MIU Celebrates Golden Jubilee

by Jeff Whitten | May 23, 2022 | Achievements, MIU News

May 23, 2022 • ISSUE 624

MIU Celebrates Golden Jubilee

At the end of April MIU celebrated its 50th anniversary with a five-day gathering packed with fun and learning. Attendees had a chance to meet with old friends, professors, students, and staff and learn about the history of the university.

One of the highlights of the event was the groundbreaking for the Global Peace Village on May 3, the Day of Lasting Achievements in the Vedic Calendar. The Global Peace Village will replace Utopia Park with Maharishi Vastu® homes to create a permanent peace-creating group. Raja Howard Settle laid the cornerstone for this transformational development representing the next phase of establishing campus as the home of North America’s creating coherence group.

Raja Howard Settle breaking ground on the Global Peace Village with President John Hagelin (photo by Ken West)

Ken Ross speaking at the new Alexander and Beatrice Ross Theater, named after his parents (photo by Ken West)

The inauguration of the Alexander and Beatrice Ross Theater took place in the newly renovated Wege Center for the Arts, which also featured exhibits by faculty, Alexander and Beatrice Ross, and Canadian artist Chris Cran. In addition, a new Maharishi Archive exhibition opened in the library, celebrating the teachings and contributions of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

The Maharishi Archive exhibit in the library

During the weekend, MIU also launched the Dr. Tony Nader Institute for Research and Consciousness and performed a ribbon cutting ceremony for the renovation of the swimming pool.

A series of talks offered insights into the latest faculty research and new MIU programs. Dr. Tony Nader gave the keynote address, while MIU faculty, alumni, and staff gave presentations about the history of the university, as well as a vision of the next five years featuring the next generation of MIU leadership.

Raja Howard Settle, President John Hagelin, and Dr. Tony Nader in the Maharishi Patanjali Golden Dome (photo by Ken West)

The Golden Jubilee also offered tours of campus, Maharishi School, and Vastu homes, a welcome dinner and alumni picnic, a trade fair in the Argiro Student Center, fireworks, and musical entertainment.

Faculty member Mark Stimson introducing the Sustainable Living Building to guests during a campus tour

Students and alumni offering art and food at the trade fair

View photos and videos of the Golden Jubilee here.

Review on Maharishi Vedic Architecture Published in Health Journal

by Jeff Whitten | May 16, 2022 | Achievements, Excluded from search, MIU News

May 16, 2022 • ISSUE 623

Review on Maharishi Vedic Architecture Published in Health Journal

Summary of findings on Maharishi Vastu architecture

Elements of Vedic home design can promote physical and mental health, improved quality of life, reduced stress, and better sleep. These findings appear in the first comprehensive review of published studies on the benefits of Maharishi Vastu® architecture (MVA), recently published in Global Advances in Health and Medicine.

“The goal of Maharishi Vastu architecture is to improve occupants’ lives,” said Jon Lipman, AIA, lead author of the study and director of the Institute for Vedic Architecture at MIU. “It is gratifying to find research that shows how Vastu buildings can improve our health and productivity.”

Summary of descriptive results on MVA, health, and well-being

Some of the key findings of the review include:

Sleeping with one’s head to the east or south is associated with positive health outcomes, such as lower heart rate, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol levels.
Homes with south entrances are associated with poorer mental health and more financial problems.
Facing east while working is associated with greater brain coherence and faster task completion.
Occupants of Maharishi Vastu architecture homes or office buildings display greater creativity and report improved health and quality of life.

Jon Lipman and Dr. Robert Schneider

MVA is the holistic wellness architecture system Maharishi revived with over 20 principles, including east facing main entrances, buildings aligned with the cardinal directions, and floor plans assigning key functions to specific locations within the building.

Previous research on the impact of buildings focused primarily on assessing stress reduction and increasing comfort and well-being. The findings of this review reinforce the growing recognition that building design plays a key role in both causing and even potentially solving humanity’s health challenges.

Anna Bonshek and Lee Fergusson

“Modern medicine now recognizes the powerful effects of the ‘envirome’ on health,” said study co-author, Robert Schneider, MD, Dean of the College of Integrative Medicine at Maharishi International University. “The envirome includes all the natural and man-made elements of our environment throughout the lifespan, notably the built environment. This review of the science suggests that buildings constructed according to principles of Maharishi Vastu architecture function as positive elements in the envirome to enhance mental and physical health and well-being. Further, advances in neuroscience offer plausible physiological explanations for these effects.”

The results of the review suggests that Maharishi Vastu architecture offers a viable approach for using architectural design as a tool for promoting mental and physical health. Additional co-authors of the study were former MIU faculty Lee Fergusson, PhD, and Anna Bonshek, PhD.

Meagen Anderson and Natalia Fernandez Launch Transcending Trauma Program

by Jeff Whitten | May 9, 2022 | Achievements, Excluded from search, MIU News

May 9, 2022 • ISSUE 622

Meagen Anderson and Natalia Fernandez Launch Transcending Trauma Program

MBA students Meagen Anderson and Natalia Fernandez recently formed a partnership to offer the Transcendental Meditation® technique to survivors of sexual harassment and assault in the beverage industry.

Meagen has worked in the beverage industry for 20 years, where the harassment of women was common and went unacknowledged without any support for survivors. When women began speaking out about their experiences in May 2021, Meagen realized she could help create a sustainable change within the industry.

Meagen learned the Transcendental Meditation technique in 2018 and joined MIU’s online MBA in Sustainable Business in 2021. After 16 years in the brewing industry, she started her own company, Hop Forward Consulting, focusing on non-alcoholic beer and sustainable sourcing of hops, a flavoring used in beer.

Through her attendance at MIU, she was able to solidify a regular TM® practice and shift to a healthier lifestyle. “I want to bring bliss into the brewing industry and relieve suffering by giving survivors what I have been given,” she said. “We want to provide survivors with a tool so they can achieve their highest potential.”

Meagen picking up print material for the Transcending Trauma Program

In the spring of 2021 Meagen and Natalia both volunteered to organize MIU’s virtual International Conference on Consciousness-Based℠ Leadership and Management. Meagen then invited Natalia to join her company, and together they rebranded it to offer holistic business solutions.

Natalia graduated from Flagler College in 2019 and has been traveling the world as a digital nomad, working as a marketer and educator in Denmark, Spain, Scotland, and Bali. She has also founded the nonprofit Period, to provide education about PMDD, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. She is a functional medicine certified health coach candidate with the Institute for Functional Medicine and the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.

In 2020 Natalia decided to pursue an MBA in Sustainable Business and discovered MIU. She was intrigued by the MA in Leadership and Workplace Conflict Resolution program, so she decided to add that to her MBA.

Natalia with their new cards

Natalia says that the TM technique has been a life-changing tool for her. “I feel like my potential has been unlocked, and anything I want to do is possible,” she said.

Their first initiative, the Transcending Trauma Program, allows companies to train their employees in the Transcendental Meditation technique while simultaneously sponsoring survivors of the #MeToo movement within the brewing industry in partnership with the Women of the Bevolution Brave Voices Fund. The program also features workshops, follow-up sessions, and a gift box.

“Our ultimate goal is to redefine organizational health,” said Natalia. The duo has been receiving guidance from the TM for Women organization, and Meagen is currently enrolled in Dr. Tony Nader’s Consciousness Advisors Course.

Mathew Frank—The Fulfillment of Retirement Planning

by Jeff Whitten | May 2, 2022 | Achievements, Excluded from search, MIU News

May 2, 2022 • ISSUE 621

Mathew Frank

The Fulfillment of Retirement Planning

MIU alumnus Matthew Frank has been a private financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services for 31 years. He is also a member of the MIU Planned Giving Professional Advisors Team.

Matthew grew up on Long Island and learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique in high school. “I always thought there was something more to life,” he said. “I knew this was what I had been looking for, and it was life-changing for me.”

During his freshman year at the University of Florida, he took the Science of Creative Intelligence® course, and in 1975 transferred to MIU’s new Fairfield campus. He completed his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in 1979. For the next ten years he worked as a futures trader in Kansas City, Minneapolis, and New York. Since 1991 he has been a financial advisor and retirement planner in the Philadelphia area.

Matthew traveling in India in 2018

Matthew likes his job because he can help people achieve their financial and retirement goals. He also appreciates the lasting client relationships and friendships he has cultivated, which span an average of 20 years.

He has maintained his regular TM® practice over the years and the connections he made at MIU. “My TM practice has created a lifelong commitment, enjoyment, and enfoldment of knowledge,” he said. “There is an ongoing silence in all of my activities that helps me as a trader and advisor by giving me a perspective with my clients and in my personal life.”

Matthew splits his time between Philadelphia and Miami, and likes to take regular road trips to visit his clients around the country. He also enjoys traveling abroad, sports, reading, and the arts.

Dylan MacDonald—Pursuing Enlightened Leadership

by Jeff Whitten | Apr 25, 2022 | Achievements, Excluded from search, MIU News

April 25, 2022 • ISSUE 620

Dylan MacDonald

Pursuing Enlightened Leadership

MIU student Dylan MacDonald was working on a banana farm in Australia when he learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique. Now he is one of four recipients of the new Enlightened Leadership Program scholarship.

Dylan grew up in the United States, had a troubled youth, and lacked direction. But then he began reading religious texts and practicing meditation. The more he learned, the more he wanted to follow a spiritual path. Looking for a fresh start, he moved to Australia. He had heard about the TM technique before, and when he learned it two years ago he knew he had arrived at the end of his quest. “I realized that I wanted to teach TM and help others,” he said.

Working on a banana farm in Australia

Soon he changed jobs and started working with the disabled and the elderly. He spent all of his free time volunteering for the Australian TM® organization, helping to organize courses and retreats. Last summer he heard about the Enlightened Leadership Program at MIU. Although higher education was not on his mind, he felt compelled to pursue it. He applied, got accepted, and a few weeks later arrived on campus.

“It’s been amazing,” he said. “For the first time in my life, I feel fulfilled by my education and the knowledge I am learning.” Dylan in majoring in a new track, Enlightened Leadership, which aims to train students for leadership roles in the TM organization by offering courses in Maharishi Vedic Science℠, management, and business.

With friends during the TM-Sidhi course

Last winter Dylan also completed the TM®-Sidhi program and has enjoyed attending the group practice in the Golden Domes. In his free time Dylan studies Mandarin and wants to be able to teach the TM technique in both English and Mandarin.

Kendra Morrison — Finding Inspiration in Community

by Jeff Whitten | Apr 18, 2022 | Achievements, Excluded from search, MIU News

April 18, 2022 • ISSUE 619

Kendra Morrison

Finding Inspiration in Community

MIU film student Kendra Morrison grew up in Daytona, Florida. Her interest in photography developed early in childhood and manifested in making home movies with her siblings. In her senior year of high school she decided to become a filmmaker. She has studied cinematography on her own and learned graphic design through an internship.

When she saw an ad for MIU, she became intrigued by the film department and the Transcendental Meditation® program. She joined the online Cinematic Arts and New Media program in the summer of 2020 and moved to campus six months later.

Acting as the talent in the Film Equipment Mastery class

“It’s great to have all the resources, time, and people to work with on your projects,” she said. “Everything we need is available to make a movie.” Kendra has already made several experimental short films, including a music video.

Kendra enjoys trying her hand at various other forms of media, including graphic design and digital music production. She also loves collaborating with classmates and people from the Fairfield creative community. “I like doing film because I want to empower people and build communities,” she said.

Getting ready to shoot a short film last summer

The Transcendental Meditation technique has helped Kendra find inner peace and balance in life. “TM helps me remember that everything is all right, and it keeps my head clear so I am more open to inspiration.”

Kendra is now focusing on practicing her screenwriting skills while working on several story ideas in various genres, such as Western, television, and mockumentary. She gathers inspiration from the people she meets, as well as from her family history. “I like to develop characters first and let the action emerge from the characters,” she said. Kendra also wants to make more music videos with local artists and return to her childhood hobby of songwriting.

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