On Nov 17, 2006, at 8:51 AM, new.morning wrote:
--- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Nov 16, 2006, at 5:55 PM, Bhairitu wrote:
Of course you have, Vaj. How many Buddhist meditation studies have
been published,
BTW?
There are many meditation programs doing just fine without bothering
with "scientific studies." That seems to be a TMO hangup.
Precisely. And the hangup of some TMers.
Good meditation techniques don't need research.
Perhaps the subtle implication is that meditation organizations that
support research are not "good". If that is the implication, that does
not add up, IMO.
There is a lot of value to see in precise pysiological and behavioral
terms the effects of meditation. If any meditation technique can
replace prescriptions and/or expensive treatments -- and/or shown to
be a credible and strong preventative medicine measure, that is a
good thing.
And if meditation is shown to "light up" certain areas of the brain,
leading towards improved performance, health, and happiness, it will
tend to become more mainstream and society will benefit.
And research is the necessary first step for such. The more research
on all types of meditation forms, content (mantras), and other
practices, the better, IMO.
As long as there is no bias or hidden agenda to promote some style of
brand name recognition and sales it is a good thing. However when the
constant, several decades long agenda becomes clear, that nullifies
all the above benefits and should therefore not be trusted. Stories
of number massaging or faking results are not encouraging and huge
warning signs. These are some of the primary reasons TM research is
not taken seriously by other non-TMO researchers: it's tainted.
Conversely the same groups should be ready and willing to show their
impartiality by showing, documenting and researching the negative
side effects of their meditation technique(s). In some cases a large
percentage of people experience negative side-effects. Why? What can
be done to ameliorate these side-effects?
You don't see many pharmaceuticals backed by scientific evidence
which does not list the possible negative side effects. What should
we think if side effects are known to exist in a meditation technique
and exhaustive, obsessive research does not document ANY of these
negative findings? Should we even take them seriously?
Would other, additional techniques such as those used in improved
versions of Tm like Sahaj Samadhi of SSRS be beneficial in
alleviating known side efect? If additional techniques like those
used in the AoL org do relieve side-effects, should earlier
techniques like Tm be abandoned in favor of their improved versions?
