My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
danlawton.substack.com
My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
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Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#2I'm submitting this article because I thought it was somewhat objectively written and an interesting subject to consider. My impression (from far away) of some of the meditation gurus is also that they look like they are kinda addicted to their new "hobby". Also, it's rarely healthy if your income depends on you strongly believing in something (anything, really).
"60% of the participants reporting distressing experiences were meditation teachers"
"Britton theorized that the effects of mindfulness might follow an inverted U-shaped curve, where at some point therapeutic returns not only diminish but mindfulness could have negative side effects"
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#3This has been discussed before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27890790
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#4I'm submitting this article because I thought it was somewhat objectively written and an interesting subject to consider. My impression (from far away) of some of the meditation gurus is also that they look like they are kinda addicted to their new "hobby". Also, it's rarely healthy if your income depends on you strongly believing in something (anything, really). "60% of the participants reporting distressing experie…
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Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#5See how many times they write the word 'I'?
They've never meditated properly even once. Teacher my ass, these people do way more damage than help anyone.
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#6I think the author is confusing Buddhism and mindfulness.
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#7It's really frustrating when intensive meditation is sold as always positive. Like you can't get injured, and even if you do you did something wrong.
I have been meditating 20 years, and I have gone trough intensive retreats, so I share.
If you read Buddhist sutras, you find out that Buddha experienced similar and worse while meditating. Going into horrible states of mind at some point is what almost everybody goes trough if they meditate intensively at some point. That's not Buddhism going bad that's what Buddhism has been for 2000 years. If you stay in monasteries long enough, you see monks recovering from bad experience, even some rare cases who are permanently broken somehow. That's rare but it happens.
If your image of intensive meditation is "maintaining constant calm", or that "middle path" means no storms just the calm, you are mistaken. Human's don't naturally pay attention into their inner workings as much as they do in intensive meditation, something will happen. That's why you are doing it.
Living normal hectic life and doing intensive meditation retreats can be a problem. If you live in a monastery or similar place where you meditate 3-4 hours daily, attending intensive retreats is more balanced experience. Taking one year sabbatical and doing nothing but meditation was important step for me.
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#8Sounds like a psychotic episode.
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#9My most intense mindfulness experience was on a two-week silent retreat, in the woods, isolated from all of humanity. At the beginning, I met only the creatures of the forest and heard only the whispers of the trees.
By the sixth day I was hallucinating gold and purple snakes slithering out of my belly onto the ground around me.
By the eighth day I had visions of a cloud island vista with animals the world had never seen. They were cautious but friendly, and rode with me until the end of my journey that day.
By the twelfth day, I could see nothing but heard the most beautiful music. Melodies and harmonies fluttered and floated across my audible plane, bringing an intense sense of peace and joy.
When I left that place, I was a changed spirit. I may have been alone in physical form, but the universe embraced my inner self and showed me the path to enlightenment.
Re: My mindfulness practice led me to meltdown (2021)
#10See how many times they write the word 'I'? They've never meditated properly even once. Teacher my ass, these people do way more damage than help anyone.
Do you meditate? Because if it leads to an attitude like you're displaying, it's not a great advertisment.