Reviews for Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom

I have been meditating for about 3 years. I never understood meditation the way I do now. Not that I fully understand a practice that takes a lifetime of course, but the way Sam Harris explains things from not only a physical point of view but also a philosophical point of view is so helpful. Some concepts, some might find hard to grasp at first, but he puts it together like a practicing jig saw puzzle that comes together when you least expect it. Fantastic app.

I was one that never really bought into "spirituality" thinking you needed to adhere to some level of magical thinking. Harris opened my eyes in his book "waking up" and it changed the way i think about spirituality. i still wasn't ready to buy into meditation, but figured it couldn't hurt to try... what an amazing difference. i often find myself overwhelmed to the point of decision paralysis with work, then i remember to do this and i am able to restart the day with mental clarity. amazing app.

It's totally worth the subscription. Sam has a rich knowledge of meditation and yogic traditions, I just wish there were links to other resources that he would recommend through the app to help guide the study of meditation beyond his framework. Perhaps there could be a suggested reading list of relevant books, talks by other speakers, legitimate meditation retreat resources, etc., that are listed under a separate tab? Additionally, most exercises are 10mins long but I wish they were longer.

This is my go to app for it's lessons and also for guided Meditations from time to time. I usually practice on my own and do not like any voice guide. But, Sam's voice is very neutral, calm and always stays in the background. The longer meditations also have longer stretches of silence which is what I look for. I enjoy the other practices that are part of the app once in a while. But, mostly I stick to the aaily meditations and lessons/conversations.

Everything I need in a meditation app. Sam's guided meditations are excellent and it's helpful to have so many different focuses of meditation to challenge me. I hadn't done much meditating with my eyes open before, for example, but Sam includes multiple lessons that invite me to do just that. With the additional lessons and short talks on subjects, this app is a one stop shop for me.

Brilliant stuff. Sam busted through a ton of my misconceptions about meditation. I'm the sort of person that goes non stop, has a zillion hobbies, and is generally successful in most of them. But all that toil eats at me on some level. This app addresses this split mindset wonderfully in a lot of ways. Best experienced firsthand though; take 20 minutes and see what you think. It's not often I recommend something so heartily much less an app.

This application profoundly influenced my life. I have been meditating before, but I always found it hard to make myself do it daily, and I was never sure I was doing it right. With Walking Up Sam introduces one concept at a time, slowly, and the experience is trully pleasant. In brief moments I feel the level of piece I never experienced before. I am more mindful, focused on the present and less stressed. I purchased the subscription for a couple of friends, and I am planning to give away more!

A very practical, slowly unfolding, well thought out guide for developing a mediation practice. I look forward to doing these daily. And my young boys love the meditations-for-kids section! I hope they keep developing this section as well. I had an issue when updating the app, but customer service was very prompt and helped me resolve the issue! I highly reccomend!

I have used many different meditation apps over the last year and a half. The waking up app has got to be the best by far in ways of instruction. The reason I am giving it three stars is because of how many bugs the app itself has. There have been quite a number of days that the daily meditation doesn't work, or the app crashes all together. I would love to rate this five stars but in good conscience I can't.

I was skeptical of a guided meditation course. I've been surprised by how useful it has been. In the 28 day course, Harris incrementally introduces and develops concepts, giving you time to practice them in your sessions. I always had trouble sticking with meditation. I'm on day 13. So far, so good. Meditating alone every day can feel lonely. And while using an app might not fit my picture of what meditation should be, I shouldn't let perfection be the enemy of the good.

Been following Sam Harris meditations/podcasts for free for some years now. More recently picked up the app and purchased a subscription. The introductory course is enjoyable, with some familiar elements and some new. The lessons are something I especially enjoy, as they are bite sized bits of philosophy which serve as food for thought. Haven't explored much of the other sections yet, but I'm sure they'll be just as high quality as what I've experienced so far.

This app provides a structured way to get into a meditation practice that will feel like you are being guided along the way. Being intentionally guided through the first 50 days allows one to get really into a routine. In addition, the type of meditation that Sam teaches does not feel like a fight with oneself, like meditations that are only focused on the breath, or on visualizations, and others. The app is also heavily filled with different content, and more is being added everyday. Sam knows though that less is more, and the app is not flooded with content all over the place. You never feel like "what should I be doing?" I recommend this app to any beginner or to any one who has been practicing for a long time.

I have tried other meditation apps in the past, and enjoyed them, but Sam has a way of presenting and breaking down concepts that I find especially useful. On top of that, the extra lessons and the conversations with other teachers has really helped expand my thinking on my thinking. Thank you Sam (and Sam's team and guests), it's a great app and learning experience.

I just subscribed as a way to force myself to meditate. A few weeks in, I'm starting to feel it's worth the price though it seemed a little pricey initially. I like the theory section and the guest sections though I haven't explored much yet. I initially felt there was too much talk during the guided meditation sessions. But a few sessions in, I'm starting to see how it's helpful in gradually altering your perspective.

This app provides so much high quality content to explore, all in one place. For a time, after listening to many Alan Watt YT videos, I was stuck trying to find the right material that clicked with me. Once I heard of Sam Harris' podcast, I quickly realized these were the types of discussions I was hoping existed. Now I can explore a wide range of topics and speakers (so glad the Alan Watts talks were added!) from a consistently high quality source.

I really wanted to like this app but the guided meditations move way too quickly and I don't find them useful. There isn't enough time to ease into it for me. It would be nice if you could choose to lengthen the duration like you can with Headspace. The lessons, however, are quite interesting and digestible. Until there's an option to change the pace of the meditations I'll be sticking to Headspace.

This app allows a period of free lessons so you can really start to understand how it works. So far I'm very happy with it as it takes away alot of the clutter associated with many of the philosophies behind meditation and eastern influences. After getting the basics down perhaps it would be good to have the option to add those details in. Four star is simply because I'm still waiting to see where this goes.

I'm unsurprised that longtime meditators find this app's intro course so powerful. Sam dives into some advanced techniques. If you are a beginner or intermediate meditator, like me, you will probably be frustrated by the sessions about "having no head" and Sam's assertion that the self is an illusion. Overall, I like that the app focuses on the theory behind meditation and is less commercial than other apps. I'll keep using it for a year and see if my opinion changes.

If you want to build a discipline around meditation, this is a good place to start. Try to make it a regular habit, and give it enough time to take hold. Don't give up after a few sessions. There are 50 meditations that you should go through in order. The narrator is better to my ears than those of other apps (headspace for example), as he is not attempting to influence your mood simply by the tone of his voice, or over affected presentation. This is a high quality guided experience, exactly what you are looking for.

Great app with a lot of wisdom in it! It has changed my mindset and introduced me to meditation. I like how the introduction is, it makes it easier not to get lost or overwhelmed by the content. One think the could work on is the search feature. I feel like I can never find things on the topics I want, even if I know they are there. On top of that it pulls up what I have already listened to first which is fine but most of the time it is unrelated to what I am searching for.