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Effects of Collective Meditation and Prayer Reduced Yiolent Crime in Washingtan, ht If this is so, then we already have a basis for belie : that prayer might be effective after all. Indeed, a number of scientific studies have been carried out to test the efficacy of prayer in aiding the recovery o patients in hospital. Some of these have achieved a modest degree of statistical significance. Much more impressive, however, are the results obtained by scientists at the Maharishi Internationa University's Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy. Based on his theory of the unified field, the Maharishi advanced the hypothesis that meditation itself, and especially the transcendental meditation (TM) he was teaching, should have an effect in the rea world, and that this effect might be greatly magnified J ‘ y ‘ ’ t . 250 : : \ 2 3 1 5 b 7 f] when large numbers of people meditate together. This Week Humber af Assembly hypothesis has been tested in over 40 studies on a variety of social indicators, with violent crime showing the biggest effect. Many of these studies have been phenomenon in the history of social science. These published in peer-reviewed journals. results should be taken seriously. To see the graphs A very large and well-planned experiment took place __ gives us exactly the kind of visual, quantitative evidence in 1993 in Washington, DC.° Every stage of the _ that our scientifically encultured minds now demand. experiment was overseen by a 27-member review board Some would object that people have been praying for including sociologists, criminologists and peace from the beginning, and look how much war we representatives from the police and local government. _ still have. But petitionary prayer still has an element of E lilies} 7 0s Say 1o% 15% zon Figure 4 It was decided, as the ego, in that it is asking for dependen variable, to monitor something "I" want. The trick i et Ont | aathese results make this J 2."50.4r™ gas 2 ennai (OC CCENTEG TEGO" | Naas practised the TM-Sidhi program group meditations the Thus the TM meditators in the together twice daily at pre- most rigorously established experiments were not arranged times. The result consciously praying for (figure 4) shows that, as the phenomenon In the history anything, but rather could be number of meditators rose to of social science. said to be merely aligning reach eventually about 4,000, themselves with the Universe. the violent crime figure dropped At the same time, they could progressively by 23 per cent. hardly escape knowing that an The statistical significance of this correlation was experiment was under way and what was being astronomic. No significant decreases in crime were measured; and those in the Washington experiment found for similar periods during the previous five years. | would have known that they were in Washington, DC. On consideration of a great number of other possible This kind of link, held in the background of the mind, is causes for this result, such as unusual weather what is usually employed for distant healing, and can conditions, etc., none was found to be remotely focus an essentially non-local effect onto a specific answerable. arget. Another study centred on the 1988 war in Lebanon.’ Since we know with such certainty now that we are all Over a two-year period, seven TM groups met at various connected at this subtle level, we must allow for the times totalling 93 days—not only in Lebanon and Israel, _ possibility that we are having an influence all the time, but further afield in The Netherlands, Yugoslavia and not only during set times for spiritual practice. It may the USA. Their influence, assessed by a composite be that we are never "off duty" but are on the stage all peace/war index, during these 93 days reached he time. This influence would come not from any kind enormous significance by comparison with the of activity, not by any doing, but by the quality of our being. intervening periods, totalling 748 days, when no such groups were meeting. The authors commented that _ Possible Further Evolution of the Human Race these results make this peace-creating effect of group The above findings clearly reveal a tremendous meditations the most rigorously established potential which could, in principle, heal the world. Figure 4 peace-creating effect of group meditations the most rigorously established phenomenon in the history were target. Since we know with such certainty now that we are all connected at this subtle level, we must allow for the possibility that we are having an influence all the time, not only during set times for spiritual practice. It may be that we are never "off duty" but are on the stage all the time. This influence would come not from any kind of activity, not by any doing, but by the quality of our being. Possible Further Evolution of the Human Race The above findings clearly reveal a tremendous potential which could, in principle, heal the world. NEXUS ¢ 43 Reduced Yiolent Crime in Washingtan, ht ...these results make this of social science. DECEMBER 2010 - JANUARY 20II www.nexusmagazine.com