By the summer of 1983, the Lebanese Civil War had been raging for eight years, following decades of turbulence. No one had been able to stop it-not a multinational peacekeeping force, not a United Nations interim force that was sent into the country.
That summer, a group of people came together in Jerusalem with the aim to reduce that fighting. This would not be a political or military intervention. It would not involve shuttle diplomacy or signing treaties. In fact, this group would not interact with anyone.
Instead, they checked into a hotel and spent much of each day with their eyes closed. They were workers, students and retirees-ordinary people. But they also were meditation experts.
Twice each day for extended periods, they practised the Transcendental Meditation technique and its advanced techniques, "diving within" to experience a state of inner stillness.
They were not "praying for peace". They were simply settling into a natural inner quietude.
The concept was simple yet radical. The inner peace they experienced would spread invisibly through society and bring a measure of peace to both Israel and Lebanon-significant enough that it would show up in objective measures.
Confirmed by prior research
To many people, this idea would seem laughable. Yet the peace-creating effect this group intended to generate had already been confirmed in earlier research studies.
This story is from the December 29, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the December 29, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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