During the periods of three assemblies approaching or exceeding 7,000 experts in the TM Sidhi Programme (the square root of one per cent of the world’s population at the time), there was a significant decrease in international conflict worldwide.Ref.Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 36: 283–302, 200

During periods from 1979 to 1986 when the size of a group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme in the United States was larger than 1700, creating the strongest influence of the Maharishi Effect in the United States, there was a significant increase of positivity of actions of the Soviet Union towards the United States. This result, found by time series analysis of an independent data bank, was independent of the effect of US actions towards the Soviet Union.Ref.Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, pp. 297–302. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association, 1990

As indicated by time series analysis of an independent data bank, during periods from 1979 to 1986 when the size of a group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme in the United States was larger than the square root of one per cent of the US population (over 1500 at the time), there was a significant increase in the positivity of actions of the United States towards the Soviet Union, compared to periods when the size of the group was smaller (below 1500).Ref.Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, pp. 297–302. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical

During periods in 1983–1985 when sufficiently large groups of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme were established, there was a significant increase in progress towards peace in the Middle East, as measured by an index comprising increased cooperation, reduced level of conflict, reduced war fatalities, and reduced war injuries.Ref.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17: 285–338, 2005

There was a significant decrease in degree of conflict, war fatalities, and war injuries in the Middle East during periods in 1983–1985 when sufficiently large groups of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme were established.Ref.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17: 285–338, 2005

During Maharishi’s World Peace Project of October–December 1978, groups of experts in Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi Yogic Flying Programme went to the world’s regional trouble spots in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, southern Africa and Central America. Time series analysis of data from an independent data bank showed that during the peace project there was a significant worldwide decrease in international hostile acts and verbal hostility, and an increase in cooperative events; this global effect was due to the fact that the primary international conflict areas were being influenced locally by the groups of experts in the TM-Sidhi Programme.Ref.Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme: Collected Papers, Vol. 4: 2532–2548, 1989

During Maharishi’s World Peace Project of October–December 1978, experts in Maharishi’s TM-Sidhi Programme went to the world’s regional trouble spots in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, southern Africa and Central America to create a calming influence through the group practice of Yogic Flying. During this time period, in comparison to a baseline period prior to the project, analysis of data from an independent data bank showed reduced hostile acts and increased cooperative events in those areas and among nations involved in these conflicts.Ref.Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme: Collected Papers, Vol. 4: 2532–2548, 1989

During the three-week period of an assembly participants in the TM Sidhi Programme, numbering more than the square root of one per cent of the world’s population, international economic trends improved compared to the combined periods before and after the assembly, as measured by the World Index of international stock prices.Ref.Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme: Collected Papers, Volume 4: 2730–2762, 1989

During the three-week period of an assembly of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme numbering more than the square root of one per cent of the world’s population, content analysis of news reports indicated more positive statements and actions of heads of state throughout the world and greater national and international support for their policies and leadership.Ref.Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme: Collected Papers, Volume 4: 2730–2762, 1989

Increased approval ratings for the U.S. Head of State were found when a large group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme was established. This effect was replicated during three presidential administrations.Ref.‘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, D.C., August 1997

During periods when the size of a group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme in the USA 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 comprehensive quality of life index comprising behavioural variables (reduction in the total of homicides, suicides, motor vehicle fatalities, and cigarette consumption), controlling for changes in national economic trends, such as unemployment.Ref.Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association (Alexandria, Virginia: American Statistical Association): 38–43, 1996

During periods when the size of a group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme exceeded the square root of one per cent of the national population, there was a significant improvement in a comprehensive quality of life index comprising behavioural variables (reduction in the total of homicides, suicides, motor vehicle fatalities, deaths due to other accidents, notifiable diseases, alcohol consumption, and cigarette consumption), controlling for changes in national economic trends, such as unemployment.Ref.Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association (Alexandria, Virginia: American Statistical Association): 38–43, 1996

Weekly fatalities (homicides, suicides, and auto accidents) decreased significantly in the United States and in Canada during periods when the number of group participants in the TM Sidhi Programme exceeded the square root of one per cent of the national populations.Ref.Social Indicators Research 22: 399–418, 1990; Psychological Reports 76: 1171–1193, 1995

Time series transfer function analysis indicated that monthly rates of traffic fatalities, crime, and unemployment decreased significantly after a large group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme was established at Maharishi International University (now Maharishi University of Management) in the state of Iowa, USA.Ref. Abstracts International 51(12): 6155B, 1991

Quality of life improved in the State of Rhode Island, in comparison to a control state, during periods in which groups of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme were established. Quality of life was measured by improvement in a comprehensive index that includes crime, auto accidents, motor vehicle fatalities, deaths due to other causes, alcoholic beverage consumption, cigarette consumption, unemployment, and pollution.Ref.The Journal of Mind and Behavior  8: 67–104, 1987

Metropolitan Merseyside, England showed decreased crime when the number of group participants in the TM Sidhi Programme in an adjacent community reached the square root of one per cent of the metropolitan area.Ref.Psychology, Crime, and Law 2: 165–174, 1996

During periods from 1979 to 1986 the size of a group of participants in the TM Sidhi Programme in the United States was larger than 1700, creating the strongest influence of the Maharishi Effect in the United States. There was a significant increase of positivity of actions of the Soviet Union towards the United States, as shown by the left bar. The right bar indicates an even greater increase in positive actions of the Soviet Union towards the United States, during the specific periods of several assemblies in North America and in Europe that approached or exceeded the square root of one per cent of the world’s population, about 7,000 at the time. The study, using time series analysis of an independent data bank, the Zürich Project on East-West Relations, confirmed that this influence of increased positivity was independent of the actions of the US towards the Soviet Union and independent of changes in Soviet leadership. In addition, during periods when the size of the group in the United States was sufficient to create the Maharishi Effect in the US, the behaviour of the United States towards the Soviet Union also became more positive.Ref.Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, pp. 297–302. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association, 1990. (2) ‘U.S.–Soviet relations and the Maharishi Effect: A time series analysis.’ Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, Atlanta, Georgia, August 1991

Improved Quality of Life Controlling for Cultural, Military, and Political Events

This paper reported a follow-up analysis of time series analysis findings previously published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution (1988). The study indicated that during periods in August and September 1983, a significantly large group of TM Sidhi experts in Yogic Flying in Israel produced a significant improvement on multiple indicators of quality of life in Israel, and reduced conflict in Lebanon. The present paper is a response to questions about possible alternative hypotheses in the form of other cultural, military, and political events in Israel and Lebanon during this period. An extensive reanalysis of the original data using time series analysis procedures found that the group practice of the TM and TM Sidhi program continued to be statistically significant in its positive effect on overall quality of life, controlling for all the other hypothesized events. This Maharishi Effect had a stronger influence on the quality of life index than any of the other events (religious holidays, pullout of the Israeli army from Lebanon, weekends, the vacation month of August, hot days (days over the median of maximum daily temperature) and the period following Prime Minister Begin’s resignation).Ref.Journal of Scientific Exploration 23: 193–166, 2009