The mind is a mysterious yet intriguing place; as a widely known fact, scientists have spent decades attempting to unveil the secret buried deep beneath the layers of wrinkles but had limited success. Regarding the study of the mind, there are primarily two approaches to it: the physical approach and the psychological approach. The former is concerned with the specific mechanisms of the brain, while the latter is concerned with something more abstract, the consciousness.
 
In Sam Harris’s “Waking Up”, he described various aspects of the consciousness utilizing both approaches, but regardless of the approach, the central theme being explored here is the concept of spirituality. When discussing “spirituality”, most people tend to bring up religious associations with that word. An example would be of defining spiritualty as the state of being peace with the Almighty Lord. However, the spiritualty being explored in Harris’s accounts is rather secular; it is the idea of recognizing that human lives are more than merely sensory experiences, and that individuals are part of a greater entities, not God but the cosmos, that is divine in nature. It is a sensation of recognizing one’s true feelings and seeking inner peace.
 
At the beginning of his accounts, Harris started his story with a detailed description of a hiking trip he went on. He went on this trip aiming to be away from all of the mess city life had brought him. At midnight, being in solitude by a cliff, it was his first instance being away from all the commotions of civilization and had a moment to himself for his to contemplate. When he looked up at the night sky, he suddenly feels enticed by them, as if the stars are gazing at him. At that moment, he truly felt a sense of inner peace, as if his consciousness has merged with the boundless darkness he is gazing back into. For the first time, he tried to meditate. It was an almost psychedelic experience for him; he saw illusions of butterflies, herds of them, cruising amongst the stars that shine with blinding lights. Even the hues of the starts were different. He felt like he became a part of the herd of butterflies, a part of the cosmos. That is the moment when a person is truly away from all the mundane matters of the reality on a spiritual level. To put as an analogy, Harris also mentioned the concept of Near-Death Experience (NDE). He believed that the illusions, or playthrough of a person’s life, is very similar to the things he saw during meditation. Not only the visual imagery, but the detachment from physical form, serenity, and the presence of blinding light are also encompassed during an NDE. Although not advocating for NDE nor any form of psychedelic drugs, Harris does appreciate the inner peace he derived through a similar experience. However, it is to be reckoned that NDEs and psychedelic drugs are perilous means of achieving such sensations, which is why he advocates the usage of meditation. It is truly a process of exploring oneself and its meanings; it is truly an experience that could help a person discover inner peace, achieving a destined spirituality in one’s life.