Using Meditation to Focus, View Consciousness & Expand Your Mind | Dr. Sam Harris
O epizodě podcastu
My guest is Sam Harris, Ph.D. Sam earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stanford University and his doctorate (Ph.D.) in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is the author of multiple best-selling books and is a world-renowned public-facing intellectual on meditation, consciousness, free will, psychedelics and neuroscience. He is also the creator of Waking Up and the host of the "Making Sense" podcast. In this episode, we discuss meditation as a route to understanding “the self” and experiencing consciousness, not just changing one’s conscious state. Sam describes several meditation techniques and their benefits, including how meditation fundamentally changes our worldview and how it can be merged seamlessly into daily life. It can help us overcome universal challenges such as distractibility and persistent, internal dialogue (“chatter”) to allow for deep contentment and pervasive shifts in our awareness, all while acknowledging the more immediate stress-lowering and memory-improving effects of meditation. We also discuss the therapeutic use of psychedelics and the mechanistic similarities between the benefits of a psychedelic journey and long-term meditation practices. And we discuss the rationale behind Sam’s recent decision to close his social media (Twitter) account. This episode should interest anyone wanting to learn more about the higher order functions of the brain, the brain-body connection, consciousness and, of course, meditation and why and how to meditate for maximum benefit.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Momentous: https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman
Huberman Lab Premium
https://hubermanlab.com/premium
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Dr. Sam Harris
(00:04:54) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:08:54) Sense of Self & Meditation, Dualism of Self
(00:18:07) Sense of Self in Brain & Body
(00:25:28) Consciousness vs. Contents, Meditation
(00:28:25) Interrupting Sense of Self & Attentional Focus, Visual Saccade
(00:33:30) Observer & Actor, Default Mode Network & Meditation, Blind Spot
(00:36:52) Sponsor: AG1
(00:41:57) Mediation & Paths to Understanding Consciousness, Non-Dualistic Experience
(00:57:32) Sense of Self throughout Evolution
(01:07:40) Sense of Self from Human Development, Language
(01:19:46) Internal Dialogue, Distractibility & Mindfulness
(01:26:27) Time Perception & Mindfulness, Vipassana Meditation, Resistance & Pain
(01:37:13) Consciousness & Sense of Control, Free Will
(01:43:14) Authoring Thoughts: Storytelling & Ideas, Free Will
(01:52:11) Meditation & the Paradoxical Search for Self
(02:06:44) Meditation & Concentration Practice
(02:11:58) Mindfulness, “Skylike Mind” & Thoughts
(02:15:11) States of Self & Context, Dualistic Experiences
(02:32:39) Distraction & Identification of Thoughts, Meditation & “Flow” States
(02:42:58) Eyes-Open Meditations, Sense of Self, Visual Cues & Social Interactions
(02:54:59) Paths to Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation Step-Functions
(03:05:58) Psychedelics, MDMA & Experiences in Consciousness, Religion
(03:21:11) Meditation, Psychedelic Journeys & Inner Truths
(03:29:48) Psilocybin, Ego-Dissolution & Thought Expansion
(03:40:09) Process vs. Achievement of Goals, Fulfillment in Present
(03:54:29) Leaving Twitter; Conflict, Life Interruption & Politics
(04:06:14) Social Media, Attentional Disruption & Deep Work
(04:15:39) Meditation & Sense of Self
(04:19:02) Sam Harris & Waking Up App, Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Disclaimer
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
My guest is Sam Harris, Ph.D. Sam earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stanford University and his doctorate (Ph.D.) in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is the author of multiple best-selling books and is a world-renowned public-facing intellectual on meditation, consciousness, free will, psychedelics and neuroscience. He is also the creator of Waking Up and the host of the "Making Sense" podcast. In this episode, we discuss meditation as a route to understanding “the self” and experiencing consciousness, not just changing one’s conscious state. Sam describes several meditation techniques and their benefits, including how meditation fundamentally changes our worldview and how it can be merged seamlessly into daily life. It can help us overcome universal challenges such as distractibility and persistent, internal dialogue (“chatter”) to allow for deep contentment and pervasive shifts in our awareness, all while acknowledging the more immediate stress-lowering and memory-improving effects of meditation. We also discuss the therapeutic use of psychedelics and the mechanistic similarities between the benefits of a psychedelic journey and long-term meditation practices. And we discuss the rationale behind Sam’s recent decision to close his social media (Twitter) account. This episode should interest anyone wanting to learn more about the higher order functions of the brain, the brain-body connection, consciousness and, of course, meditation and why and how to meditate for maximum benefit.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab
Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman
Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Dr. Sam Harris
(00:04:54) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:08:54) Sense of Self & Meditation, Dualism of Self
(00:18:07) Sense of Self in Brain & Body
(00:25:28) Consciousness vs. Contents, Meditation
(00:28:25) Interrupting Sense of Self & Attentional Focus, Visual Saccade
(00:33:30) Observer & Actor, Default Mode Network & Meditation, Blind Spot
(00:36:52) Sponsor: AG1
(00:41:57) Mediation & Paths to Understanding Consciousness, Non-Dualistic Experience
(00:57:32) Sense of Self throughout Evolution
(01:07:40) Sense of Self from Human Development, Language
(01:19:46) Internal Dialogue, Distractibility & Mindfulness
(01:26:27) Time Perception & Mindfulness, Vipassana Meditation, Resistance & Pain
(01:37:13) Consciousness & Sense of Control, Free Will
(01:43:14) Authoring Thoughts: Storytelling & Ideas, Free Will
(01:52:11) Meditation & the Paradoxical Search for Self
(02:06:44) Meditation & Concentration Practice
(02:11:58) Mindfulness, “Skylike Mind” & Thoughts
(02:15:11) States of Self & Context, Dualistic Experiences
(02:32:39) Distraction & Identification of Thoughts, Meditation & “Flow” States
(02:42:58) Eyes-Open Meditations, Sense of Self, Visual Cues & Social Interactions
(02:54:59) Paths to Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation Step-Functions
(03:05:58) Psychedelics, MDMA & Experiences in Consciousness, Religion
(03:21:11) Meditation, Psychedelic Journeys & Inner Truths
(03:29:48) Psilocybin, Ego-Dissolution & Thought Expansion
(03:40:09) Process vs. Achievement of Goals, Fulfillment in Present
(03:54:29) Leaving Twitter; Conflict, Life Interruption & Politics
(04:06:14) Social Media, Attentional Disruption & Deep Work
(04:15:39) Meditation & Sense of Self
(04:19:02) Sam Harris & Waking Up App, Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Disclaimer
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Popis podcastu
The Huberman Lab podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. The podcast discusses neuroscience and science-based tools, including how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health, as well as existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.
Huberman has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function, and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills, and cognitive functioning. He is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017.
Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals, including Nature, Science, and Cell, and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets.
In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 10 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.