Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom

This app is truly amazing. There is no downside to trying it out because the app is free to download and the first 5 sessions are completely free so that you can see if you like it and if it helps you. To unlock the full app you have to pay for membership but trust me it is worth it. I have severe PTSD and am dealing with a lot of medical issues that may cause me to need surgery and have been very stressed out and have had trouble sleeping due to stress and pain. I do a meditation session every night and I sleep like a baby. It has also helped with my pain because the sessions are guided and they help you to recognize pain and move through it because even when it feels like you can’t handle the pain any more you can because you have handled it in this moment so you can handle it in the next. I personally wasn’t able to afford the full version of the app because I have had to spend so much money on doctors due to the issues I’ve been having, but the creators were kind enough to offer me it for free when I told them how much it was helping me. If I could afford to pay for it though I would because it is an amazing app and the people that created it deserve every penny, and I plan to pay for the app once I’m able to afford it. I recommend anyone who is struggling with pain, trauma, ocd, ptsd, or stress to try this app and get the membership to support its continuation because it really truly helps. If you stuck through reading all of this, thanks for your time, and get the app.

I first discovered Sam Harris through his podcast, Making Sense, which is still my favorite podcast of all time. And I remember when he announced he’d be coming out with this app and at first, I didn’t use it. I was already using Headspace for over a year and didn’t feel the need. Then I tried it once and felt this immediate click, this light: “This is the kind of practice I’ve been looking for.” I’ve been using Waking Up ever since. I remember trying the first-offered longer introductory course and after each session, I swear I said “whoa.” Not because I felt like I was in another state, but I felt closer to “myself” and others, bit by bit, each session. I felt less insecure, less anxious, less angry, less anticipatory, less critical, bit by bit, each session. And this continues to be true. Sam, I wish I could look you in the eyes and tell you this in person: This app and your podcast have made me a better person. My interactions feel lighter. I am less self critical. I am less reactive. I am a better critical thinker. Your work pushes those who listen over and through the walls we put up, the walls created by childhood, by fear, by habit, by politics, by culture. I don’t know how to thank you and don’t think I ever will. I will end with this: This app is for everyone. Even if this way of thinking and practicing is totally new to you, try it. Just try it. Give it a shot. You won’t regret it.

Sam, thank you. Listening to you implore us to “look for who’s looking” for many months, I didn’t quite see what you were getting at, though I sensed there was something there worth noticing. Then, during a daily meditation you framed the inversion of attention just a little differently, and it clicked into place. What I discovered when I looked for the “subject” was a vague sensation in my head, a broad visual field full of light, some concepts of space, objects, causes that one associates with light, color, and space. In short, I saw the context in which things appear, with a quality of awareness that seems to be available and crystal clear when I tune into it, regardless of my “state of mind.” The thing is, it’s something I have noticed many times before, unaware that it was what I was being guided toward! Sometimes I even realized it’s significance, because it’s precisely the vantage point from which “no-self” is simply obvious. Now it seems the only reason I spend time oblivious to it is pure forgetfulness. The mind still has to remember that such a quality of awareness is available, and willingly surrender to it, and the mind has deep patterns. That’s why we need to continue the practice even after we feel as though we’ve found what we’re looking for. Sam, your strategy of guiding people to this realization from every conceivable angle is both wise and effective, and I’m truly grateful for your commitment to the project. It’s doing the world a whole lot of good.