Ex-Beatles’ Gift to School Children: Meditation Training

An American super-gig featuring ex-Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will enable schoolchildren in South Wales to learn to meditate.

The fundraising concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall raised money for the David Lynch Foundation, which aims to promote the benefits of transcendental meditation worldwide.

A portion of the profits will enable the National Meditation Centre of Wales, based in Llandaff, Cardiff, to offer training courses in Welsh schools.

Centre director Helen Evans said: “The money will help teach 10,000 children to meditate across the UK – and some of that will be available for us in Wales.

“It’s fantastic because so little is known about transcendental meditation.

“When people hear it’s from the East they assume it’s a cult or a religion, which is a shame because it’s neither of those things.

“It’s not even a way of life, it’s just a technique to enable you to relax and help you cope better with your day.”

The concert, called Change Begins Within, was the first time Starr and McCartney had played together publicly in seven years. Their involvement was down to their beliefs in the benefits of transcendental meditation, a practice they learnt in the 1960s when The Beatles sought spiritual guidance from an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

“It was a great gift that Maharishi gave us,” McCartney told a news conference to promote the concert.

“For me, it came at a time when we were looking for something to kind of stabilise us toward the end of the crazy Sixties.

“It’s a lifelong gift. It’s something you can call on at any time. I think it’s a great thing it’s actually coming into the mainstream.”

The concert also featured Sheryl Crow, Donovan, Jerry Seinfeld, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, blues-folk star Ben Harper and dance musician Moby.

It raised an estimated $3m (£2m) for the meditative foundation set up by film-maker David Lynch.

While his screen credits include Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead, Lynch today dedicates his time to making meditation more accessible to schoolchildren.

Studies have claimed that transcendental technique can lower stress levels, anxiety and blood pressure.

It involves relaxing without concentrating on anything by sitting comfortably and chanting a mantra with eyes closed.

James Purvis, a Cardiff-based consultant for the National Meditation Centre of Wales, said the mantra aimed to create a pleasant and calming ambience. He said: “If you’re at school and the teacher’s nail scratches on the blackboard as she’s writing on it, we know that sounds unpleasant.

“But there are certain words or sounds that create an enjoyable melody that the mind can engage with – and that’s what the mantra is.

“Transcendental meditation is sitting quietly and comfortably while enjoying that mantra.”

Mantra Meditation Basics

Mantra meditations are a wonderfully simple and pleasant practice to adopt. A Mantra is a grouping of sound vibrations which have an effect on the mental and psychic consciousness. Although traditionally given by a Guru, in the absence of a Guru, the practitioner may choose his mantra. An important criterion for mantra selection is that it must appeal to the mind fully when spoken verbally.

Mantra chanting creates powerful vibrations which are said to be directed to the right “chakras” to attract divine forces. This process is said to mysteriously heal the spiritual, physical & psychological body. It is important that when the mantra is chanted, the words and their rhythm must be enjoyed and one must surrender oneself to this experience.

Mantras do not have any specific meaning. Their power lies not in the meaning of the word but through the vibratory effects of the sound that they produced when spoken verbally or mentally.

In fact, a Mantra should not be confused with religion. Just because a mantra refers to a Hindu God, it does not mean that it cannot be said by a Christian. Also, a Mantra should not be translated as this has the effect of altering the sound vibrations wherein lies the strength of the Mantra.

Repetition of a Mantra forms the basis of Mantra Meditation. Mantras for spiritual evolution should be practiced for a fixed amount of time each day. Repeating a mantra too much may not be right for sensitive or psychic people as it may affect them adversely. Generally, if you repeat a mantra for about 10 minutes every day, then, within a few days you will know whether the vibrations feel right for you.

Transcendental Meditation (TM) introduced by Maharshi Mahesh Yogi is also a form of Mantra Meditation where the participants are provided their personal Mantra.

Mantra Meditation is the easiest and safest form of meditation and can be practiced by anyone at anytime and under any conditions. The most common way of practicing Mantra Meditation is Japa. Japa (literally means ‘rotate’) is performed by repeating a mantra in sync with the rotation of a Japa Mala. A Japa Mala is a rosary of 108 beads where each bead is turned after the mental or audible recitation of the mantra.

Using a Japa Mala for Mantra Meditation is very effective as it provides an anchor to bring the mind back as it experiences wavering thoughts. The Mantra combined with the Japa Mala provide tangible anchors to which the thoughts are directed back as they spin out of control. That is why, Japa Meditation is one of the most recommended forms of meditation for the beginner.