A Curate's Egg for me. Large parts of the discussion are very hard to follow for a neophyte, but feel very important and will definitely be ripe for a re-read.
The last chapter was out of step with the rest of the book and I drew very little from it. ( )

A thoughtful argument for the value of meditation and self-analysis. TLDR: "spirituality" is a loaded word, but can be separated from religion with a little work. Consciousness is a Hard Problem to define and study in a rational fashion. Meditation can be demonstrated to have some benefits for stress relief. Mindfulness and self-reflection can help make you a calmer and more compassionate person. Apply the same skepticism to all the claims of religious scholars and gurus alike, because the scientific method is superior in all senses to wishful thinking and/or faith. ( )

Liked this book a lot. Harris wasn't as overbearing as usual, and the subject matter (consciousness) is something I'm really interested in. ( )

You know I have to have a very high regard for Mr. Harris to read a whole book exhorting me to consider Buddhism and meditation. And I do. He presents an empiricist's take throughout.

I still really need to sit down with somebody who practices these things and ask all my questions.

I guess first off, WHY. Why do you want to transcend the self in the first place? The self is all we have. Harris' main claim however is that the self is an illusion. Well, so is free will; but do you wake up every morning and lay there doing nothing, saying, let's see what I do today?

And if you can alter your consciousness and see that the self is an illusion, if this is a way to mitigate anxiety and bad feelings, doesn't it get rid of the good feelings too? Why would you want to live that way?

It's sold as a way to get off the hedonic treadmill. We are constantly chasing pleasure, avoiding pain, bounced around among our emotions, seeking something that can never be permanent. Yup. That's called the HUMAN CONDITION. The pursuit of happiness... it's what life is ABOUT. I don't get why you'd want to spend the effort fighting human nature, eliminating the joy that comes from achieving goals and looking forward to the future and looking back at happy times, in exchange for some steady state of emotion-free selflessness.

I know I'm not getting it entirely. That's why I need to sit down with somebody.

I really do appreciate Harris' efforts here. He is against every form of faith-based religion and claims nothing that is not empirically testable. My readings here and elsewhere about meditation and psychedelic use have 'opened my mind' a bit - to the extent I actually can read about Buddhism and meditation without running away screaming (much).

One exercise I did enjoy much was about "having no head." You can't see your head. Try pretending you don't have one. Just pretend for a moment, don't dwell on it. Look around. How does the world look? Douglas Harding: "This hole where a head should have been, was no ordinary vacancy, no mere nothing... It was a vast emptiness vastly filled, a nothing that found room for everything: room for grass, trees, shadowy distant hills..." Trippy. ( )

É enorme a quantidade de puxa-sacos desse Sam Harris. Seja no GR, no SKoob (as resenhas que li são tão rasas quanto o resenhado!). Já assisti a vídeos dele. São de dar sono. Só a minha curiosidade mórbida me impele a ver tudo até o fim. Então quando fiquei sabendo que ele também acha que é escritor, dei logo um jeito de ler esse livro "Despertar". Acho honroso perguntar primeiro e apedrejar depois.
Portanto lá vai pedra!
O livro pretende ser (apesar de o tempo todo insistir que não é) um guia para os buscadores "espirituais" - palavra que na "desdefinição" de SH (e da cavalgadura morrida chamada Christopher Hitchens) equivale ao frêmito que um apreciador das artes experimentaria ao ver a Mona Lisa.
Usuário de droga alucinógena na juventude e agora neurocientista, o homem parece ser A autoridade em matéria de cérebro e mente. Do alto de seus vastos estudos, usando droga e meditando no Himalaia (nossa, que exótico!), a mente - axioma dos "ateuses" modernos, Richard Dawkins, etc. - depende do cérebro, sendo uma função dele. A mesma arenga materialista de sempre!
Curioso observar que em algumas partes do livro o sujeito gasta tinta (e muita) desenterrando gente como Rajneesh, Jim Jones (do Charles Manson ele não falou) e outros, simplesmente para dizer que não há guias confiáveis. Ele foi atrás de quem para meditar nas montanhas? Ele então é um falso, pois entregou apenas parte da confiança ao guru! Bom, só pode receber parte do ensinamento! Não adianta querer tudo se o que se dá é parcial.
Meteu o pau na HP Blavatsky e na Teosofia. Mas observa a insanidade do elemento: o budismo tibetano, ao qual ele tece várias loas no decorrer do texto foi exatamente o berço da Teosofia.
E parece que não aprendeu muita coisa, pois termina o livro dizendo que suas filhas (pobres crianças!) "com certeza" vão usar drogas e que estará lá (não sei onde, na sarjeta, talvez) para apoia-las (!).
Perda de tempo. Não recomendo a um buscador sério! Não recomendo a quem pense! Embasbaca é saber que o livro é aclamado por tanta gente. Mas quantidade nunca foi qualidade mesmo. ( )