Are there high-quality safety trials for different meditation practices? I’ve heard of a variety of really bad side effects, usually from very intense, very goal-oriented meditative practice. The Dark Night that Daniel Ingram describes, the profligacy that Scott Alexander warned of, more inefficient perception that Holly Elmore experienced, etc. I have no idea how common those are and whether one is generally safe against them if one only meditates very casually… It would be good to have more certainty about that, especially since a lot of my friends are casual meditators.
Are there high-quality safety trials for different meditation practices? I’ve heard of a variety of really bad side effects, usually from very intense, very goal-oriented meditative practice. The Dark Night that Daniel Ingram describes, the profligacy that Scott Alexander warned of, more inefficient perception that Holly Elmore experienced, etc. I have no idea how common those are and whether one is generally safe against them if one only meditates very casually… It would be good to have more certainty about that, especially since a lot of my friends are casual meditators.