Operation Warrior Wellness: David Lynch Gives $1M to Teach Veterans Meditation

Legendary auteur, musician, artist, occasional nightlife impresario, and swoopy-coiffed inspiration David Lynch has just donated $1 million to his foundation’s Operation Warrior Wellness program, which offers courses in Transcendental Meditation to soldiers and veterans.

This comes on the heels of a recent pilot study that explored the affects of Transcendental Meditation on Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans afflicted with Post-Traumantic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which affects an estimated 25-40% of our veterans. The study was lead by Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D., a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University, renowned psychiatrist and 20+ year NIH researcher, and author of “Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation”. A selection of Iraq/Afghanistan veterans undertook a disciplined Transcendental Meditation practice, and the resulting data showed a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms of  PTSD after just eight weeks.

The Operation Warrior Wellness program is the newest initiative of the David Lynch Foundation, whose Global Outreach program has brought TM to schools, homeless shelters, and prisons, as well as American Indian communities. Lynch has been a longtime practitioner and advocate of Transcendental Meditation, a silent mantra meditation technique based on ancient Vedic practices that was developed and popularized by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid-1950s.

“When you dive within, that true happiness is there…it’s like a strength, it’s so beautiful…it’s bliss. Physical, mental, spiritual happiness starts growing from within.” Well-said Mr. Lynch, and thank you.

(photo by Jerome Bonnet)