and it spread globally. Maharishi emphasized it was not The Beatles, but the tense situation in the country at the time that brought about the news headlines. He said they wanted “to change the psychology of the children, and they succeeded, greatly. So this phase was behind the worldwide publicity.”

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Additions: #TranscendentalMeditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi interviewed on Finnish TV in 1973. And Maharishi on the nature of a settled, silent mind in the November 1993 Science of Mind interview. And Rememberances of #TranscendentalMeditation and #MaharishiU founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Pages 12-13 of the September 2020 issue of Transcendental Meditation News in the UK under The Maharishi Interviews features a transcript of part 1 of Les Crane’s interview with Maharishi in Los Angeles, Autumn 1967. Part 2 continues in their next issue. Transcendental News, Vol 24. No 2, September 2020.

Who was Bungalow Bill from the Beatles White Album and what happened to him? He tells us! This post now includes mention of the new film, Meeting the Beatles in India, by Paul Saltzman. In the Q&A that followed, Rikki Cooke III, aka Bungalow Bill, explained why he thought the remaining Beatles left the ashram abruptly. It made a lot more sense than the usual rumor mentioned in the article. I posted a comment after the Variety article of what he said about it, and included related material.

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Grammy Award winner Omar Akram says TM brought him closer to his source of creativity

June 26, 2013

Enjoy this great interview Christopher Caplan conducted with Omar Akram, published June 25, 2013 at 12:15 pm in RYOT Reports. I was pleasantly surprised to learn how Transcendental Meditation freed the creativity of this Grammy award-winning composer and recording artist, and the respect he has for David Lynch and the David Lynch Foundation.

Q&A: Omar Akram, first Afghan American to win a Grammy, talks Transcendental Meditation

Omar Akram, 2013 New Age Music Grammy Award Winner

I recently sat down with Omar Akram, the first Afghan American to win a Grammy award to learn a bit more about his creative process. He has been referred to as a cultural diplomat by many, and the musical equivalent of Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, in that he is (gradually) mending cultural differences between war-torn nations through art. His recent article on The Huffington Post bespeaks of a well traveled life in which he has mingled with Cuban dictators and contributed to peace in the Middle East. What’s particularly interesting about Omar is the way he uses Transcendental Meditation in his creative process, as well as his support and admiration of the David Lynch Foundation.

Q: When and how did you first discover Transcendental Meditation?

I began using TM about 5 years ago. I was going through some creative blocks, so to speak, and a friend of mine suggested it. I’d known about it for years, but I had never taken the time to try it. I started to meditate slowly, and after doing it a few times, I got hooked.

Q: How has TM helped your creative process over the years?

I think it definitely brings you closer to the source of creativity. I feel this way almost every time. I remember David Lynch was talking about it. He said it was like “searching for the big fish,” or in other words, reaching deep down. I can reach deep down inside of myself and get to the big fish — that big creative idea. That’s what it’s all about, the big creative idea, and TM helps me find this.

Q: Have you tried other forms of meditation?

Yes, I’ve tried straight meditation, on and off for many years. But five years ago I became a lot more serious about it.

Q: How do you feel about David Lynch’s recent advocacy of TM?

I think what he’s doing is fantastic because he is really trying to get it out to school kids and to people that have never been exposed to it before. I think that once people try it, I mean really try it, they realize how beneficial it is.

Q: How do you think TM can help children and students?

One thing that I know is that kids sometimes have a hard time focusing on anything. Especially nowadays because they are being bombarded with so much media. I think it’s really helpful for kids once they give it a chance. They learn the value of meditation and focus. It will be hard in the beginning to understand what they’re doing, but with proper guidance they’ll learn. I think that not only will it help them become more creative, but they will improve in all aspects of schooling and self-esteem.

Q: Do you use TM when you are in the recording studio?

I try to do it a couple of times a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening. It has been really helpful both with creativity and dealing with the stress and deadlines of my upcoming album, “Daytime Dreamer.” It kind of sets the course of my whole day. Once I’m in the studio, I like to take a few minutes, but it’s hard to do it during the day, and that’s my routine. When I do it the morning it helps me focus for the whole day, and shift everything so I have a clearer sense of what I need to do. In the evening I can absorb everything that I’ve done, and refresh my mind all over again.

Q: What do you see for the future of TM and its continuing acceptance in the mainstream?

I think the more people are exposed to TM the more they’re going to realize the benefits of it. A lot of people are not aware of TM, and that’s what David is doing, he’s going around and introducing it to a lot of people that otherwise would never be exposed to it. The more people are exposed to it, the more practitioners there will be, and I think it’s going to be huge. Guys like David Lynch are pioneers in that. I have nothing but respect for him, especially with what he’s doing in schools. I think it’ll make a huge difference.

posted by Omar Akram. Check out his blog: www.omarmusic.com.

RYOT NOTE: Transcendental Meditation not only helps to reduce stress, it also helps with clearing the mind and allowing people to be more creative. The David Lynch Foundation provides millions of dollars of free services every year, implementing these scientifically proven stress-reducing modalities for at-risk populations and communities. See other related articles on David Lynch from RYOT posted at the bottom of this article, and click the gray box to learn more, donate and Become the News!

You can read more about Omar Akram’s background and musical influences in this PRWeb press release: Grammy Award Winning Artist Omar Akram Becomes Latest Entertainment Client to Join YM & Associates PR Marketing Firm at Beverly Hills.

UPDATE

In an April 29, 2019 interview in Thrive Global, Omar was asked:

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

What helps me is meditation. I would highly recommend it to my colleagues. I’ve been doing Transcendental Meditation for many years and it has had a big difference in my life.

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Great article on TM helping students boost grades shows the Beatles were way ahead of their time

June 22, 2013

Here is that great article written by , Science Correspondent for The Telegraph, published June 11, 2013, 9:00PM BST: Transcendental Meditation may boost student grades. He says, It may have seemed simply a phase in pop history, but it seems the Beatles may have been on to something after all during their fabled journey to India.

BEATLES_2587635kIt seems the Beatles may have been on to something after all during their fabled journey to India.  Photo: GETTY IMAGES

A form of meditation made popular by John Lennon and his band mates during the “flower power” era has been found to improve students’ grades.

A study of school pupils found that performing two 20-minute sessions of Transcendental Meditation each day improves academic achievement.

The practice involves sitting still with eyes closed while chanting a mantra – also sometimes derided as “oming”.

It became synonymous with hippy culture in the 1960s after The Beatles embraced it following a visit to India where they were taught the technique by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Now a growing body of research is suggesting it can have a positive effect on people’s lives.

Recent studies have shown that it can be used to treat high blood pressure and help people overcome psychological problems.

The latest research found that US school pupils who performed the meditation technique had higher graduation rates than those who did not.

The effect was even greater among those who had the lowest academic grades, the research conducted by the University of Connecticut and Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, found.

Researchers found that Transcendental Meditation increased the number of students graduating by 15 per cent while among those with the lowest academic grades, a further 25 per cent graduated compared to those not meditating.

Professor Robert Colbert, from the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, said: “Transcendental Meditation appears to hold tremendous promise for enriching the lives of students.”

He added that the meditation technique was a viable method for turning around “poor student academic performance and low graduation rates”.

Sanford Nidich, a professor of education at Maharishi University of Management who conducted the research, added: “These results are the first to show that the Transcendental Meditation program can have a positive impact on student graduation rates.

“The largest effect was found in the most academically challenged students.

“Recently published research on increased academic achievement and reduced psychological stress in urban school students may provide possible mechanisms for the higher graduation rates found in this study.”

It is estimated that around 6 million people now practice Transcendental Meditation around the world.

The technique aims to concentrate the mind inwards by uttering the mantra and is intended to empty the mind of thoughts and feelings.

Proponents of the technique claim it can aid concentration and help to rid them of negative emotions.

The Beatles’ time with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, at his teaching centre in the foothills of the Himalayas in 1968, produced some of the most famous images of the Fab Four, dressed in white and draped in flower garlands.

It was also one of their most productive periods musically, with Lennon declaring that between them they wrote around 30 new songs during their visit to Rishikesh.

The tracks, which ended up on The Beatles, also known as the White Album, and Abbey Road, include Back in the USSR, Blackbird, Revolution and Mean Mr Mustard.

In an interview conducted in 2009, Paul McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr spoke candidly about how the meditation technique helped them.

Starr said: “Since then, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, I have meditated. It is a gift he [the Maharishi] gave me.”

McCartney added: “It wasn’t all about meditation, it’s just you were focused – but yeah, there were very blissful moments.

“It is one of the few things anyone has ever given to me that means so much to me. For us, it came at a time when we were looking for something to stabilise us at the end of the crazy sixties.”

McCartney has also in the past called for Transcendental Meditation to be used in schools.

He said: “I believe that in the future meditation could be as commonplace in schools and society as eco-awareness is now. It interests me that an ancient cure may be the solution to a modern problem.”

The new research, which involved 235 students in their senior year at an urban school on the US east coast, was funded by the David Lynch Foundation, which has been campaigning to have meditation incorporated into the school day.

They claim that where meditation has been used in schools, it has helped to reduce stress and anxiety in pupils while also lowering suspension rates.

The foundation was set up two years ago by film director David Lynch after he used meditation to overcome his own anger issues.

Describing the difference it has made to his life, he said: “When I started meditating I had a real anger in me, and I would take this out on my first wife.

“Two weeks after I started meditating, this anger lifted.”

See EurekAlert! press release for the study: Transcendental Meditation positively impacts student graduation rates, new research shows.

See this related post on some of the news coverage: New study shows TM significantly improved school graduation rates, world press reports.

This article was later highlighted on the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education website on their Spotlight page reporting the latest news: Transcendental Meditation May Boost Student Grades.

See The former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunion for David Lynch’s benefit concert airs on New York’s THIRTEEN, Sunday, April 29.

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New study shows TM significantly improved school graduation rates, world press reports

June 14, 2013

New Transcendental Meditation Study Published in Education

This week the world press have been reporting on a collaborative study conducted by researchers Robert Colbert of the University of Connecticut and Sanford Nidich of Maharishi University of Management on meditation and graduation rates. The study, Effect of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Graduation, College Acceptance and Dropout Rates for Students Attending an Urban Public High School, was funded by the David Lynch Foundation, and published in the journal Education, Vol. 133, No. 4, Summer 2013.

The new study is the first to look at the effect of Transcendental Meditation practice on graduation, college acceptance and dropout rates, and follows previously published research by Nidich et al on increased academic achievement and reduced psychological stress in urban school students. The press release, Transcendental Meditation positively impacts student graduation rates, new research shows, included two graphs, and was sent out worldwide to over 5000 science writers by EurekAlert!/AAAS. Here is the Summary and citation for this latest study:

High school graduation rates remain low with racial and ethnic gaps adding to the decline. Graduating versus dropping out translates into higher earning potential, less crime and incarceration, and less dependence on government assistance. A new study published in the journal Education shows practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique resulted in a 15 percent higher graduation rate compared to controls. In low academically performing students a 25 percent difference in graduation rates was observed.

Colbert, R.D. and Nidich, S. (2013). Effect of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Graduation, College Acceptance and Dropout Rates for Students Attending an Urban Public High School. Education, 133 (4), 495-501.

World Press Reports

Many science and medical news websites have reported the news, including PhysOrg; ScienceBlog; Science Codex; RedOrbit; Medical Daily with the headline Transcendental Meditation Boosts High School Graduation Rates, As Policymakers Look To Alternatives; Medical News Today; PsychCentral, with their succinct headline, Transcendental Meditation Linked to Higher Graduation Rates; The British Psychological Society, Meditation improves behaviour in school; Counsel & Heal; and examiner.com, How transcendental meditation impacts public high school graduation rates.

The mainstream press then reported the news, led by UK’s Richard Gray, respected science correspondent for The Telegraph, and his wonderfully topical and comprehensive piece, Transcendental Meditation may boost student grades. Underneath the top headline was one of the iconic photos of the Beatles with Maharishi in India and this subheading: It may have seemed simply a phase in pop history, but it seems the Beatles may have been on to something after all during their fabled journey to India.

This prompted Anna Hodgekiss of The Daily Mail to follow up with: The best way to boost brain power and improve exam grades? Chant ‘Om’ like the Beatles did, using an earlier picture of the Beatles with Maharishi taken at the London Hilton when they first met. BTW, there is no chanting in TM, and “Om” is never used.

These articles must have influenced The Times journalist William Chester to write, Exams go better with a Sixties mantra in mind, which was posted on the NW London TM Blog: Exams go better with a Sixties mantra in mind – The Times June 12th 2013.

Other international press also reported on the study. ANI sent out their version of the release and it was picked up by The Times of India, Transcendental meditation boosts grades, Newstrack India, OnePakistan, newKerala.com, and Medindia. India.NYDailyNews.com reproduced the Telegraph article but used a different photo of the Beatles, Donovan, Mia and Prudence Farrow with Maharishi in Rishikesh.

In Chile, the science journalist from El Mecurio, Sebastián Urbina, emailed questions about the study, which were answered by Sandy Nidich. I also suggested he interview Rafael de la Puenta, the TM national leader, and he did. The article appeared as the top story in their Life, Science and Technology section, A15, with a photo of a member of the Trinity College Women’s Squash Team meditating on the court. See a PDF of the article: www.meditacion.cl/prensa/MT_MERCURIO-Santiago-06-11-2013.pdf.

Other countries reporting on the study that we know of include France’s HuffPost C’est La Vie; Italy’s AGI; Spain’s Tendencias21 and La Razon; Holland’s Volkskrant; and Brazil’s Veja.

Some of the previous articles were reproduced on many blogs and websites. Will add any other newer articles as they are found. A few are slated to come out from reporters who asked for the paper, but this report should give you an idea of the kind of news coverage that came out on this promising study. For example, The TM Blog later reported New Study Finds Transcendental Meditation Boosts Student Grades, Graduation Rates.

See the Great article on TM helping students boost grades shows the Beatles were way ahead of their time. That article was later highlighted on the University of Connecticut Neag School of Education on their Spotlight page reporting the latest news: Transcendental Meditation May Boost Student Grades.

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Ted Henry interviews “Dear Prudence” Farrow Bruns about her life with TM and Maharishi

June 9, 2013

This wonderful interview is also available from on Vimeo. Retired TV journalist Ted Henry conducts interviews with spiritual people for Souljourns. Last month he interviewed Prudence Bruns Farrow. You can also see the interview on their Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/67166559. Here is their introduction to the video:

SOULJOURNS – PRUDENCE FARROW BRUNS, HER LIFE WITH TM AND MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI

From the very beginning Prudence Farrow Bruns recognized an added layer or texture to her life, a spiritual dimension that would take her deep within.

She was among the first in the West to become initiated into Transcendental Meditation and in the mid sixties she traveled to Rishikesh, India to learn to become a TM teacher. Her own teacher in India, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who is credited for bringing TM to the world.

In India with her at this time, her sister and acclaimed actress, Mia Farrow, The Beatles, Mike Love of the Beach Boys, Donovan and others.

Prudence and her husband, Albert Bruns who is also a TM instructor, live in Seagrove along the Gulf of Mexico in Northwest Florida.

The interview was recorded in Seagrove, Florida in May, 2013.

See this related BBC news item: Prudence Farrow — subject of the Beatles song Dear Prudence — visits India’s Kumbh Mela. And this video: The Beatles “Dear Prudence”: A Portrait of Prudence Farrow Bruns, Maharishi and TM.

Who was Dear Prudence the Beatles sang to in India? What happened to her? Here is her story.

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