Huberman Lab

Dr. Sam Harris: Using Meditation to Focus, View Consciousness & Expand Your Mind

Jan 2, 2023

In this engaging conversation, Dr. Sam Harris, a prominent neuroscientist and bestselling author, sheds light on meditation's profound impacts on consciousness and self-perception. He discusses various meditation techniques that can combat distractions and enhance inner clarity. Sam reveals the parallels between the effects of long-term meditation and psychedelics, emphasizing transformative journeys toward understanding the self. He also shares insights on stepping back from social media, highlighting how it can disrupt mental health, offering a refreshing perspective on mindfulness in the digital age.

04:17:15

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Episode guests

Sam Harris

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Meditation allows for a profound shift in how one engages with the world and oneself.

The mind-body problem and free will are explored, leading to an understanding of the non-duality of subject and object.

Perception and time perception are discussed, highlighting the elastic nature of conscious experience.

Practical tools and practices for meditation are shared, including the use of the Waking Up app.

Psychedelics and their effects on consciousness are also explored.

Being process-oriented, rather than goal-oriented, is crucial for finding fulfillment in life.

Deep dives

The Illusion of Self: Meditation and Consciousness

Meditation allows one to view consciousness itself and understand the process of consciousness. The main value of meditation is not just changing conscious experience, but recognizing the illusion of the self. It allows for a profound shift in how one engages with the world and oneself. Meditation is a potent portal to access novel ways of thinking and being. The mind-body problem and free will are explored, leading to an understanding of the non-duality of subject and object. Perception and time perception are discussed, highlighting the elastic nature of conscious experience. Practical tools and practices for meditation are shared, including the use of the Waking Up app. Psychedelics and their effects on consciousness are also explored. The importance of recognizing the illusory nature of the self and experiencing the unity of experience is emphasized.

How to Get Rid of Anxiety

02:00

The River of Consciousness

01:20

Sam’s intro on consciousness and it’s contents

01:39

The Deep Benefits of Meditation

00:40

Intro

4min

Exploring Consciousness and Health

5min

Exploring the Illusion of Self

14min

Exploring Memory, Movement, and Humanity Through Film

2min

Consciousness and Self-Perception

15min

Exploring Human Vision: Blind Spots and Anatomical Design

3min

Perception, Meditation, and Consciousness

32min

Exploring the Nature of Self-Talk and Meditation

3min

Exploring Internal Dialogue and Cognitive Structure

4min

10.

The Challenge of Sustained Attention in Meditation

4min

11.

Perception and the Illusion of Control

28min

12.

Exploring Self-Identity Through Meditation

26min

13.

The Dynamics of Context and Consciousness

13min

14.

The Wetsuit of Distraction

11min

15.

Exploring Self-Perception through VR and Mindfulness

22min

16.

Meditation vs. Psychedelics: A Journey Within

25min

17.

Exploring Emptiness and Fulfillment

23min

18.

Navigating Social Media's Impact

22min

19.

Exploring the Depths of Self and Consciousness Through Meditation

3min

20.

Exploring Meditation, Consciousness, and Support for the Podcast

3min

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

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Huberman Lab

Dr. Sam Harris: Using Meditation to Focus, View Consciousness & Expand Your Mind

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Illusion of Self: Meditation and Consciousness

The Nature of Consciousness and Perception

The Power of Meditation: Accessing Unity of Experience

The Illusion of the Self

The Mystery of Thought and Decision-making

The Coincidence of Disappearing Self and Illusion of Free Will

The Illusion of Self and the Experience of Meditation

Meditation as a Non-Dual Practice

The Path to Non-Dual Mindfulness

The power of mindfulness

Exploring psychedelics and meditation

The importance of being process-oriented rather than goal-oriented

The decision to close the Twitter account

How to Get Rid of Anxiety

The River of Consciousness

Sam’s intro on consciousness and it’s contents

The Deep Benefits of Meditation

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts