Daily Post, Liverpool, 5 October 2001
Bin Laden meets his match in yogic flyers from Skelmersdale

BRITAIN has already dispatched more than 20,000 troops, 27 ships, two nuclear submarines and 66 Challenger II tanks to the Middle East - but one group reckons the power of the mind is all it takes to quash the evils of terrorism.

The Maharishi Foundation's base in Ashurst, Skelmersdale, is one of a number of centres globally which believes a form of Transcendental Meditation can physically "generate the influence of peace".

Exponents have already claimed that they are capable of "yogic flying" - in which the body is lifted into the air by the power of meditation - so they feel equal to the challenge of resolving any conflict in Afghanistan.

Not only that, they believe that, given the necessary resources, they create a physical environment which would prevent terrorists existing at all.

The philosophy behind the masterplan is that, by creating an invisible field of calmness, and descending it upon mankind, predisposition to hatred and the desire to destroy could be eradicated forever.

At a press conference beamed around the world by satellite, the Maharishi leader, Mahesh Yogi, announced a plan to avert the seemingly imminent global war and indeed to eradicate the threat of terrorism forever.

In simple terms, this involves setting up a colony of experts in Transcendental Meditation who could generate enough good feeling to make men, women and children across the globe experience a wish to live in harmony.

A spokesman for the group's base in Skelmersdale said: "We propose 40,000 experts be gathered as professionals and this would be sufficient to eradicate terrorism - just by calming tensions and hatreds.

"This is the only fitting tribute to those who died in New York that would make any sense.

"We suggest this be set up in India, where the cost of living is low, and with a cash injection of just £lbn - the amount America spends on defence every day - we could sustain our group permanently."

He concluded: "History shows violence has never created peace, therefore this is no time to disregard our technology.

"Yes, it is bizarre, but it really does work."

Advocates of this peaceful solution are keen to stress there is a science behind the story A spokesman for the group said: "This is a technology - it's not about thinking, praying and wishing for peace, and there is no belief system attached to it."

He explained: "In our meditation, the mind settles down to a quiet level which we call a 'Unified Field.'

People can generate orderliness and emit it, in the same way radiowaves are transmitted in electromagnetic fields.

"In large groups across the world, we have the means to generate a physical influence of peace and order at a distance."

The Maharishi say they have evidence to show their tactics have worked in the past and are trying to persuade authorities to give their methods a chance.

"It's unfortunate the Government didn't take more notice of what we offered several years ago," said the spokesman.

So, while the Maharishi community in Skelmersdale do not proclaim they alone have the power to influence what is happening in Afghanistan, they still intend to play a part in making sure the response in Great Britain is "more measured".

The aim is to make all Britons achieve a state of mind where they are not interested in retribution, uninclined to call for the heads of terrorist leaders, and feel at one with their inter-continental counterparts.

And, with an already difficult social, political and economic climate at home, high crime rates, fears of recession, a global downturn in trade and a growing problem with increasing illegal immigration, it looks like the group have their work cut out for them.

What they're up against?

* 0SAMA Bin Laden's multimillion-pound empire is known to have infiltrated countries all over the world.
* He is a figure head for the al Qaida terrorist network which is known to have thousands of fundamentalist followers.
* The Saudi-born dissident is said to command an army of at least 5,000 active terrorists.
* The best intelligence efforts of both the FBI and CIA have failed to track him down, despite years of trying.
* Any action would have to be executed swiftly - soldiers from the American Delta Force and the British SAS have already been dispatched and are working within the borders of Afghanistan.

And their past successes...

* MOZAMBIQUE: President Chissano credited transcendental meditation and yogic flying with ending civil war in his country 10-years-ago and helping the economy.
* MIDDLE EAST: The Maharishi claim death rates in Lebanon plummeted by 70% during the civil war when their methods were applied.
* MERSEYSIDE: A survey done in 1995 showed a correlation between the number of people practising the techniques and a drop in the crime rates.

So just how do they fly?

* Meditators must be seated with their eyes closed. This means that both mind and body are free from the distractions of movement.
* They are given their own personalized mantra. This can be a song, a melody, or some kind of soothing, familiar sound, which places them at ease.
* The sound becomes the only thing in the mind, and gradually, the sounds are taken away until eventually the mind is clear of all thoughts.
* At this point, the attention apparently settles to the source of thought.
* Yogic Flying is one of any number of odd feats that can be achieved while in this state.
* Experts say that you can create a specific impulse, which in yogic flying is to lift the body into the air.
* This state has been described by one expert as the most basic state of nature. Asked how it felt, he simply said: "Bliss".

Reprinted with kind permission from the Daily Post.