Presenting a range of expression and experimentation in painting, sculpture, ceramics, and installation, MIU’s Wege Gallery will display the work of the six full-time faculty in MIU’s Art, Consciousness, and Creative Practice department.
The opening reception is Friday, September 6, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, in the Wege Gallery, and the show runs from September 6 to October 18, 2024.
Faculty showing their work are Sean Downey, Genevra Daley, Gyan Shrosbree, Susan Metrican, Hilary Nelson, and Jim Shrosbree.
“The group exhibition demonstrates the artists’ commitment to their own practices alongside their teaching at MIU, as well as an on-going dialogue between the artists as colleagues,” Susan Metrican said.
“My recent work is sourced mainly from spaces built in virtual reality,” Sean says. “Using 3d scanning, photogrammetry, and open-source models from museum collections and the internet, I collage disparate sources from my daily life, history, and culture into staged, virtual scenarios.”
Sean is the Department Co-Chair, Associate Professor of Art, and Director of the Low-Residency MFA in Visual Art at MIU.
“I am interested in the everyday, mundane rituals and objects of domestic life and how they speak of the body behind them,” Genevra says.
She is Assistant Professor of Art, Director of the BA in Art Program, and Co-Director of the distance education Art Therapy Specialization at MIU.
“I find my power in clothing,” Gyan says. “My emotional landscape has always manifested in dress. I arrange things in the language of outfits: dressing the canvas/dressing the body.”
Gyan is Associate Professor of Art and Director of the BFA in Visual Art at MIU.
“I am drawn to images and objects that resonate across seemingly disparate cultures and time periods,” Susan says. “As a Thai American raised mostly in the midwest, I am interested in imagery that is “culturally familiar” through its connection to folktales and shared traditions, particularly imagery that evokes a reverence for rural life.”
She is Assistant Professor of Art and Director of the Wege Gallery at MIU.
“My work is built from stuff that probably used to be other stuff,” Hilary says. “Now it looks like it could be something you think you know, but you just aren’t sure. I think about the pieces like b-roll, or like a score to a movie — you listen and all the wonder and melodrama are halfway there.”
She is an Assistant Professor at MIU.
“I work between sculpture and painting, using various materials to navigate the play of an interior landscape with a language of form,” Jim says. “Conditions of working — space, tools, materials, and a visual vocabulary — fluctuate to become an extension of who I am at the moment.”
He is MIU Art Department Co-Chair and Professor of Art.
More than 230 original research studies were submitted to the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions (JCEHP) in 2023. Just 18 were published. And of these, the journal chose a study by Marie Loiselle and her team as the outstanding work of the year.
The journal announced this annual award — the Paul Mazmanian JCEHP Award for Excellence in Research — in a special editorial in its Spring 2024 issue.
The winning study each year is selected based on “the magnitude of the problem, the underlying conceptual/theoretical framework, the methodological quality of the research, and importance to the field,” the editorial explains.
Noting that “burnout is an incredibly important topic,” the editorial gives a detailed summary of the study and its findings and concludes, “Congratulations to the award-winning authors and thank you for your incredibly valuable contributions to the field.”
Reduced burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depression
The study found significantly reduced burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depression among physicians after just four months of Transcendental Meditation practice, compared with controls.
Physician burnout is pervasive and directly affects our health care system’s ability to deliver quality care.
Burnout is pervasive among physicians; more than half of US physicians suffer from it. Burnout is linked to substance abuse, medical errors, and suicide ideation, and more than a third of US physicians are planning to cut back their hours or leave the profession altogether because of burnout. Physician burnout directly affects our health care system’s ability to deliver quality care.
The study by Dr. Loiselle and her team — the first to examine the effects of TM practice on physician burnout — was a randomized controlled trial. Forty academic physicians representing fifteen specialties at a Midwestern metropolitan medical school and its affiliated VA hospital were randomly assigned either to the experimental (TM) group or the control group.
The subjects were assessed using measures of burnout, depression, insomnia, perceived stress, and resilience. These assessments were given at the beginning of the study (baseline) and again one month and four months later.
After four months, the physicians in the TM group showed significant improvements in total burnout and its subcategories of emotional exhaustion and personal achievement, and depression. The control group showed no significant changes.
Dr. Loiselle also conducted two qualitative interviews with each of the subjects, at baseline and again after four months. The results aligned with the quantitative outcomes. At baseline, all the physicians reported classic symptoms of burnout and depression. Four months later, those in the TM group reported relief from these symptoms while those in the control group did not.
“The biggest change is that I am just happier” – physicians’ experiences
During the baseline interviews, one subject, a department chair, described the scope of the problem: “One-third of physicians are depressed — clinically depressed.” A surgeon said: “I cannot pinpoint one person in our department who is happy with current medicine. I honestly do not know a single happy physician attending in here.”
In the exit interviews four months later, most physicians in the control group said their stress or workloads had increased. All described ongoing systemic stress.
“I am more relaxed about things overall, more accepting, calmer, not as revved up by things.”
Meanwhile, the physicians in the TM group described significant improvements. “I am more relaxed about things overall, more accepting, calmer, not as revved up by things,” one of them said in an unprompted response. “I think that is the biggest change.”
“I am more patient with people I work with, or even patients if they are being ridiculous or crazy,” another said. Another reported, “It [TM practice] is getting me more mentally rejuvenated on those days where I am just mentally exhausted.”
“I am finishing things with people because I am a little bit more organized,” another said. “I think that to manage people, you have to be a little bit detached and see the big picture, and I have that ability now.”
More than half reported greater energy and productivity.
“I feel like I have more energy to deal with things,” one said. “I started exercising regularly and I started it because of the meditation,” said another. “This is the first time in twenty plus years I have exercised regularly for more than a week.”
Still another said: “I have gotten a lot more done at work. I have probably written four manuscripts in the last four months. I do not just get into a panic about something that is overdue. I cannot explain it, but I am better. I know what to do to be productive in a day.”
“It has helped me sleep significantly,” one physician said. “Sleep alone would have been enough for this to be worthwhile.”
Said another: “The biggest change is that I am just happier.”
Those in the control group were eligible to learn the TM technique after the end of the study four months later.
Judges for the award, study coauthors
Judges for the annual award — recently renamed the Paul Mazmanian JCEHP Award in honor of Dr. Paul Mazmanian, long-time editor of the journal and “mentor and role model to many in the profession” — included representatives from the journal’s three partnering organizations: the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, the Alliance for Continuing Education in Health Professions, and the Association for Hospital Medical Education.
Coauthors on the study were Carla Brown, Fred Travis, Gregory Gruener, Maxwell Rainforth, and Sanford Nidich. Dr. Brown is adjunct assistant professor of medical education at the Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Gruener is Vice Dean for Education at the Stritch School of Medicine. Drs. Travis, Rainforth, and Nidich are faculty members and researchers at MIU.
Dr. Loiselle is currently working on a study of rural Lebanese women, where she has found significant improvements in perceived stress, resilience, self-efficacy, and happiness among TM meditators versus the control group.
MIU alumnus Caspar Jung ’15 has been appointed the CEO of Maharishi European Research University (MERU) in the Netherlands — the international headquarters for the Transcendental Meditation organization, a host for assemblies, retreats, and courses, and a center for knowledge.
Caspar hails from a large family of TM meditators. Both his parents and his grandmother are TM teachers, all his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many of his cousins have learned TM, and many of his family members have worked or are actively working for the TM organization in some capacity. His father was the national director for the Netherlands in the 1980s and early 90s and since 2015 has been the CFO and deputy minister of finance for the international TM organization. His uncle led the Purusha program in Europe for many years and in 2000 became the administrative director at MERU — effectively the position Caspar now holds.
Caspar’s upbringing in such a family laid the foundation for his journey toward spiritual and professional fulfillment.
After attending Maharishi Elementary School in the Netherlands, Caspar went to university to study architecture. While enrolled, he took a one-month break to participate in the Invincible America Assembly in Fairfield, the large group dedicated to long daily TM and TM-Sidhi program practice to accelerate personal development and create peace and harmony in society.
That’s where he discovered Maharishi International University (MIU).
“I appreciated that MIU was a place for self-exploration and that there was time for self-development.”
— Caspar Jung
“I appreciated that MIU was a place for self-exploration and that there was time for self-development,” he said. “I also liked that the block system allows students to try many different subjects in a short amount of time.”
After sampling courses in different majors, Caspar decided to pursue a business degree, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2015.
Caspar then went to work for fellow MIU alum Amit Hooda at his Fairfield-based company, Heavenly Organics. Serving as the operations coordinator, Caspar learned the elements of running a successful business. He helped establish a North America Free Trade Agreement for Heavenly Organics, enabling the company to sell products in Canada and Mexico, and had his first experience negotiating commercial contracts.
Returning to the Netherlands, Caspar joined MERU, initially as a financial analyst before transitioning to a managerial role.
In July 2022, his responsibilities expanded as Dr. Tony Nader appointed a new management board at MERU and picked Caspar to take the reins as CEO.
Helping drive these changes was the TM organization’s goal to empower younger people to assume leadership positions. Today the new MERU management board is comprised of a diverse group of Gen Xers and Millennials.
Reflecting on his experiences, Caspar emphasizes the personal growth he has experienced through his new leadership role. “I’m enjoying taking responsibility and watching myself grow from these experiences,” he says.
Caspar explains that part of MERU’s new plan is to expand the organization into a self-sufficient business, tourism attraction, and modern retreat center. This is being implemented by constructing new residential buildings, an office complex, a wellness resort, and a Maharishi Tower of Invincibility (set to be completed by 2028).
“MERU has unique strengths and opportunities because of its forest location, its importance to the TM organization’s history as Maharishi’s home, and a community of the world’s experts in consciousness. We want to open the door to the public so that people can receive the value that we have to offer.”
This vision for MERU’s future aligns with Casper’s passion for helping people achieve their full potential through inner and outer growth.
“I’m excited about personal development and the search for meaning in life that we all pursue, and I think this pursuit has the potential not just for inner fulfillment but also for professional success,” Caspar says. “I love that Transcendental Meditation has brought me inner peace as well as outer capabilities. It’s given me an advantage, and I think other people could benefit from that same advantage.”
Caspar’s appointment as the CEO of MERU marks a pivotal moment in the TM organization, part of the transition toward empowering a new generation of leaders. As MERU evolves into a comprehensive center for spiritual and personal development, Caspar’s leadership promises to inspire and empower individuals on their quest for achievement and fulfillment.
“I think the India course was a big transformation for the TM organization,” he says. “It showed that we are still capable of gathering a great deal of support both from inside the organization and outside. Now the next step is to materialize that momentum and create lasting structures and groups. I’m optimistic about our capacity and I’m encouraged by our growing momentum —especially the growing number of new people in the administration being mentored by the senior experts.”
Kathrin Gatys traveled all the way from Wolfsburg, Germany, to participate in this summer’s World Peace Assembly, held from July 20 to August 2 at MIU.
“I am so very happy that I could come back to the Golden Dome, after this long time since the pandemic,” Kathrin said. “Being in the Dome in Fairfield doing long meditations with all the others is my favorite place on earth. It gives me the experience of deep, lively silence, so enormously beautiful and huge.”
More than 1,300 people participated in the gathering, both in person and remotely.
At the same time, MIU announced that it will hold four large meditation events each year into the future — two National TM Retreats, one in the spring and one in the fall, and two World Peace Assemblies, one in the summer and one in the winter.
National TM Retreats
TM Retreats, designed for those who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique, offer deep rest through the experience of additional daily meditation along with deeper knowledge of growth of consciousness. MIU held its first National TM Retreat this past spring, from May 25 to June 1. The next will be September 7–14.
World Peace Assemblies
World Peace Assemblies are for those who practice the TM technique along with the advanced TM-Sidhi program. MIU held a similar large World Peace Assembly this past winter, from December 29 to January 12, with approximately 2,000 online and in-person participants. The next will be December 29 to January 12, 2025.
Research over the past 40 years has found that when people practice the TM and TM-Sidhi programs in a sufficiently large group, they measurably improve the quality of life for the whole society, a phenomenon known as the Maharishi Effect. And research is beginning to show that meditation groups can enhance the brain functioning of others, which helps explain how the phenomenon works, creating more positive behavior change in others.
“My wife and I looked forward to MIU’s summer WPA because we knew it would be good for us, our country, and our world,” said Alan Steinberg, a medical doctor in Los Angeles. “We thoroughly enjoyed the winter course. Our experiences were wonderful, leaving us with a blissful glow that was replenished this summer.”
“Some of my deepest meditation experiences have occurred in MIU’s Golden Domes.”
— Ellen Kirisitz
“Some of my deepest meditation experiences have occurred in MIU’s Golden Domes when they’re filled with people practicing these programs,” said Ellen Kirisitz, of Weaverville, California. “But these large group meditation programs also have a profound effect on the environment and collective consciousness. Participating in this World Peace Assembly is a win-win situation: helping to raise our own consciousness while creating coherence for the US and the world.”
“I just love coming back to MIU for WPAs, whenever they are held,” said Mindy Tiberi, from Evanston, Illinois. “The experience of meditation in the dome is so deeply nourishing and profoundly silent. The knowledge meetings are enriching and enjoyable and just being in the Sidha community makes me feel like I have come home to an enlightened family. I am so grateful for this opportunity to have this experience while creating coherence for the rest of the world!”
“We’re committed to offering these four large courses every year, year after year.”
— Tom Brooks
“We’re committed to offering these four large courses every year, year after year,” said Tom Brooks, long-time Vice President of Administration and currently Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Strategy, who has served as chief administrator for these gatherings. “We know that if we do that, they will continue to gain momentum and grow.”