This lady spent the entire weekend here but still, apparently, doesn't know where it is.
> And here, in southwestern Iowa, just in time for the baby boomers' > > twilight years, is their Eastern-philosophy utopia. > > http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr- > vedic10sep10,1,6052345,full.story > > > > > > A lotus amid the Iowa corn > > A new Midwestern town has the teachings of a well-known maharishi > at > > its heart. > > By Carina Chocano, Times Staff Writer > > September 10, 2006 > > > > > > WHEN I booked my trip last April to attend a conference on > > Transcendental Meditation at the Maharishi University of > Management > > in Fairfield, Iowa, I had no idea I would be visiting another > > country. My airline ticket clearly indicated Cedar Rapids, and > from > > there I would rent a car and drive about two hours to a small town > 50 > > miles from the Mississippi River. I was a longtime fan of > filmmaker > > David Lynch, one of the conference's keynote speakers, and I was > > interested in meditation, occasionally popping in for a guided > > meditation at a neighborhood Buddhist temple. > > > > By the time I had made the travel arrangements, I knew I would be > > spending two nights at the improbably named Raj, an ayurvedic spa- > > hotel improbably located in the middle of a cornfield. I knew I > would > > be attending a conference entitled "Consciousness, Creativity and > the > > Brain," where John Hagelin, the onetime Natural Law Party > > presidential candidate would also speak. Hagelin once offered to > > deploy 400 "yogic fliers" to Kosovo to meditate for peace (then- > > Secretary of State Madeleine Albright declined). > > > > What I didn't know is that the Raj is not in Fairfield but just > > outside of it, in a brand-new town called Maharishi Vedic City, > which > > happens to be the North American capital of the Global Country of > > World Peace. > > > > So to say that Maharishi Vedic City exists on a plane of its own > is > > not quite to speak metaphorically. The town, which consists of > > several still-sprouting residential developments, is surrounded by > > cornfields dotted with barns and gloomy Victorians. The area is no > > stranger to sectarian lifestyle experiments: Not far away is the > > Mennonite community of Kalona, where bearded men and bonneted > women > > drive around in buggies. > > > > When I arrived, the sky looked as though it had been carpeted in a > > gray Stainmaster Berber. Fairfield proper looked as though it had > > seen better days specifically 1854, when it hosted the first > Iowa > > State Fair. It has the stately but melancholy air of a once- > > prosperous Midwestern town in decline. > > > > By contrast, M.V.C. displays all the architectural characteristics > of > > a new exurban development: gaudy, oversize construction that has > no > > stylistic relation to its environment but instead vaguely alludes > to > > a theme-park version someplace sort of magical and far away. > > > > The first thing that alerted me to the existence of the Global > > Country of World Peace was a bright yellow flag with an orange > > sunburst design, which I took at first to be an expression of > > meditator pride, the TM equivalent of a rainbow flag. Checking in > at > > the Raj, I noticed a display of the Global Country's paper > > money, "the ideal currency of the city" (though they did take my > > American Express). > > > > * > > > > Think pink > > > > STEVE YELLIN, my guide and PR liaison for the weekend, met me at > my > > room, which was bright and plush, done in a smoothed-over rustic > > style I decided to call Santa Barbara Provençal. He was wearing a > > radiant pure pink cashmere sweater, which I initially took for a > > fashion statement. But it turned out pink was everywhere. It was > the > > color of the media room at the Raj, where pastel Barcaloungers > faced > > a TV permanently tuned to the Maharishi Channel. And it was the > color > > of the private plane that first delivered the Maharishi Mahesh > Yogi > > to rural Iowa in 1971. > > > > Over a vegetarian buffet lunch, I got a brief history of the town. > > The maharishi (now an octogenarian billionaire living in the > > Netherlands) introduced TM to the West in the 1950s. He founded > the > > Maharishi University of Management in 1971, around the time he > became > > one in the long line of "fifth Beatles." (John Lennon would go on > to > > write the none-too-flattering "Sexy Sadie.") > > > > Vedic City grew around the school, incorporating in 2001. "Vedic" > > refers to "Veda," the Sanskrit word for "knowledge," which the > > maharishi claims to have distilled into a comprehensive system for > > living. TM is just the beginning. The "complete Vedic science of > > consciousness" encompasses architecture, education, health, > > agriculture, administration, economy and defense. > > > > There are, according to the TM organization, more than 6 million > > practitioners worldwide. Fairfield/M.V.C. is home to a few > thousand > > of them and offers, beyond individual daily practice, an all- > > inclusive lifestyle. > > > > After lunch, my guide took me on a tour of the town. All of the > > structures in M.V.C. are built in strict adherence to Maharishi > > Sthapatya Veda technique, which requires that all buildings face > > east, include a central "quiet space," and be adorned with a > golden > > dollop called a kalash. > > > > The houses cost $200,000 to $800,000, including consultation fees > and > > royalties, which sounded like a lot for rural Iowa, but I was told > > that "people who live and work in these buildings report that they > > think more clearly, make better decisions, feel happier and > > healthier, feel more alert and refreshed throughout the day, have > > more restful and refreshing sleep, have more energy and less > fatigue > > and experience less stress and greater peace of mind." > > (Blurting, "Oh, like feng shui," in response to an initial > > explanation of how it all works is the wrong thing to do.) > > > > I came to Iowa on a lark or as close to a lark as you can come > > while on assignment for a major newspaper. The TM organization > courts > > the press with an interest that borders on ardor and, as a result, > > throughout the weekend, I felt less like a fly on the wall than > the > > elephant in the room. > > > > Because Vedic City wants you to visit. It believes in the > creativity- > > enhancing, stress-reducing, intelligence-increasing, health- > promoting > > and world-peace-increasing properties of TM, and it really, really > > wants you to believe in them too. > > > > Vedic City also wants you to know that Vedic City is for foodies. > It > > wants you to sample its desultory smattering of ethnic restaurants > > and conclude that here you'll want for nothing. The town of 285 > has > > big plans for expansion, for attracting tourists and potential > > meditators. Mayor Bob Wynne (a longtime meditator) has said that > the > > idea is to expand to 1,200 residents by 2010, and eventually reach > up > > to 10,000. Since it incorporated, the city has purchased more than > > 100 acres of farmland, which someday will be the site of a theme > > park, a golf course and botanical gardens. > > > > There was something about Vedic City's architecture, not to > mention > > the mammoth vehicles parked in the driveways, that was > disconcerting > > yet familiar; it was exoticism snugly tucked into a marketable > > lifestyle brand. Vedic McMansions, Vedic lodges, Vedic Cape Cod > > bungalows and Vedic condos commingled within a short distance of > > giant his-and-hers Golden Domes of Pure Knowledge where the yogic > > fliers congregate. On the way back to the hotel, I passed a mobile > > home park called Utopia Park ("The Homes by the Domes"), which is > > just off Heaven and Taste of Utopia streets. > > > > The organic grocery was like the hippie co-op in every college or > > lefty town except the bulletin board was disproportionally > > dedicated to guru services and the "for-rent" fliers list Eastern > > orientation as an amenity. > > > > After the tour, I went back to the Raj to rest before the > weekend's > > welcome reception. I wandered around the calming lobby, stopping > to > > check out the scale model of the Vedic Observatory on my way to > the > > gift shop. I hung out in the media room for a bit. The maharishi > was > > on TV, talking about the unified field. (You couldn't spit without > > hitting a portrait of the maharishi around here.) > > > > In the gift store, I bought some beautiful Indian-themed > notecards. > > The woman at the register was very edgy and stressed out for > someone > > working in a shop where, at that moment, there was only one > customer > > standing there without so much as a pricing question. When a > > colleague came in with a technical problem, she melted down. I > went > > back to my room, clutching my relaxing bath salts, feeling sort of > > jittery myself. > > > > A few hours later, I joined Steve and his wife for dinner at a now- > > closed restaurant called Regina's. I ordered the salmon on a plank > of > > flaming cedar, which, I was surprised to discover, actually came > on a > > plank of flaming cedar. My fish was on a wood chip that was on > fire. > > When the flames failed to subside, I smothered them discreetly > with > > mashed potatoes. It was delicious. > > > > The bulk of the weekend, though, I spent in a big room something > > very much like a hangar, in fact attending a conference > > on "Creativity, Consciousness and the Brain," listening to talks > on > > the relationship between quantum physics and peace-creating energy > > fields, and watching the brain waves of a young student of > meditation > > hooked up to an EEG as a group of bald men stood around beaming. > > > > The conference constituted the last leg of a 12-campus tour > > introducing college students to TM and promoting Lynch's new > > scholarship program, "The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness- > > Based Education and World Peace." If the need for meditation > > scholarships sounds strange, considering the ease with which > > meditation instruction can be obtained, you should know that the > > formal four-day TM instruction and a personal mantra (plus future > > adjustments) will run you $2,500. > > > > Early on Saturday morning, Lynch graciously took questions from > the > > conference-goers, who were encouraged to ask him about anything, > > whether it be meditation or movie-making. Judging from the > questions, > > what many of the young attendees sought were grand unifying > answers. > > > > They worried, perhaps prematurely, about how to retain their > > integrity and creativity in Hollywood, an industry known for its > bone- > > headedness and venality. They wanted to know should they shoot on > > film or digital video? They wanted to understand what releases > > creativity, what its limits are. > > > > "The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi talks about an ocean of creativity and > > consciousness," Lynch replied. "Then modern science says it's > true > > everything that is emerges from this thing. Quantum physics and > the > > unified field." > > > > * > > > > So, what's the secret? > > > > THE questions were much like those aspiring filmmakers ask > directors > > during a Q&A at a film festival. In those sessions, it's generally > > been my experience that directors are rarely asked about > aesthetics > > or ideas. > > > > What people want to know and sometimes they ask this cleverly, > > sometimes clumsily is how they can stop being themselves and > start > > being the actor/director/famous person. They want answers, in > other > > words, on how to transform their lives. They want the secret > formula, > > the treasure map, the magic phrase, the secret mantra. > > > > There's something indescribably alluring about a "simple, > effortless" > > daily practice that purports to alleviate everything that ails the > > 21st century brain. And like most indescribably alluring things, > > there's something unsettling about it too. TM sells itself very > > aggressively as the one true meditation practice, a practice > unlike > > other practices that require contemplation or analysis or some > other > > form of effort. > > > > And here, in southwestern Iowa, just in time for the baby boomers' > > twilight years, is their Eastern-philosophy utopia. What 40 years > ago > > might have been an "alternative lifestyle" is now a marketable > > lifestyle product; an entropic mix of spirituality and > materialism; > > self-betterment and self-absorption as a cure for all of > humanity's > > ills; consciousness-expansion as a way to building wealth and > saving > > the world. For the not-so-low price of $2,500, you're offered > inner > > peace, world peace, reduced blood pressure and the sense of > yourself > > as a maverick pioneer, a "cultural creative." > > > > Meanwhile, neither the square footage of the average house (in an > non- > > temperate year-round climate) nor the size of the gas tank of the > > average car seems to factor into the peace equation. > > > > As Fred Travis, director of the Psychophysiology Center at MUM, > > softly droned on about "the delightful flow of fine feeling and > soft > > thinking" brought on in the college brain by TM, I wandered off. I > > think I was suffering from severe scientific proof fatigue. From > the > > moment of my arrival, I had been regaled with tales of millions of > > dollars in research grants from the National Institutes of Health, > > the findings published in prestigious medical journals, the > studies > > conducted in partnership with major university hospitals. Nearly > > every conversation, whether it concerned elementary-school > academic > > performance or cholesterol or crime-rate reduction, at some point > > included the phrase "There was this study . " > > > > Maybe someday we'll look back on these early years of the 21st > > century as the moment when it became clear that money, competent > PR > > and, above all, frank and unabashed banality have the power to > > normalize anything. When life itself transformed into a mall > > of "lifestyle choices," laid out end to end on a flat, infinite > plane > > of possibility. > > > > I wandered into the student union bookstore, which carried no > books > > except for the maharishi's. In the admissions building, I perused > a > > display detailing the maharishi's blueprints for an "ideal city." > It > > is grid-like and built around gardens. Examples of bad cities > include > > Paris and New York. > > > > Later, another journalist asked one of the PR guys whether the > > maharishi would really prefer to see a big square suburb where > Paris > > is. I mean, it's Paris, she said. > > > > He considered this and then replied, "Well, it might be nice for > us > > to visit, but think about the people who have to live there." > > > > * > > > > > > > > TM zone > > > > GETTING THERE: > > > > > > > > From LAX, Delta, American, United and Northwest have connecting > > service (change of planes) to the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar > > Rapids. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $314. > > > > Driving from Cedar Rapids, it's 78 miles to Fairfield and Vedic > City. > > Go south on U.S. 218, then south on Iowa 1. Fairfield is also 114 > > miles from Des Moines. > > > > WHERE TO STAY: > > > > The Raj Health Center and Spa, 1734 Jasmine Ave., Vedic City, IA > > 52556; (800) 248-9050, http://www.theraj.com . An ayurvedic health > > spa that has a maximum of 18 guests for three-, five- or seven-day > > stays. Rates vary. > > > > Rukmapura Park Hotel, 1702 Rukmapura Park, Vedic City, IA 52556; > > (866) 472-1008, http://www.rukmapuraparkhotel.com . Maharishi > > Sthapatya Veda-style lodging in 30 hotel rooms and 35 free- > standing > > chalets for longer stays. Doubles from $99. > > > > WHAT TO DO: > > > > Maharishi Vedic City tours, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays and Sundays. > > Includes the Raj, Vedic observatory, the university, Sthapatya > Veda- > > style buildings and vegetarian lunch buffet. $30, ages 12 and > younger > > $15. Reservations required. (641) 472-9580, Ext. 0, or > > tours@ Self-guided tour maps available at the > > Raj. > > > > TO LEARN MORE: > > > > Maharishi Vedic City Office of Tourism, 1734 Jasmine Ave., Vedic > > City, IA 52556; (641) 470-7070, maharishivediccity.net. > > > > Fairfield Iowa Convention & Visitors Bureau, 204 W. Broadway, > > Fairfield, IA 52556; (641) 472-2111, travelfairfieldiowa.com. > > > > Carina Chocano > > > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
