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Filmmaker, writer, visual artist, musician, and actor David Lynch passed away on January 15, 2025, at the age of 78. The exact cause of his demise remains undisclosed at this time. However, as Variety reported, the veteran director had been diagnosed with emphysema due to years of smoking over the past two years.
His family shared the news of David’s death on his Facebook account.
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch. We would appreciate some privacy at this time. There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way,” the post read.
It was accompanied by Lynch’s picture posing with a guitar in hand. He was married four times and is survived by four children, two daughters and two sons.
Lynch had been a longtime practitioner of transcendental meditation and founded the David Lynch Foundation to promote it. Transcendental meditation is a form of mantra meditation that was launched by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1957.
Exploring the meaning of transcendental meditation in the wake of David Lynch’s demise
According to the David Lynch Foundation website, transcendental meditation (TM) is a “simple, natural, effortless technique practiced 20 minutes twice a day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed.”
The mantra-based meditation enables the “active thinking mind” to settle down and let it experience a “naturally calm, peaceful level of awareness.”
“During TM, the body enjoys a profoundly rejuvenating rest, while the brain functions with significantly greater coherence,” the website shares.
Moreover, unlike basic meditation, transcendental meditation does not involve focused attention or open monitoring. While the first refers to concentrating on a thought/ object, the latter means observing breath/ thoughts/ environment.
Instead, TM is based on automatic self-transcending or the spontaneous experience of calmer thoughts aka a “unique state of restful alertness.”
Notably, transcendental meditation is not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle, but rather a unique mantra meditative technique.
About David Lynch's transcendental meditation journey
David Lynch had been an avid practitioner of TM since 1973. Two years later, he met the founder of transcendental meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, at the Spiritual Regeneration Movement Center in Los Angeles.
Subsequently, during a month-long Millionaire’s Enlightenment Course in 2003, he further became close to Yogi. Following this, the Twin Peaks creator founded the David Lynch Foundation in 2005 to promote transcendental meditation alongside conscious-based education and world peace.
The organization is now operational worldwide under the guidance of CEO, Bob Roth.
“The David Lynch Foundation helps to prevent and eradicate the all-pervasive epidemic of trauma and toxic stress among at-risk populations through promoting widespread implementation of the evidence-based Transcendental Meditation (TM) program in order to improve their health, cognitive capabilities, and performance in life,” the website’s mission reads.
From Bill Clinton to Ellen DeGeneres, Candy Crowley to Martin Scorsese, Oprah Winfrey to Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jerry Seinfeld to Hugh Jackman – the foundation has been popular among A-listers.
In 2009, Lynch enlisted musicians including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Donovan, among others for a fund-raising concert at the Radio City Music Hall for his foundation.
He has also written a book on TM, titled, Catching the Big Fish. Meanwhile, German filmmaker David Sieveking made a documentary on Lynch called David Wants to Fly, published in 2010.
It explores David Lynch’s journey into the world of transcendental meditation.
The Blue Velvet maker had to be evacuated from his home in Southern California due to the ongoing wildfires earlier this month. Reportedly, the event worsened Lynch’s health and on Wednesday, he died at his daughter’s home.
Steven Spielberg, Naomi Watts, and Nicholas Cage were among many who paid him tributes via social media.
