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Filmmaker launches peace plan

David Lynch Foundation
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14 March 2008

Press Release

David Lynch's Foundation to Provide $1 Million Scholarships for Students to Learn to Meditate, Attend Maharishi University in Iowa

''America has more than enough war colleges promoting the science of destruction.  The nation urgently needs at least one university to teach the science of peace—and to actually promote peace in the world.'—David Lynch

ONLINE NEWS CONFERENCE 

Wednesday, March 19 • 11 am (PDT) davidlynchfoundation/news   • 1-512-225-3019, ext 60345#

Filmmaker David Lynch

Physicist John Hagelin, Ph.D.

See video of David Lynch and John Hagelin on meditation and peace

Film director David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, INLAND EMPIRE) will announce his foundation's plan to provide $1 million in scholarships for students to learn to meditate and attend Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa during a special online news conference on Wednesday, March 19, 11 a.m. (PDT).

The news conference will be broadcast at davidlynchfoundation.org/news and via teleconference call at 1-512-225-3019, ext 60345#.

The scholarships are part of the David Lynch Foundation's national effort to reduce student stress and promote peace in the nation by providing funds for tens of thousands of students in U.S. schools to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Lynch has been practicing Transcendental Meditation for 34 years, and credits the technique for his high levels of creativity and innovation. Lynch will be joined during the news conference by renowned quantum physicist John Hagelin, Ph.D., director of the MUM Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy executive director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace.

The benefits of Transcendental Meditation for students, which include decreased anxiety and improved IQ and grades, have been verified by hundreds of research studies conducted at major independent universities and research institutions, including Harvard Medical School, UCLA Medical School, Cornell Medical School, and University of Michigan Medical School. Many of the studies have been funded by nearly $25 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Moreover, extensive research published in leading scientific journals, including Yale University's Journal of Conflict Resolution, has verified that just a few hundred to a few thousand people meditating together in a group are enough to reduce acute societal stress, violence, and conflict in the country as a whole.

Maharishi University of Management was founded in 1971 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and is accredited to the doctoral level by the Higher Learning Commission. The University offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in traditional academic disciplines, including computer science, art, design, business, and sustainable living.

Students at the University also practice Transcendental Meditation to develop their total brain potential, increase creativity, improve academic performance—and promote peace in the nation.

Lynch says the country has more than enough war colleges promoting the science of destruction. ''America urgently needs at least one university to teach the science of peace—and to actually promote peace in the world. With more students at MUM practicing these peace-promoting meditation techniques, Maharishi University of Management will become a true university of peace, transforming the nation from a source of global fear and violence to a lighthouse of peace and progress for the family of nations,'' he said.

Lynch and Dr. Hagelin will co-host the upcoming David Lynch Weekend at Maharishi University of Management, from April 25 to 28. The theme of the weekend is 'Exploring the Frontiers of Creativity, Sustainability, and Peace,' and will feature a live concert by legendary '60 troubadour Donovan, famed musician Moby, and singer Chrysta Bell.

Lynch is the author of the bestselling book, Catching the Big Fish (Tarcher/Penguin), which details his passion for filmmaking, creativity, and meditation. All author profits from the book, which is now out in paperback, are going to the Lynch Foundation's scholarship fund.

For information on the Lynch Foundation scholarships and the Lynch Weekend, see www.lynchweekend.org.

Facts on the David Lynch Foundation

— The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace was established on July 21, 2005, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to provide scholarships for any student to learn the Transcendental Meditation program of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

— The Foundation has provided over $5 million in grants for tens of thousands of students to learn to meditate in public, charter, and private schools in the U.S. and around the world.

— Transcendental Meditation is a simple, easily learned, nonreligious technique, practiced for 10 to 20 minutes twice daily, sitting quietly in a chair with the eyes closed, which provides the mind and body with a unique and rejuvenating state of restful alertness.

— Research conducted on meditating students at major universities, including Harvard Medical School, UCLA Medical School, University of Michigan Medical School, Cornell University, American University, and the Medical College of Georgia, has found the TM technique reduces anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure; improves ADHD and other learning disorders, brain functioning, IQ, test scores and grades.

— More than 50 studies, many published in top scientific journals, including Yale University's Journal of Conflict Resolution, have shown that as few as the square root of one percent of a nation's population practicing advanced meditation techniques together in a group produce a peaceful ''spill-over'' effect throughout the whole population. Research confirms reduced societal stress, crime, violence, conflict, and terrorism in the nation. The number of meditation experts required to produce this peaceful effect in the United States is approximately 2000.

— The David Lynch Foundation's new initiative to provide scholarships for students to learn to meditate and attend Maharishi University of Management will help to increase the number of meditating students on the MUM campus beyond this peace-promoting threshold of 2000.

Global Good News comment:

For information about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York.

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