NCJ Number
85696
Date Published
1982
Length
41 pages
Annotation
Transcendental (TM) and the TM-Sidhi program, which are intended to create higher states of consciousness in its practitioners, have been shown to reduce offender anxiety, recidivism, and crime in populations where 1 percent of the population engaged in TM.
Abstract
The TM technique, which is practiced twice a day for 15-20 minutes, allows the mind to settle into the basis of human consciousness, the state of least excitation of consciousness, the state of pure consciousness without activity, and the field of intelligence in its pure form. An experiential demonstration of TM is the TM-Sidhi program developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Five prison studies of the impact of the use of TM techniques with inmates showed that they increased relaxation and optimism among participants, decreased anxiety, reduced hostility, increased the constructive activity of inmates, and reduced recidivism among released practitioners compared to control groups. A study of self-selection and causality among TM participants showed that among 211 self-selected subjects starting a TM program, almost no relationship was found between the degree of expectation of results and the actual results measured. A recent study shows that coherence generated by a group of 2,000 persons during the TM-Sidhi techniques produces a measurable influence on EEG coherence between persons 1,000 miles away. Other studies have shown a significant reduction in crime in populations that had 1 percent of the population involved in TM. In addition to providing TM programs for prison inmates and staff, they should be included in public education as a means of preventing the accumulation of stress in society and ultimately creating coherence in world consciousness. A total of 151 references are provided.