Waking Up Avis

I started using the app in November 2018 and haven’t stopped using it since. Slowly, I have increased my time spent on the app, averaging to about 45 minutes daily.

I am a “devout” atheist and Sam Harris is my kind of person. His NO B.S. approach to mindfulness, in both theory and practice is exactly what I need. His voice & persona are down-to-earth, devoid of new-age hippie nonsense.

I have tried other types of meditation as well as other apps and Waking Up has been most beneficial for me.

However, despite all the positive elements, the app could use some improvement.

More Metta (Loving-Kindness) and Walking Meditations would help vary the predominantly Vipassana and sitting sessions.

Also, I think live subtitles / captions could make the app more accessible to a wider audience.

Otherwise I highly recommend it to everyone.

Probablement WakingUp de méditation guidée la plus pertinente que j’ai pu essayer. Je ne regrette absolument pas la souscription. L’approche de Sam Harris est très pragmatique et directe; très ancrée dans les sensations physiques. Ça fonctionne beaucoup mieux pour moi que les méditations guidées plus imagées ou métaphoriques que l’on peut trouver dans des applications concurrentes.
Dommage que ce soit uniquement disponible en Anglais par contre. Une version française serait appréciable.

Bonjour,

Il y a une unique formule d’abonnement pour 1 an. N’est t’il pas possible de s’abonner pour un mois seulement ?

Merci

J’ai trouvé WakingUp via waitbutwhy de tim urban. J’étais intéressé de loin à la méditation sans jamais pouvoir trouver une méthode qui me convienne, laissant tomber cette pratique plusieurs fois. Ici on commence par une série de 50 leçons de méditation guidé de 10min. Après cela une méditation guidé différente est proposé tous les jours. De mon expérience les 30 première leçons ont été les plus dur, ensuite la pratique deviens enfin seconde nature. Merci à Sam Harris pour cette initiative.

I have tried most of the meditation apps and this one is the most effective (for me). It is serious in the positive sense, structured without being pedantic, and has really helped me to feel like I am in the flow of meditation (most of the time) and not just listening to agreeable stories and voices. The daily meditations are just different enough that you can slip into them without having to over think them but différent enough so that you feel that no one is quite exactly the same as a previous one. And the guest speakers and additional meditations practices are welcome additions and of a high quality. Also the app experience keeps getting better with slight adjustments and improvements coming all the time showing that Sam Harris is taking a very thoughtful approach to what he is offering. And it shows. Would give it 6 stars if that was possible as it is above expectations in delivery.

I’ve done some meditation in the past and also once went to a retreat for 10 days. I’ve struggled with the regularity but Harris got me back on track with this app. It’s good that the sessions are rather short and that Harris gives instructions and comments all through the session. One might think that it’s disturbing, but the point, I think, is to use the sessions like lessons and then practice on your own, in your own tempo.

Thanks!
/Linus

Que vous soyez débutant ou pratiquant depuus de longues années, vous ne pouvez passer à côté de l application waking up de sam harris. Il a réussi à tourner la méditation accessible à tous, car il allie des cours pratiques en petites sessions, ainsi que diverses meditations guidées, sur de nombreuses thématiques comme loving kindness, meditation pour les enfants, vipassana etc.
De plus il publie pas mal de conversation très interessantes et actuelles. Je recommande fortemement!

After having tried several Apps, and having gone on 10-days silent retreats, Waking Up has still given me some of my best experiences with meditation. The App covers both practical and theoretical aspects of mindfulness and meditation. The daily meditations are a wonderful format, and the courses on the side are also quite wonderful (the one about Koans was particularly interesting to me). Using Waking Up is one of the best reasons to own a smartphone.

I waited a long time for this app to come out and have not been disappointed. I even upgraded my phone because the app wasn’t compatible with an older IPhone 5 OS. Greatest decision I could have made. This course has allowed me to integrate a daily meditation into my life (a new 10 minute session everyday gets my back to the app every morning) and I listen to the lessons several times and find I understand content at a different level as I progress in my practice. I cannot recommend this app enough. I am so grateful to Sam Harris in a way that goes beyond words. So I will settle for simple Thank You.

I have tried so many meditation applications but this one is the best. Why? Mainly for two reasons: one, in the introductory course, Sam will give you clear instructions and tips that will truly help you in your meditations (it is not about visualization and wishful thinking I would say but about techniques closely related to mindfulness). Second, the “theory” lessons are very interesting: it is like attending meditation and philosophy classes. I also like Sam’s laid-back style in these classes. I really really recommend the Waking Upp app, as some of the concepts have really changed my mind and how I view life in a very short period of time. It also helped me escape a depression in very difficult times! Keep up the good work Sam and the team!!

Hello Sam, and hello the Team. I’be been using the Waking Up app for nearly 9 months now, and the only major possible improvement point I can think of would be to have it available in other languages. I am French, I have a quite decent command of the English language and I really enjoy the content of the app, and I appreciate the amount of work and passion that is put into producing this app. However, all my close ones to whom I share the app don’t use it because of the language. I completely realise that turning the app into French ( for example) represents quite an endeavour, because a lot of the value and quality of the app relies on the quality and editing of the audio content. Still, is there any plan to go in that direction?

I am so grateful to have introduced this in my life. The clear, articulate and elegant discussions about meditation have been a joy to listen to and absorb. It is a treat for the mind -and the ears, Sam is as always so breathtakingly eloquent!-. The guided meditations have been somewhat of a revelation of the possibilities of consciousness to the skeptic that I am. In short: a life changing practice guided by the insights and thoroughness of Sam Harris. The work this guided meditations must have taken behind the scenes must be outstanding!

... and my sanity. The talks and conversations on this app are highly enlightening, a few phrases in particular have struck me like a bolt of lightning and I’ve really tried to implement these pearls of wisdom into my daily life. One of them was learning to apologise quickly and unashamedly, and the quicker you apologise for being wrong, the less time you look like a fool, the less time it takes to make up for your foolishness and to reframe it as an opportunity to learn about your faults and grow, rather than feel humiliated. I related to this SO much and it immediately made me apologise to my partner for an earlier argument and we started on the path towards harmony in our relationship. Sam is a talented communicator and has a lot to offer in the way of wisdom and advice and has encouraged me to be more mindful in everyday interactions with people and even my relationship with myself. I’d like to say from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU Sam Harris.

La meilleure méthode d’apprentissage de la méditation que je connaisse. Extrêmement pédagogique et bien fait.
Hâte qu’une traduction en François soit disponible pour que je puisse la partager avec mes proches !

This is the most extraordinary and horizons opening daily Meditation and reflecting Course I have been a student of since its inception. And it keeps helping me change myself into someone better for everyone, everything and myself. - The only real mindful PAIN (and saddened heart) each time of practice, I have been feeling regularly, regards the terms of Metta that are those of the course. - We live in a world where many of us deal daily not with our species only but also with every xyz else: Landscapes (cf Arne Naess), seascapes, animals, and so on with all living beings and natural surroundings. And this app’s Metta practice, each time, in each one of its singular delivery and content, misses the whole paragraph where one can wish a landscape, the sea, this piece of river, the migrating salmons, the horses in Australia, the Whale in the seas of Japan, the small migratory birds landing in one’s own country with differential laws of protection, one’s own only companion (a dog, a donkey, a parrot, a rabbit, a xyz…of another species) to be not hurting, not feeling harm, be at peace… That’s my only durable discontent with this app. Other than this, extraordinary, absolutely.

Mon cerveau c’est une bête sauvage. Depuis l’enfance j’ai la difficulté de me concentrer, de me focuser. Avec ces méditations je vois le début d’une collaboration, entre moi et be mon cerveau. Thank you a lot.

Une des meilleures applications de méditation, un réel accompagnement tout au long de l’initiation.

Le support est très réactif, en somme une expérience 5 étoiles!

Les méditations de Sam ont une approche concrète, pour moi moins ésotérique que la plupart des autres apps que j’ai essayées. Son angle de neurologue apporte une vision physique et conceptuelle de la méditation, qui me parle, tout en étant très simple et précis dans ses instructions durant les séances. Je me sens vraiment avoir médité après une session, là où je doutais auparavant de ma bonne application des consignes.

Excellent contenu. Après Kabat-Zinn, Krishnamurti et Christophe André, je suis ravi d’avoir découvert Sam Harris, dont l’approche très rationnelle nous permet d’explorer encore plus loin le fonctionnement de notre conscience.
L’aspect visuel de l’app pourrait être amélioré.

Je pratique la méditation depuis une dizaine d’années et j’avoue avoir été vraiment bluffé par l’app de Sam Harris dont j’écoute par ailleurs régulièrement le podcast. J’en suis à la leçon 5 et c’est du très très bon! à la fois précis dans les instructions et aussi très profond (c’est ce qu’on aime chez Sam). J’aime aussi son approche non conventionnelle qui se différencie de la plupart des app traditionnelles qui répètent toutes la même petite musique. A préciser, l’app est en anglais uniquement (du moins à ce stade).

I really enjoy Sam Harris approach on meditation as well as his voice , and the didactic pattern of the meditations BUT I am quite disappointed with a bug that is preventing me to play the downloaded meditations when in air plane mode. I wanted to send a report to the developers but didn’t find a way to do it on the ap so here I am :)

I struggled trying to do it by myself. Having a guide voice, I’am talking for a beginner, is a better way to learn it and to focus more.

This is an amazing guide not just to learn how to meditate but how to better understand the mind.
It has helped me achieve more clarity and focus than I have had in a long time. It also gives me hope that with continued commitment I can become the master of my own mind.
I am deeply grateful to Sam Harris for having created it. It is such a great gift to share with the world.

This is the most amazing app for meditation, it's clear and concise and thought provoking, but in a light gentle way. Everything is well though out and makes you want to meditate and release inner thoughts, to feel more light and at ease. Thank you so much and there is still more of the app for me to explore.

I have tried a number of apps and the most perfect voice and words for guided meditation are those of Sam Harris. Love it! Totally worth the wait :)

J’ai trouvé WakingUp via waitbutwhy de tim urban. J’étais intéressé de loin à la méditation sans jamais pouvoir trouver une méthode qui me convienne, laissant tomber cette pratique plusieurs fois. Ici on commence par une série de 50 leçons de méditation guidé de 10min. Après cela une méditation guidé différente est proposé tous les jours. De mon expérience les 30 première leçons ont été les plus dur, ensuite la pratique deviens enfin seconde nature. Merci à Sam Harris pour cette initiative.

This is a terrific app. Great content that gradually allows you to sink in and let go. And Sam’s voice is very soothing. Worth the wait! Thank you.

It’s been a long time I want to come back to guided meditations and this app is really doing the job !

Now it's ugly as hell. Not sure what's going on. The content is good tho.