Meditating With One Million Children

Today, I had the absolute pleasure to join David Lynch, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Donovan, Mike Love and many others in joining in the visionary work of the David Lynch Foundation who are hard at work chasing the dream of bringing meditation to a million students worldwide.

The daily practice of meditation is precious to me. It's in the stillness and the silence that I am able to make sense of the world and the creative possibilities that help me do better in all aspects of my life.

Young people are our most precious natural resource, and we must do all we can to give them tools that will help them stay focused and positive. Stress is everywhere, in the streets and the classroom. There's a mountain of scientific data that supports the fact that consciousness-based education and having quiet time at the beginning and end of the school day improves academic performance and spills over to happier and healthier young people at home.

I wish I could be at the concert tomorrow night at Radio City Music Hall, but I will be at the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, where Run DMC will inducted. However, my thoughts and meditations will be with the David Lynch Foundation as they continue their incredible work.

www.davidlynchfoundation.org

Comments

[OldPirate]

There is doubt that meditation is incredibly beneficial and should be taught to children.

However when it comes to TM specifically, their organization charges $2000 (often more) to tell a person to sit quietly and repeat a mantra to themselves. Everyone deserves to be paid for what they do, but charging this sort of money for handing out simple information that is thousands of years old is not the sort of behavior that enlightened (even slightly aware) people should be involved in.

What it is is ripping people off - price gouging - the same as charging a hurricane victim $20 for a bottle of water.

[DonKrieger]

New Package - Same Old Scam:

I'm relieved to see your post get through the censors. I posted several hours ago and it has not yet appeared. You can find the substance of it at http://DonKrieger.blogspot.com

I point out that it's deceptive to neglect to mention the type of meditation, Transcendental Meditation.
I post links to http://www.rickross.org and to my own site which is also critical of TM:
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/donandmarcy/TM.html

I also include a link to the New Jersey Federal District Court Case, Malnak v Yogi, in which the judge ruled teaching TM unconsititutional in the public schools because it is religious:
http://trancenet.net/law/nj/nj1.html

I'm disappointed and disturbed that my previous comment has not yet been posted, particularly given the tenor of the bulk of the responses so far. This post from Morton is strictly an advertisement for a deceptive scam aimed at children.

There's a fair argument for teaching Intelligent Design in public schools, although not as part of a science course. But there is no valid argument for teaching TM. I urge those who have spoken out in favor of this to look further into it.

Don

[OldPirate]

typing error: "is doubt" is supposed to read "is no doubt"

to clarify: meditation = good... children meditating = very good...charging $2000 or more = crooked

[zugzwang]

The Relaxation Response by Dr. Herbert Benson is an interesting perspective on meditating, or TM.

"This week we will look at another technique to help manage stress - the Relaxation Response. Herbert Bensen, M.D. coined the phrase after studying people who practiced Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM has been shown to help people reduce the activity of their autonomic nervous systems. Bensen took the principles of TM and removed them from their Eastern religious context in order to make them more accessible for westerners." from http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/stressmanagement/a/relresp.htm

I practiced TM in the 1970's, have since practiced other forms of meditation at Buddhist centers, etc. Since the underlying calm physiological and mental state comes from the process, not the trademark, I think it would make sense to include relaxation response training in the schools. Much cheaper! And skip the loyalty to TM. That Maharishi didn't invent meditation, he was just adept at marketing to the East!
Maybe it should be part of Phys. Ed.!

[JanetAlstonJackson]

For Years I have touted Russell's meditation practices to children. He's a great role model for youth. We have taught young people that because Russell meditates, it enhances his creativity as an artist. They then felt it's "cool" to meditate. We have also taught meditation to young people, teachers and parents. When parents and teachers meditate, and understand the importance of tapping into inner peace, children feel that balance because they are naturally sensitive to energy. It's extremely important for parents during these shaky economic times to engage in meditation and Mindfulness (Living in the Moment) to stay calm. More young people are depressed these days, and suicide is back on the rise among this age group. Children are feeling extremely off balanced because many are picking up this frantic, fearful energy from their parents. Thich Nhat Hahn, the International Renown Zen Master, says "When just one person in the family practices Mindfulness, the whole family benefits."
Keep up the great work Russell and David!

[Rollingballafire]

Great post. I don't know how well it will be received in the schools, but taking the time to quiet one's mind would certainly be beneficial to the children of this particularly fast paced generation.
"When one person in the family practices Mindfulness...." is in itself a mediation for me to keep my family together. With 4 children and 3 grandchildren I have learned that actions speak louder than words, and while I've never been involved in TM, I have taught them that self awareness is the key to beginning their journey into life, and quiet reflection, contemplation or meditation is necessary to achieve that goal. One day I became tired of them saying"I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that" and so I sat them down and explained communication is not just the words coming from your mouth. It really is an internal language. First of feelings, that then must be translated to thoughts, that then must become words, that must then go out into the air as a vibration until they reach someones eardrums. This had helped them become wonderful people in this world that know themselves, and say what they mean.
Looking forward to more great and positive posts.

[jgzeger]

I applaud those who are trying to make meditation a part of mainstream education!

[zugzwang]

I agree learning meditation is worth learning. But I think the name-branding (TM) should be kept out of it! It should be introduced generically, e.g. relaxation response, mindfulness, or something of that nature.

But it does seem an appropriate part of a Health or Phys Ed curriculum.

[voodoomonkey]

right on mr simmons. this is the best thing happening in our schools right now. TM is the perfect solution" simple, natural, non-religious (despite the misunderstandings about meditation), and most important, EFFECTIVE!!

[JackSpeaks]

Awake, Watch, This journey towards your Life purpose (consciousness) is near. The endless speaker has leather to sell for those who want to make shoes. You dare not leave home without them. Ouch

[PewterPan]

Kudos to Russel Simmons for supporting TM and this great concert with Paul McCartney to raise funds so that our youth can have access to Transcendental Meditation. I have seen first hand the wonderful effect Transcendental Meditation has on students and young people. They become calmer, more focused, and their grades improve too! Also their thinking and decisions are more balanced which ain’t bad either, just ask their parents! I think it’s an all around win for our children; the future leaders of our world. For more info check this out: http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org

[JackSpeaks]

Meditation leads to consciousness; consciousness leads to real change. This is an uphill battle, but a worthy one.

[MissLakshmi]

Thanks for the nice post, Russell. Bethab, the TM technique has nothing to do with prayer and poses no conflict with any religious practice. I've been practicing TM since 1998, and it has absolutely transformed my life. No technique solves all one's problems--nor should it, I believe--but it certainly makes everything easier to handle. Check out NIH studies on TM's effects on ADHD, depression, addiction if you don't believe us. Wish I could be at Radio City!

[zakwouldhave]

I work at a school and plan on teaching next year. Getting students into a good state of mind and to reflect in order to relate to one another, to the teacher and to the mind numbing test preparations could help.
More importantly, its all about the parents. The foundation should tackle that next.

[joebiz]

I'm all for things that will help students and children become more developed and have greater mental acuity. But, will meditation get rid of the horrible teachers, the incompetent administrators, and the mind numbing and boring curriculum?

[hulagirrrl]

I totally agree with the boring curriculum, but to call the teachers horrible is unfair. Yes there are those I have no doubt, but there are also the ones who go so many extra miles to help their students, let's not forget about them. Do you not have one teacher you remember in a good way?

[joebiz]

Yes, many. And, the good ones taught me the dialectic and critical thinking and having courage to call out the bad teachers from the good.

Teacher's unions are in it for themselves, not for the benefit of the children. Here in California, the California Teachers Union gave over one-million dollars to defeat Prop 8. While Prop 8 is a reprehensible law, the CTA should have spent those million dollars on improving the education of our kids. The perception is that they don't need the money (raises) if they involve themselves in political electioneering.

[Kay0099]

Great cause! My kids started practicing Transcendental Meditation years ago, and it's helped them grow into mentally clear, emotionally grounded people. It works. See www.tm.org

[Islandtime]

Russell, your open letter to Steele was a great disappointment. I doubt Drudge, Fox or RedState would be as open to this article.

[marydmaryd]

So true. Not only will meditation benefit our children, it will benefit our educators as well. As a mom, I'm all for it!

[Janice Taylor]

Russell, I live in Harlem. Please know that I'm happy to help in any way I can in the my neighborhood. Feel free to call upon me.

Janice Taylor

(In addition to my HuffPO bio, I am the cofounder of artHARLEM, HOAST (Harlem Open Artist Studio Tour. Our 5th annual coming in October).

[pm247]

Schools are where we first become institutionalized and learn to adopt group think and the mediocrity standard.

I suppose a few minutes of quiet amidst the oppressiveness is good.