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#34 – Sam Harris, Ph.D.: The transformative power of mindfulness — Whalespan

Content›Video›#34 – Sam Harris, Ph.D.: The…

#34 – Sam Harris, Ph.D.: The transformative power of mindfulness

Peter Attia2h 44m · 2020-01-07

Claims Made

204

Claims Supported

129

Support Rate

63%

Support rate

129 of 204 claims supported

129 supported75 partial / not

Claims from this content

72

✓Well SupportedThe Waking Up app's features, such as convenient reminders and short meditation durations (1-5 minutes), make it easier to maintain a consistent meditation practice.✓Well SupportedMindfulness allows observing thoughts as transient, leading to the dissipation of anger.◐Partially SupportedMindfulness meditation cultivates awareness of the object of meditation.✓Well SupportedConcentration-based meditation practices aim to focus attention on one thing to the exclusion of all else to eliminate thought.Partially Supported

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Attia walks back the clinic protocol: too aggressive for healthy adults

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A. Volkovreader

4h

Bookmarking — the dossier-vs-overview split is the right call. Most of the time I want overview; sometimes I want receipts.

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Would love a "what would change this verdict" RSS feed. Sign me up if it exists.

◐

The natural default mode for humans is to be lost in thought, constantly telling ourselves a story without awareness.

◐Partially SupportedConcentration practice in meditation can lead to a pleasurable state.

◐Partially SupportedStarting the path of recognizing no center to consciousness does not require years of retreat.

◐Partially SupportedVipassana is a practice in Theravada Buddhism that provides insight into impermanence, selflessness, and unsatisfactoriness.

✕Not SupportedMindfulness practices with a dualistic focus on attention can reinforce the sense of a separate self.

◐Partially SupportedThe Metta practice can lead to a default attitude of well-wishing towards others.

◐Partially SupportedMDMA can eliminate feelings of envy and zero-sum competition by dissolving self-referential concerns.

✕Not SupportedMDMA may be potentially neurotoxic and should not be taken more often than every three months due to concerns for serotonergic toxicities.

✕Not SupportedUsing MDMA more frequently than once every three months carries a risk of long-term serotonergic toxicities.

✕Not SupportedTaking unregulated compounds like MDMA carries a risk of adulteration with other substances.

◐Partially SupportedMany people text while driving without perceiving it as a significant risk.

◐Partially SupportedGrowing up in a home with more than five books was a differentiator for volunteer participation.

◐Partially SupportedLSD is not considered neurotoxic, unlike MDMA.

◐Partially SupportedValuing honest feedback, even if critical, is more beneficial for creative work than receiving only praise.

◐Partially SupportedIntense physical or mental states can reach a point where the valence between agony and ecstasy is indistinguishable, leading to a cancellation of suffering.

◐Partially SupportedLearning to move without pain after injury progresses through stages of unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and aims for unconscious competence.

◐Partially SupportedA severe back injury in 2000, which led to a year of immobility and surgery on the wrong side, forced him to relearn basic movements from scratch.

◐Partially SupportedAnger can negatively impact those around an angry individual.

◐Partially SupportedProlonged solitude is not evolutionarily optimal for humans.

◐Partially SupportedOvercoming a feared experience can lead to feeling stronger.

◐Partially SupportedBoys generally have a harder time sitting still than girls at younger ages.

◐Partially SupportedExpectations are often a poor guide to future experiences.

◐Partially SupportedPaying close attention to the present moment, such as when eating, can reveal that desired experiences may be less pleasurable than anticipated.

◐Partially SupportedConcentration-based meditation practices can lead to positive states of mind, including bliss, rapture, and the cultivation of loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity.

◐Partially SupportedMetta practice involves starting with a loved one, then a neutral person, and finally someone with whom one has negative associations, to cultivate universal well-wishing.

◐Partially SupportedMetta practice is initiated by imagining someone you love and wishing them well, free from suffering and happy, avoiding romantic love.

◐Partially SupportedMeditation allows individuals to be alone for extended periods without distress, unlike solitary confinement.

◐Partially SupportedWaking up from being lost in thought can feel like waking from a dream or hallucination, suggesting a pathological state.

◐Partially SupportedMeditation allows one to experience pain and negative emotions with equanimity by being aware of consciousness.

◐Partially SupportedAdopting a posture of empathy towards customer service personnel can improve one's interaction and state.

◐Partially SupportedAn early experience with MDMA led to an epiphany that consciousness could be experienced without self-concern or egocentricity.

◐Partially SupportedPaying attention to the sensation of wind on one's hand while walking can be a pleasurable experience.

◐Partially SupportedThe faculty of mind that focuses on a mantra or candle flame can also become one-pointedly immersed in the feeling of love for all humanity through Metta practice.

◐Partially SupportedThe insight that every experience is filtered through one's own lens is powerful and can be illustrated by tangible examples.

◐Partially SupportedMeditation practice builds resilience that can be applied throughout the day.

◐Partially SupportedA retreat of 10-14 days is recommended for significant benefits, as the first three days typically involve restlessness and resistance.

◐Partially SupportedPracticing equanimity with pain by not reacting can lead to significant personal growth.

◐Partially SupportedMindfulness can be applied to any experience, including working out or watching a movie.

◐Partially SupportedListening to podcasts during traffic delays can modulate mood.

◐Partially SupportedMindfulness meditation is a more fundamental type of meditation than concentration-based practices.

◐Partially SupportedObserving an emotional state can lead to a loss of that emotion within seconds.

◐Partially SupportedYoung children can benefit from increased awareness of their feelings, such as sadness or anger.

◐Partially SupportedChildren who practice mindfulness meditation become more aware of their emotional lives, linking emotion and behavior/thought.

◐Partially SupportedSam Harris committed to being honest in virtually every situation at age 18.

◐Partially SupportedSam Harris developed a mindfulness meditation app that was initially in beta and took years to produce.

◐Partially SupportedChildren as young as five or six can be taught mindfulness meditation with significant benefits observed.

◐Partially SupportedBeing fully engaged in present sensations makes it difficult to experience anxiety, depression, or anger.

◐Partially SupportedIn concentration-based meditation, the arising of thought is considered a sign of insufficient focus.

◐Partially SupportedSam Harris's book 'Waking Up' has been read three times by Peter Attia.

◐Partially SupportedMDMA is generally safe but carries risks due to unregulated compounds and potential adulterants.

◐Partially SupportedThe sense of being a self located in the head behind the eyes is the starting point for mindfulness meditation (Vipassanā).

◐Partially SupportedMindfulness involves observing the raw data of experience, such as sensations, without conceptualization or judgment, leading to a direct experiencing of experience.

◐Partially SupportedMindfulness is a tool used in Vipassana practice to gain insight into the fundamental characteristics of phenomena, characterized by non-judgmental and non-reactive awareness.

◐Partially SupportedStarting a rigorous exercise routine at age 40 for someone who has never exercised can be as difficult as starting a challenging meditation practice.

◐Partially SupportedNegatively valenced emotions are generally not rooted in the present moment.

◐Partially SupportedIt is possible to be content in moments of physical absence of loved ones, as this is a state many people experience when loved ones leave a room.

◐Partially SupportedExceptional happiness can be maintained effortlessly through favorable conditions such as wealth, health, supportive social circles, and the absence of significant loss or hardship, even with a persistent internal monologue.

◐Partially SupportedThe outcomes of life are significantly influenced by randomness and a combination of genetic and environmental factors, suggesting that individuals could easily be in different circumstances.

◐Partially SupportedExtremely high cortisol levels can be a physiological response to prolonged grief and anxiety.

◐Partially SupportedHappiness and the ability to appreciate life are crucial for longevity, potentially more so than delaying disease or improving physical capabilities.

◐Partially SupportedThe ideal physical body for aging well differs from the ideal physical body for peak performance in one's 30s, 40s, or 50s.

◐Partially SupportedThe primary benefit of exercise is the metabolic and structural advantages gained afterward, not immediate pleasure.

◐Partially SupportedWell-being and flourishing are more encompassing concepts than happiness, embracing all life experiences and fostering resilience, wisdom, compassion, and expansiveness.

◐Partially SupportedNegative emotions like anger and sadness have a very short half-life and are impossible to sustain for hours or days if one is not ruminating about their causes.

◐Partially SupportedA different understanding of a situation can act as a 'firmware update' to the mental operating system, preventing negative emotional responses.

◐Partially SupportedSuffering in anticipation of a negative event is often wasted time because the actual experience is less traumatic than expected.

◐Partially SupportedDeciding not to lie is analogous to deciding not to text while driving.

◐Partially SupportedPain can concentrate the mind and, if fear is overcome, can lead to mental pleasure through intense concentration.