Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

consciousness-based education and governmentRico, and Washington, D.C. when the size of the group practicing theTranscendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs reached thresholdnumbers. 45 In a study in UK (1978-1991), crime rate fell by 16% inMerseyside (p = .00006) when the size of the local group of TM-Sidhipractitioners reached its threshold, whereas during the same period,crime increased by 20% in the rest of England and Wales. 46 In thesestudies, alternative explanations were explored and could not accountfor the findings.ConclusionOver 50 studies have shown the application of the collective practiceof the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs in neutralizingcollective stress in society, thereby increasing quality of life,and reducing situations of economic hardship, conflict, violence, andaggression on local, regional, and international scales. These findingsindicate that by deploying groups of such experts in troubled regions,the situations of stress and conflict could be alleviated, providing a basisfor long-term solutions and sustained peace.Considering the number of people in the world today and its continualpopulation growth, a group of 10,000 practitioners in at least onearea of the world would ensure a sustainable and lasting peace. Moreover,groups of Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programpractitioners, either trained locally or deployed to troubled regions,could reduce situations of conflict within days. As a preventive measure,permanent groups of practitioners could be set up on every continentto prevent the accumulation of collective stress and the resultantsituations of conflict.In summary, human security is at the basis of progress and creativity.Maharishi uses the analogy of “mother is at home.” When a childknows, at a fine feeling level, that mother is at home, the child canplay freely and enjoy his or her activity. But when a child is aware thatmother is not at home, the entire realm of play and activity is disrupted.The self-referral experience of pure consciousness provides the experienceof inner peace and fulfillment, while at the same time dissolvingstress. Practiced in groups, the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs support peace and security, coherence and progressin society. The alleviation of social stress through the Transcendental70