The Meaning of Life - Sam Harris

Life, death & the present moment. A lecture from Sam Harris that I chopped up, fit together and overlaid with music. Too beautiful not to share.

[matthewtenney]

To a child, life is just the present moment. As we grow older, now is just where tomorrow and yesterday come together.

[elizabethk]

I'm 71...pain and meds free. I am grateful every day for having attained peace and freedom from all that is shot at you from media, and toxic people. Best place in my life so far. 💞

[Flexipop]

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
- John Lennon

[jerrydeloza]

"The greatest tragedy in life, is what dies inside a man, while he's still alive!"

[BeeryMakesTacos]

My Father died last week. I've been trying my best not to face this reality by staying busy. I haven't cried for him until I saw this.

[lucraes]

“Life is just one small piece of light between two eternal darknesses.” (Nabokov)

[mattjones]

I quit my job of 12 years because of this video, and went after my dreams. Thank you!

[iamkind]

The past is history
Tomorrow is a mystery
But today is a gift
That is why
It is called the present

[martinlund]

Lyrics:

The one thing people tend to realize, at moments like this, is that they wasted a lot of time, when life was normal. It’s not just what they did with their time, it’s not just that they spent too much time working, or compulsively checking e-mail, it’s that they cared about the wrong things. They regret what they cared about. Their attention was bound up in petty concerns, year after year, when life was normal. And this is a paradox, of course, because we all know this epiphany is coming. Don’t you know this is coming? Don’t you know that there’s gonna come a day when you’ll be sick, or someone close to you will die, and you’ll look back on the kinds of things that captured your attention. Cause even if you live to be a hundred, there are just not that many days in life.

It is always now. How ever much you feel you need to plan for the future, to anticipate it, to mitigate risks, the reality of your life is NOW.

Our conscious awareness of the present moment is, in some relevant sense, already a memory. But, as a matter of conscious experience, the reality of your life is always now. And I think that this is a liberating truth about the nature of the human mind - In fact, I think, there’s probably nothing more important to understand about your mind, than that, if you want to be happy in this world.

The past is a memory; it’s a thought arising in the present. The future is merely anticipated; it is another thought arising now. What we truly have is this moment. And this. And we spend most of our lives forgetting this truth, refuting it, fleeing it, overlooking it. And the horror is that we succeed. We manage to never really connect with the present moment and find fulfilment there, because we are continually hopping to become happy in the future. And the future never arrives. Even when we think we’re in the present moment, we’re, in very subtle ways, always looking over its shoulder, anticipating what’s coming next. We’re always solving a problem. And it’s possible to simply drop your problem, if only for a moment. And enjoy whatever is true of your life in the present.

There are more connections in a single cubic centimeter of brain tissue, than stars in our galaxy. And yet, our inner experience offers absolutely no clue.

We are subjectively unaware of most of what our minds are doing. And yet, when we think about what matters – what matters is consciousness and its contents, оkay, consciousness is everything; our experience of the world, experience of those we care about is a matter of consciousness and its contents. So, whatever the origin of consciousness, the most important question for us is how can we truly be fulfilled in life? How can we create lives that are truly worth living, given that these lives come to an end?

So The frame we put around the present moment is important and largely determines our experience of it, but it seems possible, in fact, to experience life more nakedly than this. To experience it without the obvious framework. To pay attention to the present moment closely enough, so that you’re not doing anything to it. You might feel that your consciousness is in your head, or behind your face. But, as a matter of experience, it is just more sensations arising in consciousness. The only evidence of your face and head is sensation arising in consciousness, at this moment.

Whatever you can possibly notice in your body, in your mind, in the world, has only one place to appear – in your conscious experience. Now, I’m not saying this is all just a dream, but, as a neurological matter it is very much like a dream. It is a dream that is constrained by inputs from the external world. And the dreams we call dreams at night are dreams that are not constrained by the external world. And that’s why you seem to get away with everything. But, you see, your mind is all you have. Okay? It’s all you’ve ever had. It’s all you have to offer other people. We are all trying to find a path back to the present moment, and good enough reason to just be happy here. If you’re constantly ruminating about what you just did, or what you should have done, or what you would have done if you only had the chance, you will miss your life. You’ll fail to connect with it. You’ll fail to connect with other people.

Being the mere hostage of the next thought that comes craining into consciousness isn’t useful. So if there is an antidote to the fear of death and the experience of loss that’s compatible with reason, I think it’s to be found here. The purpose of life is pretty obvious. We are constantly… why do we create culture and form relationships beyond matters of mere survival? We are constantly trying to create and repair the world that our minds want to be in.

LIVE IN THE PRESENT!

[jasonantigua]

Even if you live to be 100 years old, that's only 100 summers !!!

[marcwesley]

Now, being terminally ill I see all the decades that I wasted. Life goes fast today is all that matters

[johnchristiansen]

Everyone on Earth needs to hear this at a young age.... My one wish would be for humanity to lose our illusions, learn to live our lives to the fullest, love each other and protect our children’s future through love and compassion!!!!

[Vegirobin]

I've always wondered why people believe everything must have a purpose. As if life has a specific meaning and everything has a reason. I'm perfectly happy believing in coincidence. The meaning of life is the meaning you give your own life. And, to me, that's okay.

[paulcaruso]

I've been listening to this speech a few times a week, every week, for over a year. It has truly changed my life and helped me to avoid depression. Thank you Sam.

[Maxiloup]

i skipped work today, driving all day just living the present moment.

[BangMaster]

"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot."
~ Charlie Chaplin

[el_chino]

Anyone else watch this before going to bed? 😌

[UpWithTheBirds]

This video is so inspirational. I'm so stuck on obsessing about the past that I'm wasting my present and future. Sam Harris is like a modern day Alan Watts.

[Sbrabson]

To live, is to suffer. To survive, is to find meaning in the suffering.

[michaelm.esquivel]

I watched this video 5 years ago, knowing that one day id view it again. That day came today. Coping with loss is harsh and unacceptable. But life goes on