An Irish engineer has unveiled plans to solve the problems of the health service, reduce crime and tackle violence in the Middle East - all through the power of meditation.
Dr Joe Hayden aims to set up a "University of World Peace" in Ireland, staffed by practitioners of transcendental meditation (TM), who will be devoting their efforts to eliminating "negativity" and solving problems, both local and global.
In newspaper advertisements, Dr Hayden yesterday announced the establishment of "Financial Capital of Ireland", a body set up to "crown Ireland with invincibility".
The group is looking for 240 "founders of invincibility" to practise TM for 20 minutes each morning and evening. Their collective efforts, he said, would create "coherence in the collective consciousness of the country" and improve our quality of life.
Indian-born Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who developed TM in the 1950s, claims that more than six million people have trained in the technique. Critics liken it to a cult and question the validity of its research.
Advanced TM practitioners engage in "yogic flying", in which they claim to levitate a small distance from the ground.
Not quite so advanced practitioners manage a bit of "hopping", in which the body doesn't quite manage to stay aloft.
Mr Hayden says he is still at the hopping stage, but he hopes to train Irish people in the advanced techniques.
He said that the US stock market rallied recently after a group of TM adherents quite literally put their minds to it.
In the last war involving Israel and Lebanon, war deaths dropped and peace talks prospered when sufficient people started meditating on the issue.
Sadly, TM is unable to solve all financial problems, so Mr Hayden needs €1.5 million to get his plans off the ground. Basic courses cost about €900, while more advanced instruction costs a hefty €4,000.
