Here is a 30-second TV news spot some Canadian friends are testing out on CHEK TV in BC. The ad airs 44 times over 3 months during the 5pm, 6pm and 11pm News. The voiceover is by a longtime TM teacher, Bob Chelmick, who was the CBC news anchor in Alberta for decades. It broadcasts throughout Vancouver Island and also in the Lower Mainland including Vancouver, and spills over into Washington State. It was first posted on Garry Foster’s Facebook page and is now on their Transcendental Meditation Canada website as The Antidote to Stress.
Six seconds into the video we see a photo of a helicopter carrying a large specialized water bucket to help put out forest fires. Don Arney, inventor of the Bambi Bucket® for Aerial Firefighting, was inducted into the 2017 National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention. It is manufactured in Vancouver, Canada and shipped to clients in more than 110 countries.
Bob Roth and Katy Perry present TM’s benefits for children at Unite to Cure during the Fourth International Vatican Conference
Enjoy this video published by The Cura Foundation at their Unite to Cure event during the Fourth International Vatican Conference on Saturday, April 28, 2018: Impacting Children’s Health Through Meditation Globally. This presentation was delivered by Bob Roth, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, and Katy Perry, well-known American singer and songwriter.
Bob explained how easy it is to practice Transcendental Meditation (TM) and showed a 4-minute video about the David Lynch Foundation’s Quiet Time program offered in schools around the world that showed how effective it is in reducing stress in students, and improving their health and academic outcomes. He then introduced a special guest—Katy Perry.
Katy shared how TM has helped to naturally ease her anxiety. She also expressed her concern for young people who are glued to their phones for hours at a time posting on their social media platforms to be liked. She said they don’t even know how to just be themselves.
Katy also admitted to being connected to her phone, always ‘on call’. “I want to disconnect to connect back with myself.” And she does this with TM, which for her, “has been such an incredible tool.” It provides her with a more powerful rest than napping. She says it’s “key to finding your authentic self, finding that stillness, recharging,” which gives her the added mental, physical, and immune strength “to take on this big technological world.” After meditation, she adds, “it brings some of the best, most creative ideas to me.”
I enjoyed the banter between them. Watch this fun and informative video.
ET: Why Celebs Are Obsessed With Transcendental Meditation Entertainment Tonight http://et.tv/2CFjfWU
Publishedthis high-powered 2-minute news clip shows why so many stars are using this silent practice to really unplug. Featured in the report are Katy Perry, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Cameron Diaz, Fergie, Chrissy Metz, Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah and Tom Hanks. It’s a veritable free celeb-filled TM promo! Watch it on ET, MSN, AOL, Yahoo, or here: https://goo.gl/CzKDaf.
Here are 3 videos of well-known celebrities Russell Brand, Cameron Diaz, and Katy Perry praising the Transcendental Meditation technique. Veterans Paul Downs and Dusty Baxley join Katy Perry and Bob Roth to discuss how TM saved their lives from the destructive effects of PTSD. Also included is a 4th video—Paul’s powerful testimonial before the U.S. House of Representatives for the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on the benefits of Transcendental Meditation healing his post-traumatic stress.
Brand has been practicing Transcendental Meditation for nearly 10 years. He says the technique has been instrumental in fostering creativity, appreciating fatherhood, and maintaining his recovery from addiction. Roth, a 45-year TM teacher, taught Russell to meditate and the two remain close friends.
Bob and Russell discussed the benefits of practicing Transcendental Meditation, how TM has personally helped Russell, and what the David Lynch Foundation is doing to bring meditation to people suffering from stress and trauma. Russell is funny and eloquent throughout, and concludes with a powerful explanation of how change comes about in society, through the power of ideas, and not from the top down, but from the grassroots up. Listen, learn, and enjoy!
Cameron Diaz on Transcendental Meditation
Below is a video with Cameron Diaz on OWN’s Oprah Online. Published last July, Diaz shares what TM means to her and how it brings wholeness to her life, especially after a long hot day on a film set. I haven’t seen Oprah’s interview with her, but the text mentions that day. Cameron had told DLF CEO Bob Roth about it over two years earlier during an interview at an event sponsored by Urban Zen. Funds were being raised to support the Foundation’s efforts to bring relief to veterans and their families suffering from the effects of PTSD with scholarships for TM courses.
Bob Roth: “Tell us about the time when you were filming and it was hot and you couldn’t remember..”
Cameron Diaz: “I was doing a film and we had been filming in Boston and we came to LA for a week. We went from the Fall, nice and cozy, to LA which was about 90 degrees in the valley at the zoo, parking lot, under a tent, in a car, under lights, with the windows up, no air conditioning. It was about 1000 degrees in the car, and I had a monologue and I couldn’t remember my lines. I knew I knew them; I couldn’t access them.”
“So I said, I need 25 minutes, I just need 25 minutes. I ran back to my trailer and I re-booted and did my 20 minute meditation. I came back in and nailed it! Done. Thank you very much. And we were out of there in like 20 minutes.”
A week later TMhome posted Katy Perry speaks with veterans about the healing effects of TM on her Witness World Wide video marathon. Katy also spoke earlier with Bob Roth about TM, which starts at 6:45. Roth arrives with MTV and E! News host Zuri Hall who wanted to ask Katy and Bob about TM. Katy tells Zuri that she learned TM from Bobby during her wedding to Russell Brand, which took place in India. The marriage didn’t last, but she continued to meditate. Katy told her she gets her best ideas after meditation.
Katy tries to live her life from love, not fear. TM has done this for her. This idea is more profoundly explained by veterans Paul Downs and Dusty Baxley who later join Katy and Bob after Zuri leaves. Dusty is the executive director of the Boulder Crest Retreat and a TM teacher. He taught Paul to meditate. They actually all meditate together for 20 minutes, which you can see in this clip taken from the 72-hour live-streaming launch for Katy’s new album.
Marine Veteran Paul Downs on Transcendental Meditation
Marine Veteran Paul Downs also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives for the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on the benefits of Transcendental Meditation healing his post-traumatic stress. This video is borrowed from the David Lynch Foundation Facebook page.
Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation, appeared on this week’s Fox 5 WNYW Good Day New York morning newscast* with Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly to talk about Transcendental Meditation. Rosanna’s friends were telling her about it, and she was interested in learning. So she invited the in-demand TM teacher to the show.
Bob explained how easy and effortless it is to learn and practice TM, and how different it is from other more difficult approaches. He also described some of the many scientific published research studies showing improvements in health, education, and rehabilitation.
He emphasized TM wasn’t just for the needy or wealthy segments of society. Everyone could benefit from it. People from every walk of life were practicing it — military personnel, Wall Street brokers, educators, physicians, housewives, students, anyone dealing with today’s stressful challenges. More than just relaxation, he said TM gives you more energy, focus and drive to get things done.
Rosanna asked about the work of the Foundation and the upcoming concert. Bob described the various DLF projects helping different at-risk sectors of society, and announced the November 4th Change Begins Within Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the David Lynch Foundation’s Meditate New York initiative to provide Transcendental Meditation instruction at no cost to 10,000 at-risk New Yorkers, including underserved youth, veterans with post-traumatic stress, and women and children who are victims of domestic violence.
*This morning news show originally aired on Tuesday, Oct. 13th, 2015. You can watch the 10-minute interview in a larger format from the Fox 5 archive HERE and at the TM Blog.
Rosanna Scotto attended the DLF benefit concert and talked with Greg Kelly about it on Good Day New York.
In one of the June 2015 issues of New York Magazine, an article appeared in the New York Guides section as The Everything Guide to Doing Nothing; Wake up late, go out never, have someone hand-feed you a banana. Here is the introduction to the collection of articles on how to do nothing in New York, followed by one from the collection of short essays that caught my attention.
It’s not that New York has become any less chaotic, but amid the relentless hustle is a recent move to nada-hood: In the past year, dozens of apps have popped up that make social interaction and trips to Duane Reade less and less necessary. Need toilet paper delivered in an hour? Press a button. Too tired to mop your floors? Enlist the latest iRobot. But why stop there? For when TV plots seem too complicated, Candy Crush too physically taxing, and the newspaper just too damn wordy, there’s now an ever-more-passive alternative. So whether you want to avoid dirty dishes, the treadmill, or your friends, here’s a guide for living your laziest life.
How to Not Think Transcendental Meditation on the C train. By David Marchese
A great many extremely successful and presumably fully actualized people, from billionaire hedge-funder Ray Dalio to pop goddess Katy Perry, are advocating these days for the life-changing benefits of Transcendental Meditation. TM, they say, will sharpen your decision-making, unlock your creativity, amplify your you. Science is also onboard. Studies suggest that TM practitioners are at reduced risk for heart attack and stroke. All this from just sitting there and focusing on your secret mantra. When I mention this sort of stuff to people—I’ve been doing TM for six or so years—I normally get an interested nod in return. When I say it involves meditating twice a day for 20 minutes a pop, the nod turns into something more skeptical. Where am I supposed to find the time?
I find it on the C train. As long as your commute is long enough, the subway offers a great opportunity for achieving profound inner stillness. First off, you need to find a seat, which is why I opt for the less crowded local, rather than express, train. Then, with your back straight, head tilted slightly down, and eyes closed, do about 30 seconds of deep breathing before you begin silently repeating your mantra—the secret word, supposedly custom-chosen, that your TM instructor (find a nearby class and instructor at tm.org) will have given you. Don’t try to clear your mind, just favor the mantra. Repeat it. Keep repeating it. Favor it above all other thoughts and sensations. If other thoughts do bubble up—and they will—just come back to the mantra. You’ll be amazed how quickly the ambient MTA blare fades away as you transcend toward pure consciousness. A sort of whole-body inner joy takes over, as if your heart were gently laughing. Hard-core TMers say 20 minutes is mandatory—I use the timer on my iPhone—but if you’re diligent about the mantra, you can transcend after a few minutes, so it’s okay if the train starts running express. Even ten minutes of TM is a nice psychic boon, and, I promise, infinitely more satisfying than another level of Candy Crush.
I was in NY recently for my nephew’s film, The Driftless Area, which was being spotlighted at the Tribeca International Film Festival, and wrote this haiku about the city: A NEW YORK HAIKU by Ken Chawkin.
This article on Transcendental Meditation was one of the rotating stories on The Daily Beast today, April 23, 2013. It was the 9th top story of rotating images in the big box on the upper left corner of the home page. The article appeared as a result of Rupert Murdoch learning to meditate last weekend. It was supposed to be private, but he tweeted about it and drew media attention. Click on the links below to see photos and descriptions of the 14 featured meditating celebs.
Celebs Who Meditate – The Daily Beast – Invision/AP; WireImage
Transcendental Meditation has made its rounds with celebrities as far back as when the Beatles were a unit, but is once again creeping up as the latest trend among celebrities. Rupert Murdoch recently tweeted on his indoctrination into the mantra meditation movement, Oprah Winfrey devoted an entire show to it, and David Lynch even launched a nonprofit foundation for the practice.
The technique was established in India by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s and has spread worldwide since, used as a means to relieve stress and build personal development. The practice involves twice-a-day, 15- to 20-minute meditations, and courses are taught by certified instructors for a fee. See which other stars are endorsing the practice and taking time for some inner peace!
For her birthday, Katy Perry tweets fans to support Transcendental Meditation for school kids and veterans https://twitter.com/katyperry
Katy Perry says that Transcendental Meditation changed her life and, for her October 25 birthday, she is asking her fans to donate to the David Lynch Foundation, a US-based charity that provides meditation instruction at no charge to inner-city school kids and veterans suffering from the traumatic stress of combat.
In a tweet to her 27 million twitter followers, Perry writes:
“Transcendental Meditation changed my life. For my birthday I would love to pay it forward. In lieu of gifts, donate to www.davidlynchfoundation.org/katyperry.”
Perry joins a growing number of A-list celebs who practice Transcendental Meditation, or “TM”as it is called, including Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Russell Simmons, Jerry Seinfeld, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Cheryl Crow, Moby, Ben Harper, and Laura Dern.
On the David Lynch Foundation donation webpage, Perry writes about her support for TM:
“I have been meditating for two years now, and it’s the best thing I have ever done to help bring more creativity, positive energy and peace to my life. When I’m tired, stressed, anxious or depressed, I meditate, and it clears my mind, and makes me feel relaxed and happier. I have shared the meditation experience with my friends, and recommend it to everyone I know.
“I support the David Lynch Foundation because it brings Transcendental Meditation to millions of adults and children all over the world who suffer from post-traumatic stress, such as veterans, inner-city school kids, and women and girls who are victims of violence.
“Please help me celebrate my birthday by making a donation to DLF. Your donation is not only special to me, but to all of the people whose lives you will help through the lifelong gift of meditation.”
Last year, Perry urged her fans to “pay it forward” with donations to the ASPCA to care for abused animals.
For Russell Brand, meditation puts life in perspective
Jay Leno, left, Jerry Seinfeld, George Shapiro, Russell Brand and David Lynch arrive at the David Lynch Foundation’s Night of Comedy honoring George Shapiro at the Beverly Wilshire hotel Saturday. (John Shearer / Invision / June 30, 2012)
“I meditate often,” he told the Ministry of Gossip on Saturday. “It connects you to a source of energy that’s more powerful than the material world in which we primarily dwell. It helps you relax and unwind.”
That’s something clearly needed by the comic and actor, who has been percolating on a publicity tour for “Rock of Ages,” shooting his FX comedy show “Brand X” and navigating a media firestorm linked to his divorce from Katy Perry, whose new documentary “Part of Me” includes personal footage from their marriage.
Hardly relaxing stuff. On the other hand …
“If you spend a lot of time meditating, you start to think of the stuff that is happening in your actual life as being secondary. It doesn’t feel so important,” he said before emceeing a David LynchFoundation fundraiser in honor of manager George Shapiro’s lengthy career and love of Transcendental Meditation.
From the Beverly Wilshire auditorium stage later that night, Brand entertained high profile guests including Shapiro client Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling and Sarah Silverman (all of whom also performed), plus Shapiro himself, who received the Lifetime of Bliss Award from Lynch.
Proceeds from the fundraiser went to “meditation training” scholarships for impoverished kids and veterans. Brand said the practice saved him from a agonizing, drug-riddled decline — though onstage he jokingly referred to Lynch’s organization as a “cult.”
Celebrities, meditation-championing, tickets starting at $1,000 a seat — a Beverly Hills evening, indeed.
Watch this great interview of George Shapiro posted on Emmy TV Legends in the Archive of American Television. He tells some great stories about comics including Andy Kaufman and Jerry Seinfeld. http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/george-shapiro
With his manic energy and cheeky vocabulary, British comic Russell Brand hardly seems like a poster boy for Transcendental Meditation.
But Mr. Brand, who credits the meditation technique for helping him stay sober, is indeed a practitioner of TM and served as a master of ceremonies Saturday night for the David Lynch Foundation’s annual “Change Begins Within” benefit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was performing gratis, and hoped his good will would buy him “some wiggle room to act subversively and deviously.”
Mr. Brand was introduced by talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who Mr. Brand turned onto TM a year ago, and in turn introduced David Lynch. Though best known to American audiences as the director of atmospheric films like “Blue Velvet” and the television series “Twin Peaks,” Mr. Lynch has also been an avid meditator for over three decades and created the David Lynch Foundation in 2005 to help implement meditation programs for both at-risk students and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mr. Lynch summed up his thoughts about TM by producing a painting of a tree and explained to the audience, which included actors like Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Bell and honoree Russell Simmons, that the key to meditation was to “water to root” of the mind and “enjoy the fruit” of the ensuing knowledge. He also introduced his psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal to the crowd, who thanked his client for his “confidential” introduction and explained the health benefits of transcendental meditation — a subject they have written about for The Wall Street Journal’s opinion page.
After hearing first-person account from war veterans and current high school students about how TM has personally affected their lives, Mr. Brand wrapped up the evening by interviewing quantum physicist John Hagelin — a situation that seemed to fill the actor full of glee. We’ve embedded the interview below: