3 ms·

Think of meditation as exercise for the mind. the more time you spend, the healthier it can be. Although like anything, in excess it can cause problems. Think o

Think of meditation as exercise for the mind. the more time you spend, the healthier it can be. Although like anything, in excess it can cause problems. Think of an elite athlete. They can be injured or need to retire early or surgeries from over use. Too much meditation can bring a person too far away from their physical reality. Everything in moderation. I meditate between 1-2 hours a day. Sometimes I will do more and sometimes less. I find it saves me more time that it costs. I get distracted less, I need less sleep and I find myself in the right place at the right time more often. I also have more clarity on what is important so the time I have, I use wisely.

retreatguru 10y ago
I resonate with this. Meditation even though it takes time actually makes you more efficient at work because you don't get distracted as easily. Running a company or programming is mainly mental work and meditation, especially lots of it, helps hone that mental muscle. Many teachings of meditation also incorporate teachings on compassion and self love which are sorely lacking in modern workplace. I received so much from meditation (and ayahuasca) retreats it led me to co-found Retreat Guru. http://retreat.guru http://retreat.guru. Our mission is to get more people on authentic retreats.
09bjb 10y ago
I disagree that it can bring a person too far away from their physical reality. On the contrary, it can bring to into such acute awareness of all of your senses in the present moment that those around you feel painfully distracted, or even creeped out by your expansive attention. Not that this a state I attain very frequently :P
- mindfulgeek 10y ago
  Wonderful that you connect to that state at all! There are certain breath techniques that will land you in the clouds. If you do a practice like that without proper grounding, you are likely to be very disconnected from physical reality. That's my opinion and personal experience. In general (and they have the science to back this up) it heightens awareness of your senses. Though people who meditate have higher pain tolerance -- not because they feel less (since they feel more) -- because they have developed willpower to not react to stimulus the same way. Super fascinating!
dood 10y ago
I haven't seen any evidence, even anecdotal, that you can _damage_ yourself from too much meditation, in a way analogous to an elite athlete. Bad technique can lead to problems like depersonalization, and people can get something like an addiction to jhanas - but as far as I know elite meditators simply get more and more "enlightened". In some cases this may lead them to join a monastery or become a hermit, but whether this is problematic depends on your point of view.
- mindfulgeek 10y ago
  Agreed.. Not like an athlete. Maybe more like someone who masturbates too much? They won't grow hair on their palms or stop growing, but certainly may become a hermit :) Although I have heard several anecdotal stories of people going coocoo after raising their kundalini energy. Maybe their physical bodies were intact, but their minds were melted.

retreatguru 10y ago

I resonate with this. Meditation even though it takes time actually makes you more efficient at work because you don't get distracted as easily. Running a company or programming is mainly mental work and meditation, especially lots of it, helps hone that mental muscle. Many teachings of meditation also incorporate teachings on compassion and self love which are sorely lacking in modern workplace. I received so much from meditation (and ayahuasca) retreats it led me to co-found Retreat Guru. http://retreat.guru http://retreat.guru. Our mission is to get more people on authentic retreats.

09bjb 10y ago

I disagree that it can bring a person too far away from their physical reality. On the contrary, it can bring to into such acute awareness of all of your senses in the present moment that those around you feel painfully distracted, or even creeped out by your expansive attention. Not that this a state I attain very frequently :P

mindfulgeek 10y ago
Wonderful that you connect to that state at all! There are certain breath techniques that will land you in the clouds. If you do a practice like that without proper grounding, you are likely to be very disconnected from physical reality. That's my opinion and personal experience. In general (and they have the science to back this up) it heightens awareness of your senses. Though people who meditate have higher pain tolerance -- not because they feel less (since they feel more) -- because they have developed willpower to not react to stimulus the same way. Super fascinating!

dood 10y ago

I haven't seen any evidence, even anecdotal, that you can _damage_ yourself from too much meditation, in a way analogous to an elite athlete. Bad technique can lead to problems like depersonalization, and people can get something like an addiction to jhanas - but as far as I know elite meditators simply get more and more "enlightened". In some cases this may lead them to join a monastery or become a hermit, but whether this is problematic depends on your point of view.

mindfulgeek 10y ago
Agreed.. Not like an athlete. Maybe more like someone who masturbates too much? They won't grow hair on their palms or stop growing, but certainly may become a hermit :) Although I have heard several anecdotal stories of people going coocoo after raising their kundalini energy. Maybe their physical bodies were intact, but their minds were melted.