TM-EX NEWSLETTER TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION EX-MEMBERS SUPPORT GROUP Volume V, No. 3, Summer 1993 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USA Dhanvantari No More - Deepak dumped? TM-EX has obtained a copy of two letters; one sent to ''Capital Chairman and Council Governors'' dated July 16, 1993. from the Maharishi National Council of the Age of Enlightenment. The letter states: ''There have been many inquiries from Maharishi City Capitals asking what our policy should be regarding Dr. Deepak Chopra as they have heard he has left the Movement. This is to inform you that Dr. Chopra has confirmed with us that he has left the Movement to pursue his own career and desires to live a ''private and quiet life.'' From his side Dr. Chopra has said that Centers, Governors, Teachers, Sidhas and Meditators ''should ignore him and not try to contact him or promote him in any way.'' Accordingly, we should discontinue promoting him, his courses, tapes and books (including Creating Health, Return of the Rishi, Perfect Health, Quantum Healing, Unconditional Life, etc.) Since he is no longer affiliated with our Movement in any way, if you happen to hear that Dr. Chopra is coming to your area to lecture you should in no way try to contact him or organize for him. This policy is extremely important for the purity of the teaching. The pure and complete knowledge of Maharishi Ayur-Ved will now be available to the whole population in the United States and Canada through the courses Maharishi is preparing for the Maharishi Ayur-Ved Universities which are being opened throughout North America. With these new courses Maharishi Ayur-Ved Universities will launch a campaign to create a disease-free, crime-free society and a problem-free government and fulfill the highest goals of an affluent society. Jai Guru Dev --------------------------------------------- Dr. Chopra responded on July 30, 1993: Dear Friends, There have been many rumors and misunderstanding concerning my relationship to the TM organization. As I know many of you personally and consider all of you my friends, I thought it only fair to write to you myself. Several months ago I decided that it would be best if I no longer held any official position in the Movement. I had never felt comfortable in the role of a leader and wished to pursue some personal projects separate from those responsibilities. Soon after that time I was approached by Sharp HealthCare, a large group of hospitals in San Diego, who I had met previously, and asked to set up and direct the Institute for Human Potential and Mind Body Medicine. I view this as a wonderful opportunity to intergrate complementary medicine into a traditional western medical setting. I have, therefore, moved my office to San Diego to allow me to donate much of my time to this project. The Institute will offer consultations and treatment programs, a wide range of educational programs and carefully documented research to monitor the progress of every patient and the effectiveness of the treatment. This first out-patient clinic will open at the beginning of September and a residential facility will open a couple of months later. The programs will include Ayurvedic medicine but we will also be open to other therapies that are found to be effective. We feel that the Institute will help to realize the goals of everyone who has been working in the area of mind-body medicine and alternative healthcare. I am not really sure what is meant when people ask me if I've left the Movement. I still practice TM and the Sidhis and will continue to recommend them and refer people to the Centers and Clinics. I will also continue to support the Movement in other ways as my schedule and other responsibilities permit. Although my focus is on in San Diego I have not forgotten the support and friendship that so many of you have shared with me over the years. I assure you that I will always remain available to anyone in the Movement who feels the need [to] clarify things a little and that we can all help create a [sic] and healthy world. Best Wishes --------------------------------------------- What about the Chopra techniques? A call was placed to Dr. Chopra at Sharp HealthCare in San Diego requesting that a sidha's ''primordial sound technique'' be checked. A telephone appointment was given with Dr. Chopra. Dr. Chopra's assistant, Sara, stated that the the ''primordial sound technique'' is still being offered under the name ''Quantum Sound Workshop.'' Is this a repeat of the Bloomfield saga? The next Quantum Sound Workshop is scheduled for November 16-17, 1993 in San Diego. In the late seventies, Dr. Harold Bloomfield the author of the best selling books TM Discovering Inner Energy and Overcoming Stress and Happiness, TM and Enlightenment came into disfavor with movement officials. Bloomfield reportedly was associated with self-improvement techniques that the movement felt violated ''the purity of the teaching." On one occasion at MIU, the then president Larry Domash went to the MIU Bookstore and asked that all Bloomfield's books be removed from the shelves, sealed in cardboard cartons and then be placed in the trash dumpster. Does Chopra's leaving the movement signal a split with movement officials? Does Chopra's willingness to use "other therapies" conflict with what the movement calls ''the purity of the teaching''?~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CALIFORNIA Sharp HealthCare announces an unorthodox, holistic institute In an unconventional move, the Sharp HealthCare group is creating an institute to offer and study holistic medical practices, including the teaching of a Massachusetts physician known for unorthodox techniques. To be called the Institute for Human Potential and Mind Body Medicine, the program is designed to mold traditional Western medical concepts with the theories of Dr. Deepak Chopra. He is an author and lecturer long associated with transcendental meditation (TM), called a cult by critics but a relaxation technique by advocates. Chopra, an internal medicine specialist now in Lancaster, Mass., said he will be the Institute's executive director, won't care for patients, but will spend about half his time here lecturing and conducting research. The institute will include an initial staff of six physicians led by Dr. David B. Simon, a San Diego neurologist who will be its clinical director. The planned institute has applied for a $30,000 grant from the National Institute of Health's new Office for Alternative Medicine to study the impact of Chopra's concepts on about 90 patients, Simon said. In his books, lectures and interviews, Chopra has advocated a variety of holistic practices. They include TM, homeopathy, herbal therapy and philosophy called ayurvedic medicine, which is based on ancient practices from India. TM is a movement led by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru in India who taught the Beatles meditation in the 1960's. Some TM courses purportedly teach people how to levitate, walk through walls and achieve eternal youth. Asked his age, Chopra said: ''Biologically 25; chronologically 47.'' Some national consumer groups have questioned Chopra's efforts. The Loma Linda-based National Council Against Health Fraud said in a 1991 newsletter that ayurvedic medicine ''has become a marketing term for a variety of health products and services of limited, questionable or unproved value, which may serve as gateways into the TM cult.'' Regarding Chopra, Dr. John H. Renner, a physician who heads the Kansas City-based Consumer Health Information Research Institute, said; ''He is a mesmerizer. If there was Nobel Prize for selling, he would win it.'' Also in 1991, the Journal of the American Medical Association ran an unprecedented, lengthy article in which a staff editor accused Chopra and two co-authors of deceiving the prestigious journal in an earlier article on Indian medicine. The Journal's article said the authors failed to disclose their involvement in organizations that promoted or sold products and services about which they wrote. Chopra says he now has no official involvement with the TM organization, but acknowledged TM's use. He said he also has disassociated himself from organizations that promote TM, the Maharishi, or ayurvedic medicine. Rex Dalton, The San Diego Union, July 8, 1993 ~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OHIO TM movement purchases Ohio hotel-resort The World Plan Executive Council of the transcendental meditation movement is expanding its metropolitan hotel holdings to further its TM programs. The council closed late Friday afternoon on the purchase of the 249-room Aqua Marine Hotel and Resort in Avon Lake, Ohio, near Cleveland, according to council president Thomas Headley of Santa Barbara, Calif. Headley said the council acquired the Ohio facility as part of an overall program in the United States. Other hotel holdings are in Houston, Denver and Detroit. ''One of the goals is to have a group of people meditating in metropolitan areas--instead of out in the country--to reduce the crime rate because of the affect of meditation on the larger population,'' Headley said. ''We have several different operations we can use now--Houston, Detroit--which were. Part of these would continue to be used as hotels. An Ohio newspaper reported the assessed value of the property for tax purposes was $4 million. He said the facility will emphasize a healthful lifestyle. The hotels offer ''a comfortable, natural environment; no smoking; a natural, wholesome diet; programs on diet, therapy, a very pleasant environment for a person coming in,'' he said. The name [of the facility] will be changed to Heaven on Earth Inn. The council has a policy of moving along relatively quietly, Headley said. The council is one of several different, but affiliated organizations within the TM movement based on sharing the same philosophy as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Marni Mellen, The Fairfield Ledger, August 30, 1993~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MASSACHUSETTS FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION INVESTIGATES MAHARISHI PRODUCTS Advertisements placed in many "new age" magazines state: We proudly offer Maharishi Amrit Kalash as the ultimate answer. No other Ayurvedic preparation equals it in effectiveness and strength. No other herbal formula contains so much knowlege compressed into one combination. It is composed of rare and precious herbs hand-gathered from the thick forests and Himalayan mountains of India. In 1986, the three foremost Ayurvedic physicians of our time dedicated themselves to making Maharishi Amrit Kalash a reality once more. They are Dr. V.M. Dwivedi [deceased], Dr. B.D. Triguna, and Dr. Balraj Maharishi. These eminent doctors are top advisors on Ayurveda to the government of India. By reviving the formula for Maharishi Amrit Kalash, they now intend to benefit the health of the whole world. Does the product live up to the claims? When you buy Amrit Kalash is it the same as the last time you bought it? What are the standards used in production? What are the standards of quality and purity? FDA Inspection The Food and Drug Administration conducted an inspection of MAPI, Inc. [Maharishi Ayurvedic Products International], 417 Bolton Road, Lancaster, MA on January 13-22, 1992. The following is the text from a report by Ellen P. Madigan, Consumer Safety Officer. This information was acquired via a Freedom of Information Act request of the Boston District Office. FDA Report On January 22, 1992 the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services-Public Health Service issued the following report: For the products: Maharishi Amrit Kalash; Rasayana for Women; Rasayana One; Rasayana Two, this inspection found the following: 1. There are no written procedures for the receipt, identification storage, testing, and approval or rejection of components or the final product. 2. There are no written procedures for the production, and process control that assures the drug product has the desired strength, identity, quality, and purity. 3. Lot yields are not calculated and reconciled with the theoretical yields. 4. Firm does not have batch records for production that are approved by the most responsible person. 5. There is no master batch records to assure uniformity in production from batch to batch and no packaging and labeling procedures and batch records. 6. Samples of product do not include a test to verify the identity of each component of the product. 7. Each component is not tested for conformity to all appropriate written specifications for purity, strength, and quality. 8. Labels are not held under strict control so as to determine discrepancies between quantity of drug product finished and the quantity of labeling issued. 9. There are no expiration dates assigned the products as determined by appropriate stability testing. Freedom of Information Act Request A follow-up Freedom of Information Act request was submitted. I must deny your request for...an inspectional report with results and exhibits from the investigation of ... MAPI, Inc., Lancaster, MA.' I understand our Boston District Office sent you the FDA 483 (Inspectional Observations) issued at the inspection of January 13-22, 1992. However, the related Establishment Inspection report and a second one dated November 19-22, 1991, along with exhibits and related records presently constitute records compiled for law enforcement purposes, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings. Thus, they are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 (b) (7) (A). The Department of Health and Human Services' regulations implementing the Act, 45 CFR 5.68 (a) (1), also provide for nondisclosure of such law enforcement records. Copies of the Act and regulations are enclosed for your information. Sincerely yours, Donald C. Mc.Learn Acting Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs, FDA~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON D.C. Knott Necessarily Meditations on a calm and coherent Washington It's not going to be the same around here without the followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. You know how it works with Mr. Maharishi and his crowd. You go to a room, get really comfortable, focus on a word and repeat it to yourself for however long necessary. Good things are supposed to follow these sessions of Transcendental Meditation. I recently tried this. My mantra was lotto. Lot-to. Lot-to. Lot-to... So far, no luck. Perhaps it's because I'm not a professional. The professionals recently completed their seven-week goodwill stint in the city, spreading ''calm and coherence'' through meditation. I don't know about you, but I was so ''calm and coherent'' while they were in town that I was beginning to feel like Perry Como. They came to the District, 4000 of them did, seeking to reduce violent crime. Predictably, they claim to have been highly successful, cutting the city's violent crime rate by 24 percent from June 7 to July 30. Try telling that to the poor man from Manassas [VA] who noticed he was missing part of his anatomy on the morning of June 23. [The man's wife cut off his penis]. Well, he no longer is the poor man from Manassas, and he no longer is anatomically incorrect. His name is John Bobbitt, and her name is Lorena Bobbitt, and they now have lawyers and the like, and sadly, it appears as if their marriage is in serious trouble. Or perhaps the group's ''calm and coherence'' did not reach the outer suburbs of Manassas. Whatever. There is a price tag for all this ''calm and coherence,'' and it comes to $20 million a year. Somebody by the name of John Hagelin (Remember him? He was the Natural Law Party's presidential candidate last year and scored a whopping 31,408 votes) says the group is willing to keep 2,000 meditators in the city if the D.C. government or a group of private donors will pick up the $20 million tab. ''The mayor should move quickly on this or be prepared to answer to taxpayers,'' Mr. Hagelin says. This has the scent of blackmail. Pay up if you want to maintain the ''calm and coherence'' in your midst or return to your murderous ways. To be honest, this is not too ''calm and coherent'' on the part of Mr. Maharishi. He shows us the light for seven weeks at no charge. Now he wants $20 million a year to leave the light on. Name one power company that can get away with this kind of rate increase. It's doubtful Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly is ever going to respond to Mr. Maharishi, much less pay $20 million a year for his services. Besides, there's is some dispute over whether the group was successful. The Metropolitan Police Department is still examining the results. One fact is certain. There where six more homicides this year than last year. Obviously, the message did not reach everyone. But that's all right. Nobody is perfect. Mr. Maharishi certainly talks a good game. If he didn't, he wouldn't be a guru. You know all that flooding in the Midwest? Mr. Maharishi makes a connection to his group. Now follow closely. Many of the meditators in the District were from the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. Their absence in the Midwest, Mr. Maharishi says, contributed to the flood by creating ''an upset in the balance of nature.'' Hmm. It sounds good. Yeah, I can buy that. The group also claims to have had a positive effect on the Clinton administration. Basically, if you're Mr Maharishi, you can take credit for just about anything that happens. Let's say you get hit on the head by a gang of thugs this week. Exactly,. It will be because Mr. Maharishi's group is no longer in town. I want to believe in Mr. Maharishi's power, although not at $20 million a year. The District was able to muddle along without Mr. Maharishi before June 7 and undoubtedly will be able to do so in the weeks, months and years ahead. Seriously, there are places in far worse shape than the District. There are places where 4,000 meditators could achieve lasting prominence by spreading ''calm and coherence.'' Sarajevo, to name one, could use some ''calm and coherence.'' Maybe the D.C., government should book the flight for the meditators. Please, make it one way. Tom Knott, August 3, 1993, The Washington Times~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UNITED STATES Where has all the money gone? The movement has requested $20 million dollars to keep Washington D. C. calm. Who will pay the tab? The movement publicity machine suggested the Washington, D.C. government or a group of private donors should pay. I personally like the idea of a group of private donors picking up the tab. I also have a lead on the perfect group. This group has large sums of money. Its stated goals are to ''eliminate the problems of crime and all behavior that brings unhappiness to the family of man.'' We are a family, aren't we? When the Maharishi inaugurated his World Plan in 1972 he laid out seven goals. The "Seven Goals" of the World Plan are;'' 1- To develop the full potential of the individual, 2- To improve governmental achievements, 3- To realize the highest ideal of education, 4- To eliminate the problems of crime and all behavior that brings unhappiness to the family of man, 5- To maximize the intelligent use of the environment, 6- To bring fulfillment of the economic aspirations of individuals and society, 7- To achieve the spiritual goals of all mankind in this generation Admirable goals - lofty ideals. I worked for them for almost 10 years myself. But who can afford the $20 million dollar price tag? I think we have a perfect match in the Maharishi's own bank accounts. Let's ask the Maharishi to fund the $20 million. Although he claims to have ''no pockets,'' he does talk about the ''field of all possibilities.'' I think he has access to field of all possible ''laxshmi'' - money. The organizations of which he is the ''spiritual head,'' have transferred MILLIONS out of the United States to ''affiliated organizations" over the past few years. Maharishi, please ask those affiliates to help keep Washington D.C. calm. Please keep that ''positive effect on the Clinton administration'' going. It is within your World Plan goals, after all.~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WPEC & MIU TAX RETURNS From the ''World Plan Executive Council - United States (WPEC) and Maharishi International University (MIU) tax returns, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act; "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, Id# 95-2485909, 95-279040:" WPEC 1987: WPEC transferred under the category Grants and Allocations, for the nine months and year ending June 30, 1987: $117,000 to Chapters of World Plan Executive Council - United States, $43,937,000 to the Maharishi Educational Fund, $233,000 to the International Association for the Age of Enlightenment, $356,000 to the Maharishi International University of Natural Law, $18,000 to International affiliated organizations, $915,000 to Association of the International World Plan Executive Council. Total WPEC 1987: $45,576,000. WPEC 1988: WPEC transferred under the category Grants and Allocations, for the nine months and year ending June 30, 1988: $6,117,000 to the Maharishi Educational Fund, $191,000 to the International Association for the Age of Enlightenment, $391,000 to Age of Enlightenment Trust, Total WPEC 1988: $6,699,000. MIU 1983-1984: Maharishi International University's Board of Trustees have adopted a resolution for the payment of $2 per day for the academic year per full time paying student to MERU for assistance in the development of course material and research. During the years ended June 30, 1984 and 1983 the University complied with the resolution. Amounts for course development were: $ 303,000 in 1984, $ 320,000 in 1983, Total To MERU 1983-84: $623,000. In addition, the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to pay fees to the Age of Enlightenment Trust (AET) for assistance in the development of course materials and research. The fee amounts are based upon a stipulated percentage of fees of the various courses offered at the Washington, D.C. Campus. Such course development fees were: $ 171,632 in 1984, $ 569,000 in 1983, Total to AET 1983-84: $740,632. MIU 1985 MIU's 1985 tax return states: Maharishi International University's board of Trustees have adopted a resolution for the payment of $2 per day for the academic year per full time paying student to MERU for assistance in the development of course material and research. During the years ended June 30, 1985 the University complied with the resolution. Amounts for course development were: $257,000 in 1985, Total to MERU 1985: $257,000. In addition the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to pay fees to the Age of Enlightenment Trust (AET) for assistance in the development of course materials and research. The fee amounts are based upon a stipulated percentage of fees of the various courses offered at the Washington, D.C. Campus. Such course development fees were: $ 16,000 in 1985, Total 1985 To AET: $16,000. MIU 1986 MIU's 1986 tax return states: Maharishi International University's board of Trustees have adopted a resolution for the payment of $2 per day for the academic year per full time paying student to MERU for assistance in the development of course material and research. During the years ended June 30, 1986 the University complied with the resolution. Amounts for course development were: $ 174,000 in 1986, Total 1985 to MERU: $174,000. $53,828,632 Transferred According to WPEC and MIU tax returns, the total transferred to TM's affiliates was $53,828,632 over just four years. This was only from two of TM many branches. The tax returns include the following statement: ''All organizations receiving disbursements have organizational purposes identical or similar to this organization in that they further the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programs and meet the organizational and operational test of Section 501 (c) (3) of the IRS Organizations."~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- UNITED STATES TM fees increase Would you like to get enlightened? Would you enjoy saving the world? Do you want immortality? Do you want to help the crime rate in Washington, D.C.? Well the price has just gone up. Remember the days when ''personal instruction'' was just your allowance? Not any more -- TM fees have hit the ceiling. Maharishi recently ''spoke with a friend in America,'' and realized that TM was too cheap. Not anymore - he has raised the ''course fee'' to $1000, that's correct, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Meaningless sounds apparently are not cheap. The TM-Sidhi program now costs $4000. That's $210 for each word (sutra); I guess words with meanings cost less, per unit than meaningless sounds?!. I remember when TM was $45 in the 70's. Then came the ''Merv Griffin wave'' and with the wave TM's cost went to $125. With the 80's inflation, the fee went up to $200 and then, $395. Well it's 1993 - I think Mr. Mahesh has gotten greedy. $1000! Dr. Benson's book, The Relaxation Response, is a steal at $4.95.~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON D.C. Rumors from the course Not only did the crime rate get lowered in Washington, D.C. this summer, but great rumors were generated. The thing that we all remember about the movement is its use of rumor. You don't have to lose the enjoyment of Rumor Central just because you decided to leave the movement. A dictator said that everyone tells little lies. But when you tell a ''big lie'' people think, ''that's not true - but there must be some truth in it". The the rumors from Washington D.C. are top quality. [Here we go]: Sixteen Mother Divine women are ''H O V E R I N G.'' You got it. Yes, they are h o v e r i n g. During one of Mr. Mahesh's conference calls to the course, he commented on one women's experience of hovering: ''did her neighbor see it?'' Even Mahesh had a question about someone hovering. On the subject of hovering, a women in the South Jersey Capital of the Age of Enlightenment has reportedly also started hovering. There is some doubt in the community if it is possible: she is not too stable, they whisper. Personally, if they can demonstrate hovering, I'd be back. Although I'm not sure I'd be welcome. During one of Mahesh's calls he discussed EXPERIENCES. One woman reported experiencing extreme ''heat'' in meditation. Mahesh reportedly responded, ''a very fortunate experience.'' I've heard since then that a whole lot of people have been experiencing a lot of ''heat'' in meditation since the course. "How many have had that experience--let's see hands--almost everyone." While on the subject of experience, I thought ''it would be good'' to look back at some of the movement's claims of ''experiences.'' My source is an advertisement from 1977, "The Year of Ideal Society - Third Year of the Age of Enlightenment." The pamphlet is called ''Enlightenment and the Siddhis Citizens' Advanced Course - To Develop Consciousness as the Field of All Possibilities and to Create An Ideal Society In the Age of Enlightenment.'' Note the spelling of the word ''Siddhis'': two 'd's'--this is the traditional way it is spelled. It seems the movement could not copyright the common word ''siddhi,'' so they changed the spelling to ''sidhi.'' In the section "Experience of Higher States of Consciousness Through the Transcendental Meditation Program," I found the following experience reported: ''During the flying technique I had a vision of my spine and chest being just white light, and then my body moved up and down on the couch two, three times. The next experience was of hearing my body touch down on the floor. I say 'hearing' because I didn't feel it until after I heard it, so soft was the landing. I moved about a six-foot distance at that time.'' C.T., New York. WOW--what an e x p e r i e n c e. Where is this levitating meditator? They would surely have won the ''yogic flying competition locally, nationally and internationally.'' Remember the rumor of the man who was levitating over Lake Lucerne? Or the women who became invisible? And then there was the man who created a Mexican dinner--hot to the touch. And I haven't forget the promise of enlightenment in five to seven years. Well, enough for this issue, this is Rumor Central signing off. Patrick Ryan, MIU Class of '80~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TM linked to Cult Cartel Having been denoucned one after the other, the cults have decided to counterattack as a group through a new weapon, called FIREPHIM. Such a cartel is an old dream, dating back to the '80s, when the Church of Scientology and TM formed an ephemeral "St. Bartholomew's Committee." But in recent years, wounded by the same enemies, the Justice Department, the Department of General Investigation, and above all ADFI (the Association for Defense of the Family and the Individual), an anti-cult organization that has become the cults bete noire, the groups are reorganizing. In 1990, Rael and Daniel Gounord, head of the French Scientologists, met in Claremond-Ferrand. Soon jailed in Lyon with other Scientology directors on criminal charges in connection with the church's operations, Gounord got a letter from a Unification Church official, and not long after there followed a meeting among representatives of Moon, Scientology and Rael, and later contacts were made with other groups and an association registered with authorities. The groups, agreeing never to discuss philosophies, is based in Strasbourg to influence the European Parliament, which meets there. FIREPHIM has joined demonstrations against racism and xenophobia in France and Germany, saying that their human rights, too, are being violated, because they are ''minority religions.'' The new lobby has declared January 7 a day of ''National Observance of Religious and Philosophical Movements,'' and is setting up what appears to be an intellectual wing. Thus far they have gained the support of a Sorbonne professor. Under the Mask of the Cartel, Le Point, February 27, 1993~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TEXAS TM Meditators Turn Away Hurricane Gilbert [The Age of Enlightenment News Service issued the following Press Release reprinted here in its entirety:] September's Hurricane Gilbert, the most intense Atlantic Storm on record, spared Texas, and Transcendental Meditation (TM) is claiming credit. As Texans prepared for the worst, the TM centers in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio mobilized large groups of experts in Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's TM and TM-Sidhi program to meditate and practice TM-Sidhi Yogic Flying together. TM center leaders believed that the coherence these meditators created in the environment would avert the impending disaster. According to Michael Lang, chairman of the Austin Maharishi Capital of the Age of Enlightenment, it was their group practice that turned the terrible storm away from the heavily populated southern Texas cost. The Call Went Out ''Our efforts began in earnest on Wednesday, September 14,'' Mr. Lang said, ''when the Austin American-Statesman's headlines warned, 'Killer Hurricane nears Mexico,' and 'Texans preparing for the worst.'' As the storm wheeled toward the Gulf of Mexico, people all along the coast boarded up their homes. Galveston was completely evacuated, and many people fled inland from Corpus Christi. As far as Austin, 200 miles from the coast, shelters filled up with the refugees. ''Gilbert was predicted to hit land at Corpus Christi, near the center of the coast,'' Mr. Lang said. ''That was when the call went out to all our experts in Texas. we told them to come practice Yogic Flying and TM together twice each day in as large groups as possible. We knew that would help the situation.'' The Yogic Flyers Saved Texas A community of TM meditators called Radiance has grown up in Austin, and in its center is a large, golden-domed structure specially built for group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program. On Wednesday evening the Radiance Golden Dome was full. In Houston twice the usual number of people came to the evening group practice. In San Antonio the number also doubled, and Dallas reported a big turnout. Altogether nearly twice as many Texans as usual were practicing Yogic Flying together by Wednesday evening, and all the different groups were practicing at the same time. Mr. Lang said the positive effect of their collective practice was immediate. That night the winds of Gilbert dropped from 175 to 120 mph and its expected landfall began shifting south from Corpus Christi. ''After our morning and evening group practice on Thursday, the projected path of Gilbert was revised again. If it stayed on course, Gilbert would hit land some 200 miles further south,'' Mr. Lang said. ''But National Weather Service forecasters still predicted a returned higher winds and a more northern landfall in a heavily populated area. Then, on Friday morning, a live TV report from the shores of Corpus Christi showed a dissappointed newsman saying he hadn't expected to be able to stand on the beach at this time, and in fact it wasn't even raining.'' Gilbert reached land on late Friday afternoon about 120 miles south of Brownsville and the US/ Mexico border. It never returned to its original force and never took a northern turn to the Texas coast. After four days of anticipation, over 400 journalists, manning hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment, left Corpus Christi with little to report. A Very Humanitarian Path On Saturday, September 17, The New York Times said on its front page, ''Hurricane roars into Mexico again, its fury diminished...Few people are in its way...Storm lets loose heavy rain and tornadoes but spares southern Texas coast.'' The Times' article read, ''It vented most of its fury in lightly populated areas...The storm, billed as the hurricane of the century...failed to do the catastrophic damage to the United States mainland that many had feared. In the Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, with winds of 175 to nearly 200 miles an hour, the storm killed a total of at least 66 people and caused damage in the billions of dollars. But its finale was relatively merciful as it turned away from heavily populated parts of Texas and northern Mexico.'' According to Mr. Lang, the influence the twice-daily group meditations had on Hurricane Gilbert demonstrated the ''Maharishi Effect,'' a phenomenon of coherence that occurs throughout society and the environment when a small proportion of the population practices the TM and TM-Sidhi program together in a group. Mr. Lang said that the Maharishi Effect works at the deepest level of nature:''During the TM and TM-Sidhi program a person naturally experiences the state of pure consciousness, the most silent and powerful state of the mind. According to Maharishi's Vedic Science, pure consciousness is the most fundamental level of natural law, what modern physics is now describing as the unified field of all the laws of nature. When we enlivened the unified field during our group program, we expected greater balance to be created in nature. Hurricane Gilbert's behavior has borne this out.'' Mr. Lang concluded with the simple advice: ''Whenever collective disaster threatens, people should meditate and practice Yogic Flying in groups to avert the disaster.'' Age of Enlightenment News Service [This press release was produced by the TM movement.]~ We ask: Should the families of the 66 people who died blame the meditators for sending the hurricane toward them? Should we inform the insurance companies that paid the claims into the billions of dollars of those whom caused the hurricane to avoid its natural course? What happened to the ''coherence generated by group flying'' when the Mississippi River went over its banks? Using TM-movement logic of "painting the bulls-eye around the arrow," we could say: "TM Causes Hurricane Damage into the Billions."~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear TM-EX, Please could you send me your newsletter for about 2/3 worth of the enclosed donation. The other 1/3 is for 'the cause.' I've seen the newsletter before, about a year or more ago. I don't want to be 'anti-TM' anymore that I was pro-it at one time. But certain issues are arising where it would be helpful to have a bit of pepper to clear the debris out. (Sounds a lot more calculating than it is.) This sum is a one off and won't want to continue. I saw an interesting article by Dr. Susan Blackmore in the ''New Scientist' on meditation. Its far from perfect, but it represents the best I've yet to read. Apart from the TM movement's sort-of-mechanized and slap-dash manipulation of meditators for its own absolutist aims, I reckon that it is highly likely that certain types of meditators are [prone to these] conditions. We need to know a great deal more about these cocktails of techniques and metabolisms/mind sets/conditions. The Benedictines teach a mantra meditation, and the ways that it has been taught that I have encountered lead me to believe that, while it is not commercial or absolutist, it is quite as glib as TM. As someone who, I now realize, has a propensity towards suppression and denial I reckon that a mantra meditation very easily becomes a means toward inner dictatorship and was wholly inappropriate for any length of time for me. This is a theory but it is interesting that I started to get migraines about a year after starting TM. I might have got them anyhow but the technique was supposed to relieve that sort of thing. Our times like quick panaceas and are not sympathetic to relative answers...I continued for eleven years, so maybe in this, at least, I may be in time with the times! JW, Belfast, Northern Ireland Dear Sir/Madam, As you can see from the enclosed newspaper articles, TM is being presented in a big way in Dublin. Could you please send some up to date literature concerning TM. Is there a video dealing with the harmful effects of TM? Thank You, ICM, Dublin Dear Sir or Madam: I came across a reference to the TM-EX group in Kurt Butler's ''A Consumer's Guide to Alternative Medicine.'' Please send me information and/or newsletter. For your convenience, enclosed is a self-addressed envelope. RB, Columbus, OH~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cults in the News LaRoucheites Running for Office Nancy Spannaus, a follower of imprisoned political extremist Lyndon La Rouche is running as an independent candidate for governor of Virginia. She said that La Rouche supporters will run in 19 Virginia House of Delegates districts in the November election. There are some 100 seats in the running. Cult Observer Cults on Tokyo Campuses The Japan Times reported last fall (''Groups pray for prey in universities,'' 9/26/92) that an estimated 20 religious groups are active on the Kombu Campus of Tokyo University. They include the Unification Church, Soka Gakkai, and the Institute for Human Happiness. '' There are many 'gentle people' on campus, sometimes in pairs of girls, who approach students and say 'let's have a talk' with a 'soft sell' smile.'' Some rent houses or rooms near the campus to conduct their activities. The busiest time is immediately after new students enroll. Many of those come from the provinces and have no connections in Tokyo. The paper quotes Kenjo, 23, who nearly got involved in a group whose members initially only gave advice on campus life and then urged him to attend a two-day course, followed by on of seven days. Kenjo was urged to join the group in communal living, but refused and left it. FAIR NEWS [London, Spring 1993,3] Books on Cults High in Reader Poll Churches That Abuse, a book by Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA) sociology professor Ronald Enroth, was chosen sixth in a readers poll taken by Christianity Today for the 1993 ''Book of the Year.'' (Christianity Today, 4/5/93. [Professor Enroth, a nationally known authority on cults and aberrant Christian groups, is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Cultic Studies Journal, which is published by the American Family Foundation.]~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Exit Counseling: A Family Intervention How To Respond to Cult-Affected Loved Ones, by Carol Giambalvo. Published by the American Family Foundation, the leading professional organization devoted to cultic studies, this important new book, with an introduction by Dr. Michael Langone, provides practical information for families concerned about a cult-involved relative. It describes the process of exit counseling, a voluntary approach to helping cultists makes informed decisions about their group affiliation. Exit counseling is the most effective alternative to the controversial process of deprogramming, which involves coercion. Combatting Cult Mind Control, by Steven Hassan. MUST reading for anyone who has been touched by cult phenomena. A former Moonie tells his story. Zillions: Consuper Reports for Kids, P.O. Box 54861, Boulder, CO 80322 Kids learn critical thinking by evaluating popular culture and advertising aimed at them. TM and Cult Mania, by M.A. Persinger, Ph.D. An in-depth investigation into the claims of TM, hypnosis and research. [Available from TM-EX] Trauma and Recovery, by Judith Lewis Herman, M.D. An in-depth exploration into the commonalities of traumatic experience and the process of healing. [See review, Summer 92] Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by R.J. Lifton, M.D. A classic textbook and case study on victims of thought reform and the elements of thought reform programs. [See excerpt, Winter 92] Heaven on Earth: Dispatches From America's Spiritual Frontier, by Michael D'Antonio. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter visits America's spiritual communities including MIU, Fairfield, Iowa. [See review, Spring 92] Cultic Studies Journal: Psychological Manipulation and Society. A refereed semi-annual journal published by the American Family Foundation (AFF), P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959. The CSJ seeks to advance the understanding of cultic practices and their relation to society, including broad social and cultural implications as well as effects on individuals and families. [See ``The Use of TM to Promote Social Progress in Israel, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1986] Cult Awareness Network (CAN) News, 2421 West Pratt Blvd., Suite 1173, Chicago, IL 60645, (312) 267-7777. Founded to educate the public about the harmful effects of mind control as used by destructive cults. CAN confines its concerns to unethical or illegal practices, and passes no judgment on doctrine or beliefs. How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life, by Thomas Gilovich. An investigation of how even highly educated people become convinced of the validity of questionable or demonstrably false beliefs about the world, and the unfortunate impact of these beliefs. Skeptical Inquirer, Box 229, Buffalo, NY 14215. Journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, which attempts to encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view. [See Winter 1983-84, ``An investigation of the effects of TM on the Weather.''] NCAHF Newsletter (National Council Against Health Fraud), P.O. Box 1276, Loma Linda, CA 92354. To aid in activism against health fraud, misinformation and quackery. Influence: The New Psychology of Modern Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. A landmark publication in furthering our understanding of the persuasion process. Now Available From TM-EX Reprints--including early TM studies, journal research and news articles. Investigative reports from BBC, CBC and other news media available on audiotape. Write for a complete list.~ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The TM-EX Newsletter is published by the Transcendental Meditation Ex-Members Support Group (TM-EX), a not-for-profit educational corporation. Subscription information: Receive the TM-EX Newsletter, plus special Bulletins and Research Review for a donation of $50 or more; OR with a minimum donation of $25, receive the TM-EX Newsletter. Please be advised that TM-EX has received tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For inquiries: P.O. Box 7565, Arlington, VA 22207, (202) 728-7580, FAX (703) 841-2385. Our volunteers respond more quickly to mail requests; all telephone calls will be returned collect. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS TM-EX? Transcendental Meditation Ex-Members Support Group (TM-EX) was founded by former Maharishi International University (MIU) faculty, students, TM teachers, sidhas, meditators, and caring relatives of members of the TM movement. TM-EX is a support network to help former and current members of the TM movement in making the transition to life outside the TM movement. As former members, we have experienced the transition and are available to assist you. WHAT DO WE DO? We are a referral network and source of information to movement members, former members, exit counselors, family members and experienced therapists and professionals. THE TM-EX newsletter is a forum for a varitety of opinions that often cannot be expressed within the movement without fear of reprisal. Contributors do not represent any particular philosophy, opinion or lifestyle. Although numerous religious based groups have challenged TM in the past, TM-EX is not affiliated with any of these. Its members come from a wide variety of religious and philosophical backgrounds. What we do have in common, is our desire to assist those leaving the movement; to make the public aware of the fraud within the movement; and the physical and psychological harm, that has resulted for many, from the practices of the TM Program. We welcome your input: comments, articles, letters, help with printing and postage. Call or write TM-EX: P.O. Box 7565, Arlington, VA 22207 Messages: (202) 728-7580 Fax: (703) 841-2385