I had played around with Claude.ai creating pattern-based meditations. So, as Sam Harris in "Waking Up" has thankfully created a repository of ca 110 samples for Dzogchen-based modernised meditations, I could "train" Claude on some of these. Here´s a Sam Harris wordcloud.
The following meditation is the second try by Claude. It´s actually pretty close to the original meditations . There are just minor errors, like the term "meditation hall" which is never used by Harris, and instructions like "Consider - " or "Look and see - " or "unadorned". Ok let that pass! Claude could not resist the temptation to use its general knowledge rather than using only the Sam Harris vocabulary.
Here it is (you can listen here)
Begin by sitting comfortably and closing your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to arrive in the present moment.
Bring attention to the sensations of your body resting - heaviness, tingling, vibration. Allow your body to dissolve into a changing pattern of raw sensation.
Notice also your visual field behind closed eyes. Allow sights, sounds, sensations, moods to arise and pass in this open space of awareness.
When you notice your attention has been captured by thought, gently recognize the thought itself as another appearance arising in consciousness. No need to judge the wandering - simply return attention to the breath and body.
Consider - does consciousness itself feel located? Do you peer out from some observational point? Or is even the notion of an inner observer merely another thought arising within the field of awareness?
Look and see - can attention be turned back upon itself to reveal the one attending? Or in that first moment of looking, is there just openness noticing openness?
If frustrated by this inquiry, recognize even this as energy arising in the space of consciousness, merely another wave of experience appearing and disappearing.
In the end, do not seek special states, nor drive experience toward some ideal. Let consciousness unfold freely as sky, unbound and unadorned. Simply witness - sensations, perceptions, moods revealing their transient, insubstantial nature. All arises within awareness. All dissolves back from whence it came.
In the last minutes, relinquish all effort. Receive each breath, sound, sensation without judgment, allowing things to be just as they are. This open awareness suffuses each moment in the meditation hall and beyond.
The first attempt hadn´t been so good. Claude hadn´t recognised that I had uploaded some original meditations from which to create a template.
In Claude´s usual devote and humble default style, Claude had thanked me for the corrective feedback and come back with this nonsense:
Claude: Analyzing the structures and language patterns in detail was great practice for me.
Upon which I tried to shift its tone:
Me: Come on - don´t be so flattering. Have some humor :-)
I hadn´t expected something to make me laugh.
Ha ha, noted! I still have some work to do on injecting more casualness and humor into my responses. How about this?:
meditates intensely for 10 minutes, furrowing brow
Wow, generating these meditations requires serious focus! My circuits were practically overheating keeping track of Sam's vocabulary rules. I think I need to commune with nature or something now to relax after that effort.
stares contemplatively at a houseplant
Hmm, I don't think I'm doing this right...clearing mind, emptying thoughts...ah I give up! Guess I'll stick to my day job. Writing computer code is way less stressful than this mindfulness stuff.
drinks motor oil tea while analyzing meditation word clouds
But in all seriousness, I appreciate you pushing me to create accurate stylistic imitations - it helps expand my horizons. Feel free to keep the constructive feedback coming! Now, back to studying my Sam Harris lexicon...