Lebanon peace project reduces war deaths by 76%
Lebanon peace project research findings:
The Lebanon peace project involved a group of TM-Sidhas meditating together in Jerusalem. Although the numbers in the group fluctuated, it was often large enough to achieve the Super Radiance effect (What is the super radiance effect?) for both Israel and nearby Lebanon.
During the peace project the statistics showed an improved quality of national life as measured by composite indices comprising data on:
- War intensity in Lebanon - There were reduced war deaths of 76% on days when there was a high participation in the meditating group.
- Newspaper content analysis of Israeli national mood
- Tel Aviv stock market index
- Automobile accident rate in Jerusalem
- Number of fires in Jerusalem
- Maximum temperature in Jerusalem
During the Lebanese peace project there were significant improvements seen in each variable in the index. Other possible causes (weekends, holidays, weather, etc.) were statistically controlled for.
The chart below shows the strong correspondence between the number of TM-Sidhi programme participants in the group in Jerusalem and a composite index of all the above variables. Meaning that as the numbers in the meditating group dropped, so the number of war deaths rose.
As the numbers in the meditating group rose, so war deaths dropped.
Research authors
Orme-Johnson DW; Alexander CN; Davies JL; Chandler HM; and Larimore WE; Research published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, 32(4): 776-812, 1988; Journal of Conflict Resolution (34: 756768, 1990)
Research title
International peace project in the Middle East: The effect of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field.
Follow-up research
The initial Lebanon peace project results were subsequently replicated in seven consecutive experiments over a two-year period during the peak of the Lebanon war.
The results of these interventions included:
- War-related fatalities decreased by 71% (p<10-10)
- War-related injuries fell by 68% (p<10-6)
- The level of conflict dropped by 48% (p<10-8)
- Cooperation among antagonists increased by 66% (p<10-6)
The likelihood that these combined results were due to chance is less than one part in 1019, making this effect of reducing societal stress and conflict the most rigorously established phenomenon in the history of the social sciences
Lebanese peace project research reference
(Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17(1): 285338, 2005).
Baskinta peace project
Read about the Baskinta village peace project, where fighting stopped as soon as 1% of the local population learned the TM technique.