Transitioning to True Health Care:Potential of the Transcendental Meditation® Technique and Associated Consciousness-Based® Technologies. Part 1. Overview and Mechanism
Transitioning to True Health Care:
Potential of the Transcendental Meditation® Technique and Associated
Consciousness-Based® Technologies.
Part 1. Overview and Mechanism
ABSTRACT
In 1955, an effortless psychophysiologic technique for removing effects of stress was revived from the ancient Vedic tradition in India. By 1970, this technique was being taught and studied scientifically in different parts of the world, including the United States, and by 1995, its twice-daily practice was confirmed to promote better physical and mental health longitudinally. Today, objective research is available not only on clinical benefits but also on the biological mechanics of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. Evidence indicates that adding this technique to a person’s daily routine can reduce health insurance claims by 50-70% in a relatively short time. The compelling uniqueness of the TM technique is that it is the only meditation technique shown to foster benefits that accumulate over years of practice. This claim remains valid even though other meditation techniques have featured in published research since 1985. The TM technique is also an integral part of Maharishi AyurVeda® and other Consciousness-Based preventative and treatment approaches. This time-tested, effortless technique deserves a central role in any scientific approach to health and well-being. It not only aids in preventing and treating disease but also provides a path to living true health, a higher state of consciousness maximizing the qualities of stability, adaptability, purification, integration, and growth of full potential.
Introduction: In the United States, approximately $4.9 trillion yearly (17.6% of the GDP) are spent on what is referred to as “healthcare.” In truth, most of these dollars go towards “disease care”, not towards prevention of disease or achieving a state of true health. Chronic disease plagues 60% of Americans,1 along with a virtual epidemic of mental health disorders.2 To top this off, medical errors and correctly-prescribed medications remain the third leading cause of death,3 a sad reflection of what some have identified as regulatory capture by the pharmaceutical/medical industry.
Our main goal is to revolutionize health care by introducing prevention and treatment with Consciousness-Based approaches, especially the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi® techniques, Maharishi AyurVeda, and “Integrative Medicine”, the combination of one or more Consciousness-Based approaches with appropriate evidence-based components from modern medicine. Key to this approach is the understanding that humans are capable of major growth of higher states of consciousness in adulthood.4
Modern medicine has largely defaulted to a narrow, biomedical model of health as “absence of disease,” neglecting holistic aspects like well-being, mental and social factors, and personal abilities to adapt and grow. Although the World Health Organization defines health to include physical, mental, and social well-being, the "not-merely-absence-of-disease" component is challenging to operationalize and tends to be overshadowed by a focus on diagnosis and treatment of disease. The Consciousness Based approach summarized in this document includes a new definition of health.
In 1955 India, through a series of unplanned events, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (MMY) came down from the Himalayas and was coaxed to begin sharing ancient Vedic knowledge with society at large. In society, Vedic knowledge had become distorted and was widely viewed as hardly significant for practical life. At the heart of this knowledge was a simple technique for achieving holistic health, the Transcendental Meditation technique. This technique promotes the experience of a fourth major state of consciousness called “transcendental consciousness” (TC), a natural state with the ability to free mind and body from the lasting effects of stress. Currently, effects of stress are understood to play a central role in most illnesses, especially the chronic diseases that have proven resistant to modern treatments and that account for approximately 90% of healthcare costs. Those of us fortunate enough to have gained knowledge of these Consciousness-Based approaches and found them beneficial are committed to seeing them made available to anyone who chooses them.
Main point 1: Early after introducing the Transcendental Meditation technique, MMY encouraged objective research to better understand its effects. The first study was published by RK Wallace in Science in 1970,5 reporting major differences between changes during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique and during eyes-closed rest.
Currently, results of hundreds of studies of biological and cognitive factors document TM’s impact on physical, mental and social health. These results solidify its credibility and have far-reaching implications for prevention and treatment of a wide range of disorders including addictions, cardiometabolic disease, criminal behaviors, PTSD, anxiety and depressive disorders, cognitive decline and other aging-related problems, societal ills, and more.
Main point 2: Studies on health insurance claims and health care usage give a glimpse of the range and magnitude of possible effects. In the first such study, inpatient claims for 2000 TM meditators averaged 53% lower, and outpatient claims 44% lower, per 1000 individuals than for a normative control group of 600,000.6 Reductions were greatest in the older age range (see Figure 1). Of the 18 different categories of claims compared in this study, only childbirth failed to show a lower usage rate in the meditator group. The strongest feature of this and the next studies on insurance claims and healthcare costs is their naturalistic design, that is, they were retrospective examinations of the participants’ lives under natural conditions. Neither participants nor researchers had foreknowledge that these insurance claims or healthcare usage would later become objects of scientific scrutiny. Moreover, these studies provide evidence of a cumulative effect of regular practice of the technique.
Figure 1: Lower levels of health insurance claims in 2000 Transcendental Meditation practitioners versus 600,000-person normative data.6
Main point 3: Subsequent studies on insurance claims in the U.S. and healthcare costs in Canada support the results of the first study. These results are further supported by randomized controlled trials and long-term observational studies. The following two figures show results from the second insurance claim study.7 In this study, most of the TM practitioners also took advantage of Maharishi AyurVeda (MAV) practices involving dietary guidelines and detoxification procedures. The effects were notably larger than with the TM technique alone (Figure 2) and remained constant over an 11-year period (Figure 3).
Figure 2: Insurance claims in practitioners of Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi AyurVeda (MAV) compared with normative data and with a demographically matched control group.7
Figure 3: Effect of TM-technique plus Maharishi AyurVeda over an 11-year period.7
Transcendental Meditation practitioners in these first two studies had self-selected to learn the technique. If those who chose to practice the technique had been constitutionally different from controls, this would present a confound. The studies shown in the following two figures accounted for this possibility by following healthcare costs for years before beginning TM practice. These retrospective studies of healthcare costs in Canada show total costs (from Government records) both before and after learning and continuing to practice the TM technique (Figures 4 and 5).8-9
Figure 4: Change in medical expenditures before and after adding practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique.8
Figure 5: Change in medical expenditures before and after adding the Transcendental Meditation technique in the elderly.10
Question 1: These first insurance studies were published two and three decades ago and showed large effects. Why have we not already seen a healthcare revolution?
Answer: Two reasons for the modest impact of this research stand out: 1) the effects were so large that many readers suspected they were too good to be true; 2) most investigators failed to recognize the uniqueness of the TM technique and the mechanism of its effects on health and healing. Despite skepticism, these works helped to fuel an explosion of research on other meditation techniques that proved less effective. Clearly, failure to understand the mechanism has made the dramatic results with Transcendental Meditation more difficult to comprehend.
Main point 4: The uniqueness of the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Unlike most other types of meditation, the TM technique is structured to promote the experience of a state termed “Transcendental Consciousness” or “TC”. TC, in turn, is held to be the active ingredient of this technique. TC is often referred to as the “least excited state” or “ground state” of consciousness. In Vedic terminology, this state is referred to as “the Self”, “samādhi”, or “atman”. The periodic experience of this state is proposed to be responsible for reversing the long-lasting effects of prior stressors. Furthermore, evidence supports the theory that, with practice, this “4th state” of consciousness can become stabilized and experienced along with the universally familiar states of deep sleep, dreaming sleep, and waking, creating a “5th state. This 5th state, called “Cosmic Consciousness” or “CC” in the interpretation of Vedic knowledge from MMY, is free of the effects of prior stressors. It also is stable, that is, it is not disturbed by new stressors that might be encountered. More on this higher state of consciousness later.
Question 2: What evidence supports the existence of TC and development of other higher states?
Answer: Objective studies have largely been guided by descriptions found in Vedic literature, as interpreted by MMY. Early in his teaching about the effects of transcending during the practice of the TM technique, MMY explained that effects of stress are “normalized” with even brief experiences of TC. In other words, abnormalities created by prior overuse, underuse, or wrong use of the body and mind are removed in a natural, automatic manner, one or a few at a time. As a cumulative result of long-term practice, the practitioner develops a state in which TC is maintained along with the states of waking, dreaming and even deep sleep (see, e.g., Mason et al.11). Such a body-mind, free of effects of prior stress, is set to enjoy a truly healthy, fulfilling life that can continue to grow to even higher states.12 When TC, the 4th state of consciousness, is experienced regularly, the 5th state, CC, develops over time and is known as a state of “enlightenment”. (In the academic field of adult development, the concept of higher states of consciousness has been thoroughly discussed by Alexander et al., 1990.4)
Based on this understanding, researchers first identified what appears to be an EEG signature accompanying periods of experience of TC during practice of the TM technique. Meditators were instructed to signal by pressing a button immediately after noticing they had just experienced a moment of TC. Each short period of TC experience was usually accompanied by an apparent breath cessation lasting about 15 seconds (Figure 6), and the EEG recordings from these 15-s intervals were studied in-depth. The following figures tell the story in brief. (Note that voluntary breath stoppage does not produce this or a similar EEG signature.13-14 Also, later research has identified the apparent cessation of breath as a slow inhalation called apneustic breath.15)
Figure 6. Breath suspensions during TM practice.
Transcendental Consciousness and beyond (contd.):
The next two figures illustrate that EEG recordings during TC experiences showed significantly higher phase coherence across brain areas, along with higher power, than during the periods outside of TC. This was especially true in the Theta2 (6-8 Hz) and Alpha1 (8-10 Hz) frequency ranges. Other types of meditation show primarily different main frequencies and do not show the periods of high Alpha1 coherence across different brain regions. Based on EEG data and other information, three basic categories of meditation have been identified: Focused Attention, Open Monitoring, and Automatic Self-Transcending (see Figure 9).16
The next objective indication of higher states of consciousness was the significant association of alpha coherence during TM with enhanced cognitive and emotional functions (see Figure 10).17
Figure 7: Alpha 1 EEG coherence during the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Figure 8. Increased EEG coherence during respiratory suspension.
Figure 9. Three main types of meditation techniques and their main effects on EEG frequency.16
Figure 10. Alpha EEG coherence during TM practice correlates with higher functions.
Further EEG support for development of higher states of consciousness through TM technologies: TC experienced along with sleeping and waking states
A milestone study tested the prediction that over time the EEG signature of TC comes to be more fully integrated into periods of deep sleep.11 Long-term practitioners who reported having the experience of TC even during deep sleep (referred to as “witnessing sleep”) were found to simultaneously exhibit the theta2-alpha1 frequencies characteristic of TC and the delta EEG frequency characteristic of slow-wave sleep. Short-term practitioners, who had not experienced witnessing sleep, showed significantly less of this simultaneous expression than long-term practitioners yet significantly more than non-meditators, who showed virtually none. Other measurables during sleep, such as the density of REM (rapid-eye-movement sleep) also showed graded patterns characterizing each of the three groups. Note that the overall electrophysiological signature shown by long-term TM meditators had not been reported prior to this, and this signature has not been reported in connection with other techniques of meditation. These results were interpreted as confirming the hypothesis that, after many years of practice, subjects pass a threshold level of TC during sleep and begin to “witness” their sleep.
Effects of experiencing Transcendental Consciousness along with activity in waking state consciousness
A second group of studies focused on the effects of integrating TC into waking-state activities.18 Long-term practitioners of the TM technique and TM-Sidhi program who reported TC along with waking-state had their EEG recorded while performing specific cognitive tasks in the laboratory. A second group with an intermediate length of time practicing the techniques, and a third with little or no experience with TM, also were recorded. Stepwise multiple discriminant analysis of EEG measures led to a scale that distinguished these three groups. Termed the Brain Integration Scale (BIS), this scale combined three measures: the brain preparatory response during simple and choice paired reaction-time tasks, broadband frontal EEG coherence, and alpha/gamma power ratios during a vigilance task. Importantly, the BIS has been found to relate to higher performance in non-meditators as well, and it does so across widely different fields. These include world-class athletes19 and business managers.20
Figure 11. Higher BIS Score, Moral Reasoning, and Peak Experiences in Non-Meditator Top Managers vs. Non-Meditator Middle Managers
The striking differences in BIS score observed between the top athletes and the good (but not the best) athletes, along with similar results comparing the best with near best managers (see Figure 11), added stature to the BIS score as a measure of superior cognitive and performance abilities, even in non-practitioners of TM. To directly test the effectiveness of the TM technique at increasing BIS score, prospective random assignment studies were conducted. The first found that TM practice significantly increased BIS score in college students over a 10-week period, compared to matched wait-listed controls.21 The second such study was a 4-month randomized controlled trial in school administrators and staff which found that those in the TM group increased significantly more than controls on the BIS (Figure 12).22 This group also increased significantly more on vigor and decreased on scales of negative mood states. The results of these RCTs indicate that the process of integration of TC with waking activity begins within the early days of starting TM practice.
Figure 12. Change in BIS Score and Mood States after 4 Months Practice of the TM Technique by School Administrators
In a further extension of this work, a recent cohort study compared 65-year-olds who had practiced the TM and TM-Sidhi techniques for 40 years with age-matched, healthy controls.23 This study found that BIS scores in these long-term practitioners were not only higher than age-matched controls but also not lower than a 30-year-old, younger group of controls. This was despite an apparent detrimental effect of age on the BIS in both the TM group and the control group.
It should be noted that growth of cognitive abilities does not require many years of practice but begins immediately after learning to practice the TM technique, as shown for example in a 6-12-month randomized study of high school students in Taiwan.24 The TM group showed significantly greater growth in each of seven standardized tests compared to no-treatment controls, with p-values ranging from .035 to <.0001.
These studies on TC during waking and sleeping states established, on an objective level, that not only do higher states of consciousness exist but also, they are associated with different psychophysiological indicators such as unique modes of brain function and cognition.
Question 3: What evidence indicates that TC removes long-term effects of stress?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) provides a clear example of long-lasting effects of stressful events that can be reversed through practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique. Other meditation approaches show some benefits for PTSD, but these are significantly smaller than for the TM technique.25
These results are shown in two recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as illustrated below. One study examined the 15 RCTs of TM versus various other treatments for PTSD.26 Figure 13 shows the time course of effects in four of these studies compared with controls. In all 15 studies, the effect of TM was faster than for control treatments. Figure 14 shows the effect sizes of all studies, with the average being 1.0, a large effect.
Another study searched for all trials of meditation for PTSD.25 Four types of meditation totaling 61 RCTs were found and analyzed (Figure 15). In this analysis as well, the TM technique proved to be significantly better than the other three, which included all types of mindfulness, with major benefit in as little as 2-4 weeks.
Figure 13: Reduction of PTSD symptoms in TM vs. control treatments.26
Figure 14: Forest plot of 14 independent randomized controlled studies arranged from largest to smallest effect.26 The red diamond at the bottom shows the pooled effect of all studies. The point value is the center of the diamond (g = -1.0) and the 95% CI is the width of the diamond.
Figure 15: Reduction of PTSD Symptoms by different types of meditation techniques.25 Studies on military personnel are shown in red, civilian groups in green, and the mean of all groups in gold.
Long-term, cumulative reversal of stress effects in TM practitioners.
Three studies of effects of TM programs on disease-causing, long-term consequences of stress were conducted recently. Due to lack of major funding, these were exploratory trials, but results extend and are consistent with those of short-term RTCs, thus deserving large-scale follow-up.
In a microarray study of over 16,000 genes and foci in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 38-year TM practitioners, 200 genes met strict criteria (fold difference ≥ 2.0 and p ≤ .05) for differential expression (DE) between this long-term TM group and matched controls (Figure 16).27 These 200 DE genes were then subjected to extensive bioinformatics analyses. The heat map in Figure 16 shows the basic pattern of DE gene expression comparing the long-term meditators and the demographically matched control group.
Figure 16. Heat map and hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes. The figure shows relative expression of 200 differentially expressed genes across participants, with hierarchical clustering of genes (rows) and participants (columns).27
Network analysis identified major networks showing differences. For example, cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, hematologic system development and function, and inflammatory response all were implicated in the differences between groups. Key canonical pathways were identified, such as Glucocorticoid Receptor Signaling, which show major differences in the stress response and inflammation pathways.
Gene Ontological Process Term Enrichment analysis identified a dozen categories of DE genes highly different between the two groups. The largest number of DE genes in any process-term category was the 35 identified under “Response to Stress,” all downregulated in the TM group, consistent with the TM group being at a lower level of chronic stress.
Most striking was the Disease Association Analysis of DE Genes (Table 6 from 27).
P-values for the top five diseases ranged from p = 1.5 x 10-10 for hematologic disease to p = 4.4 x 10-4 for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Many genes showed up in multiple diseases. For example, of the 64 genes associated with CVD, 47 were also found among the 49 genes classified under inflammatory disease. And 27 of the DE genes in the inflammatory disease category also were present in the response-to-stress group of genes. This is consistent with stress as a cause of inflammatory disease which in turn is a critical contributor to cardiometabolic disease.
All these disease-associated genes and response-to-stress genes were downregulated in the TM group relative to controls, consistent with the hypothesized role of TM practice in reducing disease through reversing effects of stress. These results deserve replication in larger groups and extension to more DE genes.
The known functions of individual DE genes provide additional evidence for this interpretation (see both 27 and 23). In a key example, the proinflammatory gene SOCS3 was upregulated in the control group. SOCS3 is reported to prevent full activation of AMPK, a major regulator of energy generation and mitochondrial function. This reduction of AMPK function by SOCS3 is associated with insulin resistance,28 a central component of cardiometabolic disease. The TM-associated reduction of SOCS3 expression likely contributes to the mechanism for the reduction of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome observed in RCTs of patients with cardiometabolic disease who learned and practiced TM.29-30 This is only one of many examples of disease-associated mechanisms that deserve further investigation.
Two important follow-up studies support this first study of TM effects on global gene expression. The microarray comparison in the previous study27 involved small groups of TM practitioners and controls. A portion of the results analyzed qualitatively suggested that the TM group was lower than the control group in expression of the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA) profile of PBMC gene expression involving 53 identified genes. The CTRA profile is characterized by up-regulated expression of pro-inflammatory genes and down-regulated expression of Type I interferon- and antibody-related genes.31-32 In over 120 studies to date (PUBMED.gov search), Steve Cole at UCLA,
Figure 17. CTRA gene regulation in long-term TM practitioners vs. controls. Contrast scores are expressed as TM – Control. TELiS Transcription Factor data are expressed as the ratio of TM / Control.33
the primary individual responsible for characterizing the CTRA profile, and others have found it’s expression to be increased by stressors such as urban life, low socioeconomic status, social isolation, social threat, and low or unstable social status.34 A lower CTRA RNA score indicates either a lower total exposure to these or other stressors or that the long lasting effects of such stressors have been reduced. Thus, to better gauge the possible impact, the qualitative outcome was followed up by a quantitative reanalysis of the global gene expression microarray data from the previously mentioned study.
This study was performed in collaboration with Steve Cole at UCLA. This analysis found the CTRA expression profile to be significantly reduced in the long-term meditator group (Figure 17), as predicted.33 The TM group showed a lower CTRA score, with a much larger increase in antiviral gene expression than decrease in inflammatory gene expression. Lower expression of the transcription factors NF-kB and AP-1, which regulate multiple genes involved in immune responses, inflammation, stress responses, and cell survival, and greater increase in IRF (Interferon Regulatory Factor), regulating antiviral genes, cytokines, and chemokines that play a crucial role in both innate and adaptive immunity, cell differentiation, and tumor suppression, also indicate healthier immune function. These differences, along with a shift to a non-classical monocyte origin of the genes33, reflect a more health-promoting state of the immune system in the TM group.
These findings in PBMC need a follow-up short-term RCT to confirm the causal role of TM. Nevertheless, the observations are consistent, yet again, with the conclusion that long-term practice of TM technologies is associated with reduced signs of stress, and also consistent with reduced effects of stress as a mediator of TM’s effects on disease.
The second follow-up paper further characterized larger long-term TM groups vs. controls by evaluating possible anti-aging effects as well as additional anti-stress effects.23 Relative expression of a sample of 15 DE genes from the initial microarray comparison was studied in three groups—Young Control (24 ± 3y, M ± SD), Old Control (62 ± 5y), and Old TM (64 ± 4y). The Old TM group was intermediate between Young Control and Old Control in expression of six genes that were aging-related, consistent with an anti-aging effect (see Figure 18).
Figure 18. Comparison of average threshold cycle values (Ct) for 6 genes in the Young Control group (n = 19), Old TM group (n = 23), and Old Control group (n = 21).23
Additionally, the Old TM group was equal to the Young Control in latency of EEG Event Related Potential responses, signifying an anti-aging effect on cognitive processing speed. A similar anti-aging effect was observed when comparing the EEG-based Brain Integration Scale, a measure of superior performance in many areas.23 Related to both anti-stress and anti-aging effects, the ratio of the active glucocorticoid cortisol (F) to the inactive glucocorticoid cortisone (E) was lower in both the 12-y practitioner “Young TM” group and the 40-y practitioner “Old TM” group than in matching Control groups (Figure 19).
Figure 19. Comparison of mean ratios of hair cortisol (F) concentration/hair cortisone (E) concentration in groups of long-term meditators and controls.23
In other words, the “active form,” cortisol, in hair was lower than the “inactive (storage) form,” cortisone. Because the concentration of these steroids in hair is a long-term indicator of stress level, this result implies that TM practitioners were at a lower stress level in both age groups. Because the predominant glucocorticoid in the TM groups was the inactive cortisone, which can be easily converted to the active form when needed, these results suggest the TM groups were more resilient to short-term stressors, i.e. more adaptable. Additionally, hair cortisol was less variable in the TM groups than in the matching control groups, suggesting greater stability of this adaptive hormone in meditators.
Study of Higher States of Consciousness—A Major Frontier in Health Research
From the limited number of studies discussed so far in this overview, it is apparent that further research and possible widespread implementation are warranted. If Transcendental Consciousness is a higher state of consciousness than sleep, dreaming, and waking, as has been argued at length from an adult development point of view by Alexander et al.4, and the three other consciousness states described in the Vedic tradition are even higher, as claimed, this would be a major breakthrough in our understanding of the human condition and its potential for holistic health. This point has been emphasized in a book by Craig Pearson in which he not only lists the essential characteristics of each higher state but also gives examples from the world’s literature of creative individuals lauding their experiences of these states.12
An even greater frontier, perhaps the true leading edge, is the nature of consciousness itself and how its understanding might revolutionize the whole of society.35 Independent of research on meditation, the nature of consciousness has long been debated. Popular opinion views consciousness as a product of brain activity; however, a variety of research confirms the existence of non-local properties of consciousness, suggesting a field-like nature.36 Strangely, not often mentioned in this discussion is the body of research on the “Maharishi Effect.” A recent review lists 92 published articles and books focused on this effect, defining it as “the effect of individuals or groups practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs on conflict-related variables and other social and economic indicators”.37 The Maharishi Effect (“ME”) got its name from the fact that MMY had predicted it long before it was scientifically documented.
Initial ME studies examined the effect on crime rate at the city level when the number of TM meditators reached ≥1% of the population compared to cities with a much lower percentage.38 The authors stated: “A multivariate analysis was run to compare the two groups on the total of 10 variables. The groups were found to be significantly different. A decrease in crime rate was found in experimental cities. The decrease was evident both immediately after the cities reached the 1-percent level of TM program participation and in the crime rate trend during the subsequent 5 years.”38 Subsequently, two studies using a cross lagged panel design pointed definitively to the practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs as the causal agent involved in the observed crime decrease.39
Similar studies have been conducted on the national and global levels. By the end of 2023, 38 ME research papers had appeared in 24 peer-reviewed journals or professional conference proceedings, 18 more in research anthologies, and 4 other studies reporting changes in physiological variables in individual subjects in relation to others practicing TM.37 In addition, the list includes 28 theoretical and review papers, along with 4 books.
Figure 20. First test of effects of TM-group size on quality of life of a nation.40
The International Peace Project in the Middle East was conducted in Isreal in 1983.40 Over a two-month period, group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program was found to positively affect a composite index of quality of life in Israel, including measures of war intensity in the adjoining country of Lebanon. Many other such studies were conducted over the next decades.
Several recent studies are based on periods of years before, during and (later studies) after a large group practiced the TM and TM-Sidhi techniques together in one place—Fairfield, Iowa, home of Maharishi International University (MIU). Figure 21 shows the changing number of participants in group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs for the earliest of these studies.41 Later studies were able to include a longer time, thus incorporating data beyond the end of the experimental period.
Crime rates, especially murder rates, are among the most easily accessible and reliable data to obtain from government sources. During the years 2007 through 2010, there was a large and lasting increase in the numbers practicing the TM and TM-Sidhi program together in large groups on or near the campus of MIU.41 This created the possibility for testing the apparent effects of this large group on parameters recorded in government statistics for the whole country. Urban murder rate was one of the first parameters studied. Figure 22 shows the dramatic apparent effect for the whole U.S.42 The p values in these studies are far beyond any previous studies in social sciences. Figure 23 shows that similar results were found for other types of fatalities and crime.
Figure 21. Changing number of participants in group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs at Maharishi International University from 2003 to 2011.41
Figure 22. U.S. urban murder rate and forecast, 2007-2010.42
During the Experimental Period, the blue line indicates the predicted rate of urban murders, which have a strong seasonal trend, like the Baseline Period, with the murder rate increasing in the summer months and decreasing in the winter months. The actual murder rate is shown by the red line, which still shows the seasonal fluctuations during the Experimental period, but the trend line of murders (blue arrow) shows a strong downward decline. This indicates that when the number of TM and TM-Sidhi participants at MIU reached a predicted threshold, a size large enough to create coherence in the collective consciousness for the entire United States (1725), the national murder trend declined.
Figure 23. Effects of a sudden, years-long increase in TM and TM-Sidhi group size on six measures of crime and fatalities in the U.S.41-44
Figure 23 shows that from 2007 to 2011, when the coherence creating TM and TM-Sidhi group at MIU was sufficiently large to have a predicted impact on the entire U.S., that multiple stress indicators—homicides, motor fatalities, drug-related deaths, violent crimes, fatalities by other accidents, and infant mortalities—all decreased. No other events at that time could explain these simultaneous improvements in the U.S. quality of life.
Next are the recent studies of possible effects of the subsequent decline in numbers of TM and TM-Sidhi practitioners in these large groups. Figure 24 shows how the number changed during the post-experimental period, eventually declining almost to the original low in 2006. Strikingly, Figure 25 shows that when the number dropped to about 800, around the year 2014, all measures of crime and death underwent a sharp reversal.45 This fact, coupled with the similarity of change (in standard deviation units) for virtually all the measures, reduces the chance that any variable other than TM group size could explain the observed results. What, then, might be the mechanism involved?
Figure 24. Changing number of participants in group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs at Maharishi International University from 2000 to 2017.45
Figure 25. Associations between changing numbers in the TM and TM-Sidhi group and changing rates of crime and mortality in the U.S. from 2000 to 2017.45 Orme-Johnson, D.; Cavanaugh, K. L.; Dillbeck, M. C.; Goodman, R. S., Field-effects of consciousness: A seventeen-year study of the effects of group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs on reducing national stress in the United States. World Journal of Social Science 2022, 9 (2), 1-38.
Using annual data, Figure 25 shows that during the Experimental Period when the size of the TM and TM-Sidhi group at MIU increased (blue line) all eight national stress indicators for the U.S. simultaneusly decreased. In the Post-Experimental period, when the size of the group dropped, all stress indicators again increased. The fact that the Maharishi Effect can be turned on and off again by changing the size of the group supports a causal interpretation. The finding that diverse and usually independent social indicators acted together supports a common cause, an apparent field effect on the level of consciousness.
Research on Mechanism of the Maharishi Effect
By the time the first scientific evidence verifying the ME emerged, MMY had already mentioned that when an individual practices the TM technique, each experience of TC enlivens the quality of TC in the surroundings. This concept prompted an unusual test of the mechanism of the ME.46 Researchers theorized that because one of the documented effects of an individual’s experience of TC is increased phase coherence of that person’s EEG, perhaps the EEG coherence between two individuals would be influenced by a large group of practitioners miles away. In a well-designed experiment, the change in this intersubject EEG coherence was measured at times that either coincided with practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs in the large group or did not coincide. The experimental subjects were blinded to both the local time and the time of the 2500-member-group practice 1000 miles away. A significant difference was found, especially in the phase coherence in the alpha and beta EEG frequency bands.46 Recall, from research described earlier, that an increase in EEG coherence and power, especially in the alpha1 band, of an individual during the practice of the TM technique is an apparent indication of an experience of TC by that person.
Other EEG studies, using designs quite distinct from this one, report effects consistent with the consciousness-as-a-field hypothesis (see, e.g.47-48). There is also a history of similar studies that did not use meditation as a component (see, e.g.49). All the mentioned EEG studies are consistent with the hypothesized consciousness field that might mediate the ME, but further support comes from a neuroendocrine study that also was conducted at MIU.
This study was based on evidence that practice of the TM technique reduces the stress-related hormone, cortisol, both during the practice (measured in blood)50 and outside the practice (measured in urine and blood).51-52 Studies also show an increase in the urinary excretion rate of the serotonin metabolite 5-HIAA, especially at night, after long-term TM practice.51 Hypothesizing that the experience of TC during TM practice is the active ingredient responsible for these neuroendocrine responses (i.e., the reduction of urinary cortisol excretion and increase of 5-HIAA excretion), a time series experiment was designed to test the possible influence of changing the size of a large group practicing the TM and TM-Sidhi techniques together in one place.53 Dynamic regression analysis of time series observations over the experimental period (77 days) found that the daily change in the size of a TM group was a significant predictor of immediately subsequent mean (natural log) overnight excretion rates of (a) cortisol, (b) the main metabolite of serotonin (5-HIAA), and (c) the ratio of rates for 5-HIAA and cortisol in non-meditators located miles from the group. Specifically, a rise in group size predicted a fall in cortisol excretion, a rise in 5-HIAA excretion, and (with greatest statistical significance) a rise in the ratio of 5-HIAA excretion rate to cortisol excretion rate (p = .0001; see Figure 26). The direction of these effects matched that observed previously when comparing long-term TM practitioners and non-TM controls51, but the non-meditating subjects in the time-series study were not aware of the group meditation practices nor were they aware that the purpose of the study was related to meditation.
Figure 26. Relationship between change in TM group size and change in the ratio of 5-HIAA excretion to cortisol excretion in non-practitioners miles from the group. The figure shows that, when the size of the TM Group rose and fell, there was a corresponding change in the log ratio of serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA)/cortisol excretion.53
These results on mechanism of the ME, though highly suggestive, need repetition and follow-up. Nevertheless, the ME itself can be considered established fact. ME research meets the following key criteria for reliability and validity: a) replicability (38 studies); b) reviewed by multiple peers, some with predictions lodged in advance; c) demonstrated on multiple levels of social structure, from cities to worldwide; d) meets formal causal analysis criteria; and e) has a sound theoretical basis.54
Both the effects of individual practice of these TM and TM-Sidhi techniques and the more powerful effects of practicing in a group can be employed to improve health broadly, as explained in recent reviews.55-56 These are the types of effects that may qualify as “true health care” and may contribute a new and different “science of health”.57
Practical Effect of Growing Enlightenment—"True Health”
As described earlier, the higher state called “Enlightenment”, also termed the 5th State, or Cosmic Consciousness, is claimed to grow with regular practice of the TM technique. Practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi techniques, either alone or in a group with other practitioners, is held to hasten this development by hastening the integration of TC with the active phase of life. The remarkable claim of MMY, now supported by research, is that growth towards Enlightenment begins as soon as a person incorporates the twice-daily practice of TM into their routine.
Some of the critical evidence supporting this progression to higher states comes from the work of Charles Alexander and colleagues in 160 maximum-security prisoners at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Walpole, Massachusetts in the 1970s.58 Using the then-best psychometric instruments for gauging adult growth, including Loevinger’s Self-Development scale, he found rapid advances in the TM meditators who were regular in their practice. Overall, these new meditators in the prison progressed from Loevinger’s Conformist, I-3 level, a dependent, exploitative orientation, before beginning TM, to the Conscientious, I-4 level, a more responsible, self-monitoring, self-respecting, and communicative level, after an average of 33 months of TM practice.59-60 These prisoners also decreased significantly in psychopathology, including measures of aggression. And they increased significantly on measures of postconventional higher states of consciousness.
These advances in personal growth proved practical, as evidenced by a proportionate reduction of 33% in the recidivism rate for those who had learned TM while in prison compared to others who participated in counseling, drug rehabilitation, Christian, or Muslim programs.61 This result was from a follow-up study covering up to 59 months after release of 286 inmates. This result compares with a 43.5% lower recidivism rate than controls in a separate, 15-year study of former inmates of Folsom Prison in California who began practicing the TM technique while still in prison.62
The question of whether physical health also might benefit from practicing the TM technique in prison has not been systematically investigated. However, between 1987 and 1989, more than 11,000 inmates and 900 correctional officers and prison administrative staff in 31 of the 34 prisons in the West African country of Senegal were instructed in TM. This led to a 70% decrease in medical expenses in the prison system and a decrease in recidivism from the prior rate of 90% to only 3%.63
When these results with TM effects in prisons are viewed in the light of all the other areas discussed earlier, the question that stands out is:
“How can growth to higher states of consciousness effect such holistic improvements in mental and physical health?”
We have discussed a partial explanation in terms of removal of effects of stress. The Vedic tradition supplies a more complete answer, one relevant to the end state as well as to the path of progress to that state. This advancement or personal growth is based on the simultaneous involvement of four dynamic and interdependent “principles”: stability, adaptability, purification, and integration. Stability of the human system is increased by its adaptability. Both adaptability and stability are increased by casting off impurities, e.g. removing the effects of damaging stressors (see for review 64). Experience of the restfully alert state of TC, during TM practice, purifies the system of these effects of stress, increasing both adaptability and stability, but this change must be integrated into the wholeness of the system, creating a new wholeness. Indeed, the Indo-European derivation of the word “health” means “wholeness” or “uninjured”. To heal is to make whole, or healthy, again. So, when the state of CC is attained, i.e. when TC is permanently maintained along with the waking, dreaming and sleeping states, the system has been freed of all effects of stress and is whole again. We propose this as a testable new definition of health, “true health.” Progress towards this state also involves these principles, but in CC, they have reached their optimal state. The Vedic tradition describes two further states of development, which also are testable, but these remain to be investigated.
SUMMARY
The purpose of this overview was to give a vision of the health-care potential of states of consciousness higher than the familiar sleep, dreaming, and waking states. Transcendental Consciousness (a.k.a. “the 4th state”, “pure consciousness” or “pure awareness”) may be appropriately called the “least excited state of consciousness.” It is a natural, organic state that every human being experiences, briefly, without knowing, when they transition between states of consciousness. To rid the body of lasting effects of stress, this state must be experienced consciously and regularly. When consciously experienced, TC combines deep rest with alertness, a unique state of “restful alertness.” People report being unaware of “time, space, and body sense” while remaining alert and fully awake. This state is also referred to as “unbounded awareness”, that is, awareness with no object (“boundaries”) other than itself.
TC cannot be contrived or forced. When practiced as instructed, the TM technique is understood to activate the natural inclination of the mind to seek its least-excited state. Historically, these instructions were lost. As misunderstanding crept in, “meditation” became contemplation or concentration, which in turn prevented the mind from naturally and effortlessly experiencing TC. That millennia-long misunderstanding pervades the field of meditation practice and research to this day. Most importantly, past and ongoing research supports the conclusion that regular experience of the effortless state of TC creates cumulative, concrete, long-lasting physiological and psychological benefits leading to a “5th state” also known as “Cosmic Consciousness” in which TC is always present, that is, during waking, dreaming, and sleep states. This progressive change, from periodic experiences of the 4th state to a permanent 5th state, appears to be due to the body-mind freeing itself of damaging effects of stress so that it becomes capable of exhibiting maximum stability, adaptability, purification, integration, and personal growth. This may be a state worthy of the label “healthy.”
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