Have you ever come across anything about the dangers of meditation online? I once read about a man who went on a week long silent meditation retreat and when he returned home he found himself overwhelmed by depression and ended up committing suicide.
So what happened to this man? Shouldn't he have returned home nice and relaxed feeling content about life? Unfortunately that isn't always the case!
Meditation calms our thoughts and expands our awareness. As our awareness expands, it touches old repressed memories and suppressed feelings bringing them to the surface (our awareness) for healing. This is a natural process, just the same as how a physical cut on your skin heals itself.
We don’t interfere with our physical healing; we just allow it to happen naturally. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for mental and emotional healing. Getting involved and believing in our thoughts and emotions would be the same as tearing that cut on our skin open every day, it would never heal. Just be aware and allow whatever arises to arise without trying to figure it all out or come up with a solution to make yourself feel better.
You can choose to perceive what is happening differently. Instead of thinking, I’m depressed, I’m angry, I’m scared etc. you can think I am healing.
Whatever arises as your awareness expands belongs to you. It is nothing that you haven’t already experienced, it couldn't be. My awareness couldn't possibly expand and pick an overwhelming feeling out of thin air for me to experience. It could only bring forth what is already in me, the emotions and deluded thoughts that are not a part of my natural make up and it will work to expel them from my being just the same as your body would expel a splinter or any other foreign object that got embedded under your skin.
Your job is to allow this to happen; it’s not easy but with time and practice your awareness will get stronger which will make the process much easier.
If you practice mediation and are noticing overwhelming thoughts and emotions coming to the surface, know that healing is happening and just like everything else in life, it is impermanent, it will pass. If you don’t practice meditation or any other practice that helps expand your awareness, don’t be afraid to do so!
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Dangers of meditation... that's something that isn't really discussed! ;)
But it can certainly bring up emotions that need to be handled. All part of the process I guess!
Yep, we have forgotten our natural healing process because of our busy minds.
I think there are some cases where meditation can hurt rather than help. Although it is supposed to be good for anxiety and depression, there is a slight possibility it can make things worse, at least to start with...then of course if you don't stick with it because it isn't helping you are left in nowhere land. I also wonder if it would be helpful for psychotic disorders or anyone who is prone to hallucination or anything like that. I would say for the vast majority of the populace, however, it is definitely a good thing.
Another thing to be wary of is these "open your third eye" fast or "raise your kundalini now" type meditations. I think too many people are in a rush for everything, including their spiritual evolution and I have heard the road can get bumpy if you try and do too much too fast.
Yes it can make things worse to start with because we are allowing our feelings to come fully into our awareness instead of distracting ourselves through a variety of different methods.
Great read and spot on! Meditation is such a powerful healing tool and if you can continue your practice when these 'breakthroughs' occur, you'll begin to notice positive internal transformations. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!