My friend Tom attended a three month meditation residence course where he meditated up to 12 times daily for 20 minutes, each meditation session preceded by and followed by a pranayama (an alternate nostril breathing exercise) and a few hatha yoga poses.
About a month into the course, he called me. Instead of being at the residence course, he was at an Emergency Room. He said he had won a duel with Satan and that he had attained cosmic consciousness. He also said he could look me in the eyes and take me to cosmic consciousness.
As he talked on, his words became more erratic and he said crazier things. Sadly, I could see by his words that he had had a break with reality. He was sent to a psychiatric ward and stayed there for a couple of weeks. I saw him after that. It seemed his sanity was restored. He said he hadn’t had a breakdown. He had a breakthrough. And there may have been a kernel of truth to that. Perhaps with a break with reality ordinarily closed doors might open for some with profound insights or glimpses of cosmic consciousness. But based on my conversations with Tom, I don’t think he really gained any profound insights or glimpses of cosmic consciousness.
For the rest of the time I knew Tom, he bounced in and out of psych wards. I lost touch with him decades ago, but his break with reality is clear in my memory. It’s an indication of how even with meditation, like with most things, moderation is necessary. And it’s important to know that just as with drugs, you can overdose with meditation.
Bob Boyd