This is a very important subject Meredith, thank you for addressing it. The CDC says that in the US alone, over 30 million adults take antidepressants daily. That's over 11% of the population! And while I'm not saying there is no place for pills, I do think that many people could find the peace they're looking for outside of a bottle. "To achieve lasting peace and contentment you must turn inward." Because, "The root cause of stress is your endless desires and demands." We have indeed been mislead into believing stress is normal...
Absolutely, so well said. Thank you for bringing in those statistics, they really highlight the scale of the problem. It’s sad that many people believe they can only find peace with medication or a bottle.
love the article meredith - i " believe turning inwards" as you have stated, focusing on self development will lead to overall wellness of body and mind - thankyou once again.
Hi Meredith that will be fantastic with starting your “dear elder sage” series - yes - self-development - some ideas of where to first start, examples, - i also need to order another vedanta treaties - is this via Amazon?xx
Thanks for this important piece. In many circles, I see spiritual bypass as a way to treat the symptoms but not the cause. And it's tough to tackle the deep inner struggles--but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Reminds me of a story Osho loved to tell: A man goes to a doctor and complains of severe back pain. The doctor takes an X-ray and suggests 2 weeks of hospitalization, medicines, and 6 months of bed rest.
The man shouts: "Doctor! I can't afford all that!"
The doctor replies, "Ok. Give me $25 and I'll touch up your x-ray."
We're all like that — trying to fix the external, hoping it will fix our internal problems.
I could not agree more with the gulf between what wellness treatments do and what they are being used to dispel. The only way any one of us is going to make any amount of progress in reducing our internal pain is reasonably and humanely confronting some very tough and ingrained preconceptions. One of my favorite quotes from Musonius Rufus (Fragments 6):
“Therefore upon the learning of the lessons appropriate to each and every excellence, practical training must follow invariably, if indeed from the lessons we have learned we hope to derive any benefit. And moreover such practical exercise is the more important for the student of philosophy than for the student of medicine or any similar art, the more philosophy claims to be a greater and more difficult discipline than any other study. The reason for this is that men who enter the other professions have not had their souls corrupted beforehand and have not learned the opposite of what they are going to be taught, but the ones who start out to study philosophy have been born and reared in an environment filled with corruption and evil, and therefore turn to virtue in such a state that they need a longer and more thorough training.”
We need to unlearn the bad habits of how we live before we can hope to create new habits of good living, and you said - there are no shortcuts.
This is a very important subject Meredith, thank you for addressing it. The CDC says that in the US alone, over 30 million adults take antidepressants daily. That's over 11% of the population! And while I'm not saying there is no place for pills, I do think that many people could find the peace they're looking for outside of a bottle. "To achieve lasting peace and contentment you must turn inward." Because, "The root cause of stress is your endless desires and demands." We have indeed been mislead into believing stress is normal...
Absolutely, so well said. Thank you for bringing in those statistics, they really highlight the scale of the problem. It’s sad that many people believe they can only find peace with medication or a bottle.
So many potent teachings in there. Thanks for the reminders! I am in need of these at the moment.
Glad this was useful for you.
love the article meredith - i " believe turning inwards" as you have stated, focusing on self development will lead to overall wellness of body and mind - thankyou once again.
Hi Amilia,
Let me know if you have any questions about self-development, as I'm starting a 'Dear Elder Sage' series like this: https://meredithforder.substack.com/p/the-secret-lullaby-for-a-good-nights
Hi Meredith that will be fantastic with starting your “dear elder sage” series - yes - self-development - some ideas of where to first start, examples, - i also need to order another vedanta treaties - is this via Amazon?xx
Thanks for this important piece. In many circles, I see spiritual bypass as a way to treat the symptoms but not the cause. And it's tough to tackle the deep inner struggles--but I wouldn't have it any other way.
100% correct. I wouldn’t have it any other way either. superficial treatments for symptoms result in pain later. Give me discipline any day.
Powerful reminder, Meredith.
Reminds me of a story Osho loved to tell: A man goes to a doctor and complains of severe back pain. The doctor takes an X-ray and suggests 2 weeks of hospitalization, medicines, and 6 months of bed rest.
The man shouts: "Doctor! I can't afford all that!"
The doctor replies, "Ok. Give me $25 and I'll touch up your x-ray."
We're all like that — trying to fix the external, hoping it will fix our internal problems.
Great story. Yes, we all want a quick fix. Like the Gita says, what’s pleasant in the beginning… end.
Have you visited Oshos ashram in Pune?
I haven't although I live just 4 hours away haha. Some day...
I have. Got a feeling the followers might have misunderstood the master.
I could not agree more with the gulf between what wellness treatments do and what they are being used to dispel. The only way any one of us is going to make any amount of progress in reducing our internal pain is reasonably and humanely confronting some very tough and ingrained preconceptions. One of my favorite quotes from Musonius Rufus (Fragments 6):
“Therefore upon the learning of the lessons appropriate to each and every excellence, practical training must follow invariably, if indeed from the lessons we have learned we hope to derive any benefit. And moreover such practical exercise is the more important for the student of philosophy than for the student of medicine or any similar art, the more philosophy claims to be a greater and more difficult discipline than any other study. The reason for this is that men who enter the other professions have not had their souls corrupted beforehand and have not learned the opposite of what they are going to be taught, but the ones who start out to study philosophy have been born and reared in an environment filled with corruption and evil, and therefore turn to virtue in such a state that they need a longer and more thorough training.”
We need to unlearn the bad habits of how we live before we can hope to create new habits of good living, and you said - there are no shortcuts.
One step at a time, right? 🤜💥🤛
Thank you. I’ve always loved the concept: Physician heal thyself.