Improved grades and better test scores, reduced stress and less anxiety, greater happiness and more inner peace.

That is the forecast for more than one million students attending 1,000 public schools in Brazil’s second-largest city, Rio de Janeiro, who will soon get the chance to meditate twice daily during class.

A recent television news report by the international wire service, Agence France-Presse, showcases students and teachers practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique as part of a new program being introduced into their school’s curriculum.

In the television report, one young student described her experience simply: “It’s really great. I feel calmer and I am better at dealing with everything.”

The project is a partnership between Rio’s Department of Education and the David Lynch Foundation, which funds Quiet Time/Transcendental Meditation programs around the world. To date more than 150,000 students have learned to meditate, and now the Foundation is funding the Transcendental Meditation program for veterans suffering from PTSD, homeless adults and children in re-entry programs, American Indians on reservations, and inmates and guards in prisons. (See David Lynch Foundation projects.)

According to Joan Roura, director of the David Lynch Foundation in Brazil, the positive influence of so many students meditating will extend far beyond the individuals themselves. “When a large group of people meditates in the same place, a powerful influence of peace radiates throughout the surrounding population, neutralizing the stress and negativity that fuel crime and violence. These very large group meditations will help promote peace in the country, and with enough students, actually help promote peace in the world.”

Watch the video below to see David Lynch with 5,000 meditating children in Brazil.

References:

David Lynch Foundation Projects
The Transcendental Meditation program in Education