I enjoyed this interview that took place recently at a Chicago Ideas event. Filmmaker David Lynch sat down with entrepreneur Brad Keywell to talk about Transcendental Meditation. David gave an in-depth explanation of what TM is, the value of transcending, how it informs his creativity, and why it’s different from other meditation practices.
David also discussed the benefits that his Foundation’s Quiet Time program has been bringing to traumatized students in stressful Chicago schools to help “Silence the Violence.” They showed an excerpt from a video of educators and students talking about the significant results.
The David Lynch Foundation was one of three organizations that received grants to help lower the crime rate in Chicago schools. The Quiet Time school project was funded and researched by the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
The Chicago Tribune had published a report on the project three years ago. The project was so successful, DLF received another larger grant to expand the program in more schools.
Enjoy this lively discussion. David delivers a compelling message!
Based on Dr. Schneider’s recently published TM and heart health studies, which we publicized via EurekAlert!, Thrive Global reached out to us a few weeks ago inviting Dr. Schneider to submit an article on his work. It was published last week, January 24, 2020, in their Wisdom section. I added hyperlinks here to some of the studies mentioned in the article.
Students at Maharishi International University practice the effortless technique of Transcendental Meditation twice a day.
My colleagues and I have long been concerned about the high rates of cardiovascular disease in the US that have spread throughout the world. Despite advances in modern medicine, heart attacks and strokes are the leading cause of death globally. One of the reasons for these high rates is the epidemic of stress in modern society. Early in my career, I studied the connection between psychological stress and high blood pressure and heart disease. This was a negative effect of the mind-body connection. About 30 years ago, I decided to investigate how the mind-body-heart connection could be positively managed with effective stress reduction, particularly the Transcendental Meditation® technique.
During that time, we and our colleagues at major academic medical centers in the US, such as Columbia University Medical Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Cedars Sinai Medical Center and Charles Drew University, received funding from the National Institutes of Health and foundations to study effects of mind-body intervention with Transcendental Meditation in high-risk groups, like African Americans with high blood pressure or established heart disease. The results of this series of well-controlled studies, known as randomized controlled trials, showed that practice of Transcendental Meditation lowered high blood pressure, reduced insulin resistance (aka metabolic syndrome*), reduced atherosclerosis, and prevented abnormal enlargement of the heart (called left ventricular hypertrophy) in one of most recent studies. Some of our published pilot studies suggested improvements in blood flow to the heart and benefits to patients with heart failure.
A landmark study that brought all these findings together followed 200 patients with known heart disease over an average of five years. Half practiced Transcendental Meditation and half attended a class about cardiovascular factors. All participants continued their usual medicines and medical care. At the end of the study, the results showed that the meditating participants had a 48% lower rate of death, heart attack and stroke compared to controls. We believe that this remarkable result was due to redacted risk factors such as high blood pressure, psychological stress, and possibly cardiac enlargement. The results of reduced mortality in long-term TM practitioners were replicated in a separate study of older participants with high blood pressure. All of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals, many in top ones like the American Heart Association and American Medical Association.
Based on these findings an American Heart Association scientific statement acknowledged these scientific studies and recommended that Transcendental Meditation be considered in the treatment of all patients with high blood pressure. And that’s a lot of people — according to the most recent guidelines, nearly half of all adults in the US. The research is continuing, but I would say that if you’re at risk for heart disease — and that’s most men and women — consider managing your mind and body with Transcendental Meditation®. It’s easy to learn and practice, has extensive scientific evidence, and has other positive “benefits” for mental and physical health. It could save your life. For more information, visit https://www.tm.org.
*Video of Dr. Oz presenting TM research at DLF event.
(Click on Page 2 for a photo and Bio of Dr. Schneider.)
Transcendental Meditation – Helping to ease the busy mind
As the UK slowly sheds its prehistoric attitudes to mental health, meditation is coming to the fore as an accessible and achievable way of improving both emotional and physical well-being.
The growing weight of evidence of its effectiveness in tackling all manner of mental and physical maladies make it an attractive prospect for all of the people whose internal monologue isn’t as measured or as supportive as they’d like it to be.
I had attempted meditation in the past, in the less than stressful environs of Brighton Buddhist Centre, but enjoyable and pleasant as it was, I was unable to immediately tame my ‘monkey mind’, and blundered on with the chaotic maelstrom of life.
Mark Heath, a certified teacher of Transcendental Meditation
But then in June last year I was lucky enough to see Nick Cave perform a memorable show at the Brighton Dome, in which the engaging singer-songwriter espoused the benefits of Transcendental Meditation (TM), and cited it as a contributory factor in his continued recovery following the sudden loss of his 15-year-old son Arthur.
Cave has always been a hugely charismatic figure, but his openness and generosity of spirit in the face of such a harrowing experience, was remarkable, and he provided an incredibly positive and persuasive advert for TM.
Inspired by the words and positive actions of the former Godfather of Goth, I got in touch with the Brighton and Hove branch of Transcendental Meditation.
The worldwide organisation, developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and famously popularised in the UK by The Beatles, has taught its techniques to more than ten million people of all ages, cultures and religions, who learn to meditate in the hope of attaining inner peace and wellness.
David Lynch. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Those techniques are simplicity itself, based on the silent recital of a mantra, whilst seated, for 20 minutes, twice a day.
Film director David Lynch, a passionate advocate of TM, has not missed a single twice-daily meditation in more than 45 years, and has said it has given him ‘effortless access to unlimited reserves of energy, creativity and happiness deep within’.
For Sussex residents the pursuit of that happiness begins in the suitably serene surroundings where Mark Heath teaches the principles of Transcendental Meditation in the cosiest and most welcoming of venues at the Brighton and Hove TM Centre on the northern outskirts of Brighton.
An enjoyable one-to-one session included a simple ceremony where I was given my very own personal mantra and immediately encouraged to embark upon the aforementioned twice-daily meditations.
The following week I attended small group sessions with other people who had also just begun their Transcendental Meditation journey, where we discussed our early experiences and Mark, with great enthusiasm and patience, answered our questions.
He also explained the theoretical principles, which he said would subconsciously stop the brain questioning the process and help TM to do its thing.
The mantra is key, obviously, and TM accepts that you won’t immediately be able to banish all other thoughts, but in the moments between the mantra and random thought, will, hopefully, be the moments when you transcend thought.
The Brighton and Hove Transcendental Meditation Centre
There were also plenty of great group meditations (which are available on an open-ended basis after the course concluded) and Mark proved to be the perfect guide, full of warmth and the second great advert for TM I’ve encountered.
A month on from completing the course, and looking forward to more group meditations, I’m largely sticking to the twice-daily programme (sometimes life gets in the way) and noticing some benefits and hopeful for more in the future.
I’m miles away from the beatific glow which seems to come across Mark’s face the moment he begins to meditate, and I haven’t quite reached the joyful depths that David Lynch luxuriates in on a twice-daily basis, but I’m happy in the spiritual beginners pool and poised to go deeper…
And speaking of the Beatles, here’s a great cover story on Ringo in Parade. It came out last summer on his 79th birthday. I excerpted his profound comments on life and TM in this post: What Transcendental Meditation does for Ringo.
Visit Mark Heath’s YouTube channel to see what Meditators of Brighton & Hove have said about learning Transcendental Meditation. Listen to Holly, an actress, describe how she felt before and after having learned to meditate in May 2019. Holly learnt TM after watching a video of David Lynch explaining how he has never missed a meditation in over 40 years!
Speaking of the legendary filmmaker, Huffington Post writer Marianne Schnall published this excellent interview with David Lynch about his passion for TM and the non-profit foundation (DLF) he founded to help people overcome trauma and transform their lives through the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Two weeks ago I was watching this interview between Oprah and Lady Gaga during the launch of Oprah’s 2020 Vision Your Live in Focus Tour in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Lady Gaga Talks Mental Health at Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour. Lady Gaga shares a lot of her personal history and mental health situation with Oprah. She’s been living with a great deal of pain from fibromyalgia, explains where it came from, and how she is medically and psychologically dealing with it.
Oprah then asks her about the other things she does to keep herself spiritually sound and centered. Lady Gaga answers, “I meditate. I do Transcendental Meditation. It’s great. Bob Roth taught me.” Oprah says, “Bob Roth taught me.” Lady Gaga whispers to Oprah, “Isn’t he great?” Oprah agrees, “He’s great.” Gaga explains when she misses a meditation, “when I slip up on it, you know it’s not the best, because it’s better when I do. And sometimes I can be in a ton of pain, and meditate and it goes away! It’s amazing!”
Some of us had known that Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, had learned Transcendental Meditation, but it was private. This seems to be the first time she’s come out about it publicly, to Oprah and her audience, and how TM’s been helping her.
After the interview, Oprah went backstage to personally thank Lady Gaga for her bravery, honesty and vulnerability, and how great their talk was. It’s on Oprah’s Instagram page.
I was so surprised by this public revelation that I sent it out to my newsletter subscribers and told Bob Roth @meditationbob, DLF CEO, about it. He hadn’t heard about it yet and was also pleasantly surprised.
Within a short time the David Lynch Foundation tweeted it and posted it on their and Bob‘s Instagram accounts. The video clip was also recently posted on Twitter by Maharishi International University @maharishiuni. By now, this video clip has gone viral globally, so I figured I might as well post it on my blog. Enjoy!
A randomized controlled study recently published in the Hypertension issue of Ethnicity & Disease found the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique helps prevent abnormal enlargement of the heart compared to health education (HE) controls. Also known as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), it can lead to chronic heart failure and death. It is twice as prevalent among African Americans. LVH and CVD death rates are double in African Americans compared to whites, possibly due to psychosocial stress.EurekAlert! Press Release
Changes in Left Ventricle Mass Index (LVMI) between the TM and HE Groups after 6 Months
After six months, the control group showed nearly 10% progression of abnormal heart enlargement (LVMI) while the TM group maintained their baseline level of heart size.
Transcendental Meditation prevents abnormal enlargement of the heart, reduces chronic heart failure risk
A randomized controlled study recently published in Ethnicity & Disease in their Autumn 2019 Hypertension issue found that the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique helps to prevent abnormal enlargement of the heart compared to health education (HE) controls. Also known as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), it can lead to chronic heart failure and death, and is especially prevalent among African Americans.
Risk factor for cardiovascular disease
Despite advances in medical care, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the USA. Abnormal enlargement of heart, medically known as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), is an important risk factor for CVD. It doubles the risk of heart attacks, arrhythmias, stroke, heart failure, and death from CVD.
Heart disease death rates are significantly higher in African Americans than in whites, in part because the rate of LVH is double in African Americans compared to whites.
The disproportionately high rates are suggested to be associated with the burden of psychosocial stress.
A recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association emphasized the potential for stress-reduction methods to prevent heart disease and premature mortality in African Americans.
Prevented further heart enlargement
The trial included 85 African Americans with high blood pressure who were randomly assigned to Transcendental Meditation or to a health education (HE) control group, in addition to usual medical care.
This trial tested the effects of stress-reducing meditation to prevent LVH in this high-risk population. It found that stress reduction with TM practice prevented heart enlargement in hypertensive African American patients.
After six months, the control group showed nearly 10% progression of abnormal heart enlargement while the TM group maintained their baseline level of heart size.
The findings of this study suggest that TM practice is an effective nondrug method for preventing heart enlargement in African American hypertensives who are especially at high risk of developing associated CVD.
“This is a form of heart disease where nondrug treatments are relatively understudied,” said Professor Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, first author. “Since the physiology of stress contributes to cardiac enlargement, we hypothesized that managing one’s mind-body connection with Transcendental Meditation might prevent the disease process.”
Use of echocardiography to detect hypertrophy
Echocardiography is a noninvasive diagnostic test that uses ultrasound waves to create an image of the heart muscle. Ultrasound waves that rebound or echo off the heart can show the size, shape, and movement of the heart’s valves and chambers as well as the flow of blood through the heart. It can therefore be used to detect heart chamber or wall enlargement known as hypertrophy.
Echocardiography was issued at the start of the study to both TM and HE groups. After six months of practice, repeat testing with echocardiography found that the HE control group progressed on cardiac enlargement while the TM group prevented further enlargement. There was a significant change in left ventricle mass index (LVMI) between the groups after the six-month intervention.
11% reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality
Komal Marwaha, M.D., Ph.D., coauthor of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Health at MIU, Maharishi International University (formerly Maharishi University of Management) worked on this research as part of her doctoral thesis.
“By preventing left ventricle mass index progression in the present study, TM may reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with LVH,” she said. “Patients randomized to practicing the TM technique in the current study had an estimated 11 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality and an 8 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality compared with the control group.”
Dr. Schneider, dean of MIU’s College of Integrative Medicine, said these reductions are significant. “These results suggest that an effective technique for stress reduction may prevent the progression of left ventricular hypertrophy and thereby help to prevent premature heart disease and cardiac mortality.”
Keith Norris, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and one of the study’s co-authors, added: “We hope these findings will lead to more investigations into nondrug interventions for the prevention and early intervention of heart disease that are sorely needed given the high cost of health care in our nation and the impact of health care cost on low income and disproportionately minority communities.”
The research was conducted in conjunction with Martin Luther King Hospital and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, and was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Possible study limitations
Of the 85 original subjects, roughly 50% in each group were available for the final echocardiograph tests after the 6-month study period. The high attrition might have reduced power for some of the findings.
However, the attrition was not significantly different between the TM and the HE groups, thus reducing potential subject bias in the final sample. Moreover, the attritors and completers were not significantly different in demographic or physiological characteristics at baseline that prevented the occurrence of systematically biased treatment outcomes. No record of compliance for home TM practice was collected. However, the record of meeting attendance was significantly higher in the TM (80.6%) as compared with HE (50.2%) group (P=.001).
News coverage has been positive. The press release has been posted on medical news sites around the world. Johny Fernandez at CBS News in New York puts out a MedDay report on the top health stories in the news and included ours. It was picked up by KOLR 10 CBS News in Springfield, MO, on MedDay – December 27, 2019, and included in their Health and Medical segment. I cued up the video from their YouTube site. It’s also on their OzarksFirst site. It starts at 40 seconds in.
EurekAlert! Summary: Study finds coronary heart disease (CHD) patients who include Transcendental Meditation (TM) with cardiac rehabilitation (CR) increased blood flow to the heart by 20.7%. This was the first study to show TM significantly enhanced lifestyle modification in patients, and the first to use positron emission tomography (PET) to measure their effect on cardiac function and rehabilitation. The NIH-funded study was conducted at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in collaboration with the Institute of Prevention Research. See EurekAlert! Press Release.
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Can more be done besides diet and exercise to better recover from a heart attack, a stroke, or to prevent one? Scientists from Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Institute for Prevention Research conducted a study, with and without meditation, to find out.
The study, published in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, found that patients with coronary heart disease who included Transcendental Meditation (TM) with their cardiac rehabilitation regime increased blood flow to the heart by more than 20%.
The project was a groundbreaking proof-of-concept study, in that it was the first to combine Transcendental Meditation with other lifestyle treatment modalities, and the first to use positron emission tomography (PET) to measure the effect of lifestyle mind-body modification on cardiac function.
“This
was the first study to show that the cardiovascular benefits of lifestyle
modification such as structured exercise and dietary counseling may be enhanced
by adding Transcendental Meditation in patients with heart disease,” said
Robert Schneider, MD, FACC, co-director of the study and medical director of
the Institute for Prevention Research. “It also found that the
Transcendental Meditation technique alone was able to reverse the effects of
coronary heart disease assessed by PET imaging.”
Considered a gold standard for measuring myocardial flow reserve non-invasively, cardiac PET has diagnostic and prognostic significance in coronary heart disease.
Randomized, controlled pilot study
The
researchers randomly divided the subjects into four groups: cardiac
rehabilitation, Transcendental Meditation, Transcendental Meditation plus
cardiac rehabilitation, or usual care.
The results showed that of the 37 patients who completed posttesting, myocardial blood flow increased by 20.7% in the group that did both Transcendental Meditation and cardiac rehabilitation. Blood flow in the group that practiced Transcendental Meditation alone increased 12.8%. Cardiac rehabilitation by itself showed an improvement of 5.8%. And patients who received the usual treatment showed a decrease in blood flow of -10.3%. Also see graph of Changes in myocardial flow reserves for the combined TM and non-TM groups.
Stress
reduction therapies in cardiac rehabilitation
“Although this is a preliminary study, it suggests that managing one’s mind-body connection with Transcendental Meditation can improve the function of the heart in cardiovascular patients,” said Dr. Schneider, who is also dean of Maharishi University of Management’s College of Integrative Medicine.
He said that psychosocial stress is known to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease but that stress reduction therapies aren’t usually included in cardiac rehabilitation.
“More research needs to be done, but this study and previous research strongly suggest that medical professionals should consider utilizing this simple yet effective mind-body intervention in their heart health treatment and prevention programs,” Dr. Schneider said.
Possible
mechanism
While
it’s not known precisely how Transcendental Meditation would increase blood
flow, the researchers speculate that it’s a result of improved
endothelial-mediated coronary and arteriolar vasomotor function. That is, reduced
levels of stress hormones and possibly inflammation may result in improved
function of the endothelial cells that line the coronary arteries. They cite
research, which has found that modifying risk factors for cardiovascular
disease improves blood flow in the heart.
Limitations
of the study
While the study suggests that the Transcendental Meditation technique can increase blood flow in cardiovascular patients, carefully conducted clinical trials with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the benefit.
“This was a first pilot study designed to determine the size of the effect and feasibility,” Dr. Schneider said. “Of the 56 original subjects, only 37 were available for the final posttesting of blood flow after the 12-week study period. In addition, compliance with cardiac rehabilitation was average, with attendance at exercise sessions about 60%. Also, the subjects practicing Transcendental Meditation may have received more attention than the rehabilitation group. This initial study paves the way for full scale clinical trials that will more rigorously evaluate these effects.”
Transcendental
Meditation also reduces risk factors for heart disease
Earlier
studies have shown that the Transcendental Meditation technique reduces risk
factors for cardiovascular disease, such as blood pressure, atherosclerosis,
and insulin resistance. A 2012
study found a 48%
reduction in heart attack, stroke, and death.
###
Effects of cardiac rehabilitation with and without meditation on myocardial blood flow using quantitative positron emission tomography: A pilot study https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-019-01884-9.
Gary Null discussed the need for prevention on his show’s podcast and shared news of newly published natural approaches for improving heart health. He included MUM’s study at CUIMC from 26:28 to 27:10.
Author, visual artist, and TM teacher Donna Warwick posts digital paintings on her Instagram as @artsfusionist. She created this painting that expresses the effortless mysterious process of creation. The Absolute becoming Relative. BEing BEcoming. To me it looks like the moment of conception, and also the sprouting of a seed idea. Either way, it’s creation. It inspired me to write this haiku, then extend it to a tanka. Read Donna’s description below.
Effortless Creation
Inspired by a painting by Donna Warwick
I AM THAT I AM I AM ONE — Become Many BEING Becoming
I AM therefore I Create An Idea of My Self
®Ken Chawkin Nov. 29, 2019
Donna added this description for Thanksgiving Day: Thought and Action: It is the frictionless flow between thought and action that produces effortless achievement in life. One feels the profound connection between the source of thought and the fulfillment of the action. The sweetest thing is that the result of this is the bliss of experiencing something greater than our small selves. For the true source of all success is not the ego. Nor is it the wide assortment of details about one’s personality/individuality. That is why the experience of unity with unbounded pure consciousness is so fulfilling. Consciousness is that which is shared by all. For me, that experience is one of the natural results of my practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique. On this Thanksgiving I feel waves of gratitude to my TM teacher.
A friend sent me a special post by a famous rocker writing to a fan about his TM practice on his website. I checked online and found last year’s piece by Russell Cunningham, a production editor on sport for the Guardian. This revealing article serves as an appropriate introduction: Nick Cave is showing us a new, gentler way to use the internet.
During these confrontational times, “the quiet reflections of Cave spread peace and compassion and love through a medium renowned for its ability to spread division. In this growing treasure trove of letters to the world, he is showing how to use the web beyond the hubbub of social media, to engage in more reflective and rewarding conversations. That’s no bad thing.”
In issue #69/November 2019 of Nick Cave’s letters, known as The Red Hand Files, the entry is titled: How do I stop fearing the end of the world? He answers a fan’s question: Do you practice meditation? I’ve never read such a profoundly transparent and lyrical testimonial—how TM has evolved him personally and creatively!
He posts a picture of DEMOCRITUS MEDITATING AT THE END OF THE WORLD 1662, and then this answer.
The filmmaker, David Lynch, described the practice of Transcendental Meditation as catching the big fish. I read that he has been practising it since he had a breakdown around the time of making Eraserhead, over forty years ago. He claims he has never missed a meditation. If that is true, I am greatly impressed. The basics of TM are taught during a three session course, at the end of which your teacher gives you a personal mantra. Anyone can do it. It is effortless and there is nothing to get right or wrong. I have been practicing for around six years and found it to be instantly and radically beneficial. So, to answer your question, Maia, from the first time I meditated, I stopped fearing the end of the world.
I found that it also helps with low-level anger, uncommunicativeness, resentments, impatience, passive-aggression, depression, self-obsession, hatred of the world, blaming others, wanting to murder and maim people and a host of other maladies that I had been dragging around and allowing to define me. Meditation modulated my calamitous internal thinking, and the freaked-out tyrant residing in my head that represented the worst possible version of myself was largely deposed.
I also found those big fish down there in the depths, the deep creative ideas which David Lynch talks about, wild, bright and thrilling; but more importantly, I found a fundamental understanding of the next right thing to do, of making the choice of the least destructive course of action.
Unlike some meditation techniques that focus on a life lived entirely within the present moment, Transcendental Meditation seems to radiate backwards and forwards in time, evoking our common humanity and our deep connection to the earth’s inheritance, as it layers us in meaning. It may not hold back the end of the world, but it reduces the element of fear, allowing us to administer to the world more effectively. TM also implements a kind of mysterious reinstating of the soul, a honeying of life, a merciful acceptance of suffering, and reminds us of the incredible privilege it is to be alive.
August 13, 2024: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Nick Cave On Singing With Johnny Cash And The Joyful, Uplifting Vibe Of His New Album, ‘Wild God’. The lead singer and songwriter of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds joins Stephen for a discussion of his latest album and some of his most powerful artistic experiences, including recording a song with Johnny Cash as the legendary artist was near death. Stephen also mentions Nick’s 2022 book of the year, Faith, Hope and Carnage, created from more than forty hours of intimate conversations with the journalist Seán O’Hagan about creativity, grief, and the power of music. At 11:38 in the interview, Stephen, who has had his own share of loss and grief, tells the audience about the accidental death of Nick’s teenage son, and asks him how he has dealt with grief. At 19:09 Stephen asks Nick about The Red Hand Files and asks him to read one letter he had written in reply to a fan’s concerns about living. Enjoy Stephen Colbert’s extended conversation with Nick Cave and check out his latest album ‘Wild God’ when it comes out on August 30th. Excellent interview!
Musician Nick Cave has experienced the death of two of his sons. He tells Anderson Cooper how, over time, these losses have changed his relationship with the world; expanding his heart and widening his “capacity for love.”
Nick Cave feels things like loss and grief deeply, yet he can clearly articulate those feelings. He tells Anderson Cooper how he was so overcome with grief at the unexpected death of his son that it was difficult for him to do basic things. One of them was meditation. At 34:24 Nick tells Anderson how meditating helped him deal with grief. Nick describes one meditation where he was surprised to experience a kind of lightness where the heaviness had lifted, and for a moment he felt that “things were okay.”
— Written and compiled (citing sources) by Ken Chawkin for The Uncarved Blog.
Ancient India created a civilization based on Vedic knowledge, which had a global influence, elevating the other cultures it came in contact with. In “Lost Civilization Re-Emerges,” William T. Hathaway traces its rise and fall, and its current regeneration by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who has re-enlivened it by restoring the technique of meditation upon which it was based. Read Hathaway’s full article published on Trans4mind. https://trans4mind.com/counterpoint/index-new-age/hathaway13.html
Some background on “Lost
Civilization Re-Emerges”
When William sent me a short
description and link to his article I asked him to explain where this idea had
come from and why he decided to write about it. He replied:
On my Transcendental Meditation teacher training course in Majorca 1971 Maharishi was asked, “Why are we the ones who are supposed to revive the Vedic knowledge?”
Maharishi looked at the
questioner, a young woman standing at a microphone, and smiled. Then he looked
out over the 2000 people behind her in the large hall and said with a gentle
shrug, “Because we are the ones who lost it.” He gave the word “we” a slight
emphasis to indicate it included him.
Maharishi explained that thousands
of years ago Vedic civilization began in India then spread over the globe,
generating a high quality of life both materially and spiritually. But
eventually the knowledge of effortless transcending, which created and
maintained this advanced culture, was lost. The consciousness of the people and
the quality of their lives declined until humanity veered to its current brink
of self-destruction.
We were part of that whole process
— the developing and the losing — in many lives. Now it’s our job to restore it
through the authentic technique of meditation and create a global age of
enlightenment.
“That’s a pretty big job,” the
woman said.
“But it’s the only one worth doing,” he replied.
Maharishi didn’t go into details
about the ancient civilization because our purpose there was to learn to be TM
teachers, and that would take the full two months of the course. I was
fascinated by the idea of it, though, so I later delved into it in my spare
time from teaching TM and writing books and articles. I found amazing evidence,
ignored by conventional academic scholars, that established the existence of
that global civilization. I wrote this article to do what I could to bring that
evidence to more people and to show them Maharishi and Guru Dev’s crucial role
in restoring the authentic Vedic way of life in India and the world.
###
About the Author
A former professor in MIU’s MA in Professional Writing program, William T. Hathaway is the author of eight books and was a Fulbright professor of creative writing at universities in Germany. He and his wife, Daniela, direct the TM center in Oldenburg, Germany. His novel of the climate change, Wellsprings: A Fable of Consciousness, tells of an old woman and a young man healing nature through techniques of higher consciousness. Chapters are posted at https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/cosmicegg-books/our-books/wellsprings. His peace novel, Summer Snow, is the story of an American warrior falling in love with a Sufi Muslim (and TM teacher) and learning from her that higher consciousness is more effective than violence. Chapters are posted at http://shattercolors.com/fiction/hathaway_summersnow01.htm.
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Conscious Life News chose the top photo to go with their publication of William Hathaway’s erudite article. I added photos of Maharishi and William for this post. See previous articles by William Hathaway here.
I had the pleasure of hosting Silvia Damiano when she visited Maharishi University to interview some of our faculty for her documentary film, Make Me a Leader, a brain-based approach to leadership.
Silvia Damiano is a scientist, educator, author, speaker, coach, award-winning leadership specialist and filmmaker. Silvia’s scientific background and curiosity about the human brain led her to a decade-long journey of research into optimal brain functioning and the application of neuroscience in leadership and daily life. She founded The About my Brain Institute in 2009, with the purpose of democratizing leadership and neuroscience.
Silvia’s recent About My Brain Institute newsletter contained exciting news: My Creative Journey to Hollywood. Our film wins Best Documentary & Best Director! We wanted to share the good news. Here is Jim Karpen’s article published in the Oct 2, 2019 issue, page 4, of The Review. I added links from our faculty’s names to trailers containing some of their input.
Award-Winning Film Presents Faculty Research
Filmmaker Silvia Damiano has her EEG assessed by Professor Fred Travis in the documentary Make Me a Leader.
A documentary on brain-based leadership that includes interviews with Professors Fred Travis and Robert Schneider, and former adjunct professor Harald Harung, recently won Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Director at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards.
The filmmaker, Silvia Damiano, came to campus to conduct interviews.
In his segment, Dr. Travis emphasizes the importance of a leader having a clear mind. Dr. Harung talks about the importance of mind-brain development in becoming a good leader. And Dr. Schneider explains that an optimally functioning brain depends on an optimally functioning physiology. The film, titled Make Me a Leader, also shows Dr. Travis taking Ms. Damanio’s EEG.
A practitioner of the Transcendental Meditation technique, Ms. Damiano is the founder and CEO of About My Brain Institute.
The documentary can be viewed at aboutmybrain.com/makemealeader for $10. A trailer that includes Dr. Harung and Dr. Travis can be viewed on YouTube.
The film describes how to develop the leaders of the future and suggests a new mindset based on science that integrates the entire biological system from the brain down.
Ms. Damiano offers leadership training and wrote in an email, “I am happy I was able to showcase the amazing work of Fred and Harald. I speak about them all the time.”
UPDATE: Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, on March 31, 2020, Silvia Damiano published and sent out this message: Learning How to Lead Ourselves in a Pandemic. She thought it would be a good idea to contribute by making their 2018 award-winning documentary available online for anyone to watch on demand, for free. Visit https://aboutmybrain.com/makemealeader to see it, or watch it here:
The Uncarved Blog 