Sometimes in life outside events influence who we are and who we become. When we experience global or national tragedies, we are affected by the emotions of all those concerned. The truth is…we are one. And when some of us are hurt, all of us are hurt. There is a connection. A coherence.
This week, an act of violence was committed by one individual. Yet many souls were affected by it. A heart does not beat solely for the individual. It beats for all those who love that individual. And when that heart stops beating, everyone feels the pain; the loss; the empty place. It hurts us. We ask, “Why?” We feel helpless. What can we do to stop this violence? How do we stop the hate?
We may look to our elected officials. We ask for more laws. We fear. We look for those that are different. We create suspicion. We look outside of ourselves. We will never find peace by looking outside. We will never know harmony in the outside world of society, unless each individual is living in harmony with their inner world.
When tragedy strikes, people come together. Love reigns supreme. We help each other. We pray for each other. We focus on what we want. We focus on what is best for everyone concerned. Labels are eliminated. We are one people. Human Beings.
The truth is…we know how to stop the violence. We know better. We know how to stop the hate. It’s an inside job. And scientific research has proven it to be so. More than 600 research studies conducted at more than 200 independent universities in 30 countries have demonstrated the profound benefits of practicing meditation. It has been demonstrated that the square root of one percent of a population practicing meditation in one place is sufficient to neutralize negative tendencies and promote positive trends throughout the whole population. This is known as the Maharishi Effect, first demonstrated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who introduced Transcendental Meditation. This phenomenon is also known as the Field Effect in the science of Physics.
An experiment took place in the summer of 1994 in Washington DC. It was predicted in advance that there would be a decrease in violent crime by 20%. This prediction was sent to all the major news media and over 1400 scientists and politicians in the region. The Washington chief of police responded by saying that the only thing that would decrease crime by 20% would be 20 inches of snow. At the time, crime was rising by 10% per year. As the experiment started, the group of advanced meditators started growing gradually. By the end of the experiment, violent crimes were down by 23%. The chance that this close relationship between meditators and decrease in crime could have been due to a coincidence was less than one in 500 million.
Normally your attention is directed outside of yourself. The focus is away from “I am”. Instead you focus on the things you observe, do, or think. You lose yourself in the world around you. When you allow your mind to come to a state of true silence, where you don’t observe, do or think anything, the mind comes home. True silence is simply being you. If there is one formula for success in life (both material and spiritual) that all ancient cultures agree on, it is “Be yourself.”
Ancient wisdom tells us that simply being yourself is the way to a higher divine reality. When you create a higher divine reality for yourself, you influence the field of reality outside of yourself. When the world outside is going crazy, go inside. It’s the best thing for everybody. It’s the place where you are totally in control of your world.