The Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland, (page 3)

Complete peace and contentment may be just around the corner for the people of Aberdeen.

That's if Yogic Flyers enlist enough members to help reverse all the "negative trends" in the city.

The group, which forms part of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) organisation, claims that if its rituals are carried out by enough people, then complete harmony can be achieved in a matter of weeks.

The group follows the practices of its world leader, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, by aiming to reduce urban crime and create world peace through the practice of his TM and Yogic Flying techniques.

Anna Edwards, who teaches the specialised form of meditation, in which a person's whole body is said to lift from the ground, said : "In the 70s and 80s, there were experiments in cities in the US where people got together and meditated.

"These studies clearly showed that once a certain number of individuals were together doing this, the negative trends in the cities began to go down, and the positive trends started to increase.

"For example, the crime rates dropped, and local businesses started to do well.

"Thee have also been some experiments with Yogic Flying which concluded that when the number of people practising it reached the square root of 1% of the city's population then the negative trends in circulation, including hospital admissions and suicide rates, also begin to decrease."

With just over 200,000 people living in the Granite City, the group say they will need around 44 Yogic Fliers to see if their prophecies will become reality.

The process in which Yogic Flying is achieved is a closely guarded secret, although Mrs. Edwards says it involves a series of mental relaxation techniques in which the body and the mind are in 100% co-ordination.

"We are also hoping that perhaps Aberdeen University or a scientific body in they city might help us with this by recording the findings, and helping us with a location," said Mrs. Edwards.

The Aberdeen branch of the organisation is also in final discussions with the council about opening the first purpose-built meditation centre in the UK, planned for Hayton Road in Tillydrone.

"Once we have got the site, we will need to raise another £150,000 for the construction of the building and getting it up and running."

Further information is available by calling Mrs. Edwards on 01224 486395

Copyright, Press and Journal, 2003