2 July 2002
BY: Daniel Ben-Tal
A small number of meditators can stop
terrorism in the Middle East, a leading US
scientist told a Tel Aviv news conference
yesterday.
"We have an important message for
the people of the Middle East," said Dr.
John Hagelin, a quantum physicist and
author, and recipient of the prestigious
Kilby Award for scientific research.
"If the square root of 1 percent of the
population regularly practice Transcendental
Meditation (TM) techniques in a group, the
wave effect of calm will eventually halt terrorism,"
he claimed.
Speaking by telephone from Fairfield, Iowa,
where he heads the Maharishi University of
Management, Hagelin pointed to what he
calls the root cause of the Middle East conflict.
"The Palestinians are violent and vengeful,
while Israelis are stressed and angry. This
core negativity is driving social conflict. The
circumstances are ripe for escalating violence.
Negotiated settlements and peace treaties
are barely worth the paper they're written
on," he told Israeli journalists. "They cannot
hold as long as people's hearts are filled with
enmity."
Hagelin, a former director of the Washington-based
think-tank, the Institute of Science, Technology,
and Public Policy, has been lobbying the US Congress,
and was presidential candidate for the Natural Law
Party that drew some 500,000 votes in the 1996
elections.
"This practical approach, known as Invincible
Defense Technology, applies cutting-edge
discoveries in quantum mechanics, neuroscience,
and human consciousness to diffuse stress,
effectively disarming aggressors," he said.
"It targets the root cause of violence--acute
stress resulting from religious and ethnic tensions."
"Just as anger can spread though a population,
so can calm. Humanity is connected at the
deepest level of human interaction--an abstract,
quiet communication--so that collective
consciousness can be influenced in a tangible
and measurable way."
"There is a proven correlation between meditation
and reduced social stress," he claimed, pointing to
19 published research studies. "In recent years,
even the US military has started using TM techniques
for treating post-trauma stress."
According to Hagelin, there has been a noticeable
reduction in Indian-Pakistani tensions since some
9,000 meditators began gathering on the banks of
the Ganges in India over the past three-four weeks.
This action is being organized by the Maharishi Yogi--
leader of the worldwide TM movement--now in his
nineties and based in Holland.
"As they continue to arrive, we look forward to
increasing calm in the area. Within a year, we expect
a global reduction in terror and violence."
"There are about 9.5 million Israelis and Palestinians,"
said Israeli physicist Elon Meroz. "If we can organize
800-1,000 people to meditate together, we would
transform Israel markedly and rapidly. Ongoing groups
will be needed in order to diffuse the tensions."
"I am aware of Israel's conservative religious and
political authorities," said Hagelin, "but we're not
talking about a religious doctrine or practice, just a
simple set of instructions to help the mind relax.
It isn't easy to persuade them, but it can be done.
The idea sounds foreign at first, but when repeated
enough, it begins to make sense. Some education
may be necessary. It will take some time - after all,
there was widespread resistance to penicillin following
its discovery."
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Copyright 2002 The Jerusalem Post