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There are probably plenty of us here on ER that are regular meditators, and there are probably even more that aren't. There are not many actions I can take, personally, that would make the world a better place, but I was thinking that if even one person was able to understand themselves better through meditation, that would improve the world, however slightly. So I figured I'd write this post.
Dismissive attitudes abound when talking about meditation, introspection, or living an examined life. I'd like to address one impression that I think might be common to see if it rings true with you. Is meditation selfish? After all, you're taking time away from helping others when you sit in stillness, and do nothing. But one might think a bit more about it to assess the overall impact of meditation. If you come to better recognize how your own mind works, will you not be able to contribute more effectively to the world? If you understand how your mind operates, can put more attention into the space between stimulus and response? In the known universe, humans are probably unique in that regard. In my case, looking at my thoughts before reacting seems to make me less of an *******, and I think that's not an uncommon result for people to experience.
What prompted this post was a podcast I heard the other day where Dan Harris (retired journalist for ABC News) interviewed Sam Harris (philosopher, neuroscientist, author, podcaster). The two men are not related, they've just got the same last name. The interview lasts about an hour and covers mostly the topic of meditation and how it fits into provable scientific observations. Here's the rundown from the web site:
There's a bit of "inside baseball" in this interview, but you don't need a background in meditation styles to benefit from listening; the concepts discussed are easy to follow.
Full disclosure: I think Sam Harris is a smart guy and I have been using the mobile application that addresses 'the examined life', which includes meditation, that he produces. I have tried the mobile application that Dan Harris produces too, but I'm not a subscriber to that one.
If you search Sam Harris, you're likely to find some headline grabbing distortions, but if you take the time to understand the complete topic, you will probably conclude that Sam's positions are quite sound, reasonable, and consistent. Like I said, a pretty smart guy. Equally reviled by the left and the right, and reviled by the religious for being an atheist, and even somewhat reviled by the anti-spiritual types for being pro-spirituality and not ruling out that there might be more to the universe than humans have the capacity to fathom.
Back to the interview that prompted this post, the reason I thought this might be helpful is that they talk about the nature of mind. And I should mention that nothing here would necessarily displace a person's mystical beliefs (i.e. religion). Most of us walk around with the feeling that there's homunculus in our head that's receiving the signals, making decisions, and pulling the levers. In the interview, they talk about how this idea holds-up under two styles of meditation (dual and non-dual awareness). Vipassana is what our recent culture has been calling non-secular mindfulness. Dzogchen is what is called non-dual awareness, where there's a technique that attempts to uncover the sense that when you look for what's noticing things, there's really nothing to find (no self). Lots of paradoxes here, which makes people uncomfortable. If you've ever tried one of those "Magic Eye" images, where you see just a jumble of seemingly random patterns, and then an image that has been there all along finally pops out and is recognized, that seems analogous to being able to practice non-dual awareness. But that insight isn't required to become a better person through insight attained from understating your own mind.
If you listen to the podcast and want to get into or enhance your meditation practice with a mobile app, I'll mention a few specifics. Ten Percent Happier (Dan Harris) is $100/yr with a 7 day free trial. Waking Up (Sam Harris) is $120/yr with a 14 day free trial. Both, I suspect require a credit card and you get billed unless you cancel. There are a few more facts here that wouldn't be obvious unless you did some digging. You can get 30 day free trial on Sam's app if someone already on the app invites you. The person that does the inviting does not benefit in any way, so if someone here would rather have a 30 day trial rather than 14, PM me and we can try that for your benefit. The other more important thing about Sam's app is that he doesn't want anyone to not use the app because of affordability. So if your budget doesn't allow for $120/yr, you can write to the support team and say your budget can manage $X, and they will let you subscribe for that amount.
We all know that most new years resolutions don't continue very long. I suggest that you try, though, to become a meditator. There's technology now to help you do that. Again, I'm highly biased toward's Sam Harris' style of teaching the practice, and the Waking Up app. The app not only has instruction from dozens of meditation teachers, but also "examined life" kinds of topics like William Irvine's "The Stoic Path", Oliver Burkeman's "Time Management for Mortals", and other audio by authors and topic experts like these. This probably seems like a pitch for a mobile meditation app, and this app in particular. But that's because it's the only app I know. There are probably other apps that would work for you. But I really feel that an app, whatever one you select, is the right way to learn and continue to practice mindfulness. Whether you use one of the two apps I've mentioned or another one, guided meditations are really the way to start and/or keep your practice alive. I started meditation before mobile devices existed. I learned from books, which is another approach. But even back then, you often were offered guided meditations on audio tapes. The current technology makes it easy, and it's my opinion that you leverage the technology, become a person who meditates and be the best person you can be. I wish you the best fate in the upcoming year, and beyond.
Dismissive attitudes abound when talking about meditation, introspection, or living an examined life. I'd like to address one impression that I think might be common to see if it rings true with you. Is meditation selfish? After all, you're taking time away from helping others when you sit in stillness, and do nothing. But one might think a bit more about it to assess the overall impact of meditation. If you come to better recognize how your own mind works, will you not be able to contribute more effectively to the world? If you understand how your mind operates, can put more attention into the space between stimulus and response? In the known universe, humans are probably unique in that regard. In my case, looking at my thoughts before reacting seems to make me less of an *******, and I think that's not an uncommon result for people to experience.
What prompted this post was a podcast I heard the other day where Dan Harris (retired journalist for ABC News) interviewed Sam Harris (philosopher, neuroscientist, author, podcaster). The two men are not related, they've just got the same last name. The interview lasts about an hour and covers mostly the topic of meditation and how it fits into provable scientific observations. Here's the rundown from the web site:
https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/sam-harris-2023
There's a bit of "inside baseball" in this interview, but you don't need a background in meditation styles to benefit from listening; the concepts discussed are easy to follow.
Full disclosure: I think Sam Harris is a smart guy and I have been using the mobile application that addresses 'the examined life', which includes meditation, that he produces. I have tried the mobile application that Dan Harris produces too, but I'm not a subscriber to that one.
If you search Sam Harris, you're likely to find some headline grabbing distortions, but if you take the time to understand the complete topic, you will probably conclude that Sam's positions are quite sound, reasonable, and consistent. Like I said, a pretty smart guy. Equally reviled by the left and the right, and reviled by the religious for being an atheist, and even somewhat reviled by the anti-spiritual types for being pro-spirituality and not ruling out that there might be more to the universe than humans have the capacity to fathom.
Back to the interview that prompted this post, the reason I thought this might be helpful is that they talk about the nature of mind. And I should mention that nothing here would necessarily displace a person's mystical beliefs (i.e. religion). Most of us walk around with the feeling that there's homunculus in our head that's receiving the signals, making decisions, and pulling the levers. In the interview, they talk about how this idea holds-up under two styles of meditation (dual and non-dual awareness). Vipassana is what our recent culture has been calling non-secular mindfulness. Dzogchen is what is called non-dual awareness, where there's a technique that attempts to uncover the sense that when you look for what's noticing things, there's really nothing to find (no self). Lots of paradoxes here, which makes people uncomfortable. If you've ever tried one of those "Magic Eye" images, where you see just a jumble of seemingly random patterns, and then an image that has been there all along finally pops out and is recognized, that seems analogous to being able to practice non-dual awareness. But that insight isn't required to become a better person through insight attained from understating your own mind.
If you listen to the podcast and want to get into or enhance your meditation practice with a mobile app, I'll mention a few specifics. Ten Percent Happier (Dan Harris) is $100/yr with a 7 day free trial. Waking Up (Sam Harris) is $120/yr with a 14 day free trial. Both, I suspect require a credit card and you get billed unless you cancel. There are a few more facts here that wouldn't be obvious unless you did some digging. You can get 30 day free trial on Sam's app if someone already on the app invites you. The person that does the inviting does not benefit in any way, so if someone here would rather have a 30 day trial rather than 14, PM me and we can try that for your benefit. The other more important thing about Sam's app is that he doesn't want anyone to not use the app because of affordability. So if your budget doesn't allow for $120/yr, you can write to the support team and say your budget can manage $X, and they will let you subscribe for that amount.
We all know that most new years resolutions don't continue very long. I suggest that you try, though, to become a meditator. There's technology now to help you do that. Again, I'm highly biased toward's Sam Harris' style of teaching the practice, and the Waking Up app. The app not only has instruction from dozens of meditation teachers, but also "examined life" kinds of topics like William Irvine's "The Stoic Path", Oliver Burkeman's "Time Management for Mortals", and other audio by authors and topic experts like these. This probably seems like a pitch for a mobile meditation app, and this app in particular. But that's because it's the only app I know. There are probably other apps that would work for you. But I really feel that an app, whatever one you select, is the right way to learn and continue to practice mindfulness. Whether you use one of the two apps I've mentioned or another one, guided meditations are really the way to start and/or keep your practice alive. I started meditation before mobile devices existed. I learned from books, which is another approach. But even back then, you often were offered guided meditations on audio tapes. The current technology makes it easy, and it's my opinion that you leverage the technology, become a person who meditates and be the best person you can be. I wish you the best fate in the upcoming year, and beyond.
