Bob Roth Interview Notes
CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, Meditation Teacher, and Author
Book: “Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation”
YouTube: “Arash’s World Interview with Meditation Teacher, Author, and CEO of the David Lynch Foundation Bob Roth”
Podcast: “Transcending Stress and Anxiety via TM with Meditation Teacher Bob Roth CEO of the David Lynch Foundation”
In this episode, I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Bob Roth, meditation teacher, author, and CEO of the non-profit David Lynch Foundation. We talk about the wonderful evidence-based meditation technique of Transcendental Meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and which Bob Roth has practiced and taught for over fifty years!
I was curious to know what Transcendental Meditation is, how it is done, and what its effects and benefits are on overall health including the body and the mind. Bob Roth gave us the ocean analogy and how the body and mind are not just connected but that they are basically one and interacting on a spectrum. Furthermore, he explained that TM is a very simple, natural, effortless, enjoyable meditation technique and how TM does not bring or carry with it an agenda, nor is it a philosophy or a religion, and how you can be 100% skeptical and the technique would still work perfectly well for you.
Then, Bob Roth goes over the three major types of meditation and explains how with TM, once you learn it, you can use and practice it for the rest of your life. Scientific studies have demonstrated that it reduces stress and anxiety, increases performance and creativity, and optimizes the brain with restful alertness via alpha 1 brainwaves. In fact, with each session, you can reach a state and level that is twice as deep as the deepest part of deep sleep according to research at Harvard Medical School.
In many ways and manners, we often rely on medication to deal with our health issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, and insomnia despite the inherent and potential dangers and side effects of pharmaceuticals. On the other hand, TM is non-pharmaceutical and brings with it additional health benefits to our body by tuning up our nervous system while also giving both of them the rest and deep relaxation they need and require. As a matter of fact, we often spend more care, time, and attention on our cars and vehicles than on the maintenance, upkeep, and improvement of our health and well-being.
Finally, as Einstein has said “Life should be filled with magic and wonder” and with the ability to turn and dive deep within, we can not only heal deep-seated trauma and tap into the body’s internal healing self-repair mechanism but also connect with our inner core self, lead a calmer, more centered, and more productive life, make better and wiser decisions, and live and enjoy our existence much more fully and deeply.
00:20: Personal Intro:
CEO of nonprofit David Lynch Foundation. Bringing Transcendental Meditation for free to inner-city school kids in crime-ridden neighborhoods and war-torn communities. Veterans, police, firefighters, frontline healthcare workers, women survivors of domestic violence. And regular folk like the rest of us. He has been teaching TM for over 50 years.
02:27:
What is TM? A simple, natural, effortless technique. We're all equally hardwired to practice it. Not an acquired skill. It's everyone's birthright to have the benefits of meditation. They teach 10-year-olds, podcast hosts, professors of physics. Everyone can do it equally well as everyone else. 15 to 20 minutes twice a day sitting comfortably in a chair. No posture needed.
04:17:
During transcendental meditation, the body gains a state of rest, according to research at Harvard Medical School. Twice as deep as the deepest part of deep sleep, your mind settles down into a state of restful alertness called alpha 1.
04:37:
What TM is not: A religion, a philosophy, a change in lifestyle. Bob is a skeptical but not a cynical person by nature and likes big ideas to be rooted in something. You can be 100% skeptical and the technique would work just as fine. You don't have to believe in it, and it has documented effects.
05:25:
The ocean analogy. Choppy waves on the surface and the ocean is “pretty darn quiet at its depth”. The waves are like the active thinking mind, the “monkey mind”. The “gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta mind”, all the gottas of daily life. How to get to inner part of ourselves.
06:33:
Intuition at a quieter level of the mind. Deep within us, the mind is already settled and quiet and peaceful and alert. It's not something we have to believe in, not something we have to visualize or strain for. You automatically, effortlessly dive in and settle in. With other types of meditation like Zazen, you try to stop waves, stop the mind from thinking. There's also “open monitoring”, many types of mindful meditation where you just observe your thoughts. TM is neither. It's diving within the “source of thought”.
08:46:
Intuition and the example of the Wall Street guy. Something just feels right and something does not. Innermost self is even deeper than intuition. Accessing it changes the electrical activities of the brain. Stress and anxiety hormone cortisol is significantly reduced. We have way too much cortisol, with a good night sleep it drops 10% but with Transcendental Meditation it drops 30 to 40% each and every time There is something very real and substantive taking place here.
10:40:
Make time for your body and mind. Few minutes for tuning up our brains, settling the mind which has huge beneficial effects to our physical health, mental health, emotional well-being, productivity in work and relationships. Like tuning up your car and not driving it into the ground. This is much easier than exercise. We need to prioritize and decide it's important for us.
12:12:
TM and Wellness programs for employees in pharmaceutical companies. National Institute of Health and Department of Defence have given 30 million dollars to study the effects on reducing high blood pressure. Cardiovascular disease. Reducing and healing trauma among veterans and first responders. Reducing anxiety and depression. 400 published studies in leading medical journals demonstrating the positive effects of TM. 110 million Americans have high blood pressure. Reduced burnout. Improved resilience. Also wakes up parts of the brain that is associated with thinking. creatively. Creativity both the big ideas and putting pen to paper. Innovative thinking and focus.
16:09:
It's human nature to not want to step out of one's comfort zone. But when doctors start prescribing it is just a matter of time it gains the trust and approval of the public.
17:42:
The body-mind continuum. Not just a connection. Example of seeing something traumatic triggering body’s fight-and-flight response.
19:23:
Book of “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk. We may not remember trauma from infancy but the impact on the body is there. The body never forgets. To heal the trauma is the deep rest you gain during TM. But we also do need to eat healthy and to get some exercise. But we don't have to kill ourselves with exercise. Get enough sleep, a good social network of friends. We take better care of our cars than our nervous system.
21:11:
Otto Rank’s “Trauma of Birth”. A trauma we all share. People have serious trauma. Often New Age philosophy and spirituality do not get to the root cause. Taking profound healing rest. Rewiring the neural pathways of the brain to a healthier, more integrated state. The brain hates uncertainty. Dealing with the unknown by knowing ourselves well. A resilient person is a realist. Toxic positivity. It suppresses genuine feeling. TM is realistic and honest. It leads to a very deep level. It's completely safe. Much safer than many medications. Tapping into the body's own internal healing self-repair mechanisms, we set up the conditions for the body to heal itself. That includes trauma.
26:12:
On the topic of false gurus and cults, with the Internet it is so easy to say anything about anyone but we need to scratch below the surface. In TM, there is no guru to lead you. You learn a technique and just do it every day. You can do it on your own, it's not guided.
29:30:
Medicine per se can help, but it is not the only way. TM should be a choice with one's health care plan.
31:21:
The Psychology Behind TM. The days we have not slept well, it's much faster to lose our cool then. We also have the term “cooler minds will prevail”. Being cool, calm and collected. The mantra is used as a catalyst to allow the mind to settle down from heightened tension and anxiety to inner calm. The neurons that fire together wire together. Brain functioning in more integrated, healthier styles, not hyper-reactive to everything. To be more open and honest about one's strengths and weaknesses, not afraid to look there. The more confident we feel in ourselves, the more we are in a position to heal the areas that need healing. It's an integrated response to be more yourself.
34:42:
Learning from books. Protestant versus Catholic worldviews and oral traditions and teachings. It's not an either-or approach, but it's “yes, and”. Taught with human-to-human contact. Person to person.
35:51:
The element of magic with a Catholic worldview. Einstein said "life should be filled with magic and wonder". The ability to turn within, to dive within. For thousands of years it was taught from human to human, face to face. It was always an oral tradition. You can talk to a certified TM teacher anytime throughout your life. It's yours for the rest of your life. It's a wonderful thing to have a person help to guide you.
CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, Meditation Teacher, and Author
Book: “Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation”
YouTube: “Arash’s World Interview with Meditation Teacher, Author, and CEO of the David Lynch Foundation Bob Roth”
Podcast: “Transcending Stress and Anxiety via TM with Meditation Teacher Bob Roth CEO of the David Lynch Foundation”
In this episode, I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Bob Roth, meditation teacher, author, and CEO of the non-profit David Lynch Foundation. We talk about the wonderful evidence-based meditation technique of Transcendental Meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and which Bob Roth has practiced and taught for over fifty years!
I was curious to know what Transcendental Meditation is, how it is done, and what its effects and benefits are on overall health including the body and the mind. Bob Roth gave us the ocean analogy and how the body and mind are not just connected but that they are basically one and interacting on a spectrum. Furthermore, he explained that TM is a very simple, natural, effortless, enjoyable meditation technique and how TM does not bring or carry with it an agenda, nor is it a philosophy or a religion, and how you can be 100% skeptical and the technique would still work perfectly well for you.
Then, Bob Roth goes over the three major types of meditation and explains how with TM, once you learn it, you can use and practice it for the rest of your life. Scientific studies have demonstrated that it reduces stress and anxiety, increases performance and creativity, and optimizes the brain with restful alertness via alpha 1 brainwaves. In fact, with each session, you can reach a state and level that is twice as deep as the deepest part of deep sleep according to research at Harvard Medical School.
In many ways and manners, we often rely on medication to deal with our health issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, and insomnia despite the inherent and potential dangers and side effects of pharmaceuticals. On the other hand, TM is non-pharmaceutical and brings with it additional health benefits to our body by tuning up our nervous system while also giving both of them the rest and deep relaxation they need and require. As a matter of fact, we often spend more care, time, and attention on our cars and vehicles than on the maintenance, upkeep, and improvement of our health and well-being.
Finally, as Einstein has said “Life should be filled with magic and wonder” and with the ability to turn and dive deep within, we can not only heal deep-seated trauma and tap into the body’s internal healing self-repair mechanism but also connect with our inner core self, lead a calmer, more centered, and more productive life, make better and wiser decisions, and live and enjoy our existence much more fully and deeply.
00:20: Personal Intro:
CEO of nonprofit David Lynch Foundation. Bringing Transcendental Meditation for free to inner-city school kids in crime-ridden neighborhoods and war-torn communities. Veterans, police, firefighters, frontline healthcare workers, women survivors of domestic violence. And regular folk like the rest of us. He has been teaching TM for over 50 years.
02:27:
What is TM? A simple, natural, effortless technique. We're all equally hardwired to practice it. Not an acquired skill. It's everyone's birthright to have the benefits of meditation. They teach 10-year-olds, podcast hosts, professors of physics. Everyone can do it equally well as everyone else. 15 to 20 minutes twice a day sitting comfortably in a chair. No posture needed.
04:17:
During transcendental meditation, the body gains a state of rest, according to research at Harvard Medical School. Twice as deep as the deepest part of deep sleep, your mind settles down into a state of restful alertness called alpha 1.
04:37:
What TM is not: A religion, a philosophy, a change in lifestyle. Bob is a skeptical but not a cynical person by nature and likes big ideas to be rooted in something. You can be 100% skeptical and the technique would work just as fine. You don't have to believe in it, and it has documented effects.
05:25:
The ocean analogy. Choppy waves on the surface and the ocean is “pretty darn quiet at its depth”. The waves are like the active thinking mind, the “monkey mind”. The “gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta mind”, all the gottas of daily life. How to get to inner part of ourselves.
06:33:
Intuition at a quieter level of the mind. Deep within us, the mind is already settled and quiet and peaceful and alert. It's not something we have to believe in, not something we have to visualize or strain for. You automatically, effortlessly dive in and settle in. With other types of meditation like Zazen, you try to stop waves, stop the mind from thinking. There's also “open monitoring”, many types of mindful meditation where you just observe your thoughts. TM is neither. It's diving within the “source of thought”.
08:46:
Intuition and the example of the Wall Street guy. Something just feels right and something does not. Innermost self is even deeper than intuition. Accessing it changes the electrical activities of the brain. Stress and anxiety hormone cortisol is significantly reduced. We have way too much cortisol, with a good night sleep it drops 10% but with Transcendental Meditation it drops 30 to 40% each and every time There is something very real and substantive taking place here.
10:40:
Make time for your body and mind. Few minutes for tuning up our brains, settling the mind which has huge beneficial effects to our physical health, mental health, emotional well-being, productivity in work and relationships. Like tuning up your car and not driving it into the ground. This is much easier than exercise. We need to prioritize and decide it's important for us.
12:12:
TM and Wellness programs for employees in pharmaceutical companies. National Institute of Health and Department of Defence have given 30 million dollars to study the effects on reducing high blood pressure. Cardiovascular disease. Reducing and healing trauma among veterans and first responders. Reducing anxiety and depression. 400 published studies in leading medical journals demonstrating the positive effects of TM. 110 million Americans have high blood pressure. Reduced burnout. Improved resilience. Also wakes up parts of the brain that is associated with thinking. creatively. Creativity both the big ideas and putting pen to paper. Innovative thinking and focus.
16:09:
It's human nature to not want to step out of one's comfort zone. But when doctors start prescribing it is just a matter of time it gains the trust and approval of the public.
17:42:
The body-mind continuum. Not just a connection. Example of seeing something traumatic triggering body’s fight-and-flight response.
19:23:
Book of “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk. We may not remember trauma from infancy but the impact on the body is there. The body never forgets. To heal the trauma is the deep rest you gain during TM. But we also do need to eat healthy and to get some exercise. But we don't have to kill ourselves with exercise. Get enough sleep, a good social network of friends. We take better care of our cars than our nervous system.
21:11:
Otto Rank’s “Trauma of Birth”. A trauma we all share. People have serious trauma. Often New Age philosophy and spirituality do not get to the root cause. Taking profound healing rest. Rewiring the neural pathways of the brain to a healthier, more integrated state. The brain hates uncertainty. Dealing with the unknown by knowing ourselves well. A resilient person is a realist. Toxic positivity. It suppresses genuine feeling. TM is realistic and honest. It leads to a very deep level. It's completely safe. Much safer than many medications. Tapping into the body's own internal healing self-repair mechanisms, we set up the conditions for the body to heal itself. That includes trauma.
26:12:
On the topic of false gurus and cults, with the Internet it is so easy to say anything about anyone but we need to scratch below the surface. In TM, there is no guru to lead you. You learn a technique and just do it every day. You can do it on your own, it's not guided.
29:30:
Medicine per se can help, but it is not the only way. TM should be a choice with one's health care plan.
31:21:
The Psychology Behind TM. The days we have not slept well, it's much faster to lose our cool then. We also have the term “cooler minds will prevail”. Being cool, calm and collected. The mantra is used as a catalyst to allow the mind to settle down from heightened tension and anxiety to inner calm. The neurons that fire together wire together. Brain functioning in more integrated, healthier styles, not hyper-reactive to everything. To be more open and honest about one's strengths and weaknesses, not afraid to look there. The more confident we feel in ourselves, the more we are in a position to heal the areas that need healing. It's an integrated response to be more yourself.
34:42:
Learning from books. Protestant versus Catholic worldviews and oral traditions and teachings. It's not an either-or approach, but it's “yes, and”. Taught with human-to-human contact. Person to person.
35:51:
The element of magic with a Catholic worldview. Einstein said "life should be filled with magic and wonder". The ability to turn within, to dive within. For thousands of years it was taught from human to human, face to face. It was always an oral tradition. You can talk to a certified TM teacher anytime throughout your life. It's yours for the rest of your life. It's a wonderful thing to have a person help to guide you.
