High flying way to cut crime and stress
Evening Telegraph, Coventry
17 August 2002
By ALAN HARRIS
(Image of Yogic Flying)
Plans have been launched for a £3 million "Peace Palace" in Coventry for yogic flyers which followers say would cut crime in the city.
The building would house around 100 meditation experts whose techniques are claimed to reduce negative trends in society.
The radical plans are being proposed by followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Vedic technologies of consciousness.
They say research studies show that when large groups practise these techniques - which include Transcendental Meditation and yogic flying - the crime rate falls.
Huw Meads, chairman of the Heart of England Transcendental Meditation Centre, in Stratford, says the peace palace could help police in Coventry.
He said: "If we have 1,000 people practising yogic flying morning and night, the crime rate in Coventry would go down. To most people this is a radical idea but I would say have an open mind.
"When you experience the unified field, the level at which everyone is connected, it has an enhancing effect on the whole of society."
Mr Meads, who is a media lecturer in Birmingham, says Transcendental Meditation improves concentration, and has many health benefits, including reducing blood pressure, and helping to cure insomnia and depression.
Organisers, are to discuss the scheme with the city council and hope to find a suitable site in Coventry in the next few months.
The peace palace would be a two-storey building about the same size as a town hall.
It would be supported by using land outside the city, possibly abroad, to grow produce using the Vedic organic approach to agriculture.
Mr Meads, who has taught Transcendental Meditation for 12 years, is inviting business leaders to invest in the project.
He said: "It is being run for profit so anyone who invests in it can expect a return on a commercial basis."
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
**Transcendental Meditation was brought to the world by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and is practised by more than five million people.
**Maharishi is Indian and lives in Holland, taught The Beatles how to meditate.
**He broke his 20 year silence with the Press fast Week in a live satellite TV link-up conference in Stratford.
**Advanced transcendental meditation techniques include yogic flying, which makes thought and action
become more powerful and effective, allowing practitioners to accomplish any objective without strain.
**Scientific research has found that this technique produces maximum coherence in brain functioning -
associated with higher levels of, creativity, intelligence and flexibility of mind.
**Studies have shown that when practised in a group, yogic flying creates a measurable influence of harmony
and progress throughout society.
Copyright 2002, Evening Telegraph