Interesting perspective on meditation. I was fortunate enough to have had good teachers through the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society. As you would expect, my experience differs from what you described.

In my opinion, breath-focused meditation is not thinking. It is being aware of the physical sensations of breathing and being aware of emotions and thoughts that arrive, but not engaging with them. Breath awareness and letting thoughts and emotions come into your mind is the easy part. Not engaging with them is the tricky part.

You are right to point out that suggestions like meditation are not one-size-fits-all. Some people aren't ready to commit to the changes meditation brings about, just as others are not ready to undertake weight loss or personal improvement. No blame. When you're ready, the practice will be there.

RE: Running on autopilot. Yes, there are parts of the body that need to function on autopilot, such as breathing and heartbeat. I appreciate that my stomach and intestines run on autopilot. At the same time, I think running on autopilot is dangerous because that is what gets hijacked by social media and misled by advertising. It's why you miss a turn and drive the way you always drove and why you write down the wrong date when the year changes. I consider running an automatic as a possible reason why using AI "makes people stupider."

Meditation (walking, breath, flame) taps into a semi-universal part of the brain, below the level of consciousness, and provides a mechanism for reducing brain chaos, also known as the monkey mind. In my experience, developing the skill of reducing monkey mind-generated chaos becomes a semi-automatic process reinforced through daily meditation practice.

Most mindfulness practices focus on being aware of your body and mind at a low level all the time. It's not an active engagement; it's simply being aware. The monkey mind burns a lot of cycles, and I would rather spend those cycles being aware of the monkey mind triggers and not engaging with them.

▲

uncircle 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Thank you for your rebuttal. I certainly have to defer to your experience, and perhaps I have to work harder to find a meditation technique that plays better with my wiring.

▲

hartator 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

You doing so much studying of meditation and not knowing any of its documented downsides is worrisome.

Most actual white papers discourage the use of meditation. Risks of suicide, depersonalization, desocialisation, and loop thinkings are very real.

	▲	rickydroll 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		You are right that there are individuals who should not practice meditation. From what I've read, it's usually people with severe mental illness who are already predisposed to suicide, depersonalization, etc. It gets worse if you practice on your own without community. Having a teacher and fellow practitioners helps achieve balance, equanimity, and kindness to yourself and others. I started meditation practice before I was diagnosed with a mood disorder. I was fortunate to have a teacher who is also a practicing psychologist. After diagnosis, meditation provided me with the strength to withstand the emotional storms that medication trials put me through. My psychologist and a teacher taught me one of the basic techniques for dealing with complex reactions or feelings that might arise. The practice that worked was sitting with the feelings/emotions/thoughts. Let them hang out in your mind, and every time you engage, stop, disconnect from them, and then start again. Initially, the cycle lasts about three minutes. I learned how to recognize when it was too much, to take a break, and be kind to myself. With practice, those uncomfortable feelings and thoughts gradually fade to the point where they are no longer intrusive as often. All that said, I don't want to minimize the issue of suicide. I've had brushes with it and survived. I had a brother who didn't. His death has left me with many feelings that don't respond to rational thought and analysis. All I can do is sit with them and not engage.