Sam Harris

Although the insights we can have in meditation tell us nothing about the origins of the universe, they do confirm some well-established truths about the human mind: Our conventional sense of self is an illusion; positive emotions, such as compassion and patience, are teachable skills; and the way we think directly influences our experiences of the world.

A true spiritual practitioner is someone who has discovered that it is possible to be at ease in the world for no reason, if only for a few minutes at a time, and that such ease is synonymous with transcending the apparent boundaries of the self.

Your mind is the basis of everything that you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.

The problem is not thoughts themselves but the state of thinking without knowing that we are thinking.

There is now little question that how one uses one’s attention, moment to moment, largely determines what kind of person one becomes. Our minds—our lives—are largely shaped by how we use them.

In my view, the realistic goal to be attained through spiritual practice is not some permanent state of enlightenment that admits no further efforts but a capacity to be free in this moment, in the midst of whatever is happening. If you can do that, you have already solved most of the problems you will encounter in life.

Our habitual identification with thought—that is, our failure to recognize thoughts *as thoughts,* as appearances in consciousness—is a primary source of human suffering. It also gives rise to the illusion that a separate self is living inside one’s head.

However numerous your faults, something in you at this moment is pristine—and only you can recognize it. Open your eyes and see.

However numerous your faults, something in you at this moment is pristine—and only you can recognize it. Open your eyes and see.

Our habitual identification with thought—that is, our failure to recognize thoughts *as thoughts,* as appearances in consciousness—is a primary source of human suffering. It also gives rise to the illusion that a separate self is living inside one’s head.

In my view, the realistic goal to be attained through spiritual practice is not some permanent state of enlightenment that admits no further efforts but a capacity to be free in this moment, in the midst of whatever is happening. If you can do that, you have already solved most of the problems you will encounter in life.

The problem is not thoughts themselves but the state of thinking without knowing that we are thinking.

Your mind is the basis of everything that you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.

A true spiritual practitioner is someone who has discovered that it is possible to be at ease in the world for no reason, if only for a few minutes at a time, and that such ease is synonymous with transcending the apparent boundaries of the self.

Although the insights we can have in meditation tell us nothing about the origins of the universe, they do confirm some well-established truths about the human mind: Our conventional sense of self is an illusion; positive emotions, such as compassion and patience, are teachable skills; and the way we think directly influences our experiences of the world.