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Enlightenment and society: Scientist discusses Maharishi Effect research
by David W. Orme-Johnson, Ph.D.

Transcendental Meditation Magazine    Translate This Article
16 February 2012

The last major category of research Dr. David Orme-Johnson* describes in his comprehensive review comprises studies on the Maharishi Effect of coherence and harmony in society produced when 1% of the population practices the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Please see previous articles in this series:
'The science behind the experience of enlightenment: Measuring the immeasurable'
'Early research on Transcendental Meditation finds fourth major state of consciousness: Dr David Orme-Johnson'
'The meditating brain: Research shows increased EEG coherence during Transcendental Meditation'
'A coherent brain is a high-performing brain: Scientific research on Transcendental Meditation'
'Scientific research on Transcendental Meditation: Quantifying the growth to enlightenment'
'Redefining health: Scientific research on Transcendental Meditation'

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Enlightenment and Society: The Maharishi Effect. As early as 1960, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi predicted that if even 1% of a given population practiced the TM technique, the quality of life in the larger society would measurably improve.

In December 1974, Garland Landrith III, a graduate student at Maharishi University of Management, looked into the FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics for four college towns in the Midwestern region of the United States that had reached 1% of their population practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique. He found crime rate decreased by about 20% compared to control towns of similar demographics.

This study was quickly followed up by larger studies, and over the years there have been more than 50 studies, many published in leading journals, showing improvements in all areas of life through this 1% effect (also known as the Maharishi Effect) in many parts of the world. Results include reduced crime rate, fewer violent deaths, global improvements on quality of life indices, improvements in economic indices, less terrorism and warfare, more harmony in government, and improved international relations and cooperation.

Even from the first 1% study, Maharishi recognized that the coherent elements in society could change the trends of time. He explained that Transcendental Consciousness is the underlying reality of every individual mind in society, and ultimately is the organizing power at the basis of natural law, as many great traditions and many modern physicists, such as Dr. John Hagelin, have pointed out.

When Transcendental Consciousness is enlivened in any one individual's brain, it creates an influence of coherence in other peoples' brains, and hence in the collective consciousness of society, which fosters cooperation and harmony.

Click here to watch a video of Dr. Orme-Johnson discussing the body of scientific research on the Transcendental Meditation technique.

Global Good News will feature the conclusion of Dr. Orme-Johnson's article, The science behind the experience of enlightenment.

Source: Enlightenment: The Transcendental Meditation Magazine

* David W. Orme-Johnson, Ph.D., was a founding faculty member and chair of the department of psychology at Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, USA for over two decades. Dr. Orme-Johnson has published over 100 scientific papers on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi® programs and is co-editor of Volumes 1 and 5 of Scientific Research on Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers. He is a nationally recognized researcher on human potential and currently serves as a consultant on research on meditation.

© Copyright 2012 Maharishi Foundation USA



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