[agentultra]

So you sat on some stones under extreme physical duress. Congratulations. Your puny mammalian brain acted in a manner dysfunctional from its normal operating environment. Now you can go to parties and feel even more superior to your friends. They won't get it of course because there's no way for you to accurately explain it to them.

[SageRaven]

Why so dismissive? Religious or feel-good benefits aside from the 100-hour regimen, the guys deserves kudos merely for sticking with the exercise to its conclusion. Even without the discomfort, sitting/standing/whatever for 10 hours a day doing nothing physically takes some dedication.

I find his experience amazing on so many levels, and I am gracious for such a intimate account of that experience (I read the full-on article he references).

[hnriot]

* the guys deserves kudos merely for sticking with the exercise to its conclusion

why? If I pierce my scrotum a hundred times should I get kudos? No of course not, just doing something uncomfortable for no reason isn't admirable.

Meditation is great for some people, and a total waste of time for others. Each to their own, but let's not pat anyone on the back for it.

[gee_totes]

I would totally give you kudos for piercing your scrotum a hundred times. From the people I know in the body modification community, genital modification can be a very spiritual experience.

Also, think of the crazy rush that you would get from the first piercing, when your body is changed forever, till the end of the hundred-piercing ritual. That would absolutely be something worth blogging about.

[SageRaven]

There's a difference between doing something harmful to yourself repeatedly for shits and giggles, and at your own discretion, and voluntarily following something through to its conclusion when somebody else plans the exercise for you. Perhaps the subtle distinction is only in my own head, but I do believe there is one.

The dude doesn't deserve a pat on the back for the meditation itself. If he had been fasting, following a running/swimming program, studying go/baduk life-and-death problems, or playing guitar exercises for 10 days, and he stuck with it to the end and documented it similarly, I feel he would still deserve kudos. Giving one's undivided attention to a new and uncomfortable activity, 10 hours a day for 10 days, is a challenge for most people.

Hell, I'm lucky if I can give up coffee or power drinks for 10 straight days. The 2 or three times I completed a 24-hour fast, I felt some sense of accomplishment. And keeping up with some kind of exercise routine? Forget about it.

And that's why I found his story so layered and interesting. It's not just about the meditation (which was interesting in its own right), but about his dedication, and his privilege, and his turning his mind's eye inward.

Berate him (or me) if you will. You said it best: to each their own.

[xutopia]

http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

"Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face to face conversation."

[agentultra]

I would say such things to the author in person. I have said such things to people who've professed to me special insight from such benign activities. I think they're kidding themselves and bullshitting other people when they do it.

I responded to everything I read in the original article. The author claimed humility but what I read was not indicative of someone whose motivation is to be humble. The author claimed to have learned something from the experience and draws eir conclusions from eir own bias.

I would consider my response aggressive but not uncivil and certainly not undeserved.

Now if you meant to point out that my criticism was not constructive then touché. Here's my suggestion then: don't let your personal bias influence your writing, author, draw your conclusions from your observations. Share what it was like to be at the centre. Everything you described indicates cult-like activity: what about it indicated that it was not a cult? How can you argue that is true?

I think any sort of spiritual experience is best kept to oneself. No matter your intentions you will come off as humble-bragging if you try to explain your experiences and insights to others. I don't appreciate the new-age, spritiual, self-help "industry." I think it's a scam and intellectual fraud. Anyone who offers spiritual insight is probably lying for one. And if they're offering it at a price then they're scamming you.

[innovatelife]

I am also completely against the new-age, spritiual, self-help 'industry.'" I experienced something that one might call "spiritual" (I don't believe it was) or whatever on many awesome shroom trips and don't go bragging about how I gained some powerful knowledge of the multiverse, and I laugh whenever others make those claims too. But.... I don't think the author is advocating anything and trying to convert someone to a cult. Hell, there are many studies around meditation associated with other CBT studies for depression and other issues that help give cred to practising meditation. Think you might have judged the guy a little harsh. Besides even if he did do that, attacking him likely won't help you change his or anyone else's belief. Try using a strategy from this http://www.skepticalscience.com/Debunking-Handbook-now-freel...