I am a therapist specializing in recovery from toxic groups, abusive churches, and cults.
As you might imagine, I'm quite concerned about the faith-based initiatives started by Bush -- and now continued by President Obama. (I'm a huge Obama fan, but feel he is making a mistake on this issue.)
I'm a strong believer in freedom of religion. But I also have a passionate belief in the separation of Church and State.
Religious tolerance is one thing. Putting money in the hands of Scientology and similar groups is another.
You may have heard of the upcoming McCartney/Lynch Concert to benefit the David Lynch Foundation's initiative to teach Transcendental Meditation in the public schools.
Many critics feel this is a clear Church/State violation because of the religious trappings of Transcendental Meditation.
Read on if you are concerned about civil liberties, including the separation between church and state.
UPDATE: A member of Transcendental Meditation has started a "viral" email campaign to throw the poll below. The poll ran 70% against TM in the public schools until the campaign began. Do they realize that this diary has scrolled off the "new" diary list, and the only one reading the diary now is them?
Also I made an error in a comment below. TM mantras "em, eng, ema, enga, aing, aim, ainga, aima" are all names/invocations for Saraswati, not Lakshmi. The main point that the mantras are names for Hindu gods remains.
Concerned scientists question research claiming benefits from practicing Transcendental Meditation. Former members, such as myself, allege secret agendas. Clergy are unsure if TM contradicts their religion.
In this atmosphere, the David Lynch Foundation (DLF) sponsors Paul McCartney & Friends in concert. Reminding many of Tom Cruise's marketing for Scientology. Or Madonna's proselytizing for her Kabbalah "guru." Or any number of celebrities promoting the spiritual flavor of the month.
DLF states this "World Harmony Concert" will raise millions to introduce "TM/Quiet Time" into public schools.
We believe this violates the separation of Church & State. And a group of critics, including myself, have organized a free web event to discuss this controversy. (Details and registration here).
I personally believe meditation itself is one of Nature's miracles. And TM appears to be as good or better than other beginning meditation techniques.
The problem is TM is not a secular organization, despite their protestations to the contrary. A full discussion of TM's teachings goes beyond the scope of a blog post.
But here's the short version: TM is a mantra-based meditation that uses the names of Hindu gods to meditate on. In advanced courses, which DLF intends to promote to school-age children, participants are encouraged to buy rituals to Ganesh, Shiva, and other gods in order to have success in business, relationships, health, and wealth, among others. The major Hindu holy days are observed in TM centers. They claim to teach advanced courses on levitation, supernormal strength, fortune-telling, and other "spiritual" powers. TM sells magical gems that they say bring luck, romance, health, and other benefits. One advanced course, the "Science of Creative Intelligence," teaches basic Hindu theology in Western "scientific" language. Teaching that a number of religious leaders state is in conflict with a variety of other world traditions. (Details on TM's religious trappings are here.
Many consider meditation valuable. And Hinduism represents one of the world's great religions and a high point of humanity's spiritual traditions.
Our concern is religious meditation forms do not belong in public schools. (Our group represents no religious agenda, such as Christianity,and includes Buddhists, Christians, and atheists.)
And then there's the issue of cost. I was trained as a TM teacher and personally know that the core instruction in TM takes less than an hour. The current cost to learn a technique that can be learned from books? $2,500. And that is just the beginning. There are dozens of advanced courses. One course, that is presented entirely on videotape, costs a cool $1,000,000. That's not a typo. One million dollars to learn spiritual teachings.
Advanced meditators are encouraged to meditate for up to 6 or 8 hours a day.
There is no long-term research on the effects of Transcendental Meditation on school age children. So in a very real sense, religious objections aside, the DLF and TM organization will be conducting psychological experiments on our children. (Details on reported negative side-effects of long-term Transcendental Meditation here.)
To top this off, allegations of child abuse have dogged the TM organization for decades: a personal account of neglect and sexual abuse, a news account of sexual abuse on a Maharishi compound in India.
This is the program that the DLF wants to introduce into the public schools, training teachers and administration how to incorporate "TM/Quiet Time" into the daily routine of the school.
If you are concerned about civil liberties and the separation of church and state here are some resources you may find interesting:
Information on Free Web Event: Tell TM, Hands Off Our Schools!
Websites critical of TM: Minet.org, Suggestibility.org, TranceNet.net
Government-supported report finds poor meditation research & only modest benefits (Warning: 450+ page PDF)
David Lynch Foundation
Concert Details
YouTube VIdeo by a well-known TM "Governor": Celebrating the Maha-Shiva-Ratri Holy Day
National Geographic Video of what TM terms levitation or "yogic flying"
Letter from concerned parent about teaching TM in San Rafeal schools
I look forward to your discussion of the Church/State implications of teaching the Transcendental Meditation program in public schools.
J.