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Large group meditations produce dramatic decrease in US violent crime, rise in 'peacefulness,' as predicted

Invincible America Assembly Translate This Article
23 July 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Fourth Anniversary of the Invincible America Assembly,
July 23, 2010

Large Group Meditations Produce Dramatic Decrease in Violent Crime, Rise in "Peacefulness," as Predicted

Murder Rates Inexplicably at 40-Year Lows
in Many U.S. Cities

"We predict that America will rise to become a true powerhouse of peace when the number of group meditation experts in Iowa rises from its current average of 1850 to the desired level of 2500, which is predicted to cause a more profound and comprehensive shift in these positive trends away from violence towards peace."
— Dr. John Hagelin, Executive Director, International Center for Invincible Defense

An unexpected drop in crime last year, with homicide rates in some major U.S. cities plunging to levels not seen in four decades, and a rise in "peacefulness" in the nation are among the findings of the first-ever scientific demonstration project, now entering its fifth year, documenting the long-term peace-promoting effects of large group meditations on national trends in America.

The "Invincible America Assembly" was launched on July 23, 2006, at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa.

Dr. John Hagelin, executive director of the International Center for Invincible Defense and director of the Invincible America Assembly, predicted in advance of the start of the Assembly a significant drop in violent crime nationwide, and improved U.S. relations overseas. Dr. Hagelin's predictions have been borne out by FBI Uniform Crime Reports and by an independent analysis of U.S. domestic and foreign policy trends.

As the Washington Post reported on May 25, 2010:

"The national violent crime rate had risen in 2005 and 2006 .... But crimes of violence began going down in 2007, falling 0.7 percent that year and then an additional 1.9 percent in 2008. The trend accelerated [in 2009] with a 5.5 percent reduction in overall violent crime and a decrease of 8.1 percent in robberies, 4.2 percent in aggravated assaults and 3.1 percent in rapes."

Reuters highlighted the dramatic and unexpected reductions in crime rates in 2009:

"Year-end statistics from the largest U.S. cities defy the predictions of many police commanders who braced for a crime wave they expected to be unleashed by the recession, rising home foreclosures and social despair.

"Last year turned out to be the safest on record in New York City, with the murder rate in the nation's biggest metropolis plunging to its lowest level since the city began gathering comparable data in the early 1960s.

"Crime overall was down about 11 percent in New York and off 12 percent Chicago. The number of murders in Dallas fell for a second straight year in 2009 to its lowest mark since 1967.

"Los Angeles, the second-most populous U.S. city, posted its lowest crime rate in about 50 years, with violent crimes including homicide dropping nearly 11 percent from 2008 levels and property crimes down 8 percent for the same period. Homicides alone in Los Angeles dropped by 18 percent."

Global Peace Index shows rise in U.S. "peacefulness"

At the same time, according to the "Global Peace Index" (GPI) of the Institute for Economics and Peace, the U.S. experienced the biggest year-on-year improvement in peacefulness since 2007. (The GPI is composed of 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators, which combine internal and external factors ranging from military expenditure to relations with neighboring countries and levels of violent crime.)

"It is possible that reductions in homicide rates, armed robbery, assaults, and rapes—as well as an improvement in 'peacefulness'—might have occurred, individually, on their own. But the fact that all this good news began when we launched our Assembly in July 2006-exactly as we predicted four years ago-is well beyond chance. It is the direct result of the coherence created by the Invincible America Assembly," Dr. Hagelin said.

Positive influence of group meditations is immediate and profound

Extensive published research shows that coherence and positivity are created in collective consciousness when a small number of people practice Transcendental Meditation and its advanced Yogic Flying technique together in a group. This rise of positivity in collective consciousness reduces negative trends, including crime and violence, and improves economic trends.

"Rigorous statistical analysis shows that the upsurge of positive trends started on the month the Assembly began—July 2006—when an initial group of 1200 experts assembled from across the U.S. and around the world to practice these technologies in a group," said Dr. Hagelin, who added that when the number of group meditation experts rises from its current average of 1850 to the desired level of 2500, America will rise to become a true powerhouse of peace.

"Twenty-five hundred is the number required to create a far more profound and comprehensive shift in these positive trends away from violence towards peace," Dr. Hagelin said.

The Invincible America Assembly has been funded by a grant from the Howard and Alice Settle Foundation for an Invincible America.

Contact:
Ken Chawkin
Tel: +1 641-470-1314
kchawkin@mum.edu

INVINCIBLE AMERICA ASSEMBLY Communications:
1000 North Fourth Street, Fairfield, Iowa 52557 USA
Tel: +1 641-470-1313

© Copyright 2010 Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation

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