English corner

Dear English-speaking friends in Geneva or elsewhere, this blog is mainly in French but I am bilingual and often teach in English. Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information. — Leonard Stein, M.A. SCI, certified teacher of TM since 1980.

November 2023 VOGUE article on TM

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CHANGE BEGINS WITHIN: update on our charitable teaching project in the Congo [Sept. 2023]

Our Espace MT / David Lynch Foundation in Geneva is a partner of a unique charity project in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, presently a very poor and unstable region. Nearly 15,000 people in sometimes dramatic situations have already learnt the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique and have been able to rebound thanks to the amazing work of our team on site. Some recent news from the project and an invitation to help!

Many official and non-governmental organizations are mobilized when humanitarian assistance is needed. In eastern Congo, the admirable work of Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Action Against Hunger, Handicap International and Solidarities International and others can be mentioned. Beyond essential aid in terms of food, shelter, medical care and more, our intervention is an important missing link in humanitarian aid: enabling vulnerable populations to dissolve traumatic stress and rebound. After humanitarian aid has covered all the needs for survival and has even provided education or training, traumas unfortunately remain and prevent victims from fully reintegrating society and living a happy, optimistic and productive life.

The universally applicable Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique brings deep physical and mental rest that greatly reduces traumatic stress. Scientific research shows that the brain functions more fully, calmness, creativity and confidence increase, and the state of health improves significantly. This is the basis for resilience, for a real return to a normal life. In the United States, studies of veterans suffering from traumatic stress show that TM helps more than drugs (whose negative side effects are well known) or repeated exposure therapies to stress factors, which are quite unpleasant.

The current team on the ground in eastern Congo consists of Bamande Tsongo, Nancy Dede and Clovis Mafuta who are doing extraordinary work across a large area, with very diverse groups and in difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances — they sometimes have to travel under protection in this troubled region.

Our teachers have recently had the visit of a US-based Congolese MT instructor, Kabuika Kamunga with her husband Didier. They both provide advice and support from the United States and are evaluating the possibility of building a Maharishi school (named after the Himalayan sage who spread the age-old TM technique around the world) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — a modular structure with local materials, including bricks, such as the school below in Ghana (photo).

Our team in the Congo has often expressed its appreciation for our financial support, made possible from donations from all over Switzerland, which has enabled so many to learn and benefit from better infrastructures. We are actually the ones that are immeasurably grateful to them for their unfailing dedication: what a beautiful destiny to be able to transmit real health and well-being to vulnerable populations! In view of the benefits experienced by their students, they are often highly appreciated, even admired and are increasingly in demand — some of their students want to become teachers too….

Among the many groups who learn TM, some are internal refugees who lost loved ones in the local conflicts and had to abandon everything and flee to settle elsewhere in the country. The TM technique helps them find sleep and recover. They say that the practice of TM brings them a great hope from within. Among the typical benefits reported by our teachers: disappearance of stress-related pain or headaches, less negative thoughts, greater ease of eating and digesting, better relationships with others and more mutual help despite difficult conditions, return of some inner well-being and hope for the future. As Transcendental Meditation is a technique for more awareness and wakefulness, it may seem strange that a first benefit would be to help people sleep. One has to understand that highly traumatizes people have great difficulty getting good sleep and often have nightmares, with the obvious consequences for their mood and effectiveness during the day. In order to develop more presence, awareness and creativity in daily life, one first needs good rest!

The Transcendental Meditation technique is practiced twice a day, comfortably sitting with your eyes closed. The agitated mind settles down and the body gains a deep rest that eliminates stress, tensions and even trauma. One comes out of a meditation session calmer, regenerated, clearer and more aware than before. Problems seem less insurmountable and creative solutions emerge. Practice does not involve changes in lifestyle or beliefs. TM is actually a “secret weapon” for some of the most creative, busy, successful people in the world, from Paul McCartney or Oprah Winfrey to hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, former Mozambique president Joachim Chissano and many others. Filmmaker David Lynch’s charitable foundation, which brings the benefits of TM to those who need it most, successfully teaches, for example, women victims of abuse, homeless people or drug addiction victims. In total, some 600 published scientific studies validate the benefits of the TM technique for physical, mental and social health.

Our team is supported by an enthusiastic network of helpers who present the benefits of the program to schools, churches or associations. For example, one lady meditator has just organized the teaching for TM for 675 eager adults and 100 children who will learn the special technique for children under 10 years of age — a lot of work for our teachers! This meditating woman saw her heart pain quickly disappear with relaxation, and she explains that many people around her, heavily traumatized and often in tears after seeing their parents or loved ones killed in massacres, have stopped crying and sometimes say they feel almost like before, as if their parents were still alive.

In addition to the thousands of children and adults from all social groups to whom they have taught TM, our instructors regularly train members of government, ecclesiastical officials or non-governmental organization leaders who, seeing the benefits, encourage the practice: “A police commander explained that he was responsible for security but was actually afraid of the rebels (causing a lot of laughter), but that after learning TM, he now feels inner peace and confidence in his work.” TM has also been taught to soldiers mobilized in the region, and many of their colleagues now want to learn too.

The benefits experienced in this different geography and culture are very diverse but are the same as for anyone learning TM anywhere: our local teachers often observe inner joy despite difficulties, rapid improvement in chronic ulcers (often stress-related), more confidence and productivity.  There is the anecdote of this elderly woman, desperate because her son left with a lot of money to her: “she considers TM as her medicine, a dose every day morning and evening. She had lost hope of seeing her son again with her money, but recently the veil lifted, her son called her on the phone, asking forgiveness and now gradually refunding the money.” Another anecdote is the experience of this director of a local orphanage (the region unfortunately has plenty of orphans following the many conflicts): “He told us that he wasn’t very creative until he learned TM, but now he asked everyone to visit his cocoa and vanilla plantations, and his ponds for fish farming. He added that previously his two wives were unable to cooperate and many people asked him what medicine he gave them, to the point that they now live in the same house without quarrelling as before… He encourages everyone to practice TM regularly and has thanked us many times.”

Another anecdote is the story of this woman travelling in a boat with members of her church, who found herself on the shore with a few others. A bunch of elephants emerged, everyone ran away, leaving the poor woman alone surrounded by threatening elephants, her friends overwhelmed and crying. Calm and poised thanks to her TM practice, she just remained still and confident and after a few minutes the elephants simply left. She then walked for a long time and finally found her companions who had run away, very moved because they thought she was dead.

Group practice is encouraged whenever possible — in schools, churches, orphanages or associations. A TM Center has opened in Kasindi, classes and group meditations are held regularly and the rooms are being renovated. Scientific research shows that the group practice of Transcendental Meditation, richer and deeper for participants, generates a measurable influence of peace and harmony in collective consciousness — in the social atmosphere, because the individual is the unity of society: if wars begin in the minds of men, peace in the world is built on the basis of inner peace.

Finally, our instructors also had the opportunity to teach Pygmy populations in the area, often very poor and subject to discrimination, with the same good results observed everywhere.

Please help!

We are continuing to raise funds to sustain the project and provide essential assistance in this unstable region. Would you like to contribute? Even a modest aid can relieve several people living in very difficult circumstances, and larger donations can introduce the practice to an entire school or provide the basic infrastructure necessary for the survival and development of this project. You can donate here through our recognized charitable association Global Peace Initiative, or here through our association David Lynch Foundation representative office for Switzerland. You will receive a confirmation from us. We are sincerely grateful for any help!

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Our humanitarian commitment — Espace MT / David Lynch Foundation office supports the teaching of TM to disadvantaged populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Your help is warmly welcome!

Our TM instructors in the Congo (3) [November 2021]…

Since the start of 2021, our Swiss Transcendental Meditation organization has been supporting the teaching of TM in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Below is an interview with Nancy and Bamande, our certified TM instructors on location. See also our previous articles on this project (below). Nancy is on the far right on the picture, Bamande in the center with his wife and son.

Born in 1974 in Uganda, Bamande Tsongo grew up there and later graduated from the Catholic University of Graben in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He currently leads the teaching of TM in Eastern DRC with his colleague Nancy Dede, in part to very disadvantaged populations for whom TM is a way to free themselves from traumatic stress and develop resilience. « I’ve always been in search of the truth, says Bamande (right in the photo below). Becoming a TM teacher has been the answer to my deepest desire. »

 How did you become a TM instructor?

Bamande: In 2009, a leader of the TM organization, Raja Graham de Freitas, came to Uganda and after his presentation on TM I learned with 40 other people, with Grant Lusimbo who was already teaching in the country. In 2012, I trained in Thailand as a TM teacher. Back home, I was fortunate enough to teach a Member of Parliament with whom I had worked as a political assistant, and later I also taught TM in four major schools. 

How is the teaching of TM developing in this disadvantaged region of the Congo?

Bamande: I arrived in the DRC in February this year and immediately started teaching in various churches, schools and organizations / associations. Since October, I have been teaching pastors, in churches, schools, as well as the military and with the Pygmy populations of the Congo (photo below).  

It started as a kind of miracle: the person who welcomed me to the DRC and helped a lot is a bishop who is also responsible for a beautiful school; he had received shortly before my arrival a kind of  « revelation » about teaching stress management and had asked the church to buy chairs for classes.

The people I teach have very positive experiences with TM and that motivates me: I see people heal and change their ways. Personally, meditation gives me the freedom to speak, inner healing, and the experience of heaven within. 

How do you see the future of the teaching of TM in the region?

Bamande: Teaching must now develop by ensuring the monitoring of knowledge and practice for those who have learned: checking the correct practice, organizing group meditations and follow-up using video lectures. We also want to train leaders for each group (churches, schools, associations, etc.) to oversee the practice.We also need equipment such as projectors, comfortable plastic chairs for meditators, mats for yoga postures.

We are also developing crafts activities for different groups, as many are internal refugees who have fled massacres and find themselves with nothing, not even a straw mattress to sleep on. Learning to weave mats and other handicrafts motivates, can generate income and gives hope.

We must of course ensure the subsistence of the teachers (transport, restaurant, hotel and communication costs among others) and we should be able to provide a telephone to each group of meditators to communicate on a daily basis, even when Nancy and I are busy teaching in another city.

We’re also hoping to be able to offer advanced classes next year, and maybe have a car so we can get around from group to group more quickly.

Finally, we want to build or open more TM Centers or rooms, start schools to ensure the daily and sustainable practice of TM in groups, which has an effect of peace and harmony on society – which this region really needs!

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Of Congolese origin, Nancy Dede (left, Bamande is right) grew up in Kinshasa before having to flee to Uganda. She has already taught TM to more than 1,500 children and adults in the DRC. 

How do these disadvantaged children in the DRC react to TM?

Nancy: School performance is improving, they have better results. In children under 10 who practice the TM technique for children (which is done with eyes open while walking in silence), there are also big changes. They could be aggressive with each other due to their difficult situation, but TM makes them calmer, they work better. 

Can TM really help victims of acute trauma?

Nancy: Absolutely. Many people here are refugees, they have fled the massacres and feel bad, think about the past, what they had to leave behind, they have regrets…. it can translate into aggression. But TM brings them inner joy, they become more positive and creative.

You personally have known the trauma of war …

Nancy: I was born in Kinshasa and grew up in Eastern Congo. My parents and I had to flee the Congo because of the war and the massacres, of course that traumatized me. I was welcomed in Uganda as a refugee, I met TM teachers and based on my good experiences, I became a TM teacher to be able to help Congolese traumatized by the events like me. I have taught TM to many refugees in Uganda and they shared many wonderful experiences.

It makes me happy to be able to teach people how to be stress-free and I would like to see this teaching spread to all countries. I already want to see it spread to the whole of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and get 1% of the population to practice TM, which will be enough for an improvement in the quality of life in the whole country. 

What difficulties may arise in your current job?

Nancy: People are very receptive and in great need of TM, they welcome us with joy and gratitude. However some may wonder if TM is a religion, so I have to explain it well so that they understand that it is not the case.It also happens that the people we meet expect something from us in addition to the TM technique: food, or simply water because they are deprived of everything and they think that we are working for an international organization and that these organizations often have money.

Some are very marked by what they have gone through: they have been displaced by the war, widows and orphans survivors of massacres. They are very affected by traumatic stress; out of love and courtesy we want to bring them something when we teach: something to eat, because « hungry belly has no ears » as they say, or school supplies for orphaned children. 

A great teaching experience?

Nancy (photo opposite): The story of Josephine comes to mind, a mother of 5 children who had to flee a massacre. She found herself alone with a foster family, not knowing where her husband and children were and whether they were still alive. She cried a lot, those around her tried to console her, encourage her to pray rather than cry, but she didn’t listen to anyone. Meditating moms came to see her and advised her to learn TM but she didn’t believe it, she had many doubts. I managed to encourage her and educated her in TM.

At first she did not feel much and she continued to have doubts, but from the 3rd day meditation began to take effect in her. She was starting to feel calmer, more at ease, finally the zest for life returned and she no longer cried, she was smiling. Everything started to get better, she walked to the market after three weeks and heard someone call her name – Josephine, Josephine, Josephine! It was her husband: they kissed and he told her that he was there with their children at the Center for the War Displaced. She is grateful to Maharishi [the sage who spread TM around the world] for this beautiful technique because she believes it was through daily practice that luck smiled on her and she found her family. They have all learned TM and come to the TM Center every week to participate in group meditation.

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Across different cultures, continents and life circumstances, everyone feels the same benefits of TM. A few brief testimonials from Nancy and Bamande’s students… 

« I closed my eyes, I started to meditate. I felt so good that I forgot everything. I even slept. I felt my mind so calm …  » – Student (young adult)

“I meditated at home right after school at night; in the morning I woke up and even before eating I had the same experience. I sat down, closed my eyes for 15 to 20 minutes and after that I felt that my head was calm; at one point I almost forgot everything because I was thinking about what I was going to teach the children, I was really more flexible in the way of thinking (…)  » – Student / teacher

« I’m not angry anymore, I have a lot of freedom … »  – Elderly woman“My experiences with the Transcendental Meditation program are positive. My breathing problems have improved; I have been appointed to committees, and at the school administration level, since the start of the TM program here parents are more interested in the education of their children: there are fewer late payments. Children work better, they play better without causing accidents. «   – Primary school principal

« It’s fantastic. We are well rested, after 20 minutes the memory returns to its initial state. «   – Student (young adult) 

-> Would you like to financially support this charitable project? You can make your donation here, deductible from Swiss taxes, through our registered charitable association (please include the mention « Congo »). Details here: https://www.friedensinitiative.ch/en/home/donate/

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Our support for Eastern Congo (2) [July 2021]

Our support for the teaching of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique in one of the poorest and most troubled regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. We share below some photos of the recent work of our teachers on site, bringing the benefits of TM to displaced and traumatized populations in schools and churches, as well as for groups of orphans, widows, teenage mothers and people with disabilities. Don’t hesitate to help if you feel like it!

 The simple, natural and effortless TM technique brings deep rest that dissolves fatigue and stress and brings positive energy, expanded awareness, stability and confidence. Neither religion nor philosophy, it is practiced comfortably seated with eyes closed, for a moment in the morning and at the end of the afternoon. This is a precious tool for these populations suffering from traumatic stress, who live in great poverty and uncertainty about the future.

50 years of scientific publications have shown that TM strengthens the immune system, improves physical and mental health and human relationships, develops more creativity and expands awareness. Numerous studies have shown its positive impact in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorders, especially among war veterans.

During the last months, our teachers Bamande and Nancy, who came from Uganda for this project and whose extraordinary work we salute here, have taught TM courses for many groups. The demand grows, for the benefit of those who learn and who feel great relief and new optimism in their predicament. At this stage more than 2000 people have already learned the TM technique there.

Our Espace MT / David Lynch Foundation office in Geneva financially supports this project, in collaboration with the Swiss TM organization. Even small donations can help one or more people learn to transcend. Through our recognized charitable association Global Peace Initiative – Switzerland, your donations can be deducted from Swiss taxes. Your support has also enabled the acquisition of 290 chairs (a luxury in this region, very useful for deep meditation!) And the construction of essential sanitary facilities. How you can contribute

Below: these displaced people, who had to flee their village in a hurry and abandon everything and survive in precarious conditions, find a new serenity through TM. 

     

The local Bishop (pictured here), the driving force behind the project, has done a remarkable job of informing and organizing to bring the benefits of TM to as many people as possible. He was recently awarded the Maharishi Award for his outstanding contributions to society and his organizational power. « The Bishop has never been able to study, » shares Bamande, « he considers this Award to be his diploma. » 

The Bishop explains: “I have suffered for a long time in my life. I will never give up TM because it has helped me spiritually, lifted me up inside. I have matured on the inside. »

The refugees are also starting to help each other weave makeshift mattresses with local plants, so that they can sleep other than on the ground. Thanks to our help, essential sanitary facilities are also being installed (photo to the right).   

More than 1% of the region’s population now practices TM and this surge in positivity and stability is felt in the social atmosphere: the presidents of Uganda and of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have recently visited (photo below) to announce a massive investment in road construction to the three neighboring towns, which will greatly contribute to the prosperity of the region. In addition, a large religious organization has decided to hold its assembly there for the first time, involving 2,000 guests, which will also help the economy. 

Recently, when interested schools asked the authorities for formal authorization to include moments of TM in the school day, these authorities not only accepted but sent a request asking for the introduction of TM in the schools that they supervise. 

Do you have questions about this project? Do not hesitate to contact Léonard: leonard@fondationdavidlynch.ch or 079 626 48 43. 

Below: Group TM for a group of widows. Many of them have seen their husbands killed in horrific conditions, just as so many orphaned children who are now learning TM have lost their parents in terrible conditions. One of the first benefits of TM for these underprivileged populations is improved quality of sleep: getting to rest rather than being kept awake by nightmares and post-traumatic stress. These displaced populations have had to flee their villages, abandoning their possessions and simply finding food is difficult, especially for large families. 

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Support for the Congo… (1) [April 2021]

These young students are about to learn the TM technique for children

Espace MT / David Lynch Foundation office in Geneva-Carouge supports the teaching of Transcendental Meditation (TM) in schools and for all in a particularly poor and unstable region in Eastern Congo. A beautiful project to which we invite you to join if your heart tells you so! (link below for donations)

Two TM teachers, Bamande Tsonga (originally from Uganda) and Nancy Dede, are currently working hard to teach TM to many students, teachers and parents in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Teaching takes place in French and Swahili.

Simple and natural, TM brings great relief to those learning it in this particularly poor region, marked by frequent eruptions of violence and a lack of security. Many of the people in the pictures with this article have been internally displaced, and often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. They are too poor to contribute to the TM course fees and we have provided the blue plastic chairs visible in the photos, more comfortable than the old wooden benches.

This is why the Espace MT / David Lynch Foundation office in Geneva, in collaboration with those responsible for the teaching of TM in the DRC, invites you to support this great project. Our goal is to collect around CHF 4000 per month to cover compensation for teachers, travel and hotel costs (they come from abroad) and their insurance, as well as a contribution to the improved infrastructures (buildings, school equipment). An investment of CHF 4000 has already been made for many chairs, two computers, a printer, telephones and speakers.

Your donations will help teach more and more students and adults, also in the capital Kinshasa and gradually in other areas. Any contribution, large or small, is accepted with sincere gratitude. Your donation is deductible from Swiss taxes, through our registered charity, the Global Peace Initiative – Switzerland association (contact details below). 

This project started in a school-church, at the initiative of the local bishop who was very impressed with the benefits of TM. 35 teachers and pastors followed him, then a hundred parents, then secondary school students and primary school students (800 students have already learned [April 2021]). The idea is to incorporate two daily TM periods into the school curriculum; teachers have already been trained in this direction. Influential, the bishop intends to extend the teaching of TM to other churches and schools, as well as to Kinshasa. 

These pictures are heartwarming and say more than long paragraphs… Below: Our colleague Bamande Tsonga explains Transcendental Meditation to a group of teachers. 

Please join us! Include the word “Congo” with your donation. You can indicate the desired use of your donation (MT teachers’ fees, school infrastructure, teaching children / parents / or teachers, etc.) Bank details of our registered Swiss charitable association: https://www.friedensinitiative.ch/en/home/make-a-donation/

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Leonard, author of this blog and director of Espace MT / office of the David Lynch Foundation in Geneva: leonard@fondationdavidlynch.ch or 079 626 48 43. If you wish to make a donation and it is easier for you to entrust it directly to Leonard in Geneva,this is also possible: Léonard will transmit it to our association and a receipt will be issued.

Parents practice yoga postures before TM meditation (above)…

Above: The TM instructors, with your support, have also started teaching TM in orphanages. These children have lost their parents in dire circumstances and often suffer from acute traumatic stress. TM also brings rest and relief to very young single mothers (below).

Churchgoers practice TM after religious service (above).

Chairs arriving! A luxury in this poor area, which helps a lot for comfortable transcending !

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—> INVITATION

“MEDITATION, CREATIVITY, PEACE” — a fascinating, new 70-minute documentary on filmmaker David Lynch.

At the David Lynch Foundation representative office in Geneva, av. de la Praille 35, 1227 Carouge. Upcoming viewings to be announced.

Admission is free and all are welcome, but please register as seating is limited : leonard@davidlynchfoundation.ch or 079 626 48 43. In English with French subtitles.