There is nothing passive about mindfulness. One might even say that it expresses a specific kind of passiona passion for discerning what is subjectively real in every moment. It is a mode of cognition that is, above all, undistracted, accepting, and (ultimately) nonconceptual. Being mindful is not a matter of thinking more clearly about experience; it is the act of experiencing more clearly, including the arising of thoughts themselves. Mindfulness is a vivid awareness of whatever is appearing in ones mind or bodythoughts, sensations, moodswithout grasping at the pleasant or recoiling from the unpleasant.

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About Sam Harris

Sam Harris was a contemporary American neuroscientist and philosopher. Samuel Benjamin Harris is an American neuroscientist, philosopher, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, determinism, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics, philosophy of mind, politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Experience — Learning through living, doing, and facing the world

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