Can Meditation be bad for you ?

[headiness]

Check out these links.

 

Negative effects

 

Can Meditation Be Bad for You?

[寒月 Hanyue]

Of course it can. Same with anything. If an over zealous student is not taught correctly, or a 'teacher' doesn't really know what they are doing bad things can happen.

 

It depends on many factors, some can inherently get away with more and not have problems. You see the same patterns physically, energetically, mentally.

 

As an example;

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

And the follow up

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eden-g-fromberg-do/yoga_b_1202465.html?ref=tw

 

Doc Morris was a big public advocate of explaining that there is both a light and dark side to meditation and energy work. As he put it, "you can both shine or burn".

 

Look at qigong psychosis after it exploded in China in the 80's and LOTS of people dove head long into stuff not being taught properly, but freely.

 

Look at Kundalini syndrome too.

 

Best,

[Chang]

Good reply Snowmonki.

 

In other words everything in moderation nothing in excess.

[konchog uma]

Check out these links.

 

Negative effects

 

Can Meditation Be Bad for You?

 

 

Those links cite the negative experiences of the cultish Trancendental Meditation movement, and the stories of someone who followed Bagawan Shree Rajneesh, who was deported for terroristic activities.

 

Meditation can be bad for you, but to me, thats because the mind is powerful, and meditation can be powerful too. If you are meditating under the guidance of people who are going to use that state to entrain you to lower vibrations in a cult-like way, it can be extraordinarily destructive. If you are meditating under the guidance of an awakened master, you are more likely to awaken than, say, someone who doesn't meditate because they heard it was bad for them.

 

So like anything else that has the potential to be powerful, be careful with it. Are knives bad because careless people have injured themselves and selfish people have caused harm with them? No. If i were in the wilderness with only one tool it would be a knife. The scalpel has saved numerous lives...

 

So if you are going to learn meditation, learn from someone you have researched, in a spiritual tradition that has proven benefits. You can know by the quality of the teachers a school or master has spawned, and by the reputation of that school or master as examined from many angles. Do research before you involve yourself in anything. Saying meditation can be bad for you is like saying food can be bad for you because some of it is surely spoiled.

[RiverSnake]

If one takes the lonely route and does not practice under a teacher or have a teacher but rarely see him...i feel it is very very very important that you get in touch with your own Inner Teacher.

 

If you listen to your Inner Teacher instead of your ego it will guide you and let you know when your towing the line between danger and safety and what you need at the moment and it will always guide you to greener pastures. However, it is still very important to have a teacher.

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

[suninmyeyes]

In other words everything in moderation nothing in excess.

Not always though , it depends on the individual. Sometimes excess meditation is just exactly what one needs.

I think the key to taking up any spiritual pratice is applying the teachings to the daily life constantly, as well as make sure to polish the heart and make it sparkle.

 

Meditation can be dangerous, but so can crossing the street.

Saying that when in Sri Lanka a Buddhist monk was telling me of hospitalization of other monk I knew for developing some strange illnes on his neck becouse of some inccoret practise. He also told of some others who actually cough blood by doing so much vipassana .

 

To me meditation is a best cure ever, and I certany did loads at times and had great expirience and have learned to digest life better becouse of it.

[doc benway]

Meditation it terrible for "you"

That's because the "you" that worries whether meditation can harm it is the illusion that meditation dispels...

Then "you" is free and there is nothing more to fear.

[Birch]

Meditation it terrible for "you"

That's because the "you" that worries whether meditation can harm it is the illusion that meditation dispels...

Then "you" is free and there is nothing more to fear.

 

Well said Steve. Also note that IME the process was/is not filled with flowers most of the time. Although there's also that.

I think that context is improving but if all you have around you are conventional ideas and people then it would be IMO wise to a) find fellow practitioners do some research prior to embarking c) keep your own counsel and your wits about you d) stay away from cults

 

---- opinion alert----

[headiness]

Teachers are only there to give guidance, but meditation itself is an activity to be done solely by ourselves.

 

As someone said earlier, if you listen to your ego, that can be destructive. In my opinion, when one meditates, one is actively messing around with one's own ego. That's something indeed very dangerous. What if you believe in the story of the ego instead of having the correct approach to meditation? In Buddhism, the correct approach would be having the Right View. Having a teacher doesn't do much to one's meditation, the effort still boils down to the student. I can have a teacher who tells me this and that, and if I don't follow or am unable to and the ego overwhelms me, in time to come, I'd just say I'd be better off without having started meditation at all. In those extreme cases like those cited in the links in the original post, people have gone mad. We can be more delusional than before we started meditation.

[headiness]

Meditation it terrible for "you"

That's because the "you" that worries whether meditation can harm it is the illusion that meditation dispels...

Then "you" is free and there is nothing more to fear.

 

But how sure are you, that you know meditation will dispel the "you"? How sure are you that the sense of "you" won't be reinforced by meditation? Meditation can go both ways either positive or negative, as mentioned earlier by someone, it's how we employ it.

[RiverSnake]

Teachers are only there to give guidance, but meditation itself is an activity to be done solely by ourselves.

 

As someone said earlier, if you listen to your ego, that can be destructive. In my opinion, when one meditates, one is actively messing around with one's own ego. That's something indeed very dangerous. What if you believe in the story of the ego instead of having the correct approach to meditation? In Buddhism, the correct approach would be having the Right View. Having a teacher doesn't do much to one's meditation, the effort still boils down to the student. I can have a teacher who tells me this and that, and if I don't follow or am unable to and the ego overwhelms me, in time to come, I'd just say I'd be better off without having started meditation at all. In those extreme cases like those cited in the links in the original post, people have gone mad. We can be more delusional than before we started meditation.

 

The answer to your questions and the false hood of some of your statements are obvious once you actually start practicing.

 

Picking a field of study and creating a moderate and daily practice is the only way to develop an understanding beyond the superficial.

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

Edited March 6, 2012 by OldGreen

[doc benway]

But how sure are you, that you know meditation will dispel the "you"? How sure are you that the sense of "you" won't be reinforced by meditation? Meditation can go both ways either positive or negative, as mentioned earlier by someone, it's how we employ it.

How sure am who?

[headiness]

The answer to your questions and the false hood of some of your statements are obvious once you actually start practicing.

 

Picking a field of study and creating a moderate and daily practice is the only way to develop an understanding beyond the superficial.

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

 

I don't think there is falsehood in my post you're referring to. You were too dismissive, I've actually tried meditating for years but I've stopped. I found that I believed in the story of my ego too much so much so I thought it was bad, instead of seeing the falsity of the ego, I reified the sense of self aka ego. Meditation opens up bare the ego for what it is, and it's terrifying to the ego to 'see' it is false, it struggles and runs and hides from the spotlight of meditative awareness. How sure is anyone(in the conventional sense) or anyone here who meditates regularly, be able to say they have not been influenced by the hold of their egos under meditation?

[headiness]

How sure am who?

 

I meant the conventional you, the 'steve', that functions in daily life. How sure is the conventional you, would know meditation will dispel the "you"? How sure are you that the sense of "you" won't be reinforced by meditation? Meditation can go both ways either positive or negative, as mentioned earlier by someone, it's how we employ it.

 

Yes it's a repetition of my previous question/post to you, because it seems you haven't answered the question and sounded pedantic.

[headiness]

[Rishi Das]

Can Meditation be bad for you?

 

It not only can be bad for you, it is bad for you. If done right it will eventually kill you.

 

Meditation it terrible for "you"

That's because the "you" that worries whether meditation can harm it is the illusion that meditation dispels...

Then "you" is free and there is nothing more to fear.

[Dimon Blya]

yes, judging from my personal experience, it is not good to go and seek out powerful experiences, rather much better to start gently small periods, consistently daily. However, having had powerful mescaline experiences that I still feel unresolved effects 3 years after I still feel like I weld a great tool and no amount of personal depression has had a definite victory upon me. There shouldn't be a fearful approach to depression, if it's in the family then it will come time to process it, otherwise one will become a puppet for the pharmaceuticals. I say this because the greatest compassion that psychiatrists and phD's can prescribe is in the pill form and they don't concern themselves with healing and resolving, integrating, getting lasting results. Go do your meditation, develop a consistent practice, let your experience be your teacher. We hear stories of people becoming psychotic, but we don't actually hear of their experience past that, maybe they came out of that experience with grace. Our experience is valid, BREATH IS A HELL OF A DRUG.

[Protector]

There would be less problems if people would stop thinking of meditation as something obvious and would finally go look for a teacher

[suninmyeyes]

Also note that IME the process was/is not filled with flowers most of the time. Although there's also that.

 

K ,this is an important point to underline and mention and take in consideration.

All the darkness coming to the surface makes us open up and enchance the tolarance and adoptability a lot. That process certanly is not pleasent.

To live truly peacful life a person needs to be so flexible and adoptable, loving with a massive dose of daring attitude, being able to put up with anything life brings. As life is not full of flowers.

[suninmyeyes]

There would be less problems if people would stop thinking of meditation as something obvious and would finally go look for a teacher

Yes teacher in meditation is important IMO too, although some people do it alone just fine.

[doc benway]

I meant the conventional you, the 'steve', that functions in daily life. How sure is the conventional you, would know meditation will dispel the "you"? How sure are you that the sense of "you" won't be reinforced by meditation? Meditation can go both ways either positive or negative, as mentioned earlier by someone, it's how we employ it.

 

Yes it's a repetition of my previous question/post to you, because it seems you haven't answered the question and sounded pedantic.

How sure is the illusion that it will be dispelled by something it does?

If the illusion provides an answer, how valuable is that?

When all is said and done, my answer to the question has nothing to do with you.

I'm not your authority. My answers are not yours.

You need to do the work and see what happens... or not.

It's totally up to you.

There are no guarantees and whatever anyone else tells you is their stuff, not yours, caveat emptor!

 

True meditation has little to do with sitting or standing in a certain posture, making noises, employing mental gymnastics, and all of that. Those are all nice activities one can participate in which may or may not facilitate meditation to occur. Meditation is about figuring out who you are. And much of the crap that needs to be peeled away to explore that question is dark and unpleasant or very resistent to let go. This is where a teacher or guide comes in. They can help us to deal with the nasty stuff and difficulties that come up in the process.

 

One resource I found helpful is Krishnamuriti's "This Light in Oneself: True Meditation."

Another book I'm reading currently and find extremely insightful is Michael Singer's "The Untethered Soul."

[Rishi Das]

There would be less problems if people would stop thinking of meditation as something obvious and would finally go look for a teacher

 

 

Yes teacher in meditation is important IMO too, although some people do it alone just fine.

 

 

This is where a teacher or guide comes in. They can help us to deal with the nasty stuff and difficulties that come up in the process.

 

I think that pretty much sums it up. In my opinion for most people that go about it alone the process can go a number of directions all leading the opposite way from where your looking to go. Self delusions a bitch, the ego will conjure up anything to hold on.

[Louie]

This is a tough question to answer. There are literally thousands of different ways to meditate. Some are totally harmless and others can be very dangerous. It all depends on what you are doing and how much you are doing it.

 

My preferred way of meditating is to listen to binaural audio and just watch my mind for a bit. I find that it is pretty hard to mess myself up doing this. I am not directing any energy, I am just giving the mind some space to clear whatever needs to be cleared. I will feel energy moving on its own, but I do not try to make it move in a particular way.

 

Chi is like electricity. If you try to put too much of it through a channel that is not ready for that voltage, you can blow a fuse (Kundalini syndrome).

 

It is true that the mind moves and chi follows. However, the mind does not need to guide the energy every step of the way. It can just set the intention for where the energy should go and then allow the energy to choose its own path to get there.

[Rishi Das]

There are literally thousands of different ways to meditate.

 

I would argue meditation is meditation, I just don't see there being thousands of ways you could do it. However I see how the newly coined term "meditation" would confuse one into thinking that it was a nice way to clear your head and relax.

Edited March 6, 2012 by don_vedo

[headiness]