Sam Harris, a neuroscientist, philosopher, and author, has explored the world's religious traditions and psychedelic substances, returning to meditation as a means of transcending the ego and achieving true happiness. Harris, alongside Joseph Goldstein, answers questions about the practice of mindfulness, covering topics such as negative emotions, ethics, and enlightenment. Harris emphasises that meditation is not about blocking out thoughts but cultivating a quality of mind that allows one to pay attention without being lost in thought. He suggests that mindfulness is a powerful tool for gaining insight into the nature of consciousness and the self, which is an illusion. Harris's app, Waking Up, provides audio-based meditation instruction, which he believes is a superior medium to writing.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Meditation technique | Vipassana |
Meditation type | Concentration practice and mindfulness practice |
Meditation goal | To break the spell of discursive thinking and to awaken from the trance of grasping at the pleasant and recoiling from the unpleasant |
Meditation posture | Sit comfortably with your spine erect, either in a chair or cross-legged on a cushion |
Meditation process | Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and feel the points of contact between your body and the chair or floor. Notice the sensations of sitting and then gradually become aware of the process of breathing. Allow your attention to rest on the sensation of breathing. Every time your mind wanders in thought, gently return it to the sensation of breathing. |
Meditation benefits | Modulate pain, mitigate anxiety and depression, improve cognitive function, and produce changes in grey matter density in brain regions related to learning, memory, emotional regulation, and self-awareness |
Meditation app | Waking Up |
What You'll Learn
The benefits of meditation
Meditation has been a topic of interest for many people, including author, neuroscientist, and podcast host Sam Harris. In his work, Harris explores the benefits of meditation and how it can lead to self-transcendence and a more fulfilling life. Here are some of the key benefits of meditation:
Improved Mental Health
Meditation has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health. It can help mitigate anxiety and depression, improve cognitive function, and enhance emotional regulation. The practice of mindfulness, which is a form of meditation, involves cultivating a state of open, nonjudgmental, and nondiscursive attention to one's thoughts and emotions. This can help individuals better understand and manage their mental state, leading to improved mental well-being.
Enhanced Brain Function
Meditation has been found to produce changes in gray matter density in regions of the brain related to learning, memory, emotional regulation, and self-awareness. By improving brain function, individuals may experience enhanced cognitive abilities, better decision-making skills, and improved overall mental performance.
Stress Reduction and Relaxation
Meditation is often associated with stress reduction and the cultivation of a calm and relaxed state of mind. By focusing on the breath and observing thoughts and emotions without judgment, individuals can learn to respond to stressful situations in a more balanced and resilient manner. This can lead to reduced stress levels and improved mental and physical health.
Increased Self-Awareness and Insight
The practice of meditation encourages individuals to turn their attention inwards, fostering a deeper understanding of their thoughts, emotions, and sense of self. This heightened self-awareness can lead to valuable insights and a greater sense of clarity about one's true nature and purpose. It allows individuals to recognize and challenge negative thought patterns and limiting beliefs, promoting personal growth and development.
Improved Emotional Regulation
Meditation has been shown to enhance emotional regulation, enabling individuals to manage their emotions more effectively. By observing emotions as transient phenomena, meditators can develop a sense of detachment and cultivate more positive emotional states. This can lead to improved mood, increased resilience, and better overall emotional well-being.
Cultivating Compassion and Patience
Through meditation, individuals can develop a greater sense of compassion and patience towards themselves and others. By recognizing the impermanent and interconnected nature of all phenomena, including emotions and thoughts, meditators can cultivate a more compassionate outlook. This can lead to improved relationships, increased empathy, and a more positive impact on the world.
In conclusion, meditation offers a wide range of benefits that can improve various aspects of an individual's life. By dedicating time to the practice and incorporating it into daily routines, people can experience enhanced mental well-being, improved brain function, reduced stress levels, increased self-awareness, better emotional regulation, and a more compassionate outlook on life. These benefits contribute to personal growth, improved relationships, and a more fulfilling and meaningful existence.
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Mindfulness
The practice of mindfulness is simple in description but challenging in execution. It involves sitting comfortably with a straight spine, closing one's eyes, and focusing on the breath, allowing thoughts and emotions to arise and pass without judgement. Mindfulness is not about blocking out thoughts but about observing them and returning to the present moment.
Sam Harris, a prominent advocate for mindfulness, has described it as a tool for gaining insight into the fundamental nature of consciousness and self-transcendence. He argues that mindfulness is not just a tool for stress reduction or physical health improvement but has a deeper purpose related to understanding consciousness. Harris has written about mindfulness and meditation in his book "Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion" and also created a meditation app called "Waking Up".
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The illusion of the self
In his book "Waking Up", Sam Harris argues that the self is not real. He believes that consciousness and feelings of individual selfhood are two distinct aspects of the human experience. While consciousness is real, the sense of self is an illusion.
Harris contends that spirituality lies at the heart of this tenet. Spiritual experiences are moments of transcending one's limited existence, freeing awareness from anxiety, longing, sadness, and pain. People of all faiths have had similar transcendent experiences, even between religions that contradict each other. Therefore, some factor outside of religion must be the source of spiritual experience.
Harris argues that feelings of identity and selfhood are an illusion created by interconnected mental processes. Through deep contemplation, one can transcend the illusion of the self, which is the core of spirituality. He turns to meditative introspection to investigate consciousness, identity, and selfhood, as well as their transcendence. Harris describes the subjective nature of consciousness, how it can be explored personally, and why consciousness and selfhood are distinct aspects of the mind, with the latter being more illusory than commonly believed.
The crux of Harris's argument for a ""secular spirituality"" is that meditative practices can lead to tranquility by experiencing moments of pure, unfiltered consciousness. This occurs when one experiences consciousness without thought, allowing one's inner voice and the constant churn of emotions to fade away. If one can experience awareness without the burden of constant internal chatter, they will realize that their consciousness is independent of any feelings of personal identity and selfhood, and that their sense of identity is merely an illusion.
Harris clarifies that when he says the "self" is an illusion, he refers to the feeling of being an incorporeal being inside one's head, looking out through the eyes and steering the body like a vehicle. He attributes this feeling to "psychological continuity," the constant creation and narration of memories about physical and cognitive experiences from one moment to the next. This moment-to-moment continuity creates the illusion that the "self" remains the same across time. However, gradual changes in personality traits over time suggest that selfhood is not as constant as it seems.
Meditation interrupts mental chatter, allowing one to experience awareness without the internal narrative that defines one's sense of identity. In these moments, all that exists subjectively is one's present awareness and the thoughts within it. Harris emphasizes that he is not arguing for the nonexistence of the self or denying one's experiences. Instead, he asserts that the sense of selfhood is constructed by memories and thoughts, obscuring the deeper reality of conscious awareness independent of thoughts, feelings, and memories.
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Secularising meditation
Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and philosopher, has long been interested in meditation and its benefits. In his book, *Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion*, Harris argues that meditation is the "holy grail of self-transcendence", a way to break free from the "illusion of the ego". He emphasises that meditation is not about blocking out thoughts but about cultivating a quality of mind that allows one to pay attention to whatever arises without getting lost in thought. This is often referred to as "mindfulness".
Harris acknowledges that many forms of meditation are tied to religious or spiritual traditions, which can be off-putting to secularists and non-believers. For example, Transcendental Meditation (TM) requires students to be given a Sanskrit mantra, which can be an impediment to rational minds. However, he argues that not all contemplative paths require one to adopt unfounded ideas about reality. In particular, he recommends a technique called vipassana, which comes from the oldest tradition of Buddhism, Theravada.
Vipassana can be taught in a completely secular way, without requiring any religious beliefs. It is a form of mindfulness practice that involves focusing on the breath and becoming aware of the present moment, including thoughts, emotions, and sensations, without judgement. Harris emphasises that mindfulness is not just a tool for stress reduction or improving physical health, although it may have these benefits. Instead, he sees its true purpose as providing insight into the fundamental nature of consciousness and the illusion of the self.
Harris has created a meditation app called Waking Up, which he sees as a perfect vehicle for teaching meditation and examining the theory behind it. He believes that meditation is a powerful tool for self-improvement and well-being, and that it can be of interest to everyone, regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs.
By secularising meditation, Harris and others are making it more accessible to a wider audience who may be put off by religious or spiritual elements. This allows people to experience the benefits of meditation without having to adopt beliefs that may be intellectually suspect.
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The paradox of meditation
Meditation is an ancient practice that has been adopted by many cultures and adapted in various ways. In its essence, it is a form of introspection and mental training that can lead to self-transcendence and a more fulfilling spiritual life. Sam Harris, a prominent advocate for meditation, has explored its benefits through his personal experiences, scientific inquiries, and discussions with spiritual masters. In doing so, he has uncovered a paradox at the heart of meditation.
The paradox lies in the very nature of meditation practice. Meditation is often approached as a form of mindfulness training or a contemplative practice with a future goal in mind. The goal is often self-improvement, seeking freedom from the illusion of the self, or enlightenment. However, as Harris points out, this notion of a future goal seems at odds with the concept of pure presence, which is fundamental to meditation. The present moment, as it is, is accepted without judgment or discursive thought.
To resolve this paradox, Harris suggests shifting our perspective on mindfulness. Instead of treating it as a compulsive practice of self-improvement, he recommends embracing it as a state of active presence with everyday life. The true wisdom of enlightenment, he argues, lies not in fleeting peak experiences but in uncovering a form of well-being inherent to our minds. This well-being must be accessible in the context of ordinary sights, sounds, sensations, and thoughts.
Harris cautions against viewing meditation as a means to attain a future state of freedom or enlightenment. The self-illusion, he argues, can be glimpsed and dissolved at any moment, not just at the end of a long journey. He compares this to looking at one's reflection in a window—one doesn't need to examine the world beyond the glass in great detail for their true face to appear. Most meditation techniques, he observes, direct our attention outward rather than inward, where the truth about the self can be found.
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Frequently asked questions
Sam Harris and Joseph Goldstein believe that meditation is a way to break free from the illusion of the self and achieve a state of enlightenment. Harris argues that the self is a social construct and that meditation can help dissolve this illusion, leading to freedom from the constraints of the ego.
Meditation is a tool for self-improvement as it allows individuals to respond differently to adversity. It helps cultivate mindfulness, which is a quality of mind that enables one to pay attention without being lost in thought. Through meditation, one can achieve a state of active presence and live a more fulfilling life.
Sam Harris argues that meditation is a gateway to true happiness and spiritual life. It helps individuals transcend the self and gain insights into the fundamental nature of consciousness. While meditation is often associated with religious traditions, Harris suggests a secular approach that does not require adherence to any particular faith.
Meditation has been shown to have several benefits for mental and physical health. It can help modulate pain, mitigate anxiety and depression, improve cognitive function, and enhance emotional regulation and self-awareness. Additionally, it can lead to a sense of freedom, improved well-being, and a deeper understanding of oneself and others.