I learned the meditation technique taking over Wall Street and now I get why traders are willing to set aside 40 minutes a day

As I sat on a waiting room sofa in the David Lynch Foundation's office in September, it felt like a scene from one of Lynch's surrealist films.I was waiting for my first Transcendental Meditation lesson.My teacher Mario Orsatti, a man in his 60s with a penchant for big smiles and unwavering eye contact, took my offering of two apples, a kiwi, and purple irises I'd picked up at a bodega 20 minutes earlier as instructed, and ushered me into a plain, darkroom.In front of an illustration of an Indian guru in an orange robe, sitting cross-legged with a golden aura, Mario handed me one of the irises and began solemnly reciting what I assumed to be a Sanskrit prayer. He proceeded to light candles and arrange the fruit and other items before him.Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio had helped popularize Transcendental Meditation (TM) on Wall Street when he proclaimed it "the single biggest influence in his life" a few years ago, but Dalio is widely known for his eccentricities. I wondered if other finance power players, like TM practitioners Third Point manager Dan Loeb and JPMorgan wealth management CEO Barry Sommers, were just following his lead. As for the celebrities who endorsed itlike Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Scorcese, Oprah Winfrey, and Dr. Ozwell, celebrities are often easy prey for this kind of stuff.I couldn't help but wonder: Was I being inducted into Wall Street's hot new cult'SEE ALSO:Transcendental Meditation, which Bridgewater's Ray Dalio calls 'the single biggest influence' on his life, is taking over Wall StreetThe David Lynch Foundation's New York center is located on the 14th and 15th floors of a building in midtown, Manhattan.Lynch, the acclaimed director ("Twin Peaks," "Mulholland Drive"), cofounded his foundation in 2005 with the intention of teaching TM for free to disadvantaged students, veterans with PTSD, and victims of domestic abuse.Through partnerships with middle and high schools in the US, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and shelters, the DLF has taught TM for free to 500,000 people.Veterans can also take lessons at the DLF office, as one did during one of my trips.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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