Sam Harris - The Only Antidote to the Fear of Death

This is an abridged version of Sam Harris' famous speech "Death and the present moment." This speech has had a very strong impact on my life and showcases Sam's unparalleled ability to communicate the importance of the present moment in the way we experience our lives.

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[metamorphosis_]

Thinking is useful. But being perpetually lost in thought – isn’t.

[dlloydy]

There’s a massive amount of wisdom here. I discovered so many ‘cliches’ & ‘spiritual’ ideas speak the I almost died through a major health a moment of the worst part I gained a new perspective, a weird clarity I I knew what mattered & what it isn’t stuff, it’s experiences, and more so things you didn’t do. I had an overwhelming sense of panic over the things I never did or thought I never would. I’m grateful for so much this side. It’s not possible to have a bad day when you know you almost had no more days! Live life right now, it’s all we have.

[martynfosterqwan]

People's lives feel constantly between two focus points, a past and some future point, but the focus is still on one or both of those points and rarely in the now.

Sam's quote is analogous to Alan Watts, "A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So, he loses touch with reality and lives in a world of illusion.", and that "...you can't live at all unless you can live fully now."

Even Seneca had these similar words, "The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what is in Fortune's control and abandoning what lies in yours."

Despite meditating daily, I still have my moments where I find it difficult to live more presently, either lost in rumination or too preoccupied with what's happened or what is going to happen - although I'm better than I was. Still, it's challenging to shake off the feeling of being between to fixed points and just be.

[michael_leclezio]

this video is dope sir. been watching this speech for a good while now but i must admit that your video is probably one of the best renditions of it I've come accross! Thank you and well done. Great animation, graphics/ visuals, and storytelling skills. Perfect music too. Very well done sir. tip my hat off.

[FutureMindset]

It seems like such simple advice but it's hard to actually apply it in life.

Unfortunately people nowadays, in fact, since pretty much always, have always been struggling with finding a way to cope with the past or plan for a successful future that they forget that life is now.

[kitar]

I feel this, I always planned a future for myself and to explore different cultures/people to enrich my life. This was my plan for years as a solo nomad, but you meet interesting people and it just thwart what you thought was a solid future planned out in your head. Then the cognitive dissonance start of following through with my path I laid out or going along with this other person in which case I have no idea where my life will head. So I'm understanding more than ever that now is important because you honestly don't know what the future hold or could take you.

I just have a rough idea of what I want to do.

[ronibark]

How to Conquer Fear – A Kabbalist’s Advice
Just let the fear go. Don't think about what will happen in the next moment.
We know nothing about what is truly going on in our lives. It is thus best for us to just let go. We hold such potential within us. Letting go of our fears requires some training, but we need it.
Fear comes from our will to control situations we find ourselves in, and when we cannot control them. When we let go of fear, we then seemingly control the situations from another end. For instance, take one of the most common fears: the fear of death. Our death is inevitable. Accepting the fact that we will certainly die, we can then imagine how the world will continue developing after we are gone, agree with that picture, and let go of any current fear we have.
There are no set steps, however, for how to let go of fear. It is different for each and every person. Some people start thinking along the lines of "What will happen to the world after I’m gone?” “How will my loved ones and my relatives continue their lives?” “What will happen with my inheritance?” and “How will my legacy unfold?” Faced by these questions, we need to make another correction—of our attitude toward life and death, which is behind our every fear.
We should transform our fears into an absolute surrender to the will of nature—the will bestow that created and sustains us—which requires us to make a certain kind of effort. We might still have to go through a lot of frightening moments until we reach the end of our earthly path, so we should try to calm ourselves down.
The laws of nature that created and sustain us, and which we are ultimately being led to discover, are in a state of absolute calmness and rest. We should thus aim to emulate nature’s calmness.
We are calm when we are not worried about what will happen in the next moment. It is a difficult point to express because it is not simply about flowing with the currents of life. On the contrary, we need to rely on the laws of nature that operate on us at every moment, which control everything and everyone.
Since we live within fixed and determined laws of nature that are in total control over our lives, then we have nothing to worry about. Do we want to interfere with the laws that are driving everyone and everything through corrections? Of course we don't. We then might as well calm down and move on with our lives.
That state of calmness indicates agreement. It means that we agree with the laws of nature, which is quite difficult, because we always want to hold back, check what is happening in nature’s plans, and argue that maybe things should play out a bit differently.

[AsmaMbarek]

I'm in love with you channel keep it up man <3

[Morbid_God]

"I gazed into Eternity, and I found peace there." -Dalinar Kholin

[sacredmetaphics]

Life is sacred
Language is sacred
Earth is sacred

[daesfacetus]

It make sense that Sam Harris would promote the practice of mindfulness considering that he's a secular Buddhist. However he didn't specify how often one should focus on the present moment (and for how long) instead of being lost in thought. I think that this question about the frequency and duration of being mindful can't be easily answered.

[alunaanna]

The human condition is adorably fascinating, isn't it!?

[zachfinemusic]

“We are all just trying a way to get back to the present” wow

[kenydemeza]

Does anyone know the name of the song playing in the background ?

[mags]

00:01:40 "... but we know that the input from the finger to sensory cortex must take longer than the input from your nose. And this is true". Key word, MUST. That statement in brief summary, "we know it must be true" does not mean it is true; Sam is very clever with the words and how he strings his sentences together, to make it sound as if this is something that he or scientists were able to measure and prove it is true.

And I've never seen him answer the question, where did everything come from?

[blazemordly]

the irony of the person that cannot and will not ever understand what he is saying regarding those that are so far gone into there self-anger & ruminating endlessly is indeed the saddest thing one might ever know.
edit* Sad for those around them I mean.

[midnightalley]

Great speech but I didn't see an antidote

[healthyhomesoflubbock]

Pretty good on this one sam, it took me a long time to be a good listener and I still struggle with it when I’m listening to an idiot

[sqrithl]

Sam Harris is always worth listening too, however the absence of that annoying “music “would be greatly appreciated.

[kuroryudairyu]

Beautiful but it's better to listen to this video rather than watch it, cause, especially in some many parts, the visuals, the images are a bit too much frustrating and choice in my opinion