Investing In The

Technology Of Peace

To the Editor:

In these days of high technology we are constantly reminded of America’s prowess in creating the most powerful and accurate tools of warfare. Each advance in modern physics and engineering is dutifully applied to our tools of national defense. It seems quite normal for our leaders to invest huge quantities of our tax money into weapons systems that boggle the mind with their destructive capacities. Even systems of only speculative effectiveness, such as the proposed Star Wars missile defense system, are funded in the billions of dollars. Yet nothing has been invested in the scientifically proven technology for creating peace.

Many research studies over the past 30 years have established that group practice of meditation has a calming social effect. A landmark study in Yale’s respected Journal of Conflict Resolution in 1988 documented dramatic reductions in war deaths in Lebanon during an assembly of practitioners of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation in Israel. In addition to decreasing international tensions, improvements were observed in a broad range of quality of life factors. Crime rate dropped, economic indexes rose, even fires and traffic accidents were reduced.

If we have a proven technology for calming international and domestic tensions, while at the same time uplifting the quality of life in our nation, we should use it. Only a tiny part of our defense budget would be required to maintain groups practicing this meditation together. By using this group meditation effect, situations like the one we are in now with Iraq could very well be avoided before they come to the grim necessity for war. We could teach our brave soldiers this simple meditation, which would prevent an enemy from ever arising. And would that not fulfill the goals of the military without ever having to put our sons and daughters in harms way?

Erick Feucht

133 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook                              April 22, 2003