The Messy World of Mindfulness w/ Dan Lawton

Dan Lawton is a mindfulness instructor and writer, with a specific interest in the adverse effects of meditation practice. Dan is a certified instructor in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) through Brown University and spent four years teaching meditation in New Orleans.Dan spent a decade practicing meditation, primarily in the Vipassana and Western Insight traditions and completed roughly 15 silent retreats. He now mentors other meditators struggling with adverse experiences through the organization, Cheetah House. Before teaching meditation, Dan worked as a newspaper reporter in California and Louisiana. He has written about his own adverse experiences from meditation at: https://danlawton.substack.com/p/when-buddhism-goes-bad?s=rIn this first half of their two-part conversation, Dan provides some cultural and historical background on the Vipassana and Western Insight traditions explaining how these practices changed as they reached the west in the 1950s. Dan goes on to share with Rachel the details of experiencing what he calls non-referential terror as a result of intense meditation practice. Together they discuss the findings of Dan's deep examination of the structures that led to his previously inexplicable emotional terror.Before You Go: Rachel gives insights into the response from the meditation community that Daniel and previous guest Dr. Britton have elicited and explains the relationship between meditation and executive functioning skills in the brain.More about Dan's work with Cheetah House Here:https://www.cheetahhouse.org/care-team?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5-WRBhCKARIsAAId9Fl9oSOnXTS5HCX-5jEKUhkuo7GO7-YPXitpU6hUwCHupKVX_QaYdS8aAsZ6EALw_wcBThanks to all of our newest Patreon supporters:Rhona Stephanidis, Samuel Huff, Miracle Galston, Blair Lyonev, Michele, Renae, Erin Avenant, Jennifer Mosier, Dana Bradley, Mette Kousgaard, Sunrise Sun and Shenandoah (Shan) WareTo help support the show monthly and get bonus episodes, shirts, and tote bags, please visit:www.patreon.com/indoctrinationPrefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link: www.paypal.me/indoctriNATIONYou can help the show for free by leaving a rating on Spotify or Apple/ iTunes. It really helps the visibility of the show!