Re:Mindfulness and meditation can worsen depression and anxiety
by zepto on Monday August 17, 2020 @12:26PM
(#24188744)
I think this a fair point - meditation is not a single practice. It is a broad category.
But it also means that we can’t claim that there is an evidence base for the positive effects of meditation, and more than we can for ‘medication’ or ‘food’.
Meditation can be beneficial. Meditation can cause severe problems.
Both are clearly true statements.
The question is - what kinds of meditation are beneficial to whom?
It’s worth noting that the Asian religious traditions had a history of being very selective about who was taught.
Yes, the roots of meditation are in religious practices (as, are, arguably, the roots of every human activity). That doesn't mean that contemporary meditation practices are necessarily religious. Many aren't.
So if you're talking about the term "meditation" in general (as we were), to limit it to a religious practice is a mistake. It's much broader than that, even if it derives ultimately from something that once had a religious aspect.