An Uncanny Social Experiment That Surprised the World
A group of meditators unknowingly changed the world’s view on how peace can be restored
In 1960, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi discovered a fascinating phenomenon.
He predicted that if just one percent of a population practiced group meditation it could produce measurable improvements to the quality of life of the whole population.
As his community came together to trial his theory, they started to measure the effectiveness of their practice on their direct environment and what they discovered turned out to be one of the most uncanny scientific experiments of all time.
People in the surrounding areas didn’t exactly know that this community was meditating on peace, but their cities’ crime rates dropped by 16%.
As you can imagine, after seeing their results, the community was thrilled. So much so that they continued to meditate and record what happened thereafter. And as they did, they repeatedly proved Maharishi’s theory correct. However, perhaps most importantly, they showed the world it wasn’t a fluke.
56 years later…
This knowledge took a little while to spread around the world but once it did, groups outside of India started to trial similar experiments in their own home countries with some fascinating results.
One study from the US stands out, in particular.
From 2007–2010, the foundation documented that a 21.2% reduction happened in the national homicide rate, with a larger group of 206 US urban areas finding an even greater decrease of 28.4% in the murder rate.
“In view of the recent increases in murder rates in large US cities, the results of this prospective social experiment should be of particular interest to government policy-makers seeking an effective method of reducing urban violence” — Dr. Kenneth Cavanaugh.
During that 2007–2010 window, the size of the group located in Fairfield, Iowa where the experiments took place, was close to 1,725 participants. This represented the square root of 1% of the entire US population at that time, further adding confirmation to the Maharishi effect.
The power of intention
If a large enough group of people hold a strong enough intention, they don’t just affect themselves, they affect their entire environment. So, if that group is big enough in say a city - the whole city benefits. If a city is in coherence what does that say about the country?
The reduction in crime in large cities across the world is a positive example of this in action. Wars are, unfortunately, on the opposite side of the spectrum. However, both use the power of collective energy, they just use it to channel different things.
“What you focus on grows, what you think expands, what you dwell on determines your destiny” — Robin Sharma
What these group meditations reveal is that instead of fear driving our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours to create separation and war, love can. And if love is the driving force behind our collective movements, there’s really no end to how far and wide we can go.
What would the world look like then?
“This study suggests that one’s individual consciousness is directly connected to an underlying, universal field of consciousness, and that by collectively enlivening that universal field through meditation, such a group can have a positive effect on the quality of life in society” — Dr. Michael Dillbeck
Heart coherence
Further studies have been pioneered by the brilliant organisation of Heart Math Institute. They have tried and tested thousands of individual and group sessions to accurately record data similar to that above. Their scientific research explains another phenomenon called Heart Coherence.
Below is a chart that shows what incoherent and coherent heartbeats look like.
Heart coherence is a state whereby the heart, brain, and nervous system are aligned with one another. This means they communicate as one unified organism and this can lead to unbelievable health benefits to become available such range feeling calm and peaceful to curing chronic illnesses.
The Heart Math Institute has also managed to scientifically record that when people enter heart coherence together they enter group coherence. This then gave Maharishi’s theory hard evidence.
Never forget: Open hearts invite other hearts to open. Closed hearts do the opposite.
Closing thoughts
Heart coherence is an individual and collective phenomenon that's happening from moment to moment. So, if each individual can connect to their heart, balance their nervous system, and feel connected to others, the collective naturally rises as a result.
This can be a silent revolution that happens all over the world in response to any fear that might be present in the world.
Or as Mahatma Gandhi once put it, “be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Are you with me in giving it a try?
About the Creator
Andy Murphy
Writer & Soma Breath faciliatator
Comments (1)
Wow that's amazing I knew mediation helped but not that much