Collective Meditation: What Are its Benefits?
Collective meditation can be very beneficial to our lives, especially in these times of constant change, where we seem to be continuously connected. Social interactions seem to be getting colder due to the influence of technology.
This activity helps us to relax, think, and, depending on the place, contemplate the beauty of the landscape. In conclusion, it helps to calm your body and mind. And the effects are even better when you share it with people who have a common interest to yours.
For example, one study found that a significant number of people who participated in an advanced transcendental meditation program, focused on reducing violence, found a significant drop in national statistics for homicides and violent urban crimes.
Discover other benefits that collective meditation can bring you in this article.
How does collective meditation work?
Meditation, in general, is an activity that helps to calm your thoughts. When meditating, the person directs their attention to expanding their mind, and relaxing their breathing and muscles.
In this way, collective meditation shares the benefits of traditional meditation. But the bonus that this method has is that it revolves around feeling understood and supported by a group that shares the same need as you.
These principles favor the formation of a support network and allow you to strengthen social ties. To achieve this, the only requirements are a quiet place, free from distractions, good knees and back, and people who have a common goal.
What are the benefits of collective meditation?
Joining a group of people in a healthy environment can also be fun. This makes it perfect for interacting and learning new psychosocial and emotional tools. Other benefits that shared meditation brings are the following:
1. Strengthening moral support
The synergy that arises when meditating in a group is similar to that which occurs when we meet with a group of close friends. This union of individuals with a common goal allows you to materialize a transcendental whole.
Meditating together may be more effective than meditating alone. According to a study published in Stress and Health, both meditation and mindfulness are capable of generating a state of inner peace.
2. Improve the learning experience
When knowledge is acquired by practicing recreational activities, the learning process becomes more enjoyable. This doesn’t change if you’re new to the practice, because meditation is far from being a competitive activity. So, if you’re a beginner, you can often draw on the experiences of colleagues who have been meditating for months or years.
3. Availability of advice
The state of communion that arises during a non-rivaling collective exercise encourages reciprocal guidance and advice among those taking part.
In this way, it’s common to give and receive recommendations for postures, exercises, and mental approaches that will help you greatly to achieve your mental and physical peace.
4. Strengthens the building of habits
One of the advantages of group work is that, being surrounded by other people who share the same goal, it’s less likely that you’ll be tempted to give up the activities that will help you achieve it.
There’ll be words of encouragement and motivation from your companions, which is something that meditation alone can’t give you.
5. Strengthen your psychological capacity
A study found that the feeling of connection that arises with your companions when you meditate isn’t only emotional, but physical too. Science has shown that brain waves can become synchronized during practices such as yoga and meditation.
In these practices, the members take advantage of the silence and peace of their surroundings. This allows them to achieve a balance to help alleviate adversity with a low anxiety load, because they’ll feel relaxed, supported, and comfortable.
6. Reduce the feeling of loneliness
Acceptance and belonging are just one of the states that develop when meditating in a group. With the passing of time, you’ll turn people who were initially anonymous into closer companions, with whom you’ll sometimes end up sharing more than a greeting.
Impact of collective meditation on society
Science has shown that a significant number of people meditating with the same purpose has a positive influence on the reduction of crimes, violent deaths, and terrorist acts.
1. Reduce crime rates
According to research published in the Journal of Mind & Behavior, collective meditation could influence the reduction of the crime rate and the rate of violent crimes.
Similarly, a study published in Psychology, Crime & Law showed that when collective meditation reached a significant number of attendees, there was a 13.4% decrease in crime.
By the time the study was completed, the metropolitan county where it was conducted, in this case, Merseyside, in England, had the lowest crime rate in the country at around 40% less than the national average.
2. The number of violent deaths decreases
A study published by the Journal of Mind & Behavior found that collective meditation with a transcendental goal, carried out in unison by a large group of people, resulted in a decline in statistics of suicides, homicides, and deaths from car accidents.
There were other positive effects too, such as the decrease in smoking and fewer strikes at work, which results in a higher quality of life.
3. Reduces war crimes, terrorism, and international conflicts
In 1983, a study focused on collective transcendental meditation was launched in Jerusalem, which showed a significant decrease in international conflicts during meditation exercises. This could confirm the theory of a possible reduction of deaths and crimes derived from the war.
In the same investigation, several people met to carry out meditation sessions for more than 10 days, with the aim of focusing their thoughts to the detriment of terrorism. The results showed a drop of more than 70% in terms of terrorism and around 32% in international conflicts.
Collective meditation, an instrument for society
It seems that a collective approach brings social and individual benefits. It brings a better learning experience, greater psychological capacity, decreases the feeling of loneliness, and increases moral support.
In addition, it could be advantageous for society to have a group of people agree to meditate. According to scientific evidence, this practice tends to lower crime rates as well as having unified thoughts against war and terrorism.
- Dillbeck, M. C., & Cavanaugh, K. L. Societal violence and collective consciousness: Reduction of U.S. homicide and urban violent crime rates. Institute of Science, Technology, and Public Policy, Maharishi University of Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016637891
- Liu, X., Xu, W., Wang, Y., Williams, J. M., Geng, Y., Zhang, Q., & Liu, X. (2015). Can Inner Peace be Improved by Mindfulness Training: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Stress and health: journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 31(3), 245–254. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2551
- Brandmeyer, T., & Delorme, A. (2013). Meditation and neurofeedback. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 688. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00688
- Dillbeck, M. C., Bandy, C. L., Polanzi, C., & Landrith, G. S. (1988). Test of a field model of consciousness and social change: The Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program and decreased urban crime. Journal of Mind & Behavior, 9(4), 457-485.
- Hatchard, G. D., Deans, A. J., Cavanaugh, K. L., & Orme-johnson, D. W. (1996). The maharishi effect: A model for social improvement. Time series analysis of a phase transition to reduced crime in merseyside metropolitan area. Psychology, Crime & Law, 2(3), 165-174. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683169608409775
- Assimakis, P. D., & Dillbeck, M. C. (1995). Time Series Analysis of Improved Quality of Life in Canada: Social Change, Collective Consciousness, and the Tm-Sidhi Program. Psychological Reports, 76(3_suppl), 1171–1193. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1995.76.3c.1171
- Orme-Johnson, D. W., Dillbeck, M. C., & Alexander, C. N. (2003). Preventing Terrorism and International Conflict. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 36(1-4), 283-302. https://doi.org/10.1300/J076v36n01_13
