International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019 83
services to schools and prisons to study TM. The
NIH agencies gave TM nearly $23 million from
1992 through 2010, then the awards stopped.
Siegel offers evidence that the NIH finally
discovered or admitted that, with all the new
studies about many forms of mindfulness and
meditation that are equally effective yet offered
for low fees or are free, TM is nothing special.
TM’s latest effort at proselytizing through many
high-profile celebrities who support the David
Lynch Foundation may be an effort to rescue a
failing and deceptive business model.
Furthermore, studies have shown that all forms
of meditation may be overhyped with respect to
their effectiveness for lowering blood pressure
and bringing about inner harmony. The one-size-
fits-all offerings of most yogic and meditation
styles may be too good to be true.
Another anecdote here regarding David Lynch:
In 2014, Lynch had a major showing of art at the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in
Philadelphia. David Lynch: The Unified Field
was Lynch’s first major art show in the United
States.1 Lynch graduated from PAFA 2 years
before I began attending in the early 1970s. As
alumni, my colleague Brian O’Neill and I
attended the show with hopes of hearing Lynch
lecture, but his lecture was sold out. By
coincidence, we were behind the lecture hall
when Lynch appeared alone outside the back
door, smoking a cigarette. Brian, an amateur
photographer, walked up to him and requested a
photo and brief interview, to which Lynch
complied after he put out his cigarette. The
scene made me wonder: What’s with the
nicotine? A major promoter of TM does not
have the means or desire to kick a bad habit.
On page 144, Siegel states the “goal of this
book” is to “empower concerned citizens,
particularly parents, to confront and expose
TM’s deceptions and secrets ...The welfare of
children is what matters.” As TM exposés go—I
have several in my collection—Siegel’s book
functions very well. It offers a solid survey of
what TM is all about for people new to the sect
and is also a great reference for anyone familiar
with TM. If any school director has questions
1 See https://www.pafa.org/davidlynch
about David Lynch’s foundation to promote TM
in public schools, give them this book
immediately. We owe it to the children.
About the Reviewer
Joseph Szimhart began research into cultic
influence in 1980 and began to work
professionally as an intervention specialist and
exit counselor in 1986. Since 1998 he has
worked in the crisis department of a psychiatric
emergency hospital in Pennsylvania. He
continues to assist families with interventions
and former members in recovery. In 2016 he
received an ICSA Lifetime Achievement Award.
services to schools and prisons to study TM. The
NIH agencies gave TM nearly $23 million from
1992 through 2010, then the awards stopped.
Siegel offers evidence that the NIH finally
discovered or admitted that, with all the new
studies about many forms of mindfulness and
meditation that are equally effective yet offered
for low fees or are free, TM is nothing special.
TM’s latest effort at proselytizing through many
high-profile celebrities who support the David
Lynch Foundation may be an effort to rescue a
failing and deceptive business model.
Furthermore, studies have shown that all forms
of meditation may be overhyped with respect to
their effectiveness for lowering blood pressure
and bringing about inner harmony. The one-size-
fits-all offerings of most yogic and meditation
styles may be too good to be true.
Another anecdote here regarding David Lynch:
In 2014, Lynch had a major showing of art at the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in
Philadelphia. David Lynch: The Unified Field
was Lynch’s first major art show in the United
States.1 Lynch graduated from PAFA 2 years
before I began attending in the early 1970s. As
alumni, my colleague Brian O’Neill and I
attended the show with hopes of hearing Lynch
lecture, but his lecture was sold out. By
coincidence, we were behind the lecture hall
when Lynch appeared alone outside the back
door, smoking a cigarette. Brian, an amateur
photographer, walked up to him and requested a
photo and brief interview, to which Lynch
complied after he put out his cigarette. The
scene made me wonder: What’s with the
nicotine? A major promoter of TM does not
have the means or desire to kick a bad habit.
On page 144, Siegel states the “goal of this
book” is to “empower concerned citizens,
particularly parents, to confront and expose
TM’s deceptions and secrets ...The welfare of
children is what matters.” As TM exposés go—I
have several in my collection—Siegel’s book
functions very well. It offers a solid survey of
what TM is all about for people new to the sect
and is also a great reference for anyone familiar
with TM. If any school director has questions
1 See https://www.pafa.org/davidlynch
about David Lynch’s foundation to promote TM
in public schools, give them this book
immediately. We owe it to the children.
About the Reviewer
Joseph Szimhart began research into cultic
influence in 1980 and began to work
professionally as an intervention specialist and
exit counselor in 1986. Since 1998 he has
worked in the crisis department of a psychiatric
emergency hospital in Pennsylvania. He
continues to assist families with interventions
and former members in recovery. In 2016 he
received an ICSA Lifetime Achievement Award.
