David Orme-Johnson

David W. Orme-Johnson (born January 17, 1941) is a former professor of psychology at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. He is the author of over 100 papers investigating the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique.[1]

Contents

Early life and education

David Orme-Johnson was born in El Paso, Texas. He received an A.B. from Columbia University in Psychology in 1963, and his M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1969) in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Professional career

From 1969 to 1971, Orme-Johnson served as a lecturer at the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP).[2] While at UTEP, he conducted the first research on the effects of Transcendental Meditation on autonomic stability and autonomic recovery from stressors. The paper, published in the Psychosomatic Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, reported fewer spontaneous galvanic skin responses (GSR) in meditators, and more rapid habituation of the GSR to loud tones.[3]

Orme-Johnson was director of research and evaluation for the U.S. Army drug rehabilitation program at Fort Bliss from 1971 to 1972.[4][5]

In 1973, Orme-Johnson joined Maharishi University of Management (MUM), then called Maharishi International University (MIU), in Fairfield, Iowa. Orme-Johnson served as the Chairman of the Psychology Department and Dean of Research until 1996.[6] In addition, he was director of its psychology doctoral program and co-director of its neuroscience doctoral program,[7] and director of the university's Institute for World Peace.[8] He also served as director of research at the Institute of Science, Technology, and Public Policy.[9]

From 1975 to 1977, he was Vice Chancellor of Maharishi European Research University, Seelisberg, Switzerland and, from 1976 to 1977, Orme-Johnson was Acting President at Maharishi University of Management.[5]

In 1982, Orme-Johnson and Michael Dillbeck presented research on TM’s effects on the individual and on the larger society to the Congressional hearings on proposals to establish a U.S. Peace Academy held by the Subcommittees on International Security and Scientific Affairs. Based on the evidence, they suggested a four point proposal to create peace in the US, Washington, D.C., and in trouble spot countries around the world.[10]

Orme-Johnson's paper, "International peace project in the Middle East" was published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution in 1988 and again in 1990 in the Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers. The second published version included an Appendix A which contained the data used for the study.[11][12] The paper was criticized in 1997 by University of Iowa professors Evan Fales and Barry Markovsky, who took issue with the Maharishi Effect theory and with Orme-Johnson's interpretation of evidence. They complained that Orme-Johnson refused to share his raw data and concluded that the probability of the Maharishi Effect theory was "very close to zero".[13] Orme-Johnson defended his work in a 2009 paper. After reviewing their critique he wrote that it was "not supported by either the empirical data nor by a logical analysis of the theory".[14] He also noted that published plots of the raw data were given to Fales and Markovsky and that a simple visual inspection of these plots would have shown that their alternate hypotheses couldn't explain the study's results. The raw data is available on his website.[15]

He participated in a delegation of teachers from Maharishi International University who traveled to the Soviet Union to provide instruction in Transcendental Meditation in 1990. The trip, initially scheduled to last ten days, was extended to six months and resulted in the training of 35,000 people in Transcendental Meditation.[16]

In 1990, he proposed that the U.S. Defense Department budget $90 million to hire 7,000 to 10,000 full time meditators to improve society.[17] In 1991, he advocated a plan for prisons to hire TM trainers, at a cost of $1,500 per inmate, to reduce recidivism and illness among prisoners.[18] In response to a Wall Street Journal article that estimated it would cost $1 billion to teach TM to all inmates in the U.S., Orme-Johnson wrote that doing so would result in a net savings of $6.2 billion annually.[19] In 1993, Orme-Johnson proposed that the city of Omaha, Nebraska spend $23 million for 600 meditators to end crime in the city.[20]

In 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) nominated Orme-Johnson to be an expert presenter on the effects of meditation as a relaxation technique on chronic pain and insomnia at the NIH technology assessment conference held in Bethesda, Maryland.[21] The conclusions of the conference were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.[22]

From 1999 to 2000, Orme-Johnson was a member of the Advisory Board at the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention and, from 2000 to 2002, was a Consultant for the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention. From 2002 to 2004, he served as Adjunct Professor at Maharishi College of Vedic Medicine located at Maharishi University of Management.[5]

In 2006, Orme-Johnson was the principal investigator for an NIH grant sponsored collaboration between Maharishi University of Management and the University of California at Irvine to conduct the first neuroimaging study on the effects of meditation on pain.[23][24][25]

In 2008, the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine sponsored Orme-Johnson to present research on the Transcendental Meditation program and health at their workshop on “Meditation for Health Purposes”, held in Bethesda, Maryland.[26]

Orme-Johnson is a former professional member of the American Psychological Association, Society for Psychophysiological Research, National Referee for National Social Science Journal, Iowa Academy of Science and Midwest Psychological Society.[27]

Artist

Orme-Johnson is also a sculptor and painter.[28] He studied visual arts at Columbia College from 1959 to 1963 in drawing, painting, sculpture and history of the movies, and at the University of Maryland from 1963-1968 in print making, glass blowing sculpting and painting. He also studied painting through the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.[29]

Orme-Johnson's work has been exhibited in groups shows at Columbia University in New York in 1962, and in "The Gallery" in Fairfield, Iowa in 1996, as well as in a one-man show at the "Gallery Two-Twenty-Two" in El Paso, Texas in 1969. His work is held in private collections.[29]

Other

After retiring from the Maharishi University of Management, Orme-Johnson moved to Florida where he worked as a research consultant and a TM teacher.[30][31] In 1996, he qualified as a write-in candidate in the election for Florida House District 7.[32]

His brother, William Orme-Johnson, was a professor of chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an expert on inorganic chemistry.[33]

Orme-Johnson's wife, Rhoda, was chairperson of the Literature department at Maharishi International University and a founding member of the university.[34][35]

Selected papers

The most frequently cited papers in which DW Orme-Johnson was the lead author include:

Books

References

  1. ^ Truth About TM
  2. ^ JO ANN, ZUNIGA (1993-03-01). "Maharishi says $123 million worth of mantras will save city". Houston Chronicle: pp. 10. ISSN 1074-7109. 
  3. ^ American Psychosomatic Society [1] Orme-Johnson, D. W (1973). "Autonomic stability and transcendental meditation". Psychosomatic Medicine 35 (4): 341–349
  4. ^ Orme-Johnson, David (1991-11-23). "Benefits of meditation deserve consideration". Austin American Statesman: pp. A.23. 
  5. ^ a b c Self Published Bio Data
  6. ^ Diane, Zabel (2004). "Meditation and Health: An Annotated Bibliography". Reference & User Services Quarterly 44 (1): 18. ISSN 1094-9054. 
  7. ^ Smith, Jack (1986-05-08). "The square root of 1% of the population unified in anyway may be the greatest discovery in the history of science". Los Angeles Times: pp. 1. ISSN 0458-3035. 
  8. ^ Gaines, Judith (1990-11-26). "RADIATING GULF PEACE THOUGHTS". Boston Globe: pp. 31. ISSN 0743-1791. 
  9. ^ David R, Leffler; Lee M Leffler. "Consciousness-based defense". Tikkun 15 (3): 58. ISSN 0887-9982. 
  10. ^ Orme-Johnson, D.W. & Dillbeck, M.C. (1982, July 21). Statement in Proposals to Establish a U.S. Academy of Peace. In Proceedings of the hearing before the Subcommittees on International Security and Scientific Affairs and on International Operations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Post-secondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, Joint Hearings of United States House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, Second Session on H.R. 5088 and H.R. 6182, pp. 241-250
  11. ^ Orme-Johnson, D. W., Alexander, C. N., Davies, J. L., Chandler, H. M., & Larimore, W. E. (1988). International peace project in the Middle East: The effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 32, 776–8 12.
  12. ^ Orme-Johnson, D. W., Alexander, C. N., Davies, J. L., Chandler, H. M., & Larimore, W. E. (1988). International peace project in the Middle East: The effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution Reprinted in 1990 with Appendix A of data in Scientific Research on Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Collected Papers (Vol. 4, pp. 2653–2678). Vlodrop, The Netherlands: Maharishi Vedic University Press.
  13. ^ Fales, Evan; Barry Markovsky (1997-12). "Evaluating heterodox theories". Social Forces (University of North Carolina Press) 76 (2): 511. doi:10.2307/2580722. ISSN 0037-7732. JSTOR 2580722. 
  14. ^ Orme-Johnson, D. W; ROBERT M. OATES (2009). "A Field-Theoretic View of Consciousness: Reply to Critics". Journal of Scientific Exploration 23 (2): 139–166. ISSN 0892-3310. http://d.yimg.com/kq/groups/3920196/849533176/name/OJ+%26+Oates+Reply+to+Critics+J+Sc+Explor+2009+Final.pdf. 
  15. ^ http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/SocietalEffects/Critics-Rebuttals/index.cfm#Israel_Data
  16. ^ "Soviets Learn To Meditate". Omaha World-Herald: pp. 23. 1990-06-01. 
  17. ^ "Iowans Push Federal Aid for Peace Meditation". Omaha World - Herald: pp. 13. 1990-04-13. 
  18. ^ CHRISS, CATHERINE (1991-02-21). "Authorities asked to give thought to jail meditation". Houston Chronicle: pp. 22. ISSN 1074-7109. 
  19. ^ "Letters to the Editor: Turn Prisons Into Think Tanks". Wall Street Journal: pp. PAGE.15. 1991-06-18. ISSN 0921-9986. 
  20. ^ Gauger, Jeff (1993-02-07). "Meditation Pushed as Way to Fight Crime". Omaha World - Herald: pp. 10.A. 
  21. ^ Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Walton, K.; Lonsdorf, N. (1995) Meditation in the treatment of chronic pain and insomnia. National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Conference on Integration of Behavioral and Relaxation Approaches into the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Insomnia. October 16–18, Bethesda, Maryland, Abstract
  22. ^ Integration of Behavioral and Relaxation Approaches Into the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Insomnia NIH Technology Assessment Panel on Integration of Behavioral and Relaxation Approaches Into the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Insomnia JAMA. 1996;276(4):313-318, [2]
  23. ^ Orme-Johnson DW, Schneider RH, Son YD, Nidich S, Cho Z-H. Neuroimaging of meditation’s effect on brain reactivity to pain. NeuroReport 2006 17(12):1359-1363
  24. ^ National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine award #5-IP50-AT00082-05-Developmental Research component (CFDA #93.213)
  25. ^ NIH Publications Access, Author Manuscripts, Accepted for publication in peer reviewed journal, [3]
  26. ^ Orme-Johnson DW. Commentary on the AHRQ report on research on meditation practices in health. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2008 14(10):1215-1221 [4]
  27. ^ Official Web Site Bio
  28. ^ Art Gallery
  29. ^ a b Self Published Bio Data
  30. ^ MAY, PEGGY (2002-07-27). "Maharishi telecasts broadcast live on net". Northwest Florida Daily News: pp. C.1. ISSN 0898-168X. 
  31. ^ MAY, PEGGY (1998-10-12). "Meditation touted as the answer". Northwest Florida Daily News: pp. C.1. ISSN 0898-168X. 
  32. ^ "Candidates line up for offices". Northwest Florida Daily News: pp. B.1. 1996-07-20. ISSN 0898-168X. 
  33. ^ "William Orme-Johnson, inorganic biochemistry expert, dies at 68 - MIT News Office". http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/obit-orme-johnson.html. Retrieved 2009-08-19. 
  34. ^ Smith, Jack (1986-06-04). "Meditation may be off-base, or out in left field.... How about focusing energy on what's really important?". Los Angeles Times: pp. 1. ISSN 0458-3035. 
  35. ^ DePALMA, ANTHONY (April 29, 1992). "University's Degree Comes With a Heavy Dose of Meditation (and Skepticism)". New York Times: p. B.8. 

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