SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - March 27, 2007. Regardless of creed, ethnicity, age or culture, throughout history people have steadfastly believed in the power of prayer. Now a team of scientists and over a million people around the world will put this belief to the test. From May 15th through May 29th the "Breakthrough Celebration: Compassion to Action" will be the largest interfaith global meditation and prayer for peace. What makes this event unique is that scientists will be simultaneously monitoring emergency calls during the two week period. It is expected that as the number of participants increase, emergency calls reporting crime and domestic violence will decrease.

"This is the first meditation event to study how people affect the actions of others through meditation and prayer while the event is happening," says Joseph R. Giove, founder and executive director of CommonPassion.org, the primary organizer of the Breakthrough Celebration. "Over the last three decades, certain meditation assemblies have apparently reduced crime and terrorism by as much as 20 percent, but always with a time lag between the meditation program and our understanding of its effects. We want to show that certain types of meditation and prayer affect social harmony at that moment."

Giove is not alone. Over 150,000 people from various faiths and wisdom traditions have agreed to participate, and several well-known scientists have embraced the study. "Social cohesion is strongly dependent on people’s values and priorities," says Professor Ervin Laszlo, world-renowned systems theorist, Goi Peace Prize recipient and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. "We know that people influence each other’s values and priorities and this collective intention influences the community. Joint meditation assemblies can intensify this effect, as demonstrated in the Transcendental Meditation studies performed since the 1970s." Laszlo’s global humanitarian organization, The Club of Budapest, is a major participant in the May "Breakthrough" event.

In this study, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, as well as indigenous and non-denominational groups will practice meditation or prayer according to their own traditions but share common themes with all participants. "The shared themes, being discussed now between participants, are meaningful for everyone involved," says Giove, "so that we capture the individual’s passion and also form a coherent force to impact the community, locally and globally. Prior studies show that both aspects "“ individual passion and social coherence "“ when combined have the greatest social impact." Themes will be global in scope but also focus on specific local issues such as inner city gang violence.

CommonPassion.org is working with major cities in the US, Europe and Asia to provide emergency call data as indicators of social cohesion. When a municipality agrees to participate, CommonPassion.org enlists the cooperation of the faith and wisdom traditions in that community for the May event. "It is a unique and efficient opportunity for municipalities," says Giove, "considering the money already invested in crime reduction and prevention programs. Our approach complements existing municipal strategies and costs the taxpayers nothing, other than statistical data that they already have. We believe the effects of this study will be far-reaching, but even if it saves one life, prevents one rape, thwarts one assault or robbery, isn’t it worthwhile?"

CommonPassion.org is encouraging participation by community leaders of all faith and wisdom traditions. It is also seeking sponsors for the May event as well as future events. Municipal governments and law enforcement agencies are also invited to inquire about including their community in the CommonPassion crime reduction studies.

About CommonPassion

CommonPassion.org is a nonprofit, nonsectarian educational and scientific consortium dedicated to validating and applying the power of collective human intention through prayer, meditation and music to ease violence and suffering in local and global communities, and to help solve the persistent problems of humankind. These challenges include replacing conflict with harmony at all levels: within individuals, between diverse cultures and interests, and between individuals and their environment.

CommonPassion

CommonPassion

CommonPassion.org is a global social collaborative connecting people from all walks of life who share compassion as a common passion. We are a nonprofit, nonsectarian educational and scientific consortium dedicated to validating and applying the power of collective human intention through prayer, meditation and music to ease violence and suffering in local and global communities, and to help solve the persistent problems of humankind. These challenges include replacing conflict with harmony at all levels: within individuals, between diverse cultures and interests, and between individuals and their environment.

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