Acknowledge that modern society is poorly structured for optimal well-being, making it inherently difficult to meet needs, which helps depersonalize struggles and reduce self-blame.
Focus on fostering deep connections and a sense of belonging with others to cultivate serotonin-driven, fulfilling happiness, rather than chasing quick, ultimately unsatisfying highs from external accumulation.
Gather with others to form ‘pockets of resistance’ against the exploitation of the attention economy, engaging in deep ontological explorations about human purpose and challenging societal norms.
Engage in deep ontological explorations, asking fundamental questions about human existence and purpose, to gain clarity and challenge mainstream values.
Reflect on whether material accumulation is truly the path to happiness and well-being, as early experiences in a countercultural community suggested it was not.
Cultivate the ability to step back and critically question mainstream societal norms and material possessions to recognize alternative values and ways of living beyond what society typically promotes.
Actively seek out a spiritual teacher and a supportive community to find a meaningful way of living, particularly when feeling adrift from conventional societal norms.
Subscribe to danharris.com to access bespoke guided meditations that accompany full-length podcast episodes on Monday and Wednesday, helping to integrate wisdom from conversations into your neurons in an abiding way.
Engage in meditation with the intention of expanding your heart and releasing worries and excessive thinking, allowing you to connect with an inherent sense of goodness.
Consciously resist the impulse to feed into desires for things to be ‘faster, simpler, easier’ when these desires contribute to exploitation by the attention economy.
Consider embracing ‘downward mobility’ by prioritizing spiritual family and community over material gain and status, as this can lead to a profound sense of meaning and belonging.
Adopt voluntary financial simplicity by minimizing personal income and sharing resources, ensuring basic needs are met collectively, which fosters community and reduces focus on material accumulation.
Live in closer connection with others to enable borrowing and sharing of resources, which reduces the need for individual ownership and simplifies life.
Envision and work towards establishing a center for engaged contemplation, integrating meditation, prayer, and responsiveness to the world’s needs, to foster a shared life of deep practice.
Cultivate the ability to be in tune with the collective needs of a group and effectively communicate them to leadership, fostering collective well-being and effective group functioning.
Start communal meals with a song and a reflection question, inviting everyone to share their responses, which fosters connection, active listening, and a sense of being valued.
Explore and practice meditations on a wide range of topics, such as strong emotions, stress, decision-making fear, and open awareness, to expand your practice and address various aspects of well-being.
Engage in challenging, solitary wilderness experiences, such as a 24-hour vigil alone in nature, to foster profound learning and self-discovery.
Reduce the accumulation of possessions by consciously limiting personal living space and increasing mobility, as frequent moves make it difficult to gather many belongings.
For paid subscribers, join Dan Harris live on Substack on Tuesday, August 5th at 3:30 PM Eastern for a guided meditation and Q&A session.
Listen to the main podcast feed on Sundays for bonus content from Kyra Jewell, including sneak peeks of subscriber-only meditations and a frequently asked questions segment.