Thank you for including so many insightful female perspectives - the last three conversations - Jayasāra, Gangaji, Nikki Mirghafori - have been absolute gems. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has gained so much benefit from their conversations, and the other female teachers on this amazing app. All the courses and conversations from the men are wonderful - of course. But it’s so refreshing to see you guys bring in so many powerful women. A friendly suggestion. Maybe Annika could present a course based on her book Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind? I gather she’d be a bit hesitant to cross pollinate in that way but it is clear her own perspective on her discoveries could benefit and intrigue so many people. Just throwing that idea out there. Either way, I’m so appreciative to everyone at Waking Up who works so hard to create the most essential “mindfulness” app there is. I’ve tried them all and this is the only one I continually use and, although I’m a starving artist, I continue to pay to support such valuable work. My skepticism has sometimes made me try and dislike this app but with Sam at the helm, I know I’m in safe hands and won’t be nudged into the woo-woo vortex and at the same time it’s not some overly sciencey clinical feeling process. You can hear the intelligence but feel the heart. Great, great stuff. Thank you.

I don’t have the proper capacity of language to fully capture how the information contained in this app has completely transformed my life. I have been living on the outer edges of my existence, as a passenger who felt she lacked any agency to change course. I’m filled with such profound gratitude for those of you who have kept a torch lit for all who are asleep. Awakening, like everything in the universe, is twofold. Characterized by joy and gratitude as you realize the power you wield with your discerning attention and overwhelmed with compassion, helplessness and sorrow for the suffering of so many around you. All I want to do is share what I know with everyone I meet, but I’ve learned that all I can do is continue to deepen my practice, live what I know and be ready when those around me are ready to listen. I just applied to UCB get my science teaching credential. The best thing I can do right now from my current vantage point is to help teach this generation how to effectively direct their attention and to inquire about the nature of their reality. They won’t find it in the virtual or augmented reality that they are becoming increasingly entrapped in. While I know there are many who make this app possible, I must offer special thanks to David Whyte, Joseph Goldstein and you Sam. It is important now more than ever to start waking up and I’m so humbled to have made it to the other side.

I first discovered Sam Harris through his podcast, Making Sense, which is still my favorite podcast of all time. And I remember when he announced he’d be coming out with this app and at first, I didn’t use it. I was already using Headspace for over a year and didn’t feel the need. Then I tried it once and felt this immediate click, this light: “This is the kind of practice I’ve been looking for.” I’ve been using Waking Up ever since. I remember trying the first-offered longer introductory course and after each session, I swear I said “whoa.” Not because I felt like I was in another state, but I felt closer to “myself” and others, bit by bit, each session. I felt less insecure, less anxious, less angry, less anticipatory, less critical, bit by bit, each session. And this continues to be true. Sam, I wish I could look you in the eyes and tell you this in person: This app and your podcast have made me a better person. My interactions feel lighter. I am less self critical. I am less reactive. I am a better critical thinker. Your work pushes those who listen over and through the walls we put up, the walls created by childhood, by fear, by habit, by politics, by culture. I don’t know how to thank you and don’t think I ever will. I will end with this: This app is for everyone. Even if this way of thinking and practicing is totally new to you, try it. Just try it. Give it a shot. You won’t regret it.