Transcendental Meditation benefits outweigh cost
As a meditator and a college instructor for more than 20 years, I felt disappointed by the Emerald’s assertion that something as “controversial” and “pseudo-scientific” as the discussion of Transcendental Meditation by David Lynch and friends does not belong at the University of Oregon (“Meditation movement lacks proper credentials,” ODE Nov. 10).
For the sake of balance I strongly suggest that, before readers of the Emerald take this blast by the editors against the validity of the research on TM to heart, they take a look at tm.org. There they will find references to scores of articles with impeccable science that have been published in such peer-reviewed journals as The Scientific American, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Business and Health, and Science, and learn that the TM technique is “the most thoroughly researched program in the field of human development. The National Institute of Health has spent more than $21 million conducting research on the beneficial effects of TM on heart disease alone.”
The benefits for workers, addicts, students and the elderly revealed by this compendium of research will act as an antidote to the tired old cliches you have used to describe a uniquely
enriching and scientifically validated mental practice. I for one am thankful that the university setting is still the place where exploring controversial topics, weighing the value of scientific research, and welcoming the challenges presented by the David Lynches of the world belongs.
Susan Williams
Local Coordinator for the David Lynch Foundation
Eugene