‘Waking Up’ Is The Most Important Book I’ve Read
Secular mindfulness for spiritual growth in a spiritless world
One book can be the difference between grasping in the dark and finding what you seek in the radiance of the sun. Sam Harris’ Waking Up was that sun, illuminating the path of mindfulness for which I’d long searched.
I was exploring before I picked it up. I meditated, read articles, and listened to podcasts on the topic. I poked around, looking for something. I didn’t yet know what it was I sought. But I knew there was something there, waiting to be found.
There’d been many clues. I’d listened to lectures by and chillstep mixes of Alan Watts, where he said things I couldn’t grasp but felt were profound. I’d had strange experiences driving long trips alone, where I’d feel a heightened awareness come over me. Over and over again something teased me with its mystery. There was something here to be found. I kept looking.
I had psychedelic trips and meditative experiences that opened doors to the transcendent. Others reported feeling ‘connected’ or ‘in union’ with the universe after taking psilocybin. My experiences had this sense too — they were certainly the most profound of my life — but this description didn’t sound quite right. I kept looking.
