An End to Terrorism and War:
New Peace Government
Proposed By
World Renowned Quantum Physicist
Dr. John Hagelin
is one of the major forces working to create peace in the world today. He is the
head of the Peace Government, a newly formed, complementary government
established to promote alternative approaches to creating peace.
“War is not a means to create peace”
Hagelin says. “Since the founding of the
United Nations after World War II to prevent the outbreak of further conflicts,
there have been more than 120 wars. Unless we can change the conditions that
created the war in Iraq—the age-old ethnic tensions—the fear and hostility
between factions and religions in the region will continue to fuel terrorism and
war.”
“We
can’t be the policeman of the world,” he says. “We can’t take control of the
governments in every country. Peace has to come from within; it can’t be imposed
from outside. As a scientist, I know that 9-11 and the war in Iraq could have
been averted. We now have techniques of consciousness that make it possible to
stop war and violence, and create peace in any location on the globe.”
Hagelin is a world-renowned quantum physicist, recipient of the Kilby Award,
life-long educator, and leading authority and researcher on human consciousness.
In the 1996 and 2000 elections, he was the
presidential candidate for the Natural Law Party. He is currently Director of
the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, a mid-west-based think
tank. Over the past 10 years, he has successfully
headed a nationwide effort to identify, scientifically evaluate, and promote
innovative, consciousness-based solutions to critical
social problems in the
areas of crime, health care, and education.
Over the past year, Dr. Hagelin and a
team of internationally renowned scientists have met with members of Congress
and top leaders at the Pentagon and State Department to present their peaceful,
scientifically validated approach to preventing war and terrorism. In meetings
with Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Dr. Hagelin discussed the Peace legislation
proposed by Kucinich. “As an educator I believe that education is the source and
ultimately the solution to most of our national and global problems,” said
Hagelin. “I’m also a scientist who has done research in the field of conflict
resolution and peace, and it is a scientific fact that wars begin in the minds
and hearts of men, and it is in the minds and hearts of men that the consensus
of peace must be constructed. If there is a way through education to reduce the
societal stress and tension, then we can perhaps prevent the outbreak of
conflict.”
“The
time for peace is now”
“The time for peace is now,” said
Congressman Kucinich. “At the dawn of a new millennium, there is no better time
to review age-old challenges with new thinking that peace is not only the
absence of violence, but the presence of a higher evolution of human awareness
with respect, trust and integrity toward humankind.”
Hiroshima Symposium on World Peace
Addressing an International Symposium
on World Peace at the University of Hiroshima, which focused on the urgent need
for new approaches to creating and maintaining world peace, Hagelin discussed
his proposal for preventing terrorism and war. “The ability to deliver massive
retaliation affords little deterrence to terrorists,” he said. “We need a new
approach—one that can neutralize terrorist attacks and prevent wars before
they begin.”
At the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, established at Ground Zero of the world’s first
nuclear attack, Hagelin commented, “Every political leader with access to
nuclear weapons should be required to visit this museum. As a nuclear physicist
I was overwhelmed to see the extent of death and destruction that these weapons
have caused. Bush’s battlefield nuclear weapons are many times more powerful
than the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. The very concept of such weapons breaks
down the fine line that has kept humankind from total conflagration during the
past 40 years.”
A Peaceful
Solution to Violence and War
In Hagelin’s view, all types of social
violence, including crime, warfare, and terrorism, have a single primary
cause—the combined stress of all the individuals in society that builds up and
creates a dangerous, criminal atmosphere in the whole community. This societal
stress becomes the breeding ground for crime and social disorders, which in turn
threaten the creativity, productivity, fulfillment and even the lives of
individuals in the society. To effectively reduce the stress and violence in
this collective consciousness of the society, the stress in the individuals must
be reduced.
New U.S.
Peace Government Inaugurated
Dr. Hagelin has invited America’s foremost scientists and experts
on the theory and application of total Natural Law, the Unified Field described
by quantum physics, to join with him in creating a new, knowledge-based U.S.
Peace Government.
This complementary government will be composed of Cabinet-level
scientists, educators, health professionals, and other experts in all 50
states—leading citizens who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the public
good, and who possess the knowledge and practical competence to lead society in
a peaceful and evolutionary direction. These scientists and professionals will
advise the current U.S. administration, consult with elected leaders, and
promote deep scientific principles for a new paradigm of governance based on
Natural Law.
“The establishment of this knowledge-based Peace Government is, in part, to
replace our corrupt, money-driven system (in which elected leaders have no
expertise apart from raising special-interest money) with the principle of a
‘meritocracy’—leadership by the competent,” says Hagelin.
"We cannot stand idle and witness the precipitous decline of
America’s standing in the family of nations, the dangerous erosion of national
and global security, the failure of education, the collapse of health care.
Those who are blessed with the world-transforming knowledge of the deepest
principles of nature’s functioning, who know how to prevent problems, and who
are experts in the field of peace must rise up today and fulfill their
leadership responsibility.”
This plan
for a new Peace Government is already receiving national media coverage, and
hundreds of scientists have rallied to Hagelin’s call. This will be a
complementary government headed by people with expertise in science. “Our focus
will be to create prevention-oriented, problem-free administration in the
nation,” Hagelin said in an interview with The Washington Times
3/17/03: “Hagelin Proposes New U.S. Government.” Similar articles
have appeared in other journals, including The Financial Times UK, and
The Providence Journal US.
The U.S.
Peace Government
was
formally inaugurated on July 4, 2003, as part of the First Annual
Convention of the U.S. Peace Government held from July 3-6 in Maharishi Vedic
City, Iowa. Many of the founding members of the U.S. Peace
Government attended
the inauguration.
“My new U.S. Peace Government will not
usurp in any way the responsibilities of the current U.S. government, which is
largely concerned with crisis management. Instead, it will promote deep
scientific principles of prevention-oriented, problem-free administration and
the proven, practical programs scientifically shown to effectively prevent
problems,” Hagelin said. “These programs will develop higher brain functioning,
prevent disease and promote health, prevent crime, and secure lasting world
peace. The U.S. Peace Government will thus establish the principle of a
‘meritocracy’ in America—leadership by the competent.”
Peace Palaces: Centers of Coherence
and Harmony. The Peace Government is planning to
build 100
Peace Palaces
in the largest U.S.
cities. Three Peace Palaces have already opened, at a cost of $4 million each in
Bethesda, Maryland; Lexington, Kentucky; and Fairfield, Iowa.
At a recent press conference held in Los Angeles, actors Steven
Collins, Laura Dern, Heather Graham, Laura Harring, and director David Lynch,
enthusiastically supported the construction of a Peace Palace for their area. In
his introductory remarks, Steven Collins said, “We
live in stressful times. In fact, that is a gross understatement. We are, all of
us, under siege from the effects of ‘every day traumatic stress.’ Certainly
nothing like those who live in war torn regions of the world, but certainly bad
enough to fuel an epidemic of stress-related killer disorders, such as high
blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and many forms of cancer. But stress also
has other insidious manifestations. It drives crime, domestic violence, and even
open-warfare.
It is both brand new and timeless and ancient
We are holding this
news conference today to offer a powerful yet safe antidote to stress both for
us as individuals and for society. It is both brand new and timeless and
ancient. It is Transcendental Meditation and this news conference is about its
ability to harness the power of consciousness, the power of the mind, to not
only change our own individual lives, but to actually transform society and the
world as a whole.
The Peace Palace we
are going to build in Los Angeles will be one of 100 in the US and 3,000
worldwide. It will be a center for peace for the city and for the nation. It
will offer meditation and meditation-based programs to anyone who is interested,
but more importantly, it will be a center for a group of 200 peace-creating
advanced meditation experts whose practice will radiate calm and peace for the
whole city.”
In fact,
that is the real purpose of this news conference—to announce our intention to
give a gift back to the people of Los Angeles—PEACE—whether or not they ever
enter our doors.”
“It
is a peace-creating factory”
David Lynch added. “The Peace Palace
is not just a pretty building where people strum guitars and sing about peace.
It is a peace-creating factory.”
Meditation: A Technology for Creating
Peace
One particular technique of meditation has been the subject of
over 500 research studies. The technique, Transcendental Meditation, is one of
the most researched topics in the history of science. It is
a simple
natural mental procedure practiced for 15 to 20 minutes in morning and evening,
while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed. It requires no effort or
concentration. It is easy to learn and effortless to practice. Teachers of the
technique say that it is not a philosophy and does not require specific beliefs,
behavior, or lifestyle. Millions of people throughout the world practice this
simple technique.
According
to practitioners, during practice of TM (Transcendental Meditation), the
individual’s awareness settles down and experiences a unique state of restful
alertness—transcendental consciousness, the simplest form of awareness. The
regular experience of transcendental
consciousness—unbounded awareness—produces a wide range of benefits in
life, both for the individual and society. Over 500 scientific studies conducted
at more that 200 universities and research institutes in 30
countries
show that it produces a
profound state of awareness that affects both the individual’s health and well
being and, when practiced in large groups, affects the surrounding areas,
reflected in reduced crime and violence.
Hagelin’s proposal to end the
continuing war and violence throughout the world is based on the application of
this simple technique of meditation that has been taught by Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi throughout the world over the past 40 years. Transcendental Meditation and
its advanced program known as “Yogic Flying”, have been shown to calm violence
and create peace in any city or country in the world.
“For
me, it's just pure bliss”
Practitioners report a wide range of experiences during TM and Yogic Flying:
Rod Falk, experienced Yogic flyer, says, "For me, it's just pure
bliss. You become completely integrated—your mind and your body become filled
with lightness and completeness, and it spills over into your every day life.
We're really training so that life becomes easier." Des Moines Register,
April 26, 2003.
“I
am one with cosmic awareness”
“In meditation I often experience an expansion of awareness—all perceived
boundaries of the mind and body dissolve and I am one with cosmic awareness—wide
awake pure consciousness, unbounded awareness. I am filled with a deep love for
all of creation and perceive the essential unity of all beings. If the leaders
of our world had this experience, there would be no more wars.” (Sally Peden,
author of this article)
Research validates experience
For many years, the medical community
has recognized that the practice of Transcendental Meditation can calm down
stress, tension and hostility in individuals. More recently, research
published in highly respected peer-reviewed journals
shows that large groups of experts in TM and Yogic Flying can create the same
calming effects in the surrounding community. A small proportion of a
population—even one percent practicing these techniques can significantly reduce
crime, social violence, and even open warfare in war-torn areas. Like a
radio transmitter sending sound waves through an invisible field, individuals
practicing TM radiate their peaceful influence through the abstract field of
consciousness.
A validation of this effect was
conducted in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1993 with a highly publicized
National Demonstration Project directed by Dr. Hagelin. This carefully
controlled experiment was conducted by 27 of America’s foremost criminologists
and sociologists in conjunction with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
The study examined the societal effects of approximately 4,000 practitioners of
Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying in Washington, D.C.
From June 7 to July 30th,
the group of TM practitioners increased from 800 to 4000 over the two-month
period. Violent crime (including homicide, rape and assault), which usually
increases to a peak with high temperatures in July, plunged dramatically during
the assembly with a maximum decrease of 23.6%. The likelihood of coincidence was
less than two parts per billion. The drop in crime could not be attributed to
other possible causes, including temperature, precipitation, weekends, and
police and community anti-crime activities (Social Indicators Research
47: 153-201, 1999).
The study also found marked reductions
in violent crime (homicide, rape and assault), psychiatric crisis calls,
emergency room admissions, and other indicators of societal stress, as well as
improved positive trends throughout the social environment.
This same
approach was used during the Lebanon war, where it produced an average 76% drop
in war deaths and war related injuries. It has been used repeatedly in other
parts of the world to decrease urban crime and to reduce social conflict.
More
recently, a new study published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation
(2003, in press) shows that large groups of 7,000 practicing Transcendental
Meditation and Yogic Flying decrease
international conflicts and decrease deaths and injuries due to terrorism.
“Our formula predicts that the square
root of 1% of the world population meditating together would be needed to create
a worldwide effect.” That number was approximately 7,000 at the time of the
study” said study author Dr. David Orme-Johnson of Maharishi University of
Management. “We found that the effect could not be explained by any trends or
cycles in the data, or by the time of year or other factors. Nothing else was
happening that could have explained the sudden drop in armed conflicts
throughout the world at that time” said the study’s co-author, Dr. Michael
Dillbeck, also of Maharishi University of Management.
According to Professor Ved Nanda,
Director of International Legal Studies at the University of Denver College of
Law, “These studies provide a great hope for humanity, a breath of fresh air. We
have repeatedly seen that international law, treaties, and even the United
Nations cannot prevent war, or even contain it within certain rules such as the
Geneva Convention. Can we afford to overlook this research? It breaks my heart
that so many people are being killed every day, when we haven’t even tried this
first,” said Professor Nanda.
“It is a
scientific fact of the utmost importance that the group practice of the
Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program generates a powerful influence of
peace that can stop open warfare in war-torn areas,” Dr. Hagelin says. “And if
the group is large enough, in excess of about 8000 advanced meditators, a global
effect can be generated that will dramatically reduce violence, terrorism and
war on a global scale. As a scientist I strongly urge government leaders to look
into the research and adopt this technology in their countries.”
Written by Sally Peden
Sally Peden worked for 10 years as writer and project coordinator
for the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy. She is currently an
academic administrator and freelance writer in Fairfield, Iowa. Ms. Peden has a
BA in Psychology from Duke University and an MA in Professional Writing from
Maharishi University of Management.
She can be reached at
speden@mum.edu.
For more information:
http://www.istpp.org
http://www.tm.org