News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Lost in Thought: Psychological Risks of Meditation by amznbyebyebye on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @03:14AM (#26487548)
I just have to say what a well thought out response. There is so much caution given in the literature around the need for a teacher or guide who can help the student through these issues when they arise. I remember reading about it in the Munger school texts on Prana and pranic healing.
Re:Lost in Thought: Psychological Risks of Meditation by kritiko on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @08:15AM (#26489993)
The problem, as laid out in the article and Willoughby Britton’s work, is that these teachers or guides aren’t trained in psychiatry. Telling somebody who is experiencing psychological distress to meditate through it seems like it can cause harm.
Re:Lost in Thought: Psychological Risks of Meditation by amznbyebyebye on Thursday March 18, 2021 @01:51PM (#26505443)
Well I think that’s a bit of a straw man. Who’s to say that these teachers do not have training in traditions that have essentially evolved their own treatment modality for psychiatric ailments. Just because they don’t have formal training doesn’t mean the cultural traditions don’t have effective treatment for meditation-induced psychosis. Sure maybe Goenka and his school may be an isolated case where such training wasn’t provided (hence the need for an advanced master) that’s not to say there aren’t examples of masters (several of whom I’ve witnessed personally) that are able to handle the psychotic imbalance that arises from pursuit of these advanced practices.
Re:Lost in Thought: Psychological Risks of Meditation by avtar on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @01:06PM (#26493966)
> these teachers or guides aren’t trained in psychiatry

Some are :) https://meditatewithtucker.com/about/ I'm not affiliated with Tucker, just been on retreats with him in the past. I'm sure there are other teachers out there with similar training.