I've done meditation on and off. I think it helps in developing empathy and maybe become less reactive

Ah, yes...the "fitness" expression of meditation I've friends who have indulged in. They use it for similar purposes, as well as to develop concentration, focus, improve sleep, or just to explore their own minds and root themselves more firmly in who they are (helpful for those are constantly being told to be something they're not). All very useful day-to-day applications of this tool.

However, meditation is a bit like a gaming laptop, or even just a really powerful EVGA graphics card or something. It could be used as a paperweight or to beat the daylights out of a home invader. But anyone who has even the faintest clue of what either really is knows it can be so much more. In deep meditation, it is known that the true extent of its potential is supertemporal inherent.

I never experienced those alt state of consciousness they talk about on meditation sites. Lol. Maybe I've been doing it wrong.

My attempts at attaining said alternate states of consciousness also encountered similar incumbrances. And I used to think there was something off about my method as well. But when it comes to discovering one's meditative capacities on one's own, I have found it to be less of a definite science, and more of just a process of exploration. It's the difference between being told how to ride a bike without training wheels, and actually doing it. You just gotta explore what your own body's capabilities are. You just kind find your own way.

The other part is dedicated practice. It's like business. The more you put in the more you get. This too, was my mistake...I simply wasn't doing enough. I see now that that was probably a good thing in hindsight, but at the time it was pretty darn frustrating.

Of course, it should also be done with determination of the goal in mind. Doing it lightly, a way of just "seeing what happens" seldom ever yields results in meditation. This was the shortfall of the attempts some I knew made.