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Normalise metta retreats rather than vipassana retreats as an introduction to meditation. A friend had a psychotic break at a vipassana retreat, the start of a difficult journey. They weren't equipped to support him or even give advice that aided his safety.

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Nick

@nickcammarata

Dec 7, 2021

Why is it so common for Americans who don’t regularly meditate to dive into a vipassana retreat rather than a concentration / samadhi / jhana retreat? Dry insight meditation (eg insight with no concentration practice) is risky, seems bold to jump straight to that

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ira martina drupady

@MartyDrupady

Dec 8, 2021

Replying to

@chriswaterguy

I’m sorry your friend had such a bad time at it. For me, Vipassana pulled me from the brink. Am forever grateful to have it in my life. But have heard about bad experiences too

Chris Waterguy back in Sydney

@chriswaterguy

Dec 8, 2021

Replying to

@MartyDrupady

Many good things also come from these retreats. I'm glad for you. A neuroscientist who studies mindfulness told me, if you've been meditating for 45 min a day for a couple of months and are doing fine, a vipassana retreat should be safe. But how many people do that?

Replying to

and

Yeah and r.e. your first tweet, "should" really doing a huge amount of work there. A retreat is such a massive disjunctive break in practice intensity, it really isn't possible to predict accurately whether someone will have breakthrough experiences.

1:30 AM · Dec 8, 2021Twitter Web App

Replying to

and

Conversely if the idea is that someone is equipped to handle those after a couple of months of regular practice... that's a huge no-dice, absolutely under no circumstances does it follow.

Chris Waterguy back in Sydney

Replying to

and

I think he meant to say that it's much safer than doing it with no prep, rather than it being a guarantee. But yes, point taken.