TM-Sidhi program

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Main article: Transcendental Meditation

In the mid-1970s, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced the TM-Sidhi Program. He had earlier introduced Transcendental Meditation, and according to TM.org, the TM-Sidhi program "is a natural extension of the Transcendental Meditation® program and may be learned after two months of regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique."[1] The practice of the TM-Sidhi program is said to accelerate the benefits gained from practice of Transcendental Meditation.[2] Maharishi states that he derived the TM-Sidhi program from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, containing phrases or “sutras” (threads), the practice of which can supposedly lead to development of advanced human powers, including levitation and invisibility. The TM organziation emphasizes that only the first stage of yogic flying, which they characterize as "hopping like a frog," has been shown:

'The physical manifestations of the "Yogic Flying" vary with the practitioner. The Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali describes three stages of immediately visible results. Stage One is generally associated with what would best be described as "hopping like a frog." Stage Two is flying through the air for a short time. Stage Three is complete mastery of flying. The above photo and all "Yogic Flying" demonstrations to date depict Stage One results.'

[3]

Research on the practice of the TM-Sidhi program shows increased EEG coherence in the brain during "Yogic Flying," one of the components of the TM-Sidhi program.^[1] EEG coherence has been shown to correlate with greater creativity and learning ability in studies published in the International Journal of Neuroscience.^[2][3] This correlation between EEG coherence and creativity is supported by a range of other studies, which suggest that the correlation is due to "stronger involvement of long cortico-cortical fibre systems in creative tasks." ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Contents 1 Initial marketing of the TM-Sidhi program 2 Yogic Flying 3 The Maharishi Effect 4 Study on the Maharishi Effect in Washington, D.C. 5 Prediction of peace and prosperity 6 Maharishi’s Supreme Military Science 7 Related Articles 8 References

[edit] Initial marketing of the TM-Sidhi program

Early promotional posters for the advanced technique offered meditators powers of levitation, invisibility, the ability to walk through walls, and the "strength of an elephant."[4] . The TM movement eventually stopped talking publicly about these powers, except for the ability to hover and fly; the movement says that TM-Sidhi meditators (called Sidhas) have already achieved the first of the three stages of "Yogic Flying" – hopping. Further practice of the technique is said to lead to the second stage, which is hovering or levitation. When the meditators achieve the third stage, they will be flying though the sky without the aid of airplanes. Accounts within the movement of yogic flyers advancing beyond the hopping stage have varied over the years. For example, in 1978, when the host of The Merv Griffin (TV) Show asked Maharishi Mahesh Yogi how many of the 40,000 TM-Sidhi students he taught learned to levitate, he answered, "Thousands."^[7]

[edit] Yogic Flying

The movement has presented a number of public demonstrations of the aspect of the TM-Sidhi program called Yogic Flying, such as the one in 1999 described by Robert L. Park, professor of physics at the University of Maryland and author of the weekly science Internet column, What's New. The Yogic Flying demonstration was presented at a press conference at the Washington, DC Press Club by physicist and Natural Law Party Presidential candidate John Hagelin. Hagelin had called the press conference to offer help in ending the war in Kosovo by sending 7000 Yogic Flyers to create positive coherence in the violence-torn country. This is how Park described the demonstration[5]:

"Mattresses were spread right there on the floor, and 12 fit-looking young guys seated themselves in the lotus position. The audience was cautioned to make no sound as they meditated. After a few minutes, one of them suddenly levitated. Well, he didn't exactly float, mind you, just sort of popped up a couple of inches and thumped back down. Then another levitated, and another, till the scene looked like corn popping. There was nothing to suggest they didn't follow parabolic trajectories. My guess is they were suddenly contracting their gluteus maximus. It must be hard work. They were soon panting heavily."

[edit] The Maharishi Effect

The TM movement says that practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs in a group produces a "Maharishi Effect," which benefits society in general, not just individual practitioners, by increasing "the influence of coherence and positivity in the social and natural environment."[6]." According to Maharishi, if just the square root of one percent of the population regularly practices the TM-Sidhi program together, the entire population will experience greater coherence - including reduction in violence, crime, disease, deadly storms, and other destructive natural forces. They will enjoy more abundant crops and a decrease in poverty.

James Randi, a magician and critic of paranormal claims, investigated the claims of Dr. Robert Rabinoff, a former Maharishi International University physics professor subsequently did a study on the "Maharishi effect," that a large gathering of TM meditators had reduced crime and accidents and increased crop production in the vicinity of Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. Rabinoff made the claims during a talk at the University of Oregon in 1978. Randi spoke with the Fairfield Police Department, the Iowa Department of Agriculture, and Iowa Department of Motor Vehicles and was unable to substantiate the claims.^[8]

[edit] Study on the Maharishi Effect in Washington, D.C.

A study on the Maharishi Effect published in 1999 in the peer-reviewed journal Social Indicators Research suggested that there was a correlation between the gathering of a group of 4,000 participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs in the District of Columbia, and a reduction in violent crime in that city.^[9] The experiment took place over a two-month period in the summer of 1993.

At a 1994 press conference to announce the analysis of that study, John Hagelin said that, during the period of the experiment, Washington, D.C. experienced a significant reduction in psychiatric emergency calls, fewer complaints against the police, and an increase in public approval of President Clinton -- all of which was consistent with the hypothesis that a coherence-creating group of TM experts can relieve social stress and reverse negative social trends. Overall, there was an 18-percent reduction in violent crime, he told the press. When a reporter asked, a 18-percent reduction compared to what, Hagelin answered, compared to the level of violent crime had the TM meditators not meditated. Hagelin said that criminologists have shown that violent crime fluctuates significantly relative to the temperature. Crime goes down when it's cold and up when it's hot. The standard methodology for assessing whether the crime rate changed or not is to compare it with what is expected for that particular season. Hagelin said that by using the standard methology (time series analysis), they were able to show the level of violent crime in Washington had dropped well below the expected level based on previous data.[7]

In his book Voodoo Science, physicist Robert L. Park called the TM study a "clinic in data manipulation."^[10] Study coauthor Maxwell Rainforth writes that Park gives "no supporting data or analysis for that assertion, and makes not another comment about it," either in his book or in the shorter version that appeared in Skeptical Inquirer. Further, Rainforth writes that "Park’s objection to our use of time series analysis is not based on any scientific argument . . . ." The researchers also question whether Park read the published study, since his criticism focuses on a preliminary Interim Report released at a press conference in 1994. [8]

Park questions the validity of the study by saying that during the weeks of the experiment Washington D.C.'s weekly murder count "hit the highest level ever recorded."^[11] He doesn't give a reference for this on the cited page. According to the study, statistical analysis suggests that the murder rate, which typically goes up during hot weather, fell within the range of what would have been expected for that time of year.^[12]

In 1994 John Hagelin received an Ig Nobel Prize in peace [9] to commemorate the study. This spoof of the Nobel Prize is given annually to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think."[10]

[edit] Prediction of peace and prosperity

In July 2006, Hagelin said that the United States government would "enjoy greater success" if the country had just 1730 (the square root of one percent of the U.S. population) Sidhas flying regularly together as a group. With at least that many practicing Yogic Flyers in the United States, "Peace and prosperity will reign, and violence and conflict will subside as America rises to become a lighthouse of coherence and invincibility for the world,” he said[11].

[edit] Maharishi’s Supreme Military Science

The TM organization is offering world leaders a method to make their armed forces "invincible" through the technology of "Maharishi's Supreme Military Science." One published TM study says: "Over 50 studies indicate that groups practicing this Invincible Defence technology alleviate problems in society that may derive from collective stress, which is viewed by Maharishi as the root cause of adversarial relationships leading to war.…It has been field-tested by the Mozambique military to prevent hostilities and avert the rise of enemies. This approach could greatly improve the military's peacemaking and peacekeeping abilities, while reducing risks to personnel and civilians."[12]

[edit] Related Articles

[edit] References

1. ^ TRAVIS, F. T., and ORME-JOHNSON, D. W. EEG coherence and power during yogic flying. International Journal of Neuroscience 54: 1-12, 1990.
2. ^ Orme-Johnson DW, and Haynes CT. EEG phase coherence, pure consciousness, creativity, and TM-Sidhi experiences. International Journal of Neuroscience 13: 211-217, 1981
3. ^ Dillbeck MC, Orme-Johnson DW, Wallace RK. Frontal EEG coherence, H-reflex recovery, concept learning, and the TM-Sidhi program. International Journal of Neuroscience 15: 151-157, 1981
4. ^ Petsche H. Approaches to verbal, visual and musical creativity by EEG coherence analysis. Int J Psychophysiol. 1996 Nov;24(1-2):145-59
5. ^ Razumnikova OM, Larina EN. Hemispheric interactions during a search of original verbal associations: EEG coherence in creative men and women. Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova. 2005 Nov-Dec;55(6):777-87.
6. ^ Jausovec N, Jausovec K. Differences in resting EEG related to ability. Brain Topogr. 2000 Spring;12(3):229-40.
7. ^ Randi, James (1982), "chapter 5, "The Giggling Guru: A Matter of Levity"" in Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions; [introduction by Isaac Asimov], Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-198-3
8. ^ Randi, James (1982), "chapter 5, "The Giggling Guru: A Matter of Levity"" in Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions; [introduction by Isaac Asimov], Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-198-3
9. ^ Hagelin, J. S., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Rainforth, M., Cavanaugh, K., & Alexander, C. N. (1999). Results of the National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness in Washington, D.C. Social Indicators Research, 47, 153–201
10. ^ Park, Robert, Skeptical Inquirer, Sept 2000 "Voodoo Science and the Belief Gene"
11. ^ |web site |http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN94/wn100794.html#3
12. ^ Hagelin, J. S., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Rainforth, M., Cavanaugh, K., & Alexander, C. N. (1999). Results of the National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness in Washington, D.C. Social Indicators Research, 47, 153–201