Spivack points out many reasons “why the research provides evidence for the hypothesis that the Transcendental Meditation program reduces conflict and divisions in society and improves economic performance.”

In 20 peer-reviewed studies showing statistically significant results, the TM program is indicated to be an independent variable. Since the numbers of people practicing at any given time vary randomly in these experiments, it is possible to see if there is a repeat effect whenever the predicted threshold is reached, and there is.

Additional evidence that the TM program is an independent variable is that the number of TM practitioners changes before changes in the dependent variables, such as crime rate, war fatalities, or the misery index (a measure of how an average citizen is doing economically).

The studies also show what scientists call a dosage effect: The bigger the group practicing the TM program at any given time, the larger the impact.

Last but not least, the studies controlled for other possible causes for these changes, such as population density, education, and per capita income; the ratio of police to population; weather, holidays, and political events; and demographic factors (e.g., unemployment rates or percentage of population aged 15 to 29).