I am well thanks. I have been away for a while hence my absence from the forum. I read a bit but didn't post.

I completely agree that one size doesn't fit all as you put it and that is why I responded re the meditation issue. I'm not advocating it generally to ex-premies or any other ex-cult members in the same way as I don't advocate generic remedies for anything either. We are all unique genetically and different in our experiences and lifestyles so one nutitional approach does not fit all either.

I know enough people who do practice a form of meditation to know that it does not "rot the brain" as Nik wrote above. Some practices can be very centering, relaxing and help balance brain rythms. In discussing the value or not of meditation, various factors should be considered, including the form of meditation, motive for doing it and any associated beliefs or expectations as well as the situation/mental health of the individual.

As far of the techniques of knowledge are concerned, I do not think they are healthy for a number of reasons. Badly praticed they could and did inflict physical damage on some premies. I also think they made many premies very ungrounded and dissasociated not only with the world and people around them but with their own bodies.

BTW I said nothing about it being wrong to watch TV, play a few video games, or God forbid drink a glass of wine! In my opinion and experience, all three can be both enjoyable and beneficial. I mentioned excessive (particularly meaning indiscriminate) TV watching and playing of video games which I do believe can cause massive dissasociation and dumbing down as well as being potentially detrimental to brains.

Akio Mori, a doctor and professor at Nihon University, who specializes in cranial nerve science, warned that spending too much time playing many video games has harmful effects on the human brain. According to his research, brain waves of people who have been habitually playing video games are very similar to those of individuals suffering from heavy dementia.
"Playing the games makes the part of the brain controlling the optic nerve system work too hard." He claims this has an adverse effect on a person's rationality, morality and shyness

http://www.japantoday.com/e/tools/print.asp?content=book&id=133

On the other hand, some video games have been developed on the back of NASA research which involve biofeedback that can help a player's brainwaves come closer to a calm, stress-free pattern. Not so much of these in evidence yet though. But that would still make it as eroneous to dismiss video gaming outright as it would to dismiss meditation as damaging without proper consideration of the facts.

Warm regards,

Bunny