Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris's new book is a guide to meditation as a rational spiritual practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From multiple New York Times bestselling author, neuroscientist, and new atheist Sam Harris, Waking Up is for the 30 percent of Americans who follow no religion, but who suspect that Jesus, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history could not have all been epileptics, schizophrenics, or frauds. Throughout the book, Harris argues that there are important truths to be found in the experiences of such contemplatives--and, therefore, that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow. Waking Up is part seeker's memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris--a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic--could write it.

Review :
"Sam Harris ranks as my favorite skeptic, bar none. In "Waking Up" he gives us a clear-headed, no-holds-barred look at the spiritual supermarket, calling out what amounts to junk food and showing us where real nutrition can be found. Anyone who realizes the value of a spiritual life will find much to savor here - and those who see no value in it will find much to reflect on."--Daniel Goleman, author Emotional Intelligence and Focus Praise for "Free Will" "Publishers Weekly "Top 10 Science Book of Spring 2012 "A nimble book, amiably and conversationally jumping from point to point. The book's length is one of its charms: He never belabors any one topic or idea, sticking around exactly as long as he needs to in order to lay out his argument (and tackle the rebuttals that it will inevitably provoke) and not a page longer." --"Washington Post" "A brief and forceful broadside at the conundrum that has nagged at every major thinker from Plato to Slavoj Zizek. Self-avowedly secular, [Harris is] addressing the need for individual growth and social betterment, and [is] doing so with compelling argument and style." --"Los Angeles Times" "Harris skewers the concept of free will -- that mainstay of law, policy and politics -- in fewer than 100 pages." --"Nature" " ""Brilliant and witty--and never less than incisive--"Free Will" shows that Sam Harris can say more in 13,000 words than most people do in 100,000." --Oliver Sacks Praise for "The Moral Landscape" "The most compelling strand in "The Moral Landscape" is its unspooling diatribe against relativism." --"New York Times" "This is an inspiring book, holding out as it does the possibility of a rational understanding of how to construct the good life with the aid of science, free from the accretions of religious superstition and cultural coercion." --"Financial Times" "Harris's is a first-principle argument, backed by copious empirical evidence woven through a tightly reasoned narrative... Harris's program of a science-based morality is a courageous one that I wholeheartedly endorse." --"Scientific American" "Sam Harris breathes intellectual fire into an ancient debate. Reading this thrilling, audacious book, you feel the ground shifting beneath your feet. Reason has never had a more passionate advocate."--Ian McEwan "I was one of those who had unthinkingly bought into the hectoring myth that science can say nothing about morals. To my surprise, "The Moral Landscape" has changed all that for me. It should change it for philosophers too. Philosophers of mind have already discovered that they can't duck the study of neuroscience, and the best of them have raised their game as a result. Sam Harris shows that the same should be true of moral philosophers, and it will turn their world exhilaratingly upside down. As for religion, and the preposterous idea that we need God to be good, nobody wields a sharper bayonet than Sam Harris."--Richard Dawkins "Reading Sam Harris is like drinking water from a cool stream on a hot day. He has the rare ability to frame arguments that are not only stimulating, they are downright nourishing... His discussions will provoke secular liberals and religious conservatives alike, who jointly argue from different perspectives that there always will be an unbridgeable chasm between merely knowing what is and discerning what should be. As was the case with Harri Praise for "The Moral Landscape" The most compelling strand in The Moral Landscape is its unspooling diatribe against relativism. "New York Times" This is an inspiring book, holding out as it does the possibility of a rational understanding of how to construct the good life with the aid of science, free from the accretions of religious superstition and cultural coercion. "Financial Times" Harris s is a first-principle argument, backed by copious empirical evidence woven through a tightly reasoned narrative Harris s program of a science-based morality is a courageous one that I wholeheartedly endorse. "Scientific American" Sam Harris breathes intellectual fire into an ancient debate. Reading this thrilling, audacious book, you feel the ground shifting beneath your feet. Reason has never had a more passionate advocate. Ian McEwan I was one of those who had unthinkingly bought into the hectoring myth that science can say nothing about morals. To my surprise, "The Moral Landscape" has changed all that for me. It should change it for philosophers too. Philosophers of mind have already discovered that they can't duck the study of neuroscience, and the best of them have raised their game as a result. Sam Harris shows that the same should be true of moral philosophers, and it will turn their world exhilaratingly upside down. As for religion, and the preposterous idea that we need God to be good, nobody wields a sharper bayonet than Sam Harris. Richard Dawkins Reading Sam Harris is like drinking water from a cool stream on a hot day. He has the rare ability to frame arguments that are not only stimulating, they are downright nourishing His discussions will provoke secular liberals and religious conservatives alike, who jointly argue from different perspectives that there always will be an unbridgeable chasm between merely knowing what is and discerning what should be. As was the case with Harris previous books, readers a