Gawd. Is there ANYTHING more embarrassing than still trying to use the Beatles -- even dead Beatles -- to sell TM?
Oh yeah...I forgot. There's trying to use David Lynch -- who only looks dead -- for the same thing. :-) --- In [email protected], nablusoss1008 <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Jeanne Ball <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeanne-ball> > Writer for the David Lynch Foundation and 25-year teacher of > Transcendental Meditation > GET UPDATES FROM Jeanne Ball > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/becomeFan.php?of=hp_blogger_Jeanne > Ball> > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=jeanne-ball> > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/login/> > <http://twitter.com/jeanneball> Like 403 How He Transformed > The Beatles Posted: 10/4/11 > Add to collections View My Collections > > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/?action=collections> Collect > articles and browse other HuffPost members' collections. Learn More > > Martin Scorsese's stunning documentary, "George Harrison: Living in the > Material World," will air on HBO Oct. 5-6. Among the locations selected > for preview, Scorsese <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Scorsese> > and Olivia Harrison <http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Harrison> > chose a small Iowa town whose theatre audience was comprised of 500 > meditators. Why? > > The exclusive screening -- held Sunday evening in Fairfield, Iowa -- was > a gift supporting the David Lynch Foundation's > <http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/> initiatives to teach > Transcendental Meditation <http://www.tm.org/> to veterans, inner-city > school kids, homeless people, prisoners, Native Americans and other > at-risk populations. > > Fairfield <http://www.iowasource.com/fairfield.html> is known as a > middle-America oasis of progressive thought, entrepreneurship and > sustainability -- dubbed "Silicon Valley of the Corn Belt" for its > concentration of high tech businesses. The town boasts a community of > over 2,000 meditators, and is home of the university founded by > Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who taught meditation to The Beatles. > > Although George Harrison was a spiritual eclectic, ever exploring > various disciplines and traditions, one element that remained consistent > for him over the years was the meditation technique he learned from > Maharishi, which he practiced throughout his life. > > Scorsese's connection to Harrison is through more than love of music: > The award-winning director is a meditator, too. > > At a benefit gala held in New York City last year for David Lynch's > foundation, Scorsese said: I wanted to offer my support and > encouragement to help children and veterans -- anyone who needs the help > -- to overcome stress through meditation. > > Describing the benefits of meditation in his own life, Scorsese shared, > "I can only mention a few words: calm, clarity, balance and at times a > recognition. It has made a difference." > > The Beatles Discover Meditation > In 1967, George's first wife, Patti Boyd, learned Transcendental > Meditation in London while George was away on tour with The Beatles. "I > loved meditating and found the effects remarkable," she said. "The > benefits are cumulative. It did what it said on the bottle -- it was > life-changing. I couldn't wait to tell George." > > Beatles aficionados know what happened next. The band returned to London > and at Patti's urging attended a Maharishi lecture. They learned > meditation and soon embarked on their journey to Maharishi's academy in > Rishikesh, India -- where, in spare time between meditating and > attending lectures, they created some of the most acclaimed music of > their career. > > Yet, fewer Beatles enthusiasts know the true story > <http://meditationasheville.blogspot.com/2010/12/maharishi-and-beatles-w\ > hat-really.html> of what happened in Rishikesh, or how the band's > continued involvement with meditation impacted their life and music. > > George's Transcendental Side > Allusions to transcendence -- the experience gained during meditation > when the mind goes beyond thinking to experience pure awareness -- began > appearing throughout Harrison's lyrics. One overt example is his faux > raga, "The Inner Light:" > > Without looking out of your window > You could know the ways of heaven > > It was as if the bottom had fallen out of George's younger, > boy-wants-girl Beatle songs ("I Need You," "You Like Me Too Much") and > the songs were now ballads of spiritual yearning and awakening ("All > Things Must Pass," "Let It Roll," "My Sweet Lord"). > > Scorsese's film underscores Harrison's inner quest, yet deals honestly > with his struggle to balance staggering fame and material success with > his desire to live a truthful life. Scorsese shows Harrison caught > between the spiritual and material, as the former Beatle portrays > himself in the title song of his 1973 album "Living In The Material > World." > > For stability amid the turmoil, Harrison always returned to meditation. > > "I still practice Transcendental Meditation," said George in his later > years. "Maharishi only ever did good for us, and though I have not been > with him physically, I never left him." > > During the 1990s, George met again with Maharishi at the international > Transcendental Meditation campus in Holland. Shortly thereafter, > Harrison performed a benefit concert in London to support Transcendental > Meditation and related "consciousness-based" programs throughout the > United Kingdom -- his last full concert. > > The Meditation Connection Lives On > In April 2009, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr played a benefit concert > <http://dlf.tv/2009/change-begins-within-benefit-concert-highlights/> > at Radio City Music Hall to teach Transcendental Meditation to one > million school kids. One of the evening's most touching moments was Paul > and Ringo's salute to George -- while a gigantic picture of Harrison in > Rishikesh appeared on the above-stage screen. It was the first time the > two surviving Beatles had performed together since the 2002 concert for > George. > > "The idea of putting this into schools I think is a fabulous thing," > says McCartney. "When you actually put it in the mainstream, then people > can say, ah, in Detroit, where the David Lynch Foundation has put the > program into schools, the results are these. People don't need > high-minded talk so much as results." > > Yoko Ono attended the benefit. She told Rolling Stone: John would have > been the first one now, if he had been here, to recognize and > acknowledge what Maharishi has done for the world and appreciate it. > > Spiritual Town In A Material World > "Many people in this town feel a deep kinship with George Harrison," > says Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy, an oil broker who attended the sold-out > preview. "That deeper purpose of life that George sang about, the > transcendent experience, is very intimate and real to meditators." > > Margaret Costello is an accountant who relocated to Fairfield wishing to > live in a community that shared more of her interests -- not only > meditation, but also sustainability and organic food. After the film, > she was teary-eyed. "I remember as a teen buying George's album and > listening to "Material World" and feeling determined not to let > materialism get the best of me. His music really made an impression." > > When David Lynch first visited Fairfield, the creativity, vibrancy and > integrity of the meditating students inspired him to establish the > foundation to help bring Transcendental Meditation to school kids > everywhere. > > It is fitting that in a town where meditation is used not as an escape, > but as a tool to propel students into their careers with greater > creativity and clarity, the "quiet Beatle's" legacy continues to support > and inspire "Quiet Time" meditation programs. > > "Everybody's looking for something ... We don't have to look anywhere -- > it's right there within ourselves." > -- George Harrison, Press Conference, Los Angeles, 1974 > > VIDEO: Watch The Trailer For "Living In The Material World" > > > This Blogger's Books from [Amazon] <http://www.amazon.com/> > [indiebound] <http://www.indiebound.org/?aff=HuffingtonPost> > [Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental > Meditation] > <http://www.amazon.com/Transcendence-Healing-Transformation-Transcendent\ > al-Meditation/dp/1585428736%3FSubscriptionId%3D0JJEH4PKQM4ZHS8QY102%26ta\ > g%3Dthehuffingtop-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%\ > 26creativeASIN%3D1585428736> Transcendence: Healing and Transformation > Through Transcendental Meditation > by Norman E Rosenthal M.D. > <http://www.amazon.com/Transcendence-Healing-Transformation-Transcendent\ > al-Meditation/dp/1585428736%3FSubscriptionId%3D0JJEH4PKQM4ZHS8QY102%26ta\ > g%3Dthehuffingtop-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%\ > 26creativeASIN%3D1585428736> [Science of Being and Art of Living: > Transcendental Meditation] > <http://www.amazon.com/Science-Being-Art-Living-Transcendental/dp/045228\ > 2667%3FSubscriptionId%3D0JJEH4PKQM4ZHS8QY102%26tag%3Dthehuffingtop-20%26\ > linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D045228\ > 2667> Science of Being and Art of Living: Transcendental Meditation > by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi > <http://www.amazon.com/Science-Being-Art-Living-Transcendental/dp/045228\ > 2667%3FSubscriptionId%3D0JJEH4PKQM4ZHS8QY102%26tag%3Dthehuffingtop-20%26\ > linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D045228\ > 2667> > Follow Jeanne Ball on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeanneball > Google AccouYou must be logged in to comment. 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