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The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace (or simply DLF) is a global
charitable foundation A foundation (also referred to as a charitable foundation) is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating d ...
with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded by film director and Transcendental Meditation (TM) practitioner
David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
in 2005 to fund the teaching of TM in schools. Over the years it has expanded its focus to include other "at-risk" populations such as the homeless, U.S. military veterans, African war refugeesDavid Lynch Foundation
About Us. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
and prison inmates. The Foundation is reported to have sponsored between 70,000 and 150,000 students in 350 schools throughout the U.S. and South America. The Foundation also sponsors research on the TM program.


Description

According to the DLF web site, David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education is a non-profit organization, established to "fund the implementation of scientifically proven stress-reducing modalities" for "at-risk populations", including U.S. veterans and African war refugees with
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
(PTSD), inner city students, American Indians, homeless and incarcerated men. The DLF also funds research to "assess the effects of the program on academic performance,
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...
and other learning disorders, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, cardiovascular disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and diabetes". In 2005, the DLF announced the long-term goal of raising $7 billion in order to establish seven affiliated "Universities of World Peace" in seven different countries, to train students to practice Transcendental Meditation and become "professional peacemakers". DLF.TV is the Foundation's production wing and online television channel that provides video content and web casts. The Foundation is governed by a board of directors consisting of: John Hagelin, Jeffrey S. Abramson, Rona Abramson, Ramani Ayer, Robert G. Brown, Joni Steele Kimberlin, Arthur Liebler, and Nancy Liebler. As of 2011, the Foundation's board of advisors included: Russell Simmons, Gary P. Kaplan, William R. Stixrud, Frank Staggers Jr., César Molina, George H. Rutherford, Carmen N’Namdi, Ralph Wolff, Ashley Deans, Linda Handy, and Sarina Grosswald. Charity Navigator "Your Guide To Intelligent Giving" evaluated "David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education


History

Concerned about school violence and increasing stress and problems for students, David Lynch founded the DLF in July 2005 "to provide the Mprogram to schools". That year, Lynch, DLF president John Hagelin, and
Maharishi University of Management Maharishi International University (MIU), formerly Maharishi University of Management, is a private university in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1971 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and practices a "consciousness-based education" syst ...
researcher Fred Travis went on a lecture tour titled "Consciousness, Creativity, and the Brain". Tour dates included the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
,
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
, the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
in Eugene, the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
,
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
,
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, and
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
. In 2005, Lynch offered to fund (for-credit) peace studies courses at several universities with TM instruction being included in each course. By 2006, six public schools in the U.S. had been awarded $25,000 by the David Lynch Foundation. '' NEA Today'' described the DLF as an organization "which provides funding for students in grades 4 to 12 to learn Transcendental Meditation" and reported that DLF had "helped approximately 500 students and 50 teachers learn how to meditate and "about 1,500 more" were scheduled to learn in the fall. In October the Foundation withdrew a $175,000 pledge to a San Rafael, California, high school after the anti-separation Pacific Justice Institute threatened to sue for violating the First Amendment's
Establishment Clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' an ...
. That year Lynch assigned all of his proceeds from the sale of his book '' Catching the Big Fish'' to the DLF and the Foundation sponsored a presentation on the benefits of TM in education at the
Harvard Club of Boston The Harvard Club of Boston is a private social club located in Boston, Massachusetts. Its membership is open to alumni and associates of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, and Fletcher School of Law and D ...
. ''Natural Health'' magazine reported in 2007 that the DLF had given $3 million in sponsorship to 20 U.S. schools located in the city of Washington, D.C., and various states including Arizona, New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Michigan. By 2008, the Foundation had funded TM courses for more than 2,000 students, faculty and parents at 21 universities and schools in the U.S., in addition to substantially higher numbers at schools overseas. That year DLF funded the TM program at two schools in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. A 2010 ''Wall Street Journal'' article reported that since 2005, Lynch had personally "donated half a million dollars to help finance scholarships for 150,000 students who are interested in learning transcendental meditation"."Filmmaker David Lynch Introduces Meditation to Veterans"
''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', 26 November 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
''
The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'' reported in 2009 that the DLF had "provided scholarships to more than 60,000 people interested in practicing Transcendental Meditation throughout the United States, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa." In 2011 the press reported that DLF had "raised millions of dollars" to finance the teaching of the TM technique to "150,000 people, mostly students, worldwide",Strauss, Bob (3 June 2011
Children of the Night
Daily News. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
including a "handful" of San Francisco's public schools while an
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
article reported the Foundation had sponsored "70,000 students for free in 350 schools around the world; 15 of them are in the United States." In 2012, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and other press reported that the DLF had expanded its programs to include other at-risk populations such as "veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and their families, homeless people and incarcerated juveniles and adults". In April 2013, Lynch released the film '' Meditation, Creativity, Peace'' which documents his 2007 speaking engagements at European and Middle Eastern film schools in 16 countries. According to Lynch, profits from the distribution of the film would benefit DLF's meditation instruction for students around the world. The film was described by one reviewer as a "fragmented, self-important
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
". In recent years, the David Lynch Foundation has opened branches in a number of other countries including The UK, France, Georgia and Australia. In April 2022, Lynch announced an initiative to fund training in transcendental meditation for 30,000 international university students to "become advanced peace-creating meditation experts and build a legacy of lasting global peace." The initiative was created in partnership with the Global Union of Scientists for Peace and Maharishi International University. It will invest approximately $500 million in its first year. It will fund meditation training for 10,000 students at Maharishi International University, 10,000 students at its sister school in India, and 10,000 students at partner universities in 10 locations across the globe.


Fundraising events


2009–2011

With the goal of teaching TM to 1 million high risk youth, the Foundation sponsored the 2009 "Change Begins Within" benefit concert, held at
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
and hosted by Lynch and Laura Dern. Guest speakers and performers included
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
,
Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
,
Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...
,
Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...
, Ben Harper, Paul Horn, Jim James, Bettye LaVette,
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...
, Angelo Badalamenti, Russell Simmons,Donaldson, Susan James, "Stars Mantra: Get 1M Kids to Meditate", ABC News, 4-6-09.
Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...
,
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...
and Howard Stern. The Foundation held its second "Change Begins Within" benefit event, titled "Operation Warrior Wellness", at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York in December 2010. Participants included Lynch, actor
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
, designer Donna Karan, comedian Russell Brand and several war veterans. In April 2011, the Foundation launched David Lynch Foundation Music with their "Download for Good" campaign through PledgeMusic. Items available for pledges included collector's items from
Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989, he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campa ...
and original vinyl art created by Daniel Edlen which was signed by the donating musicians. The DLF released a compilation titled "Download for Good: Music That Changes The World" in July 2011 via iTunes and then on 21 April 2012 (for Record Store Day) as a box set, featuring 34 artists, including Ben Folds, Donovan, Moby,
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
,
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
,
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
,
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
and
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
, and the box set also includes a bonus track by
Sean Lennon is a British-American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tige ...
and a digital download code for one by Julio Iglesias Jr., as well as a book illustrated by Romio Shrestha and Davel Hamue, and a digital version of the documentary film, ''Meditation, Creativity, Peace''.


2012 and 2013

In June 2012 Jerry Seinfeld hosted a DLF fundraiser called "A Night of Comedy" honoring
George Shapiro George Shapiro (May 18, 1931 – May 26, 2022) was an American talent manager and television producer. He was among the most successful managers in show business in the United States, best known for representing Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner, and ...
which was held in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
, California, US. Performers and guests included Russell Brand, Sarah Silverman, Garry Shandling,
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...
,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...
, Chris Rock, and
Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...
. In January 2013 DLF sponsored a benefit jazz concert in New York City. The program featured comments by TV hosts
Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Oz ( ; ; born June 11, 1960), also known as Dr. Oz (), is an American television presenter, physician, author, educator and government official serving as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sinc ...
and
George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos (born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a news presenter, coanchor with Robin Roberts (newscaster), Robin Roberts and M ...
, and actress Liv Tyler. Musical performances included
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
, Corrine Bailey Rae and Wynton Marsalis. In February, it sponsored another Operation Warrior Wellness fund raiser at the New York Athletic Club in New York City. In 2013 the DLF founded a "charity based music label" called Transcendental Music, to raise funds and awareness for its programs. In August, 2013 ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' announced Russell Brand would raise funds for the David Lynch Foundation while on his "Messiah Complex" tour. In the fall, there were two fundraising events for New York City's
first responders A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include law enforcement officers (commonly known as ...
with post-traumatic stress disorder that featured celebrities Liv Tyler, Royston Langdon,
Sean Lennon is a British-American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tige ...
, and Hugh Jackman. Later that month,
Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...
and Brendan Benson performed a charity concert for DLF at the
Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (originally Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed Grand Ole Opry House for a period) is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennesse ...
in Nashville, Tennessee.


2015

In an event described by ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' as "otherworldly" artists supporting the work of the Foundation appeared at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles on 1 April 2015. The evening, entitled "The Music of David Lynch", launched the DLF's tenth anniversary celebrations, and helped to raise funds to teach Transcendental Meditation to 1,000 at-risk youth in Los Angeles. Performers included Angelo Badalamenti, Chrysta Bell,
Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
,
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
, Jim James, Julee Cruise, Karen O,
Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
,
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
, Kinny Landrum, Lykke Li,
Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...
, Rebekah Del Rio, Rob Mathes, Sky Ferreira, Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, and Zola Jesus. On 4 November 2015, the Foundation organised a benefit concert at New York City's
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, "Change Begins Within", "to provide Transcendental Meditation instruction to 10,000 at-risk New Yorkers at no cost". Performers included
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
, Sting, Jerry Seinfeld,
Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * A ...
, Jim James, and Sharon Isbin. ''Rolling Stone'' quoted Perry as telling the audience, "I started TMing about five years ago, and it's changed my life."


Sponsored programs

According to the DLF website, the Foundation's sponsorship encompasses programs for schools, military, homeless shelters, prisons and global outreach.


Schools

The Foundation's web site says it focuses on school-wide instruction in Transcendental Meditation with the aim of improving educational and health outcomes. Its school programs, dubbed "Quiet Time", are
voluntary Voluntary may refer to: * Voluntary (music) * Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism * Voluntary muscle contraction See also * Voluntary action * Voluntariness, in law and philosophy * Voluntaryism Volunt ...
, and require parental permission. According to the Foundation, the programs are offered to students and faculty at no cost to the parents or school. The Foundation has reportedly funded school programs in the U.S. cities of Washington, D.C; New York City; Hartford, Connecticut; Detroit, Michigan; San Francisco, California; and in the countries of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Vietnam, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Israel. In 2007, DLF began sponsoring Quiet Time at Visitacion Valley Middle School, providing an annual grant that covers most of the $175,000 cost of dedicated staff to run the program, as well as supporting three other schools in San Francisco. As of 2007 another ten schools in the same San Francisco district were waiting to start the program. After studying the program, Carlos Garcia, school district superintendent, concluded that Quiet Time was a secular program that calms students and allows them to learn. DLF funded Transcendental Meditation courses for students at the Lowell Whiteman Primary School in Boulder, Colorado in 2008. In 2009, ''Church and State'' magazine reported that the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State had characterized the David Lynch Foundation's funding of Transcendental Meditation for public school students as undermining the constitutional
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
. In 2011, music mogul Russell Simmons announced plans to provide financial support to the David Lynch Foundation to teach TM at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2009 the DLF provided $120,000 to fund a Transcendental Meditation Club at the Tucson Magnet High School in Arizona, U.S. which had offered TM courses to 160 students, staff, and faculty as of 2010.


Military

In 2006 Lynch made a personal donation of $100,000 and the DLF inaugurated Operation Warrior Wellness (a DLF national initiative) whose goal is to teach the TM technique to 10,000 veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other war related ailments. Since 2010 DLF has contributed almost $1 million to sponsor TM courses for veterans and their families. The Transcendental Meditation technique's effect on post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) is the topic of research at the University of Colorado and was the topic of a study published in ''Military Medicine'' in 2011. Other initiatives to teach the TM technique to war veterans who are at risk for PTSD are ongoing. The DLF sponsored TM technique instruction for students at
Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...
, a private military academy, as part of a long-term study on meditation and military performance. The DLF raises funds to cover the $500 per person cost of TM training for military personnel. According to Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation, the US Department of Defense is examining potential advantages of TM for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. In order to procure support from the US government, the Foundation is striving to teach 10,000 veterans, active soldiers, trainees, and their families. Recent research shows that regular practice of
Transcendental Meditation technique The Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique is that associated with Transcendental Meditation, developed by the Indian spiritual figure Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It uses a private mantra and is practised for 20 minutes twice per day while sitt ...
enables some active duty service members battling post-traumatic stress disorder to reduce or even eliminate their psychotropic medication and get better control of their often-debilitating symptoms, researchers report in the journal Military Medicine. Transcendental Meditation technique shows marked efficacy in treating
anxiety disorders Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...
says a
meta-analysis Meta-analysis is a method of synthesis of quantitative data from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question. An important part of this method involves computing a combined effect size across all of the studies. As such, th ...
of
randomized controlled trials A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical ...
, "TM practice is more effective than treatment as usual and most alternative treatments, with greatest effects observed in individuals with high anxiety." A
meta-analysis Meta-analysis is a method of synthesis of quantitative data from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question. An important part of this method involves computing a combined effect size across all of the studies. As such, th ...
says: "Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait anxiety: a
meta-analysis Meta-analysis is a method of synthesis of quantitative data from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question. An important part of this method involves computing a combined effect size across all of the studies. As such, th ...
. Effect sizes for the different treatments (e.g., Progressive Relaxation, EMG Biofeedback, various forms of meditation, etc.) were calculated. Most of the treatments produced similar effect sizes except that Transcendental Meditation had significantly larger effect size (p less than .005)"


Social programs

The DLF began a program in 2010, at a Van Nuys, California, youth shelter called Children of the Night. The David Lynch Foundation also produced the video "Saving the Disposable Ones", about the work of Father Gabriel Mejia and the Fundación Hogares Claret, dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating homeless children in Colombia. According to the DLF web site, Father Mejia has founded 47 shelters for homeless children where thousands of young people practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. The Foundation now teaches TM to prisoners.


Research

DLF has donated for research on the effects of TM at the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
and the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. By 2008 the DLF had donated $5 million to research on the TM program. According to a 2009 press release on PsychCentral, DLF made plans that year to provide a $2 million grant to fund research on the "effects of the Mtechnique on ADHD and other learning disorders".Nauert PhD, Rick and Grohol Psy.D., John (5 January 2009) ''PsychCentral'' Meditation Helps Students With ADHD. In 2015 the David Lynch Foundation collaborated with Seleni Institute on the Seleni Research Award to create the Perinatal Mental Health Research Award, in support of research on Transcendental Meditation in treating perinatal anxiety.


References


External links

* * {{Coord, 41.0180, N, 91.9688, W, display=title Organizations established in 2005 Transcendental Meditation David Lynch Non-profit organizations based in New York City 501(c)(3) organizations