Waking Up Can Help You Learn the Principles and Practice of Mindful Meditation

The Greek philosopher Socrates famously stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Over 2,000 years later, humans are still seeking answers to the biggest questions of human existence: how to think and how to live a more fulfilled life. Many turn to mindful meditation to provide solutions.

If you’re interested in learning how to meditate successfully and understanding the principles behind the practice, Waking Up is the app to try. It teaches you how to use meditation to live a calmer and more purposeful life.

What Is Waking Up?

At its heart, Waking Up is a mindfulness and meditation app. But it goes much further than simply guiding you in daily meditation practices. It claims to be “a new operating system for your mind.” Tens of thousands of 5-star reviews back up this bold claim.

Created by neuroscientist and author Sam Harris, this unique app is a complete guide to the fundamentals of mindfulness. It draws on the wisdom of world-renowned teachers and scholars to explore mindful meditation’s principles, practices, and purpose.

Download: Waking Up for iOS | Android (Subscription required, free trial available)

Getting Started With Waking Up

Waking Up is free to download, and the free trial is truly obligation-free, as you don’t even need to register a credit card or other payment method.

First, the app prompts you to listen to the Start Here talk, in which Harris explains the app’s purpose. Next, it invites you to join the introductory meditation course, which takes several weeks to complete and leads you to a fuller understanding of mindful meditation.

The app is divided into three main sections: Theory, Practice, and Life.

Exploring the Theory of Meditation With Waking Up

The Theory section of Waking Up sets this app apart from other available mediation options. Numerous series of talks explore all elements of mindfulness in detail, from the Fundamentals course to programs on Free Will, The Illusory Self, and Mind and Emotion. There is a Conversation section with thinkers such as Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield, while a Questions and Answers section helps to decode some mindfulness basics for beginners.

Practice Mindful Meditation

The heart of the Waking Up app is the Practice section, containing an extensive catalog of mindful meditations. Beyond the introductory course, you will find many options, ranging from shorter nature-based mindfulness practices to longer programs like The Course of Awakening.

You can practice walking meditation with this app, start an SOS emergency meditation in a crisis, and even explore its excellent section on meditation for children. With so many approaches and teachers, you’ll almost certainly find a route to mindful meditation that suits you.

And if it all seems a little bewildering at first, simply head for the Daily Mediation, which selects one session for you each day. Alternatively, you could try the mindfulness meditation content on Spotify.

Life Lessons in the Waking Up App

A more recent addition to the Waking Up app is the Life tab, which contains a series of courses that act as a guide to living a good life. The Life section gathers the collective wisdom of many teachers to address issues including happiness, time management, decision-making, focus and attention, and parenting.

Here you will learn how to apply mindfulness meditation principles to help you to live a truly fulfilled life. Some of the Spoke meditation app’s fresh insights may also appeal to you if you enjoy the Life section of Waking Up.

Your Guide to Living a More Fulfilled Life

With meditation timers, reminders, and a library to help you organize your selections from the catalog, this meditation app combines careful UI design with a vast amount of wisdom. Waking Up is not the best option if you are looking for an introductory meditation app that focuses on simple breathing reminders. Waking Up subscriptions are relatively costly, and cheaper solutions are readily available.

However, there’s so much more to living an examined life than sitting with your eyes closed and paying attention to your breath. So if you want to delve deep into this world to help you live a more positive life, Waking Up has everything you could ask for from a meditation app.