Col. Brian M. Rees & Dr. David R. Leffler, (Abstract). Stress reduction using the TM program: Solution to problems arising from combat stress. In the proceeding of the “International Conference on Armed Forces & Conflict Resolution in a Globalized World” July 14 – 17, 2008, Seoul, Korea, Session 3, p. 16.

Session 2: Military Families and Current International Deployments of Armed Forces: Different Strategies to Cope with Stressing Situations

Abstract:

Stress reduction using the Transcendental Meditation program:
Solution to problems arising from combat stress

Stress-related problems caused by war are not confined to the place and time of battle. Each soldier is part of a larger social fabric that includes family and society. The direct and indirect costs of dealing with these stress-related problems, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), are significant and often the families of soldiers suffer. The Transcendental Meditation program involves a simple, non-religious, psychophysiologic practice demonstrated in over 600 research studies to reduce a wide variety of stress-related problems. A random assignment study of Vietnam veterans, published in the Journal of Counseling and Development, found this program to be effective against PTSD. Instruction in the program, followed by three months of regular practice, significantly reduced eight out of nine measures, including emotional numbness, anxiety, depression, alcohol consumption, insomnia, family problems, and unemployment. Meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals provide evidence for superior effectiveness of this program over others in the areas of anxiety reduction, lowering blood pressure, self-development, physiological relaxation, improved psychological outcomes, and decreased use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. In conclusion, research on this program indicates that it produces effects on mind and body that are opposite those of chronic stress.

[Editor’s Note: For videos and more information about the TM program see below]

David George, former Infantryman 101st Airborne Division, US Army, appears in a video (click on the photo above) describing his experiences practicing the TM program.

The issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has reached public attention in an unexpected way through the revelations that in the past the military medical establishment has failed on major fronts to provide the very best treatment deserved by military personnel returning from conflict.

The Transcendental Meditation (TM) program is a scientifically-validated cost-effective solution which could be easily and quickly implemented. Please also see the information below:

This article, “Combating PTSD” published in OpEdNews on 23 March 2001, was written by Dr. David Leffler, the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS). It explains that the TM program is a scientifically-verified, time-tested solution to help our military personnel, veterans and their families combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Dr. Leffler discusses a new pilot study (under review), Iraq and Afghanistan veterans experienced a 50% drop in PTSD symptoms by the fourth week of TM practice, and greater improvements by two months and three months. This study is summarized in the new book The Resilient Warrior: Healing the Hidden Wounds of War by Jerry Yellin and Dr. Sarina Grosswald. Post Traumatic Stress Disorders: PTSD News & Information also reprinted this article.

“Meditation Could Help: Reducing Stress-Related Problems at Military and VA Facilities.” Editorial by Dr. David Leffler titled “Meditation Could Help VA: Reducing Stress-Related Problems at Military and VA Facilities” published by Military.com, the website of the largest military and veteran membership organization in the United States, with 10 million members and later as a headline story in OpEdNews.

Lieutenant Dan Burke, US Navy SEAL Teams (Ret.) found the Transcendental Meditation technique to be “tremendously beneficial” during combat operations in Panama while serving with the US Navy SEALS in 1989. On this webpage there is a link to his testimonial and a picture which shows him practicing the TM program in the jungle of Panama.

US Army War College masters program degree research paper by Colonel Brian M. Rees, M.D. entitled “The Application of Strategic Stress Management in Winning the Peace.

Dr. Rees gave a presentation on this topic at the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. (AMSUS) convention on 12 November 2007. See an original 412 word version of the letter “Meditation Effective PTSD Treatment” by Col. (Dr.) Brian M. Rees and Dr. David R. Leffler that was edited and retitled “Meditation studied in ’85.” It was published online in the 24 Jan 2011 issue of the Navy Times and on page 5 of the 31 January 2011 issue of Marine Corps Times..

Colonel Rees is quoted in Military Officer about a side benefit for military personnel when using the Transcendental Meditation technique. The article describes alternative treatment approaches to combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Military Officer magazine is the flagship publication of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).

50% reduction in PTSD symptoms within 4 weeks of Veterans practicing Transcendental Meditation (click on the photo above)

An important point to consider is that scientific research shows that all meditation and relaxation techniques do not necessarily have the same results. See: “Are All Meditations the Same? Comparing the Neural Patterns of Mindfulness Meditation, Tibetan Buddhism Kargyu tradition and the Transcendental Meditation Technique.”

Unlike many other meditation and relaxation techniques the TM program is easy to learn and fun to practice, and extensive research shows that it is more effective and efficient than other relaxation techniques. See “Comparison of Techniques Issue: Are all forms of meditation and relaxation the same?“

A study of 60 male subjects in their 40’s and 50’s found that ultraweak photon emissions were significantly lower at all 12 anatomical locations studied in subjects practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) and Other Meditation Techniques (OMT= Tao, Zen, Christian, and Hindu Yoga meditations) than in non-meditating controls. See: http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/TMResearch/NewStudies/FreeRadicals/index.cf

See also this You Tube video (click here) by Dr. Robert Schneider who explains how the Transcendental Meditation program has been shown to be twice as effective as other meditation techniques.

Editor’s update: Veterans of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars showed a 50 percent reduction in their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), after just eight weeks of practicing the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique, according to a pilot study published in Military Medicine (click here).

The abstract for the paper Stress reduction using the TM program: Solution to problems arising from combat stress appeared in the Seoul National University & Korea Military Academy International Conference on Armed Forces &Conflict Resolution in a Globalized World, published by the International Sociological Association Research Committee 01 Other presentations: Strategic Stress Management | Preventing Enemies

As published in the Fiji Post [Expired URL: http://www.fijidailypost.com/opinion.php?date=20080908]

LEFFLER – No One Wants The Nobel War Prize – 8-Sep-2008

Most world leaders would be honored to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, if there were a Nobel War Prize, almost all governments would be eligible. Government leaders worldwide have been approached by eminent scientists and other emissaries. These advocates urged for the establishment of national peace-creating forces to counteract the collective stress that fuels terrorism and war. They advocate a scientific approach to peace called “Invincible Defense Technology.” Today’s worldwide climate of war and terrorism enriches arms dealers and causes heart wrenching misery. Despite the overwhelming volumes of scientific research that validate the effectiveness of this approach, most governments still choose not to adopt this prevention strategy. Claims that there are no alternatives to violence are untrue. Renowned Vedic scholar and physicist Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the leading advocate of this war and terrorism prevention strategy, suspects that many world leaders refuse to adopt it because it is profitable to create fear in order to sell arms. “This is what is happening in Israel, in Northern Ireland, everywhere. Selling arms is a shameful profession. Arms dealers tell defense ministers: ‘Your neighbor has this new fighter plane and that new missile, so you must have them, too, or your security will be jeopardized.’ Even poor countries go deeply in debt purchasing these weapons. It’s shameful for arms sellers to live on the killing of others.”

Maharishi argues that armed forces cannot defend against all enemies. He says, “The military is not competent to defend the country against an enemy that cannot be seen, or against a missile that can come and put the whole society to ashes. The military is only competent to die and kill. And both are a sin: getting oneself killed is a sin, and killing another is a sin. It’s a very ignorant approach to defense. Prevention is the only way to defend the nation, and the only effective prevention is Vedic defence, which prevents the birth of an enemy.”

The primary components of Maharishi’s Vedic system of defense are the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi programs. Over 600 studies conducted at 200 research institutes and universities document the positive benefits gained from the twice-daily practice of these programs. This research indicates that all areas of life are affected in a positive way: mind, body, behavior, and the environment. Findings published in leading peer-reviewed journals include: improved work relations, increased creativity and intelligence, increased productivity, and improved health, as well as reduced stress-related diseases, and decreases in terrorism, war and crime.

The TM program was first introduced by Maharishi nearly 50 years ago. Nearly five million people worldwide have learned the simple technique. It involves an effortless and natural process practiced 15 to 20 minutes twice-daily. The TM program can be easily learned by anyone regardless of religious belief, age or education level. When practiced in large groups with its advanced technique, the TM-Sidhi program, societal coherence is generated, reducing negative trends and promoting positive tendencies in society.

Maharishi argues that in their present form, despite humanitarian missions, armed forces have outlived their usefulness: “The times have changed. ‘Defend the nation by killing your enemy’ is an outdated military strategy. It is obsolete. You kill your enemy today and another enemy will kill you tomorrow—and then what is left?”

“Prevention is the only way for defense,” Maharishi says. “Intelligent military thinking dictates that you prevent the birth of an enemy—that you make your enemy into your friend. It will be much easier to make your enemy your friend than it will be to defend yourself against an unseen enemy.” This is why Maharishi also calls his Vedic system of defense “Invincible Defense Technology.” The strategy is very simple—no enemies—no war or terrorism. With no enemies, the military becomes invincible.

Maharishi requests that every country create Prevention Wings of the Military whose primary duty is to practice the TM and TM-Sidhi program. Militaries are already paid to defend their nations. Maharishi urges all governmental leaders to order their militaries to adopt Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology immediately. This would demonstrate modern, enlightened thinking. Big sticks are passé. Cutting-edge military defense involves big ideas, not big sticks. The Nobel War Prize is a booby prize, and its high price is no prize at all.

Published with permission of the author www.davidleffer.com

DAVID R LEFFLER, PhD – Executive Director, Center for Advanced Military Science at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy http://www.StrongMilitary.org

Copyright © 2007, Fiji Daily Post

Don’t Just Defeat the Enemy—Prevent the Birth of an Enemy

By Maj. Gen. Kulwant Singh and Dr. David Leffler

From a conventional military perspective, defeating an enemy requires boldness, strength, courage, and smarts How about preventing the birth of an enemy altogether? Can you imagine a greater military objective than that?

Impossible, you say, and from a conventional perspective you are likely correct. Take the war on terror, for instance. A nation applies all the means it has to protect its citizens. But can heightened security, imprisonment, anti-terrorist coalitions, military muscle, asset “freezing” or targeted assassinations stop every barbarian determined to carry out a warped mission in the name of God? Can conventional means totally defend against an unconventional enemy that can hardly be found, much less eliminated? And do conventional strategies eliminate the root causes of violence and terrorism

Often, the conventional strategies create more violence, more terrorists, and the loss of innocent lives, and despite all the advanced technology and the boldness, courage, strength, and smarts of our armed forces, we struggle to eliminate terrorism.

Along with this conventional approach, we would like to suggest adding an unconventional approach that attacks and reduces the underlying cause of terrorism: social stress. Acts of terror are eruptions of violence that explode from cauldrons of unremedied stress on individual, ethnic, religious, and international levels. Defuse the stress. Then tension and hatred will crumble and open the way for cooperation around the world.

Wishful thinking you may say. But hold on. Extensive scientific research indicates that collective societal stress can indeed be defused, and with it, according to ancient wisdom, you can “avert the danger that has not yet come.”

One highly unconventional approach for defusing societal stress has been largely ignored because people have had difficulty understanding it. Yet in more than fifty studies published in scientific journals, including the Journal of Conflict Resolution and the Journal of Mind and Behavior, the method has been documented to powerfully reduce violence and criminal activity and even calm open warfare. It is a technique that is currently also being used in some of the most troubled inner-city schools in the country to defeat the stress and violence that plague the learning process.

The scientifically-documented approach involves meditation, and specifically the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. Practiced individually, TM reduces mental stress and increases personal wellbeing, harmony, productivity, creativity, and happiness. When practiced together in a group, the “good vibes” radiate outward into an unseen field of collective consciousness, creating the same effect on a societal scale. The bigger the group the better, and the further the effects spread, like ripples in a pond. Another analogy is to think of radio or TV transmitters that beam signals through an unseen electromagnetic field. Instead of picture or sound signals, groups of meditators generate a strong wave of coherence and positivity through an underlying field of collective consciousness. Stress and tension diminish.

Invincible Defense Technology experts gathered in Washington, DC, lowering the crime rate 24%

Daily Time Series of the IDT Group Size and the Composite Quality of Life Index. These two plots show the direct relation between the IDT group size and a quality of life index.

Quality of life in Israel improved and intensity of the conflict in Lebanon decreased in direct proportion to the number of Invincible Defense Technology experts in the coherence-creating group (Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1988, vol. 32, #4, pp. 776-812). Editor’s Note Update: Listen to Huffpost Live TV: A Solution for Terrorism: a televised interview with Dr. John Hagelin, Bob Roth, and Col. Brian Rees, M.D., December 16, 2015 (30:00) for a explanation of the importance of this peer-reviewed research.

The idea of using group meditation as a tool for societal harmony and defense was conceived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the visionary Indian sage who made meditation popular throughout the world and saw it as a means to cure global ills and conflict. The technique is a simple and effortless method without any religious association.  It is practiced by millions of people of all faiths.

Maharishi referred to the harmonizing and protective group effect on society as Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). His hope was that by applying a non-lethal, non-destructive human resource-based technology any military could reduce tensions and terrorism. And in this way, he felt, the military becomes invincible by taking out the enmity of the enemies, and promoting even the prospect of enemies being transformed into friends. When this happens, the country becomes invincible. There are no enemies to fight.

A “prevention wing” of the military of Afghanistan consisting of about a mere 3 percent of its military personnel could ideally achieve this goal. The special unit would be trained in the basic meditation and its advanced programs. After training, these units would practice in large groups, twice a day.

Already there is interest in meditation techniques in the military, as witnessed by the adoption of “Warrior Mind Training” at the US Army’s Fort Bragg facility and several other bases. The technique apparently helps improve focus, performance, and even ease post-traumatic stress. It is to be applauded that the modern military is recognizing the benefits of meditation, just as martial artists and warrior traditions have done for centuries.

Unlike most forms of meditation, TM has attracted a considerable body of scientific research—to date more than 600 published studies conducted at universities around the world. The results include greater brain-wave coherence, an indicator of higher levels of creativity, intelligence, moral reasoning, and neuromuscular efficiency; a marked ability to recover from stress more quickly, including reduction of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among US Vietnam veterans; a reduction by half, or more, the need for doctor visits or hospitalization; a major reduction or elimination of the use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.

Col. Brian Rees, M.D., a member of the US Army Reserve in California and a longtime meditator, recently completed a third tour of duty in the Middle East. He put his meditating experience in a war zone thusly: “The uncomfortable travel, the boredom, the heat, the separation from home and family, are difficult and stressful. Throw in big ticket items like casualties and hostile fire, and I can’t imagine being without TM. The concentrated rest and personal centering it affords are invaluable in this environment. I think it’s our most promising hole card in addressing the wave of post-traumatic stress we are going to be seeing.”

The promise of group meditation takes the practice and benefits of individual meditation a quantum leap further—to the level of not only beating an enemy, but aborting the birth of an enemy. The idea would seem to fit into the paradigm shift taking place in the US military. In 2007, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard declared that “we believe that preventing wars is as important as winning wars.” This is the biggest revision of US naval strategy in years, a refocusing on humanitarian missions and improving international cooperation. It is just a matter of time before Afghanistan also revises its strategy.

Scientists are beginning to recognize a “non-local” field of global consciousness into which intentions can have effects at great distance. This, too, is a new paradigm, an exciting and boundless frontier. The military of Afghanistan should explore this territory, for it may hold the secret for planetary peace. With all the conventional methods the military utilizes to protect life, liberty, and freedom, it should also be open to trying new, creative ideas, no matter how unconventional they seem. A prevention wing practicing group meditation is surely an unconventional military idea, but maybe it could turn out to be the ultimate weapon. Afghanistan will never know unless it is bold and courageous enough to put it to the test.