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LOS ANGELES -- At his private production studio in Hollywood, director David Lynch talks about his latest project.
He’s not describing some intricate plot from his upcoming film, “Inland Empire.”
He is talking about transcendental meditation, which he has practiced for more than 30 years.
Transcendental meditation, or TM for short, is a meditation technique which involves sitting silently, repeating a mantra for twenty minutes at a time.
“Intuition grows, the joy of doing things grows, the pressures in this business, they don’t bother you anymore,” said Lynch.
TM had the following of famous artists like the Beatles. But Lynch says it’s not just for celebrities. He is convinced that it can help a lot of American kids perform better in the classroom.
That’s why he is spearheading an effort to raise $7 billion, to get meditation into American schools.
Studies on the effect of TM for kids have been conducted around the country.
Some have shown it can help reduce anxiety, and aggression.
But is it realistic to expect kids to sit still?
Chris Haddock is an 18 year old who took up TM a couple of years ago; he says TM helps him filter out negative thoughts.
Some critics doubt the effectiveness of TM, and think Lynch’s idea is Hollywood pie in the sky. But David Lynch doesn’t seem ruffled by the skeptics. He thinks transcendental meditation can bring more peace to a troubled world.
“It’s like watering the root of the tree that’s in bad shape. You water the root and automatically the whole thing comes up,” said Lynch.
“And that’s what I’m interested in doing, besides making films,” said Lynch.