Why to Meditate | Dr. Sam Harris

Dr. Sam Harris explains the deepest benefits of meditation are about seeing, not changing consciousness.
Full episode: • Dr. Sam Harris: Using ...
Show notes: hubermanlab.com/dr-sam-harris...
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[@Johnwilkinsonofficial]

the _chewy center of the tootsie pop_ - the buddha

[@Ranbir604]

I needed this!!!!

[@tuneboyz5634]

He didn't say that

[@torritaite2880]

Just as long as it helps me with my mental health and everything else. I'm all for it 100%!!!

[@DStrong.]

if you start meditating, doing it for those intentions, you will not succeed

[@mariusleroy8895]

@@DStrong.yes you will

[@44westwind]

What he is saying is that meditation can help you reduce the stress and anxiety in your head but the deeper benefit to meditation is when you realize there is a higher blissful universal consciousness that is our true nature. It is what connects us all. When you realize that you can then understand the contents of your mind are less important and they are created in your ego thinking.

[@damiendelgadillo6982]

If by universal consciousness, you mean consciousness being independent of the brain, that isn’t what he is talking about. He has said he doesn’t make claims about the relationship about the metaphysics of consciousness and suspects it is a product of brain activity, no matter how mysterious. What he is saying is that the true wisdom and bliss of meditation comes not from changing the feelings and contents of awareness to make it more “enjoyable” but recognizing their already present nature through means of seeing with unobscured, non apprehending awareness. This state of insight is completely independent of the contents present and can be seen even on the very midst of “negative” and ordinary feelings. Like recognizing the surface of a mirror is not harmed by its reflection. Its important with this subject to be accurate and not potentially give people a false impression of Sam.

[@arcane1871]

@@damiendelgadillo6982 Yeah, I think Jung would have used a term like that, not Harris. But I get what they were saying.

[@SuperAwesomedude20]

@@damiendelgadillo6982 thank you. That’s exactly what he is relaying

[@Ryy22]

What do you mean exactly by recognizing their alrrady present nature? I am trying to wrap my head around ig

[@SuperAwesomedude20]

@@Ryy22 hmm id try the waking up app or some more dgozen style meditation (doesn't have to any particular thing really) but essentially, dual meditation will have you focus on a thing like breath where you will constantly bring your attention back to it every time your mind drifts. However, that still creates this false sense of separation between object and subject. a separation that only exists because our intrinsic belief in an unchanging core/subject inside our head . That feeling in of itself is an illusion (if you think of it as permanent), so when that recognition occurs you will see the spell of subject/object duality as something that is unnecessarily created. Aka, consciousness is already an aware/continuous process.

[@enejkelecija7377]

I was a skeptic I meditated for years and it was chill I felt like I was more patient but nothing like Nirvana or anything close like I was meditating for years and I was still thinking without noticing that I was thinking. So I decided to try shrooms I did an 8th and locked my self in my closet and When my ego died during a shroom trip is finally when I realized “that too” is a thought it’s endless and it’s loopy but it made me feel alive for the first time! I still forget from time to time and can be a real douche person but I definitely needed ego death

[@CasinoBanks-vd2xe]

And how is your mind after the shrooms. Any negetive?

[@Camzeyy]

I had an experience like this. A very negative experience at first. Every thought, every thing I did after felt like a “distraction” I realized thoughts and feelings were not real, just experiences of my brain. I’ve always heard “thoughts aren’t the truth, watch them, but you don’t have to accept them” but I never understood until this event. It’s like now I realize the human experience is a very insignificant thing. This event changed my philosophy on life though. I don’t really like the idea of living life for myself. All of your happy memories cease to exist when your body fails you. You leave behind your thoughts and ideas. Instead a life of sacrifice and bettering those around me is what I desire to do now. I wouldn’t call it an ego death for me tho.

[@Hunter-fo3np]

I downloaded his meditation app last year, had a few trips on shrooms and my life perspective has drastically changed for the better without a doubt. Life is so amazing

[@just-a-fella3212]

@@CamzeyyI learned all that and more from combining meditation and prayer. I have had many out of body experiences by doing so and have seen and learned many wonderful things. I would never take mushrooms because I want people to know it is possible to go interdimensional naturally.

[@smallsmokecj9405]

I had a similar experience when I first took acid. I honestly can't relate to my past self anymore 😂. It's mad how much an ego death changes your character.

[@chrisashtanga]

👍Clear statement, short and precise!🙏🌈

[@Inspiriments888]

This was a distilled description. Sam is the man

[@alca3816]

I meditation is stopping yourself, take a breath and helping your body to condition itself through whatever reason for meditation.

[@threewishes777]

As lion to stop being lion. Nature has no filters it's force is experience fully without regards.

[@cainification]

Man that eyebrow though

[@carlosbravo6282]

Interesting

[@shanraj5630]

Did he say 2000?..its way longer than that.

[@nicksmith-chandler458]

I tried to test in the nature of my mind. I found out I was a woman in a man’s body.

[@edgiraffr1352]

When I want to feel relaxed and thoughtless I like to listen to something with Sam harris blabbering away with his nonsense. It works very well!

[@mikehoman7351]

T D S

[@TheGreatExperimentofLove]

People wanting to meditate to work better is like someone building a rocket to fly in the atmosphere.

[@spontaneousbootay]

So jets?

[@TheGreatExperimentofLove]

@@spontaneousbootay How can I say Using something that could take you to space yet remaining inside a smaller world. It's not to say it's not good. It's just a limited view

[@spontaneousbootay]

@@TheGreatExperimentofLove like airplanes and satellites?

[@danielhopkins296]

Someone should tell this dud that Buddha lived around 2500 yrs ago

[@jakkritphanomchit]

That's Hinduism dude, Buddhism is a lot about practise as well

[@samcottrell6417]

Sam harris for president

[@scottychen2397]

Dear Sam, You think adyshanti really had a physiological problem with his deoderant that implied something that actually suggests the Athiesm horseman-ism: namely, this is just of an explicitly physiological nature - no spiritual concepts of aura infringement are implied according to the formal conclusion. I think you misinterpreted that entirely - one cannot doubt he’s an excellent buddhist in the sense of discipline - but this shouldn’t be feeding your belief in horseman-ism. To me that’s a personal example of doing something with the wrong energy: in the spiritual sense of the term. With problems directed towards me in exchange: e.g. frequent headaches. Chemistry as a discipline - especially organic chemistry - cannot imply that in particular, in an actually honest way. It’s more conceivably, then, what a philosopher would naively suspect it to be. That’s to be - not discarded: it’s rather significant to him - but reinterpreted, for can one not just just Feel the inappropriate folding of planes of reality when this activity is exercised in vain, as opposed to exercised for (appropriately scented) compassion.

[@muhammadn6541]

Meditation is the are of doing Nothing.

[@5hydroxyT]

its not really true Sam...what you're talking about is modern, Western mindfulness, that is, meditation without the dharma.

[@mimilyon8610]

00:05

[@Tom111Tom]

Its better to pray than to meditate. Praying is free speech. Meditation is silence.

[@MariJu1ce]

If god is omnipotent, why would we need to pray, wouldnt god know what we were going to pray about, and therefore making the praying useless? Just a thinking out loud, even tough i also pray sometimes. I think of meditation as awareness in the moment and accepting and not needing things to change. Praying about gratefulness could be a form of meditation maybe though. Idk im not religious maybe im not quite sure why people pray, i always thought it was a sort of manifestation of an outcome, which to me seems counterproductive, since youre then just putting focus on what is wrong

[@Tom111Tom]

@@MariJu1ce because we need his help to live here, without him you cant live in peace. Without him a mere suffering will turn you into a slave of some other guy or institution. Your soul is a battle of Angels and Demons, why would you like to turn of your mind, which is what meditation does,when you cant control your body ? In western terms: Praying is freedom of speech with God. Meditation is silencing or censoring yourself from him and yourself.

[@have_a_good_day420]

Just don't mention the Tru** word around him. His TDS will be triggered.

[@dandybufo9664]

Here's the game: The first to accuse others of TDS suffers from TDS. Tag your it !

[@thatchickenman8140]

Sam Harris , the world greatest atheist, how ironic he’s looking for a higher power to guide him ! What’s up dude , science ain’t making you hard no more ?

[@Mmmmkaaay]

Belief in a higher creator isn't required for enlightenment.

[@alborzajeli768]

​@@Mmmmkaaaynot necessary, but usually an inevitability of the process.

[@zynthexthezane]

I got no idea what his motivation could be for him to be talking about meditation. A guy greatly known for refuting every possible main belief of the world with tremendous arrogance. One of last people I'd associate with entertaining any sort of spiritual practice.

[@alborzajeli768]

@@zynthexthezaneI know right, full bizarreo world $hit right there lol

[@landonp4726]

Who said meditation is about a “higher power”?

[@lukeryan7006]

Personally, I do not think we should listen to Sam Harris about meditation. Even if he is a neuroscientist.

[@zendoodle8446]

Why?

[@09ashkrebs]

​@@zendoodle8446 cause he's a dork

[@django2387]

Personally, I do not think we should listen to lukeryan7006 about anything. Even if he is anything.

[@arcane1871]

Ok

[@lukeryan7006]

@@django2387 What

[@marcoduvall4404]

There we go Sam.. just stick to this with your pseudo intellectualism.. this way you can actually benefit mankind some apart from your usual propaganda and rhetoric.

[@ramdasshetty8178]

HE IS A FOOL. 2000 YEAR OLD HE SAYS WHEREAS IT HAS BEEN PROVED THAT MEDITATION HAS BEEN AROUNDS FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS. HIS CONCLUSION IS ALSO WRONG

[@chrisfjansson4661]

ME D IT ATE?

[@legtit132]

The chewy center of the tootsie pop - god himself

[@thisisarandomname2452]

Bro kinda sounds like doctor Phil

[@BatshitVashti]

Sam Harris - The United States version of Eckhart Tolle

[@justTosha7]

Meditation is about changing the consciousness. 🤷

[@Loupoonug23]

How?

[@damiendelgadillo6982]

Just not the type of change you think. It’s more like switching perspective when looking at the absent square optical illusion with 4 circles on the corners. You’re seeing something new, but more you’re seeing more clearly what you did not notice before but was already there. It’s a confusing subject for sure.

[@hamcrazy96]

It’s about analyzing your consciousness and attention span which may in turn change consciousness

[@liamc7097]

He literally says that is possible, but it's not the true wisdom of meditation

[@theyeticlutch3486]

Was this recorded before or after d.e.a.d k.ids were found in Sam's basement?

[@angustusashtonio7443]

Source?

[@tiromandal6399]

@@angustusashtonio7443 Alex Jones.

[@hamcrazy96]

Who even says something like that. Someone who is an extreme skeptic that’s who! Buddhism teaches you that certainties in life may not always be truthful, true to ourselves but not actually true. It breaks down the ego of self and that is transformative of any person and it also teaches that change is inevitable whether you’re scared or hopeful or any feeling or judgment arising is just that a feeling rising in consciousness but not always true

[@yajy4501]

Sam Harris is looking old these days

[@memastarful]

No thank you not interested 😒

[@arcane1871]

lol the irony

[@arcane1871]

You don’t want to be more aware of your thoughts, and want to stay stuck lost in thought? Okay..

[@memastarful]

@@arcane1871 no its that I think for myself and don't take advice from a fool

[@tiromandal6399]

@@memastarful Stop the projection cavewoman...I mean Carinita.....

[@memastarful]

@@tiromandal6399 you stop the insults 🚫

[@jrshelton3398]

Harris has lost all credibility

[@misterengineer6568]

How to say a lot of things while saying nothing really