The enclosed article was posted on IndyMedia's USA website today. It outlines a proven alternative to George W. Bush's military plans, including his proposed controversial National Defense Missile Shield.

JJ
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Timely: National Defense Shield
by Dr David Leffler

Here the model to create an invincible defense shield with the groups dynamics of consciousness in explained and scientific research is presented.
A Scientific Formula to Create Invincible National Defence as proposed here in
the case of India

The past few years have seen an increase in intractable regional conflicts that the international community has been powerless to resolve. The global relief and freedom from fear that resulted from the "grand handshake" between the superpowers in 1988 has soon become meaningless, ending up in the Gulf War, Somalia, the Balkans as well as other hot spots. Many of these conflicts are so deeply rooted within the societies in which they manifest that only fundamental changes in the methods being employed to resolve conflicts have any hope of success.

This article outlines an approach to conflict prevention and resolution, and social progress that has its roots in India's ancient Vedic tradition. Scientist and educator Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has recently brought this ancient knowledge to light. The programmes underlying this approach have been validated by almost fifty scientific studies, some of which are reviewed below. The positive effects of these programmes were demonstrated in Mozambique. Comments from Lt. Gen. Tobias Dai, (Ret.) now the Defence Minister of Mozambique, are also included below.

The basis for this approach to preventing and resolving conflict is the understanding that conflict, and other forms of social disorder, are manifestations of accumulated stress within society. Stress in the individual leads to a wide range of problems, from ulcers and heart disease to anxiety, hostility, and aggressive behaviour. In a similar way, Maharishi's Vedic Science suggests that stress in the collective consciousness[1] of society creates a fertile ground for a wide range of social problems-including violent crime and socio-cultural conflict leading to the disintegration of society and ultimately war. The means proposed to reduce violence and social disorder is a coherence-creating group that reduces stress in the collective consciousness of society as a whole.

Review of Scientific Research

As early as 1960, Maharishi predicted that when 1% of a population practiced the Transcendental Meditation programme, a measurable increase in orderliness, coherence, and positive trends would be observed in society. On the basis of initial research in 1974 and the introduction of the more powerful TM-Sidhi programme in 1977, it was predicted that when the square root of 1% of a population practiced the TM and TM-Sidhi programme together as a group, a similar increase in orderliness would be observed in society. The formulae for the size of the group necessary to create a "phase transition" to a measurable higher quality of life in society were calculated. These calculations were based on analogous phase transitions from disorder to orderliness as studied in physics.

The earliest research documenting reduced violence throughout society examined the effects of the Transcendental Meditation programme on twenty-four U.S. cities that had 1% or more of their population individually practising this technique in their own homes. Research found that the total crime decreased 16% in the "1% cities" compared to matched control cities. The study[2] also found that crime rate trends remained significantly reduced in the 1% cities compared to controls over the next five years.

A dramatic experiment testing the ability of the practice of the Transcendental Meditation programme to reduce armed conflict was conducted in the Lebanese village of Baskinta, population 10,000, situated at the centre of the Lebanese conflict.[3] The number of shells coming into the village, the number of people killed and wounded, and property damage in Baskinta was compared with the same statistics from three control villages in the same area. The baseline period was from the autumn of 1978 to the spring of 1982, and the experimental period from the summer of 1982 through the winter of 1984. The TM programme was first introduced to Baskinta in May 1981 and the town reached the 1% threshold in June 1982.

The results sharply contrasted with the village's history, and to what was happening to control villages in the same area. As predicted, hostilities completely ceased in Baskinta from the time 1% of its population began to practice the TM programme. This cessation of violence in Baskinta was in sharp contrast to the worsening trends in all surrounding control villages.

More recently, research has evaluated the effects of the advanced technology-group practice of the TM-Sidhi programme. These studies report that when even a relatively small group of individuals (approximately the square root of 1% of a population) practiced the TM-Sidhi programme together in groups, crime and other indicators of social disorder decreased in the whole society. When these coherence-creating groups were dispersed, crime and other societal disorders returned to their former levels.

The following is a brief review of some of the studies on coherence creating assemblies, showing reduced crime, violence, and warfare, and improved international relations.

In Britain, the ability of a coherence-creating group to reduce crime has been convincingly demonstrated in the Merseyside metropolitan area. The crime rate has shown a relative fall of 60% compared to national trends since a coherence-creating group was established in the area. In six years, the crime rate has fallen from the third highest of all metropolitan areas to the lowest in England.[4]

Over a two-year period, a week-by-week study showed that whenever attendance at a large coherence-creating group in Washington D.C. increased, violent crime decreased.[5]

Another, more recent study in Washington, D.C.[6] demonstrated that during a two-month coherence-creating assembly in the city from June to July 1993, violent crime in the city decreased by 20.1%. The public's decreasing confidence in the Clinton administration dramatically reversed. The Washington crime results were based on statistics received from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. Analysis of the results was approved by an independent Project Review Board of thirteen leading scientists in the field of social science.

An analysis of public statements of the U.S. president concerning the Soviet Union indicated a warming of U.S.-Soviet relations associated with periods of high participation in a coherence-creating group in the U.S.[7] In another study, statistics provided by the Rand Corporation showed that during the three largest coherence-creating assemblies ever held (approaching or exceeding 7,000 participants), worldwide terrorism dropped by 72%. At the same time, all international conflict reduced by more than 30%.[8]

A day-by-day study of a two-month-long coherence-creating assembly in Israel showed that, on days of high attendance, war deaths in neighbouring Lebanon decreased by 76%. On the same days, a composite quality-of-life index showed decreased crime, traffic accidents and fires in Jerusalem, and decreased crime accompanied by improvements in the stock market and national mood throughout Israel. Other possible causes (weekends, holidays, weather, etc.) were statistically controlled for and could not account for the results.[9] A follow-up day-by-day study of more than two years showed that during seven different coherence-creating assemblies, war deaths in Lebanon decreased by an average of 71%.[10]

The research results on the effects of coherence-creating assemblies on the Lebanese conflict are of particular significance to UN peacekeeping forces. One study covered the period from July to August 1983, and the other covered the two-year period from 1983-1985. During these periods, international peacekeeping forces were on duty with UNIFIL in South Lebanon. The research indicates that during the coherence-creating assemblies, decreased stress and increased coherence in regional collective consciousness may have diminished violent outbursts in Lebanon and facilitated more co-operative interaction among typically antagonistic factions[11]. This research provides strong evidence for the reliability of coherence-creating groups even under extreme conditions of protracted political violence.

The Mechanics of Social Coherence

The idea that individuals in one place can influence individuals at a distance with no apparent behavioural interaction between them is counterintuitive to most people. The natural sciences, however, provide strong support for this sort of action-at-a-distance phenomenon. Gravity and the transmission of radio and television signals are both examples of action-at-a-distance phenomena that have become familiar to us today. To understand these phenomena, physicists developed the concepts of "fields" to mediate these long-range effects. The basic understanding given to us by the quantum theory of physics is that the entire manifest creation is the fluctuations of underlying universal fields, and that all bodies and processes are connected at fundamental levels.

In recent years, the concept of fundamental force fields, and matter fields has been replaced with a single field-the unified field or "superstring" field. Thus modern science has identified a single, universal field of nature's intelligence at the basis of all forms and phenomena in the universe.

The Transcendental Meditation technique is a systematic procedure to refine human awareness to experience and explore deeper levels of intelligence of the mind. This systematic refinement of human awareness culminates in the experience of a level of intelligence that is completely unified and universal in its nature-the experience of the unified field itself. The generation of social coherence through the group practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programme takes place at this most fundamental level, where the influence is most powerful and pervasive in its effect.[12]

Many countries have experience of how a small group of disciplined people can completely disrupt a nation, having an effect that is completely disproportionate to their size and resources. The opposite can also be true-national incoherence can be neutralised by small groups of experts functioning from the Unified Field of Natural Law.

Invincible National Defence for India

In view of the empirical research on the effectiveness of coherence-creating assemblies it is now possible to envision a new type of National Defence Strategy based on the establishment of permanent coherence-creating groups of experts in India. Such a strategy, by ensuring the integrity of national consciousness, will create an invincible nation-one without internal incoherence and thus less susceptible to external threats to its well being. Thus, if there are no internal or external threats, there are no enemies. No enemies, no wars. India becomes invincible in the sense that it prevents enemies from arising. Victory before war.

A universal principle in nature is that internally coherent systems possess the ability to protect themselves against disruptive influences, while incoherent systems are easily penetrated by disorder from outside. This principle is clearly illustrated in the quantum physics of superconductivity as the Meissner Effect[13]. In an ordinary electrical conductor, incoherent, disorder electrons allow penetration by an external magnetic field. However, in a superconductor, coherent collective functioning of the electrons spontaneously excludes an external magnetic field, and maintains its impenetrable status.

This example of invincibility is not unique in nature; parallel phenomena of invincibility are found in many areas of the physical and biological sciences. In each case, the ability of the system to resist disorder is always based on coherent collective functioning.

Maharishi's Vedic Science suggests that such an effect can be created on the national level through the growth of harmony in society resulting from the practice of Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying by a small proportion of the population. When this influence-known as the Maharishi Effect[14], in honour of Maharishi, who predicted it-reaches a sufficient intensity, an integrated national consciousness is created. The result is the development of self-sufficiency and an invincible armour for the nation, which automatically repels any negative influence coming from outside. Thus the integrated state of national consciousness created by the Maharishi Effect produces a "Meissner Effect" for the nation, rendering it impenetrable to external disorder.

Scientific studies have shown that the Maharishi Effect can be created by as little as the square root of one per cent of the population of a nation, region, or large city practising Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programme together in one place. One group comprising of the square root of one percent of the world's population (about 7,000 at that time of the study) was found to create the Maharishi Effect for the whole world[15]. Ultimately the Global Maharishi Effect needs to be created because even if one nation does not enjoy invincibility, that nation will be a danger to the entire world.

In his book Maharishi's Absolute Theory of Defence[16], Maharishi has brought out a new approach to achieve the ultimate strategy of defence-create a Prevention Wing of the Military whose responsibility will be to maintain integrated national consciousness and make the nation invincible. Maharishi proposed to train 3% of the military forces of every nation to be Yogic Flyers-experts in enlivening the underlying unity in nature. These experts will create a strong, integrated national consciousness that will disallow the rise of any destructive influence from inside or outside the country. Such groups established in every nation will enjoy victory before war by preventing an enemy from arising, and fulfill the supreme goal of every military force. The other 97% of the military forces in each nation will continue their dynamic approach to the defence of the nation. Only 3% forming a Prevention Wing of the Military will be enough to prevent war, and avert the danger before it arises.

Prevention Wing of the Military Practically Demonstrated in Mozambique

Mozambique was the first country in the world to establish a Prevention Wing of the Military. This step was taken after the signing of a General Peace Agreement in Rome in 1992, which followed a disturbed period of war during the previous 16 years.

Shortly after the peace agreement, individuals at high levels in the country's government were informed about the research on the Maharishi Effect. After serious and critical study of the technologies that were being offered, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Mozambique were charged with analysing the possibilities of its implementation in the Armed Forces. According to Lt. Gen. Tobias Dai, Chief of the Delegation for the creation of the new Armed Forces for the Defence of Mozambique and Former Commander of the Armed Forces [17];

After having completed a thorough evaluation of the proposal, the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to implement the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme, including Yogic Flying, in the Armed Forces of Mozambique with the aim to create the Maharishi Effect in the country. It was a matter of decision. Either to try it or leave it aside. Our decision was to try. This occurred before the arrival of the UNO forces in Mozambique.

The Transcendental Meditation programme was taught to the different military units of the country, involving Ground, Naval, and Air Forces. During 1993, about 15,000 people were taught, and in 1994 a further 1,000 were taught. Also, schools of police training, pertaining to the Ministry of Home Affairs, began the programme, and in all, more than 3,000 people were trained in the TM-Sidhi Programme.

Maharishi Effect predictions were made prior to the implementation of the training programme. According to these predictions, the increase of coherence in collective consciousness created by the Maharishi Effect was going to maintain the peace, bring reductions in crime, decrease the number of car accidents, and bring an improvement to the economy.

After thousands of people were trained in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programmes, it was possible to assess a decrease of 20% in the crime index in certain areas, and the number of car accidents reduced by 75%, on a pro-rata basis. During 1993, an economic growth of 6% was expected, but in fact growth was 19%.[18] According to Lt. Gen. Dai, it is clear is that once the positive effect is created, if group practice is stopped, the previous tendencies of higher collective stress, as determined from crime indexes, and the tense situations in the country, begin to rise again. He comments that,

In 1994, there was a remarkable decrease in coherence in the country as
a result of decreased participation in the group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme. This was due to the demobilisation of the troops practising the programme and the anticipated ending of police courses that included the programme, two months before the elections.[19]

Finally, Lt. Gen. Dai noted that although with several difficulties, the maintenance of peace had been possible because during 1993/94, the free and just elections had been carried out-the only successful UNO mission in the world.

Conclusion

This article has outlined a new approach to conflict prevention and resolution based on the deployment of a Prevention Wing of the Military. This approach has age-old authenticity. However, it is also supported by extensive modern scientific research that validates the power of the TM and TM-Sidhi programme to bring peace even to the most troubled areas of the world. Another consideration is the individual benefits of stress-reduction that India's military personnel could gain from the regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. These programmes have been adopted to reduce stress and increase performance in military, governmental and other institutional settings. (India Defence Consultants has published a paper that summarizes research relating to military performance.) The positive effects of these human resource-based technologies are well documented in over 600 scientific studies. For these benefits alone, India would be wise to deploy a Prevention Wing of the Military.

Defence based on the accumulation of destructive military force has proven to be a failure over the course of human history. Great military powers have risen and fallen, at a huge expense to humanity. Clearly, a new strategy of defence is the requirement of every military force. This strategy must enable them to fulfill the responsibility that every nation has given the military-to keep the nation safe and protected from any danger of destruction.

A group of retired Indian military leaders assert that the time has come for the military of India to adopt such a new strategy. It is based on the ancient Vedic tradition of Ayodhya, which created peace under the rulership of Sri Ram. This group includes Major General Kulwant Singh, Major General D.D. Ghoshal, Major General K.K. Ganguly, Major General G.K. Sahney, Major General G.H. Israni, and Colonel S.P. Bakshi. They are the directors responsible for organizing an initiative to create a Prevention Wing of the Military in India. (Please refer to the website  http://Maharishi.invincibledefence.org for further information.) Today's militaries are increasingly required to fulfill a peacekeeping role, but are only armed with the technology of destruction rather than the technology of peace. This initiative hands military leaders another weapon: the weapon of peace. If Indian civilian and defence leaders deploy the Prevention Wing of the Military, Ayodhya may no longer be an ancient Vedic legend, but India's historic, achievable reality.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

The authors very much appreciate the assistance of Lee M. Leffler, Dr. Michael C. Dillbeck and Dr. Kenneth G. Walton in the proofing of this paper and for contributing their expert knowledge.


PUBLICATIONS ABOUT INVINCIBLE DEFENCE IN ENGLISH

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1999, October-December). Sovereignty in Invincibility, Indian Defence Review, 15(4), 189. (Available at:  http://maharishi.invincibledefence.org/sovereignty_in_invinc.html)

International Relations. (1999, December). The Flying
Squad--If military might
can't secure peace,
what can? Members of the Maharishi Vedic Universities
tell Defence Review that
ancient Vedic
philosophy is the answer, Defence Review, (Available at:
 http://maharishi.invincibledefence.org/defence_articles/a
rticle1.html)

Leffler, D.R., Walton, K.G, & Badhwar, R. (2001, June 23). Comments regarding the IDC analysis of Maharishi's Supreme Military Science--A Revolutionary Change in the Character of Military Intervention. India Defence Consultants, (Available at:  http://www.indiadefence.com/maharishi1.htm)

Leffler, D.R., Walton, K.G. & Badhwar, R. (2001, June 13). Maharishi's Supreme Military Science--A revolutionary change in the character of military intervention. India Defence Consultants, (Available at:  http://www.indiadefence.com/SupremeMilitaryi.htm)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000). Preventing war and terrorism. Security And Political Risk Analysis (SAPRA) Bulletin, (Available at:  http://www.subcontinent.com/sapra/military/img_1999_12_001.html)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, May/June). Spiritual politics: Consciousness-Based defense. Tikkun, 15(3), pp. 58-59. (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/tikkun.html)

Leffler, D.R., Kleinschnitz, K.W., & Walton, K.G. (1999, May 1). An alternative to military violence and fear-based deterrence: Twenty years of research on the Maharishi Effect. Security And Political Risk Analysis (SAPRA India), (Available at:  http://www.subcontinent.com/sapra/military/m_1999_05_01.html)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, January 13). Preventing war with Consciousness-Based defence. The Daily Mail & Guardian, (Available at:  http://www.mg.co.za/mg/news/2000jan1/13jan-tm.html)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, January 14). Mozambique's Prevention Wing of the Military: End war, Improve the economy. Africa Economic Analysis, (Available at:  http://www.afbis.com/analysis/mozambiq.htm)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, January 20-26). Preventing the flood of refugees in Tanzania. The Express, (Available from:  http://www.davidleffler.com/express.htm)

Leffler, D.R., Walton, K.W., Kleinschnitz, K.G., Burke, D.K., and Vegors, S. (1999, October). Mozambique's 'Secret Weapon!' Mozambique's invincible "national armor" prevented an enemy from arising within or outside the country. Dr. David and Lee Leffler's Command Center, (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/secretweapon.html)

Leffler, D.R., (1997). A Vedic approach to military defense: Reducing collective stress through the field effects of consciousness. (Doctoral Dissertation, The Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1997). Dissertation Abstracts International, 58(08), 3298A. (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/doctoraldissertation.html)

Leffler, D.R. (1992 Spring). A new military science in Moscow. Insight, 3(1), pp. 14-15. (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/insight.html)

PUBLICATIONS IN OTHER LANGUAGES

Leffler, D.R. & Leffler, L.M. (2000, June). Prevenir les souffrances de guerre. 3 P - Plus, Parole-Plume-Papier, 24, p. 2. (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/guerre.html)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, May/June). La Politica Espiritual: La Defensa Militar Basada en la Conciencia. (Spanish translation of "Spiritual politics: Consciousness-Based defense). Tikkun, 15(3), pp. 58-59. (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/espanol.html)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, Janvier 14). L'unité de prévention dans l'armée du Mozambique: la fin de la guerre civile et l'amélioration de l'économie (French translation of "Mozambique's Prevention Wing of the Military: End war, Improve the economy"). francemedicale.com, (Available at:  http://www.francemedicale.com/meditation_paix_Afrique.html)

Leffler, D.R., & Leffler, L.M. (2000, January 14). La Rama Preventiva del Ejercito de Mozambique: Terminar la Guerro Civil, Mejorar la Economia. (Spanish translation of "Mozambique's prevention wing of the military: End war, improve the economy"). Africa Economic Analysis, (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/militar.html)

Leffler, D.R., Kleinschnitz, K.W., & Walton, K.G. (1999). Eine Alternative zu militärischer Gewalt und einer Angst erzeugenden Verteidigung: Zwanzig Jahre Erforschung des Maharishi-Effekts (German translation of "An alternative to military violence and fear-based deterrence: Twenty years of research on the Maharishi Effect"). kosovofrieden.de, (Available at:  http://www.davidleffler.com/MaharishiEffekt.html)

Notes:

â Transcendental Meditation, TM, and TM-Sidhi are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as service marks of the Maharishi Foundation Ltd. and are used under license
[1] Collective Consciousness is taken as similar to national mood; that is, a collective quality in society that is the sum of the influences of all the individuals in that society, and that in turn creates a social climate that reciprocally affects all the individuals. The collective consciousness of a military unit is similar to the concept of esprit de corps in military science.
[2] Dillbeck, M.C.; Landrith III, G.S.; & Orme-Johnson, D.W. (1981) The Transcendental Meditation program and crime rate change in a sample of forty-eight cities. Journal of Crime and Justice, 4, 25-45.
[3] Abou Nader, T.M.; Alexander, C.N. & Davies, J.L. (1984) The Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field and reduction in armed conflict: A comparative, longitudinal study of Lebanese villages. In Chalmers, R.A.; Clements. G; Schenkluhn. H. & Weinless, M. (Eds). Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program: Collected papers. Vol. 4, pp. 2623-2633. Vlodrop, The Netherlands: MVU Press.
[4] 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 and Law, 2(3) 165-174.
[5] Dillbeck, M.C.; Banus, C.B.; Polanzi, C. & Landrith III, 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 and Behaviour, 9(4), 457-485.
[6]Hagelin, J.S.; Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Rainforth, M.; Cavanaugh, K. & Alexander, C.N. (1999). Results of the National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness in Washington, D.C. Social Indicators Research, 47, 153-201.
[7] Gelderloos, P.; Frid, M.J.; Goddard, P.H.; Xue, X. & Löliger, S.A. (1988). Creating World Peace through the collective practice of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field: Improved U.S.-Soviet Relations. Social Science Perspectives Journal, 2(4), 80-94.
[8] Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Dillbeck, M.C. & Alexander, C.N. (1989). Strategic interventions reducing international conflicts and terrorism: Time-series analysis of the effects of coherence creating groups. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
[9] Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Alexander, C.N.; Davies, J.L.; Chandler, H.M. & Larimore, W.E. (1988) International Peace Project in the Middle East: The Effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 32(4), 776-812.
[10] Davies, J.L. & Alexander, C.N. (1989) Alleviating Political Violence Through Enhancing Coherence In Collective Consciousness. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
[11] It is expected that a retrospective analysis of the daily operational reports from UNIFIL would reveal a similar reduction in the level of conflict for the periods in question. Such a study should be an imperative at the UN level.
[12] A comprehensive discussion of the relationship between field effects of consciousness and modern unified field theories in physics is provided in Hagelin, J.S. (1987) Is consciousness the unified field? A field theorist's perspective. Modern Science and Vedic Science, 1(1). 28-87.
[13] Feynman, R.P.; Leighton, R.B. & Sands, M. (1965). The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Ma. III-21-8.
[14] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (1994). Maharishi Vedic University, Introduction. MVU Press, Netherlands. p. 287.
[15] Orme-Johnson, D.W.; Dillbeck, M.C.; Alexander, C.N.; Chandler, H.M. &
Cranson, R.W. (1990). Time series
impact assessment analysis of

www.indiaforward.com/InvincibleIndia.htm

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"I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative
from consciousness."
Max Planck (1858 -1947)

"Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them."
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)


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