By Kennedi Johnson
Surrealist filmmaker and artist David Lynch has been a practitioner and advocate of Transcendental Meditation (TM) for more than 40 years. “TM is, in a word, life changing for the good,” says Lynch. In order to bring this “life changing” practice to people who experience stress or trauma, Lynch founded the David Lynch Foundation (DLF) in 2005.
In order to raise funds to further DLF’s work, it will host its first Festival of Disruption October 8-9 at the Ace Hotel and Theatre in downtown LA. The event will feature performances by an impressive array of musicians including St. Vincent, Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters, Rhye and Sky Ferreira. Renowned composer Angelo Badalamenti, who scored Lynch’s famed films Blue Velvet and Mullholland Drive will perform music from the Twin Peaks series.
Lynch hand-selected his favorite artists in various fields and backgrounds to take part in the one-of-a-kind event: musicians, visual artists, virtual reality creators, choreographers, and DJs.
In addition to the musical performances, there will be talks by renowned architect Frank Gehry, actors Laura Dern, Kyle Maclachlan and Mel Brooks, photography exhibits by Lynch and Chris Stein, a virtual reality experience by Chris Milk, a new dance piece choreographed by Ryan Heffington, and DJ sets by the Roots’ Questlove and KCRW’s Jason Bentley.
There will also be screenings of rarely viewed Lynch short films and classics, daily Transcendental Meditation sessions, and more. All of the funds from the Festival of Disruption will directly benefit the David Lynch Foundation.
Lynch initially began the DLF as an effort to fund the teaching of TM in schools. Performed twice a day, Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a practice in which the participant sits with his or her eyes closed and allows themselves to enter a “level of peaceful awareness.” There have been countless testimonials affirming TM’s ability to relieve stress and restore one’s composure.
The Foundation eventually expanded to help “at-risk” populations that experience trauma and toxic stress including African war refugees, prisoners, victims of domestic violence, veterans suffering from PTSD, and underprivileged children in low-income neighborhoods and schools.
Grab your tickets to the Festival of Disruption here. To donate to or discover more about the David Lynch Foundation and Transcendental Meditation, click here.