Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programs

23 papers found

• 1986· Education· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 5
  Nidich, S. I.; Nidich, R. J.; and Rainforth, M. School effectiveness: Achievement gains at the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment. Education 107: 49–54, 1986.

  Students at a school implementing Maharishi's Unified Field Based Integrated System of Education were found to increase significantly over one academic year on standardized tests of overall academic achievement, mathematical ability, reading ability, and work study skills.

  • Academic Performance: Increased Academic Achievement for Both Incoming and Continuing Primary School Students
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 5
  Gaylord, C.; Orme-Johnson, D. W.; Willbanks, M.; Travis, F.; Rainforth, M.; and Reynolds, B. The effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on self-concept and EEG coherence in black college students. Findings presented at the annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science, Storm Lake, Iowa, USA, April 1989. Findings also published in abstract insert in The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science 96(1), A31–A32, 1989.

  Subjects who learned the Transcendental Meditation program increased significantly on self-concept, mental health, and EEG coherence.

  • Self Development: Improved Self-Concept: Increased Self-Satisfaction
  • Self Development: Improved Self-Concept: Increased Moral-Ethical Self
  • Self Development: Improved Self-Concept: Improved Personal Self
  • + 4 more findings
• 1989· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 5
  Alexander, C. N.; Swanson, G. C.; Rainforth, M. V.; Carlisle, T. W.; and Todd, C. C. The Transcendental Meditation program and business: A prospective study. Findings presented at the 101st Annual Session of the Iowa Academy of Science, Storm Lake, Iowa, USA, April 1989. Findings also published in abstract insert in The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science 96: A32, 1989.

  Business employees participating in the regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation program showed reduced anxiety and alcohol and cigarette consumption; increased job satisfaction, health, productivity, and physiological stability; and improved personal and work relationships.

  • Organizational Performance and Well-Being: Enhanced Sleep and Reduced Fatigue
  • Organizational Performance and Well-Being: Reduced Cigarette Consumption
  • Organizational Performance and Well-Being: Reduced Liquor Consumption
  • + 7 more findings
• 1991· Journal of Social Behavior and Personality· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Alexander, C. N.; Rainforth, M. V.; and Gelderloos, P. Transcendental Meditation, self-actualization, and psychological health: A conceptual overview and statistical meta–analysis. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6: 189–248, 1991.

  This meta-analysis of all research on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on self-actualization, in comparison to other techniques, found that Transcendental Meditation had three times the effect size of other procedures in enhancing self-actualization and its underlying components (emotional maturity, integrative perspective on self and world, and resilient sense of self). The Transcendental Meditation program was also found to lead to significant improvements on each of the 12 scales of the most common test of self-actualization.

  • Self Development: Increased Synergy (Sees Opposites of Life as Meaningfully Related)
  • Self Development: Increased Acceptance of Feelings
  • Social Behavior: Increased Capacity for Intimate Contact (Warm Interpersonal Relationships)
  • + 12 more findings
• 1993· Anxiety, Stress and Coping: An International Journal· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Alexander, C. N.; Swanson, G. C.; Rainforth, M. V.; Carlisle, T. W.; Todd, C. C.; and Oates, R. M. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on stress reduction, health, and employee development: a prospective study in two occupational settings. Anxiety, Stress and Coping 6: 245–262, 1993.

  This research study found that executives and employees who learned and regularly practiced the Transcendental Meditation program, in contrast to other employees from the same worksites, showed increased employee effectiveness, increased job satisfaction, improved personal and work relationships, reduced job worry and tension, reduced trait anxiety, decreased insomnia and decreased fatigue, reduced cigarette and hard liquor use, improved health, and greater calm (lower skin conductance) during task performance. The group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation program also showed, in contrast to the controls, improvement on three components found to underlie each of these measures—increased occupational coherence, increased physiological settledness, and increased satisfaction with professional and personal life.

  • Organizational Performance and Well-Being: Increased Employee Effectiveness
  • Organizational Performance and Well-Being: Increased Job Satisfaction
  • Organizational Performance and Well-Being: Improved Personal and Work Relationships among Employees
  • + 7 more findings
• 1994· Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Alexander, C. N.; Robinson, P.; and Rainforth, M. Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 13–87, 1994.

  This paper presents a meta-analysis of research on the Transcendental Meditation program indicating that individuals who learn this program show a significantly greater reduction in use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes than do individuals who participate in programs of relaxation, prevention, or treatment. The results also showed that abstinence from illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes was maintained or even increased over a long period of time among those who participated in the Transcendental Meditation program, in contrast to high relapse rates for standard treatment programs. The meta-analysis also indicated that individuals with substance abuse problems who learned the Transcendental Meditation program showed significantly improved psychological health in comparison to controls.

  • Health Promoting Behavior: Meta-Analysis Indicating Significantly Greater Reduction in Use of Illegal Drugs, Alcohol, and Cigarettes than Programs of Relaxation, Prevention, or Treatment
  • Health Promoting Behavior: Abstinence from Illegal Drugs, Alcohol, and Cigarettes Maintained or Increased over Long Term (Relapse Prevention)
  • Psychological Health: Improved Psychological Health (Reduced Negative Qualities, Reduced Anxiety, Improved Positive Qualities) Among Those with Substance Abuse Problems in Comparison to Controls
• 1995· Hypertension· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Schneider, R. H.; Staggers, F.; Alexander, C. N.; Sheppard, W.; Rainforth, M.; Kondwani, K.; Smith, S.; and King, C. G. A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African Americans. Hypertension 26: 820–827, 1995.

  Hypertensive individuals who learned the Transcendental Meditation program displayed reductions of high systolic and diastolic blood pressure after three months, in comparison to those practicing muscle relaxation and in comparison to controls receiving education about lowering blood pressure through modifying their lifestyle.

  • Health—Cardiovascular: Reduction of High Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Subjects
• 1996· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Mason, L.; Alexander, C. N.; Travis, F. T.; Orme-Johnson, D. W.; Gackenbach, J.; Marsh, G.; Walton, K.; and Rainforth, M. Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep. Summary of findings of doctoral dissertation by the first author, Department of Psychology, Maharishi International University, 1995. (Findings also published in Dissertation Abstracts International 56(10): 5797B, 1996.)

  This study found that the experience of pure consciousness during sleep, among participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, was associated with increased EEG theta/­alpha power during deep sleep, decreased EMG activity during deep sleep, increased REM density during REM sleep, and more frequent reports of higher states of consciousness.

  • Electroencephalographic: Increased EEG Theta/Alpha Power During Deep Sleep
  • Electroencephalographic: Decreased EMG Activity During Deep Sleep
  • Electroencephalographic: Increased REM Density During REM Sleep
  • + 1 more findings
• 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
• 1996· Hypertension· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Alexander, C. N.; Schneider, R. H.; Staggers, F; Sheppard, W.; Clayborne, B. M.; Rainforth, M.; Salerno, J.; Kondwani, K.; Smith, S.; Walton, K. G.; and Egan, B. Trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African Americans: II. Sex and risk subgroup analysis. Hypertension 28: 228–237, 1996.

  This study found that the Transcendental Meditation program reduced high systolic and diastolic blood pressure among all subgroups of hypertensive patients—both men and women, and both high and low psychosocial stress subjects—in contrast to control subjects. Those participating in the Transcendental Meditation program, irrespective of their subgroup on five other risk measures for high blood pressure—obesity, alcohol use, physical inactivity, dietary sodium-potassium intake, and an overall index of all risk factors—also showed reduction of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in comparison to control subjects.

  • Health—Cardiovascular: Reduction of High Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure Found for both Men and Women, and both High and Low Psychosocial Stress Subjects who Learned the Transcendental Meditation program
  • Health—Cardiovascular: Reduction of High Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure Irrespective of Score on Five Other Measures of Risk for High Blood Pressure—Obesity, Alcohol Use, Physical Inactivity, Dietary Sodium-Potassium Intake, and Index of All Risk Factors Combined
• 1996· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 6
  Dillbeck, M. C., and Rainforth, M. V. Impact assessment analysis of behavioral quality of life indices: Effects of group practice of the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program. In American Statistical Association, 1996 Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section, pp. 38–43. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association, 1996.

  The first study in this paper found that during periods when the size of a group of participants in the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program in the USA exceeded the square root of one per cent of the national population, there was a significant improvement in a comprehensive quality of life index combining seven monthly behavioral variables (reduced homicide, reduced suicide, reduced motor vehicle fatalities, reduced death due to other accidents, reduced notifiable diseases, reduced alcohol consumption, and reduced cigarette consumption), controlling for changes in national economic trends (unemployment rate). A replication study in Canada found that during periods when the size of the same group of participants in the TM-Sidhi program exceeded the square root of one per cent of the national populations of the USA and Canada together, there was a significant improvement in a comparable Canadian quality of life index comprising available behavioral variables (reduced homicide, reduced suicide, reduced motor vehicle fatalities, and reduced cigarette consumption), controlling for changes in national unemployment trends.

  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Improvements Controlling for Economic Changes on a Monthly Index Including Motor Vehicle Fatalities, Homicide, Suicide, Deaths Due to Accidents (other than Motor Vehicle), Notifiable Diseases, Alcohol Consumption, Cigarette Consumption (United States, 1970–1986)
  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Improvements Controlling for Economic Changes on a Monthly Index Including Motor Vehicle Fatalities, Homicide, Suicide, Cigarette Consumption (Canada, 1972–1986)
• 1997· Sleep· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Mason, L. I.; Alexander, C. N.; Travis, F. T.; Marsh, G.; Orme-Johnson, D. W.; Gackenbach, J.; Mason, D. C.; Rainforth, M.; and Walton, K. G. Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep 20: 102–110, 1997.

  Participants in the Transcendental Meditation program who reported the experience of higher states of consciousness during sleep displayed EEG and EMG activity suggesting the integration of physiological characteristics of Transcendental Consciousness together with physiological characteristics of deep sleep, in contrast to two control groups.

  • Self Development: Experience of Pure Consciousness During Sleep Associated with More Frequent Reports of Higher States of Consciousness
• 1997· International Journal of Neuroscience· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Wenneberg, S. R.; Schneider, R. H.; Walton, K. G.; Maclean C. R.; Levitsky, D. K.; Salerno, J. W.; Wallace, R. K.; Mandarino, J. V.; Rainforth, M. V.; and Waziri, R. A controlled study of the effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on cardiovascular reactivity and ambulatory blood pressure. International Journal of Neuroscience 89: 15–28, 1997.

  Individuals randomly assigned to learn the Transcendental Meditation program showed a significant reduction of average ambulatory diastolic blood pressure over a period of four months in contrast to control subjects randomly assigned to participate in a stress education program.

  • Health—Cardiovascular: Reduction in Ambulatory Diastolic Blood Pressure
• 1997· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Goodman, Rachel S.; Orme-Johnson, David W.; Rainforth, Maxwell V.; and Goodman, David H. Transforming political institutions through individual and collective consciousness: The Maharishi Effect and government. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, August 1997. See also Dissertation Abstracts International 58(6): 2385A, 1997.

  Presidential approval ratings, media positivity towards the president, and five District of Columbia quality of life variables all showed significant improvement beginning during the period of a large assembly of experts in the Transcendental Meditation Sidhi program in Washington, D.C. in June and July of 1993.

  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Improved Quality of Life in National Capital: Decreased Emergency Psychiatric Calls, Decreased Hospital Trauma Cases, Decreased Complaints Against Police, Decreased Accidental Deaths, Reduction of Social Stress Index (Washington, DC, July 1993)
  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Improved Quality of National Government: Increased Approval Ratings of Head of State (USA, 1993)
  • Sociological—Improved Quality of Life: Increased Media Positivity Toward the Head of State (USA, 1993)
• 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)
• 2000· Stroke· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Castillo-Richmond, A.; Schneider, R. H.; Alexander, C. N.; Cook, R.; Myers, H.; Nidich, S.; Haney, C.; Rainforth, M.; and Salerno, J. Effects of stress reduction on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans. Stroke 31: 568–573, 2000.

  Hypertensive individuals randomly assigned to learn the Transcendental Meditation program, in contrast to a health education control group, displayed significant reduction of carotid intima-media thickness over a six to nine month period.

  • Health—Cardiovascular: Reduced Carotid Atherosclerosis
• 2003· Journal of Offender Rehabilitation· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Hawkins, Mark A.; Alexander, Charles N.; Travis, Frederick T.; Camelia, Carl R. T.; Walton, Kenneth G.; Durchholz, Christian F.; and Rainforth, Maxwell V. Consciousness-Based Rehabilitation of inmates in the Netherlands Antilles: Psychosocial and cognitive changes. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 36: 205–228, 2003.

  Prison inmates in the Netherlands Antilles who learned the Transcendental Meditation program, in contrast to control inmates, showed significantly reduced cognitive distortion and improvement in intelligence-related measures after 10 months.

  • Rehabilitation of Offenders: Improved Intellectual Functioning among Prisoners
  • Rehabilitation of Offenders: Decreased Cognitive Distortion among Prisoners
• 2003· Journal of Offender Rehabilitation· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Alexander, Charles N.; Rainforth, Maxwell V.; Frank, Paul R.; Grant, James D.; von Stade Christopher; and Walton, Kenneth G. Walpole study of the Transcendental Meditation program in maximum security prisoners III: Reduced recidivism. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 161–180, 2003.

  Prison inmates in Massachusetts, USA, who learned the Transcendental Meditation program while incarcerated showed significantly less return to prison for 30 days or longer in contrast to control groups from the same prison, as well as in significantly lower rate of re-incarceration due to new arrests.

  • Rehabilitation of Offenders: Rehabilitation of Prisoners: Decreased Recidivism
  • Rehabilitation of Offenders: Rehabilitation of Prisoners: Decreased Recidivism in Comparison to Other Prison Treatment Programs
• 2003· Journal of Offender Rehabilitation· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Rainforth, Maxwell V.; Alexander, Charles N.; and Cavanaugh, Kenneth L. Effects of the Transcendental Meditation program on recidivism among former inmates of Folsom Prison: Survival analysis of 15-year follow-up data. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 181–203, 2003.

  Maximum security prison inmates in California, USA, who learned the Transcendental Meditation program while incarcerated showed significantly less recidivism, as defined by new arrest leading to felony conviction, in contrast to control groups from the same prison and controlling for many demographic and background variables.

  • Rehabilitation of Offenders: Rehabilitation of Prisoners: Decreased Recidivism
  • Rehabilitation of Offenders: Rehabilitation of Prisoners: Reduced Severity of Re-offence
• 2005· American Journal of Hypertension· Empirical· Collected Papers Vol. 7
  Schneider, R.H.; Alexander C.N.; Staggers, F.; Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Rainforth, M.; Salerno, J.W.; Sheppard, W.; Castillo-Richmond, A.; Barnes, V.A.; Nidich, S.I. A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction in African Americans treated for hypertension for over one year. American Journal of Hypertension 18: 88–98, 2005.

  Individuals with hypertension who learned the Transcendental Meditation program showed significantly greater reduction of diastolic blood pressure, as well as reduced hypertensive medication, in contrast to muscle relaxation control group and a health education control over a one-year period.

  • Health—Cardiovascular: Decreased Diastolic Blood Pressure
  • Health—Cardiovascular: Decreased Use of Hypertensive Medication