full disclosure

[shadowofwind]

Something that's been on my mind a little bit lately.... A fairly sizable portion of the people who post about 'beyond dreaming' experiences indicate that they have or have had mental health issues. I think the portion is actually much higher, but many people try to put their best face forward because they don't want to undermine the credibility of the points they're trying to make. I don't think mental health problems are anything to be ashamed about, and I don't think that they at all mean that a person doesn't have something valuable to share. But its wrong for people who advocate mental practices such as lucid dreaming, astral projection, breath meditation, self inquiry, etc. to not be up front about their mental and emotional histories. Other people may make life changing choices based on what you have told them, and if you've hidden an essential part of the picture, you may do them a serious injury. It would be like advocates of veganism neglecting to mention long-term nutrition related health problems they've experienced as vegans. If you believe your mental or emotional issues are irrelevant to the path you're advocating, then explain why you believe that, and let other people judge for themselves. If they discard something of value because of stupid prejudice, that's something they're responsible for, not you. Its not good enough to say that the other person is responsible because they were free to choose whether or not to accept your advice. By the very nature of these practices, it takes years to see what the full effects are, and they can't be easily reversed. These are long term experiments. So people must depend on other more experienced people to tell them the whole story. If you don't want to share such information because you believe it is too personal, then you shouldn't be trying to influence other people in ways that have personal implications. I've tried to present a full and balanced picture of where I'm coming from. But if anyone has any doubts, questions, or criticisms I'm always happen to address them.