Life, death & the present moment. A lecture from Sam Harris that I chopped up, fit together and overlaid with music. Too beautiful not to share. Original lecture: • Video
CRAZY GAMER WITH FRIENDS Sorry for your loss......I know how it feels.......let a year pass. The pain will change and believe me the sorrow you will feel when you miss him will have a sweetness to it. I know this because I lost my DAD at 23 and my MOM at 28....I know how you feel.
CRAZY GAMER WITH FRIENDS The consciousness that you saved of him, where it is stored in your memory, is where he lives on. Enjoy those memories. He will forever be a part of you in that way.
@@matthewtenney2898 Sorry , Im not a Doctor. I use to worry about the future and Life happened and I was diagnosed with Stage Four Cancer. It changed my outlook on Life. Today , I'm seven years in remission and I cherish every moment , every second.
I'm 71...pain and meds free. I am grateful every day for having attained peace and freedom from all that is shot at you from media, and toxic people. Best place in my life so far. 💞
@@whitenorthstar no secret. Be grateful, simplify your life, and most importantly, rid yourself of toxic people from your life...even if they are close family members.
Elizabeth K what i’m about to write might be long but for some reason i felt you would read it with your heart before your eyes. I want to get it from my heart, i’m just tired of carrying it all of my life. From a stranger who lives in the edge of the world to another stranger who lives in the other edge, where the only thing that connects us is a comment section. i’ve lost my love over three years ago, since then i felt empty, even when i have all the friends and family around me, she is not dead but we broke up for the best of us( that what she believed), she forgot me as i look at her twitter account every single minute so i can know if she is alright. Three years and i didn’t forget her and still love her more than anything else, i don’t know if she forgets me, rememberers me, hates me, or loves me. I went to the edge of madness all because of the idea “she hates you and does not love you anymore” why? How? When? I keep asking my self every time i think about this idea and the only answer i get is ” i do not know”. I tried to not look at her account cause it hurts me so bad when she is having fun with her friends while i remember once she said to me” i will never let you get hurt by anything because i care about you. You are my heaven in this earth, i will never let you go” yet her she is living her life without thinking that she would come back. But you know what? i believe this made me a better man, my look at ALL life’s aspect have changed, i think she was right, it might be the best for us, but what i think is this meant to be so we can meet again when we become better people, even when all things around me say that she forgot me and maybe hated me because i tried so many times to contact her but she kept ignoring me and sometimes she texts me back saying that she hates me and does not love me anymore, but every time she says that i have a strange feeling that says she is lying and hiding something, my heart says something and my mind says something else, i am in a battle with myself, but as i said, this might be meant to be, to be a better man. I know in the deep of my heart we will come back and when we do i’ll come here and tell you. This helped me. thank you so much. I hope you have peace in your life and live a happy life. And sorry for writing so much :)
@@hebt9mlk Speak to a professional. Give that love to yourself, before you give it to someone else. What you write tell me that you don't value yourself. Three years is way too long to point over a lost love...
Elizabeth K i do value myself but i wrote all of this just to get it out of my chest, hiding something for a long time really hurts me. I do believe that i’m the best person on earth, but everyone has a limit, and that love’s lost i think it was my limit because it was my first love and never thought i would lose her, I know everyone one has a first love but i just don’t know :) Thank You again from the bottom of my heart
@The Wizard of Whatever So, experiencing light has value ONLY while you're experiencing it? Afterwards, it returns to having no value? If it were true, that'd suck.
@The Wizard of Whatever "It has value only to you." Exactly. For a brief blip in time, to boot. All I'm saying is: If that were true, that'd suck. Life can be hard enough dealing with all the bullshit we encounter. To think it's all for naught . . . sux!
@@UnknownEJP So true, who is to say it could not happen again and again. Given the eternity of time, anything that can happen, will happen, its just a matter of time. Also, the time of darkness, no matter how long it lasts may appear as nothing but an instant.
Lyrics: The one thing people tend to realize, at moments like this, is that they wasted a lot of time, when life was normal. It’s not just what they did with their time, it’s not just that they spent too much time working, or compulsively checking e-mail, it’s that they cared about the wrong things. They regret what they cared about. Their attention was bound up in petty concerns, year after year, when life was normal. And this is a paradox, of course, because we all know this epiphany is coming. Don’t you know this is coming? Don’t you know that there’s gonna come a day when you’ll be sick, or someone close to you will die, and you’ll look back on the kinds of things that captured your attention. Cause even if you live to be a hundred, there are just not that many days in life. It is always now. How ever much you feel you need to plan for the future, to anticipate it, to mitigate risks, the reality of your life is NOW. Our conscious awareness of the present moment is, in some relevant sense, already a memory. But, as a matter of conscious experience, the reality of your life is always now. And I think that this is a liberating truth about the nature of the human mind - In fact, I think, there’s probably nothing more important to understand about your mind, than that, if you want to be happy in this world. The past is a memory; it’s a thought arising in the present. The future is merely anticipated; it is another thought arising now. What we truly have is this moment. And this. And we spend most of our lives forgetting this truth, refuting it, fleeing it, overlooking it. And the horror is that we succeed. We manage to never really connect with the present moment and find fulfilment there, because we are continually hopping to become happy in the future. And the future never arrives. Even when we think we’re in the present moment, we’re, in very subtle ways, always looking over its shoulder, anticipating what’s coming next. We’re always solving a problem. And it’s possible to simply drop your problem, if only for a moment. And enjoy whatever is true of your life in the present. There are more connections in a single cubic centimeter of brain tissue, than stars in our galaxy. And yet, our inner experience offers absolutely no clue. We are subjectively unaware of most of what our minds are doing. And yet, when we think about what matters - what matters is consciousness and its contents, оkay, consciousness is everything; our experience of the world, experience of those we care about is a matter of consciousness and its contents. So, whatever the origin of consciousness, the most important question for us is how can we truly be fulfilled in life? How can we create lives that are truly worth living, given that these lives come to an end? So The frame we put around the present moment is important and largely determines our experience of it, but it seems possible, in fact, to experience life more nakedly than this. To experience it without the obvious framework. To pay attention to the present moment closely enough, so that you’re not doing anything to it. You might feel that your consciousness is in your head, or behind your face. But, as a matter of experience, it is just more sensations arising in consciousness. The only evidence of your face and head is sensation arising in consciousness, at this moment. Whatever you can possibly notice in your body, in your mind, in the world, has only one place to appear - in your conscious experience. Now, I’m not saying this is all just a dream, but, as a neurological matter it is very much like a dream. It is a dream that is constrained by inputs from the external world. And the dreams we call dreams at night are dreams that are not constrained by the external world. And that’s why you seem to get away with everything. But, you see, your mind is all you have. Okay? It’s all you’ve ever had. It’s all you have to offer other people. We are all trying to find a path back to the present moment, and good enough reason to just be happy here. If you’re constantly ruminating about what you just did, or what you should have done, or what you would have done if you only had the chance, you will miss your life. You’ll fail to connect with it. You’ll fail to connect with other people. Being the mere hostage of the next thought that comes craining into consciousness isn’t useful. So if there is an antidote to the fear of death and the experience of loss that’s compatible with reason, I think it’s to be found here. The purpose of life is pretty obvious. We are constantly… why do we create culture and form relationships beyond matters of mere survival? We are constantly trying to create and repair the world that our minds want to be in. LIVE IN THE PRESENT!
I've always wondered why people believe everything must have a purpose. As if life has a specific meaning and everything has a reason. I'm perfectly happy believing in coincidence. The meaning of life is the meaning you give your own life. And, to me, that's okay.
+gunit8590 lol. Makes me happy when we can bust each other up a bit and everyone has a great time :) this PC shit is only creating less tolerance. I say. Fuck what anyone says and just be happy and enjoy the jokes :)
Sam's point about 'purpose' was, 'purpose' is usually just a thought about the future arising now ('My life makes sense because I'm making future-progress with goal-X or religion-Y'). Once we realize that all these beliefs, plans, regrets, and fantasies are just thoughts arising in consciousness, then Sam makes sense when he says 'your mind is all you have;' you don't really have your plans or your house...the container of them all is consciousness. So, whatever basic 'plans' we choose, we'd better learn about our mind in the process. In other words, if your mind is 'always angry, confused, depressed, and unloving' then it 'won't matter what you have, you won't enjoy it.' To flip it around, if you're always clear-headed and free from needless suffering, THEN you're perfectly poised enjoy whatever philosophical viewpoints or plans give you 'meaning' at any time!
baby gorl クリームシチュー美味過ぎ suffering is only optional, if you know you have an option. If you don't, you are in big trouble. I enjoyed the statement. Thank you
I've been listening to this speech a few times a week, every week, for over a year. It has truly changed my life and helped me to avoid depression. Thank you Sam.
Everyone on Earth needs to hear this at a young age.... My one wish would be for humanity to lose our illusions, learn to live our lives to the fullest, love each other and protect our children’s future through love and compassion!!!!
I agree, but it’s a shame that the system was not built not to meet our physiological needs. How much healthy it would be for humans if we could live this way.
Wow, Madison, that's an epic turnaround and transformation. Well done! I am listening to this a few times a year when I need it, ever since my near death experience a few years ago.
@@marcusdruen9495 it's always my favorite mini speech to go to when I feel down. I immediately get up and become present so I can enjoy this beautiful life!
I love Sam Harris most of all because he, and this separates him from Hitchens and Dawkins, has acquired such profound, reflective awareness about this dimension of existence. Realizing that dimension, and trying to put it into words, makes the criticism of religion whole, in a sense. It's kind of unfortunate that this side of Sam Harris isn't that clearly visible unless you search for it closer - as commendable and needed his political material may be. Also yeah, the added soundtrack really made a tasteful combination so thank you for that :)
***** Ah, the old "Guns don't kill people.." This is an argument of which I instinctively sympathize. My grand-parents were both devout Catholics, and there is no doubt that a lot of love has sprung from their religious identities. However, I have moved from this way of thinking, partly because of teachers like Harris who are convincing to me, and partly because of getting to know so many other religious people and seeing that, beyond different extreme appearances, what unites them is unfortunately too much relying on faith when it comes to solving the world's problems. I believe those are to be solved by reason and communication beyond religious boundaries, together with Harris's idea of a reason-based morality.
***** "If you think that religion somehow restricts someone from being a rational, moral, contributing member of society" - no, that's not what I mean. First of all, I'm pondering this on a structural, global level, and not trying to attack specific religious individuals. What I mean is that those three traits, and they are all very essential in my opinion, are not exclusive to religion, but instead can hold their own without the religious dimension. And without that dimension of dogma and division, I believe we would be more free to connect in the here and now to others across the religious borders. We would be more efficient in making the Earth we live on now a better place, without the perspective of living for an afterlife. I don't believe I'm very arrogant, but if you want to label it that you're free to do so. =) Church and state: that's a good thing (although you could question it when the President has to be a Christian, one nation under God etc). So is Sweden.
+Adam Leckius I couldn't agree more about harris. All of the other guys seem to be lacking a sense of spirituality. Harris embraces eastern wisdom, he meditates and he's used psychedelics, and all of that has given him a perspective that the other guys just don't really have. And maybe spirituality isn't exactly the right word, but i think you know what i mean.
This video is so inspirational. I'm so stuck on obsessing about the past that I'm wasting my present and future. Sam Harris is like a modern day Alan Watts.
Hey, just stumbled across this today. I’m just curious, how much do you think you’ve grown since you posted this? Two years ago. I don’t keep a diary but i always wonder how much I’ve grown year to year. I hope you’re doing great.
I like that you wrote: "I'm waisting my present". I take it as squeezing the present. You might have meant wasting the present but i like waisting. Cheers, Nelson
I watched this video 5 years ago, knowing that one day id view it again. That day came today. Coping with loss is harsh and unacceptable. But life goes on
Fucking inspiring. Gawd damn, Sam Harris is such an articulate speaker, his ability to express thoughts and use of language is captivating. Take a listen to the lecture in its entirety, definitely worth the time.
Hector Ibarra this philosophy has been expressed by so many before him, he's not saying anything special nor original. Both Alan Watts and Terence McKenna could articulate this school of thought much more eloquently and effectively; their command of the English language and intellect far exceeded that of Sam Harris.
I watch this video when i feel lost… feeling lost right now. Not sure what to do. I guess best method is to do the right thing. Practice loving kindness and gratitude even when others don’t. Kindness is a strength.
I listened to this over and over when I was in rehab. I didn't make it, I left after 2 weeks and am back in active addiction. But one day I will make it, and in some small way will have this man to thank.
I listen to this video every few months as a reminder…. I have been wasting a lot of time recently stuck in my head overthinking and worrying instead of taking more action. Today was a more productive day. Keep pushing forward keep gaining momentum. Life is beautiful- make the most of it while you can ❤️❤️❤️
I feel like I'm 400k of these views, every day I listen to this. It reminds me to enjoy the now. Even though that's not always the easiest to do, but at some point in your day just stop, and enjoy YOU. I feel that's left out.
Whenever I feel lost in my 'problems', I always come back to this video. The way that Sam expresses himself is perfect and the music goes so well with his words. Thank you for posting and creating this beautiful edit!
What I love about his speech is that it's always relevant. I watched it like five years ago and I recently saw it again and it still felt powerful and important. It's a reminder we constantly need
The key is to make your life/consciousness into contentedness with tiny moments of suffering. This is why I meditate, as Sam Harris has to reach this insight.
Get out there! Exercise and eat healthy. Enjoy the Sun on your face. Be the best version of you. Avoid toxic people at all cost. Work hard to live dont live to work hard. Sleep hard and play hard. Get up early go to bed early. Dont rely in meds, rely on positive thinking and healthy activities. Men- keep you testosterone up, it is your essence of youth.
Hi Nii P. 1. People don’t do any exercise and wonder why they have insomnia. 2. They spend too many hours in bed when you only need 7-8 hrs max. 3. They look at their screens before they sleep or have a Coffee and wonder why their sleep is poor. 4. They have stress from no work or exercise and wonder they are up all night worrying. Sleep hard means prepare yourself for sleep and mean to get a good nights sleep to repair your body and heal your mind. Good luck to you and thank you for your comment 🐺
hayden knight read A NEW EARTH by Ekhart Tolle These same thoughts have been said for thousands of years. They are not novel concepts from sam harris. But harris does say it in a very clear way.
Nystagmus sumgatsyN You escape the cognitive dissonance when someone you trust is saying it. No average Joe atheist would ever want to listen to what a hinduist guru has to say, even if he was saying the exact same thing as Sam. They would immediately fire up their ""skeptical"" machinery and ask if they can provide evidence for their claims and autisticly screech about any nuance or paradox in the statements presented. Meanwhile they will nod attentively like a child in church when a quantum physicist explains what the heck a Higg's Boson is.
Carl-Richard Løberg I have sort of lost interest in the skeptical community for the reasons you mention. I'm an atheist but I find Sam Harris' style of atheism way more eye opening and comforting than a Dawkins type...altho I do respect Dawkins a lot
teehee time is the one thing that kills everything, but it is also the one thing that gave birth to you. Don't take it for granted. You can't escape time, just accept it.
Sam Harris has a profound ability to put things in perspective, making you realize how precious life is, among other things. He has helped me connect with others in ways that I never did before. His insight, ideas, and the manner in which he presents them verbally have changed my life in ways that I never thought possible.
@@tristanmacleod7262 the grass is greener where you water it :) choose what you pour your attention in to and how you live your life. thats the key to happiness or the path to sadness. its your decision my friend :)
I don’t know if you read these comments. But, I just lost my mother to undiagnosed cancer. This video has helped me through the first week. She was my closest friend and we lived our lives for the moment. Thank you for editing Sam’s words into such a meaningful video. It helped in a very difficult time. Thank you
A lot of philosophers share the same idea. That's why it's so beautiful. It allows more and more to share the same idea for more and more people to discover it from different people
This makes be depressed but at the same time makes me realize that there is still time to change my thinking I'm 30 ... my ideal self at 35..would be to lose all ego and enjoy every sec of life ...
Losing your ego is not about changing your thinking. It is about stopping to believe your concept of yourself. Your mind has created that concept of yourself - and you believe it. The same goes with the ideal of yourself: It is only a creation of your mind that makes you suffer. Understanding this conceptually is good. But only the experience of it really sets you free. Watch the following video without any distraction, and get clear about the reality of the human mind, and how it creates identity. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ekk8xyLAXqM.html
@TheEnd yeah I just re-found this video I actually forgot I even posted on it.. it seems like an almost impossible task but I'm still trying.. it's always fascinated me how the motivation Slips Away and you go back to your daily life no matter how much you try to reinforce what you've learned..
Ive dropped everything and opened the door to God and i miss nothing i dropped...God is good 🙏🏾🙏🏻🙏🏽 ive found total fulfillment in everything through acknowledging Him.
This is my Favorite Message ,to my aging self !It would have been so good to have seen and Heard these words and this way of focusing my life as a young man,But it's never to Late !
I have been watching this video multiple times a year for 5 years in a row, almost trying to get myself ready for my dad's death. He died, and as much as this video helped me, it could never prepare me
I listen to this almost every week it seems. I'm in a rough spot. I'm about to turn 22 this November, and I've been in the military almost 3 years now. I've had a rough time in so far. No matter how hard I try to be better I'm I feel like I'm always looked down upon by my leadership, like I'm a lost cause. I feel like I take 1 step forward then 2 steps back everytime I think I succeeded, every month. I made some mistakes. Bad ones. Every day I deal with a constant battle in my mind. A battle with myself. I tell myself that I need to be better, and that no one is respecting me. I feel like I'm always ruminating on the future. What if I get discharged? How will my life be like in the next 6 months? 2 years? 5 years? The present moment is so difficult for me to enjoy because of all my pride and negative thoughts about myself. Its tiring, and I want it to be gone. It's just so difficult, but this video helps me during the worst of days. I just felt like getting this off my chest. Whoever reads this and is in a similar situation just know you're not alone.
You have no idea on how much time you have to go thru what you are going thru. Its part of life as a human being. " This too shall pass"....im sure it did.
For some reason it gives me pretty crazy chills towards the end when the music suddenly changes to that uplifting tone right as he says “So if there’s an antidote to the fear of death..” Maybe it’s just me but it went together so well and added an incredibly deep feel to it.
Wanna know the purpose of life? 1. Do something important for the world/society/ people around you. 2. Be an inspiration/ a symbol/an example/ a hope for everybody. 3. Do what is right and what you love and be happy with it. 4.( and I think this is the most personal and important in a spiritual sense) develop your mind, your behavior, your goal must be try to live your life as the perfect version of yourself.
Yes.... and Sam doesnt address this properly imo. We all die. So what does it matter what we do? If we do good or bad, die now or later? All I took from this video, is this: Grasp the moment. But for good? For bad? This doesnt provide a comprehensive worldview. He says what matters is consciousness. To do good? Bad? What are those definitions? And yet we know on a basic level they exist? I think Sam is a theist, he just doesn't know it.... There is no justification of what ought to be, or what can be judged, if there is nothing Is beyond this world. The purpose of life is obvious? To repair? Say that to those who tear it down. I'm sorry, this is just fluff and I lost respect for Sam. It doesnt address the cruel nature of this world. He is also using the lens of a developed country full of luxury and comfort.
This is lifechanging, for real. It has literally changed my entire perspective on life and I listen to it over and over again to remind me of what it taught me. It's so so so deep.
Same here. Enjoy your moment of consciousness! No matter what, everything will be fine and work out just as it's going to. We're just lucky enough to be along for the ride.
I wonder if he (Sam Harris) realized how close this kind of of thinking is to Buddhist teachings on this topic? It often amazes me that when people engage in this kind of clear, rational, inspired thinking about the core of our existence, they start to sound like some of the great teachers ancient wisdom. But of course, every generation must continue to rediscover these truths for themselves and reinterpret them through the current knowledge and information. However, no matter how many generations pass, the core of the hard truth remains. "live in the moment", it's the closest we can ever hope to be to a true reality.
Where do you think Sam got it from? He spent weeks, and sometimes months, at a time on meditation retreats with Hindu gurus and Buddhist bhikkhus/roshis
Everyone has a meaning in life you may not know what it is but you have a meaning everyone does. Life is just a big game testing you knowledge and skill but everyone has a meaning man or woman. You have a meaning you will do great in life no matter what you do you will be successful. Do great do your best and remember you have a meaning.
"The past is a memory. It's a thought arising in the present." WOW! This is what has been holding me hostage for years. I'm 53 and only have so much time left, I'm gonna do my best to free myself from the crippling past, by choosing to focus on the present.
I really like Sam Harris. I have done the 50 day introductory meditation course on his Waking Up app and i am now going through the new 28 day version. I have been trying very hard to be at peace and accept this truth. It is however all just so very sad that we will lose our loved ones on this journey and then it ends 😔.