Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

the maharishi effect and governmentswift reversal of political fortune is not easy to account for. The inmates maylogically wonder whether Clinton really turned things around or if somethingelse is going on . . . almost mysteriously and almost overnight, in the face ofgovernment distress, the press seemed to be transformed from a hostile, angrymob to a pack of fawning pussycats . . . [italics added]. (1993, p. C-1)Maharishi’s theory of collective consciousness suggests that it isstress in the collective consciousness which results in the head of stateacting in a less than ideal way, (1995) and lack of coherence in societywhich leads to a lack of mutual support between the head of stateand the constituents. Whereas the perception of President Clintonreflected in the press changed dramatically after the Demonstrationperiod began, this was predicted in advance based on theory and previousresearch by the organizers of the Demonstration Project whopredicted that results of the project would include less governmentgridlock and more appreciation and success of President Clinton,his administration, and Congress due to the coherence in collectiveconsciousness created by the Project (Hagelin, Orme-Johnson, Rainforth,Cavanaugh, & Alexander, 1994).ConclusionsFrom the results across variables in this study it can be concluded that:1) The Extended Maharishi Effect has a simultaneous, significantimpact across many levels of society as demonstrated by the varietyof variables presented in these studies, including government-relatedvariables and quality of life variables.2) The Extended Maharishi Effect , as examined in these studies demonstratedfield effects, as the impact was seen in local and national eventsfrom groups practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhiprogram in one area.3) The results of the Demonstration Project were predicted in advanceof the collection and analysis of the data.4) Measurement bias was controlled for through use of publicly availabledata from governmental agencies (emergency psychiatric calls,complaints against the police, accidental deaths, trauma cases) and datawhich was coded by independent researchers and their assistants blindto the hypotheses during the coding of the data (presidential approvalratings, and media attitude towards the president).257