Author's Note

C H A P T E R 7 (cont)

The Urgent Need for a New Solution to Crime

By this time the alarming rise of violent crime in U.S. cities had also made it very clear that a new solution to the crisis was urgently needed. Despite the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars on crime-fighting programs, violent crime continued to soar. Experts admitted that conventional approaches had failed. In fact, there was no evidence to suggest that building more prisons, hiring more police, or handing out stiffer sentences to offenders were making even the slightest dent in reducing crime.

Two-Month Crime Reduction Demonstration Project in Washington, D.C.

There was, however, considerable evidence to show that group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program did reduce violent crime. To demonstrate this fact publicly, a $5 million sociological experiment was held in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 1993.

From June 7 through July 30, 4,000 experts in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program from 50 countries assembled, at their own expense, in Washington, D.C. Twice a day they participated in large group meditations to reduce social stress and violent crime.

Researchers lodged predictions for the experiment in advance with a 27-member, independent "project review board" comprising leading research scientists from universities throughout the U.S., including the University of Maryland, the University of the District of Columbia, and the University of Denver School of Law; policy analysts; and local government and community leaders. Based on previous findings, researchers predicted that violent crime in Washington, D.C., would decrease significantly by the end of the project. In addition, because of reduced levels of stress in the nation's capital, researchers also predicted an increase in the level of cooperation and effectiveness of the government and, on that basis, an improvement in President Clinton's standing in the opinion polls.

Violent Crime in Washington Decreases Significantly during Demonstration

The results exceeded predictions. After months of rapid increase, HRA violent crime (homicide, rape, and assault) suddenly declined in Washington, D.C., during the demonstration, according to time series analysis. (Violent crime usually increases in June and July.) For the final 2 weeks of the demonstration, HRA crime dropped 18%. In addition, other quality-of-life indicators moved in the positive direction, and an analysis of opinion polls on President Clinton showed a highly statistically significant change from a declining trend to a trend of increasing public support during the demonstration. Once the Transcendental Meditation assembly dispersed and social stress began to rise again, HRA crime rose as well. (The results of this study will be expanded and finalized after the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department releases its complete crime report for 1993 to the FBI in October 1994 -- following the publication of this book. For a copy of the final results of the Washington study, contact the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa 52557.)

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"This demonstration has confirmed the theory that large assemblies of people practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program reduce social stress and tension, as measured by decreased violent crime, increased governmental cooperation and efficiency, and improvements in other sociological indicators," says Dr. John Hagelin, Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi International University. "It shows definitively that any government can reduce crime and other social problems, and prevent new problems from arising, by establishing 'A Group for a Government' -- a large group of experts practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Governments now have a practical means to prevent costly problems and dramatically improve the quality of life for the whole population."

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"I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other on-going social or psychological research program," says David Edwards, Ph.D., Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, referring to the many studies conducted on effects of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on society. "The research has survived a broader array of statistical tests than has most research in the field of conflict resolution. I think this work, and the theory that informs it, deserve the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike." Dr. Edwards does not practice Transcendental Meditation.

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"There is growing recognition that we have been thinking too narrowly about the causes, dynamics, and means of resolving conflicts," says John Davies, Ph.D., Research Coordinator for the Center of International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland. "This thinking hasn't given us sufficiently effective options to be able to manage and minimize conflict in the world."

Dr. Davies is an expert on the prevention, analysis, and resolution of conflict. He is currently developing the most advanced and sophisticated global event data system for tracking daily international and intra-national events worldwide. International peace-keeping organizations will use the data system for developing early warning systems and evaluating the success of attempts to prevent or resolve conflicts.

Dr. Davies, who practices Transcendental Meditation, has conducted his own study to test the effect of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on conflict resolution. His findings replicated several earlier studies showing a positive correlation between the number of people collectively practicing this technology in a society and the reduction of conflict throughout the entire population. His research also indicated a significant increase in the level of cooperation between opposing parties who were involved in conflict during the experimental period.

"The advantage of this approach to conflict resolution is that it doesn't require any intrusive intervention to resolve the conflict," Dr. Davies says. "It appears to make use of a fundamental level of interconnectedness among all members of the community to reduce stress and create coherence in the conflict area. The evidence is there that this approach warrants inclusion in any government's multilevel repertoire of concurrent approaches to promote the development and quality of life at every level -- city, national, and international. It expands the range of tools for federal government. Leaders should be aware of it. They should be trying it."

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The following charts represent a few of the more than 40 studies on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on society.

• Increased Positivity, Decreased Crime
• Improved Quality of Life
• Decreased Violent Fatalities
• Improved Quality of Life and Reduced Crime

 

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