I am the Director of Operations for the school meditation project in San Francisco that uses TM, where the students were found to be the happiest in the city. I would like to try and correct some misunderstandings that may have occurred as a result of certain comments made here recently.
1. There is a post that suggest we 'stole' couches from a one of the high schools we worked in. This is incorrect. We purchase used couches from outside sources, specifically for the Quiet Time program. We own them. 2. That the windows and doors in the rooms we used at a high school were papered over so that no one could see in, and that the school had to remove the papering after we left. A single door to a small room was partially papered only during training sessions to reduce the distraction from other students walking by during passing period. This paper was taken down each day, and was not remaining after the meditation training staff left the school. 3. That we had been kicked out of at least 2 schools in SF since Jan of this year. One school decided to discontinue the Quiet Time program at the end of the spring semester due primarily to a vote from faculty regarding time constraints. There are many schools throughout CA and nationally requesting the program, so we only work with those that are able to fit it into their schedule. After providing this to 7,000 students, teachers, parents and administrators for the last 7 years, we have had over a 90% program satisfaction rating. An extremely small minority of parents, teachers and administrators have had issues with the program, usually because of biases or misunderstandings. 4. That most of the research referenced by the TM organization is "either bogus or deeply flawed" There are over 100 studies on TM published in reputable, peer reviewed scientific journals indicating various positive mental and physical health effects. Research has been done at Stanford, Harvard, University of California and other reputable institutions. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funded over 24M worth of research into TM and heart health. In order to be published in peer reviewed journals or to be funded by the NIH, rigorous assessment is performed by highly experienced scientists. If the research was bogus or deeply flawed, the research would not be funded or published.
