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I’m an autistic person and it sounds like in some way this person achieved exactly the point of certain forms of meditation like this which is to open up awaren

I’m an autistic person and it sounds like in some way this person achieved exactly the point of certain forms of meditation like this which is to open up awareness. And I think as many autistic folks will tell you, being very aware is extremely difficult and is mentally and physically taxing. If you aren’t prepared for it I could indeed see it being extremely disturbing. Being exposed to all your inner workings and thoughts constantly is not for the faint of heart. That being said, I think mindfulness in western countries skips a lot of Buddhist teachings, which are in large part designed to help deal with this kind of experience. I highly suggest that anyone that is going down this path seek out teachers that have experience and can be of aid. There are pragmatic aspects of it that go beyond meditation and in my opinion are just as important if not more so. And just to contextualize this, I’m a Buddhist. I live in Thailand and it’s something that is part of my normal life. As such, it’s rare the I’m meditating outside of a temple and I have easy access to a whole host of teachers. I would urge caution around retreats and other intensive practices. Mindset and setting are extremely important and should be considered carefully. I’ve had a lifetime to learn to live like this and I would not want to see anyone dropped in the deep end without proper preparation.

sclarisse 4y ago
Was going to post this. There are reasons we have brains with selective attention instead of constant mindfulness, and a whole spectrum of disorders that arises when that sort of a filter breaks down. (I am lucky. I don’t have it bad.) Unfiltered mindfulness of this sort sounds like basically the same thing.
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  Pretty much. I’m bipolar and every moment I need to have some awareness of where my mood is and do course corrections to head off episodes or emotional overreactions. I quite literally can’t trust how I feel from minute to minute. Knowing my logical analysis of situations can also be compromised causes me to run deeper mental self-tests several times per day. I’m used to this but it’s a constant low-grade drain on my attention. Meditation is dangerous for me as it quickly leads to dangerous psychosis. (Life is a video game and I can’t really die.)
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
coffeebeqn 4y ago
How common is something like a retreat there for a median Buddhist?
- CitizenKane 4y ago
  I wouldn't say I'm the most knowledgeable in this regard but as far as I know it's not super common. Buddhism in Thailand is strongly tied to making merit[1] which is more or less doing good deeds. And generally, this is seen as something to be done regularly as a part of daily life as opposed to taking a break out of normal life for it. That being said, I'm sure there are still plenty of folks who do so, but at least in my experience it was primarily non-Thai folks doing so. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_(Buddhism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_(Buddhism)
starkd 4y ago
So, could this meditation craze actually be making people autistic?
- CitizenKane 4y ago
  There are pretty strong overlaps in certain areas, but that isn't the case though. Autism is caused by physical neurological changes that have to do with brain development before or near birth and while meditation (to my knowledge at least) can alter overall brain structure it won't alter the more fundamental structural changes which are seen in folks with autism.
  - SuoDuanDao 4y ago
    Anecdotally, my father is probably autistic and doing heart-focused meditation has made him much better able to handle some of the side effects, particularly sensory overload and social frustration. It might be a question of some meditation being more 'cerebral' versus others that are more 'grounding' interacting differently with a tendency for something like autism.
b800h 4y ago
I came here to say the same thing, and you said it much more charitably than I was going to. This is what you get when you try to turn complex religious practice into multi-level marketing, with certifications, and people being paid to instruct.

sclarisse 4y ago

Was going to post this. There are reasons we have brains with selective attention instead of constant mindfulness, and a whole spectrum of disorders that arises when that sort of a filter breaks down. (I am lucky. I don’t have it bad.) Unfiltered mindfulness of this sort sounds like basically the same thing.

kayodelycaon 4y ago
Pretty much. I’m bipolar and every moment I need to have some awareness of where my mood is and do course corrections to head off episodes or emotional overreactions. I quite literally can’t trust how I feel from minute to minute. Knowing my logical analysis of situations can also be compromised causes me to run deeper mental self-tests several times per day. I’m used to this but it’s a constant low-grade drain on my attention. Meditation is dangerous for me as it quickly leads to dangerous psychosis. (Life is a video game and I can’t really die.)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

coffeebeqn 4y ago

How common is something like a retreat there for a median Buddhist?

CitizenKane 4y ago
I wouldn't say I'm the most knowledgeable in this regard but as far as I know it's not super common. Buddhism in Thailand is strongly tied to making merit[1] which is more or less doing good deeds. And generally, this is seen as something to be done regularly as a part of daily life as opposed to taking a break out of normal life for it. That being said, I'm sure there are still plenty of folks who do so, but at least in my experience it was primarily non-Thai folks doing so. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_(Buddhism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_(Buddhism)

starkd 4y ago

So, could this meditation craze actually be making people autistic?

CitizenKane 4y ago
There are pretty strong overlaps in certain areas, but that isn't the case though. Autism is caused by physical neurological changes that have to do with brain development before or near birth and while meditation (to my knowledge at least) can alter overall brain structure it won't alter the more fundamental structural changes which are seen in folks with autism.
- SuoDuanDao 4y ago
  Anecdotally, my father is probably autistic and doing heart-focused meditation has made him much better able to handle some of the side effects, particularly sensory overload and social frustration. It might be a question of some meditation being more 'cerebral' versus others that are more 'grounding' interacting differently with a tendency for something like autism.

b800h 4y ago

I came here to say the same thing, and you said it much more charitably than I was going to. This is what you get when you try to turn complex religious practice into multi-level marketing, with certifications, and people being paid to instruct.