About this episode

Nate Hagens and Sam Harris discuss how cultivating inner awareness through meditation can help individuals and society navigate civilizational crises.

Between global crises and personal problems, modern life is overflowing with things to worry about, including many issues that feel too big to even address. Yet, our ability to influence these problems and how much we worry about them are not equal to each other – and in fact, getting lost in thoughts of anxiety can reduce our ability to act. Given the direct line between individual inner states and civilizational dysfunction, what global change might be possible if we train ourselves to observe thought, rather than be unconsciously consumed and paralyzed by it? In this episode, Nate is joined by philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris to explore how cultivating inner awareness could help us – both as individuals and a society – navigate civilizational crises. Sam argues that virtually all human suffering flows from one source: the mind's incessant, largely unnoticed identification with thought. Sam makes the case that, at scale, these distracted minds cumulate into people who are helplessly identified with their own inner worlds, their tribes, and their identity rather than able to hold a broader view. He offers a deep dive on the foundations of meditation, mindfulness, and…

People in this episode

Host: Nate Hagens

Guest: Sam Harris

Topics covered

• metacrisis
• awareness
• meditation
• civilizational crises
• mindfulness

Keywords

• anxiety
• thought
• mindfulness
• meditation
• civilization

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Great Simplification

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