Posts Tagged ‘Fairfield Iowa’

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Finding peace in Fairfield by Diane Vance

April 13, 2012

Finding peace in Fairfield

By DIANE VANCE, Ledger staff writer | Apr 12, 2012

At the Transcendental Meditation Blog, www.tm.org/blog, Mario Orsatti wrote on April 4, the TM.org website was flooded with visitors the week following Oprah Winfrey’s televised take on TM, Fairfield and her October visit here.

The hour show, one in her series of “Next Chapter” programs first aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network TV channel April 1. It was repeated on Easter Sunday and will air again at 6 p.m. this Sunday. Video segments also are available online.

It’s resulted in “thousands of Americans learning the TM technique,” Orsatti wrote.

While Oprah’s endorsements have propelled other products, some may doubt her embrace of TM will make much difference in Fairfield.

However, the planners and shakers in the TM community are preparing.

A summer session will be newly offered at the Maharishi University of Management, moving its annual graduation ceremony to May 26, rather than its typical mid-summer date.

“Experience the Self” course, offered as a one- or two-week course in July, promises to address consciousness, one’s body and mind, allow participants to discover sustainable living projects, relax in nature and celebrate the cultural opportunities of Fairfield.

As I mentioned in my introduction column the fourth day of Ledger employment in October, I was a student at M.U.M. in the Spring 2010 semester. It was not my first time on campus.

I moved to southeast Iowa in the summer of 1997 with my former husband and two children. We had moved after five years in a small town north of Davenport, after my spouse left 13 years of active duty Army in 1992. (Yes, this San Diego native has now lived in the Midwest 20 years!)

At my job at Keokuk’s newspaper the Daily Gate City, I heard remarks about those weird “flyers” up in Fairfield.

As the education reporter, many press releases from schools around the state and region passed through my desk. I began learning more about M.U.M.

When Vedic City, became incorporated, we drove up here to look around. Dirt lanes took us past cute little white houses with golden topknots and white picket fences.

In October 2007, my spouse and I traveled to Fort Hood, Texas, (where we lived in 1981) to hug our youngest good-bye. His Cavalry Scout unit was deploying to Iraq for 15 months. He was on the older side of 23 years of age.

Having a child at war makes it hard to breathe.

He was at a remote place in the Diyala Province. His care packages needed to include the basics, such as razor blades, toothpaste, etc. He asked for canned soup because it could be heated on the Bradley’s radiator when they spent days at a time away from base camp.

Sending a small Christmas tree and chocolates (chocolates and other meltables can only be mailed October-March) comforted me probably more than my son.

Still, the weeks dragged on. And on. I had a large wall map of Iraq on the wall of my cubicle. I read daily Associated Press stories about Iraq and the U.S. military. I always volunteered to do the stories on local veterans and active military.

When a press release about an April 2008 David Lynch weekend landed in my in-box, I investigated.

The TM promise of stress relief kept calling. I signed up, received a scholarship for the four-day weekend, came to Fairfield and fell in love with this place.

I was delighted to see, and hear, John Hagelin, because I had watched “What the Bleep Do We Know” video a few years earlier. I was astounded to see Donovan, a musician from my youth! And though I didn’t know who David Lynch was, I enjoyed his interaction with all of us visitors that weekend.

I traipsed around in the light rain and mud to view the on-campus green house and one of the golden domes. I ate organic, vegetarian meals (new experience).

And yes, I learned TM that weekend, in a comfortable, non-threatening space from a sweet woman, Linda Mainquist, who happens to be married to Mario Orsatti, where I started this column.

I have to admit to being sort of a slacker; I don’t always make time in my day for 20 minutes each morning and evening. But TM has helped with my stress levels — a good thing!

My son returned from Iraq in January 2009 having survived through two I.E.D.s blowing up the Bradleys he rode in.

And I have survived — and hopefully thrived; through my son-in-law’s year deployment to Guantanamo in 2008; both Army “sons” in Iraq in 2009 and 2010; and my divorce in 2010.

Calming peace is good to have in any form it comes.

Diane Vance is a Ledger staff writer. See other Columns by Diane Vance.

Reprinted with permission from The Fairfield Ledger.

See NPR: Fairfield, Iowa: Where ‘Art Belongs To Everyone’

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Posted in Articles, David Lynch Foundation, Education, Health, Peace, Writing | 2 Comments »

Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana, and the Self — A New Paradigm Tour Will Visit Ten Cities

April 12, 2012

NEW PARADIGM TOUR VISITS 10 NORTH AMERICAN CITIES

“Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana, and the Self”

Science and spirituality merge as leading scientists, artists and business leaders present cutting-edge knowledge to Indian Communities Throughout North America

A team of leading scientists, artists and business leaders will tour 10 North American cities this spring, delivering a series of cutting-edge presentations entitled “A New Paradigm: Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana, and the Self.” The tour includes visits to San Diego; San Francisco; Vancouver; Fairfield, Iowa; Chicago; Toronto; Montreal; Boston; New York; and Washington, DC. www.newparadigmtour.org

The event will explore the meeting point of science and spirituality by presenting pioneering research that reveals the Veda and the Ramayana as blueprints of our body and the entire universe. Extensive research on these breakthrough discoveries has also documented collective benefits for society, including the potential for creating world peace. The event will feature a video presentation of 1,000 Vedic Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, chanting the Veda. Listen: http://bit.ly/vedicpandits.

SPEAKERS

The speakers at this event come from diverse backgrounds. Tony Nader, M.D., Ph.D., neuroscientist and researcher, will headline the event as the keynote speaker with his presentation, “Embodying Totality”.  Dr. Nader received his Ph.D. in the area of Brain and Cognitive Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and completed post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Nader’s desire to gain a deeper understanding of the human mind and body—of consciousness and physiology—led him to the study of Vedic Science under the guidance of the Vedic sage Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the worldwide Transcendental Meditation movement (TM) http://www.tm.org. Dr. Nader’s discoveries have inspired medical doctors and scientists throughout the world by demonstrating the effectiveness of Vedic sound to heal mind, body and society (for example: Enlivening the Healing Ability of the Body through Maharishi Vedic Sound).

John Hagelin, Ph.D., is a world-renowned Harvard-trained quantum physicist, educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace. Winner of the prestigious Kilby Award, Dr. Hagelin was recognized for his achievements as a scientist in the tradition of Einstein, Jeans, Bohr and Eddington. He is Chairman of the Physics Department at Maharishi University of Management (www.MUM.edu) and will speak on “Consciousness and the Unified Field.”

Ramani Ayer was the first Indo-American CEO of a Fortune 100 company. He was Chairman of the Board and CEO of Hartford Financial Services Group for 13 years, retiring in 2009.  Mr. Ayer will speak on “Enlightened Leadership and World Peace.”

For more information on the speaker profiles see: http://www.newparadigmtour.org/speakers.html

SPECIAL HOLLYWOOD AND BOLLYWOOD GUESTS

Joining these speakers via videoconference will be special guests, Hollywood director, David Lynch, and the Sagar family, of Ramayana fame, from Mumbai. David Lynch is acclaimed as one of the most creative minds in film, art, and music today.  He is also the founder of the David Lynch Foundation www.davidlynchfoundation.org. Ramanand Sagar created the original epic Ramayana series in 1987, inspiring all of India while preserving Vedic values in the culture.  The next generation of Sagars—Prem, Anand, Shiv and Shakti of Sagar Arts—created the 2008 remake of this timeless saga.

THEMES

The speakers will explore three primary themes in the presentation. The first theme explores the cosmic nature of the individual. The sounds of the Veda have been found to be blueprints that structure the physiology on every level.  The brain, the heart and the whole physiology are seen from this perspective as a replica of Veda and the Vedic literature. The practical application of this has been documented by original research conducted by medical doctors and scientists that demonstrates the effectiveness of these Vedic sounds for creating brain coherence and for the treatment of chronic disorders.

The second theme explores the applications of this discovery on the collective level of society.  The presentation will review evidence that large groups of thousands of peace-creating Vedic pandits are capable of changing the destiny of mankind by applying Vedic technologies of consciousness from the deepest level of consciousness—the common unified source of both science and religion. Demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach, the Global Peace Initiative has already established 1000 Maharishi Vedic Pandits in Maharishi Vedic City in Iowa, and 2500 at the center of India in Madhya Pradesh. www.vedicpandits.org

The third theme covers Dr. Nader’s latest book, “Ramayan in Human Physiology,” which will be released on this tour. It describes the profound correlation between the characters, details and happenings of the Ramayana with every part of the human physiology. “It will serve as a revelation to those who desire a greater understanding of the unity underlying all that makes us human,” says Gary P. Kaplan, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at Hofstra University School of Medicine. http://www.newparadigmtour.org/ramayan

RAMAYAN in HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY SEMINARS

In addition to the ‘New Paradigm’ presentations, Dr. Nader will also offer an “Introductory Seminar on the Ramayan in Human Physiology” at each of the locations for those who desire a more in-depth treatment of the correlations between the eternal story of the Ramayana and the structure and function of the human physiology. http://www.newparadigmtour.org/seminars.html

OPRAH, TM, FAIRFIELD, AND VEDIC PANDITS

Oprah Winfrey and her staff all practice Transcendental Meditation. For Oprah’s Next Chapter, she visited Fairfield, Iowa, America’s Most Unusual Town. She also went to Maharishi Vedic City to see the Maharishi Vedic Pandits.  Oprah and her crew were the first ones allowed in to film the Vedic Pandits chanting.

Oprah completed her visit by meditating with the ladies in their Bagambhrini Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge. “It was a powerfully energizing yet calming experience. I didn’t want it to end.” You can see a photo of Oprah meditating in the dome with over 400 ladies and read what she had to say about her experience in the February issue of O Magazine in her column “What I Know For Sure.”

This press release was published in Pravasitoday under Events: http://www.pravasitoday.com/new-paradigm-tour-visits-10-north-american-cities | INDIAWEST: New Paradigm Tour: ‘Veda, Consciousness, The Ramayana, and the Self’| India Tribune (page 4): Meet on ‘Veda, Consciousness, Ramayana and Self’ in 10 North American cities | India Post (page 9): Science & spirituality tour in 10 cities | LoKvani: In Conversation With Ramani Ayer | Chicago Tribune: New paradigm North American tour visits Chicago with pictures from Asian Media USA | India Post: IOWA scholars give scientific exposition of Ramayana (page 13) | hi INDiA: Special Report: Ramayan; A New Vision in Vedas (cover story on pages 20+24) | NewsIndiaTimes: Hundreds Attend Program to Promote Vedic Learning

See website for more details: http://www.newparadigmtour.org, Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/VedaConsciousness, and videos of Dr Nader at: http://www.youtube.com/drtonynader. Also see A report halfway into the New Paradigm Tour: Veda, Consciousness, the Ramayana and the Self. See this New Video: Dr. Tony Nader speaks about the Ramayana in Human Physiology.

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Posted in Articles, Education, Health, Peace | 2 Comments »

Midwest Meditation: ingathering in rural Iowa, published in issue 12 of The PresenTense Group

March 30, 2012

“Small-town Iowa is not the place one expects to find a blossoming Jewish community. However, Fairfield is different from most Iowa towns.”

This opening statement to an excellent article about Fairfield Jews who meditate reiterates what Oprah Winfrey kept saying during her visit to Fairfield, Iowa—Jews, Christians, Muslims, people from different religions, who also meditate (Transcendental Meditation) find no conflict with their beliefs; they’re not practicing another religion. And for those who do practice their religion, this article shows there’s no confusion between the two, rather an enrichment. TM, they say, makes one a “better Jew.”

I enjoyed reading Midwest Meditation, a well-written article by James Edward Johnson, published in the Around the World section of Fall 2010-Issue 12, by The PresenTense Group: Fostering Innovation. It’s available online. Here it is reproduced for your reading enjoyment.

Small-town Iowa is not the place one expects to find a blossoming Jewish community. However, Fairfield is different from most Iowa towns. Much of its population began moving there in the mid-1970s, when the Maharishi International University (now Maharishi University of Management, or MUM) was founded. MUM is the learning and communal meditation center for the Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement, in which members use TM techniques to achieve a deeply tranquil level of consciousness and a state of restful alertness.

Brent Willett, the executive director of the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce, explained that in the 30-plus years since the influx of TM practitioners, “Fairfield has become a melting pot of cultures and has developed a harmonious and dynamic model for community development.”

Among Fairfield’s population of 9,500, approximately 200 residents are Jewish, and nearly all of them are TM practitioners. When Jewish TM practitioners came to Fairfield, there was no established community, and the nearest synagogue was 25 miles away. Though they had not come for a Jewish community, they created one when they arrived. MUM was established on the former campus of Parsons College, where a Torah scroll was left behind by the college’s Hillel chapter. It was the first major asset of the Fairfield Jewish community.

Today, the community holds most Kabbalat Shabbat services at Congregation Beth Shalom, a building that functioned as a Baptist church before the Jewish community purchased it in 1984. The unassuming synagogue looks like a place of Jewish prayer in any small Midwestern town. The ritual items and decorative symbols show no indication that most congregants are TM practitioners. Yet before Kabbalat Shabbat services, most Jews join communal meditation at one of Fairfield’s two gigantic golden domes.

The larger community of committed TM practitioners in Fairfield is disproportionately Hindu, due to the Hindu background of TM’s founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Pictures of Hindu gods such as Rama and Ganesha appear in many places around Fairfield. Jewish TM practitioners explain with the regularity of a mantra that “TM is just a technique,” rather than a religious practice. “The important thing in the practice of TM is this experience of unbounded awareness. That reality is not a religious reality and has no connection with a specific religious tradition,” explained Rabbi Alan Green, who lives in Canada but has deep roots in Fairfield and is unofficially regarded by many as its rabbi. “Meditation was my chief inspiration for wanting to become a rabbi…I realized that this experience of unbounded awareness was the experience of God,” Green said.

“It’s like going to yoga class…it doesn’t mean that you are Hindu… You go on and go to shul afterwards,” said Kabuika Kamunga, a Jewish TM practitioner born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. She converted to Judaism after working as an au pair for a Jewish family and developed an interest in meditation from a TM practitioner “who was so calm … amid the family brouhaha” at a Passover Seder. In 2008, she went to MUM to get an MBA and learn meditation.

Robert Rabinoff, a frum Jewish TM practitioner, explains why the transition between Judaism and TM is so clean. “If you try and mix the two, both will suffer. But they’re pretty easy to not mix.”

Kamunga and Rabinoff both express the idea that TM makes one a “better Jew.” Each believes that TM prepares them for the kavanah (spiritual intention) of prayer, giving them the mindfulness for Jewish observance. Rabinoff explained, “TM makes the connection, opens the lines of communication. Our tradition tells you what to say.”

Joel and Joy Hirshberg’s home resembles those of other Jews who are serious meditators. A mezuzah greets one at the door. However, the house is built according to the principles of Sthapatya Veda, the architectural form based on the Maharishi’s teachings about natural law. Its entrance faces east, the direction of the rising sun. It has a kalash (cupola) on its roof, connecting the house to the cosmos, and a traditional vastu fence (picket fence) to define the homestead. The house has a Brahmasthan, an unobstructed center lit by a skylight, which gives the house wholeness.

When the couple hosts potluck dinners at their home on Shabbat, however, the space transforms into a typically Conservative minyan for services. Congregants read from Siddur Sim Shalom and recite much of the service in Hebrew. On many Shabbatot, cantor Haim Menashehoff, who grew up in Tehran, leads the congregation in Persian Jewish melodies as well as melodies common to American synagogues.

Anyone hoping for a service infused with the style of a kirtan mantra (a Sanskrit call-and-response chanting form) would be sorely disappointed. Tradition is alive and well in this otherwise nontraditional Jewish community.

Link to article: http://presentense.org/magazine/midwest-meditation.

A clarification from my side

Although the author wrote a very clear accurate article on this topic, he does make an inaccurate assumption—that most of the meditating community are Hindu because of TM’s founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s background—but this is just not the case.

Maharishi was a great scientist of consciousness. He taught a systematic method of meditation, a scientific understanding of it, and the nature and development of consciousness to its full potential. Is the theory of Relativity Jewish because Einstein discovered it? Is gravity English because Sir Issac Newton discovered it? Is genetics Catholic because Gregor Mendel discovered it? Maharishi’s cultural and religious background are separate from what he taught. In fact, he always said that Transcendental Meditation would allow people from different backgrounds to better understand and appreciate their own religion. That’s certainly been the case here as people from different faiths attend the church or temple, and in this case, synagogue, of their choice.

Actually, there are very few Hindus in Fairfield. But there are students from many different countries and faiths, including many from India and Nepal. The campus is multinational, like a miniature United Nations. Also, there are more restaurants per capita than San Francisco. For example, there are 3 Indian restaurants around the town square, including several Asian ones, not necessarily run by meditators. They all have posters on the walls from their religious and cultural heritage. So it is easy to imagine how the author could have come to such a conclusion.

There are, however, hundreds of Vedic Pandits from India who also practice TM that have been invited to help create world peace by adding their numbers to the overall effort. But they live completely separate from everyone on their own campus in Maharishi Vedic City, a few miles north of Fairfield, and are never seen in town. Oprah did meet with them during her visit here. It’s the last segment of her show.

Click here to see Video segments of Oprah’s Next Chapter on OWN: Oprah Visits Fairfield, Iowa—“TM Town”—America’s Most Unusual Town.

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Video segments of Oprah’s Next Chapter on OWN: Oprah Visits Fairfield, Iowa—”TM Town”—America’s Most Unusual Town

March 30, 2012

Preview: Oprah Visits America’s Most Unusual Town Oprah spends the day in Fairfield, Iowa—one of the safest, greenest and most unusual communities in America. It’s the last place you’d expect to find two huge golden domes built for the thousands of residents who rush there to meditate twice a day. The full episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter aired on Sunday, March 25, at 9/8c.

Welcome to TM Town Fairfield is a quiet community nestled among the cornfields of Iowa. It’s also the center of the transcendental movement in the United States. Many of the 9,000 residents who live here meditate every day, including the Winer family. Watch as the Winers reveal why they left an affluent suburb outside of Atlanta to move to Fairfield. Plus, find out how the architecture of homes in Fairfield can improve a homeowner’s happiness.

The Architecture of TM Town Many homes in Fairfield, Iowa, are built in a style of architecture inspired by nature. Take a tour of one family’s home and learn about the theory behind its layout.

Fairfield’s One-of-a-Kind School The Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment uses “consciousness-based education” to teach children from kindergarten to 12th grade everything from college prep to spiritual awakening. Watch as Oprah tours the school and shares a meditation session with some of the older students.

16 Principles of the Science of Creative Intelligence The children at the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa, are learning life lessons it took Oprah decades to learn. Learn the 16 principles of the Science of Creative Intelligence for yourself.

Rush Hour in Fairfield, Iowa Rush hour in Fairfield, Iowa, is unlike any other town in America. Twice a day, residents stop what they’re doing and head to two giant golden domes to meditate. Watch as Oprah meets with the town’s mayor and a founder of a nearby community to learn more about the practice of Transcendental Meditation and then tours the Bagambhrini Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge for women.

Oprah Meets Iowa’s Pandits Pandits are professional meditators who practice Transcendental Meditation for hours a day in the name of world peace. For two to three years, many of these men from India devote their lives to this practice in the cornfields of Iowa. On the day Oprah visits, nearly 800 are in residence. They’ve never allowed television cameras to film them—until now. Watch as Oprah gets an unprecedented look into the life of a pandit.

Three excerpts from the show are posted on The Transcendental Meditation Program website — www.tm.org/oprah — Excerpt one: Oprah’s take on TM, Excerpt Two: Why our family meditates, and Excerpt Three: From Guns to TM.

The show, America’s Most Unusual Town, on Oprah’s Next Chapter, will rebroadcast Sundays, April 8 at 7:00 pm ET/6 CT and April 15, at 6 pm ET/5 pm CT. Last minute schedule changes do happen and so this info is updated.

Oprah’s Next Chapter America’s Most Unusual Town
Oprah spends the day in Fairfield, Iowa – one of the safest, greenest, and most unusual communities in America. It’s the last place you’d expect to find two huge, golden domes built for the thousands of residents who rush there to meditate twice a day. Read more: http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahs-next-chapter/Oprahs-Next-Chapter-Americas-Most-Unusual-Town

For more on Oprah’s Next Chapter visit http://www.oprah.com/OprahsNextChapter. Find OWN on TV at http://www.oprah.com/FindOWN.

Here’s an article posted on the TM Blog about the preliminary results of the show: TM’s Popularity Surges After Oprah’s TV Show.

To find out more about Fairfield and neighboring Maharishi Vedic City, visit http://discoverfairfield.org.

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Des Moines Register: Oprah in Iowa: Fairfield meditation segment airs Sunday

March 24, 2012


Oprah in Iowa: Fairfield meditation segment airs Sunday
By TODD ERZEN | FILED UNDER – News | 1:28 PM, Mar. 23, 2012

The media icon paid a stealthy six-hour visit to the Maharishi University of Management last October and will tell the country about her newfound devotion to Transcendental Meditation at 8 p.m. on Sunday as part of her new weekly series, “Oprah’s Next Chapter.”

Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy, who took the media mogul on a tour of one of the university’s golden domes before she meditated there with about 400 other women, said Winfrey already had a working knowledge of Transcendental Meditation based on her experience with inner-city school systems.

The practice has been introduced there to children suffering from academic and behavioral problems with the help of Maharishi board of trustees member David Lynch, the television and film director whose private foundation promotes “Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.”

“It’s had phenomenal results (in schools) and I think she became intrigued by that,” said Malloy, who has practiced Transcendental Meditation for 38 years. “Oprah’s bright and energetic and gregarious and thoughtful and provocative and we are honored and tickled to be featured by her in this way.”

Watch a sneak preview of the show

Sneak Preview: Oprah Visits America’s Most Unusual Town

Oprah spends the day in Fairfield, Iowa—one of the safest, greenest and most unusual communities in America. It’s the last place you’d expect to find two huge golden domes built for the thousands of residents who rush there to meditate twice a day. Watch a sneak preview; then tune in for the full episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter on Sunday, March 25, at 9/8c.

Transcendental Meditation first came to Fairfield by way of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who gained international fame as the guru to the Beatles before transforming the bankrupt Parsons College property into his namesake university in 1974.

In 2001, the Maharishi’s followers incorporated their own town, called Maharishi Vedic City, about two miles north of Fairfield. Sales of non-organic food are banned and buildings are designed to follow principles the Maharishi established, such as facing east and featuring a golden roof ornament. About 1,300 people live there, and an estimated one-quarter of Fairfield’s 10,000 residents also practice Transcendental Meditation.

Winfrey has tried to make a similar impact on her employees by encouraging them to meditate twice during each work day.

Paul Chesnutt-Winer, who hosted Winfrey in his home and will be featured with his family on Oprah’s television show, said the practice of Transcendental Meditation could not have made a better friend.

“She’s an amazing combination of being a strong, executive woman and really a lot of fun,” he said.

See this earlier post by Todd Erzen on Mar 22, 2012 with links to a preview of the show and interview with Dr. Oz on Oprah’s visit to Fairfield and company-wide practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique. Fairfield sees itself through Oprah’s eyes on Sunday.

For information on Transcendental Meditation, visit www.tm.org.

Related articles: Chicago Sun-Times: Oprah will talk about transcendental meditation on OWN | The Fairfield Ledger:Fairfield readies for Sunday debut on Oprah network | OWN: Oprah Visits America’s Most Unusual Town, Sunday, March 25, 8 p.m. CT, 9-10 p.m. ET/PT | KTVO: Fairfield to be featured on Oprah Winfrey Network | Oprah writes in O Mag about her visit to TM Town and meditating with ladies in their Golden Dome | Some Reports on Dr. Oz’s Interview with Oprah about TM and her Next Chapter | Oprah meditates with ladies in MUM Golden Dome | Reports of Oprah’s visit to Fairfield, Iowa | Oprah says she and her staff meditate, enjoy a Quiet Time twice a day—Facebook Live interview. Also see The Iowan: Sizing Up Small Towns: Rethinking Success in Rural Iowa: Fairfield Thinks Inclusively.

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OWN: Oprah Visits America’s Most Unusual Town, Sunday, March 25, 8 p.m. CT, 9-10 p.m. ET/PT

March 20, 2012

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network presents a new episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” featuring America’s Most Unusual Town this Sunday, March 25, 8:00 p.m. CT (9-10 p.m. ET/PT).

On “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” Oprah Winfrey travels to Fairfield, Iowa—one of the safest, greenest and most unusual communities in America—to visit a school where daily Transcendental Meditation® (TM) practice is mandatory. Winfrey then visits the neighboring community of Maharishi Vedic City, where non-organic food is banned and all houses face East — adhering to an ancient Indian style that brings peace and harmony. Also, for the first time, cameras are allowed inside a top-secret, 80-acre compound where 800 Indian men live spending eight hours a day meditating and chanting. Later, Winfrey joins the community at their domes for evening meditation.

The episode will only be available in its entirety on the OWN TV network. However, clips and footage may be featured on www.Oprah.com. Once there, find out what channel the Oprah Winfrey Network is on in your area by entering your zip code on the right. Canadian viewers, click here. Watch a Sneak Preview here: Oprah Visits America’s Most Unusual Town.

Oprah spends the day in Fairfield, Iowa—one of the safest, greenest and most unusual communities in America. It’s the last place you’d expect to find two huge golden domes built for the thousands of residents who rush there to meditate twice a day.  Watch a sneak preview; then tune in for the full episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter on Sunday, March 25, at 9/8c. Please note: There will only be one episode, on March 25. http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahs-next-chapter/Sneak-Preview-Oprah-Visits-Americas-Most-Unusual-Town-Video

Addendum: Members of  the Fairfield community are invited to a live viewing of Oprah’s New Chapter, Sunday, March 25, at 8 p.m. CT (doors open at 7 p.m.) at the Sondheim Theater, Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. Free Admission – First come first seated. Also, being broadcast live for students in Dalby Hall, Argiro Student Center, on the Maharishi University campus. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. CT. Free admission

Related: Fairfield Ledger: Fairfield readies for Sunday debut on Oprah network | KTVO: Fairfield to be featured on Oprah Winfrey Network | Oprah writes in O Mag about her visit to TM Town and meditating with ladies in their Golden Dome | Some Reports on Dr. Oz’s Interview with Oprah about TM and her Next Chapter | Oprah meditates with ladies in MUM Golden Dome | Reports of Oprah’s visit to Fairfield, Iowa | Oprah says she and her staff meditate, enjoy a Quiet Time twice a day—Facebook Live interview.

Also see The Iowan: Sizing Up Small Towns: Rethinking Success in Rural Iowa: Fairfield Thinks Inclusively.

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Posted in Architecture, Education, Health, Peace, Sustainable Living, Videos | 3 Comments »

Sharpen your mind with meditation, by David Hughes, in March 2012 issue of Choice Magazine

March 20, 2012

Thought you might like to see this article, Sharpen your mind with meditation, published in the March 2012 issue of Choice, a national magazine in the UK aimed at the over-50s, which may include most of us, these days! Here is the text taken from their Health section on pages 48-49. There is a slight typo on the bottom left of page 48 — they put Dr Rosenthal’s photo with a caption belonging to another doctor quoted in the article. But he was fine about it, and thought it was a good article. I agree; it is very well written. You can download a PDF of the article, which is nicely laid out with photos and quotes. Choice – March 2012. Since this is in print, I activated the links at the end and added some.

Sharpen your mind with meditation

Once dismissed as hippyish humbug, meditation is being increasingly recognised by medical science as a way to keep your mind sharp, reports David Hughes.

FORTY YEARS ago, most busy people in the West would probably have preferred to reveal an interest in bear-baiting than meditation.

Associated with otherworldly images of incense, chanting and flower-power, meditation was generally viewed as faintly eccentric. Taking it up aroused suspicion of imminent departure on the Kathmandu trail – if not to somewhere decidedly warmer, in the view of some religious fundamentalists. Not any more.

Maybe it’s the fast pace of life and the stresses that go with it, but nowadays everyone seems to be closing the eyes and seeking nirvana. No celebrity feature is complete without mention of the meditative flavour of the month, despite which – or maybe because of it – the whole subject has become not merely respectable, but downright fashionable.

Richard Gere, Goldie Hawn and many others champion Buddhist-related practices, while film-maker David Lynch has recruited a host of fellow Transcendental Meditators – including Sir Paul McCartney, who describes the technique as ‘a lifelong gift’ – to support his campaigns to teach TM to groups as diverse as youngsters in inner-city schools, the homeless, and veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Everyone, it seems, can benefit from meditation. Yet while celebrity endorsement is one engine which has driven this trend, there’s another, less glamorous but more impressive: scientific research.

Since 1970, thousands of studies have been performed on all kinds of meditative practices – cautiously at first, as the field hardly seemed scientifically respectable, but with increasing enthusiasm as initial, promising findings led to a host of impressive long-term results. Meditation, it seems, can be a highly effective way of ‘de-stressing’ mind and body, enabling us to boost physical energy, stay mentally alert, improve memory, and live longer, happier and more successful lives.

Transcending thought
The best-researched practice, Transcendental Meditation – with more than 340 studies published in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals – involves two 20-minute sessions per day sitting comfortably with eyes closed. Easy to learn and effortless to practice, the technique – which has no religious or philosophical links – has been discovered to offer a simple antidote to the ‘fight or flight’ response associated with stress.

During TM, the attention moves automatically to a silent state of restful alertness at the source of the thinking process, while the body responds by settling to a level of physical rest deeper than ordinary eyes-closed relaxation.

“The benefits of TM are considerable,” says Dr William Weir, a consultant in infectious diseases. “It has a beneficial effect on various areas of psychological functioning; it improves one’s stress levels, it has a beneficial effect on blood pressure, it has been shown in one or two studies to have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels; and more than 600 studies of various kinds have validated the general proposition that it is an extremely helpful and life-enhancing technique.

“It produces levels of psychological rest, as well as physical rest, which are really hitherto unobtainable by someone who doesn’t know how to practice a technique like this.”

Reduced heart attacks and stroke
Practical results in daily life could be of huge potential advantage to the NHS. A nine-year study on TM presented to the American Heart Association Conference in 2009 measured a 47 per cent reduction in heart attack, stroke and mortality rates among coronary patients who practised the technique.

“If this kind of result was observed for a new prescription drug, it would be a billion-dollar industry to make it available to everyone immediately,” says Dr Norman Rosenthal, the psychiatrist and scientist who first described Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

So impressed was Dr Rosenthal with the research on Transcendental Meditation that he has written a best-selling book on the subject – Transcendence – the UK edition of which is published this month by Hay House.

Concentration and contemplation
While transcending thought appears to provide the most wide-ranging spectrum of benefits if engaged in regularly, other forms of meditation are also widely popular, particularly methods of ‘Mindfulness’, where practitioners learn to monitor thoughts or breath, and systems which involve concentration or focused attention. Much research is being carried out on such methods, with dozens of papers appearing every month.

For example, a recent study on a group in the USA who attended a meditation retreat with a Buddhist scholar found the concentration practices used enhanced attention spans in daily life, while a Mindfulness-based stress reduction technique helped breast cancer sufferers recover from the disease, according to research from the University of Missouri published at the end of last year.

With today’s blossoming of interest in meditation, a much clearer understanding of the variety of meditation types is emerging.

Preliminary work in cataloguing the various methods has been started by Dr Fred Travis, a neuroscientist and Director of Brain Research at the Center for Leadership Performance in New York, and Jonathan Shear of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Three main types
“All experience changes the brain,” says Dr Travis. However, he points out, different experiences can be expected to give rise to different changes, and so produce different outcomes. Meditations involving concentration and directed focus will produce a different effect on the brain from those requiring contemplative monitoring, and a different impact again from transcending thought altogether.

Examining published studies on meditation, Travis and Shear were able to identify three main categories of meditation based on brain patterns:
• Focused attention practices (including loving-kindness-compassion, Diamond Way Buddhism, Qigong and Zen-3rd Venticle) were characterised by Gamma brain patterns (30-50Hz) and Beta 2 (20-30Hz)
• Open Monitoring practices – non-evaluative awareness of experience (including Vipassana meditation, ZaZen meditation, Sahaja Yoga and Concentrative Qigong) – showed brain activity in the Theta waveband (5-8Hz)
• Studies on Automatic Self-Transcending (Transcendental Meditation) displayed brain patterns in the Alpha 1 waveband (8-10Hz).

The measuring of meditation is to be welcomed, as increased scientific understanding will help speed the integration of the most useful meditation practices into the health services and other areas where they may be of great help in combating the stress-related ailments of our time. And on that note, perhaps the last word should go to The Beatles.

For people of our generation, the first exposure to meditation was probably when the Fab Four trooped off to Bangor to learn Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1967. And exotic as it all seemed then, 45 years on – as in many other ways – The Beatles look ahead of their time. Says Sir Paul McCartney in Transcendence, summing up his lifetime’s TM practice: “In moments of madness, meditation has helped me find moments of serenity – and I would like to think that it would help provide young people with a quiet haven in a not-so-quiet world.

“I think meditation offers a moment in your day to be at peace with yourself and therefore the universe – which once was thought of as a slightly silly hippie idea, but now it’s much more accepted and even fits with some of the most advanced scientific thinking.”

Find out more
• Transcendental Meditation, website: (www.t-m.org.uk)
• Network of Buddhist organisations: (www.nbo.org.uk)
• Mindfulness: (www.bemindful.co.uk).

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Iowa Outdoors: Fairfield’s Abundance EcoVillage: Harmonious Living With Nature — Off The Grid

February 23, 2012

The March/April 2012 issue of Iowa Outdoors has an 8-page spread (pages 52-59) featuring Fairfield’s Abundance EcoVillage. The article, Harmonious Living With Nature, was written by Mindy Kralicek with photos by Clay Smith.

Iowa Outdoors is a magazine of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Their editorial mission is to strive to open the door to the beauty and uniqueness of Iowa’s natural resources, inspire people to get outside and experience Iowa and to motivate outdoor-minded citizens to understand and care for our natural resources.

This feature article has over 20 colorful photos with text. Some of the topics discussed are Maharishi Sthãpatya Veda Architecture, Permaculture Systems, the use of solar panels, wind turbines, earth air tubes, living off the grid, sustainable communities. Check next month to see if they’ve posted it online. For now, you can download a PDF of this beautiful article here: Off The Grid.

It’s much easier to read the article in the original magazine layout with the photos and additional text (instructions how to order at the end of this article). The next best thing is to download the PDF of it. But for those who can’t, I also copied and pasted the article below without the photos and accompanying text.

(more…)

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Oprah writes in O Mag about her visit to TM Town and meditating with ladies in their Golden Dome

January 17, 2012

In the February 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah in her column, What I Know for Sure, (page 162) shares her mission in life, what she’s all about: seeking the fullest expression of self. Part of that life’s purpose brought her to Fairfield, Iowa, or TM Town, as she calls it.

Oprah and her crew were here filming segments for her Next Chapter on OWN, including interviews with students at the Maharishi School; Vedic Pandits in neighboring Maharishi Vedic City; a visit to a home in Abundance Eco-Village, which is totally off the grid and designed with Vedic architectural principles; and practicing Transcendental Meditation with the ladies in one of the two golden domes on the campus of Maharishi University of Management. The show may be airing sometime in March. Updates to follow.

In the article, Oprah shares some personal thoughts on her visit to Fairfield, in particular, meditating in one of the golden domes with the ladies of the Fairfield community. She had a “powerfully energizing yet calming experience” of deep inner stillness and “didn’t want it to end.” When it did, she “walked away feeling fuller than when I’d come in…full of hope, a sense of contentment, and deep joy.” She elaborates saying we all need to tap into and experience “the constancy of stillness” from where “you can create your best work and your best life,” even during “the daily craziness that bombards us from every direction.”

Click on the photo and then the text box to enlarge and better see them. You can also click on this Oprah Feb 2012 to download a pdf of the article, or pick up a copy at a store where her magazine is sold. The same article is now posted on Oprah.com with a larger photo showing hundreds of ladies meditating behind Oprah in a packed dome: Oprah on Stillness and Meditation – Oprah Visits Fairfield Iowa – What Oprah Knows for Sure About Finding the Fullest Expression of Yourself. Enjoy!

AND THANK YOU, OPRAH!

Also reported in Global Good News | Maharishi School News | TM Program for Women Professionals | Transcendental Meditation Blog | Peacetown, USA.

See related posts: Some Reports on Dr. Oz’s Interview with Oprah about TM and her Next Chapter, which includes a segment of that interview, Oprah meditates with ladies in MUM Golden Dome, Reports of Oprah’s visit to Fairfield, Iowa, and Oprah says she and her staff meditate, enjoy a Quiet Time twice a day—Facebook Live interview.

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Iowa and Nepal Rotary Clubs Provide Well for City in Nepal

December 7, 2011

Rotarians from Fairfield and Nepal Unite for Winning Proposal

Rotarians Andy Bargerstock, Doug Flournoy, and Naya Raj Baral

Fairfield Rotary was instrumental in organizing 16 regional clubs to raise $122,000 for a new well to supply fresh water to serve 10,000 residents of the Jaluke Community in Gaidakot, Nepal.

FAIRFIELD, IA: A community of 10,000 people at the base of the Himalayas in Chitwan province in Nepal will now have a well, thanks to a winning grant proposal submitted to the Rotary International Foundation by Andy Bargerstock, director of the MBA program at Maharishi University of Management, and MBA alumnus Naya Raj Baral.

The grant of $45,700 will cover the costs of a borehole well, pumps, 400,000-liter reservoir tank, and training on the use and maintenance of the water system for the Jaluke Community in Gaidakot, Navalparasi, Lumbini Zone, Nepal.

Dr. Bargerstock is director of the International Service Committee for Fairfield’s Rotary Club, and Mr. Baral, the CFO at Maharishi Ayurveda Products International, is a current member of the Fairfield Rotary Club, and former member of a Rotary Club that meets two miles from the site of this project.

“During a Nepal trip to visit family and friends in Spring 2011, Naya learned about this project that had been presented by a local engineer to the Nepal Rotary Club,” Dr. Bargerstock said. “When he returned to Fairfield, he contacted me. With approval from our local board of directors, we formed a team to develop the application and raise financial support from regional Rotary Clubs. Sixteen regional clubs or members contributed to raising $16,000 as Fairfield’s requirement for co-sponsorship of the grant application.”

Projects that seek funding in excess of $25,000 from the Rotary Foundation are judged on a competitive basis. On an annual basis, only 20-30 such projects receive this degree of funding. With other matching formulas built into the grant application, the total project has generated $122,000.

Dr. Bargerstock says that Rotary is about relationship building. “This project is a good example of the Rotary Club’s focus on relationships since the successful grant application emerged from the collaboration of the clubs in Fairfield and Nepal.”

He emphasized that Rotarian Doug Flournoy from Indian Hills Community College was key in guiding the grant application process, and that Mr. Baral’s relationships with people in Nepal were critical for building credibility.

For more information, visit Jaluke, Nepal Clean Water Project – Page.

Also mentioned in The Buzz about Fairfield: Big Give, and IndiaWest: Grant Provides 10,000 Residents with Water in Nepal.

Also see Maharishi University MBA Students Win National Business Simulation Competition and Maharishi University’s Rao and Bargerstock published in Management Accounting Quarterly.

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