I have found that meditation increases a good type of self-awareness. There are many types of meditation and many traditions, religious and other, about how to meditate. I have found 10 minutes or so, sitting still and being quiet, does a lot for my mind and mood. In general, keeping one's attention on a given target and returning to that target whenever you notice that you are attending to something else, does good things.
However, Prof. Willoughby Britton of Brown University has specialized in studying people and situations where such a meditative practice is not good. In general, people who have emotional scars and bad memories, such as some soldiers, can find themselves in the grip of the same nightmares and terrors again while trying to meditate. Until today, Prof. Britton was the only name I knew for people looking into downsides of meditation.
Today, I got an email from Sounds True about another researcher/expert looking into meditation under special circumstances. Prof. Elizabeth A. Stanley is a political scientist and works in the US military. She is interested in modified and sympathetic ways to ease oneself past trauma and into meditative comfort. Her book "Widening the Window" is about dealing with trauma and getting healed. That book is available for only $6 on Kindle.
