Dangers of Mindfulness
Dangers, False Promises of Mindfulness
Can the promises of mindfulness be used as tool used for power, social control ?
What if...
what we call mindfulness might actually be more about social control and self-pacification in some cases.
What if...
... the overwhelming marketing message pushed by the meditation industry might not be good for our mental health—that a “harmless” solo activity based on calming our emotions might better help corporate entities. In fact, what we call mindfulness might actually be more about social control and self-pacification in some cases.
We have to go beyond just individualistic stress reduction techniques like mindfulness apps and rather than using self-care as a coping tool, reorient these practices to more of a critique of neoliberal values and moving more towards a socially engaged form of mindfulness.
People are taught that certain kinds of emotions are seen as off-limits or unhealthy, such as anger. That’s decontextualizes our emotions. We’re sent the message, “I can’t react about my boss breathing down my neck. . . . I need to do a three-minute breathing meditation.”
I argue that our emotions try to tell us something about our environment. Sure, self-righteous anger is never productive, but that should not be some sort of blanket universal rule.
Ronald Purser
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