Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programs

16 papers found

• 1977· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 1
  Davies, J. The Transcendental Meditation Program and progressive relaxation: Comparative effects on trait anxiety and self-actualization. Department of Psychology, University of New England at Armidale, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, 1974.

  In a comparison of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique and another relaxation technique on anxiety and self-actualization, the more comprehensive positive changes were found to occur in those practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique.

  • Self Development: Increased Inner-Directedness/Time Competence (Independence, Self-Supportiveness/Ability to Live in the Present, and Ability to Connect Past, Present, and Future Meaningfully)
  • Self Development: Increased Feeling Reactivity (Sensitivity to One’s Own Needs and Feelings)
  • Psychological Health: Decreased Trait Anxiety
• 1988· Journal of Conflict Resolution· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 4
  Orme-Johnson, D. W.; Alexander, C. N.; Davies, J. L.; Chandler, H. M.; and Larimore, W. E. International peace project in the Middle East: The effect of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution 32: 776–812, 1988.

  The collective practice of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field by a group of experts, numbering approximately the square root of one per cent of the Israeli population, was found to lead to improvements in the quality of life both within the nation and in neighboring Lebanon. This was reflected in decreased war deaths and decreased intensity of fighting in Lebanon; increased economic prosperity as shown by rises in the Tel Aviv stock market; decreased crime; increased positivity in the national mood; and, in Jerusalem where the group was located, decreased automobile accidents, crime, and fires.

  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Increased Positivity in National Mood (Israel, 1983)
  • Sociological—Reduced Crime: Decreased Crime (Israel, 1983)
  • Sociological—Improved Economy: Rise in Stock Market Index (Israel, 1983)
  • + 9 more findings
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 4
  Alexander, C. N.; Davies, J. L.; Newman, R. I.; and Chandler, H. M. The effects of Transcendental Meditation on cognitive and behavioral flexibility, health, and longevity in the elderly: An experimental comparison of the Transcendental Meditation Program, mindfulness training, and relaxation. Department of Psychology and Social Relations and Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, 1983.

  The Transcendental Meditation program was found to be particularly effective in reversing declines in psychological and physiological functioning in the elderly in comparison to other treatments. Improvements were found in cognitive flexibility, word fluency, systolic blood pressure, behavioral flexibility, and mental health. Furthermore, results demonstrated that the reversal of aging brought about by the practice of Transcendental Meditation leads directly to an enhancement of longevity.

  • Health—Aging: Increased Longevity
  • Cognitive Performance: Increased Cognitive Flexibility among the Elderly (Including Increased Learning Ability and Greater Perceptual Flexibility)
  • Health—Aging: Improvements in Self-Reported Measures of Behavioral Flexibility and Aging among the Elderly
  • + 3 more findings
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 4
  Davies, J. L.; and Alexander, C. N. The Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field and improved quality of life in the United States: A study of the First World Peace Assembly, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1979. Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 1983.

  The collective practice of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field by a group of approximately 2,500 individuals in the U.S.A. was found to result in a holistic improvement in the quality of life throughout the nation, as reflected by reductions in violent crime, motor vehicle fatalities, air transport fatal accidents, and fatalities from accidents, suicides and homicides, and by improvements in important national economic indicators.

  • Sociological—Reduced Crime: Decreased Violent Crime (USA, 1979)
  • Sociological—Reduced Accidents: Decreased Motor Vehicle Fatalities (USA, 1979)
  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Decreased Number of Fatalities from Accidents, Suicide, and Homicide (USA, 1979)
  • + 5 more findings
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 4
  Abou Nader, T. M.; Alexander, C. N.; and Davies, J. L. The Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field and reduction of armed conflict: A comparative, longitudinal study of Lebanese villages. American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; and Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, 1984.

  The practice of the Transcendental Meditation program by one percent of the population of a Lebanese village, situated in a major conflict area of Lebanon, was found to result in an immediate and continued cessation of hostilities, and improvements in social, economic, and ecological conditions in the village. These improvements were in sharp contrast to the continuing violence in surrounding control villages.

  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Cessation of Attack on a Community and Protection from Ongoing Armed Conflict in the Surrounding Area (Baskinta, Lebanon, 1982–1984)
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 4
  Alexander, C. N.; Abou Nader, T. M.; Cavanaugh, K. L.; Davies, J. L.; Dillbeck, M. C.; Kfoury, R. J.; and Orme-Johnson, D. W. The effect of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field on the war in Lebanon: A time series analysis of the influence of International and national coherence creating Assemblies. Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa, USA, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 1984.

  On three separate occasions during a six-month period, substantial progress towards peaceful resolution of the Lebanese conflict was found to result from the collective practice of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field.

  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Increased Progress towards Peaceful Resolution of Conflict and Decreased War Intensity (Lebanon, 1983–1984)
  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Decreased War Deaths and War Injuries (Lebanon, 1983–1984)
  • Sociological—Improved Economy: Improved Foreign Exchange Rate (Lebanon, 1984)
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 5
  Davies, J. L.; and Alexander, C. N. Alleviating political violence through enhancing coherence in collective consciousness: Impact assessment analyses of the Lebanon war. Summary of a paper presented at the 85th Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, September 1989. Findings also published in Dissertation Abstracts International 49(8): 2381A, 1989.

  Daily time series analysis of the Lebanese conflict over a period of two and one-quarter years found a highly significant reduction in war violence and increase in cooperation during the time of seven assemblies of participants in the group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program.

  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Increased Cooperation (Lebanon, 1983–1985)
  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Reduced Level of Conflict (Lebanon, 1983–1985)
  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Reduced War Fatalities (Lebanon, 1983–1985)
  • + 2 more findings
• 1989· Journal of Personality and Social Psychology· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Alexander, C. N.; Langer, E. J.; Newman, R. I. ; Chandler, H. M.; and Davies, J. L. Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57: 950–964, 1989.

  Individuals who learned the Transcendental Meditation program showed, in contrast to those participating in other treatments, a wide variety of physiological and psychological changes indicating a reversal of the deleterious effects of aging: reduction of high systolic blood pressure, improved mental health, increased cognitive flexibility, increased learning ability, greater behavioral flexibility, and greater sense of well-being. Those who learned the Transcendental Meditation program also showed significantly increased longevity during a follow-up period of three years.

  • Health—Aging: Increased Longevity (Higher Survival Rate)
  • Health—Cardiovascular: Reduction of Systolic Blood Pressure to More Ideal Levels among the Elderly
  • Psychological Health: Improved Mental Health (Improvements on Nurses’ Mental Health Ratings) among the Elderly
  • + 4 more findings
• 1990· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 5
  Alexander, C. N.; Langer, E.; Newman, R. I.; Chandler, H. M.; and Davies, J. L. Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly. Summary of a paper to appear in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

  Participation in the Transcendental Meditation program by the elderly resulted in reduced blood pressure, improved cognitive functioning, and increased longevity.

  • Learning and Memory: Increased Learning Ability among the Elderly
  • Health—Aging: Improvements in Self-Reported Measures of Behavioral Flexibility and Aging among the Elderly
  • Health—General: More Relaxation after Practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique among the Elderly
  • + 4 more findings
• 1990· Theoretical/Review· Collected Papers Vol. 5
  Alexander, C. N.; Davies, J. L.; Dixon, C. A.; Dillbeck, M. C.; Oetzel, R. M.; Druker, S. M.; Muehlman, J. M.; and Orme-Johnson, D. W. Growth of higher stages of consciousness: Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology of human development. Summary of a chapter appearing in Higher Stages of Human Development: Perspectives on Adult Growth, ed. C. N. Alexander and E. J. Langer. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

  The authors describe how theory and research in Maharishi's Vedic Psychology fulfills the quest of psychology to understand and promote the full range of human development.

  • Review Paper—Psychology: Theoretical and Review Paper—Developmental Psychology
• 1990· Journal of Conflict Resolution· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Orme-Johnson, D. W.; Alexander, C. N.; and Davies, J. L. The effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field: Reply to a methodological critique. Journal of Conflict Resolution 34: 756–768, 1990.

  This study presents a reanalysis of previous data, which demonstrates the strength of the finding that during periods when a large group was participating in the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program in Israel, there was a significant decrease of the Lebanese conflict.

  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Decreased International Conflict (Israel and Lebanon, August–September 1983)
• 1990· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Gelderloos, P.; Cavanaugh, K. L.; and Davies, J. L. The dynamics of US-Soviet relations, 1979–1986: Effects of reducing social stress through the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, pp. 297–302. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association, 1990.

  This time series study of an independent data bank found that when the size of a group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program in the United States was larger than the square root of one per cent of the U.S. population (a little over 1500 at the time—from 1979 to 1986), there was a significant increase in the positivity of actions of the United States towards the Soviet Union compared to periods when the size of the group was below 1500. When the group of participants in the TM-Sidhi program was larger than 1700, creating the strongest influence of the Maharishi Effect in the United States, there was also an independent significant increase of positivity of actions of the Soviet Union towards the United States.

  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Improved USA Statements and Actions Towards the USSR and Improved USSR Statements and Actions Towards the USA (USA and USSR, 1979–1986)
• 1996· Circulation· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Alexander, C.; Barnes, V.; Schneider, R.; Langer, E.; Newman, R.; Chandler, H.; Davies, J.; and Rainforth, M. A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction on cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the elderly: Results of 8 year and 15 year follow-ups. Circulation 93: 629, 1996 (Abstract).

  This long-term follow-up study found that elderly persons who had learned the Transcendental Meditation program showed significantly increased longevity, compared to those randomly assigned to participate in other programs. Those who had learned the Transcendental Meditation program also showed less cardiovascular mortality.

  • Health—Aging: Increased Longevity (Higher Survival Rate)
  • Health—Aging: Higher Survival Rate Among Those with Cardiovascular Mortality
• 1999· Social Indicators Research· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Hagelin, John S.; Rainforth, Maxwell V.; Orme-Johnson, David W.; Cavanaugh, Kenneth L.; Alexander, Charles N.; Shatkin, Susan F.; Davies, John L.; Hughes, Anne O.; and Ross, Emanuel. Effects of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation program on preventing violent crime in Washington, DC: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June–July, 1993. Social Indicators Research 47: 153–201, 1999.

  During the period of a large assembly of experts in the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program, including Yogic Flying, in Washington, D.C. in June and July of 1993, there was a significant decrease in violent crime (homicides, rapes, assaults) as indicated by time series analysis, with results independent of temperature and police staffing.

  • Sociological—Reduced Crime: Decreased Violent Crime (Washington, D.C., June–July 1993)
• 2005· Journal of Social Behavior and Personality· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Davies, John L.; and Alexander, Charles N. Alleviating political violence through reducing collective tension: Impact assessment analyses of the Lebanon war. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17: 285–338, 2005.

  Seven assemblies of experts in the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program, which were of sufficient size to have a predicted influence on Lebanon during the time of the Lebanon war during the period 1983 to 1985, were found by time series intervention analysis to be associated with significantly increased cooperation among the parties, as well as significantly decreased conflict intensity, decreased war fatalities, and decreased war injuries, and improvements in an overall index of peace based on all four of these variables.

  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Increased Peace Index (Lebanon, Seven Periods in 1983–1985)
  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Increased Cooperation (Lebanon, Seven Periods in 1983–1985)
  • Sociological—Reduced Violent Conflict: Decreased Conflict (Lebanon, Seven Periods in 1983–1985)
  • + 2 more findings
• 2011· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Hagelin, John S.; Rainforth, Maxwell V.; Orme-Johnson, David W.; Cavanaugh, Kenneth L.; Alexander, Charles N.; Shatkin, Susan F.; Davies, John L.; Hughes, Anne O.; and Ross, Emanuel. Effects of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation program on preventing violent crime in Washington, DC: Results of the National Demonstration Project, June–July 1993. Summary.

  This study found that during a two-month period in which an increasingly large group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program assembled in Washington, DC, there was a significant decrease in violent crime in the District of Columbia; violent crime decreased as the size of the group increased.

  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Improved Quality of City Life as Measured by Decreased Violent Crime Rate in the National Capital (Washington, DC, USA, June and July, 1993)