“In the 1980s, during the peak of the Lebanon War, an incredible study was conducted.
“It was hypothesised, based on many previous smaller experiments, that if enough people were connected in meditation, stimulating a ‘powerful field of peace’ within – that there would be a radiated influence of peace without, ie. one that affected the behaviour of people in the outer world. Directed toward an area of conflict, in the words of John Hagelin, people would wake up and think ‘Hey, I’m not going to kill anyone today.’
“About a thousand people came together for this experiment in Jerusalem; meditating together with an aim of peace in neighbouring Lebanon. Scientists charted, at the same time, ‘progress towards peace’. This translated to reduced war deaths, reduced injuries and numbers of bombs dropped, in the location where the meditation focused.
“The data from this experiment was astounding. The correlation of ‘progress toward peace’ was near lock step in alignment with the periods of meditation. Radiating this influence of inner peace, into outer peace in a conflict zone nearby.
“When put through mathematical analysis, the likelihood that theses results were due to some fluke or chance were less than one part in ten thousand. To be able to assert something like this with such certainty, that group meditation prevented war, was an incredible finding.
“When the results of this study were published in the Yale University Journal of Conflict Resolution, it ignited a firestorm in the scientific community. First of all, it took two years to publish the paper; the editors reviewed it and reviewed it, over and over, unable to believe the accuracy of these findings. Finally however, they came to the conclusion that the paper was ‘unassailable.’ The study was performed at a standard of scientific rigour far beyond that required for publication, in any journal. But, when they did publish it, they did so with a letter – the letter saying the results of this experiment were so unexpected, ie. that a thousand people could influence the behaviour of a million, that they urged other scientists to go out and repeat the study.
“And that is exactly what happened. Over the next two and a quarter years, seven other scientific collaborations went out and repeated the study, training and assembling groups of meditators, to see its effect on war. And in every one of these experiments during this two and a quarter year period, there was a marked reduction in war and violence. ie. An eighty percent drop in war deaths and war related injuries in comparison to all the other days during this period where there were no mediating groups. In every single experiment there was a highly statistical significance toward ‘progress toward peace’ connected to focused intent toward it.
“When put together, the results were amazing. The likelihood that this result of reduction of war was simply due to chance, was less than one part in ten million, million, million (ie. 0.0000001). There was far more evidence that group meditation can turn off war like a light-switch, than there was that aspirin reduces headache pain. It is a scientific fact.”
~ Dr John Hagelin
Lebanese peace project research reference:
Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 17(1): 285338, 2005
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