How Meditation May Change the Brain

by **Kusala** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:45 am

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/2 ... the-brain/

by **GraemeR** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:07 am

Kusala wrote:http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/how-meditation-may-change-the-brain/

Dear Dhamma friends

I have done meditation for over 25 years and had no ill effects. However I know people who have done a lot of sitting meditation and suffered hallucinations which quite seriously destabilised them.

http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/rese ... eniz.shtml

Personally I think if you break sitting meditation with walking or another technique it's no problem, but lengthy sitting meditation can appear to lead to quite bizarre hallucinations. It's quite frightening when you see the results.

with Metta

Graham

by **tiltbillings** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:44 am

GraemeR wrote: http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/rese ... eniz.shtml

Interesting article.

Other adverse effects described (Craven, 1989) are uncomfortable kinaesthetic sensations, mild dissociation, feelings of guilt and, via anxiety-provoking phenomena, psychosis-like symptoms, grandiosity, elation, destructive behaviour and suicidal feelings. Kutz et al. (1985a,b) described feelings of defencelessness, which in turn produce unpleasant affective experiences, such as fear, anger, apprehension and despair. Sobbing and hidden memories and themes from the past, such as incest, rejection, and abandonment appeared in intense, vivid forms and challenged the subject's previously constructed image of their past and themselves. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to encounter a meditator who claims that has found 'the answers' when in fact he has been actively engaged in a subtle manoeuvre of avoiding his basic questions.

by **GraemeR** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 1:09 pm

tiltbillings wrote:

Interesting article.

Other adverse effects described (Craven, 1989) are uncomfortable kinaesthetic sensations, mild dissociation, feelings of guilt and, via anxiety-provoking phenomena, psychosis-like symptoms, grandiosity, elation, destructive behaviour and suicidal feelings. Kutz et al. (1985a,b) described feelings of defencelessness, which in turn produce unpleasant affective experiences, such as fear, anger, apprehension and despair. Sobbing and hidden memories and themes from the past, such as incest, rejection, and abandonment appeared in intense, vivid forms and challenged the subject's previously constructed image of their past and themselves. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to encounter a meditator who claims that has found 'the answers' when in fact he has been actively engaged in a subtle manoeuvre of avoiding his basic questions.

What I have seen is bizarre hallucinations related to communications from Hindu gods. Total neglect of a child. Belief of imminent death ...... and of course rejection of mainstream teaching.

With metta

Graham