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Excerpt, "The Gospel of Science: Mind Blowing New Science on Ancient Truths to Heal Our Stress, Lives, and Planet" Pages  342 - 344

So, this is one way the meditation group at Folsom could have impacted the entire prison positively. But this chapter reveals a more profound possibility. My Folsom experience led me to new research.

I had begun to discover other research, such as mentioned earlier, that indicates it may have been more than their physical actions that affected other inmates at Folsom in positive ways, it may have also been due to their waves of conscious energy rippling out to change the consciousness field of the prison around them.

This concept was supported by a famous meditation study in Washington D.C. by J.S. Hagelin, M.V. Rainforth, D.W. Orme-Johnson, K.L. Cavanaugh, C.N. Alexander, S.F. Shatkin, J.L. Davies, A.O. Hughes, and E. Ross, published at the Institute of Science, Technology & Public Policy site in 1999, [1]and in Social Indicators Research journal. It is worth mentioning the esteemed credentials of the lead researcher on this historic project: John Hagelin, Ph.D., a renowned quantum physicist, science and public policy expert. Dr. Hagelin conducted pioneering research at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) and at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center—and was responsible for the development of a highly successful grand unified field theory based on the superstring—a theory that was featured in a cover story of Discover magazine.

This historic study was conducted from June to July in 1993 and found that when a certain small percentage of the city’s population included trained meditators, the HRA (homicides, rapes, and assaults) crime rates decreased significantly by 23% at the highest point of infusion of meditators. What was interesting was that there was a correlation in line charts showing that as the number of meditators being brought into the city increased, the crime rates correspondingly dropped. Weather and other factors were taken into account, and the statistical odds of this happening by chance were calculated to be less than 2 in 1 billion.

Other meditation research entitled “Transcendental Meditation Program and Crime Rate Change in a Sample of Forty-Eight Cities” by M.C. Dillbeck, G. Landrith, and D.W. Orme-Johnson, cited at NCJRS (National Crime and Justice Reference Service) from the Journal of Crime and Justice 4: 25–45, 1981, [2] stated that in cities where 1% of the population were instructed and trained in meditation programs, crime rates decreased the following year, in contrast to matched control cities, and the trend remained in the subsequent 5 years.

[1] Hagelin, J.S.; Rainforth, M.V.; Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Cavanaugh, K. L.; Alexander, C.N.; Shatkin, S.F.; Davies, J.L; Hughes, A.O.; and Ross, E.; Effects of Group Practice of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Preventing Violent Crime in Washington, DC: Results of the National Demonstration Project –June-July 1993, Institute of Science, Technology & Public Policy, 1999
http://istpp.org/crime_prevention/

[2] Dillbeck, M C; Landrith, G; Orme-Johnson, D W; Transcendental Meditation Program and Crime Rate Change in a Sample of Forty-Eight Cities (From Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 4, P 25-45, 1981, Sloan T Letman, ed.), National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 1981, https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=85219

[3] Walia, Arjun; Scientists Show How Gratitude Literally Alters The Human Heart & Molecular Structure Of The Brain, Collective-Evolution.com, February 14, 2019
https://www.collective-evolution.com/2019/02/14/scientists-show-how-gratitude-literally-alters-the-human-heart-molecular-structure-of-the-brain/

[4] Introduction to GCP, http://noosphere.princeton.edu/gcpintro.html

Excerpt, "The Gospel of Science: Mind Blowing New Science on Ancient Truths to Heal Our Stress, Lives, and Planet" Pages  68 - 69

Years later, because of a best-selling Tai Chi book I had written, I was invited to present Tai Chi and Meditation to inmates at Folsom State Prison in California, where I discovered that they had actually had a Tai Chi Chih program for about 2 years before I arrived. One inmate in that group tracking prison statistics over those years found that not only had behavior rates improved for the meditation group, but for the entire prison. The recidivism rates (return to prison rates) which are normally as high as 70% in American prisons, had dropped to about 30% for the meditation group—and again, incident rates/behavior rates for the entire prison had improved.

I would later learn of Apodaca Prison in Mexico—the site of one of Mexico’s most violent prison events—which saw ZERO events of extreme violence after implementing a meditation program for 700 inmates, and prison guards and administrators, as reported by Mimi Yagoub, writing for InSight Crime, in a November 16, 2016 article entitled, “How Meditation Reduced Violence in a Mexico Prison.” [1]

I began to wonder ‘What the heck is going on here?’ How could a mind-body technique improve the behavior of not just meditators, but of the entire institution? This sparked my interest in not just the medical research on the physical health aspects of mind-body practices, but on the effects in the brain, nervous system, and behavior of practitioners of meditation—eventually leading me to breakthroughs in physics and chaos mathematics, as I strove to understand how changes “inside meditator’s brains” could somehow affect the people, institutions, and communities around those meditators.  
   

[1] Yagoub, Mimi; How Meditation Reduced Violence in a Mexico Prison, InSight Crime, November 16, 2016, https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/how-meditation-reduced-violence-in-a-mexico-prison/

Excerpt, "The Gospel of Science: Mind Blowing New Science on Ancient Truths to Heal Our Stress, Lives, and Planet" 

Pages  102 - 103

What is supremely exciting is that meditation techniques, being practiced by 100s of millions of people worldwide, appears to be expanding this natural altruistic biological tendency we already have woven within us. 

A January 2007 Wall Street Journal article by Sharon Begley, titled “How Thinking Can Change the Brain—Dalai Lama Helps Scientists Show the Power of the Mind to Sculpt Our Gray Matter,”[1]cited a study being done on meditation, involving Eastern monks who’d meditated their entire lives and novices who were new to meditation. The meditators’ brain activity was scanned to see if meditation affected it. What they found was stunning. Not only did the “empathy” center of the brain activate more for meditators when they saw images of people suffering, but the “action” part of the brain also was activated—revealing that meditation made people not only more likely to empathize with those in suffering, but to be moved to action to help stop the source of that pain for others. 

If this effect were defined in less scientific terms, it might be described thusly: It made them a better Christian. Now that pops from my mind because I grew up in the Lutheran Church. However, that increased empathy effect of meditation could well be described by others as, “Meditation made them a better Buddhist.” Another might replace “Buddhist” or “Christian” with “Muslim,” “Jew,” “Hindu,” etc. etc. An atheist or agnostic might read that study and simply deduce that meditation makes people a “better person.” No matter how you state this, what this research appears to show is that woven within the very structure of our being is a morality that causes us to want others to be healthy, happy, and pain free.

Our cells appear to feel a “link” to life beyond this physical body, as if all life were connected in some intangible way. This connection may extend far beyond our bodies
   

[1]Begley, Sharon; How Thinking Can Change the Brain, Dalai Lama Helps Scientists Show the Power of the Mind To Sculpt Our Gray Matter, Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116915058061980596.html

 A February 2019 article by Arjun Walia, titled “Scientists Show How Gratitude Literally Alters the Human Heart & Molecular Structure of the Brain,” published on Collective-Evolution.com [3], cited a study by 2 Harvard University professors. They found that violence decreased between 40 and 80% during the 1980s Israel-Lebanon war when they organized experienced meditators in the U.S., Yugoslavia, and Israel to focus on the conflict area during meditation.

If the energy of consciousness permeating out to affect other human minds seems world altering, it is truly earth-shaking to learn of research indicating that human consciousness actually affects not just other minds, but the physical world. This is what the Global Consciousness Project discovered in their research on how the mind affects technology, when they found that when global human consciousness was focused en masse their computer equipment all over the planet showed simultaneous fluctuations—indicating consciousness affects physical reality.  

The Global Consciousness Project (GCP)[4] evolved out of early research at Princeton University on how states of human consciousness might affect electronic equipment’s function. The GCP placed computers known as random event generators around the planet, which were like electronic binary coin-flippers, flipping an electronic “1” or “0” computer coin 200 times per second. They should ultimately come out 50/50 on average, half the time ending up on “1” and half the time ending up on “0.” However, what the GCP found was that in times of great human stress when the whole of humanity was focused on some event, the random event generators went way off course all over the world. 

Princess Diana’s death and the events of 9/11/2001 were 2 examples of when this happened. The researchers’ conclusion was that human consciousness, when focused en masse, was capable of actually physically affecting their computers around the planet.   

Excerpt, "The Gospel of Science: Mind Blowing New Science on Ancient Truths to Heal Our Stress, Lives, and Planet" 

Pages  357 - 364

One of the most famous experiments in quantum physics is the one which shows that observation of a quantum event affects the state of physical matter—light and matter particles—the building blocks of ALL creation. 

In physics’ famed “Double Slit” experiments, electrons are shot through slits, and as one would expect, leaving vertical columns on the detecting screen similar to the slits the particles passed through to get to the detecting screen behind the barrier—marking where the electrons hit it. This happens ‘when the particles are observedgoing through the slits.’ But when not being observed, the particles behave like waves, and amazingly, in this case you see several less-defined vertical columns, not just 2—because just as if you dropped 2 pebbles in a pond, they would create interfering wave patterns. The particles become waves when un-observed, and are only particles when watched (see following illustration).

The unobserved particles now are behaving like waves rather than particles—causing a wave interference pattern on the detecting screen. Again, as if you dropped 2 objects to make waves in a pool and then put the 2-slit barrier in the pool, the waves from the 2 objects would simultaneously reinforce and cancel each other, which would result in the many less defined ‘wave produced’ columns appearing as they struck the wall behind the slits. The act of ‘observing’ the process affects the outcome. Again, unobserved behaving as ‘waves’ and observed behaving as ‘particles.’ 

Realize, we are talking about the human mind—actually changing the foundational building blocks of everything in the universe. 

The BBC’s bbc.com published a February 16, 2017 article by Philip Ball, entitled “The Strange Link Between the Human Mind and Quantum Physics,” discussing ongoing debates on the value of using quantum physics as a vehicle to understand human consciousness—providing arguments from both/several sides. [1] 

One might consider particles going through the slit—behaving in an orderly fashion ‘when being watched,’ while becoming unruly in their weird quantum behavior when ‘not being watched’—paints a rather comical image of these building blocks of reality being not unlike playful school children. When the teacher/observer leaves the room, things get wild, when the teacher enters the room butts become seated, backs become straight, and eyes fix forward. 

Although Quantum Physics’ founders largely felt “observation” was the factor. Later, mechanistic physicists insisted it was not an “observation vs. non-observation” phenomenon, but rather a “study procedural” issue—clouding the issue of this profound effect of consciousness/observation affecting the wave/particle function. That is until Dr. Dean Radin of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (author of: Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality, The Noetic Universe, and The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena) conducted a very large multi-year experiment involving at first people sitting within two meters of the laser shooting particles through the slits, engaged in alternating periods of ‘focusing” and “not focusing”’ on a mental image of  particles passing through the slits.’ 

The study involved people who were non-meditators, as well as people who practiced meditation regularly. Radin said subjects were asked to “keep the double slit in mind, and to imagine in their mind’s eye if they could see which of the two slits the proton went through … the only way of directly testing if consciousness could collapse the wave function.” Dr. Radin explained, “The meditators observed the double-slit in their mind for 30 seconds, and were told to rest for 30 seconds, then repeated that sequence 40 times in a typical session [137 people participated in 250 sessions]. In 4 pilot studies the meditators did quite well. A follow up study found a similar result, producing a “4.5 Sigma” result [Same as a Z score in this case. Sigma in physics equals standard error or standard normal deviate. In statistics for psychology and the social sciences ‘Z score’ is the term)]. The 4.5 Sigma score effect was when people were “observing,” but when no one was observing the results were almost exactly “chance” results.Dr. Radin pointed out, “Keep in mind that a 5 Sigma result was able to give CERN the Nobel Prize for finding the Higgs particle …so we were suspicious of [our results] because they seemed way too good.” 

Radin said they did another 50 sessions in a second formal experiment, again getting a positive result.Suspicious that the physical proximity of the human body [of the meditators affecting the wave function via directed thought] might affect the results, they expanded the study to include people “observing the particle/slit in their minds eye, via the internet.” For 3 years involving 2,089 sessions by 689 people around the world, some results approached 5 Sigma. See footnote video link for  graphs, entitled: “New Experiments Show Consciousness Affects Matter ~ Dean Radin, Ph.D.”[2]). They found the “Observer effect was independent of distance,” meaning that results were virtually the same regardless of the distance observers were away from the lab around the world. The researchers followed up these finding with 2 years of study to see if results could be replicated, involving 2,985 session with 1,479 people. When all the results were combined in a meta-analysis, the result was between approximately 4 to 8 Sigma effects. 

Again, 5 Sigma got CERN the Nobel Prize, although the CERN experiment Sigma was from a single massive experiment, whereas IONS Sigma results were based on a series of overall results from a series of independent tests, Dr. Radin explained). Upon my contacting Dr. Radin to make certain I understood the data correctly, he gave me links to updated articles (see below), explaining that ‘some of their best even more conservative study’s later analysis achieved about z = 4.4, not quite 5.0. ‘ However, “z =4.4” means in statistical odds terms that there was only a “1 in 180,000” chance that their scores could have been only pure random chance. 

By now, given the above examples of unfounded spurious attacks on phenomena/data/research of paradigm shifting science eventually fully accepted by science—inevitably, this too was given a seemingly half-hearted attempt to dismiss these findings, which simply ignored data supporting Dr. Radin’s research, as well as ignoring other independent research which also validated the  consciousness/particle behavior findings. For nerds like me, you may enjoy the link to a response article in-footnotes “Commentary: False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined With the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol,” April 1, 2020, by Arnaud Delorme, Dean Radin, Helané Wahbeh [See Dr. Arnaud Delome and Dr. Helané Wahbeh’s distinguished bios in footnote below the article link. [3].]  

As I mentioned above, Dr. Radin has published several update articles [see footnotes links to all of them [4]]. Dr. Radin summarizes, “To date, starting in 1998, some 28 experiments based on this idea have been reported by four labs using different protocols, optical apparatus, gas and diode lasers, single-photon  designs, and analytical approaches. Of these tests, 11 were reportedly statistically significant at p<0.05 (two-tail), where just 1 would be expected by chance. The binomial cumulative probability of the published results so far is p < 0.0000001.” To recap for clarity, out of 28 studies—11 were statistically significant—and for results to have “happened by chance” there could not have been more than “only 1 or none” of the studies being statistically significant. In probability terms, this score is really beyond doubt that Meditators minds affected physical matter. It is worth noting that virtually all of the original founders of quantum physics—legends in the field, knew that consciousness affected the particle/wave function. 

Physicists, who argue against it, are arguing with the giants of their field—as well as the data you see here.  [1] Ball, Philip; The Strange Link Between the Human Mind and Quantum Physics; bbc.com, February 16, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170215-the-strange-link-between-the-human-mind-and-quantum-physics
[2] New Experiments Show Consciousness Affects Matter ~ Dean Radin, PhD, IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences), June 17, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRSBaq3vAeY
[3] Commentary: False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined With the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol, April 1, 2020, Dr.s Arnaud Delorme, Dean Radin, Helané Wahbeh, https://noetic.org/publication/commentary-false-positive-effect-in-the-radin-double-slit-experiment-on-observer-consciousness-as-determined-with-the-advanced-meta-experimental-protocol/ [BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS of “Commentary: False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined With the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol,” supporting Dr. Radin’s wave/particle/consciousness studies: Dr. Arnaud Delorme: Arnaud Delorme, Ph.D., is a CNRS principal investigator in Toulouse, France, a member faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and a Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. Postdoctorate at the Salk Institute, focusing on statistical analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals recorded during various cognitive tasks. He developed the free EEGLAB software for advanced analysis of EEG signals in collaboration with Scott Makeig, software which is now amongst the most used in EEG research worldwide. He was awarded a Brettencourt-Schueller young investigator award and a 10-year anniversary ANT young investigator award for his contributions to the field of EEG research. Dr. Helané Wahbeh: Dr. Wahbeh is the Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Wahbeh is clinically trained as a naturopathic physician and research trained with a Master of Clinical Research and two post-doctoral research fellowships. She has published on and spoken internationally about her studies on complementary and alternative medicine, mind-body medicine, stress, and posttraumatic stress disorder and their relationships to physiology, health and healing. Her VET-MIND study funded by the National Institutes of Health examined the mechanisms of meditation for combat veterans with PTSD.]
[4] 

Radin, D., Wahbeh, H., Michel, L. Delorme, A. (2021). Psychophysical interactions with a double-slit interference pattern: Exploratory evidence of a causal influence, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350862574_Psychophysical_interactions_with_a_double-slit_interference_pattern_Exploratory_evidence_of_a_causal_influence

Radin D, Wahbeh H, Michel L and Delorme A (2020) Commentary: False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined with the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol. https://noetic.org/publication/commentary-false-positive-effect-in-the-radin-double-slit-experiment-on-observer-consciousness-as-determined-with-the-advanced-meta-experimental-protocol/

Radin, D. Michel, L., Delorme, A. (2016). Psychophysical modulation of fringe visibility in a distant double-slit optical system. Physics Essays.https://noetic.org/publication/psychophysical-modulation-of-fringe-visibility-in-a-distant-double-slit-optical-system/

Radin, D. Michel, L., Delorme, A. (2015). Reassessment of an independent verification of psychophysical interactions with a double-slit interference pattern. Physics Essays. https://noetic.org/publication/reassessment-of-an-independent-verification-of-psychophysical-interactions-with-a-double-slit-interference-pattern/ 

Radin, D. Michel, L., Pierce, A. Delorme, A. (2015). Psychophysical interactions with a single-photon double-slit optical system. https://noetic.org/publication/psychophysical-interactions-with-a-single-photon-double-slit-optical-system/Radin, D. I., Delorme, A.., Michel, L., Johnston, J. (2013). https://noetic.org/publication/psychophysical-interactions-with-a-double-slit-interference-pattern/

Radin, D. I., Michel, L, Wendland, P., Rickenbach, R., Delorme, A., Galdamez, K. (2012). Consciousness and the double-slit interference pattern: Six experiments. https://noetic.org/publication/consciousness-and-the-double-slit-interference-pattern-six-experiments/ 

After teaching at Folsom Prison and discovering that their 2-year Mind Body program had reduced conflict for the ENTIRE PRISON ... GTP Founder was drawn to science on human consciousness affecting group consciousness, and the physics behind it.

Then, he was stunned to discover that the Global Consciousness Project, founded by Dr. Roger Nelson, 20-year Director of Research at Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory, discovered that the global Mind Body event GTP's Founder had Founded and Organized ... HAD "MEASURABLY INCREASED COHERENCE IN GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS."

Excerpt, "The Gospel of Science: Mind Blowing New Science on Ancient Truths to Heal Our Stress, Lives, and Planet" 

Pages  368 - 369

The Global Consciousness Project data team commented on the report graphs (see below report graphs), "… a comprehensive analysis of ‘Global Harmony’[1]events made by Bryan Williams show a highly significant accumulation over 100+ such events. Here is one example ...
[Our data] suggests a big change in the mass consciousness
as the Tai Chi practice comes to the West …"

Tai Chi & Qigong Day [* World Tai Chi & Qigong Day; officially proclaimed by 22 US Governors, Senates & Legislatures of Puerto Rico, California, New York, National Congress of Brazil, Mayors, Consulates/Embassies of Italy, China, India, etc.]: https://global-mind.org/taichi.chigong.html [graph and report courtesy of the Global Consciousness Project],
* Government proclamations added by author.

Again, regarding the above graph, The “0” horizontal line was where the normal “jittery grey line hovers more near during normal readings. When that line diverges in a significant trend “up OR down,” data shows it is mathematically probable that an effect of “coherence in global consciousness” has occurred. The “62 Eggs in World Tai Chi Day graph” above represents 62 computers around the world (hardware [RNG] & software that generate and then send data to the GCP server for archiving) collecting data around the world. Regarding the “P = 0.05” on the graph: The odds ratio is approximated by dividing 1 by the p-value. So 1/0.05 = 20. Thus the odds are only a 1 in 20 chance the results could be explained by random chance, but when ALL the observed 100+ “healing / compassion” events held worldwide are analyzed in composite, the odds of chance cumulatively are just 1 in 2,000 of being random. But, even at the “1 in 20” odds—consider this; if a casino took enough “small cards” out of the deck to give gamblers a 19 out of 20 odds of winning, tens of millions of people would fly in from all over the world, and wait in line for days and weeks—some perhaps their entire lives—to get a seat at THAT blackjack table.
   

[1] GCP Home: Global Harmony Replication, Bryan Williams has been contributing occasional interesting analyses and commentaries to the GCP for years. Most recently, in Feb 2013, he sent a note with a description of a comprehensive look at all events in the database that fit a general idea of supporting global harmony.
https://global-mind.org/papers/pdf/global.harmony.html

SEE BELOW GRAPHS SHOWING HOW GLOBAL MIND BODY EVENTS RESULT IN "GREATER COHERENCE OF GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS."