Making Sense - Sam Harris - Introducing Waking Up

The Waking Up Course is available in the iTunes store, and soon to be released in the Android and iOS versions. In this episode, I explain why I built the course, why I'm building it, and what I'm hoping to accomplish with it. I'm attempting to build a vessel of sorts, a vessel on which we can all take a journey together, and you can get on board at any time. Whether it's a rocket ship or a barge remains to be seen, but in creating the Wakening Up Course, I m attempting to create something that I'm especially qualified to do. I don't consider myself the best at any one thing, but you don't have to be the BEST at anything to be almost uniquely qualified for something. For instance, I'm not by any stretch of the imagination the world's most knowledgeable philosopher in the world. My PhD is in neuroscience, not philosophy. And there are people who have far more experience than I do in the field of philosophy, but there are also people who are far more experienced in that area than I am in meditation, psychedelics, and meditation retreats. There are people with more experience in that field than I have, but I'm certainly not the best meditator in the day-to-day, and I have not had as much experience as I do, as I have in meditation. I have some experience in meditators, but it's not the most experience I've had in the past, but that doesn't mean I don t have the best experience I have had in practicing on intensive retreats, or meditations, either. You can do what you like, and so you can be a medititator, right? I hope you enjoy the episode, and let me know what you think of it! Timestamps: 1:00:00 - Why I built this course? 2:30 - What are you looking for? 3:15 - Why did I build it? 4:40 - What is it about? 5:20 - Why is it important to me? 6:00 7:30 8:00 -- How do you feel about religion and philosophy? 9:30 -- What does it mean to you? 10: What is religion? 11:15 -- Why do you need to be a religious scholar? 12:00 | What does religion have a role in your life?

00:00:00.000 Welcome to the Waking Up course.

00:00:21.800 The app is officially available in the iTunes store.

00:00:25.180 We're releasing the iOS version first, and the Android version will soon follow.

00:00:30.760 And you can find more information on my website, or at the official site, which is wakingup.com.

00:00:37.060 Now, I am really excited about this.

00:00:39.680 I want to take a few minutes to explain why I built this course, and what I'm hoping to accomplish with it.

00:00:45.400 I'm attempting to build a vessel of sorts.

00:00:48.960 Now, whether it's a rocket ship or a barge remains to be seen.

00:00:52.480 But in creating the Waking Up course, I'm attempting to build a vehicle on which we can all take a journey together.

00:00:58.060 And you can get on board at any time.

00:01:00.640 I've actually built the course as much for myself as for you, because producing it has taken me back to topics and to ways of thinking that I've been struggling to get back to for years.

00:01:09.960 When I wrote my book, Waking Up, I had hoped that it would initiate a life change of sorts, where I could focus more on the questions that really interest me.

00:01:19.260 Questions about the human mind and the nature of consciousness, and about what constitutes a good life, about the connection between ethics and introspection.

00:01:29.140 And I wanted to get back to exploring these topics, not just conceptually, but experientially.

00:01:34.200 So I'd hoped that releasing that book would allow me to return to these core interests.

00:01:38.960 Needless to say, I wasn't expecting to spend my book tour for Waking Up talking about jihadism and terrorism and racism.

00:01:45.680 But that's largely what happened, courtesy of a certain movie star having a meltdown on television.

00:01:51.620 And it took a long time to unravel all that.

00:01:54.620 And then there's been American politics to worry about, and that's been distracting.

00:01:58.340 So the Waking Up course is a place where I can put aside all of these far more topical concerns, and just focus on what it means to live an examined life.

00:02:09.340 As I've said on this podcast more than once, I think, I view most of my work thus far as a series of opportunity costs.

00:02:16.800 Most of what I've written and spoken about, certainly with respect to atheism, and the conflict between science and religion, and about the problems of discussing controversial topics in public, free speech issues, more or less all of that is work that I never planned on doing.

00:02:33.480 I think it's been necessary to do it, but it shouldn't be.

00:02:37.100 And I'm sure I'll keep hitting these topics on my podcast because they don't seem to be going away.

00:02:40.860 But these are topics where the right answers are so obvious, and so painful to elaborate again and again, that if you spend a lot of time doing this, your intellectual life begins to seem like a kind of purgatory.

00:02:54.960 I mean, does a belief in the literal truth of revelation perpetuate ignorance and conflict in our world?

00:03:01.540 Are there good reasons to hold such a belief?

00:03:04.580 Are certain religious doctrines more dangerous than others?

00:03:07.560 These are punishingly boring questions to have to deal with.

00:03:12.620 And yet one has to deal with them, because the obvious answers remain controversial, and even taboo.

00:03:18.880 But this is not why I spent years studying philosophy and science.

00:03:22.500 And it's certainly not why I spent years on silent meditation retreats.

00:03:26.420 It's been important to talk about these issues, and I've done it, and I'll continue to do it, because I think it's socially necessary.

00:03:32.680 But it seems to me that anyone could be doing this job.

00:03:35.180 It really doesn't have to be me.

00:03:37.560 In producing the Waking Up course, I'm attempting to do something that I'm especially qualified to do.

00:03:44.200 I don't consider myself the best at any one thing.

00:03:47.120 But you don't have to be the best at anything to be almost uniquely qualified for something.

00:03:53.100 For instance, I'm not by any stretch of the imagination the world's best scientist.

00:03:57.280 As far as what I do on a day-to-day basis, I'm more of a philosopher.

00:04:01.440 But I'm not the most knowledgeable philosopher in the world, either.

00:04:04.880 My PhD, after all, is in neuroscience, not philosophy.

00:04:08.160 And there's no question that there are books and papers I should have read, but haven't.

00:04:12.920 I'm not the best meditator in the world.

00:04:15.240 There are many people who have far more experience than I do, practicing on intensive retreat.

00:04:19.440 I took some psychedelics back in the day, but there are people who are far more experienced in that area than I am.

00:04:26.320 I know a fair amount about religion, but I'm not a religious scholar.

00:04:30.300 I don't read any of the primary languages in which the world's scriptures were written.

00:04:34.940 So this is a picture, it would seem, of just pristine mediocrity.

00:04:39.020 But consider, how many scientists know as much philosophy, and how many philosophers know as much science?

00:04:47.380 Well, honestly, the field narrows quite a bit.

00:04:50.840 And then when I ask, how many of these people have a similar degree of experience in meditation?

00:04:55.600 That is, how many philosopher-scientists truly understand that introspection isn't a dead end?

00:05:01.120 How many have studied with great meditation teachers, and spent a substantial amount of time on silent retreat?

00:05:06.020 Great. Well, now I can begin counting these people on my fingers.

00:05:09.900 Similarly, when I ask, how many people with real experience in meditation,

00:05:13.940 who can notice, for instance, that the sense of self is an illusion,

00:05:17.360 and can speak about this honestly, not as a matter of theory, but as a fact to be observed in the present moment?

00:05:23.300 How many of these people understand enough science and philosophy to be appropriately skeptical of religion?

00:05:29.300 That is, how many people with a mature meditation practice understand that we have to get out of the religion business

00:05:35.800 once and for all?

00:05:37.400 This number is truly tiny.

00:05:40.020 Now, I realize this might sound strangely self-deprecating and grandiose at the same time.

00:05:44.860 Needless to say, I don't mean to be either.

00:05:46.800 I think it's just simply a fact that given my background and interests,

00:05:51.180 and given the kinds of questions that have fascinated me for decades,

00:05:54.860 and given the fairly unique opportunities I've had to pursue those questions,

00:05:58.740 I'm not sure who else could produce this course.

00:06:01.440 And that, as I said, is not true of most of the work I've been doing.

00:06:05.360 So I'm very happy to be working on this.

00:06:07.560 It's a relief, frankly.

00:06:09.920 The Waking Up course is in part a meditation course,

00:06:12.640 so obviously there are guided meditations,

00:06:14.880 and I'll keep adding to those as time goes on.

00:06:18.020 And I would say that even if you're an experienced meditator,

00:06:20.880 using guided meditations can be extremely helpful.

00:06:23.920 This is one of the things that's unique about audio.

00:06:26.680 You simply can't do this with a book.

00:06:28.560 There's no alternative to having an actual voice

00:06:30.860 remind you that you're supposed to be paying attention.

00:06:34.020 I find guided meditations extremely helpful,

00:06:36.120 and I've been meditating for over 30 years.

00:06:38.560 In addition to the guided meditations,

00:06:40.420 there's also an expanding curriculum of short talks on a variety of topics.

00:06:45.100 I call these talks lessons.

00:06:47.340 Some explain concepts that are directly relevant to meditation,

00:06:50.500 and others are more like philosophical interventions,

00:06:53.420 where I have you reflect on a specific topic for a few minutes,

00:06:57.460 sometimes starting with a scientific finding or a quotation

00:07:00.120 that inspires a particular line of thought.

00:07:02.900 Again, this is an ongoing project for me.

00:07:05.360 And as I add content to the course,

00:07:07.400 I'll be attempting to synthesize everything I've discovered in my own practice,

00:07:11.040 and in philosophy and science generally,

00:07:13.180 that seems helpful for increasing our understanding of our own minds

00:07:16.080 and our well-being.

00:07:17.280 Of course, many of these things have been discussed by philosophers

00:07:20.580 and contemplatives for thousands of years,

00:07:23.080 but they can now be viewed in a 21st century scientific context,

00:07:27.340 which is how we should view them.

00:07:29.140 So this really is a chance for me to talk about the most important things

00:07:32.440 I've ever learned.

00:07:33.860 And while there might be some crossover

00:07:35.280 between the podcast and the Waking Up course,

00:07:38.040 occasionally I might answer a question on an AMA, for instance,

00:07:41.240 that might seem relevant to the app,

00:07:43.140 and I'll just add that audio as a short lesson.

00:07:45.020 In fact, I've already done that on the topic of free will,

00:07:48.140 and sometimes I might preview one of my lessons on the podcast.

00:07:51.620 But my plan is to produce short talks

00:07:53.800 of around 5 to 15 minutes in length

00:07:56.620 in an ongoing way exclusively for the course.

00:08:00.440 So most of the content that you find on the app

00:08:02.760 will only be available there.

00:08:05.160 Now you can download the app for free,

00:08:07.100 and this will give you access to the first 5 guided meditations

00:08:09.940 and 3 lessons.

00:08:11.860 It'll also allow you to use the meditation timer

00:08:13.960 if you just want to practice in silence.

00:08:16.380 But the rest of the course requires that you subscribe

00:08:18.500 to get access to it.

00:08:20.580 Of course, I made a promise to supporters of the podcast

00:08:22.820 a while back that they would get the app for free,

00:08:25.320 and I intend to honor that promise.

00:08:27.740 However, there was far more involved

00:08:29.260 in developing and maintaining an app

00:08:31.060 than I realized.

00:08:32.720 And in the meantime, I've taken on outside investors

00:08:35.180 and hired a team of full-time developers.

00:08:37.320 So the pay-what-you-can model

00:08:39.800 simply won't work for the app going forward.

00:08:42.960 So if you've been a supporter of the podcast

00:08:44.420 at any level prior to September 18th,

00:08:47.980 when we officially launched the Waking Up course,

00:08:50.560 you'll get lifetime access to the course for free.

00:08:53.360 If you ever supported the show

00:08:54.720 through samharris.org or Patreon,

00:08:57.540 we have your email address,

00:08:59.120 and you should have already been notified

00:09:00.420 that you have access to the app.

00:09:02.560 And this will be true 0.65

00:09:03.500 when we release the Android version as well.

00:09:06.520 So this is yet another opportunity I can take

00:09:08.360 to thank all of you

00:09:09.360 who supported the podcast early on.

00:09:11.840 However, that sound you hear

00:09:13.160 is the sound of the door closing behind you.

00:09:16.180 Because for everyone else going forward,

00:09:18.020 the only way to get access to the Waking Up course

00:09:20.000 will be to subscribe,

00:09:21.400 whether you're supporting the podcast or not.

00:09:23.720 And those of you who do get

00:09:24.780 the Waking Up course for free,

00:09:26.500 you can really help us

00:09:27.640 by telling your friends about it

00:09:28.880 and by reviewing it in the App Store

00:09:30.640 and helping to spread the word on social media.

00:09:33.860 This app has been a huge investment

00:09:35.720 and will continue to be.

00:09:37.580 And if it can spread by word of mouth,

00:09:39.460 that would be the best possible outcome.

00:09:41.940 Of course, if you have problems with the app

00:09:43.980 or have features you'd like us to build,

00:09:46.580 please send those to us directly at wakingup.com.

00:09:49.400 There's a contact form there.

00:09:51.060 And this feedback will be hugely helpful.

00:09:53.680 So if you'd like to practice meditation with me

00:09:55.800 and engage in philosophical

00:09:57.720 and scientific considerations

00:09:59.280 about the nature of mind,

00:10:00.880 you can check out what I'm doing

00:10:01.900 at wakingup.com.

00:10:02.920 And as always,

00:10:04.520 many thanks for listening.

00:10:05.420 I'll see you soon.

00:10:05.620 Thank you.

00:10:05.880 Thank you.

00:10:06.260 Bye.

00:10:21.740 Bye.

00:10:22.500 Have a nice day.

00:10:23.080 Bye.

00:10:23.560 Bye.

00:10:23.760 Bye.

00:10:24.380 Bye.

00:10:25.600 Bye.

00:10:25.840 Bye.

00:10:26.220 Bye.

00:10:26.820 Bye.

00:10:27.400 Bye.

00:10:29.500 Bye.

00:10:30.280 Bye.

00:10:30.640 Bye.

00:10:31.480 Bye.

00:10:32.280 Bye.

00:10:32.440 Bye.

00:10:32.700 Bye.

00:10:33.360 Bye.

00:10:34.300 Bye.

Making Sense - Sam Harris - September 25, 2018

Introducing Waking Up

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