reply to post by xxshadowfaxx
I was addressing the thread title itself on the "do's and don'ts" as opposed to your addressing the benefits.The benefits of meditating stand on
it’s own. My ‘advice” needs clarifying, then I will not respond further. Of course these things are the very reasons we even begin meditating in
the 1st place. For a novice just starting out, I suggested simple guidelines. All of them make concentrating harder and sometimes darker. We can all
agree that relaxation and peace of mind and calmness is necessary to even start meditating. That’s the goal.
Enclosed find comment/excerpts from Can Meditation be bad for you? by Mary Garden, and statements made by Dr. Solomon Snyder, head of neuroscience at
Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Lorin Roche, a meditation teacher.
The link:
www.thehumanist.org...
Can Meditation Be Bad for You? by Mary Garden The Humanist September/October 2007
“A man who had just come down from Kathmandu after completing a thirty-day Tibetan Buddhist meditation course killed himself….”
“Isn't meditation something you do to get--at the very least--peace of mind? …..It didn't occur to me that the meditation itself might have caused
a mental imbalance that tipped him over the edge--that meditation could be dangerous for some people. Has such a notion ever appeared in the
mainstream media, let alone the myriad New Age magazines?”
"Meditation is not going to be good for all patients with emotional disorders and it may even be bad for certain types of patients."
“Dr. Solomon Snyder, head of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, warns that during meditation the brain releases serotonin. This may help
those with mild depression but too much serotonin can cause, in some, a paradoxical relaxation-induced anxiety. Instead of relaxing during meditation,
these people become distressed and may even have panic attacks. Snyder says that in some cases of schizophrenia, meditation can launch a person
straight into psychosis.”
“Dr. Lorin Roche, a meditation teacher, says a major problem arises from the way meditators interpret Buddhist and Hindu teachings. He points out
that meditation techniques that encourage detachment from the world were intended only for monks and nuns. He has spent thirty years doing interviews
with people who meditate regularly and says many were depressed. He says they have tried to detach themselves from their desires, their loves, and
their passion. "Depression is a natural result of loss, and if you internalize teachings that poison you against the world, then of course you will
become depressed."
“The Dalai Lama has said that Eastern forms of meditation have to be handled carefully: "Westerners who proceed too quickly to deep meditation
should learn more about Eastern traditions and get better training than they usually do. Otherwise, certain physical or mental difficulties
appear."
The ATS thread here is about do's and don'ts...and not the obvious values of..
edit on 05/05/13 by mysterioustranger because: spellcheck