The David Lynch Foundation

David Lynch is of course most well known for his surrealist films – The Elephant Man, Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive – but many may be unfamiliar with one of his greatest works; his charity, the David Lynch Foundation. It was established in 2005, created by Lynch himself from his belief that “every child should have one class period a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence.” In an age where celebrities often use charities to save the current, trendiest animal it is refreshing to see Lynch tackle something so unspoken about.

Perhaps it would be accurate to describe his as a surrealist charity, and certainly its awareness video at Bestival (the David Lynch Foundation was Bestival’s ‘charity of choice’) was as surreal as it gets. Meditation may not be on the top of people’s lists when there are pandas to save and cancers to beat, but nonetheless this is a worthwhile cause: seventy percent of students with a mental health issue go untreated and suicide is the number three cause of teenage deaths. The aim of Lynch’s charity is to deal with these staggering statistics by offering meditation as a solution. The concept of the charity, which relies on students volunteering for Transcendental Meditation, is almost as bizarre as the concepts for his films, but it can be quite effective. So, take some time to yourself and relax… it’s what Dave would want.