A Technology to Reduce Armed Conflict
and Improve the Quality of Life in Society:
A Research Review
David W. Orme-Johnson, Ph.D.
Abstract
There have been 51 studies showing that Transcendental Meditation (TM) and related advanced techniques reduce individual and societal stress, and improve the quality of life in the larger society. These findings have been published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as the proceedings of professional conferences.
These studies have shown marked reductions in armed conflict, violent crime, hospital admissions, fatalities including infant mortality, and other indicators of societal stress, along with improvements in economic indicators including GNP and other positive quality-of-life indicators.
This research has: (1) statistically controlled for a wide range of demographic variables; (2) used causal cross-lagged analysis methods; (3) employed time series analyses to control for seasonality, trends, drifts, and rival hypotheses; and (4) experimentally embedded large groups of TM participants in various populations to demonstrate positive changes on specific social indicators that were predicted in advance.