The courage to wake up and speak up

Listening to Sam Harris is like drinking a strong cup of black coffee. Or splashing your face with ice water. Or it's  like cleaning your glasses after looking through smudged lenses for two weeks. Pick your metaphor. 

Whether you agree with him or not , the man gets your attention, and is one of the most articulate thinkers of our generation.  


I have read and listened to  his talks for several years, in his role as a philosopher and religious critic, but only recently have I  become aware of his interest in spirituality  and meditation. In his latest book, Waking Up, he outlines the possibility of a secular, scientific approach to mindfulness and spirituality. And as usual for Harris , it makes for fascinating reading. 


But  this book isn't for the faint of heart, and I would recommend beginners in meditation to start elsewhere (Say,  with the work of Jon Kabat -Zinn or Mark Williams), or with a live teacher. He gets into some detailed and quite specialized areas. 

One of his central contentions in Waking up is that the "self" - or the little man behind the eyes, which we think is us, is really an illusion. And he spends a good deal of his time trying to convince us of that. 

While I think Harris is basically right on this point, I think another explanation could help (inspired by Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh).  Essentially it is this: our "self" is not a static, independent entity. We are  in constant change, a process, dependent on others for our physical and mental states. We are part of the big flow of life. In that sense, the separate, egoic self  is an illusion.

But really, why should we care about this? What's the big deal? Well that  deserves a whole other post, but in short, creating, preserving and defending our self image wastes a lot of time and energy, and contributes to anger and anxiety, perhaps even violence.
There are many fascinating chapters in Waking up, and as usual, Harris pulls no punches, and is not afraid to tell it like it is. His chapter on the recent history of American gurus is almost painful to read. 

But my purpose here is not to write a comprehensive review of Harris's book. There are many of those online. My point rather, is to talk about courage.

I've always been impressed by people with courage: the courage to speak up; the courage to share an unpopular opinion; the courage to blaze a new trail. The courage to bring something really new into existence. Sam Harris has done all of these, and continues to do so. He has angered many  with his views on  religion, and his willingness to speak some very uncomfortable truths. 

But you cannot  deny his courage. Like Socrates 2500 years ago, it takes a lot of courage to stand up and question the popular assumptions of the day. And to see him do it with such subtle humor and verbal precision is quite inspiring. He's done his homework. 

You may not agree with all of Harris's conclusions, or with the way he presents an issue, but you have to admire his courage, his tenacity, and his commitment to truth and  wisdom. And these can be an inspiration for anyone in the business of education. 

I see many of my teacher colleagues express the same kind of eloquence and courage- in faculty meetings, with parents, and with administrators. Tackling some of the thorniest problems of our times.  

They may  never be on the cover of People magazine, or on the academy awards stage. 

But like Sam Harris, they are the ones changing the world- one conversation at a time.