Today we enjoyed a video called, "Breaking the Spell of Negative Emotions," by Sam Harris. Anna has been talking to us about thoughts and mindfulness recently, and this fit nicely into that program.
Sam
Harris is a well-known author with a degree in philosophy
from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. He has
practiced meditation for more than 30 years and has studied with many Tibetan,
Indian, Burmese, and Western meditation teachers, both in the United States and
abroad.
“Our minds are all we have. They are all we have ever had.
And they are all we can offer others. This might not be obvious, especially
when there are aspects of your life that seem in need of improvement—when your
goals are unrealized, or you are struggling to find a career, or you have
relationships that need repairing. But it’s the truth. Every experience you
have ever had has been shaped by your mind. Every relationship is as good or as
bad as it is because of the minds involved. If you are perpetually angry,
depressed, confused, and unloving, or your attention is elsewhere, it won’t
matter how successful you become or who is in your life—you won’t enjoy any of
it.”
― Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without
Religion
