--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "emilymae.reyn" <emilymae.reyn@> wrote: > > > > Does meditation work to balance out the chemical makeup of > > one's physiology? Does it release our natural feel good > > chemicals within the body? Or, maintain balanced levels > > of serotonin, dopamine, etc. > > My experience with TM meditation and its associated practices > is that it is a way to hijack our usual brain reward system > for achievement in our lives.
Maybe this should say, "...it is a way to hijack my usual brain reward system for achievement in my life," since this is your personal experience. > And this was Maharishi's stated goal, fulfillment divorced > from achievement. When did he say this? Do you have a quote? Was this one of the "secret teachings" just for teachers? Because I sure don't remember having heard him say it. Anybody else remember Maharishi saying this was his goal? > If you keep mediating you cultivate the mind to trigger > highly pleasurable states. It becomes very addictive. > Many meditators show signs of extreme irritation if they > miss a mediation once they get hooked on it just like > any other addict. How many meditators show this? What percentage would you say? And how have you determined this? In what follows, you shift back and forth from statements about your personal experience to general statements as to how TM affects people in general. With regard to the latter, could you explain how you've determined that these are effects common to everyone who practices TM? (Or meditation in general, depending on which you mean, which you don't always specify.) I ask because none of what you describe resembles my own experience. > So IMO mediation can become a problem like any other form of hijacking the > pleasure states, meant to reward our species for doing things that promote > our survival or express our creativity. I believe there is no neuronal free > lunch, every pleasure state has a cost. > > Of course this is a highly heretical view in circles where regular meditation > and more meditation are both seen as only positives. But for me the balance > is trickier. I use meditation when I need some of what it does for my brain, > but regular meditation just leads to me getting hooked on the mental states > it produces. And for me these states do not produce my optimum functioning. > > They are as advertized, very charming to our minds. But they can easily lead > to an end in themselves since our brains are inherently lazy and getting the > quick reward is neurologically preferred. Unfortunately that does not lead to > my fullest creative potential any more than hitting the slot lever again and > again. Although they say that meditation is a preparation for activity, and > I don't doubt that for really impulsive people it is a real benefit, for > people like me who have perhaps cultivated this functioning a bit too much, > it can become a real distraction. I get a lot more done with my eyes opened! > > > This understanding is still just a work in progress. I am fascinated that > some like Barry maintain that other forms of meditation do no exhibit some of > what I see as downsides of TM's passive bliss states style.
