Clint Eastwood joins initiative to teach TM to war veterans

Clint Eastwood and film-maker David Lynch, along with a panel of researchers, veterans and active duty soldiers, on 13 December will launch “Operation Warrior Wellness”—a national initiative to teach 10,000 veterans and their families a simple meditation practice for preventing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The launch on Monday, December 13, will highlight a conference on the research and applications of Transcendental Meditation for PTSD, to be held at the Paley Center for Media in New York at 11 am (ET), and webcast live. Mr. Eastwood will appear via video. Joining Eastwood and Lynch in person will be British comedian Russell Brand, a supporter of the David Lynch Foundation.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans suffer from PTSD

An estimated 30% to 35% of the 1.64 million U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001 meet DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Almost half of all veterans with PTSD have never sought help of any kind, and of those who do, half receive inadequate treatment. Care for all these veterans could cost society between $4.0 and $6.2 billion biannually. Researchers will present evidence showing that Transcendental Meditation can be an effective aid for veterans suffering from combat stress and PTSD, including anxiety, depression, anger episodes, hypervigilance, insomnia, and substance abuse.

Meditating veterans from World War II, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan will report on how Transcendental Meditation has aided their recovery from PTSD.

Operation Warrior Wellness partnering with veterans organizations

Operation Warrior Wellness is currently working in partnership with national and local veterans groups, the Doe Fund for homeless veterans in New York City, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), Hope for the Warriors, and Urban Zen.

“When I heard that 18 veterans commit suicide every day, and that more soldiers have died by committing suicide than die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, I knew the Foundation had to do something to help,’ Mr. Lynch said. “Operation Warrior Wellness is raising the funds to teach 10,000 veterans with PTSD and their families to meditate. But that is just the beginning. There are hundreds of thousands of suffering vets—and everyone of them should be able to learn to meditate if they want to.”

“Change Begins Within” Benefit Event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The David Lynch Foundation is hosting its second annual “Change Begins Within” benefit gala on December 13 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Funds raised during the gala will help fund Operation Warrior Wellness.

The Foundation was established in 2005 as a 501(c)(3) to provide scholarships for instruction in Transcendental Meditation for at-risk individuals—inner-city youth, veterans, American Indians on reservations, and incarcerated adults and youth. To date, the Foundation has funded 150,000 people to meditate.

Full story, including other celebrities speaking at the conference.

If you would like to learn more about Transcendental Meditation, please click here.