Dr. David Verrill, along with his wife Jessamine, learned the Transcendental Meditation technique in 1959 during Maharishi's first visit to the United States.  The Verrills quickly became organizers for the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, and Dr. Verrill has served as an officer of the national organization since January of 1960. Maharishi has honored the Verrills as 'Founders of the Movement' for North America.

We heard from a friend that a man from India was coming to Los Angeles to teach meditation, and we decided to attend a lecture as soon as he arrived. On November 10th, we went to the center on Sixth and Alexandria where we saw Maharishi for the first time.

The next day we were initiated. It was on Veteran’s Day, 1959. We learned in the small meditation house that had been built for Maharishi in Helen and Roland Olsen’s back yard. After that, we came every night until he left town. Sitting in the Olsen’s living room or at the center, our group asked many questions of Maharishi—I put in some of my own—and they were all answered.

It spread just the way it always does, by word of mouth. We told our friends, other people told their friends. So every night there were some new people, and quite a number of old ones.

It was proposed from the start as a worldwide movement. The idea was that people would go to India, study with Maharishi to become teachers, and then come back to teach.

We went to course after course: two on Santa Catalina Island, one on Vancouver Island, the course at Emerald Lake in Canada, and one at Lake Tahoe. In 1967 we went to India for the Teacher Training Course. After I retired in 1977, we took our Governor Training Course, and then were full-time with the national administration for the next 21 years.

Last week I went to visit a local teacher and met another man coming to his 3rd Day Checking meeting. He mentioned that he’d had good results after just 3 days, and asked, "How long have you been in it?" I said, "I’ve been in it 38 years." He replied, "That’s before I was born!"

In Maharishi’s new book, Celebrating Perfection in Education, it’s mentioned that modern science, the study of the objective or material world, has now accepted the reality of the Unified Field, which is subjective and therefore self-referral. This indicates to me that, in essence, Maharishi has fulfilled his purpose of spiritually regenerating the world. Now all we have to do is let everybody know about it.

Contribute Your Story to a New Book! Enlightenment magazine is planning to publish a collection of stories on how Meditators learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, and the benefits they’ve experienced in their lives.

To make the book complete, we’d like stories from people of all ages and backgrounds. We hope that you’ll write your story in 1,000 to 3,000 words, and send it to Enlightenment magazine: PO Box 26, Hillsboro, NH 03244 or email to editor@enlightenment-magazine.org.