Slightly behind the curve as usual, I just realized yesterday evening (through watching Bill Mahrer’s “Real Time” on HBO) that Sam Harris has a new book out as of last month. The subject matter is in many ways what my blog entry of two weeks ago was about—spirituality as a universally available human attribute, not necessarily requiring one’s involvement in organized religion to cultivate.
I have not yet read Harris’s new book, but I anticipate encountering (yet again) some of the most articulate, insightful prose penned by an American author today on how we can enhance our awareness and appreciation of life’s great intangibles (my definition of spirituality), and live lives of much greater meaning, clarity, compassion, and purpose as a result. None of this requires taking on-board additional, scientifically unverifiable assumptions about the nature of the universe. Rather, Harris outlines time-honored practices which have been shown to bring such capacities--lying dormant with the human psyche itself, regardless of one's worldview--into fuller fruition.
Sadly, I missed Harris’ live conference event in San Francisco just last month where he presented a series of lectures on the subject to a sold out audience. Fortunately, these lectures were recorded and should be available online soon. I’ll be buying my own copy of the book shortly, and I encourage those reading this blog to do the same. Harris rarely (if ever) disappoints.
I have not yet read Harris’s new book, but I anticipate encountering (yet again) some of the most articulate, insightful prose penned by an American author today on how we can enhance our awareness and appreciation of life’s great intangibles (my definition of spirituality), and live lives of much greater meaning, clarity, compassion, and purpose as a result. None of this requires taking on-board additional, scientifically unverifiable assumptions about the nature of the universe. Rather, Harris outlines time-honored practices which have been shown to bring such capacities--lying dormant with the human psyche itself, regardless of one's worldview--into fuller fruition.
Sadly, I missed Harris’ live conference event in San Francisco just last month where he presented a series of lectures on the subject to a sold out audience. Fortunately, these lectures were recorded and should be available online soon. I’ll be buying my own copy of the book shortly, and I encourage those reading this blog to do the same. Harris rarely (if ever) disappoints.