Associated Press – March 14, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa – David Lynch says his nonprofit foundation will donate $1 million to fund scholarships for students who want to learn a meditation technique taught at the Maharishi University of Management.
Lynch, who directed “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Dr.” movies and the “Twin Peaks” TV series, is a longtime practitioner of Transcendental Meditation.
Students practice TM as part of their course of study at Maharishi University, which was founded in Fairfield in 1971. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in computer science, art, design, business and sustainable living.
Lynch, 62, plans to give $1 million in scholarships for students to attend the university and learn TM. The goal is to increase the number of students who meditate on the Fairfield campus to 2,000.
He started the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace in 2005.
“America urgently needs at least one university to teach the science of peace – and to actually promote peace in the world,” the filmmaker said in a statement Thursday.
The university will host “David Lynch Weekend” on April 25-28. It will feature performances by Donovan, Moby and Chrysta Bell.

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