Wednesday, September 21, 1077
page 12
daily nebraskan
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Seven-step TM course being offered by New Yorker
Barbara .Briggs, 27, arrived in Lincoln one-and-a-half
months ago to" teach the technique of transcendental
meditation (TM).
Briggs teaches a seven-step TM course at the TM
center, 600 S. 28th St. She said the course teaches a
simple mentaj technique that allows the mind and body
to achieve a profound state of rest.
An introductory lecture, preparatory lecture, personal
interview, personal instruction and thfee follow-up
meetings are included in the course, Briggs said. .
Meditator and UNL Journalism major Ellen Casaccio
said meditators use the technique twice a day for 20 min
utes. She said the meditator achieves a state of rest by
repeating his "mantra," a Sanskrit word chosen by the
TM teacher, over and over to himself. Casaccio said in
structors recommend students not reveal their mantras.
The cost for the six-day course depends on what the
student can pay, Briggs said. She said a college student
pays $85, while a working adult might pay twice as
much. - .
Lessons expensive
"TM lessons are expensive because the movement has
to survive," Briggs said, "I assure you we are not making
a profit." Briggs said the fees contribute toward keeping
TM centers open in every major city and many smaller
ones all oyer the world. She estimated the Lincoln center's
expenses at $250 per month for rent, utilities and adver
tising.
Briggs said that 0.4 per cent of Lincoln's population
now practice TM. The figure is significant and the effects
are widespread, according to Briggs. She said a 1 per cent
meditator population causes a whole city's crime, acci
dent and sickness rates to decrease, but she gave no
documentation.
Another area of controversy about TM concerns re
cent claims that advanced meditators can perform tele
kinetic effects like self-levitation and invisibility. Briggs
said this controversy is based on misunderstanding. She
said the special effects were part of a test given a group
of TM teachers to. determine their minds abilities to con-
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Photo by Tim Ford
Transcendental Meditation instructor Barbara Briggs "
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trol their bodies. Briggs said thousands of TM teachers,
including herself had experienced tne enecis.
"When we found that this was possible, we realized
the scientists at the research university in Switzerland
realized-that this was a very important scientific break
through in terms of human potential," Briggs said. "Be
cause of their integrity as scientists, because of our
willingness to share the knowledge with the woild, we did
release it to the press."
Develop ability
When asked why meditators refused to let other scien
tists examine the telekinetic effects under controlled
conditions, Briggs said they preferred to wait until more
people had developed the ability,
"What's the point of just a few teachers going around
doing it?" she said. "It should be available to everybody.
It shouldn't be like a circus."
"We're not concerned with leviataion itself, we're con
cerned with enlightenment."
Briggs holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from
New York University, she said. She taught at a high school
for dropouts in New York, for a year, she said, and then
studied music, choreography and dance in England at
the London School of Contemporary Dance. While in
England her music teacher introduced her to the practice
of meditation, she said.
After completing the year and a half TM teaching pro
gram, Briggs returned to New York City, die said. Because
there were already many full-time teachers there, she
wrote to TM centers around the country looking for an
opening, she said. Her search brought her to Lincoln.
"It's beautiful," Briggs said of Lincoln. "I really like
it. I can see why they chose a place like this as realry
heading toward the ideal, because it's beautiful, it's order
ly, there's an immense degree of orderliness in the city
itself."
Crafts puts emphasis on student Sty rescheduled
Ed Crafts has a new job. He is voice instructor and
opera director at UNL School of Music. But he never for- ,
gets he is here to help his students.
: "You have to try to decide what you want to do with
your operas," he said. "Do you try to approximate a
professional company or go the educational route.
"Our emphasis is on technique and skills so that what
ever we do will serve the student," Crafts said.
One of the things that pleases Crafts' the most, he said,
is that this year's opera program has expanded from two
to four productions. Crafts said this lets him use over 30
students in the shows and "if a student pays his tuition in
a performance field, he deserves to perform."
"There are a lot of 'good students in the music dept.
here who need the work and are interested in working,"
Crafts said.
He said there is a need for variety in the students'
experiences.
"In selecting the operas I tried to find some different
types so that I can expose students to just about every
style of opera within the three to four years that the stu
dents are here."
'. Varied experience has been a big influence on Crafts.
He received a B.A. in voice from Curtiss Institute in Phila
delphia and an M.A. in stage direction from Indiana State
University. Between work on his two degrees, Crafts re
ceived a Fulbright scholarship to study opera in Germany
and spent two years as a professional opera singer in
Europe. Additional experience came from off-Broadway
performances and co-directing (with his wife) a profess
ional company in Indiana.
"I suppose one of my strong points is that my exper
ience is not confined to one particular school or area,"
Crafts said. "It lets me look at things from many differ
ent angles."
Crafts said another of his traits is his working with
characterization. - . . .
"As interesting as lights or mechanical sets can be,
people come (to the operas) to see characters," he said.
"Down at the bottom of any theatre is the performer,"
That means that the longer he works with the cast,
the more the actors assume their own importance in their
roles, he said.
"By performance night, the director isn't in evident
at all," said Crafts.
In fact, Crafts already is working on his first show,
The Secret Marriage, busily directing himself out of evi
dence for the Oct. 27 opening night. ,
The Styx and Head East concert scheduled for tonight
in Pershing Municipal Auditorium has been postponed
until Nov. 23, due to an illness in Styx, according to a
Beaver production representative.
Tickets already purchased - will be honored at the
November concert and refunds are available only at the
Pershing Box Office.
Ticket sale starts
Tickets for Laserworks, a laser sound and light show
by Lawrence Goodridge, are on sale at the information
counter in Morrill Hall. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Performances of Laserworks in the Ralph Mueller
Planetarium are: Oct. 7, 7 and 8:30 pjn.; Oct. 8 and 9,
l:30,2:45,4,7and8":30p.m.
Proceeds from the Friday night performance will go to
the Nebraska Art Association.
The laser light and sound concert, created by Good
ridge, uses lasers that scan the planetarium dome with
oscilating mirrors and other optical devices.
Goodridge will discuss his works after the shows.
Filmmaker Maysles speaks following
Sheldon Art Gallery's film showcase
In cooperation with the Film-makers' Showcase at
Sheldon Art Gallery, Al Maysles, co-director and producer
of numerous films, will speak after the evening showings
of his films Friday and Saturday.
This program lets the public meet film makers, and
allows the artists a chance to express views and concerns
about their films.
The film Salesman will be shown Friday. It was
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produced in 1968 by Maysles and his younger brother
David, without the use of actors, costumes, sets or even a
script, providing a human drama. They call it "direct
cinema", because of the film's ability to walk into the
minds, hearts and homes of their subjects.
Salesman is about four Bible salesmen, selling the word
of God for dollars and cents in back-woods bungalows and
cement metropolitans. The interplay between the sales
men and real customers provides bits of spontaneous
humor between dismal pictures of typical hamburger
joints strung between hundreds of screen do-rs slammed
in their faces and the would-be customers' contagious
boredom toward life.
The impact of the story is magnified by the fact that
the film was shot on homemade, manually hauled equip
ment. On Saturday, viewings of Grey Gardens promises a
glimpse into the absurd, focusing on a true story of a
mother-daughter team that spends most of its time on
the edge or reality.
An interesting note to the women's story is their
kinship with Jackie Onassis. Edith Bouvier Beale, the
mother, is Onassis' aunt, the daughter, also Edith, is her
cousin.
Filmed at their ramshackled home, which was inhabit
ed by 28 cats and a raccoon, and literally surrounded by
6-foot -high vegetation, the film artistically reflects the
bizarre lifestyles of the women.
Little Edie, 54, often steals the camera, claiming her
past life as a frustrated performer, grieving her loss. But
for both of the Ediths, mother and daughter, the film
provided them with a medium to the outside world, after
a lifetime of misunderstanding and rejection.
They easily took over the role of directing from the
Maysles, and used their lives as a stage, providing a good
effect.
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Photo courtesy of Sheldon Film Theater
The hallmark of aristocracy is responsibility.
Edie Beale
A scene with Beale from Gray Gardens is part
of the Sheldon Fflm Theater's Filmmakers' show
case.
