05-16-2019, 03:42 PM
(05-15-2019, 02:00 PM)redchartreuse Wrote: LoO philosophy suggests that "meditation" is the end-all-be-all tool for spiritual growth, and while the psychological benefits of meditation in general have been clearly shown, there is also a growing body of research demonstrating that certain kinds of meditations, in certain kinds of people, can actually have detrimental effects.
One of the most concerning example would be the triggering of psychosis in people suffering from certain kinds of mental illness.
Unless I missed something somewhere, I can't think of a single example throughout the entire L/L transcript library where any kind of caveat or cautionary word was given regarding meditation. Surely, beings millions of years more advanced than us would be aware of a potential downside to meditation.
And yet, it has even become a running joke in LOO community that "meditate, meditate, and meditate some more" seems to be the answer to all of our troubles.
What gives?
https://www.llresearch.org/transcripts/i..._0809.aspx
Quote:There are those things which enrich and deepen an entity’s ability to work with catalyst, and predictably we feel that this bliss begins with the silence. Entering into silence is an unnatural decision to the earth-bound entity. There is a tremendous amount of letting go implicit in the training of the self to enter into the silence and to release the contents of the intellectual mind. We heartily recommend this entering into the silence upon a daily basis, because it is a kind of training that is like the exercise of the body that strengthens the muscles.
There are improper exercises that are too strenuous for the body, in that instead of building up the body, they break the body down. It is entirely possible to break the self down through an unwise and excessive use of silence. There are few entities who can work with silence all day, every day, for the change rate is dependent upon the amount of time spent in silence. Thusly, we suggest a moderate amount of meditation, producing a moderate rate of change in which the self is not drowned in mind, body and spirit-altering catalyst but rather is able to keep the nose above the water of chaos that describes the nature of change in process.
https://www.llresearch.org/transcripts/i..._0308.aspx
Quote:We feel with the instrument, the danger to the integrated personality of forcing the self to live with the intensity necessary to be with the Creator, it is, or could be, dangerous enough to the integrated self that the self moves apart and the mental balance is lost.
The request we make to avoid excessive periods of meditation is simply that we do not wish the accelerated process of change involved in meditation to disturb the seeker past its limits of endurance. If the entity experiences the difficulties in personality, other types of meditation, such as the working in the soup kitchen and, in short, any activity which brings forward a feeling of unity with the Creator but is active, is recommended until the self can once again tolerate the degree of change brought on by meditation.
https://www.llresearch.org/transcripts/i..._1015.aspx
Quote:If one is not careful one can create one’s own spiritual burnout. We suggest that the meditations be limited to perhaps no more than an hour per day, perhaps no more than a half hour at any one sitting. This is due to the fact that meditation is a very powerful tool, and the rate of change needs to be slow enough that the personality of your consciousness may have time to absorb knowledge and inspiration that it receives and make its choices in a timely and deliberate manner.There is much on meditation, I vaguely remember the advice of starting small, being consistent, and overtime only when you gained a good foundation can you increase the time you spend in meditation safely.