The Science of World Peace

8/14/2019 The Science of World Peace

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The Science of World Peace by Alison JonesPublished in If Journal, issue 118, July/August 2008 www.ifjournal.org

The Science of World Peace

by Alison Jones

World peace -- is it an unrealistic and unreachable goal? Is peace tangible? Why do so manystrive for peace? When imagining peace, how do you envision a world at peace? How can peacebe achieved worldwide, when people have different understandings and aspirations towardpeace? There are so many questions, but what are the answers?

We are reminded of the state of unrest the world is in daily when we watch the news, pick up anewspaper, or check for news updates on the Internet. We can watch with eyes glaring at the

countless numbers of conflicts that plague the world, but see very little in accomplishing this"world peace" for which so many people advocate.

Perhaps world peace is a contradiction in terms. While we strive for independence andindividualism, peace organizations propagate the idea that we are the same. With so muchdiversity in culture and religion, how can we be the same? What are the underlying causes forstruggle in the world, and why is there so much conflict and so little peace?

The Lucifer Principle

I am reminded of a most intriguing book by Howard Bloom called The Lucifer Principle 1.

Howard Bloom is the founder of the International Paleopsychology Project, an ever-growingassembly of scientists and theorists who examine contemporary society, drawing upon physics,microbiology, paleontology, endocrinology, neurobiology, anthropology, history and humanethology. Howards Lucifer Principle tempts the reader to consider that we all have the Devilinside and are hard-wired for violence. Howard asks critical questions like why live in peace if we create through destruction? He gives many powerful examples; for example, a sculptorcreates a beautiful work of art out of a slab of marble. As he creates, he gives no care to theshards of marble he chips away. Doesnt each and every chip have the right to exist and be freeof destruction? We admire this work of art, but take no care to consider the destructive process of creation.

If we are hard-wired for violence, how are we capable of creating peace? What destruction isnecessary to create a peaceful living environment? Howard offers the notion that we can controlculture, which influences our brains and therefore our behavior. In essence, we must destroy theinfluence over our minds and behaviors to achieve a peaceful existence in unity.

What about tribalism? Tribalism occurs when ethnic or cultural identity distinguishes a person asa member of one specific group, thus separating him or her from membership in another group.Howard also addresses this in his book; we as a species are also hard-wired for a strong sense of


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community. He gives the example of placing sea-sponges through a sieve and draining twodistinctly different sponges into the same bucket of water. If you ring a red sea-sponge throughthe sieve, then a yellow sea-sponge into the same bucket, the red cells join with the red, and theyellow cells with the yellow, growing new sea sponges of red and new sea sponges of yellow.The sponges have a natural instinct or need to rebuild their communities, much like we do.

People of a specific cultural background or similar beliefs seek to build community based ontheir own tribal habits and practices. They join in groups that separate them from other groupsbecause of their specific cultural or belief similarities. How can a species that is hard-wired forviolence and tribalism become one unified species with the same desire for world peace?

Quantum Awareness

What is peace? I am reminded of a speech given in 2006 at the Earth Dance festival by DremaBaker 2. She opened with "What does peace look like? What does it sound like? What does it feellike? What does it taste like? If we havent experienced peace for ourselves, how can we achieveit on a global level?"

Dr. John Hagelin Ph.D 3 describes peace as the absence of negativity. This is the basic principlefor the science of peace. Dr. Hagelin believes in the fundamental field of unity, which may becompared to the electromagnetic field in which radio waves are carried. People influence people;that influence is carried across waves in the electromagnetic field. Dr. Hagelin believes that thewave of influence is three times as high as the square of the peace environment; its influenceradiates and grows at roughly nine times the square of the number of people taking action (anyaction) together. The squared effect amplifies the power of influence and can affect things likecrime rates, terrorism and warfare. In theory, it would only take a small number of people toinfluence a larger group, and the wave travels like a ripple in a pond.

When individual awareness expands to become universal, it creates a ripple in that universalfield like a ripple in the electromagnetic field in much the same way a transistor radio receivessoundwaves; sounds are transmitted through the atmosphere in waves where it is picked up by areceiver that vibrates up and down, translating the wave into music. Hagelin believes what theworld lacks is visionary leaders who can act as beacons or lighthouses that radiate peace, atwhich the fundamental consciousness would ripple, causing waves of peace. The strength of asmaller group of people radiating peace is unified vision. A unified field of consciousness from asmall but focused group will affect a much larger group of people.

David Lynch 4 says, "In todays world of fear and uncertainty, every child should have one classperiod a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence -- bliss -- the enormousreservoir of energy and intelligence that is deep within all of us. This is the way to save thecoming generation."

Maharishi Vedic Science 5 is based on ancient Vedic texts that theorize an underlying, universalintelligence or universal laws of nature that underlie the entire created universe, including thehuman mind and body, and that it can be experienced in individual practice as the simplest stateof awareness. (The Vedas are a large group of texts originating in ancient India, written by the


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Aryan civilization; they are the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.)

Is consciousness and awareness enough to create world peace? Is the path to achievingconsciousness and awareness found in Vedic Science or the Maharishi University? Im not so

sure. People have been studying the effects of meditation and discovering consciousness throughawareness for quite some time, but Im not convinced.

We have explored two different concepts of science-based thought. While the Lucifer Principlesparks critical thought and understanding of human nature, it also seeks to destroy our owninfluence over the way we think and behave. Vedic Science and quantum awareness seek to openthe self to further influence in modifying thoughts and behavior by visionary leaders of peace,but this leads us where? And to what? Is peace a tangible thing?

Peace Perceived by Religion

I watched a Youtube6

video developed by Harun Yahya7

, a Turkish author and philosopher. Hisbooks have attracted much attention both in Turkey and worldwide. His work serves asintellectual stimulation for both Muslims and non-Muslims. The YouTube video communicatesthat science is very much a part of the Quran but that God is science. By observing andreflecting on the signs of creation around you, you can discover truths about the world and, moreimportantly, about yourself.

Verses of the Quran call upon Muslims to think, to investigate, and to use their minds, and bydoing so they will know God.

Have they not looked at the camel -- how it was created? And at the sky -- how it was raised up?

And at the mountains -- how they were embedded? And at the earth -- how it is spread out? Soremind them! You are only a reminder. (Quran 88:17-21)

Another verse communicates that by examining nature, you can know God by his creations.

Those who remember God, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creationof the heavens and the earth (saying): "Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory beto You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire." (Quran 3:191)

Muslims of the Middle East are influenced by their sacred scriptures, their observations of natureand by Gods creations. Harun Yahyas works are reminding them that peace can be found by

observation and reflection.21% of the worlds population is Muslim while 33% is Christian, and an overall 54% holds afaith in God as the creator and provider of peace on Earth. Is it possible to influence the thoughtsand behaviors of those of a faith that perceive science through God?

World Conflicts:


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Where is the Peace?

"You can not have injustice without strife." --Socrates

Law student Kanayo Odoe 8 of Vanderbilt University speaks on the issues facing Africa today

through his webcast, covering both historical and current issues. Mr. Odoe is a native Nigerian;he spent 20 years in Nigeria before coming to the United States along with other Nigerians toreceive a higher education in 1996. (Many of the universities in Nigeria were closed down due tothe civil unrest under the rule of a dictatorship.)

I felt the webcast gave a fair summation of the issues that Africa has faced in the past and iscurrently facing today. After World War II, African colonies struggled for their independence.England, France and Portugal departed from their respective areas of control, grantingindependence to 6-7 countries -- all living in one shared area -- leaving them to their owndevices. This placed multiple major ethnic groups in one area, ethnic groups that each heldseparate and distinct religions and cultural beliefs; naturally, this is a recipe for struggle. Many

Africans in the area split off into their own groups by ethnicity and religion. However, somecould not separate themselves from the rest, due to the fact that some groups had more resourcesthan the others; not all the groups had the resources to get by on their own, and thus weredependent on each other. In order to hold the country together, a dictatorship emerged. Oneoffspring of a dictatorship is the abuse of power, which -- after 10-15 contiguous years --produces a culture of corruption.

As a result of this, the main plagues of Africa today are:

Genocide Poor government

Poor healthcare Epidemics Poor economic structure

Corruption is thus the main problem facing Africa today. In order to resolve Africas problems,people must first work to erase the corruption or all other efforts are destined for failure. Africaloses the equivalent of $140 billion per day to profligacy. Some leaders loot the countries of money and natural resources and send the money overseas. Other leaders fail to develop thenations theyre trying to lead; although many have tried, all have failed due to the deep-rootedpolitical turpitude that has become a part of the system as a whole. Such corruption fuels civilwar and disease and prevents engineering and innovations.

Africa is the second largest continent in the world and acts as a prime example of strife andstruggle; the corrupt Western, multi-national companies supply arms, fueling civil wars. Someexamples of this can be seen in the following documentaries:

"Darwins Nightmare," directed and written by Hubert Sauper, 2005; focuses on thecorruption in Tanzania.

"Sand and Sorrow: a new documentary about Darfur," HBO Documentaries


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"The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo," HBO Documentaries "Orphans of Nkandla," HBO Documentaries

For as long as I have been alive, there has been struggle and poverty in Africa. Despite being oneof the richest continents in terms of natural resources, it is one of the poorest, consistently in a

state of unrest and strife. What will it take to resolve these ongoing problems? How can thecorruption be eradicated? I hear people say all the time, "Its not our problem." How can it not bewhen 80% of the worlds resources come from Africa, when our tax dollars are sent to bolsterrelief aid, and when we are in trade agreements with Africa? If we want to accomplish worldpeace, it includes freeing Africa from its constant state of war.

Conflicts in Southwest Asia

Islam is the major religion of this area. Some people feel forced into Islam in order to find"peace" in the area in which they live. Based on my observations, I see that people take theposition that ceasing the appointment of religious leaders to positions of power might be the

solution to their problem. The oil industry and its current rising prices put a strain on all partiesdependent on that resource, as well as effect a general decline in the economies of countriesaround the world. The population increases with the rise in immigrants brought in to do a job --immigrants who are seen as problematic by the local residents because they take jobs away fromthe natives, and because they are often abandoned in the country, unable to leave due to theireconomic circunstances, and becoming a burden on the already-strained populations. There arealso cultural differences between the immigrant workers and the countrys natives, which add tothe stress.

What of extreme acts of nature? A good example is Cyclone Nargis, which recently devastatedMyanmar. The junta military government would not allow international assistance initially, but

the state of unrest and very poor quality of life were causes for a change in that decision.You would think people would pull together, share resources and survive this tragedy together,right? No, thats a delusion. The reality is that money can be made -- even from such disasters. A$.40 bottle of water went up to $4.00 per bottle within 48 hours of the disaster in Myanmar.

Aid to Foreign Countries and Peace Deals

What achievements have been made toward peace? More than 40 peace deals -- contractsintended to end a violent conflict or to transform a conflict so that it can be addressed moreconstructively -- have been signed in the past two decades; many of these were accomplished byproviding aid to foreign countries in need.

So where is the peace?

An entire academic field -- called "Peace and Conflict Study" -- is dedicated to identifying thereasons for the absence of peace. The Study identifies and analyzes violent and non-violentbehaviors as the structural mechanisms responsible for social conflicts, with a view towardunderstanding those processes that lead to a more desirable human condition.


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One of the ideas accomplished through peace studies is defining peace. If we dont know whatpeace is, how can we achieve it?

Three Concepts of Peace 9

1.

The first concept of peace is the rational reasoning that peace is a natural condition,whereas war is not. The premise for peace researchers is simple: to generate and presentenough information so that a rational group of decisions can be made to avoid war andconflict.

2. The second concept of peace, that war is sinful, is held by a variety of religious traditionsworldwide, often most strongly by minority sects which do not maintain political power(i.e. Quakers, Mennonites, some sects of Buddhism, peace churches within Christianity,Jains in India).

3. The third concept of peace is pacifism, the view that peace is to be the prime force inhuman behavior.

However, in order to define peace, you must also define conflict.Three Concepts of Conflict (The Conflict Triangle) 10

1. The first concept of conflict is direct violence, i.e. direct attack and massacre.2. The second concept of conflict is structural violence, or death by avoidable reasons such

as malnutrition. Structural violence is indirect violence caused by unjust structure and isnot equated to an act of God.

3. The third concept of conflict is cultural violence, which occurs as a result of culturalassumptions that blind one to direct or structural violence. For example, one may beindifferent toward the homeless or even consider the expulsion or extermination of the

homeless a good thing.The peace process is one by which conflicts are resolved by non-violent means. Often, thesenon-violent means include peace agreements, as mentioned earlier. The list below givesexamples of some types of peace agreements.

Cessation of hostilities or cease-fire agreements. Pre-negotiation agreements. Interim or preliminary agreements. Comprehensive and framework agreements. Implementation agreements.

World Corruption

Political consumption occurs when government officials use their powers for illegitimate privategain, consuming the country they govern. Transparency International (TI), the global coalitionagainst corruption, attempts to prevent further corruption by exposing it. TI takes a survey, calledthe Corruption Perceptions, and post their results on their website at www.transparancy.org. Thescores relate to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country


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analysts, ranging from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). Here are some results from their2007 survey:

1. Asia 4.62. Africa 4-

3.

North America 6+4. South America 4-5. Antarctica No Data6. Europe 6+7. Australia 8+

World population as of May 2008: 6,668,467,311 11

I identify so many reasons for conflict, yet not enough to consider world peace a viable reality,which leads me to believe its unattainable unless we: a) resolve conflict on each continent(culturally, socially and economically); b) eliminate corruption; and c) embrace the same

collective agenda.How can this task be accomplished? By creating awareness? inventing new causes? Even if Iapproach world peace from the process of a scientific inquiry, it would require all the followingelements:

1. Ask a question.2. Do background research.3. Construct a hypothesis.4. Test the hypothesis by doing an experiment, then replicate results.5. Analyze the data and draw a conclusion.

6.

Report the findings and undergo a peer reviewIt seems to me that each conflict is unique to its area; while some of the same issues surface(culture/religion, resources and economics), each area would need to be analyzed separately. Imsure a great number of people have conclusions about what "needs" to be done, on a continent-by-continent basis, to accomplish peace. The problem is the analyst has no control overimplementing or controlling experiments in peace. It is up to the governing agencies in each areato conduct their own experiments. The question is, do they really want peace? It seems to me thatwar is a money-making business. World peace would put a lot of people out of a job, andbusinesses that profit from war would have to close shop.

Having spent over 15 years working in a field which benefits from war, I can tell you that peaceis not the desired condition. I have spent my life attempting to understand the human condition; Ibelieve peace is an unnatural condition despite the results of peace studies that claim it is anatural state.

Until we change our consciousness and increase our understanding of the human condition, wewill never be at peace. It simply isnt profitable. You cannot hold all the keys with peace. Youcannot control the worlds natural resources (on which we all depend) with peace. You cannot


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control masses of people with peace. You cannot cut population with peace. You cannot feelunique and special with peace. Only war can wave the red flags of differences rather than whiteflags of similarities.

What is peace to you? Do you believe that its attainable? If so, how? Ask yourself ... is peace an

enigma?NOTES:

1 The Lucifer Principle, Howard Bloom.Atlantic Monthly Press, March 1997. ISBN#0871136643

2 Printed in If ... Journal issue 100, November 2006.

3 Dr. John Hagelin ph.D. ( http://www.hagelin.org ) is a quantum physicist, educator, publicpolicy facilitator, and proponent of peace. Dr. Hagelin is the chief advisor to the Congressional

Prevention Coalition, and director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy ---- apublic policy think-tank at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, IA. He directsthe implementation of the Transcendental Meditation Program in government, schools andhospitals nationwide. He is also on the board of directors of the David Lynch Foundation forConsciousness-based Education and World Peace.

4 The David Lynch Foundation ( http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org ) is a consciousness-basededucation and world peace organization, founded in 2005 to provide scholarships for school-wide transcendental meditation programs in public, charter and private schools worldwide, andto provide funds for universities and research institutes to assess the effects of the program oncreativity, intelligence, academic performance, ADHD and other learning disorders, anxiety,

substance abuse, eating disorders, and more.5 The Maharishi University of Management, ( http://www.mum.edu ) teaches that throughconsciousness-based education, students can discover the field of pure consciousness withinthemselves as a source for all knowledge.

6 Youtube Video "Quran Leads the Way to Science,"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpwPBd9dmpk

7 The Hurun Yahya site, http://harunyahya.com/ , rejects science as an explanation of the livingworld, but seeks to provoke thought in the creationist, the believer, and the faithful.

8 Vanderbilt University: "The issues facing Africa Today,"http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q18bbRSDGPY

9 For a comprehensive list of Peace Agreements by Continent, go to the United States Institutefor Peace ( http://www.usip.org/library ).


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10 Peace Review, an international research journal in the growing field of peace study, ispublished quarterly and is a peer-reviewed academic journal.http://www.usfca.edu/peacereview/info.htm ; Spring 2008, 20.1, "U.S. Peace Movements Duringthe Iraq War." Winter 2007, 19.4, "Teaching Peace to the Military."

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United States Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

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The Science of World Peace