After a very very long time meditating, I had the samadhi or Nirvana experience - expanding bliss - and I was able to repeat that afterwards a few times but then I thought, but why? Yes I can feel peaceful, even bliss, but it doesn't really carry over into 'real' life. I wasn't walking around afterwards with some kind of glowing wisdom, some super consciousness where I could understand things other mortals couldn't. It was in fact something I just did to myself that was just about useless except for any direct pleasure at the time and even that, being entirely subjective, doesn't really have the breadth and depth of say, time spent with the family, a good conversation with a friend, an adventure out and about.

Yep I'd rank it along with bubble bath or masturbation too. And I don't mean to be simply mocking or scathing of other people's experiences, but in my experience, trying to change things on the inside doesn't actually have much effect on the outside. It might have I suppose, if say I had anger issues and was irritable and aggressive. Maybe. Meditation could be useful for some people sometimes.

And that's it. Nothing to wrap a religion around.