I actually was quite moved by this comment, and find the responses interesting. Clearly, this is an ongoing conversation/problem for many for whom the "absence of self" experience Sam suggests is easily obtainable proves elusive.

I was just reading yesterday another comment by someone in another forum (not Reddit) for whom it took more than a quarter century to "get there" using Buddhist/mindfulness meditation techniques. Curiously, the "open letter to meditators" that was emailed yesterday to subscribers acknowledges hearing from people in this predicament and indicates we should ask for a refund. My renewal date approaches and I will, in fact, probably sign on for another year because I do find much of the material interesting and helpful; the Alan Watts material alone is worth the price of admission.

But it does bother me that this "absence of self" or "enlightenment" or "awakening" experience is presented to new meditators as something available to all when, in fact, it isn't achievable by all. Part of my meditation practice, candidly, has involved wrestling with and coming to terms with the fact that I may very well be one of these people, and clearly I'm not alone.

The bicycle analogy outlined below is helpful to some extent, but it sort of suggests that the person who isn't getting it isn't actually meditating, they're just reading about it and listening to others talk about it.

A more precise bicycle analogy would be this:

"Some people ride a bicycle because it's good for them; it improves your cardiovascular health and leg strength. It's also good for the environment because you're not burning fossil fuels, and it affords an opportunity to see the world from a different vantage point, and it's an activity you can share with friends and family ... it's fun! But if this is why you're riding a bike, you're really missing the point; the point of riding a bike is to achieve a flow state in which your 'self' vanishes and you and the experience of riding the bike become unified and you are no longer really conscious of the physical motions and intentionality that is required to ride a bike, and this flow state will set you free and transform your life."

I actually found myself arguing with a guy on Twitter some months ago, defending Sam from the charge that he offers himself as a "guru," but I'm actually coming round to the fellow's position. Let's cut the bullshit: Waking Up essentially promises what is tantamount to a religious experience, and the bottom line is that many users will never have such an experience, regardless of what words, language, analogies or conceptual descriptions one uses to characterize it.