Scientific research into the effects of Transcendental Meditation
Scientists accept that we can never be 100% certain, but the current standard in science is we need to be at least 95% certain before we can claim a “significant” effect. If a person receives a certain cause (like a new medication), how certain can we be that the medication caused a certain effect like improved happiness? We can’t. There are too many factors influencing human behaviour.
However, if we were to measure the person’s state of happiness 20 days before and 20 days after giving them the medication and if there was an average increase from the moment he starts taking the medication compared to before, then we’ve lowered the chance of coincidence. To further reduce the chance of coincidence, a study administers the same medication to 100 people and they all see a “significant” improvement in their happiness.
There are many experiments documenting the positive effects of Transcendental Meditation. For example, In the 1980’s scientists conducted one series of experiments, where the effect was created to stop the war in Lebanon. On 7 separate occasions, each predicted in advance, it had such a significant effect that the chance of coincidence was 1 in ten million trillion.
Predictions in advance
The above is not the only case of when predications were made in advance. In 2006, advanced meditators assembled at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa to create a group large enough to influence the whole of the United States.
They submitted their predictions to the press and other scientists. They said when the group exceeded 1% of the population of the US there would be a significant decrease in violent crime. In January 2007, the group exceeded 1%. Before 2007, the homicide rate was relatively flat, but increasing slightly every year. After 2007, there is a significant shift and homicide rates started declining.
But why does it matter that their predictions are accurate? If you can accurately predict the effect of Transcendental Meditation, that suggests reliability, consistency and predictability of outcomes from practice. This means you can start practising it and expect it to work for you and your team in a reliable and consistent manner.
The next slide will blow your mind – it covers meditation experiments and evidence…