NEWS & FEATURES

Natural Law candidate debuts

Stress reduction the key to more effective government

young political party fields its first ls- A land candidate in the riding of Hillsboro for the up-coming federal election. Fac- ing the Tories’ Tom MacMillan, the Liberals’ George Proud and the N.D.P.’s Dodi Crane, is the Natural Law Party’s Peter Cameron. Cameron held a press conference on Monday, September nineteenth at the Holland College lecture theatre.Thanking the few media and private citizens who “braved the winds of public opinion”, Cameron set down the major tenets of the N.L.P.’s philosophy and what the N.L.P. hopes to accomplish if elected.

The N.L-P.’s strategy to improve Canada’s sagging economic fortunes is the reduction of the negative side-effects of stress. According to Cameron, scientific studies show that the build- up of stress stifles the individual’s ability to find personal solutions to provide for him/herself. This in turn drains public money when-s/he has to go on social assistance and negates the possibility of any jobs which would accrue as a spin-off. Stress in the individual also stifles the initiative to go out and obtain different skills, even when government sponsored retraining programs are available. Cameron pointed out the Newfoundland fishery as a recent example of the negative side effects of stress. The government is paying fishermen social assist- ance because they have been devastated by the loss of the fishery. Most of these fishermen will not work again. With the reduction of stress, Cameron sees these fishermen taking the initia- tive to explore new ways of making money, stimulating the economy atthe grass roots level.

Stress is reduced, according to the N.L.P.’s platform, by living “spontaneously in accord- ance with natural law”. This is achieved by the daily practice of Transcendental Meditation or T.M., a technique developed by Maharishi Yogi. It is not an art or a form of magic. It is a mental technique which achieves co-ordination be- tween the two brain hemispheres. Lack of such co-ordination is the main cause of stress in our lives.

The practice of T.M. is open to anyone, no special skill or talent is required. The advanced practitioner becomes a “yogic flyer” which is a term explaining short leaps made by the medi- tator while sitting cross-legged. This has nothing to do with levitation. Stress decreases, resulting in increased creativity and ingenuity. Cameron predicts that people will actually want to prac-

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tice it; however, if the N.L.P. is elected, no one will be forced to practice transcendental medita- tion. The average time spent practising T.M. is twenty minutes per ses- sion twice a day.

If the N.L.P. is elected, 10,000 people will immediately be

trained in transcendental meditation. Not every- one has to practice it. If only the square root of one percent ofa commu- nity practises it,the stress level of the entire com- munity is reduced. The reduced stress in those who are practising it is communicated to non- practitioners by way of the “unified field”- the existence of which was known to Einstein. Because the problems that exist in Canada are the sum total of each citizen’s individual stress, if each individual can do something to reduce his/her stress then the problems of Canada as a whole will be reduced. T.M. exploits Canada’s greatest natural resource, her people.

Besides stimulating economic growth, the reduction of stress naturally fosters a spirit of harmony. Government could be streamlined because the N.L.P. proposes an all party coali- tion which would fulfil all Canadians instead of having a significant minority under-represented and unhappy. Experts known to be at the top of their field would be employed by government- regardless of political affiliation or special inter- est groups. Scientific studies would be carried out on all proposed projects to determine whether they would benefit the community. Witha renewed sense of initiative and coopera- tion, advanced communication and transporta- tion technology could be used more efficiently. Canada’s infrastructures would run more smoothly. People would not be tied up in government red tape because there would be fewer strata of authority in government.Legal wrangling and delays would be reduced. More

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Peter Cameron, P.E.I.'s Natural Law candidate

Importantly, money would be saved.

The use of T.M. will provide gargantuan saving in national health care costs. It has been scientifically proven that stress is amajor factor in widespread medical problems such as hyper- tension and heart disease.In Quebec people who follow the T.M. technique have reported a 13% reduction in their health care costs.Two thousand people who practised T.M. over a period of five years experienced a 66% reduc- tion in health problems. Consideringthe amount - they spend on medical plans for their employ- ees, corporations will save money if their em- ployees practicetranscendental meditation. The N.L-P. will promote prevention-oriented medi- cine and medical techniques such as acupunc- ture. The emphasis will be on maintaining the - health of the healthy, which is cheaper than giving emergency medical aid to those who are critically ill.

Over 50% of the N.L.P.’s candidates are women. The N.L.P. is pro-choice on the abor- tion issue and further asserts that “living spon- taneously in accordance with natural law” will decrease the necessity for abortions in the first