Episode

823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
listen on Spotify
46:37
Published: Mon Jul 15 2019
Description

ALMOST ALL OF YOUR SUFFERING COMES FROM YOUR THOUGHTS. We all get stuck in the past. We worry about the future. We’re full of anxiety. It can consume us. And makes us ungrateful for what is happening now. In fact, you could say that the root of all our unhappiness is our thoughts. So how can we get more present? It’s not something that happens automatically. You have to practice every day. On today’s episode of The School of Greatness, I dive deep into the idea of eliminating suffering with an expert in meditation: Sam Harris. Sam Harris is a New York Times best-selling author, podcast host, and creator of the Waking Up Course. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz). The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction. His writing and public lectures cover a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, human violence, rationality—but generally focus on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live. Sam explains how experiencing unconditional love got him interested in meditation and how he reframes the “bad things” that happen to him in life. So get ready to learn all about consciousness on Episode 823. Some Questions I Ask: When did you get into meditation? (6:00) Had you ever felt unconditional love before taking MDMA? (10:30) When did you start to focus on the desire to be happy? (15:50) Why do so many people believe so firmly in religion? (19:30) How do we unlock our consciousness? (32:40) If you could control your thoughts, what would you want to think? (41:00) In This Episode You Will Learn: The goal of meditation (14:00) The main tool we have is human conversation (18:00) The only important thing in the universe (30:00) How to reframe anxiety (35:00) Why worry is pointless (45:30) If you liked this episode, check out the video, show notes and more at http://www.lewishowes.com/823 and follow at instagram.com/lewishowes

Chapters
In this two-part series, Sam Harris, a bestselling author and meditation practitioner for over 30 years, discusses how he discovered the feeling of unconditional love and his methods for maintaining it.
00:00 - 04:13 (04:13)
listen on Spotify
Meditation
Summary

In this two-part series, Sam Harris, a bestselling author and meditation practitioner for over 30 years, discusses how he discovered the feeling of unconditional love and his methods for maintaining it. The interview covers topics such as neuroscience, religion, and rationality.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
The speaker shares their realization of experiencing unconditional love for the first time, admitting that they had no previous understanding of how people transform their experiences.
04:13 - 09:45 (05:32)
listen on Spotify
Unconditional Love
Summary

The speaker shares their realization of experiencing unconditional love for the first time, admitting that they had no previous understanding of how people transform their experiences.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
The speaker discusses how holding onto old beliefs can be counterproductive in today's world and emphasizes the importance of being open to new ideas and adapting to change.
09:45 - 18:11 (08:26)
listen on Spotify
Adaptation
Summary

The speaker discusses how holding onto old beliefs can be counterproductive in today's world and emphasizes the importance of being open to new ideas and adapting to change.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
The speaker expresses concern over the dangerous and divisive beliefs that religious people hold, but acknowledges that secular culture is slow in meeting emotional and social needs that these beliefs fulfill, such as a consoling story about what death means.
18:11 - 23:45 (05:33)
listen on Spotify
Religion
Summary

The speaker expresses concern over the dangerous and divisive beliefs that religious people hold, but acknowledges that secular culture is slow in meeting emotional and social needs that these beliefs fulfill, such as a consoling story about what death means.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
The speaker ponders on the consequences of there being no distinction between biological and non-biological systems and discusses the importance of cognitive processes in understanding the world around us.
23:45 - 29:35 (05:50)
listen on Spotify
Cognitive Processes
Summary

The speaker ponders on the consequences of there being no distinction between biological and non-biological systems and discusses the importance of cognitive processes in understanding the world around us.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
The potential for self-judgment in situations that cause anxiety can lead to a negative spiral of emotions.
29:35 - 38:29 (08:54)
listen on Spotify
Anxiety
Summary

The potential for self-judgment in situations that cause anxiety can lead to a negative spiral of emotions. However, acknowledging the sensations of anxiety and reframing them as excitement can help overcome this self-judgment.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
The speaker speaks about using Western philosophy, like Stoicism, to cope with stress by reframing negative events and reminding oneself of all the worst things that are not happening.
38:29 - 44:08 (05:39)
listen on Spotify
Stress Management
Summary

The speaker speaks about using Western philosophy, like Stoicism, to cope with stress by reframing negative events and reminding oneself of all the worst things that are not happening. Most of our suffering comes from regret and our thoughts of the past or future.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness
In this podcast, the speaker talks about the importance of tapping into compassion and love in various aspects of life and relationships, citing Ram Das' quote about growing in consciousness leading to more love and compassion.
44:08 - 46:09 (02:01)
listen on Spotify
Relationships
Summary

In this podcast, the speaker talks about the importance of tapping into compassion and love in various aspects of life and relationships, citing Ram Das' quote about growing in consciousness leading to more love and compassion. There is also a request for the listeners to share the podcast link with friends.

Episode
823 Mindfulness vs. Happiness with Sam Harris, Part 1
Podcast
The School of Greatness