Sam Harris

Much less that the brain is relevant to the nature of consciousness or the nature of what our minds are doing. So it's worth differentiating what people conceptually know about the biology and the mind's dependency on the brain and what they feel subjectively and just phenomenologically how they move through life.

Much less that the brain is relevant to the nature of consciousness or the nature of what our minds are doing. So it's worth differentiating what people conceptually know about the biology and the mind's dependency on the brain and what they feel subjectively and just phenomenologically how they move through life.

And there I think virtually everyone feels like they are a thinker of thoughts, an experiencer of experience, a subject very likely in the head behind their eyes, looking out at a world that is not them, that is separate from what they are as conscious agents. And in some sense, that world includes the body. And the body can malfunction. You've got a pain in your knee.

And there I think virtually everyone feels like they are a thinker of thoughts, an experiencer of experience, a subject very likely in the head behind their eyes, looking out at a world that is not them, that is separate from what they are as conscious agents. And in some sense, that world includes the body. And the body can malfunction. You've got a pain in your knee.

And there I think virtually everyone feels like they are a thinker of thoughts, an experiencer of experience, a subject very likely in the head behind their eyes, looking out at a world that is not them, that is separate from what they are as conscious agents. And in some sense, that world includes the body. And the body can malfunction. You've got a pain in your knee.

And you feel as the subject, not identical to that pain, but in relation to it. And you're resisting it from a point outside the pain. You are receiving pain. the pain as a kind of locus of consciousness. You can pay attention to it. You can try to be distracted from it. And then the pain can draw you back. And yet you are up here somehow as a subject.

And you feel as the subject, not identical to that pain, but in relation to it. And you're resisting it from a point outside the pain. You are receiving pain. the pain as a kind of locus of consciousness. You can pay attention to it. You can try to be distracted from it. And then the pain can draw you back. And yet you are up here somehow as a subject.

And you feel as the subject, not identical to that pain, but in relation to it. And you're resisting it from a point outside the pain. You are receiving pain. the pain as a kind of locus of consciousness. You can pay attention to it. You can try to be distracted from it. And then the pain can draw you back. And yet you are up here somehow as a subject.

And if you do a practice like meditation or something like mindfulness and you inspect that feeling of dualism where there's a sense of a subject that can pay attention

And if you do a practice like meditation or something like mindfulness and you inspect that feeling of dualism where there's a sense of a subject that can pay attention

And if you do a practice like meditation or something like mindfulness and you inspect that feeling of dualism where there's a sense of a subject that can pay attention

to experience and then get distracted by thought and then come back and pay attention to experience, that sense that there's a place from which you can focus and then be, that's the meditator, that's you now trying to meditate, that dualism gets maintained even in our spiritual efforts to recognize something about the illusoriness of the self.

to experience and then get distracted by thought and then come back and pay attention to experience, that sense that there's a place from which you can focus and then be, that's the meditator, that's you now trying to meditate, that dualism gets maintained even in our spiritual efforts to recognize something about the illusoriness of the self.

to experience and then get distracted by thought and then come back and pay attention to experience, that sense that there's a place from which you can focus and then be, that's the meditator, that's you now trying to meditate, that dualism gets maintained even in our spiritual efforts to recognize something about the illusoriness of the self.

I mean, there are many people who are practicing meditation even quite diligently and even going on retreats, silent retreats for 10 days at a stretch or more. And yet still they feel like they are the observer of experience now. They're the one being mindful or struggling to be mindful. They're the one who gets concentrated on the breath or on a mantra or it can be any practice really.

I mean, there are many people who are practicing meditation even quite diligently and even going on retreats, silent retreats for 10 days at a stretch or more. And yet still they feel like they are the observer of experience now. They're the one being mindful or struggling to be mindful. They're the one who gets concentrated on the breath or on a mantra or it can be any practice really.

I mean, there are many people who are practicing meditation even quite diligently and even going on retreats, silent retreats for 10 days at a stretch or more. And yet still they feel like they are the observer of experience now. They're the one being mindful or struggling to be mindful. They're the one who gets concentrated on the breath or on a mantra or it can be any practice really.

And yet there's still this dualism of... Consciousness feels like it's a kind of spotlight of attention that you can aim from a place in the head at experience. And ultimately... that's an illusion. Ultimately, if you pay close enough attention, you recognize that there's only experience as a matter of subjectivity. I'm not making any claims about

And yet there's still this dualism of... Consciousness feels like it's a kind of spotlight of attention that you can aim from a place in the head at experience. And ultimately... that's an illusion. Ultimately, if you pay close enough attention, you recognize that there's only experience as a matter of subjectivity. I'm not making any claims about

And yet there's still this dualism of... Consciousness feels like it's a kind of spotlight of attention that you can aim from a place in the head at experience. And ultimately... that's an illusion. Ultimately, if you pay close enough attention, you recognize that there's only experience as a matter of subjectivity. I'm not making any claims about