By Contrary to what his nightmarish films would have you believe, David Lynch – director of classics such as eraser head, Mulholland Drive, blue velvet and twin peaks – is actually a pretty cool guy, and Lynch himself credits Transcendental Meditation above all else.
“When I first heard about meditation, I was completely uninterested,” he says in his autobiography/personal development guide. Catch big fish: meditation, awareness, creativityexpressing a sentiment many chronically upset and skeptical people can relate to.
This changed when I came across the phrase, “true happiness lies within,” which is often associated with meditation. At first, I was frustrated by its trademark ambiguity. “I don’t know where ‘inside’ is or how to get there” – part of him felt there was some truth to it.
But what really got him interested was seeing the effect Transcendental Meditation had on his sister.After meditating for six months, Lynch said, “I noticed something in her voice. The change, the quality of happiness, and I thought, that’s what i want”
so LynchAn ambitious but highly anxious filmmaker working on his first feature film, he went to the Transcendental Meditation Center in Los Angeles to see things for himself. There, a woman who looked like actress Doris Day told him to close her eyes and chant a mantra.
The effect was almost instant. “It was as if I was in an elevator and the cable was cut,” Lynch wrote. “Boom! I was in bliss – pure bliss. And I was just there. Twenty full minutes passed, but in hindsight they felt like two minutes .
Transcendental Meditation, commonly abbreviated as TM, is a form of meditation developed by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid-1950s. TM became popular in America during the psychedelic era and was practiced by cultural icons such as the Beach Boys and The Beatles.
TM works like this: Find a quiet place, sit down, and set a timer for 20 minutes. Close your eyes and concentrate on the mantra. This is what you repeat in your mind to stay focused and in the present moment. Stop when the timer rings and repeat later. Oh don’t forget to breathe.
TM is not an exact science, you can change the rules to suit your needs. If you prefer to lie down rather than sit down, lie down. Depending on your preference, you can mediate for hours or minutes. Also, you don’t have to meditate every day to reap its benefits.
Mantras are personal. Some prefer a simpler sound, imitating the stereotypical monks you see in movies. Others chose meaningful words or phrases such as “have a nice day” or “my body is a temple”. I do not mind.
When you meditate, you don’t have to chant a mantra from beginning to end. “At some point, if you find yourself forgetting your mantra or feeling frustrated, you can let go of your mantra and let your mind drift where you please,” says Adam Zanjie.
Zanjie is a filmmaker who attended the David Lynch Graduate School of Film Arts at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. At school, he not only studied Lynch’s style, but also learned how to meditate, which he continues to this day.
TM is not a science, but its effects on the human body can be scientifically measured. Studies have shown that meditation can reduce negative emotions, anxiety, depression, neurosis, and blood pressure while improving learning, memory, and self-actualization.
Like her sister, Lynch became a different person when she started meditating. Weirsville USA: David’s Obsession Universe Lynch Author Paul A. Woods describes Lynch before TM as “living on caffeine and nicotine[…]every setback, big or small, weighed heavily on his nerves.” doing.
Lynch himself agrees. “I had everything going my way,” recalls an exciting and at the same time stressful time when his career was just beginning. “I was probably doing what I wanted to do more than anything else: make movies[…]but I just wasn’t happy.”
TM helped Lynch find that happiness. catch big fishBut it’s familiar. That is you. There is an instant sense of well-being – not goofy happiness, but dense beauty. ”
Lynch’s observations are rooted in Eastern philosophy. “The principles of Transcendental Meditation,” Maharishi once explained. The mind is always moving in the direction of greater happiness. ”
“Because the essence of being is bliss, the mind during Transcendental Meditation takes an inward course in a more spontaneous way. I will obey.”
If you’re less into philosophy, Lynch offers a more grounded and practical account of how Transcendental Meditation can help your average Joe live a better, happier life. . It’s really worthless.
When we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we sometimes forget that the universe is bigger than our immediate environment (family, work, etc.) and the social norms that determine how this environment works.
TM helps take off what Lynch calls “the smothering rubber clown suit of negativity” in a very Lynch-esque paragraph. A silly image, but that’s the point. Frustration and self-pity are laughable when you look at life from a perspective that goes beyond birth and death.
As we meditate, Zanjie will chime in and say, “Cleanse your mind of unnecessary negativity. There is a difference between legitimate anger and selfish anger that poisons us.” Help him realize that something that’s bothering him is “not as important as it seems right now.”
TM not only improves personal relationships, but also enhances creative endeavours. In her autobiography, Lynch concludes, “Anger, melancholy and sadness are beautiful things in stories, but they are like poison to filmmakers and artists.”
“They are like a vise that holds creativity,” he continues. “When you’re in that grip, you can barely get out of bed, much less experience the creativity and flow of ideas. You need clarity to create. You have to be able to catch ideas.”
What Lynch writes for TM provides an easy entry point into his otherwise impregnable filmography. It tends to present his protagonist’s fears and anxieties as grotesque monsters that must be overtaken rather than plain foes who must be outwitted.
Perhaps this is Lynch’s way of showing that negative emotions are irrational – they play an important role in complex debates about the true (and perhaps non-existent) meaning of life. However, they are simply the result of chemical imbalances in the brain that can be remedied through meditation.
