I started meditation based on a book about Zen when I was 16. I did it more or less regularly at various phases of my life. At quite a low point in life, meditation was what bootstrapped me out of the quicksand. That was in a group but really loosely organized, basically just a guy teaching people meditation techniques for free. (The more well-known techniques like just sitting there and thinking of nothing can be quite exhausting.) If I hadn't done this, I would be actually lost. Also actually traditional Yoga is to my knowledge in reality meditation. So I'd take such an article with a big grain of salt and compare it with the large number of people practicing it successfully.
That said, a well-known "side-effect" of meditation is some sort of enlightenment that more frequently will be reached with drugs like LSD. But also very monotonous long-term work can do this - at least that's what I've read in that Zen book.
That said, a well-known "side-effect" of meditation is some sort of enlightenment that more frequently will be reached with drugs like LSD. But also very monotonous long-term work can do this - at least that's what I've read in that Zen book.