Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
 | |
| Author | Sam Harris |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Spirituality, religion |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | September 9, 2014 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 256 (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-1451636017 |
| Preceded by | Free Will |
| Followed by | Islam and the Future of Tolerance |
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion is a 2014 book by Sam Harris. Harris discusses a wide range of topics including secular spirituality (essentially within the context of spiritual naturalism), the illusion of the self, psychedelics, and meditation. He attempts to show that a certain form of spirituality is integral to understanding the nature of the mind. Harris recommends Dzogchen, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice.[1] Harris' podcast adopted the title Waking Up.[2]
Reception
Waking Up has been praised by literary critics. Frank Bruni of The New York Times wrote, "Harris's book [...] caught my eye because it's so entirely of this moment, so keenly in touch with the growing number of Americans who are willing to say that they do not find the succor they crave, or a truth that makes sense to them, in organized religion."[3] He notes that since publishing The End of Faith in 2004, Harris has shifted focus to some extent from criticizing religion to trying to understand what people seek in religion and arguing these benefits are possible without it.[3]
Stephen Cave of the Financial Times similarly described Waking Up as "a fine book" and observed, "although it portrays only a fragment of the emerging picture of post-Christian spirituality, it nonetheless does so with great colour and clarity – like a shining stained glass window for a church that is still being built."[4] Kirkus Reviews called it "A demanding, illusion-shattering book certain to receive criticism from both the scientific and the religious camps."[5] Peter Clothier, writing in the Huffington Post, described it as "an immensely readable and enjoyable book. Harris writes about the profound issues that affect our lives with clarity, and with occasional humor."[1]
It received a more mixed response from Trevor Quirk of The New Republic, who criticized what he perceived as the book's inconsistencies and Harris's willingness to belittle religious people. He nevertheless wrote, "[Harris's] new book, whether discussing the poverty of spiritual language, the neurophysiology of consciousness, psychedelic experience, or the quandaries of the self, at the very least acknowledges the potency and importance of the religious impulse—though Harris might name it differently—that fundamental and common instinct to seek not just an answer to life, but a way to live that answer."[6]
References
- ^ a b Clothier, Peter (2 September 2016). "'Waking Up', by Sam Harris: A Book Review". Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ "Podcast". samharris.org. Sam Harris. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b Bruni, Frank (August 30, 2014). "Between Godliness and Godlessness". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ^ Cave, Stephen (October 31, 2014). "'Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion', by Sam Harris". Financial Times. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ^ "Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion". Kirkus Reviews. August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ^ Quirk, Trevor (September 10, 2014). "I Thought I Hated the New Atheists. Then I Read Sam Harris's New Book". The New Republic. Retrieved August 12, 2016.