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Definitely a very good point. I'm obviously quite biased toward mindfulness, since it's such an easy thing to get started with, since it has experimentally vali
by Cushman 14y ago
Definitely a very good point. I'm obviously quite biased toward mindfulness, since it's such an easy thing to get started with, since it has experimentally validated therapeutic value quite apart from any New Age-y "Eastern" philosophy, since it's been so valuable to me personally, and since I strongly believe it's something every human being should be practiced in, but I'll readily grant it's not the only thing the word "meditation" is used to describe. (And given my experiences with mindfulness, I'm quite willing to believe other conceptions of meditation may have value as well.)
- KingMob 14y agoIf you're more interested in the science side, you might like James Austin's Zen and the Brain. It's a bit old, but pretty interesting. For more modern analysis of meditation, the Mind and Life Institute has funded a lot of research, but much of it requires access through a university library, sadly. (Google Scholar might help.) Also, if you're open to the idea that there might be more, but like me, not interested in anything mystical, I highly recommend checking out Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs.
- Cushman 14y agoThanks for the recommendations! I do tend to avoid media about meditation as a matter of course since it's so hard to escape the mysticism. I'll definitely check those out.