I think one point here regarding taking up meditation is; that it's a matter of intention. The idea of living with more awareness in the moment--of really being there not thinking of other things but focussing awareness on your present action --is definitely helpful to ones life but it is an amoral usefulness. Achieving that has little or nothing to do with anything spiritual ie being completely mindful and in the moment can facilitate an evil agenda as easily as a benign or positive agenda. This is the more popular form, I think, in the west.
As a side beef since I'm here, it seems there isn't anything that comes to 'The West' that can't be overly commercialised and then sold as good/spiritual/benefitting humanity. I've said elsewhere that I spent a decade in Vancouver. It is home to a wide variety of eastern thought/religious practices. There were in fact some truly lovely, good and caring people that I met there. I would qualify most of the interest in eastern practices as the equivalent of the millennial selfie. Goodness was measured by whether your yoga mat matched your yoga carrier bag which matched your yoga Lulu Lemon togs which matched your environmentally safe toenail polish and your metal water bottle. Admittedly this takes us beyond just meditation.
This whole look would be worn to pick up your kids at school, do your groceries, going for lunch or morning/afternoon coffee/chai tea/health smoothie. Nothing wrong with any of these things until they became some sort of hallmark of personal spiritual worth.
The idea that things of this nature can be achieved without pain seems odd given the whole western 'no pain-no gain' mantra.
So where did this idea start? My guess is somewhere someone saw a marketing opportunity and simply downplayed anything negative.
For more negative backlash of meditation:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episod...ditation-have-negative-side-effects-1.3109670
Why now?
