When I learned Transcendental Meditation in 1974, it was under duress. I was miserable most of the time and had tried many other forms of meditation. All this experience with meditation brought me to the conclusion that it was a total waste of time. My boyfriend, though, insisted I learn TM and gave me an ultimatum: learn TM or I'm out of here. He must have gotten weary of ducking whenever I threw something, which was pretty often.
I have to admit, I gave my teacher a rough time, coming into the instruction room with a terrible attitude. I was looking forward to walking out of there and telling my boyfriend that I was right and he was oh-so-wrong. In fact, I felt that my identity depended upon being right, not just about TM, but about everything I'd staked a claim to -- ever. So I didn't even want TM to work.
But, I followed the instructions. Simple. So simple that even a punk girl with loads of attitude couldn't help but follow them and -- voila! Transcendence. Effortless transcendence. That 'me', bound up and limited to what I had miserably clung to in the then very recent past, had expanded so much that the very idea of my identity being somehow dependent on an attitude was dissolved.
To say that TM changed my life is an understatement. I was happier, healthier, more focused, more alive. Ten years later, I went through rigorous training and became a certified teacher of TM and have taught hundreds of people and watched their experience mirror my own.
David Lynch's experience with TM inspired him to bring it to children who otherwise would never have the opportunity, children who go to schools in neighborhoods with high poverty and crime rates. After just a few months, schools that had had high teacher turnover due to stress, daily (hourly) violent fights and low graduation rates saw a 50% reduction in violence and after one year on the program, a 90% drop in violence, elimination of teacher turnover and graduation rates on par with schools in better neighborhoods. The success of the program in one school inevitably leads to demands for the program in surrounding schools. Which creates an urgent need for financial support.
When I think of what my life might have been like without TM, I can't help but think of children in schools on the DLF waiting list, Whatever one's attitude towards meditation is or has been, it cannot be denied that those children's lives will be vastly improved through this miraculous and cost-effective program.
I have one talent that can, hopefully, raise money and awareness: music. So I use the music, shamelessly. Please join me in supporting the David Lynch Foundation's efforts to improve the lives of millions -- yes, millions! -- of children. Go to http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org. Read about the program and contribute in whatever way you can.
An important note: As stated above, belief is not a part of Transcendental Meditation. Like me, you may not even believe it will work, but it still does. It's like showing an electric light switch to someone for the first time. They may not believe that flicking the switch will make light come into the room but it will, Harnessed properly, electrical energy, following natural law, creates light.
Thanks so much for your time.
With love,
Valerie
Jai Guru Dev
