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An
Effective National Strategy By Arlene J. Schar and Dr. David
Leffler While the ongoing Tigray
conflict continues to be fueled by
high ethnic tensions, there is available an ideal method to calm tensions,
end the prolonged violence, and prevent future conflicts. It is a brain-based
technology called Invincible Defense Technology (IDT) which incorporates
practices of non-religious Transcendental
Meditation® (TM®)
to quell violence and bring about peace. This unconventional yet highly
effective and scientifically-verified non-violent approach prevents
tensions from arising before they result in conflict, war and terrorism. While at one time meditation was
considered mystical, TM is now routinely prescribed by doctors to reduce
stress and improve health. There are hundreds of research studies
confirming real benefits for individuals, including better energy,
learning ability, job productivity, and happier relationships. When large groups of trained
practitioners practice the advanced TM techniques together twice a day, a
powerful "field effect" of coherence and peace ripples
throughout the consciousness of the surrounding population. The bigger the
group the bigger the effect. The outcomes, confirmed repeatedly by
extensive scientific research, are consistent and measurable decreases in
conflict, war deaths, terrorism, and crime. This surprising effect was
demonstrated over a two-month period in the summer of 1993, in Washington
D.C., where 4,000 mediators gathered for an experiment to lower crime in
America's capital. The result, as documented by an independent board of
criminologists, was a 25 percent reduction in criminal violence.
(Reference: Social Indicators Research, 1999, 47: 153-201). In 1983-84, at the peak of
fighting in the Lebanon war, up to 8,000 mediators
gathered at different times in Israel, Lebanon, Europe, and the United
States. The documented effects of these assemblies included increased
cooperation between the warring parties (66 percent) and a decrease of
hostilities (70 percent). The odds of these results occurring by chance or
any explanation other than the meditation were calculated at one in ten
million trillion! (Reference: Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1988,
32: 776-812, and 1990, 34: 756-768). Similarly, large TM groups in
Manila, New Delhi, and Puerto Rico have generated significant declines in
violent crimes. Alternative explanations could not account for these
results. (Reference: Journal of Mind and Behavior, 1987, 8:
67-104). For a minimal investment of time,
manpower, and resources, Ethiopia’s security forces could train and
maintain a small group of 150 experts in the IDT strategy. Acting as a
"prevention brigade", this group of TM experts would meditate
twice a day every day and thereby defuse the deeply-rooted regional
stresses and hatreds that are the causes of conflict. Research indicates
that once an IDT program becomes operational in Ethiopia, societal
conditions in Ethiopia and beyond would rapidly improve. For as long as
the peace-creating group is sustained, the collective coherence throughout
their society would rise through the influences of greater harmony and
peace. Better solutions will occur to the people and their leaders for
improving their own living conditions. Violence will subside when high
tensions are dissipated, bringing about an era of appreciation for
differences of culture, religion and race. Once people are less stressed
they will accept and celebrate each other rather than view differences
with fear and hate. IDT is not
restricted to security forces; any large groups practicing IDT techniques
can accomplish this goal: citizens from schoolchildren to retirees could
be enlisted. IDT’s coherence-creating effect has also been
documented on a global scale in a study published in the Journal
of Offender Rehabilitation. When large assemblies of civilian IDT
experts gathered during the years 1983-1985, terrorism-related casualties
decreased 72%, international conflict decreased 32%, and overall violence
was reduced in nations without intrusion by other governments. A
study published in May 2019 in Studies
in Asian Social Science found
that IDT implementation by students trained in advanced
TM techniques resulted in a 96% decline in sociopolitical violence in
war-torn Cambodia as compared to violence in the preceding three years. While
this approach may seem too simple to be true, sometimes the simplest
approach is the most effective. We recommend the following books: An
Antidote to Violence: Evaluating the Evidence, by Barry Spivack and Patricia Anne Saunders, and The Coherence Effect
by Robert Keith Wallace, Jay Marcus, and Christopher Clark. These new
books detail in depth the extensive supporting scientific research for
utilizing TM to dispel violence and to alleviate PTSD and other
stress-related problems. The Global Union of Scientists for
Peace (GUSP) (https://www.gusp.org) is a global group of eminent
scientists and leaders dedicated to support alternative, peaceful means of
conflict resolution. Members of GUSP have endorsed the IDT approach,
including Yukio Hatoyama, former prime minister of Japan; former president
of Mozambique Joachim Chissano (who applied IDT programs to end that
nation's civil war); Lt. General (Ret.) Vasyl Krutov, former chief of the
Ukraine Anti-Terrorism Center; retired Ecuadorian Lt. General José
Villamil (who also applied IDT to end conflict between Ecuador and Peru). Given the countless efforts
previously tried by Ethiopia that have been unsuccessful, now is the
optimum time to utilize this scientifically-validated method. IDT is
simple and inexpensive, with a documented record of success: a
cutting-edge brain-based technology that could potentially maximize the
safety and security of Ethiopia's people and curb the the unrest and
bloodshed. Here is an opportunity for Ethiopia to become a global leader
in peace-building, so needed by this troubled world. IDT is a
proactive defense paradigm, ready to be implemented. Ethiopia’s leaders
have no time to lose; they would be wise to adopt this effective solution
(while engaging appropriate Covid safety distancing protocols) before is
too late. If wars start in the minds of men,
then peace logically starts there as well. About the Authors: Arlene J. Schar has served as Dr.
Leffler’s Executive Assistant at the Center for Advanced Military
Science (CAMS) StrongMilitary.org since
2015. She has co-authored and edited many of Dr. Leffler’s articles. Dr. David Leffler served as an
Associate of the Proteus Management Group at the Center for Strategic
Leadership, US Army War College. Currently, he serves as the Executive
Director at CAMS. Selected
Sources: Social
Indicators Research, 1999, 47: 153-201 Journal
of Crime and Justice, 4,
25–45 Journal
of Health and Environmental Research, 3(3-1), 32-43 Journal of Consciousness Studies,
24(1–2), 53 – 86 Studies
in Asian Social Science, 6(2),
1-45 Journal
of Offender Rehabilitation 36(1-4), 283-302
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