On 18 November, the world-famous director David Lynch has visited Kyiv for a charity dinner, aimed at gathering money to help teach Ukrainian veterans of war the Transcendental Meditation technique, which is promoted by David Lynch and his Foundation. According to Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainians can make use of this technique for psychological rehabilitation.
Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine
I think this is also very actual and very important for Ukraine during the time of war, during the time of Russian aggression, illegal annexation of Crimea, aggression in the East of my country. When hundreds of thousands of soldiers return back from the war, psychological rehabilitation is vital for them. And having your ideas, your methodology would be extremely important.
David Lynch, artist, filmmaker
Now there’s the David Lynch Foundation and we raise money to give transcendental meditation to any human being anywhere. In Ukraine huge receptivity to this technique. People […] were eager to learn about transcendental meditation and, I think, many people will want to learn.
Asked if he believes those returning from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine will engage in transcendental meditation, David Lynch said:
“Post-traumatic stress is a real thing. Those suffering from it have nightmares, and in the daytime it’s nightmare as well. It affects them so much, it affects their families, affects their friends. They have drugs. But drugs don’t get rid of it – they mask it. Alcohol masks it. It doesn’t get rid of the trauma,” UNIAN reports.
In turn, transcendental meditation lets such people “dive within to the deepest level”.
He concluded that the goal of his David Lynch Foundation is to channel the ideas of transcendental meditation to every human being. “Mankind was not made to suffer,” he said, “Happiness is our nature.”
