"In fact, paying close attention to your own thoughts when depressed may pour fuel on the fire. The majority who did not report negative effects may not have been cured. A proper study should have measured how many were about the same as before the exercises, and should have considered factors that may have improved their condition, such as a change in diet, health, friendships, jobs, or other things unrelated to the meditation practices.
The key to successful meditation is having an object worth meditating on. If you meditate on your own troubles and bad circumstances, no wonder you will get depressed! Or if you empty your mind, like eastern religions teach, you open your mind to demonic oppression; no wonder you will have panic attacks, psychosis and suicidal thoughts!
In the Bible, peace comes to those who meditate on God’s word and His promises. The Creator of our minds and bodies knows our needs. He is loving and kind by nature. He wants us to have a full and abundant life. But He is also just and holy, and judges evil. We need first to have the right diagnosis: sin, and then have the right cure: being born again by repentance from our sin and faith in the Lord Jesus. Then we can have new, regenerated minds, with God’s law written on our hearts. We can read His word. We can talk to Him directly in prayer. Now that is effective!
Exercises: Meditate on these passages to try the effectiveness of Biblical meditation: Psalm 37, Psalm 119, Matthew 6, Philippians 4. Also, try “Thankfulness Therapy.” Meditate on the specific things you have been given by God that are marvelous and amazing: your body, the senses, family and friends, love, freedom, and much more."
Because mediation does not change anything.
They need God, not navel gazing.
Gee, social isolation, fear of ones neighbor, no God no peace, forced imprisonment. The docs are shoveling SSRI’s and SNRI’s prescriptions at people like it’s a cure all.
Meditating on God’s word is great but a person still needs to survive in His creation, not a box.
It’s actually a better relief for depression to just get up and do something, anything, to occupy yourself so you are NOT thinking about your problems. It’s only a temporary relief, but it does work.
It is not good for man to be alone.
There is much more to the practice of mindfulness than just
“paying close attention to your thoughts.” Apparently, many people are doing it wrong, perhaps at the hands of incompetent therapists.
St. Francis meditated with animals surrounding him. Thus he duplicated the first man’s encounter with God and His creation. Easy to meditate when surrounded by creation. No problema.
According to Kurt Koch, whose ministry was leading people out of the occult all over the world wrote several small books on his case studies and observations he made. It didn't matter whether is was voodoo, or shamanism, or whatever from whatever country, the main side effect of opening your mind to any occultic practice is depression. So, it is no surprise to me that their depression does not get better. And.. many occultic practices are obvious, but many are not at all. His books are an interesting yet easy reads.