Elizavet Carranza was born in Mexico and grew up in a small town on the Colorado plains. In her senior year of high school she stumbled upon MIU on the Internet. She came to a Visitors Weekend, and she was so excited about attending that she brought her father and two sisters to a subsequent Visitors Weekend.

“It was nothing I ever imagined,” said Elizavet. “I liked the organic vegetarian food, Consciousness-Based education, one course per block, meditation. I thought this school knew what education was about.”

Elizavet planned on majoring in business, but an English composition class sparked a desire to take up writing. She had always been interested in writing and communication but never imagined life as an author. Now she is pursuing a major in creative and professional writing and a minor in cinematic arts and new media.

“Transcendental Meditation is the reason why I feel so confident in my writing now,” she said. “Before I came here, I based my decisions on surface things. But through practicing TM, I’ve felt more and more myself, and writing just kept coming back to me.”

Elizavet has always enjoyed participating in her community. In high school she was the Colorado state officer of public relations for the youth organization Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. When she arrived at MIU last August, she immediately joined the English Buddy Club and later became president. Since she joined, the club’s attendance has increased ten-fold. Elizavet also likes doing public relations, so her next goal is to join MIU Student Government as communications coordinator. In addition, she has been hosting events during Visitors Weekends.

Elizavet has no shortage of subjects to write about, including stories of her upbringing and strong family connections. She enjoys exploring various genres and feeling inspired by her classes. “Everything is in your grasp as long as you have the intention,” she said

Jim Brooks, MD, is an adjunct assistant professor of physiology and health at MIU, whose paper on Maharishi AyurVeda^SM and mental health recently appeared in the Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute. His book, Reflections on Maharishi AyurVeda and Mental Health, was published by MIU Press in 2016.

Dr. Brooks has studied Maharishi AyurVeda since 1983 and trained with some of the most renowned Vaidyas from India. He was founding director of the Maharishi AyurVeda Health Centers^SM in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, and published the first research paper on the use of Transcendental Meditation^® for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Books is also a teacher of the TM^® technique and has incorporated the practice of the TM technique and Maharishi AyurVeda in his private psychiatry practice. He has witnessed dramatic improvements in the areas of depression, anxiety, addiction, and schizophrenia with his patients and became passionate about educating people, especially mental health professionals, about the contributions of Maharishi AyurVeda to mental health.

“The approach to mental health in the West is to treat symptoms,” he said. “There is a lot of evidence that TM and other modalities can help prevent mental illness and addictions. The potential cost savings with Maharishi AyurVeda are staggering.” Dr. Brooks hopes that his book and paper can contribute to the understanding and adoption of Maharishi’s technologies in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders.

“The TM technique and other supportive modalities help people experience bliss consciousness,” Dr. Brooks said. “That is the most effective treatment for depression. Bliss is the best antidote to sadness; it melts away depression.”

At MIU, Dr. Brooks teaches the third year students in the online MS in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine program. “It’s rewarding to be able to help students get a deep understanding of Maharishi’s knowledge and Maharishi Vedic Science as it applies to health and Maharishi AyurVeda,” he said. “It’s fun to watch them evolve.”

Dr. Brooks is also a practitioner of Chinese medicine and classical five-element acupuncture. In addition, he and his wife Linda facilitate couples workshops in the US and South Africa.

Michael Olmstead is a doctor of dental surgery who practiced biocompatible dentistry in California and New Zealand. He has also been a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation^® technique since 1985 and has incorporated Maharishi AyurVeda^® in his practice and personal life for decades.

Dr. Olmstead moved to Fairfield two years ago to participate in MIU’s Maharishi AyurVeda^® programs. To formalize his decades of education, he enrolled in the MS in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine Program. In addition, he is teaching courses in anatomy, physiology, and modern health in the BA in Ayurveda Wellness and Integrative Health Programs and plans to develop a dental component for the master’s program.

“I love teaching; it makes me happy,” Dr. Olmstead said. “It’s been very gratifying and fulfilling to use my knowledge and experience and contribute to MIU and the community. ‘Knowledge is structured in consciousness.’ How awake and rested the teacher and the student are will significantly dictate the educational outcome. This process has effectively been shown to occur by using the Transcendental Meditation technique.”

Dr. Olmstead taught dentistry in Oahu, Hawaii, and he is currently a clinical instructor for the Dental Hygiene Program at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, IA. He has been interviewed on over 300 health radio shows and has written numerous consumer-based dental articles.

Dr. Olmstead also lectures weekly at The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa, is certified in Maharishi Marma Therapy, and is a member of MIU’s steering committee for developing and enhancing the Maharishi AyurVeda programs.

In his free time, Dr. Olmstead enjoys spending time in the remote Alaskan wilderness hiking and rock climbing.

Andrew Voskov’s company was one of three Fairfield businesses recently featured in a video produced by Amazon showcasing small business owners. Andrew was selected because he has a long history with Amazon, having joined in 2011.

Andrew earned an MBA with an emphasis on entrepreneurship from MUM in 2004. He also studied Maharishi AyurVeda^® and received a bachelor’s degree in Maharishi Vedic Science^SM. Andrew had always wanted to run his own business, and his interest in marketing and health led to the development of several health food products, which he started selling in 2006.

His first product was an ayurvedic coffee substitute, followed by herbal teas, spice mixes, and ghee. In addition to Amazon, his products are sold at Everybody’s Whole Foods in Fairfield and on his website, Tasty Superfoods.

Andrew credits MUM for helping him discover his career goals. “MUM is really good at nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “Having the ability to connect with yourself through the Transcendental Meditation technique is really an entrepreneurial pursuit. Entrepreneurship is becoming self-sufficient. My education gave me the clarity to have a direction.”

In today’s competitive and rapidly changing markets, Andrew has learned the importance of innovation and new product development for continued growth and survival. He is currently building a new business with a line of health food products for the expanding ketogenic diet niche.

Creating businesses and inventing products are two of the things Andrew enjoys doing most. His long-term goal is to keep developing new brands, make them successful, and then sell them to investors.

As a serial entrepreneur, he is constantly under pressure to monitor current trends, emerging marketplaces, and fluctuations of supply and demand. “TM is a powerful way of reducing the stress and worry of running a business and getting the mind to focus on what you need for the next level of success,” he said. “It’s an essential tool.”

Peter Ocsody was one of MUM’s five PhD graduates this year, and he received the Outstanding Student Award in business administration for his dissertation on the qualities of serial tech startup founders.

Peter learned the Transcendental Meditation^® technique in Hungary, where he studied economics and engineering. He came to MUM in 1991, earned an MBA with an emphasis in organizational development, and completed his coursework for his PhD in management.

Then he went on to work for several tech-based companies and created his own startups. As a consultant he helped the development of startups and small businesses and produced workshops and courses for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Over the past five years, he has built an entrepreneurial accelerator program in Florida. Currently, he is the chief strategy and operations officer at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation and Collaboratory, which helps develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region and provides resources and education to venture and social entrepreneurial organizations.

In 2014 Peter completed an advanced project management certificate at Stanford University, which inspired him to finish his PhD at MUM. He wanted to discover the inherent qualities that drive entrepreneurs forward in the sequential genesis of multiple tech ventures.

After interviewing 22 serial tech entrepreneurs, he applied the grounded theory research methodology and various software to find shared characteristics, which he distilled into four attributes: elastically nonconforming, abstracted serial monetizing, tech passioning, and heroed enterprising. According to his theory, habitual tech startup founders exhibit some mix of these four attributes.

When searching for parallels between Maharishi Vedic Science^SM and his research, he discovered pairs of opposite qualities coexisting harmoniously. “Entrepreneurs need to balance opposites, and the better they are at it, the higher their chance of building a lasting enterprise,” said Peter. “That’s what you do during the practice of the TM technique. You are more and more able to fluidly integrate opposites and create wholeness.”

From his own experience, Peter found that practicing the TM technique helps him maintain inner stability. “Entrepreneurship is highly unpredictable,” he said. “You have to have a strong internal locus of control, which means that you define yourself by yourself. TM really helps with being self-referral.”

Peter is currently working on several articles based on his research he wants to publish in professional journals. The model he developed can provide practical feedback to entrepreneurs about their strengths and weaknesses to determine what their focus should be. In addition, startup founders can learn in what domains they need supplementation via other entrepreneurs to create a viable enterprise.

In 2012 Courtney Thomas was released from prison for the third time and decided to change his life for the better. Now he is studying Maharishi AyurVeda^SM at MUM and wants to become a teacher of the Transcendental Meditation^®technique.

Courtney, who grew up in Chicago, has spent the past seven years on a personal transformation quest. He studied various religions, alternative health modalities, and meditation techniques. He discovered Ayurveda and adopted an ayurvedic daily routine and diet program that has significantly enhanced his progress. His interest in Ayurveda led him to the Transcendental Meditation technique and MUM.

“Finding Transcendental Meditation was that life-changing experience, along with its amazing results, that made me passionate about sharing this knowledge with others,” he said. He and his wife Arielle founded a nonprofit organization, Enlightened Individuals, to help others learn the scientific technologies Maharishi Mahesh Yogi developed for the purification and rejuvenation of the mind, body, and soul.

“I learned in the Science and Technology of Consciousness course how Maharishi said that higher states of consciousness had to do with the purification of the physiology and the nervous system,” he said.

Courtney finds that his experience of ayurvedic practices over the past three years is helping him with the intellectual understanding of the principles and philosophy of Maharishi AyurVeda^SM and is looking forward to teaching and applying this knowledge.

He and Arielle are currently attending the TM-Sidhi^® course, and Courtney has applied to the Transcendental Meditation Teacher Training course beginning this fall. After completing his undergraduate degree at MUM, Courtney wants to pursue a graduate degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

His ultimate goal is to build a Maharishi Peace Palace where he can offer integrative medicine modalities to people of insufficient means. He and his wife, who is starting her online MBA in sustainable business at MUM this fall, also want to transform their current real estate investment business, Noah’s Ark Investments, and build sustainable Vastu communities.