The David Lynch Foundation: creating change

I have long admired the creative work of David Lynch. His films, paintings and installations resonate in a unique way with my creative soul. A few years ago I read his book, Catching the Big Fish; Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity, in which he shares his method for attracting creative ideas. Through a collection of stories about his creative experiences, he reveals the key to his creative flow: tapping into the Unified Field through meditation. As someone who writes about art and the Unified Field, I was intrigued by the connection to my work. Then I discovered another passion of David’s; his project to create global harmony through Transcendental Meditation^®. It’s a unique endeavor with a virtuous mission, and the results to date are remarkable.

The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace

The Foundation is teaching at-risk populations to meditate in the Transcendental Meditation (TM) tradition. TM is a twice-daily practice of silent meditation which allows people to experience calm, blissful states. The Foundation serves inner-city students, American Indians suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high suicide rates, soldiers with PTSD, homeless men in reentry programs, and juveniles and adults in prison. It also funds research to assess the effects of the programs, and has provided scholarships for over 60,000 students, teachers, and parents to learn the TM technique in the US, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. It has strong celebrity support; from fund raising concerts with Paul McCartney to endorsements by Hugh Jackman, Jerry Seinfeld, and countless other creative professionals.

“In today’s world of fear and uncertainty, every child should have one class period a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence—bliss—the enormous reservoir of energy and intelligence that is deep within all of us. This is the way to save the coming generation.” – David Lynch

Helping at-risk individuals

At-risk groups experience a high level of stress and external factors which can destroy their ability to improve their lives and communities. The TM technique is proven to dissolve stress and improve health.  Many studies have shown that TM defuses acute societal stress, and can reduce crime and conflict not only for the person meditating, but for society as a whole. The feedback from students is inspiring; the changes in themselves and their classmates is not only positive, but displays a much-needed solution for our troubled youth.

In addition to helping students better themselves, the Foundation wants to enable a significant number of meditating students to create shifts in their communities. Dr. John Hagelin, Ph.D,  a world-renowned quantum physicist and chief advisor to the Congressional Prevention Coalition, is on the Foundation Board and very involved in the consciousness movement. You may have seen him in the “What the Bleep Do We Know?” films. He is an excellent speaker, and explains the Unified Field and our interaction with it better than anyone I have seen. Dr. Hagelin explains the affects in this way:

“Research shows that a school with a few hundred meditating students is enough to significantly defuse tensions in a city, and a school with a few thousand meditating students can measurably reduce social tensions for the nation. Repeated studies also show that a group of 8,000 advanced meditation experts is enough to defuse social tensions on a global scale, markedly reducing violence and conflict in critical hotspots throughout the world. From the perspective of physics, such groups of trained, peace-creating experts collectively accessing and stimulating the unified field generate powerful waves of unity and coherence that permeate the collective consciousness of the whole population. The immediate, practical result is markedly reduced crime and social violence and improved positive trends throughout society.”

Although millions of people practice TM daily, Dr. Hagelin seeks to gather and train 8,000 experts in TM to create a positive shift in global consciousness. He is establishing the University for World Peace near Washington, DC for this purpose. They will train 2,000 at first, then move to a larger location to complete training of the 8,000 needed.

David Lynch explains the connection between their missions:

“Individual peace is the unit of world peace. By offering Consciousness-Based education to the coming generation, we can promote a strong foundation for a healthy, harmonious, and peaceful world. For this, the Foundation also supports the establishment of Universities of World Peace that will train the coming generation in a new profession: that of professional peacemaker.”

The David Lynch Foundation has made a notable impact on the lives it has touched. The research and testimonials on their web site is extensive, eschewing any doubt that the program works remarkably well. Significant reduction of stress, depression, learning disorders, high blood pressure and conflicts are documented, in addition to better academic performance and clarity of thought. They are well on their way to implementing David’s vision for a better world.

If you haven’t tried meditation (TM or otherwise), I encourage you to try it. The experience of bliss and calm will improve your health and your creativity. David Lynch describes it as “diving within”  to catch creative ideas. By diving into this reservoir of connected consciousness, we stimulate our natural creative flow, live a calmer and more compassionate life, and affect those around us with our positive energy.

How to help

If you know of an at-risk school or group who could benefit from the meditation program, you can contact the Foundation here. The Foundation has also set up Text-2-Give: Help bring meditation to people who need it most. You can text “LYNCH” to 85944 to instantly give a $10 donation.

Links

The David Lynch Foundation Projects
The David Lynch Foundation
David Lynch Foundation Television
Dr. John Hagelin Ph.D. speaking about the Unified Field

Tagged as: consciousness shifts, Creative Consciousness, power of thought