Lynch is in Israel for a few days, I am going to see him in a lecture today.
Hope to get his signature
Anyway - here is a video of Lynch meeting with the president of Israel, I thought it was pretty funny, the president seemed like he doesn't know what the hell Lynch is talking about.
Hope it will work for you - the link will be opened in media player.
I just watched the Windows Media Video of Lynch's visit to Israel and Shimon Peres. I really wish Lynch had discussed the "Unified Field" and the benefits of T.M. in private with Peres instead of drawing a picture with running commentary in front of the TV cameras. I have not cringed that deeply for a long time and poor Peres has to strain mightily to pretend that this stuff makes sense. Has any country on Earth lived the daily reality of terrorism any more vividly than Israel? Peres had to sit there respectfully and pretend that maybe this, yes, T.M., is the long term answer to peace.
Now will David travel to Palestine and sit down at a press conference with the leaders of Hamas or Fatah and deliver the same message?? Doubtful.
Last edited by bmiller on Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Do I think David would meet with Palestinian leaders if given the opportunity... Absolutely. However, he was in Israel for various purposes, not just to meet with Peres. I think David is in part wanting to speak with Israel leaders because the acceptance for the TM program is slightly higher is Israel than other countries and there already have been numerous studies done to show TM's effect in Israel and Lebanon... this is one such study: http://www.tm.org/charts/chart_51.html
There have been nearly 50 studies like the one above in different war torn areas. The Israel/Lebanon conflict in July 2006 resulted in the largest response and wave of TM peace creating projects in over 15 years. However, in general the days of these short term projects where people go in and meditate for a while until a violent area improves are over.... David is traveling to promote his Foundation for World Peace which aims to provide continuous support and peace to EVERY nation by establishing groups of students and citizens who are actively meditating together every day.
Does meeting with Israeli officials show favoritism over one nation than the other? No. The mechanics of raising consciousness through Transcendental Meditation and the ideas David was trying to convey to Peres are hard to grasp... If a nations ....any nation... has programs for enlivening consciousness it improves their country and the ones around them. I agree, there are probably better ways to do so than this particular meeting. Why it was set up like that ... I don't know, but it was probably the only chance that David had to meet and discuss with Peres and he wasn't going to pass it up. The video is kind of irrelevant in regards to their meeting, but you know... with the internet and all we get to snoop on everything.
You guys in T.M. make me laugh!!!! I checked out that graph you linked to and it has all the markings of propaganda meant to impress the gullible. How did they choose a "composite index comprising crime rate, traffic accidents, fires, and the number of war deaths in Lebanon, and by increases in the national stock market and improvements in national mood" ??? How in the world would you measure something called "improvements in the national mood"???? How does T.M. prevent the frequency of "fires" ??? The horizontal axis of the graph isn't even labeled. What quantity does it denote???
Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha................................................................
Were those the only variables that when weighted and averaged in just the right manner correlated with the frequency and intensity of meditation??? And how do you weight each individual variable??? Do "fires" and "traffic accidents" count as much as "increases in the national stock market" ???
God, how absurd !!!
Alright pseudo-scientific T.M. devotees, astound me with the power of T.M. !!! I dare you !!! Forget your ridiculous indices comprising absurdly unrelated variables. Use a group of T.M. meditators of whatever size you wish and meditate for however long you wish and show me that you can improve one single solitary variable of my choosing. The variable I choose is the ability of David Lynch to quit smoking cigarettes.
Bottom line: if a person (Lynch) who meditates every day for the last thirty years cannot even stop one of his own destructive activities, such as smoking cigarettes, how the hell is T.M. going to create world peace???????????? And if T.M. can lower the frequency of "fires" why is David Lynch still able to strike matches or butane lighters to light his cigarettes?? Why don't David's cigarettes refuse to burn??????
bmiller wrote:Use a group of T.M. meditators of whatever size you wish and meditate for however long you wish and show me that you can improve one single solitary variable of my choosing. The variable I choose is the ability of David Lynch to quit smoking cigarettes.
If you were entertained by what I said, I can assure you that your response was not nearly as entertaining to me as the well thought out (definitely misinformed, but well thought out) 4 page long letter that I received from a Christian TM hater just today. Nothin like a good fundamentalist Christian to put us TM people in our place .... but you still gave me a good chuckle.
The study linked to was published in the Journal for Conflict Resolution and was conducted by independent researchers, not by TM'ers ...it's perhaps slightly better explained here . Although regardless of how well it's explained, very few people who don't meditate actually grasp what the study is showing. And those who have, like police chiefs and researchers have been told to shut up because clearly there can be no other way than good policing and government intervention to control crime.... can there?
David did quit smoking for many years... however much to his lungs shagrins... he's in Hollywood, it's all around him and he loves his cigarettes. That does not mean he doesn't benefit from his meditation.
If you were entertained by what I said, I can assure you that your response was not nearly as entertaining to me as the well thought out (definitely misinformed, but well thought out) 4 page long letter that I received from a Christian TM hater just today. Nothin like a good fundamentalist Christian to put us TM people in our place .... but you still gave me a good chuckle.
The study linked to was published in the Journal for Conflict Resolution and was conducted by independent researchers, not by TM'ers ...it's perhaps slightly better explained here . Although regardless of how well it's explained, very few people who don't meditate actually grasp what the study is showing. And those who have, like police chiefs and researchers have been told to shut up because clearly there can be no other way than good policing and government intervention to control crime.... can there?
David did quit smoking for many years... however much to his lungs shagrins... he's in Hollywood, it's all around him and he loves his cigarettes. That does not mean he doesn't benefit from his meditation.
I'm intrigued by TM and have tried it on my own, although I was unable to stick with it for very long. I want to try to get back into it. I was surprised to read recently (I think I'm correct) that David said the first time he tried it, he dove right in and reached the unified field. I was unable to accomplish that in numerous sessions over the course of two weeks or so, although I did find it to be relaxing, if nothing else.
You mention that police chiefs and researchers have been told to shut up. I find this fitting since David and "TM" seem to take the same stance. David can talk all day about the benefits of TM but he can't see fit to explain to people how to do it. That's the great paradox here. It's great, it's for everyone, it's easy, world peace... but I can't (or won't) tell you how to do it. He and "TM" have to break down that wall if they are ever going to advance TM in any real way or gain respect, in my opinion.
edenweaver, did you do learn through a TM program? Do you think it's necessary to do so and get a personal mantra?
twin-b, yes, i did learn through a TM program... actually my mother taught me when i was 4 years old... and then she gave me all the necessary added instructions that i needed growing up... although, she never pushed meditation on me and just gave me the basic instruction. i don't remember learning when i was 4 obviously, but i do remember that meditating as a child was one of the sweetest undescribable experiences that i had. i begged her to teach me more when i turned ten and could learn the sitting "adult" technique, but never meditated regularly until after i left home and decided to go back to it. i went back to it really out of necessity because i was going through a very very rough time, but i had absolutely no expectations that it was going to do so much good for me. the day that i sat down to meditate for the first time in over 6 years i had the same experience that david did where i immediately transcendend and it immediately put my life on a grand detour for the better. since then i went on to take more courses from other teachers, because a TM teacher only teaches the basics. there are teachers with higher training that teach the advanced classes.
i completely understand your question because it's very elusive ... all the talk about TM with no actual description of how to do it... no where. and it's a big topic that comes up a lot because people read about it or hear about it and expect to learn it when they go to hear david speak or something. david is not a TM teacher so even if he wanted to, he would not be able to tell you how to do it. and i have met many people like you who did not have a big bang wow kind of experience right away with it...
that's actually a big reason that there is personalized instruction when you learn... everyone is different and TM teachers are very thoroughly trained to teach everybody and deal with many different kinds of experiences. anyone can do it and i am sure that you can also have the same experience of clear transcending. it's also why once you learn you have free follow up with teachers every where.
david was very helpful to me when i decided that i wanted to become a teacher and i was involved with him during the formation of his foundation . in my experience every student that i have taught has had an immediate and very satisfying result from their meditation. however, it does take some time and understanding in order to solidify your practice. with some of my students i have to spend more time with them going over the instruction steps and meditating with them until one day they finally get it. every person's nervous system is different and that is ultimately the reason that people have different needs. the course is set up so that you spend several days with a teacher going over the instruction and the practice at the beginning. and honestly, i meet with many old time TM meditators who learned when it was really hip and meditated for a week or two and stopped for thirty years and when they try to start meditating again they don't have it easy because they are not meditating correctly, but they are relieved to find out that they can meet with me for free and after every meeting their experience is completely transformed from bleek to bliss.
i guess the point of all this is that i would definitely meet with a TM teacher and get your practice freshened up and explain to them any difficulties that you are having or doubts. they can definitely help you get on the right track. and even if i were not a TM teacher i would say, absolutely YES, it is necessary to get your own mantra from a certified teacher and more importantly get an understanding of how to use the mantra properly. that's almost more important than the mantra itself and only a fully qualified teacher can help you with that.
when i say that top ranking officials have been told to shut up, i mean they were told not to talk about the positive effects of TM when it had been clearly and unarguably demonstrated to work. even if they themselves did not understand how it worked. because in all honesy, it's so abstract and far out there that it's just not accepted or understood by most people. even when david talks about it i see and hear his audience respond favorably (most of the time) because they feel that it is a good thing. although i meet very few people who actually grasp what it is that he is really talking about. honestly, i don't see the stance that he and other teachers take to not give instruction in an informal presentation as a wall, but an insurance that what you get, if you do decide to learn, is actually the real deal and not some half assed meditation technique that isn't going to give you as much in your life as the actual technique (sorry for the run on sentence...)
pm me and let me know where you live and i'll put you in touch with someone you can meet with if you want.
edenweaver wrote:twin-b, yes, i did learn through a TM program... actually my mother taught me when i was 4 years old... and then she gave me all the necessary added instructions that i needed growing up... although, she never pushed meditation on me and just gave me the basic instruction. i don't remember learning when i was 4 obviously, but i do remember that meditating as a child was one of the sweetest undescribable experiences that i had. i begged her to teach me more when i turned ten and could learn the sitting "adult" technique, but never meditated regularly until after i left home and decided to go back to it. i went back to it really out of necessity because i was going through a very very rough time, but i had absolutely no expectations that it was going to do so much good for me. the day that i sat down to meditate for the first time in over 6 years i had the same experience that david did where i immediately transcendend and it immediately put my life on a grand detour for the better. since then i went on to take more courses from other teachers, because a TM teacher only teaches the basics. there are teachers with higher training that teach the advanced classes.
i completely understand your question because it's very elusive ... all the talk about TM with no actual description of how to do it... no where. and it's a big topic that comes up a lot because people read about it or hear about it and expect to learn it when they go to hear david speak or something. david is not a TM teacher so even if he wanted to, he would not be able to tell you how to do it. and i have met many people like you who did not have a big bang wow kind of experience right away with it...
that's actually a big reason that there is personalized instruction when you learn... everyone is different and TM teachers are very thoroughly trained to teach everybody and deal with many different kinds of experiences. anyone can do it and i am sure that you can also have the same experience of clear transcending. it's also why once you learn you have free follow up with teachers every where.
david was very helpful to me when i decided that i wanted to become a teacher and i was involved with him during the formation of his foundation . in my experience every student that i have taught has had an immediate and very satisfying result from their meditation. however, it does take some time and understanding in order to solidify your practice. with some of my students i have to spend more time with them going over the instruction steps and meditating with them until one day they finally get it. every person's nervous system is different and that is ultimately the reason that people have different needs. the course is set up so that you spend several days with a teacher going over the instruction and the practice at the beginning. and honestly, i meet with many old time TM meditators who learned when it was really hip and meditated for a week or two and stopped for thirty years and when they try to start meditating again they don't have it easy because they are not meditating correctly, but they are relieved to find out that they can meet with me for free and after every meeting their experience is completely transformed from bleek to bliss.
i guess the point of all this is that i would definitely meet with a TM teacher and get your practice freshened up and explain to them any difficulties that you are having or doubts. they can definitely help you get on the right track. and even if i were not a TM teacher i would say, absolutely YES, it is necessary to get your own mantra from a certified teacher and more importantly get an understanding of how to use the mantra properly. that's almost more important than the mantra itself and only a fully qualified teacher can help you with that.
when i say that top ranking officials have been told to shut up, i mean they were told not to talk about the positive effects of TM when it had been clearly and unarguably demonstrated to work. even if they themselves did not understand how it worked. because in all honesy, it's so abstract and far out there that it's just not accepted or understood by most people. even when david talks about it i see and hear his audience respond favorably (most of the time) because they feel that it is a good thing. although i meet very few people who actually grasp what it is that he is really talking about. honestly, i don't see the stance that he and other teachers take to not give instruction in an informal presentation as a wall, but an insurance that what you get, if you do decide to learn, is actually the real deal and not some half assed meditation technique that isn't going to give you as much in your life as the actual technique (sorry for the run on sentence...)
pm me and let me know where you live and i'll put you in touch with someone you can meet with if you want.
I too have been doing TM for just over a year now.
I investigated it for a while and as much as I wanted to believe, I thought it must be BS and read some websites discounting it until...
A couple of years ago I got a call from my dad who was visiting India and I asked him if he could investigate it for me. In India learning TM is like $35.00 and you need to understand that my dad is "Mr. Glass Half-Empty" and thinks everything is a scheme to rip you off, etc, etc. But he suprised me and actually took the course there. So I get this call from him and just his voice...don't know how to explain it...it was just different. He was so light, as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It wasn't one of those, "One of Us"--Stepford Wives kind of cult happiness..he was just not negative and for me it was a defining moment. That was enough to convince me.
Now I'm probably no expert and I still have a problem with the cost because I would love to learn advanced techniques but can't afford it...
But what I have come away with is that, the negativity that use to stay with me seems to disappate faster. That's the best way to describe it. It's not that your personality becomes like a lump of mashed potatoes. I used to have a temper and probably in certain situations still do, but those things seems to roll off quicker for lack of a better word. More importantly, people around me noticed a difference, if ever so slight.
Now as far as the experience goes, I think the first time for me was a phenomenal experience but the experiences of transcending after that seemed not as strong. Maybe I've just found a groove--I dunno. But every once in a while you get that feeling of really transcending, like someone just cuts the cords that bind...other times you just fall asleep, haha! Maybe the contrast of the first experience is directly related to the amount of turmoil ya' hold in your gut!
Twice a day and I've never missed a session, 'bout the only thing I've ever been firmly religious about doing every day. Probably because I paid the $2500 and subconciously I want to get my money's worth, ha!
Most importantly I think if it works for you great, go on and really enjoy life but if it doesn't that's okay too and maybe you need to investigate another way. Most of the people who I've talked to that didn't work for them either never got a personal mantra (snagged the technique from a buddy or off the web), were not consistent in their meditation or just quit if they didn't see results after a month. I think everyone is different. And I think there are no guarantees. If it's about the money, I dunno. If it's about the time, the time will pass anyway. The only question you should ask then is if you feel "You" are worth it?
haha... you are worth it and yeah, that can actually be a good way to do it. honestly, i didn't have to pay to learn TM when i was little, but when i went on to do advanced training i had to come up with money very quickly. it always seems to happen quickly (for me and a lot of my friends anyway) that when you have a strong desire to do a TM course, even if you don't have money something works out kind of out of the blue.
i would totally have a hard time getting over the cost of learning if i was coming to it for the first time and realistically don't know that i would give it another glance. but there ARE people who will help others learn. i've probably had a total of about 20 sponsors over the last ten years who have helped me. granted, it is easier when your peers and family also meditate because they understand why the programs are worth it but it's not impossible to raise money for the class even if you don't know any meditators.
there is also a loan program available through maharishi university of management and citi assist. california is the only state in the country that is the exception, but everywhere else you can get distance education college credits for taking the TM course. the info is at http://www.mum.edu/tmcourse
