Murphy, Michael, and Steven Donovan. Negative experiences. In Michael Murphy and StevenDonovan, The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Review of ContemporaryResearch with a Comprehensive Bibliography 1931-1996. 2d ed. Sausalito, Calif.: The Instituteof Noetic Sciences, 1997, pp. 143-145.*

[Notes ci-dessous prises dans Injuries from Yoga and contraindications. International Association of Yoga Therapist. 2006. 30 p. [Texte complet]]

Negative experiences reported include:

For Transcendental Meditation: anxiety, confusion, depression, emotional instability, frustration, physical and mental tension, procrastination, restlessness, suspiciousness, intolerance of others, withdrawal;

For meditation in general: can encourage some individuals to become more obsessive-compulsive and dwell on trivia ornonessentials; can cause anxiety, tension, anger; can precipitate a psychotic episode/schizophrenic breakdown; dissociative semi-trance states can upset some individuals; can cause body pain, insomnia, severe depression, suicide attempts, and withdrawal and concentration on the internal to the neglect of the external.

In addition to research citations, other texts that warn of the difficulties of meditation/spiritual practice and how to deal with them are cited. The latter include the Katha-Upanishad, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Sri Aurobindo’s Collected Works, Aldous Huxley’s The Perennial Philosophy, and William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience.