Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

TRANSCEnDENTAL MEDITATION PROGRAM and CORRECTIONSIn addition to these physiological and cognitive characteristics, theability to fulfill desires without harming the interests of others alsodepends upon a foundation of emotional stability and personal fulfillment.Studies on improved mental health among inmates will bereviewed in the next section. In the direction of positive self-development,longitudinal studies have demonstrated increased self-actualizationamong participants in the Transcendental Meditation technique,in contrast to controls (Dick, 1974; Nidich, Seeman, & Dreskin, 1973;Seeman, Nidich, & Banta, 1972; Sheerer, 1978). In its ultimate development,this unfolding of inner potential is predicted to lead to a stateof complete breadth of comprehension, termed enlightenment, inwhich the individual spontaneously acts in such a manner as not onlyto fulfill his own desires, but also to contribute to the interests of others(Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1977).The potential applications of these findings in correctional settingswill be considered further after a review of the studies on the use of theTranscendental Meditation program in corrections.Research on Correctional Settings:Implementing the Transcendental Meditation ProgramIn the past 15 years, the Transcendental Meditation program has beentaught to thousands of prison inmates around the world, includingover 2,000 adult inmates in 18 U.S. correctional institutions, and toseveral hundred incarcerated juveniles in eight U.S. facilities. Many ofthe major prison projects included a research program to evaluate theeffects of the Transcendental Meditation program in these settings. Itis common knowledge that prisons are not ideal sites for research; forthis reason a quite small body of research is being generated in thenation’s correctional facilities. Similarly, each of the research projectsto be described was carried out under restricted environmental conditions.In addition, each program was carried out on a small budget byprivate donations rather than state or federal funding; for this reason,none of the programs were ideal in the sense that they made full use ofthe potential of the Transcendental Meditation program, because theprogram had to be implemented around other institutional priorities.In spite of these factors, the results of the program are consistentlypositive.271