Posts Tagged ‘Transcendental Meditation’

Meditation for Students: Results of the David Lynch Foundation’s Quiet Time/TM Program in San Francisco Schools

December 24, 2011

David Lynch Foundation Event in San Francisco: Meditation for Students

The David Lynch Foundation held a benefit gala in San Francisco on June 1 at the Legion of Honor, to showcase the successes of a five-year project to bring the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique to students in inner-city San Francisco schools. In this video, you will hear James Dierke, principal of Visitacion Valley Middle School talk about the unprecedented academic achievements of his meditating students; iconic filmmaker David Lynch talk about the inspiring work of his foundation among at-risk populations; and Dr. Norman Rosenthal, internationally renowned psychiatrist and NY Times bestselling author, discuss the amazing results of scientific research on the TM technique. See other featured past events posted on the David Lynch Foundation website. To hear more about the David Lynch Foundation and it’s programs, please visit: http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org.

Uploaded by on Jul 7, 2011.

See selected highlights of Inspiring results from the TM-Quiet Time Program in the San Francisco Unified School District.

Russell Brand Interviews Quantum Physicist At David Lynch Foundation Gala

December 6, 2011

DECEMBER 5, 2011, 6:00 PM ET

By Michelle Kung

Russell Brand Interviews Quantum Physicist At David Lynch Foundation Gala

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:

(The included interview was from last year’s Change Begins Within Gala Event in New York City. You can see this year’s interview here, and the complete Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala, which took place December 3rd, 2011 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.) See Ellen DeGeneres and Russell Brand raise awareness about TM for overcoming traumatic stress.

Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala

December 5, 2011

Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Brand, Russell Simmons, David Lynch and more.

Meditating stars, leaders of veterans groups, and top scientists and educators gather to raise funds and celebrate the success of the David Lynch Foundation’s many outreaches to help people in need overcome traumatic stress and transform their lives from within. For more information on DLF empowering veterans, underserved youth, and other disadvantaged groups to overcome traumatic stress through meditation visit http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org. Watch News Conference View Event Photos.

Watch a replay of this Benefit Gala, and other past events, at the David Lynch Foundation website. Also watch a replay of the David Lynch Foundation Launch of Operation Warrior Wellness Los Angeles, and related media coverage: David Lynch gives $1M to teach vets meditation. And WSJ: Russell Brand Interviews Quantum Physicist At David Lynch Foundation Gala. Leslie Hendry reviews David’s talk in How Hippie Meditation Helps Us All. See People Magazine photo of Katy Perry and her dapper husband Russell Brand make a cozy pair at the Change Begins Within benefit gala in Los Angeles on Saturday, and another one where Perry popped up at the David Lynch Foundation’s Change Begins Within benefit celebration in Los Angeles on Saturday. See Ellen DeGeneres and Russell Brand raise awareness about TM for overcoming traumatic stress.

David Lynch gives $1M to teach vets meditation

December 3, 2011
Film director David Lynch holds a check for $1,000,000 at the press conference for The David Lynch Foundation’s Operation Warrior Wellness, held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on December 2, 2011 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Mark Davis/Getty Images)
 
December 3, 2011 10:01 AM

David Lynch gives $1M to teach vets meditation

(CBS/AP)  LOS ANGELES — Academy Award-nominated director David Lynch – a longtime advocate of Transcendental Meditation – wants soldiers and veterans to experience the stress-reducing benefits of TM.

The David Lynch Foundation is giving $1 million in grants to teach the meditation technique to active-duty military personnel and veterans and their families suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The filmmaker said Friday that the grants are from the Operation Warrior Wellness division of his foundation, which funds meditation instruction for various populations, including inner-city students and jail inmates.

Recipients of Operation Warrior Wellness grants include Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Wounded Warrior Project and UCLA’s Operation Mend.

Lynch’s credits include the films “Eraserhead,” “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet,” “Wild at Heart,” “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive,” and the TV series “Twin Peaks.”

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc.

Related articles: David Lynch donates $1 million in grants through his foundation to teach veterans to meditate. See the Replay of David Lynch Foundation Launch of Operation Warrior Wellness Los Angeles. Watch the Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala.

David Lynch donates $1 million in grants through his foundation to teach veterans to meditate

December 2, 2011

The Washington Post: Entertainment

David Lynch donates $1 million in grants through his foundation to teach veterans to meditate

By Associated Press: Friday, December 2, 8:17 AM

LOS ANGELES — David Lynch wants soldiers and veterans to experience the stress-reducing benefits of Transcendental Meditation.Lynch’s namesake foundation is giving $1 million in grants to teach the meditation technique to active-duty military personnel and veterans and their families suffering from post-traumatic stress.

(Evan Agostini, file/Associated Press) – FILE – In this Dec. 13, 2010 file photo, director David Lynch attends the 2nd annual “Change Begins Within” benefit celebration, hosted by the David Lynch Foundation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Lynch wants soldiers and veterans to experience the stress-reducing benefits of Transcendental Meditation. Lynch’s namesake foundation is giving $1 million in grants to teach the meditation technique to active-duty military personnel and veterans and their families suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The filmmaker said Friday that the grants are from the Operation Warrior Wellness division of his foundation, which funds meditation instruction for various populations, including inner-city students and jail inmates. Recipients of Operation Warrior Wellness grants include Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Wounded Warrior Project and UCLA’s Operation Mend. Lynch’s credits include TV’s “Twin Peaks” and the films “Mulholland Drive,” ‘’Blue Velvet” and “Wild At Heart.”
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See the Replay of David Lynch Foundation Launch of Operation Warrior Wellness Los Angeles. Watch the Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala.

Replay of David Lynch Foundation Launch of Operation Warrior Wellness Los Angeles

December 2, 2011

Watch Replay of Launch of Operation Warrior Wellness Los Angeles
http://www.livestream.com/davidlynch

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News coverage: The Associated Press: The Washington Post: David Lynch donates $1 million in grants through his foundation to teach veterans to meditate | CBS NEWS: David Lynch gives $1M to teach vets meditation | and many more. Related: The Case for Using Transcendental Meditation to Treat Combat Related PTSD.

Watch the entire Operation Warrior Wellness press conference – Los Angeles launch, Dec 2011 then watch the Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala. See Ellen DeGeneres and Russell Brand raise awareness about TM for overcoming traumatic stress.

Bob Roth, Executive Director, David Lynch Foundation, Discusses Transcendental Meditation On Free Your Mind Projects Radio Show

November 30, 2011

Transcendental Meditation

It helps Veterans deal with PTSD. It helps students. It helps teachers.  It helps parents. It helps Hollywood’s biggest stars, and now it’s helping the hosts of the Free Your Mind Projects. It’s Transcendental Meditation. Listen as Bob Roth, Executive Director of the David Lynch Foundation joins us to discuss TM, AND the scientific data that supports its effectiveness. Kathleen Piche’ from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health joins us as guest host as she does each week and explains why TM can be a GREAT example of prevention and early intervention for mental health issues AND just an all around stress reliever! Find out more about the David Lynch Foundation and TM, and check out there upcoming event information in Los Angeles at LACMA on December 3rd at www.changebeginswithin.orgwww.changebeginswithin.org

Also see: Russell Brand Does Stand-Up for Transcendental Meditation and What do Stephen Collins, Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Brand, Russell Simmons, David Lynch and Oprah have in common?

Listen to another FYMP show: Free Your Mind Project Show Discusses the David Lynch Foundation’s Commitment to 10,000 Vets.


Russell Brand Does Stand-Up for Transcendental Meditation

November 29, 2011

Medical Unit

By Susan Donaldson James

Nov 29, 2011 2:39pm

Russell Brand Does Stand-Up for Transcendental Meditation

Comic actor Russell Brand credits his sobriety with practicing Transcendental Meditation.

Russell Brand, who credits Transcendental Meditation for helping him stay off addictions to alcohol, drugs and sex, will do a stand-up comedy show tonight at the Palace of the Fine Arts in San Francisco to benefit the David Lynch Foundation.

Brand has said publicly that meditation had helped him find a “deeper state of happiness.”  Other celebrities — including Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres — are devotees of TM.

“What it felt like to me was the dissolution of the idea of myself,” he said at a press conference last year. “Like, I felt separateness evaporated, this tremendous sense of oneness. I’m quite a neurotic thinker, quite an adrenalized person. But after meditation, I felt this beautiful serenity and selfless connection. My tendency towards selfishness, I felt that exposed as a superficial and pointless perspective to have.”

Brand, who is best known for his films, “Get Him to the Greek” and “Arthur” –  and for being the husband of pop start Katy Perry – gave up alcohol nearly a decade ago. He has said,  ”I was really, really committed to that drug addiction.”

The David Lynch Foundation, the brainchild of the filmmaker of the same name, has been committed to helping those who suffer from trauma since 2005. The often dark and abstract director credits his creativity with 37 years of meditation.

Their meditation programs have helped those in the military, who are at higher risk for post-traumatic stress and in schools where students grow up in a climate of fear with bullying, violence and substance abuse. They also work with other at-risk populations like Native Americans and the homeless.

The Lynch foundation now teaches 150,000 students for free in 350 schools around the world; 15 of them are in the United States.

Click here for video of David Lynch discussing His First Meditation.

“It’s not a religion,” Lynch told ABC last year. “It’s not against any religion, it’s not mumbo-jumbo. It truly does transform life. Kids come to school and they meditate together for 15 minutes in the morning. And before they go home they meditate for 15 minutes. A lot of them come from, you know, bad situations, and so this gives them this thing you know, at the beginning and the end of the day, the rest of the time you just watch the violence stop. Watch relationships improve. Watch happiness in the hallways, in the classroom, watch creativity flow more and more, watch that heavy weight that we are living under gently lift away.”

Brand learned TM at the foundation headquarters in Fairfield, Iowa, during a time when he was making a  documentary on happiness with directors Oliver Stone and Albert Maysles.

David Lynch Foundation Executive Director Bob Roth asked Brand if he wanted to learn TM. “I have all the time in the world,” Brand responded, according to foundation spokesman Ken Chawkin. “He taught him and he loved it and came back a second time.”

Brand went to India, where he was married to Perry last year, to research the film. The comedian is a vegetarian and devotee of Buddhism and Hari Krishna. He also practices yoga.

Oprah also meditated with 500 other women at the “dome” in Iowa, according to Chawkin. ”Her companies are now instructed as part of their daily routine,” he said. “It’s awesome. She really got it.”

On Dec. 3, Brand will join actress Ellen DeGeneres and Def Jam’s Russell Simmons in Los Angeles for another benefit performance. The foundation will webcast from their website  a live global news conference on Dec. 2 on its gift of $1 million to teach veterans to meditate. The celebrity event will be replayed online Sunday, Dec 4.

Various studies funded by the David Lynch Foundation have shown that those under stress, particularly ethnic and racial minorities, can reduce their stress levels by 36 percent by practicing TM. Students in “quiet programs” that include meditation have also shown higher rates of achievement.

 ”It allows the thinking process to naturally settle down,” said Chawkin. “And just automatically and quietly you transcend beyond to the source of thought within. You are twice as deep as the deepest point of sleep, while awake inside.”

Brand has said that his stress was rooted in his celebrity. “I used to be poor, now I’m not,” he said last year at a conference with young people. “I didn’t used to be famous, now I am. And I thought that both of these significant transitions would bring a certain amount of satisfaction.

“They did a bit, initially as being famous gives you enormous access to– given there are some young people here– partners in physical nocturnal activities.”

SHOWS:

User Comments

Brand is FUNNY but when he talks about profound stuff like how TM helps him he is REALLY good. I wish I could be there tonight!

Posted by: quirkysquirrel | November 29, 2011 November 29, 2011, 3:15 pm

I’m really impressed with David Lynch’s work as well as Russell Brand speaking up and stepping up to help promote David’s foundation. TM has been a remarkably helpful and profound practice for me, in all areas of my life. Whether you are a vet, a student, a down and out artist to be or a person who could use more chill, more health, more creativity in your life – it’s a fantastic tool.

Posted by: Tlccabin | November 29, 2011 November 29, 2011, 6:42 pm

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The David Lynch Foundation will host two events: a live global news conference, webcast from the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, Friday, December 2, 11 AM (PT), 2 PM (ET); and the Third Annual David Lynch Foundation Benefit Gala, Saturday, December 3, 5 PM (PT), 8 PM (ET) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will replay online Sunday, December 4, at 5 PM (PT), 8 PM (ET). Click here for more information: http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/emailing/2011_11_29.html.

Also see: An Evening of Stand-Up With Russell Brand — a Benefit for the David Lynch Foundation Tuesday, November 29th at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco | The SF Examiner: Russell Brand makes it to the Palace | The Times of India: Russell Brand to headline comedy show for charity | Examiner.com: Russell Brand makes San Francisco laugh for The David Lynch Foundation | What do Stephen Collins, Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Brand, Russell Simmons, David Lynch and Oprah have in common?

HUFFPOST: David Lynch: Why I Meditate

November 22, 2011
David Lynch
Award-winning director, writer, producer

Why I Meditate

Posted: 11/22/11 08:23 AM ET

Dear HuffPost Friends,

I’ve been asked to write something about meditation today. A question was, “Why do I meditate?” I practice Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Before I started TM, I looked into many different kinds of meditation, and something about each of them said they weren’t for me. When I heard about Transcendental Meditation from my sister who had started, I liked what she told me in relation to all the other forms I had looked into. And as I’ve said, I’d heard a change in my sister’s voice. I heard more happiness and more self-assuredness. And I said, “I want this Transcendental Meditation.”

I guess people start meditation for many different reasons, but each person who starts will get the benefit they are looking for, and many other benefits as well. I became interested in meditation because I heard a phrase, “True happiness is not out there. True happiness lies within.” And this phrase had a ring of truth to me, but the phrase doesn’t tell you where the within is, nor how to get there.

One day it hit me that meditation would be the way to go within.

The beauty of Transcendental Meditation is that it gives effortless transcending. It is not a trying form of meditation, not concentration, nor contemplation. It is a unique form of meditation, a mental technique, an ancient form of meditation brought back by Maharishi for this time.

At the base of all matter and all mind there is an eternal field, which is beyond the field of relativity — it is non-relative, absolute. This field has many names. For quantum physicists it is called the Unified Field. It is also known as The Transcendent, Being, The Source, Totality, Ocean of Pure Bliss Consciousness, The Self. This field is that level of life, which has always been, it is, and will be forever.

When a human being truly transcends and experiences this deepest level of life, they’re able to infuse some of that consciousness and begin to expand whatever consciousness they had to begin with. All of us human beings have consciousness, but not every human being has the same amount. The potential for each of us is infinite consciousness, enlightenment, total fulfillment, infinite bliss, liberation.

Tied to consciousness are all-positive qualities, intelligence, creativity, happiness, love, energy, power and peace. With the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation, a person can transcend many times in each meditation and really see huge life-transforming benefits. Those all-positive qualities grow more and more each day. And the side effect is that negativity begins to receded. Stress, anxiety, tension, sorrow, depression, hate, anger and fear begin to lift and this is such a great sense of freedom for the human being. All the stressful things are still out there, all the negative things are still out there, but because the all-positive things are still growing, those negative things have less and less power to hurt us.

For me, I felt so much relief from this heavy weight of negativity lifting. And as I say, I felt the suffocating rubber clown suit of negativity dissolving, and it was such a feeling of bright freedom. I got more and more happiness in the doing of things, ideas seemed to flow more freely. I felt more energy for the work and I began to see other people as people I liked more and more. I felt healthier and more comfortable in my body. The whole world looked better.

There is an expression, “The world is as you are.” I think it means that it can be the same old world, but when we change — in a more positive way — that same old world looks better and better.

The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness Based Education and World Peace was started to raise money to give the technique of Transcendental Meditation to any student who wanted it anywhere in the world. So far we have helped 250,000 students learn this technique and get the benefits. The foundation has also branched out to funding programs for prisoners, prison guards, children suffering from child prostitution, the homeless, Native Americans suffering from diabetes and alcoholism, veterans suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And it’s always the same. No matter what the suffering is or how much stress or torment there is, when people get this technique they get happier. They start feeling better. They start seeing that suffering lift and they say they get their lives back and see a good future.

It’s a human being thing to transcend. Many people have transcended without a technique, but they don’t know how it happened. Transcendental Meditation is a technique that gives a person an opportunity to transcend — first time, every time.

There are so many programs in the world to help people. But unfortunately most of them are surface solutions, and surface solutions will never work. They’ll never address the deep torment, suffering, anger or hate inside the person. When a person can transcend and infuse those all-positive qualities from that beautiful field of pure consciousness within, it’s like cleaning the machine and infusing it with gold.

Einstein said you can’t solve a problem at the level of the problem, you have to solve it from beneath the problem. We can’t get deeper than the Unified Field — The Ocean of Consciousness, Being. This field is also known as the Kingdom of Heaven, which lies within. Think about it, how beautiful it is to sit quietly, close the eyes, start a technique and visit the Kingdom of Heaven each day.

Veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, from what I’ve heard, are not getting the help that truly lets them have their lives back, which truly relieves their suffering in a real way. Now there have been testimonials from veterans who have gotten the technique of Transcendental Meditation, and it is beautiful to hear their stories of how this has saved their life and helped the lives of their friends and family.

Maharishi revived a great technique, which is a blessing to human beings. Take advantage of it, make hay while the sun shines.

Your friend,

David

Oprah meditates with ladies in MUM Golden Dome

November 19, 2011

This photo, with text, was posted on Oprah Winfrey’s Facebook page. OWN also showed previews from her upcoming shows, including a few clips from her visit here. This episode is scheduled to air early in the year. Watch a sneak peek of Oprah’s Next Chapter. Read more: First Look: Oprah’s Next Chapter.

Now more clips available from Doctor Oz’s Dec 7 exclusive interview with Oprah. In this candid one-on-one interview, Oprah discusses her life after the Oprah show. She details her aspirations, challenges, how she knew it was time to make a change and found the courage to do it.

Part 3 at 1:00–1:15, shows clips of her visit with the Vedic Pandits, and Part 7 at 1:15–3:00, Oprah discusses rush hour in Fairfield, Iowa, TM Town, where everyone goes to the domes to meditate, how TM benefits her and all her employees who do TM twice a day at work, and the value of taking time for your Self in that way.

Oprah’s Next Chapter

Oprah Winfrey joins in evening meditation at The Golden Dome of Pure Knowledge in Fairfield, Iowa
Photo Credit: (c) 2012 Harpo, Inc./George Burns

Oprah in a small town in Iowa devoted to the practice of Transcendental Meditation. Oprah’s Next Chapter debuts January 1 at 9/8c exclusively on OWN. Find OWN on your tv here: www.oprah.com/findown

See related events/posts: 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. Here’s a report on the interview with Dr. Oz, reported in Miami Spirituality Examiner: Oprah Discusses Her Life After the Practice of Transcendental Meditation. And a recent post on the TM Blog Oprah Winfrey talks TM with Dr. Mehmet Oz. For more, see: Some Reports on Dr. Oz’s Interview with Oprah about TM and her Next Chapter. And this latest news: Oprah writes in O Mag about her visit to TM Town and meditating with ladies in their Golden Dome | OWN: Oprah Visits America’s Most Unusual Town, Sunday, March 25, 8 p.m. CT, 9-10 p.m. ET/PT.