The right tool for the job

Often when people find out I have a meditation practice they think it must be peaceful or stress relieving, maybe it is or isn't) but I'm not looking for that. As far back as I can remember more than anything else I've been interested in spiritual things even when I walked away from my church. I didn't come to Buddhism for self help, I came because things like teachings on the Three Marks of Existence, just made sense to me. I just read this article on The Buddhist Channel that inspired me to do this little piece. While Buddhist meditation practices may bring feelings of peace and transcendence as the article I referenced states- "But Britton argues that stress reduction and relaxation are more like side effects than what meditation actually was designed for.". Sometimes our practice brings us into our dark places in fact some of the practices that the Buddha taught involve contemplating the decay of our dead bodies. Buddhist practices are tools for liberation and sometimes their not all rosy. If you just want a few moments of peace you should probably look somewhere else but if your ready for liberation and are ready for the possibility of walking trough some dark places then you may find what your looking for in the teachings of the Buddha.