--- suziezuzie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> At what level of psychosis would you suggest that > someone shouldn't > meditate? Any level of psychosis! > And how do you define psychosis, what > symptoms are > manifesting in those you checked? Delusions, hallucinations, loss of ego boundaries, derealization, depersonalization, ideas of reference, paranoia. > I > know someone who always looks to their right when > they eat as if > someone is watching them. They also talk to > themselves quite > habitually as if another person is in the room. > Would you initiate > someone like this? Probably not. They need to be assessed by a mental health professional. These could all be symptoms of an underlying psychological disorder. > How do you judge at what level > someone's psychosis > becomes a hazard to the practice and that TM would > make it worse? Anyone who is psychotic should not start TM nor continue with the practice. Psychosis is a general term given to someone with symptoms that indicate a loss of contact with object/consensual reality. They present with hallucinations and delusions. > On another note, what do you think psychosis is? Why > and how does > this behavior manifest itself? Do you think it's > purely an organic > defect that has some expression in the personality > such as paranoia? I think psychosis, for the most part, is an organic brain disorder whose symptoms appear in the psychological domain. > Why does TM make it worse? TM makes it worse because in psychosis a person's ego structures are being over-whelmed. They are losing their psychological constructs that allow them to expereince and interact with the object/consensual world. TM moves the mind towards greater and greater levels of abstraction which overwhelms these mental structures even more. Psychotic people can not even experience ambiguous stimuli (something that does not have clear, definite meaning) without becoming worse in seconds. TM is not an effective intervention with psychotics because it moving the attention in the "wrong" direction. They need to move the attention into boundaries, not away from them. I developed a very effective intervention with psychotics during an internship I had using what MMY had said during my TTC regarding the breakdown of mind/body coordination in schizophrenics. He said you could help schizophrenics by hitting them with a flower and saying, "flower, flower," everytime you hit them. This just sat in my notes for years until I started working in the mental health field with psychotics. I realized what MMY was talking about with this intervention. So in groups I used to pass objects around (e.g., cups, pencils, books, etc) and each person had to hold the object and state what their direct experience of the object was at that moment. No associations, only their direct experience. This, over time, had an amazing effect of radically reducing hallucinations and delusions as noted by myself and other staff members. > > Mark > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > In my tradition we don't teach anyone with a > mental disorder. > Instead > > we have external healing techniques that can help. > > > > I can recall a few psychotics I checked that > really shouldn't have > been > > doing TM. I couldn't tell them that of course. > > > > > > > > Peter wrote: > > > Yes, anixiety disorders, depressive disorders, > but > > > absolutely not psychosis, it only makes it > worse, much > > > worse. > > > > > > --- suziezuzie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > > >> Transcendental Meditation is a natural and > effective > > >> cure for mental > > >> illness. > > >> > > >> A large body of research has demonstrated that > > >> Transcendental > > >> Meditation produces comprehensive improvements > in > > >> mental health, > > >> enhancing positive features and reducing > various > > >> forms of > > >> psychological distress. A systematic review of > 144 > > >> studies found that > > >> Transcendental Meditation was markedly more > > >> effective in reducing > > >> anxiety than other techniques (including > progressive > > >> muscular > > >> relaxation, methods claimed to induce a > 'relaxation > > >> response', and > > >> other forms of meditation) > > >> > > >> The superiority of Transcendental Meditation > > >> remained highly > > >> significant when only the strongest and most > > >> rigorous studies were > > >> included in the analysis. Transcendental > Meditation > > >> has also > > >> consistently been found to reduce depression, > > >> hostility, and > > >> emotional instability, indicating the growth of > a > > >> more stable, > > >> balanced, and resilient personality > > >> > > >> In another statistical review of 42 independent > > >> research results, > > >> Transcendental Meditation was found to be three > > >> times as effective as > > >> other meditation and relaxation procedures in > > >> increasing self- > > >> actualization-an overall measure of positive > mental > > >> health and > > >> personal development. Further analysis revealed > that > > >> the technique is > > >> exceptionally effective in developing three > > >> independent components of > > >> this dimension: emotional maturity, a resilient > > >> sense of self, and a > > >> positive, integrated perspective on ourselves > and > > >> the world > > >> > > >> An exhaustive survey conducted by the Swedish > > >> National Health Board > > >> found evidence that psychiatric hospital > admissions > > >> may be much less > > >> common among people practicing Transcendental > > >> Meditation than in the > > >> general population > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> The following excerpt is from Maharishi's book > The > > >> Science of Being > > >> and Art of living > > >> > > >> Mental health depends upon the normal > functioning of > > >> the nervous > > >> system, so that the full mind is brought to > bear > > >> upon the external > > >> world. The normal functioning of the nervous > system > > >> results in > > >> physical good health so that the body is able > to > > >> carry out the > > >> dictates of the mind, fulfill its desires, and > > >> fulfill the purpose of > > >> existence. > > >> > > >> As long as the coordination of the mind with > the > > >> nervous system is > > >> intact, mental health is maintained. When this > > >> coordination breaks > > >> down, either because of some failure on the > part of > > >> the mind or of > > >> the nervous system, ill health is the result. > Such > > >> failure of the > > >> mind is brought about by a continued inability > to > > >> fulfill its > > >> desires. > > >> > > >> The main reason for this is weakness in the > clarity > > >> and power of > > >> thought, which thus fails to stimulate the > nervous > > >> system to the > > >> extent that it can successfully carry out the > > >> activity needed for > > >> fulfillment of the desire. For the most > thorough > > >> coordination and the > > >> most perfect functioning, a profound power of > > >> thought on the part of > > >> the mind, together with a corresponding > efficient > > >> executive ability > > >> in the nervous system, is required. > > >> > > >> The integrity of the organic nature of the > nervous > > >> system is > > >> certainly as essential as the power of the > mind. As > > >> far as their > > >> functioning is concerned, they are > interdependent. > > >> It has been found > > >> that while the nervous system remains > unchanged, an > > >> improvement of > > >> the state of the mind results in an improved > state > > >> of thinking and > > >> better coordination between the mind and the > world > > >> around it. When > > >> the full mind is brought out to express itself > in > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ Cheap talk? Check out Yahoo! 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