With NATO at war in Yugoslavia and violence erupting here on the home front, people are searching for explanations and solutions. Through Maharishi’s knowledge and our practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, we have both.

How can we help society find relief from these rising negative trends? Maharishi reminds us to use the "principal of the second element." Don’t fight the darkness; instead: "Bring in the light, and let the darkness take care of itself."

To help bring in the light, a locally-organized and nationally-supported advertising campaign is generating greater public awareness of the TM technique. Local groups of Meditators, Citizen Sidhas and Governors are sharing their ideas to increase the number of people learning the Transcendental Meditation program in their city or town.

• A group in Fairfield, Connecticut includes two experts in the TV industry who practice the TM technique. They plan to produce a videotape and advertisements featuring local Meditators.
• The Palo Alto team is mailing the Physicians’ Guide to medical professionals, and will make sure phones are answered and literature is sent out immediately to all interested people.
• In Montclair, New Jersey, Helen Hamilton will test ads on local UHF and cable television, and on university radio stations.
• A video team is producing a new TM program infomercial for cable television.

When David and Rhoda Orme-Johnson heard that the state of Florida required lawyers to take 30 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) units every three years, they presented research on the TM program to the Florida Bar Association. The result? The Association gave approval for lawyers to receive five CLE units for learning the TM technique.

The Orme-Johnsons are receiving national funds to place large ads announcing the course and its benefits in a newsletter which reaches nearly 600 lawyers in their area. "Now we’re going on to get Continuing Medical Education credits for health professionals," says Rhoda. "We want doctors, dentists, and licensed massage therapists to learn the TM technique for themselves, and to refer patients to us."

"Without a doubt, there’s a connection between the war in Kosovo and the violence in schools—and that connection is stress in the collective consciousness," comments David, a leading researcher on the TM and TM-Sidhi programs. "There’s also no doubt that Maharishi’s programs solve these problems by reducing stress in collective consciousness."

Judy Raymond, a Governor from Jackson, Wyoming recounts how their superintendent of schools called her after the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. He said, "The parents are all asking me, ‘what are you doing to protect our children?’ And I don’t have any answers."

Judy and her husband Victor made a presentation on the scientific research showing that the Transcendental Meditation program is highly effective in reducing violence. The superintendent was amazingly responsive, Judy reports. "Now our local advertising for the TM program includes this quote from the superintendent: ‘I urge the community to take a look at this proven program for reducing violence.’"

This is an important time for each of us to share our ideas on how to make the TM technique more widely available. We all have skills, creativity, and contacts to offer the campaign. To join a local expansion team, call your Maharishi Vedic University or TM program Center.

"It’s up to us, who know the solution to these problems," says Bobbie Oetzel, Director of the Maharishi Vedic School in Palo Alto. "Each of us, every Meditator, needs to think what we can do to bring Maharishi’s knowledge to every area of society."

It’s clear that we have the knowledge and experience to provide a solution for local and global violence. Isn’t it time for us to bring in the light?