From: mishler@doyle.Eng.Sun.COM (Conan Mishler)
Newsgroups: alt.consciousness
Subject: New Technologies for Peace
Date: 23 Dec 1992 23:42:08 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA
Distribution: ba
NNTP-Posting-Host: doyle


		      NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR PEACE

I think that many of us have heard that Transcendental
Meditation can have a positive effect on the quality of an
individual's health, relationships and mental clarity.  But until
recently, few of us have seriously considered the possibility of using
it as an effective tool for creating peace.  However, in light of the
impressive amount of evidence that has been accumulated over the past
20 years, some people are now taking a closer look.

One retrospective study compared 12 cities in which at least one
percent of the population had learned the Transcendental Meditation
technique by the end of 1972 to 12 matched control cities with
relatively few people practicing the TM technique but otherwise
comparable in population, location, and crime statistics.  Nine of the
12 control cities increased in number of serious crimes from 1972 to
1973 with an average change of +7.7 percent.  According to the FBI
Uniform Crime Reports for the nation as a whole, the average increase
in crime that year in cities of comparable size was 8.7 percent.  In
contrast, the cities with one percent of their population practicing
the TM technique decreased in crime rate by an average of 8.8 percent,
a relative decrease of 16.5 percent when compared with the control
group. This study was later replicated and expanded to include 48
cities, with similar results, and was published in the Journal of
Crime and Justice (Vol. IV, 1981).  Since this original research, TM
crime rate studies have been conducted in hundreds of cities in the
United States, using sophisticated statistical procedures to control
for a broad spectrum of variables, and consistently yielding similar
results.

Another study examines the "field effect" of a group of people
practicing TM and the advanced, "TM-Sidhi" techniques.  Published in
Yale University's "Journal of Conflict Resolution" (Vol 32, 1988), the
study examines the effects of a TM peace project based in East
Jerusalem.  Time series analysis over a two month period indicated
that whenever the size of the TM-Sidhi group was above the "predicted
threshold," there was a significant reduction in violence, crime and
auto accidents in Jerusalem and Israel and a reduction in war
intensity and war fatalities in neighboring Lebanon.  A follow up
study confirmed the impact of this group and six subsequent groups at
varying distances from Lebanon in alleviating violence in the Lebanon
War.  On average, there was a 66 percent increase in cooperative
events among the antagonistic parties, a 48 percent reduction in armed
conflict, a 71 percent reduction in war deaths, and a 68 percent
reduction in war injuries.  Also, over 30 additional studies have
found comparable results.

The "field effect" alluded to in this study is said to be possible as
a result of a fundamental connection between individuals at the level
of the "collective consciousness."  The field effect of consciousness
has also been explained in modern scientific terms by Harvard
physicist, Dr. John Hagelin.  Dr. Hagelin, and other quantum
physicists dating back to Einstein, have proposed the existence of a
"Unified Field" which is said to be the source of the more commonly
known fields of gravity, electromagnetism, etc...  In his paper,
"Consciousness: the Unified Field," Dr. Hagelin argues that the
qualities of an individual's consciousness can affect the qualities of
others through the unified field.

For those who are interested in finding out more about the
peace-creating potential of TM and how it works, there will be an
introductory lecture held on Thursday, January 7th at 7:30pm at the
Unity Palo Alto Community Church (3391 Middlefield Rd.). People who are
interested, but unable to attend this special lecture can attend a
regular introductory lecture any Wednesday evening at 8:00pm at the TM
center of Palo Alto, 470 San Antonio Rd.  The regular introductory
lecture covers the same material as this special lecture, but doesn't
go into as much detail on the peace-creating potential of TM.

Also, an experiment is being set up locally to demonstrate the
field effect phenomena.  The demonstration will measure changes in a
subject's brain-wave coherence as a nearby group of people practice
the TM-Sidhi technique.  People who are interested in taking-part in,
or observing a demonstration of the field effect phenomena should
contact Conan Mishler (415) 336-9092, or Peter Ham (415) 813-8262.

Newsgroups: alt.consciousness,talk.religion.misc