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A review by clay1st
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris
3.0
Sam tried to do too much with this book and ultimately ended up not drawing a cohesive picture of spirituality without religion - let alone a guide.
He spends large chunks of the book shadow-boxing american/conservative/christian ideas, e.g. debunking the idea that near-death-experiences support christianity.
I liked what I read, and if it had been part 1 of three of a much longer book that actually tied ideas together (e.g. altered states, spiritual experiences, experience of self, eastern philosophies, gurus, dzogchen, etc) and provided some more practical advice to warrant the use of the word guide (especially when he touts all the way through that a valid approach to spirituality CAN be primarily practical) then I would have been happy.
The ultimate slap in the face was that just when you're itching for some more practical insights from Mr Harris he hits you with criticality of the ole' Dzogchen Master-student dialectical relationship which is something ultimately out of reach for (almost) all readers.
Dear Sam, don't give up yet, please write the 2nd and 3rd part - the world needs it.
He spends large chunks of the book shadow-boxing american/conservative/christian ideas, e.g. debunking the idea that near-death-experiences support christianity.
I liked what I read, and if it had been part 1 of three of a much longer book that actually tied ideas together (e.g. altered states, spiritual experiences, experience of self, eastern philosophies, gurus, dzogchen, etc) and provided some more practical advice to warrant the use of the word guide (especially when he touts all the way through that a valid approach to spirituality CAN be primarily practical) then I would have been happy.
The ultimate slap in the face was that just when you're itching for some more practical insights from Mr Harris he hits you with criticality of the ole' Dzogchen Master-student dialectical relationship which is something ultimately out of reach for (almost) all readers.
Dear Sam, don't give up yet, please write the 2nd and 3rd part - the world needs it.