Another study has demonstrated that TM lowers blood pressure - this time in African Americans - compared with other stress-reducing methods.
Dr. Frank Staggers Jr., study co-author and senior drug detoxification specialist at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, West Oakland, USA, said the results indicate that meditation works as well as medication in reducing blood pressure.
"We are treating the disease with non-pharmacological techniques; no one thought you could do that," Dr. Staggers said. (American Journal of Hypertension, 28 January 2005)
This year, the four quarterly issues of the highly respected Journal of
Offender Rehabilitation are devoted entirely to studies demonstrating that
the Transcendental Meditation programme is effective in treating and
preventing criminal behaviour, as well as reducing international conflicts
and terrorism.
The editor took the decision to devote four issues to this subject since
he was so impressed by the research. No other approach has such documented
success. The four issues of the Journal include research spanning 30
years. There are eight original research papers, two review papers and
three case studies. (August 2003)
Rita Benn, of the university's Complementary and Alternative Medicine Center,
found that meditating Nataki pupils are more creative, have a higher
self-esteem and get along better with peers when compared with
non-meditating children at a neighbouring charter school. "We found
that there are differences in the social emotional development of kids who
mediate and those who do not," said Benn, who is education director
of the National Institutes of Health-funded center. "Generally, the
meditating kids had a more positive sense of well-being and are more
sensitive of other people's feelings."
For more than a century scientists have grappled with the concept of
higher states of consciousness, generally dismissing them as something
mystical or philosophical that had to be taken on faith, since there was
no scientific standard to evaluate them. Now a research team may be closer
to understanding these elusive states of awareness via a new Integration
Scale. This scale quantifies EEG brain waves of Transcendental Meditation
meditators who report they have experienced "transcendence" –
a silent unbounded continuum of awareness – along with the changing
values of daily life. [More details]
(Nov 2002)
A study published in the April 2002 issue of the American Journal
of Cardiology shows that Transcendental Meditation combined with Maharishi
Ayurveda reverses the effects of hardening of the arteries in older
people. The study was conducted by the Center for Natural Medicine and
Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, and
has attracted worldwide media interest.
Few schools can boast a record of achieving a 100% top pass rate in
GCSE exams [General Certificate of Secondary Education]. But the Maharishi School is among an academic elite, with a better record than schools
such as Eton and Westminster.
The Skelmersdale school topped the Lancashire GCSE league for the number
of A-C passes again this year when results were published in
November. But its record as one of the highest achieving
establishments in the country is only a by-product of what sets the school
apart. The Maharishi school differs from other schools in that all
the children meditate at the beginning and end of the school day and take
their pulse at regular intervals to monitor their nervous systems.
It is still the only school of its kind in the country although one tough
inner city comprehensive in the UK has introduced meditation with positive
results after visiting the Maharishi school. (From the Liverpool Echo, 12 January 2002)
Inspired by the results of the Enlightened Sentencing Project in the
USA (see below), Australian magistrate Dr. Michael King is currently
implementing a project which will make Transcendental Meditation an
essential component of the rehabilitation programme in Geraldton, near
Perth, Western Australia. This followed the successful visit to Australia
of two of the judges involved in the American Project.
President of Mozambique meditates
Meditation is the key to peace: Joaquim Alberto Chissano, the former
Marxist guerrilla turned president of Mozambique, declared last week that
meditation could be the key to world peace. Chissano discovered T M
shortly before the end of Mozambique's 16-year guerrilla war in 1992. He
meditates twice a day and has introduced the practice to his family and
cabinet colleagues. Since 1994 all military and police recruits have been
required to meditate and more than 16,000 soldiers have been taught yogic
flying. (From "The Week", 29th September 2001)
New research shows students gain from Transcendental Meditation
An article in the September/October 2001 issue of the Journal Intelligence
reports on three randomized studies that found impressive results in
students who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique, an age-old
practice for developing mental potential. The students were found to show
more intelligence and creativity, less anxiety, and increased alertness
and ability to focus. "We found increases in creativity and intelligence
that you don’t typically expect to see," said principal investigator
and co-author So Kam Tim of Hong Kong, who conducted the experiments to
earn his doctoral degree in psychology at Maharishi University of
Management in Fairfield, Iowa. "Many researchers feel that it’s not
possible to significantly improve basic cognitive ability once a person
reaches adolescence, but our findings challenge that theory." [More details]
Enlightened Sentencing
In what has come to be known at the Enlightened Sentencing Project, a
panel of eight judges in Missouri, USA have been sentencing offenders to
practise Transcendental Meditation as an integral part of their
rehabilitation. The project started in 1996 when Judge David Mason first
insisted that offenders practise Transcendental Meditation as a condition
of their probation order. Over the last few years, a number of other
judges have realised the value of this programme, and to date 100
offenders have participated. Judge Mason has described the results as
nothing short of miraculous.
One probationer, a young man in his twenties, who graduated from the
26-lesson course last July, wrote in his course completion essay: "Transcendental
Meditation has been really wonderful to me. My appearance has changed. No
more bad language like before... In the past, I used to stay at home at
night and put my head down and be ashamed of myself. The next day I'd get
up and do the same thing. Now I'm just happy. I keep a smile on my face...
I just keep my head up and keep that thought that you're a man, you just
keep the straight path and everything's going to be okay".
A 40-year old probationer who has spent most of his life in prison
commented: "Nothing works like Transcendental Meditation. If it works
for me it can work for anybody. My entire outlook on life has
changed."
Here are comments made by Judge Mason: "While there are many
scientific studies to support the use of Transcendental Meditation in
criminal rehabilitation, I have had the benefit of seeing its effects on
offenders I have placed on probation. They are demonstrating greater
self-esteem and self-control. Their mothers, girlfriends and wives speak
in glowing terms of the new man in their lives... Initial reports are
better than expected and confirm all the previous studies".
Judge Henry Autrey said: "I have been using Transcendental Meditation
as a condition of probation for over a year and the results are
astounding. I have seen my probationers who participate in the
Transcendental Meditation programme grow and develop in ways I have rarely
seen in other probationers. They have a positive social attitude. They
secure employment. They exhibit responsibility by maintaining positive
probation reports. In short they seem to have taken responsibility for
their lives" http://www.enlightenedsentencing.org
Transcendental Meditation and angina
The first British research conducted on Transcendental Meditation for
many years has revealed important benefits for patients suffering from
Cardiac Syndrome X. This syndrome describes approximately one third of
people tested for suspected heart disease who experience chest pain during
exercise, yet turn out to have normal arteries. Conventional treatments
usually have little effect. In a pilot study published earlier this year
in the American Journal of Cardiology, Juan Carlos Kaski, Professor of
Cardiovascular Science, and Charles Cunningham, a Transcendental
Meditation Teacher and research student, found marked benefits in patients
with this syndrome who learned Transcendental Meditation. "Not only did
the ECG show clearly that the heart could tolerate more exercise, but
frequency of angina episodes decreased steadily and quality of life
improved very significantly," said Charles.
Transcendental Meditation lowers health costs
Findings from a study published in the June 2000 issue of the AMERICAN
JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION show that people who practice the
Transcendental Meditation technique are healthier and need less medical
care--a dramatic finding which could save billions of dollars each year.
The study of Quebec citizens enrolled in the government health
insurance program showed that over a six-year period those practicing the
Transcendental Meditation technique reduced government payments to
physicians by 13 percent each year compared to a control group. This
translates into a savings of as much as $300 million per year for the
province's health insurance company.
"This is a significant finding for Canada, and one that could help
reduce the soaring health care costs in the U.S. as well," says
Robert Herron, Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate professor of
health economics and policy at Maharishi University of Management, Iowa.
He said that a 13 percent decline in costs would translate into a $45
billion savings for U.S. health insurance companies. (June 2000).
Dr. Robert Schneider addresses House of Lords
Robert Schneider, dean of the College of Maharishi Vedic Medicine, USA,
spoke to the House of Lords last month as part of an extended tour to
familiarize physicians, public health professionals, and political leaders
with ongoing groundbreaking research on Transcendental Meditation.
Dr. Schneider was invited by the House of Lords to address the
subcommittee of the Science and Technology Committee that advises the
government on national health care policy for complementary and
alternative medicine. "The response was very encouraging," Dr.
Schneider said. The Peers were so impressed with the research on the
Transcendental Meditation technique that they requested a meditation
demonstration. They also encouraged future collaborations.
Meditators reduce crime in Bermuda
For 2 weeks in March, 46 TM-meditators meditated twice a day at the
Police Recreation Club in response to a call last summer by the
Acting Commissioner of Police for suggestions from the public for dealing
with the problem of violent crime.
Last summer, Stuart Hayward, Emily Liddell and Brian Horsfield met with
the Police and presented published research on the crime reducing effects
of large groups of individuals practicing Transcendental Meditation and
the advanced Transcendental Meditation Sidhi technique together.
Preliminary results for the project are now available. Compared with
the average for the 4 weeks prior to the project, violent crimes of
wounding, assault with bodily harm, and murder were down by 22% in the
first week, 33% in the second week and 56% for the week after the project.
This is consistent with their prediction that serious crimes against
persons would be diminished by about 20%. This prediction was made in
advance of the project to a Review Board of 10 individuals with positions
of responsibility in the community. The results have been presented to the
Review Board and, at their suggestion, further statistical analysis is
being performed to determine the significance of the results.
Doctors call for Transcendental Meditation on the NHS
On 17 November 1998, a hundred British doctors called for
Transcendental Meditation to be actively promoted by the government within
the National Health Service. In their letter to Health Secretary, Frank
Dobson, they propose that Transcendental Meditation should be made
available as a health promotion and stress reduction technique for both
patients and NHS staff. "If the NHS is a health service," said
Dr Donn Brennan, President of the British Association for the Medical
Application of Transcendental Meditation, "it should promote health
and actively encourage people to practise Transcendental Meditation.
Implementation of Transcendental Meditation could save the NHS billions of
pounds. A five year study in Canada found that for people practising
Transcendental Meditation, medical expenditure was reduced by 5 - 7% per
year."
Transcendental Meditation is not the same as other relaxationtechniques
A new study reported in the American Journal of Health Promotion,
May/June 1998 issue, has concluded that Transcendental Meditation
and other relaxation techniques do not give the same results. Authors Dr
David Orme-Johnson and Dr Ken Walton evaluated 650 scientific studies and
concluded that Transcendental Meditation is the most effective procedure
to relax the body, lower high blood pressure, decrease anxiety, and reduce
cigarette, alcohol and drug use. Transcendental Meditation also produces
the greatest increase in self-actualisation, a rating of balanced personal
development.
European Union funds the Transcendental Meditation Programme to boost
competitiveness
A team of Transcendental Meditation program teachers working with
business consultants has received a grant of $300,000 from the European
Union to test a new concept for strengthening a company's human resources
and increasing employees' capacity for handling change. The project will
introduce the Transcendental Meditation program along with other
approaches in order to boost the competitiveness of businesses threatened
by the rapid economic changes brought about by the establishment of the
European Union.
Hague regrets giving up Transcendental Meditation
William Hague, leader of the British Conservative Party, is considering
taking up Transcendental Meditation again, after becoming run-down and
vulnerable to illness, according to a report in the Sunday Times (28 June
1998). Hague was advised to give up Transcendental Meditation in favour of
the more macho sport of judo six months ago and since then the Tory leader
has suffered from a number of illnesses, including blocked sinuses
requiring an operation.
His close friends and PR aides are reported to be now advising him to
start Transcendental Meditation again, reversing their previous advice
which was an attempt to boost his weak public image. Previously, Hague had
said that meditation helped him to get through his heavy workload and
reduce his sleep requirement to only four hours per night.
Meditation helps Peruvian school children
In the city of Puno, more than 150 students and teachers from three
schools learned the Transcendental Meditation technique and they practise
it collectively in three different groups. The teachers immediately
noticed that the students with low academic performance practising
Transcendental Meditation started to overtake the others who were
previously considered the best students but did not learn Transcendental
Meditation. This project was so successful that the principal, also a
meditator, decided that in the new academic year all students will learn
Transcendental Meditation.
Vietnam war veterans to learn Transcendental Meditation
‘Post-traumatic stress disorder’ has been studied in Vietnam war
veterans who have learned Transcendental Meditation. The results were so
impressive for helping the veterans get back to a normal life that the
federal government has agreed to reimburse the course fee for any other
veterans who wish to learn Transcendental Meditation.
...And Israeli businessmen too!
The benefits of Transcendental Meditation for business has hit the
headlines recently in Israel. An article in Business, the weekly
supplement of the daily business newspaper Globes quotes factory owner
Alkex Zeltser who has been practising Transcendental Meditation for 18
years. "I gained power to come to terms with the unending stream of
problems," he says. "As a result the factory grew a hundred-fold
- from a small factory laden with difficulties to a thriving factory which
serves some of the largest industries in the country."
The article describes some of the benefits gained by staff practising
Transcendental Meditation: decreased stress and anxiety, increased
dynamism and alertness, leading to increase productivity. "Any
self-respecting business cannot afford to ignore a technology which
creates such effects," says the paper. Edna Ramot, General Manager of
the International Congress Hall in Jerusalem, describes Transcendental
Meditation: "It is fun, it is wonderful. I recommend it to
everyone."
From the in-house magazine of the Sony Corporation:
The Guinness world record holder for recalling numbers considers
Transcendental Meditation an effective relaxation technique. Mr Tomoyori
from Japan won the world record in 1990 at the age of 58, by recalling the
number pi to 40,000 decimal places. "I learned Transcendental
Meditation when I wanted to relax better, in order to maintain my ability
to concentrate," he says. "Because it takes 17 hours to say
40,000 decimal places from memory, I need a certain level of relaxation
while I am simultaneously concentrating. Transcendental Meditation has
strengthened my concentration and helps me to sleep deeply."
Close this section
Every
morning in Detroit, USA, 160 Nataki Talibah middle school pupils pile
boisterously into the school gymnasium and plop themselves onto the floor.
There, resting against canvas back supports, they close their eyes, cross
their arms and practise TM. University of Michigan researchers have
studied these lucky students and found that the twice-daily TM sessions
help them handle stress, feel happier, get along better with peers.