Martin Scorsese: Meditation (TM) made a real difference in my life
In December 2010, Martin Scorsese appears throught a video he made, at a benefit gala to raise funds for the David Lynch Foundation to bring Transcendental Meditation to at-risk youth, veterans suffering with PTSD, and the homeless.
In it, the legendary director offers his encouragement to David and his initiative to bring Transcendental Meditation to "anyone who needs it." Scorsese goes on to say that he knows the common response is often to "tough it out" or "suffer." Since starting Transcendental Meditation himself he has realized that that "may not be the way it's supposed to be."
The creator of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas told at the benefit gala in New York that he had been practising Transcendental Meditation for several years and that it had made a real difference.
It’s difficult to describe the effect it’s had on my life. I can only mention maybe a few words: calm, clarity, a balance, and, at times, a recognition.
Scorsese, whose new documentary about George Harrison, "Rooted in Peace", said he could only imagine the kind of stress that affected veterans, but spoke of how practising Transcendental Meditation had altered his response to everyday anxiety triggers, and eased the stress of movie-making.
Video transcription:
David, I wanted to offer my support an encouragement in these efforts to help children, veterans and anyone who needs the help to overcome the stress through meditation.
Of course, a lot of drama is projected onto the screens of our consciousness, or minds, day and night; patterns which are learned from childhood: intrigues, resentments, hatreds, and terrorism. The most difficult ones, the most wrenching anxieties can be triggered by anything at all. They come upon us, they grab ahold of us, and we identify them as real because they are so immediate, and I guess the common response is to “tough it out”, in other words, “suffer”.
And I’ve been a firm believer in suffering all my life. My pictures are kind of volatile and they can certainly attest to that; and yet recently I learned that you may not have to suffer as much to make them (the movies). That may not be the way its supposed to be
I think of children. Children are particularly susceptible to absorbing their anxieties. They look at the adult world and they see a scary place, big. They try to read the looks and jesters of the adults, they try to master it all, whether it’s homework or mathematics, or the emotional entanglements between the parents.
And for veterans who have endured the trauma of war, I сan only imagine the potential barriers—-the fears and the suffering. So, for the last few years I’ve been practicing meditation, trying, and it’s difficult to describe the effects it’s had on my life. I can only mention maybe a few words: calm, clarity, a balance, and at times a recognition--and it’s made a difference
On this night, as you’re trying to raise the funds necessary to being Transcendental Meditation to students, veterans, homeless men and women, native Americans-—anyone suffering from strong stress, I want to thank you and I encourage all of you who are gathered here tonight to support this foundation, David’s Foundation, (the David Lynch Foundation).
Thanks and good night.
"Our Foundation was established to ensure that any child in America who wants to learn and practice the Transcendental Meditation program can do so. The TM program is the most thoroughly researched and widely practiced program in the world for developing the full creative potential of the brain and mind, improving health, reducing stress, and improving academic outcomes".