A prospective study was performed to assess the effects of the group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program on the quality of life in Rhode Island. The number of TM-Sidhi program participants was sufficient to create the Maharishi Effect for the entire state. A time-series analysis was performed on a monthly index that assessed the quality of life in Rhode Island in comparison to a demographically matched control state. During the experimental period, an index comprised of the following variables significantly decreased: crime, motor vehicle fatalities, auto accidents, deaths, alcoholic beverage and cigarette consumption, unemployment, and pollution. In the figure above, an increase illustrates an improvement in the index of all these variables taken together.

Consciousness as a field: The Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program and changes in social indicators, The Journal of Mind and Behavior 8: 67-103, 1987.