How scientists are bringing advanced meditation out of the monastery

Re:How scientists are bringing advanced meditation out of th... by darthrupert on Wednesday August 23, 2023 @12:28PM (#37238492)

Sam Harris is not religious, but he certainly has practiced meditation in a religious way. I'm not saying this as if it was a bad thing, or that it detracts from his scientificism or atheism, just an observation.

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Re:How scientists are bringing advanced meditation out of th... by haswell on Thursday August 24, 2023 @11:23AM (#37249896)

Harris practices meditation religiously in the same way that professional athletes train religiously.

The difference is that people don’t conclude that one must become a religious person to become an athlete.

Describing training as religious evokes a definition of the word that has nothing to do with:

> 1. Having or showing belief in and reverence for God or a deity.

> 2. Of, concerned with, or teaching religion.

Meditation is often (incorrectly) explicitly associated with religion and religiosity, which are orthogonal to a “religious” dedication to the practice, a practice that requires no adherence to religious ideas.

I’m only splitting hairs here because the idea that there’s a religious connection remains pretty prevalent, and is a major misconception.

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Re:How scientists are bringing advanced meditation out of th... by darthrupert on Friday August 25, 2023 @04:31AM (#37259416)

Well articulated, thank you.

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