Dr. Tony Nader Visits MUM

Dr. Tony Nader Visits MUM

Dr. Nader meeting the student panel

 

On stage with Dr. John Hagelin

 

The audience at Dalby Hall

 

With the entire student panel on stage

Tony Nader, MD, PhD, MARR, leader of the worldwide Transcendental Meditation® organization, visited MUM last month, meeting with students, faculty, staff, and community members. Dr. Nader has been connecting with students and young people around the world through social media, and for most MUM students this was their first time meeting him in person.

Dr. Nader conducted a Q & A at Dalby Hall with the help of a student panel. Students asked questions about a wide range of topics including higher states of consciousness, relationships, work-life balance, and Maharishi Vedic ScienceSM.

“It was a great experience,” said doctoral student Brian Glassett, who was one of the five students on the panel. “I really love being with Dr. Nader because he embodies the balance of heart and mind in one person. He is very clear with his logic and bringing out knowledge in a way that is wonderful to listen to.”

During his stay at MUM, Dr. Nader also hosted a livestream video on Facebook on finding one’s life purpose. This was the fourth in a series of talks Dr. Nader has given on social media over the past months, reaching over 3 million people.

“Dr. Nader expressed how energizing and inspiring his visit to MUM was,” said Adrienne Schoenfeld, Dr. Nader’s publicist. According to Ms. Schoenfeld, young people around the world are curious about subjects like consciousness, and Dr. Nader’s goal is to answer their questions from the perspective of scientific research as well as the ancient Vedic wisdom Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought out into the world.

Dr. Nader also had meetings with Maharishi School teachers and parents and members of the Invincible America Assembly. His meeting with the larger community of TM® practitioners was broadcast all over the world through Transcendental Meditation Centers.

Visit Dr. Tony Nader’s website here.

MBA Students Earn High Scores in Global Simulation

MBA Students Earn High Scores in Global Simulation

The MBA student team that placed in the 98th percentile at the 2019 CAPSIM Capstone business simulation (from left to right: Odonmijid Ganbold, Anas Mizyed, Tuvshinbayar Surenkhorloo, and Odontungalag Tserendorj)

 

The team that placed in the 94th percentile (from left to right: Kennedy Kamfwa, Zoey Jiang, and Benedick Mbecha)

 

Student team #3: Seble Aygoda, Wajahit Zahir, Dauson Kamara, and Girma Temesgen

 

Student team #4: Samedy Vorn and Yogesh Ghimiray

Two teams of students in the accounting MBA program recently continued an extraordinary streak of accomplishments in the CAPSIM Capstone business simulations, earning scores that placed them in the 98th and 94th percentiles, compared to 1,450 participating graduate-level teams from around the world.

Three students from Mongolia were on the team scoring in the 98th percentile: Odonmijid Ganbold, Odontungalag Tserendorj, and Tuvshinbayar Surenkhorloo, as well as Anas Mizyed from Jordan.

The team in the 94th percentile included Zoey Jiang from China; Kennedy Kamfwa, South Africa; and Benedick Etiandem Mbecha, Cameroon.

“The Capstone simulation provides an important third-party assessment of our MBA student development,” said Professor Andrew Bargerstock, who teaches the students’ Capstone course. “An MBA education is designed to prepare leaders for the future, leaders who possess good strategic and tactical insights based on data analysis and problem-solving skills. The accomplishments for these two groups demonstrate the high value created by the MBA education at our university.”

During the Capstone simulations, students play the role of top management executives who guide the decision-making of their enterprise through eight years of multifaceted decisions, including sales and marketing, product development, manufacturing operations management, finance, human resource management, and total quality improvement.

“Nothing can give the real feeling of being the CEO of a manufacturing organization but the CAPSIM business simulation game,” said Tuvshinbayar Surenkhorloo.

“My executive mind grew through the Capstone simulation. The simulation has built-in capabilities that enabled me to exercise key attributes of consciousness—comprehension, creativity, initiative, vigilance, and foresight,” said Benedick Etiandem Mbecha.

Among the competing universities in the top ten percent were University of California—Berkeley, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of North Carolina, University of Northern Iowa, University of Utah, Seton Hall University, Kansas State University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.

Sarah and Steven Michaluk—Transforming Health with Maharishi AyurVeda

Sarah and Steven Michaluk—Transforming Health with Maharishi AyurVeda

Dr. Steven Michaluk

 

Sarah Michaluk, clinical nurse specialist

 

The Michaluks enjoying the outdoors on Vancouver Island

Canadian health professionals Sarah and Steven Michaluk have been enrolled in MUM’s online MS in Maharishi AyurVedaSM and Integrative Medicine program since August, 2018. Within a semester, they have transformed their diet and begun using the principles of Ayurveda in their practice.

Switching from a standard North American diet, they became vegetarian, gave up coffee, and eliminated a few other items from the family menu. Steven shed 40 pounds along with some long-standing health issues. The new lifestyle also brought positive changes to their two teenagers’ mood and energy levels.

“I started looking at my clients with a totally different perspective over the past few months and began recommending small interventions that I learned in the master’s program,” said Steven, who is a dentist. He is relieved to be learning a systemic health care program that can treat the whole person, not just the symptoms manifested in oral health.

Steven and Sarah are from Winnipeg, Canada, and for the past five years they have lived on Vancouver Island. They have both looked for complementary modalities for their practices to apply a holistic approach to their patients’ wellness. Steven began studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and they, along with their two teenagers, learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique. Soon after, they discovered MUM’s online master’s program and both decided to apply right away.

“The way the program is delivered is very intuitive for a medical professional,” said Sarah, who is a wound care nurse clinician. “It’s very easy to learn those principles and apply them right away.”

“It’s also very scientific,” says Steven. “I feel we are on the leading edge of a wave, bringing this information to our own lives and to the public.” The couple’s enthusiasm has not only inspired their children, who now evaluate the ayurvedic properties of vegetables in the supermarket, but they find that friends and patients are equally interested in the ways they can improve their own health.

President John Hagelin Honored with “Lifetime of Peace Award”

President John Hagelin Honored with “Lifetime of Peace Award”

Marlo Thomas, event co-host; MUM President John Hagelin; and Bob Roth, CEO David Lynch Foundation
(see large view of all photos)

 

Jerry Seinfeld and Bob Roth in conversation on comedy

 

Presentation of the David Lynch Foundation’s “Change Begins Within” awards for 2018. (From left) Marlo Thomas, award-winning actress, author, and event co-host; Peter Dodge, CEO, philanthropist, and recipient of “Health and Healing Award”; Chandrika Tandon, philanthropist, humanitarian, and recipient of the “Lifetime of Service Award”; Dr. John Hagelin, physicist, educator, and recipient of the “Lifetime of Peace Award”; Bob Roth, David Lynch Foundation CEO

 

The Grand Ballroom at The Plaza Hotel was filled to capacity with high energy

MUM President Dr. John Hagelin received the David Lynch Foundation’s prestigious “Lifetime of Peace Award” during the Foundation’s 14th annual Change Begins Within benefit gala at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on December 10.

“Dr. John Hagelin is a true renaissance man,” said Bob Roth, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation. “He is a world-renowned quantum physicist, educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace. He has dedicated the past 40 years of his life to establishing the scientific understanding and benefits of Transcendental Meditation for creating true peace in the life of the individual, community, nation, and world.”

The David Lynch Foundation is a non-profit organization which addresses the epidemic of trauma and toxic stress among at-risk populations through the use of the Transcendental Meditation® technique. In nearly 14 years the Foundation has provided scholarships for more than one million adults and children to learn the TM® technique.

“I am the most fortunate educator in the world,” said Dr. Hagelin. “I have been associated for decades with Consciousness-Based education—the most successful educational experiment of our time. And I am incredibly grateful to the David Lynch Foundation for its creativity and remarkable capability to expand on that success. This unique approach is now in literally thousands of public schools around the world.”

During the event the David Lynch Foundation launched a new initiative to prevent and treat substance use disorder—a national nightmare that afflicts over 20 million Americans.

In addition to President Hagelin, the David Lynch Foundation honored Chandrika Tandon, philanthropist, Grammy-nominated artist and humanitarian, as well as Peter Dodge, founder and president of the Peter G. Dodge Foundation, with “Change Begins Within” awards. Entertainment at the gala was provided by comedians Jerry Seinfeld, John Mulaney, Mike Birbiglia, and Vanessa Bayer.

Dr. David Leffler—Promoting Invincible Defense Through Science and Music

Dr. David Leffler—Promoting Invincible Defense Through Science and Music

MUM alumnus David Leffler, PhD 

 

The Invincible Defense Technology applied to the traditional military model

 

Latin American Security Forces using Invincible Defense Technology to reduce collective social tensions

 

The Dave Leffler Quartet: Dave Leffler on vocals, keyboard, and guitar, Bill Vesely on flute, Tim Laughrin on bass guitar, and Steve Jeffries on drums and saxophone

MIU alumnus David Leffler is a founding member and executive director of the Center for Advanced Military Science(CAMS) at MIU, and has published over 2,000 articles worldwide on Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) and the Transcendental Meditation® program. His recent article on Russia/Ukraine tensions, (18 December 2021). Putin, Permanently Keep Your Warriors on Ukraine Border., has been published in 24 locations worldwide.

Dr. Leffler began his career as a musician and, while serving in the US Air Force, he played with various Air Force bands helping with recruitment, entertaining troops, and representing the US around the world. He earned a BA in education from MIU in 1985, a Masters of Music from New Mexico University in 1987, and an MA in the Science of Creative Intelligence® from MIU in 1989.

While taking the TM-Sidhi® course, Dr. Leffler heard a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi about the Vedic approach to military defense. He became inspired to use his experience in the US Armed Forces and his interest in the Science of Creative Intelligence to study Maharishi’s technologies for invincible defense. He joined CAMS and completed a PhD degree in Consciousness-BasedSM military defense at The Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Over the past 20 years, he has been promoting the TM®technique as a means of stress reduction, conflict resolution, and relief from post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to publishing articles, he has spoken at military-related institutions in the US as well as in Russia and South Korea.

“There have been over 50 studies done on the Maharishi Effect,” said Dr. Leffler. “I try to get the word out and make military leaders aware of these studies and their implications.”

Dr. Leffler has not given up playing music and has performed with the Dave Leffler Jazz Quartet in Fairfield, as well as with his wife Arlene. He has also found that playing music has helped him connect with military leaders around the world. “Music helps me promote TM,” he said. “You can reach people’s hearts through music.”

MUM’S NEW LEADERS – June 2018 report

MUM’S NEW LEADERS – June 2018 report

The Next Generation Bringing Consciousness-Based Education to the World

We know you’ll be inspired to learn about some of the younger staff now in leadership roles at MUM, and so we’re introducing four of them to you in this article. We will feature more talented staff in future profiles.

Just by their mere membership in the post-Baby Boomer generations, they are ensuring MUM’s mainstream societal relevance and securing connectedness into the future.

But beyond their age, the administrators and faculty featured below, all in their 30’s and 40’s, are demonstrating a natural ability for enlightened communication and ethical leadership and policy-making — not to mention an ease with and receptivity to technology that is unknown to the generation before theirs. All of which gives confidence and satisfaction to those who are passing the torch.

Tiago Passos Lean Manager

Development and Alumni Affairs

Among our new talented leaders is the compassionate, sharp, and indefatigable Tiago Passos.

A native of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Passos works as Lean Manager on the Institutional Advancement Team (led by Brad Mylett, university Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs).

Lean Management is an approach to running an organization that supports continuous improvement, systematically seeking to achieve small, incremental changes in order to improve efficiency and quality.

As Lean Manager, Passos learns of and defines underdeveloped processes to see where there is room for improvement; he often serves as a coach and problem-solver; and he helps to bring about positive relationships among department personnel. Foremost, his lean thinking prioritizes the student experience: How can we attract the best and brightest people here? How can we inspire our alumni to donate most generously?

Passos has worked at MUM since 2009. He was an International Administration Counselor on the university’s Ambassador Project, which aided the transition of international students to university life. Passos has also been a marketing manager in both the Computer Science Professionals Program and the MUM marketing team.

A TM-Sidha who spent a year and a half on Purusha, Passos is now a family man who enjoys community life with his wife, Carolina Passos — MUM’s highly qualified Director of Human Resources who, by the way, merits her own interview, soon to come! — and sons Miguel, 7, and Gabriel, 4.

Mr. Passos’s dedication to the MUM mission runs deep. “People here know they are doing good for the world,” he says. “We have a dedicated group in our office, many of whom are devoted not only to accomplish their tasks but who are looking beyond that to becoming better human beings. We all have a very special reason to work at MUM.”

Gwen Stowe

Co-dean of Admissions

Gwendolyn Stowe grew up in Fairfield and attended Maharishi School, learning Transcendental Meditation at the age of 10, then moving with her family to Cambridge, MA.

During her junior year at Middlebury College, Vermont, she longed to return to Fairfield. She traveled back for a semester of study at MUM and “loved Consciousness- Based education and SCI,” she recalls. That experience made a lasting impact.

As an MUM administrator for the past five years, Stowe has worked primarily in Admissions, shifting effortlessly between roles. Currently she manages eleven U.S. and International Admissions counselors and assistants.

Ms. Stowe implements marketing and advertising strategies to optimize the journey of student applicants from the first stages of outreach all the way through to enrollment. Often she consults with specific academic departments and with the Director of Marketing, Ron Barnett, on mission–critical projects, as well as producing and managing content for MUM’s website.

“I really enjoy the variety,” she enthuses. “I like dealing with all the different perspectives and understanding how it all fits together—optimizing the process and working to make it better. I enjoy the challenge of having to reconcile the differing ways departments see and do things. It takes a holistic vision.”

Though she left Fairfield and later returned, the University and its surrounding community has never been far from her heart. “I want to help fulfill Maharishi’s mission for education and provide all students the opportunity to grow in consciousness.”

Leah Waller

BA Program Director and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing

Leah Waller’s responsibilities span the gamut— from in-the-stars creative to feet-on-the-ground practical—and demonstrate her formidable talent.

On the practical side, Waller works with department chairman Stuart Tanner, advising students, planning calendars, formulating program goals, coordinating initiatives with faculty to create events, and more—all aimed at improving the student experience.

And then there’s the creative writing and teaching side: her lifelong passion.
At times, Waller’s view of the meditating student writers is nothing short of astonishment. “They produce some of the most amazing creative work I’ve ever read,” she says. “I’ve rarely seen that level of quality, even when I was in my master’s program.”

There’s no substitute for natural ability, but credit must also go to students’ practice of Transcendental Meditation and the resulting expansion of waking state consciousness. “When you’re having the personal experience of transcending, you have the ability to go deeper into your writing,” says Waller. “The poems and stories I’m reading have brought me to tears, moved my heart, and made me laugh out loud. There’s a very different caliber of writer in this program.”

In order to come to MUM, Ms. Waller turned down a faculty position at Northern Arizona University, where she had received an MFA in Creative Writing in 2013. Prior to this, she earned a BA in Literature and Writing from MUM.

Waller cites Fairfield, known to many as an incubator of creative talent, as advantageous for writers. “The stress level here is significantly lower than in the city,” she says. “Everybody knows everybody. Honestly, what do we do but sit in living rooms and talk and connect with each other? At the end of the day, no matter where you are, that’s what you’re doing. The people in Fairfield are the most interesting of any place I’ve been.”

Waller herself has tapped deeply into that pool of creativity and connectivity in her own work. “I feel the pull here to write stories and poetry,” she says. “It’s the atmosphere that stirs up creativity. I’m incredibly grateful to live and work here.”

Bei Liu

Director of Online and Continuing Education

As Director of Online and Continuing Education, which offers Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs as well as noncredit enrichment courses to students all over the world, Bei Liu has his hands full.

“We’re bringing the university to the next level,” says Bei. “American and worldwide students can now join and experience the unique education that’s only available from Maharishi University of Management.”

Working on developing his department has at times reminded Bei of running a startup business. “Certain resources are being used up front without necessarily— yet—seeing a return, at least in the short term,” he says. “But those critical, required steps are setting a solid and scalable foundation that will provide benefits for years to come.”

The Online and Continuing Education department integrates a number of educational technologies to help faculty create an engaging learning experience. Developing this capability has been a high priority for the university. “We’ve had so much understanding and support from MUM leadership,” says Bei. “They’ve seen that online learning has enormous application and that this is truly a field full of potential.”

Mr. Bei hails from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. He has lived in Fairfield and worked at MUM for ten years. In his spare time, he enjoys exercise, reading, movies, travel, and artistic pursuits. “I love to look at and create my own art, especially photography – seeing the world and people in a different way extends my horizons.”

Likewise, his vision for the department is visionary and expansive: “We’re creating a new paradigm of education, one that values creativity and innovation in conjunction with the deep principles of Consciousness-Based education. Everyone is very excited.”

More Interviews coming soon!

  • Aster Hesse
  • Mahmood Ali
  • Gyan Shrosbree
  • Johan Svenson
  • Karen Aoki
  • Patrik Siljestam
  • Yali Jiang
  • Maryam Naraghi,
  • Nahom Abegaze
  • Ingrid Bianco
  • Corina Acosta
  • Sultan Salah
  • Carolina Passos
  • Peter Kennedy
  • Selin Ozbudak
  • Amine Kouidar