ConsciousOwl10

Is Sam Harris Really Anti-Spiritual?

106 posts in this topic

6 minutes ago, axiom said:

There was no experience of anything "during the anaesthetic", or if there was, he cannot recall it in the present moment... which in fact means the state of interrupted consciousness, as Sam Harris put it, isn't "real" for him. 

Time is experienced through the change of form. Form and time vanished – experience did not. Experience of absence is not absence of experience. Sam's problem is that he doesn't have a subtle enough understanding of consciousness.


Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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22 hours ago, ConsciousOwl10 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3XUee3-meA

 

hey guys,

i was on youtube randomly and I watched this video by sam Harris on why we should meditate. Whats funny is that he starts to sound a lot like Leo, saying that being is fundamentally mysterious the more you look at it, and that if you look at your hand etc it becomes less and less obvious as to what is is. Watch from around 2.30 . Do you think he is secretly not as materialist as he says or is this just meant to be a feel good video to get people to subscribe to his app?

 

 

After watching this podcast with Lex, Harris lost a lot of intellectual respect in my book. 
I mean, he holds a bachelor degree in philosophy from Stanford but doesnt understand the position and implications of idealism at ALL. Its a complete strawman. I mean come on - Schopenhauer, Hegel, Kant, Spinoza.. Iam sure he at least read some of them. On the other side, he and his wife have strongly promoted the possibility of panpsychism, which of course is utter nonsense because there is no way of ever reconciling the combination problem without making HUGE loops and assumptions. 

I still enjoy the making sense podcast and especially his political/societal commentary - but on a metaphysical level, he is just wrong in my opinion. You also have to take into account that a massive part of his audience is deep into the stage orange framework of seeing the world. He is a skeptic and hardcore atheist after all, so thats exactly the audience you would expect - any step towards acknowliding mysticism would be career suicide. 


MD. Internal medicine/gastroenterology - Evidence based integral health approaches

"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love."
- Rainer Maria Rilke

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I love Sam. He is the person that bridged the gap from materialism, to opening me up to everything else. For that I'll be forever thankful and supportive of him.


hrhrhtewgfegege

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3 hours ago, undeather said:

 

 

We are ALWAYS in direct contact with reality.

You are reality.


You are God. You are Truth. You are Love. You are Infinity.

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21 minutes ago, Windappreciator said:

i don't know why he doesn't take some mushrooms just to see

He has done bunch of psychedelics.

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13 minutes ago, Whatever said:

He has done bunch of psychedelics.

oh, why is he materialist still?

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7 minutes ago, Windappreciator said:

oh, why is he materialist still?

All my friends have done a bunch of psychedelics, and they're still materialists.


Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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52 minutes ago, Carl-Richard said:

All my friends have done a bunch of psychedelics, and they're still materialists.

wtf

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24 minutes ago, Windappreciator said:

wtf

or I assume so based on the stability of their worldview over the years. I haven't directly interrogated them about their ontological viewpoints.


Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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1 minute ago, Carl-Richard said:

or I assume so based on the stability of their worldview over the years. I haven't directly interrogated them about their ontological viewpoints.

i don't know that sound unfulfilling and boring

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1 hour ago, Windappreciator said:

oh, why is he materialist still?

Maybe he didnt have actuallzed.org (tm) beliefs in place. Pre existing beliefs probably affect psychedelic experiences and for sure their interpretations after. 

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5 minutes ago, Whatever said:

Maybe he didnt have actuallzed.org (tm) beliefs in place. Pre existing beliefs probably affect psychedelic experiences and for sure their interpretations after. 

Many people initially feel very confused by psychedelics, then they might discover a new paradigm that is more able to articulate those experiences. You're always seeking coherence between beliefs and experience.


Intrinsic joy is revealed in the marriage of meaning and being.

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10 minutes ago, Carl-Richard said:

Many people initially feel very confused by psychedelics, then they might discover a new paradigm that is more able to articulate those experiences. You're always seeking coherence between beliefs and experience.

are we

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On 1/22/2022 at 7:14 AM, ConsciousOwl10 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3XUee3-meA

 

hey guys,

i was on youtube randomly and I watched this video by sam Harris on why we should meditate. Whats funny is that he starts to sound a lot like Leo, saying that being is fundamentally mysterious the more you look at it, and that if you look at your hand etc it becomes less and less obvious as to what is is. Watch from around 2.30 . Do you think he is secretly not as materialist as he says or is this just meant to be a feel good video to get people to subscribe to his app?

I find Sam very open to possibilities expressed within many spiritual traditions, he just approach is it from a very vigorous scientific and materialistic standard, which I can relate to from my own experience. 

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17 minutes ago, Windappreciator said:
18 minutes ago, Windappreciator said:

are we

Yes of course. He is the moderator, the highly enlightened being with deep insight about your inner life.

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he's often annoying 

also the "intellectual dark web" broke up because of the pandemic, they won't even go on a same podcast now

which is funny imo

 

 

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15 minutes ago, Whatever said:

Yes of course. He is the moderator, the highly enlightened being with deep insight about your inner life.

what

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The biggest thing that is getting in his way are his emotions. They've hurt him in the past and he hasn't been able to fill the void in an constructive manner. Many western Buddhist that pick up Buddhism end up practicing something closer to stoicism like Sam Harris has.

His attempt from healing from his wounds is to value materialism and scientism to fill his void. Many religious and atheist  people fall in the same trap.

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@Carl-Richard & @The0Self Thanks for your answers to my last query, guys :x

1 hour ago, Tanz said:

The biggest thing that is getting in his way are his emotions. They've hurt him in the past and he hasn't been able to fill the void in an constructive manner. Many western Buddhist that pick up Buddhism end up practicing something closer to stoicism like Sam Harris has.

His attempt from healing from his wounds is to value materialism and scientism to fill his void. Many religious and atheist  people fall in the same trap.

@Tanz I feel like my ego is in a constant battle with itself to construct a reason to stay damaged and a to do list to heal up. However, when I allow myself to feel healed (positive emotions like peace and joy) now, without "earning them" in any sort of conventional (materialistic) way, I feel like some kind of crazed spiritual vigilante*, sometimes downright evil, and sometimes find myself in an altered state akin to what I imagine "communing with the devil" might feel like.

Because it is so difficult to maintain my self-image as a 'good, honest, virtuous and morally righteous person' when I let myself feel good for no reason at all, I wonder if what I'm experiencing is a form of cognitive dissonance due to this action (choosing to feel good/healed/happy anywayclashing with my core belief (I have to act 'good, honest, virtuous and morally righteous' to deserve to feel good/healed/happy). The questions I have for you, as you appear to be familiar with this sort of thing, are:

  • Am I using my self-image to fill an unfillable void? Is that why mirroring my self-image in my actions is leading me on an unending hamster wheel of impermanent psychological healing? Am I even really healing any of these wounds if the healing never lasts?
  • Is the ultimate form of healing from one's psychological wounds healing now, for no reason at all, and with no actions needed to heal further or remain healed? If not, what is it, and could you describe a little as to how you managed it?
  • If I don't try to fill my inner void with anything anymore, will it lead to long lasting psychological healing, or further damage?
  • Is the end result of 'feeling good without any reason to' spiritual enlightenment (no self image)?
  • Do you have any ideas with regard to what could be going on with me, that you'd like to share?

 

*Vigilante — noun — a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.

 

Thank you for any input,

~Robert

Edited by softlyblossoming
improved use of italics

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