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    Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris

    Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical journalist who had a panic attack on live national television, which led him to try something he otherwise never would have considered: meditation. He went on to write the bestselling book, 10% Happier. On this show, Dan talks with eminent meditation teachers, top scientists, and even the odd celebrity. Guests include everyone from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Brené Brown to Karamo from Queer Eye. On some episodes, Dan ventures into the deep end of the pool, covering subjects such as enlightenment and psychedelics. On other episodes, it’s science-based techniques for issues such as anxiety, productivity, and relationships. Dan’s approach is seemingly modest, but secretly radical: happiness is a skill you can train, just like working your bicep in the gym. Your progress may be incremental at first, but like any good investment, it compounds over time.

    New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free. Listen 1-week early and to all episodes ad-free with Wondery+ or Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

    Advertise

    Copyright: © Copyright 2021, 10% Happier, Inc. All rights reserved.

    • Apple Podcasts
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    Latest Episodes:
    555: Can You Really Trust Your Gut? | Amber Tamblyn Feb 06, 2023

    There may be a temptation in some circles to dismiss intuition as witchy, folkloric, or unscientific but there’s actually a ton of science around this. Our guest, author, actress and director, Amber Tamblyn will guide us through this. Tamblyn argues that intuition is a trainable skill but that this south-of-the-neck intelligence is often obscured by being too stuck in our heads and out of touch with our bodies.


    Tamblyn has been nominated for Emmy®, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Awards. Her work in television spans over two decades including starring roles on House M.D., and Two and a Half Men. On the big screen, she starred in movies such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and 127 Hours. She’s written seven books, including her latest, which is called Listening in the Dark: Women Reclaiming the Power of Intuition.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • How she defines intuition, and the role it plays as a bridge between the conscious and unconscious parts of our minds
    • Why we are conditioned to validate rational intelligence over intuitive intelligence
    • The gut/brain connection, and why the enteric nervous system is known as the “second brain”
    • Practical tips for getting better at listening to our bodies
    • The role of meditation in boosting intuition
    • The scientific research that points towards the importance of having a relationship with nature, and how this can improve our intuition
    • The relationship between intuition and creativity
    • How we should think about dream life
    • What to do when you’re not sure whether you should trust your gut
    • How to recognize the difference between anxiety and intuition
    • And why our society has downplayed the importance of intuition, which has been a tool used against women and men



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/amber-tamblyn-555

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    554: Partying With Your Neuroses | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren Feb 03, 2023

    Instead of fruitlessly trying to control everything in your life, take a lighter approach and throw a party for all that comes your way.


    About Jeff Warren:


    Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver."



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Welcome to the Party,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0a0c8786-37d5-4f61-9fd1-98986a05bc3d.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    553: Meditation Party: The “Sh*t Is Fertilizer” Edition | Sebene Selassie & Jeff Warren Feb 01, 2023

    Today’s episode is the first in an experimental new series called Meditation Party.


    Dan takes listener calls with fellow meditators Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren and get candid about their practices and dealing with life


    Sebene Selassie is based in Brooklyn and describes herself as a “writer, teacher, and immigrant-weirdo.” She teaches meditation on the Ten Percent Happier app and is the author of a great book called, You Belong. Jeff Warren is based in Toronto and is also a writer and meditation teacher who co-wrote the book, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics with Dan Harris. Jeff also hosts the Consciousness Explorers podcast.


    Call (508) 656-0540 to have your question answered during the Meditation Party!



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sebene-selassie-jef-warren-553

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    552: Understand Your Brain, Upgrade Your Life | Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor Jan 30, 2023

    The better you understand your brain – and the more effectively you can work with it – the happier and healthier you will be. This is the central contention of today’s extraordinary guest, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and she makes this assertion based on two levels of deep expertise. First, Dr. Taylor is a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist. Second, back in the ‘90s, she experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain causing her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write or recall any of her life. She later recovered, but that experience, which you will hear her describe in riveting detail, gave her incredible insight into how the brain works.


    She wrote a massive best-selling book called, My Stroke of Insight, which she has now followed up with a book called, Whole Brain Living, where she lays out exactly how to understand your brain and how to work with it.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Dr. Taylor’s personal story and how her life has changed post-stroke
    • The marvels of the human brain
    • The differences between the brain’s two hemispheres
    • How our society is skewed towards the left hemisphere and how living too much in the left hemisphere can burn us out
    • The brain’s “four characters” and how to work with these characters through a practice she calls “The Brain Huddle”
    • The differences and similarities between “The Brain Huddle” and another practice we’ve talked about before on this show called, “RAIN”
    • And she describes a tool for understanding your emotions called, “The 90-Second Rule”



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jill-bolte-taylor-552

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    551: Use This Meditation to Achieve Some Equanimity in Your Relationships | Bonus Meditation with Pascal Auclair Jan 27, 2023

    Let’s be real: relationships aren’t always easy. Connect in a more meaningful way to stay engaged and caring with balance and ease.


    About Pascal Auclair:

    Pascal Auclair has been immersed in Buddhist practice and study since 1997, sitting retreats in Asia and America with revered monastics and lay teachers. He has been mentored by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, where he is now enjoying teaching retreats. Pascal teaches in North America and in Europe. He is a co-founder of True North Insight and one of TNI’s Guiding Teachers.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Cultivating Balance in Relationships,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=f87533f5-7cee-4b03-bba3-89e299358936

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    550: The Science of Persuasion | Vanessa Bohns Jan 25, 2023

    It can be difficult to grasp how much power of persuasion we actually have, or how to wield it wisely.


    In today’s episode we look at science-based strategies for observing the effect we have on others, and how to better deal with our fear of rejection, and asking for favors.


    Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. She is the author of You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why it Matters.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How much we often underestimate our own influence
    • Why it’s so hard to say no
    • Why people are paying attention to us more than we think
    • The impact of asking for things in-person
    • The responsibility that comes with being in a position of power
    • What it means to experience your own influence
    • And how we can be more aware of the influence we have



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/vanessa-bohns-550


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    From The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos | Being Here Now with Tony Hale Jan 24, 2023

    We're sharing a preview of another podcast we love, The Happiness Lab. On The Happiness Lab, Dr. Laurie Santos explores all the ways we get our happiness wrong and what we can to do really feel better. She walks through the latest evidence-based strategies for improving your mental health, sharing practical advice on what will really bring more joy. In her latest New Year season of The Happiness Lab, Laurie tackles how to listen to the inner voice of what we really need in the new year. We're often looking into the future... hunting for the "next big thing." We can get so fixated with these events and the happiness we hope they'll deliver, that we forget to look for joy right now.

    Actor and author Tony Hale (Veep, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Arrested Development) joins Laurie to discuss how he was always chasing new accomplishments, until he realized he was missing the chance to be happy living in the moment.

    You can hear more from The Happiness Lab at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/thls6?sid=tph/.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    549: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness | Dr. Robert Waldinger Jan 23, 2023

    Today’s guest is the man in charge of the world’s longest scientific study of happiness, a study that has been running since 1938.


    Dr. Robert Waldinger is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founder of the Lifespan Research Foundation. He is also a Zen master and teaches meditation in New England and around the world. His TED Talk is one of the most viewed of all time, with over 43 million views. He’s the co-author, along with Dr. Marc Schulz, of The Good Life.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • What the Harvard Study of Adult Development is and how it got started
    • How much of our happiness is really under our control
    • Why you can’t you be happy all the time
    • The concept of “social fitness”
    • Why you should “never worry alone”
    • How having best friends at work can make you more productive
    • And why, in his words, it’s never too late to be happy


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/robert-waldinger-549


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    548: An On-the-go Strategy for Reducing Judgementalism | Bonus Meditation with Jay Michaelson Jan 20, 2023

    A busy city is an ideal place to cultivate loving-kindness and powerfully connect to those around you while you’re out and about.


    About Jay Michaelson:


    Dr. Jay Michaelson is a Senior Content Strategist at Ten Percent Happier and the author of seven books on meditation, including his newest, Enlightenment by Trial and Error. Jay is also a columnist for The Daily Beast, and was a professional LGBTQ activist for ten years. Jay is an ordained rabbi and has taught meditation in secular, Buddhist, and Jewish context for eighteen years.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loving-Kindness in the City,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=8466115b-afe5-4323-8827-a8296031502d.



    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    547: Adam Grant on Perfectionism and Procrastination Jan 18, 2023

    According to guest Adam Grant, excellence does not require perfectionism, and rather than obsessing over the outcome of your work, there are better ways of measuring your own success.


    Adam Grant is a frequent flier on this show and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 5 books that have sold millions of copies and have been translated into 35 languages: Think Again, Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. He’s an organizational psychologist who has been the top-rated professor at Wharton for seven years. He’s also the host of a newish podcast, called Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, in addition to his other chart-topping podcast, called WorkLife.


    In this conversation, we talked about:

    • Adam’s definition of neurotic vs. normal perfectionism
    • Why he thinks we’re seeing a rise in perfectionism amongst younger people
    • Strategies for managing perfectionism
    • A different metric for measuring the quality of our work
    • The importance of finding the right judges of our work
    • Reimagining our relationship to failure by setting a failure budget
    • The difference between procrastination vs. what he personally suffers from: “precrastination”




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/adam-grant-547

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    546: This Scientist Says One Emotion Might Be the Key to Happiness. Can You Guess What It Is? | Dacher Keltner Jan 16, 2023

    Our guest today is one of the most prominent happiness researchers in the world, and he has come to the conclusion that living the good life boils down to one thing: finding awe. We’re going to learn what awe does to your body, how it changes your sense of self and your relationship to the world, and why we evolved to feel awe. We’re also going to get eight simple strategies for mainlining awe into our everyday lives.


    Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the faculty director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. His new book is called, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.


    In this conversation we talk about:

    • What awe is exactly
    • How awe is different from other primal emotions like fear and appreciation of beauty
    • Why we are awe-starved in our culture right now
    • The connection between awe and morality
    • How to get something called “moral beauty” into our lives as an alternative to the outrage served up by social media
    • The importance of something called “collective effervescence”
    • How to use nature, music, and even death as sources of awe
    • How to understand epiphanies
    • And how awe has the potential to get us into trouble sometimes



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dacher-keltner-546

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    545: Is It Ever Enough? | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Jan 13, 2023

    Stressed about the strained economy? You’re not alone. Sebene offers tools to help see the abundance we all have in our lives.


    About Sebene Selassie:


    Sebene Selassie was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Money Worries,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=06cd264b-c462-4e87-8a9a-76be4093c7f2.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    544: The Dharma of Money | Spencer Sherman Jan 11, 2023

    When we think about Buddhism or the dharma, we probably don’t think about money.


    But when the Buddha laid out guidelines about how to make an ethical livelihood, this didn’t preclude material success. This episode is part two of this week’s series on money, and dives into how we can bring Buddhist principles to an area of our lives that can create so much fear, greed, and dread.


    Spencer Sherman is the founding CEO of Abacus, a values-driven financial firm, and certified mindfulness teacher. He teaches the Fearless Finance program and The Mastery of Money program for NYU’s Inner MBA program. He is also the author of The Cure For Money Madness.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How to identify and reframe our potentially harmful beliefs about money
    • How to apply the Four Brahma Viharas to having a healthier relationship with our finances
    • How to use the RAIN technique when we become anxious about money
    • Spencer’s ‘Enough Practice’ designed to give us a sense of equanimity
    • How generosity helps us let go and can create a sense of abundance
    • How mindfulness of money can key us into interconnection
    • And whether you can actually be a successful investor if you’re guided by Buddhist values



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/spencer-sherman-544


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    543: The Psychology of Money | Morgan Housel Jan 09, 2023

    Money is often a messy and complicated topic that provokes a lot of anxiety.


    Today’s show is the first episode of a two-part series on managing our relationship to money and understanding what role money really plays when it comes to our happiness.


    Morgan Housel is the author of The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness. Translated into over 50 languages with over two million copies sold, Housel is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, winner of the New York Times Sidney Award, and a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.

    In this conversation we talk about:


    • The difference between happiness and contentment
    • The difference between being rich and being wealthy
    • The elusive but crucial concept of “enough”
    • The importance of not moving the goalposts when it comes to enough-ness
    • Why financial success is more about behavior than intelligence
    • How our lived experiences impact our perspectives on money



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/morgan-housel-543

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    542: The Enlightened Mind | Part 5 of The Dalai Lama's Guide to Happiness Jan 06, 2023

    What is the Dalai Lama’s own meditation practice like? In this final episode, the Dalai Lama goes into great detail about the whys and wherefores of meditation, taking us way into the deep end. We cover single-pointed versus analytical meditation, gross and subtle levels of the mind, “true cessation,” and how we can use sleep as practice for the moment of death. Dr. Davidson returns to explain key, esoteric terms and to help us understand how we can apply elements of the Dalai Lama’s practice to our everyday lives.


    Want more of The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness? Download the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps.


    Full Show Notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dalai-lama-guide-542


    Other Resources Mentioned:

    • Healthy Minds Innovations
    • Thukdam


    Additional Resources:

    Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/JoinChallengePod

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    541: Is Reincarnation Real? | Part 4 of The Dalai Lama's Guide to Happiness Jan 05, 2023

    One of the Dalai Lama‘s most challenging teachings, especially for secular western minds, is reincarnation. In this episode, His Holiness describes the Buddhist deity who he believes to be his “boss.” Dan then sits down with Richie again to discuss whether there is any scientific evidence for rebirth. The episode begins and ends with emotional moments, where members of our team respond with tears to being in the presence of the Dalai Lama.


    Want more of The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness? Download the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps.



    Full Show Notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dalai-lama-guide-541


    Other Resources Mentioned:

    • Healthy Minds Innovations
    • UVA research on reincarnation


    Additional Resources:

    Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/JoinChallengePod

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    540: Wise Selfishness | Part 3 of The Dalai Lama's Guide to Happiness Jan 04, 2023

    How can we get better at selfishness? That’s one of many fascinating topics we cover in this episode, in which we play snippets from Dan’s one-on-one interview with His Holiness, and then unpack it all with Dr. Richard Davidson, neuroscientist and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds. We talk to His Holiness about “wise selfishness,” how to handle our enemies, and whether he ever gets angry. Then Richie recounts a time when His Holiness exhibited a rare flash of anger— towards him, in fact.


    Want more of The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness? Download the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dalai-lama-guide-540


    Other Resources Mentioned:

    • Healthy Minds Innovations


    Additional Resources:

    • Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/JoinChallengePod


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    539: The Cake Incident | Part 2 of The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness Jan 03, 2023

    The Dalai Lama makes a risky move. When confronted by a young American woman coping with incredible loss, he does something surprising and counterintuitive. The incident surfaces a question that is more urgent now than ever: As social media, tribalism, individualism, and a global pandemic conspire to keep us separated from each other, how do we maintain what psychologists call “social fitness”?


    In conversation with Dr. Richard J. Davidson, world renowned neuroscientist and longtime friend and collaborator of the Dalai Lama, we unpack the scientifically demonstrated benefits of the social connection embodied by His Holiness, and give easily accessible strategies to incorporate this wisdom into your everyday life. Also, Dan has a bit of an identity crisis.


    Want more of The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness? Download the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dalai-lama-guide-539


    Other Resources Mentioned:

    • Healthy Minds Innovations
    • Compassionate Leadership Summit
    • The Wellbeing Project


    Additional Resources:

    Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/JoinChallengePod

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    538: The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness | Part 1 Jan 02, 2023

    Dan flies to Dharamsala, India to spend two weeks in the orbit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is the first installment of a five-part audio documentary series, something we’ve never done before now. Over the course of the episodes, we talk to His Holiness about practical strategies for thorny dilemmas, including: how to get along with difficult people; whether compassion can cut it in an often brutal world; why there is a self-interested case for not being a jerk; and how to create social connection in an era of disconnection.We also get rare insights from the Dalai Lama into everything from the mechanics of reincarnation to His Holiness’s own personal mediation practice.


    In this first installment, Dan watches as a young activist directly challenges His Holiness: In a world plagued by climate change, terrorism, and other existential threats, is the Dalia Lama’s message of compassion practical — or even relevant?


    Full Show Notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dalai-lama-guide-538


    Other Resources Mentioned:

    • Healthy Minds Innovations
    • Compassionate Leadership Summit


    Additional Resources:

    Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/JoinChallengePod

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    537: Your Chance for a Do-Over| Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Dec 30, 2022

    In this practice you'll connect with your values and set an intention for how you want to show up today.


    About Oren Jay Sofer:


    Oren has practiced meditation in the early Buddhist tradition since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India with Anagarika Munindra and Godwin Samararatne. He is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and a graduate of the IMS - Spirit Rock Vipassana Teacher Training, and current member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council.

    Oren is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, a practical guidebook for having more effective, satisfying conversations.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “A Fresh Start,” or click here:

    "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=b4a40731-798e-4f9e-87ac-e889dd0298e2"

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    436: Brené Brown Says You're Doing Feelings Wrong Dec 28, 2022

    Brené Brown has found that most people are only able to identify three emotions: happy, sad and pissed off.


    In this episode we explore how better understanding the full spectrum of your emotions, rather than drowning in them, can become an upward spiral.


    Brené Brown is the author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her latest book is Atlas of the Heart, which is also the name of her HBO Max series. Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston and a visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Her TED talk on the Power of Vulnerability is one of the top five most-viewed TED talks in the world, with over 50 million views.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Why she decided to map the 87 key emotions and experiences
    • How she was deeply influenced by the Buddhist concept of the “near enemy”
    • Why she no longer believes it's possible to read emotions in other people
    • And why meaningful connections require boundaries


    Content Warning: This episode contains explicit language, but a clean version of the episode is available at tenpercent.com and on the Ten Percent Happier app.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/brene-brown-436-rerun

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    99: When It Comes to Habits, There Are Four Types of People. Which Are You? | Gretchen Rubin Dec 26, 2022

    The New Year is approaching and this is a time when many of us think about making and breaking new habits. So today we’re bringing on one of the smartest people when it comes to habits, best-selling author and speaker Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen’s contention is that before you embark on a self-improvement project, it’s crucial to have some self-awareness about what kind of person you are. She has devised a framework called the Four Tendencies, which helps you identify your personality type in order to gain powerful insights into how you make or break habits.


    Rubin is a lawyer by training and began her career clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Gretchen then went on to write a series of books that examine small and doable ways to boost our happiness in everyday life. These include: The Happiness Project, whichspent two years on the bestseller list and sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide, and Better Than Before. We initially conducted the interview you’re about to hear back in 2017, when Gretchen released a book called The Four Tendencies.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • How and why Gretchen developed the Four Tendencies framework
    • How Gretchen’s framework can give each of us a recipe for successful habit change
    • Breaking down the Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, or Rebels
    • How these Four Tendencies are an overlapping Venn diagram
    • What “obliger rebellion” is and how to spot it in your relationships
    • The value of forming an accountability group
    • And why Gretchen sometimes calls herself a happiness bully



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gretchen-rubin-99-rerun

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    536: How Not to be Owned by Your Cravings | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Dec 23, 2022

    Develop insight into your cravings and find some freedom by observing your thoughts and physical sensations when you are lost in desire.


    About Alexis Santos:


    Alexis has practiced and taught Insight Meditation in both the East and West since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya (a well respected meditation teacher in Burma whose teachings have attracted a global audience), and his teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity -- a style of practice that's particularly useful during our crazy lives. Alexis has completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training, teaches retreats across the globe, and currently lives in Portland, Maine.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Understanding Desire,” or click here:

    "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=14b7581a-9121-40a8-87a1-11bfbf50c3b3"



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    370: How Do You Love Without Being Attached? | Kevin Griffin Dec 21, 2022

    Today we’re tackling some thorny dharma questions. For example: How do you love someone without attachment? How do you love yourself when the self is allegedly an illusion?


    Kevin Griffin is both a long time Buddhist practitioner and also a 12 step participant, and in another previous episode we talked to him about the nature of craving and addiction. In this popular episode from the archives, Kevin talks about his semi-skeptical take on loving kindness – that venerable if somewhat misunderstood Buddhist concept and practice. His book is being re-released this month, with a slightly new title Living Kindness: Metta Practice for the Whole of Our Lives.


    In this conversation, we talk about:

    • Loving kindness versus living kindness
    • The dangers of modern loving kindness practice
    • The idea that you don't have to feel love all the time
    • And we talk about a Buddhist text called the Metta Sutta.


    Content Warning: The interview includes brief references to addiction and other forms of suffering.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kevin-griffin-370-rerun

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    316: How to Call People In (Instead of Calling Them Out) | Loretta Ross Dec 19, 2022

    If you’re tired of the venom, preening, and predatory listening so common on all sides of our various cultural divides, this episode is for you.


    My guest today is Loretta Ross, who believes that “calling out,” which is quite common on social media these days, is adding way too much toxicity to the discourse and alienating people who might otherwise be allies. Instead, she believes in “calling in,” which steadfastly insists on a large measure of grace, and rejects the impulse to dehumanize.


    On today’s show, Loretta offers a compelling mode of engagement that is insistently open-minded and large-hearted, no matter where you stand on the political divide.


    Loretta describes herself as a radical Black feminist, activist, and public intellectual. She’s a visiting Associate Professor at Smith College, and she also teaches an online course called, Calling in the Calling Out Culture.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/loretta-ross-316-rerun

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    535: How To Undermine the Inner Critic | Bonus Meditation with Diana Winston Dec 16, 2022

    The delicate practice of self-forgiveness can help undo habits of self-judgment, self-criticism, and help you reclaim greater self-esteem.


    About Diana Winston:


    Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center and the author of several books including, The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering your Natural Awareness


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Self-Forgiveness,” or click here: "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=73751265-07b6-4333-b2e6-a9d682e0b213"


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    534: How to Stop the War Against Yourself | Tara Brach Dec 14, 2022

    It’s possible to actually be addicted to self-criticism, especially as a way to keep yourself safe. But evidence shows that’s not true, and today’s episode dives into strategies to deal with your own self-hatred.


    This is part two of a series this week on forgiveness. In our last episode, Jack Kornfield focused on forgiving other people and in today’s episode, Tara Brach talks about forgiving yourself.


    Tara Brach is a meditation teacher, psychologist and author of several books including Radical Acceptance, Radical Compassion and Trusting the Gold. Her weekly podcast is downloaded 3 million times a month. Tara is also the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Why Tara says self-hatred “divides us from our ourselves”
    • The benefits of learning the habit to stop kicking our own asses
    • Simple meditations to help us with self-forgiveness
    • Questions that can help us understand what really matters to us, and what we really want
    • The power of seeing the profundity in mundane experiences
    • A refresher on a fan favorite meditation technique: RAIN
    • How to start trusting reality more than we believe the beliefs about ourselves
    • Forgiveness vs accountability



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/tara-brach-534

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    533: A Self-Interested Case for Forgiveness | Jack Kornfield Dec 12, 2022

    The allure of resentment, of holding a grudge or nursing your rage can be super powerful.


    In today’s episode, Jack Kornfield, one of the great western meditation masters, talks about Buddhist strategies for not holding grudges and the self-interested case for forgiveness. This episode is the first of a two-part series this week on forgiveness.


    In this conversation we talk about:


    • What forgiveness is and isn’t
    • Whether forgiveness is a single act or an ongoing process
    • The cost of not forgiving
    • A forgiveness practice you can try in your meditation
    • Whether it’s possible to respond to the misdeeds and transgressions of others with force and love at the same time
    • Whether there are things that are unforgivable
    • And Jack’s contention that forgiveness involves a shift in identity



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jack-kornfield-533

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    532: A Meditation for Anxiety | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Dec 09, 2022

    Sebene guides you through using physical touch points to reduce anxiety. This is a great alternative to focusing on breathing.


    About Sebene Selassie:


    Sebene Selassie was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Working With Anxiety,” or click here:

    "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=1fe8c559-04a4-4082-bf7c-e59d573c1252"

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    531: Could This Practice Improve Your Sleep, Sharpen Your Mind, and Decrease Unhealthy Cravings? | Kelly Boys Dec 07, 2022

    Today we’re taking a run at something that is simultaneously a contemplative cliché and also a deeply desired psychological outcome: getting out of your head and into your body. So many of us want an escape route from the spinning, looping, fishing narratives and grudges in our head and our guest today has some very practical suggestions to help us do that.


    Kelly Boys is a mindfulness trainer and coach. She has helped design and deliver mindfulness and resilience programs for the UN, Google, and San Quentin State Prison. She is also the author of The Blind Spot Effect: How to Stop Missing What's Right in Front of You


    Today we’re going to talk specifically about a type of meditation that Kelly teaches called Yoga Nidra, which has been shown to help you sleep, improve your working memory, and decrease cravings.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The difference between Yoga Nidra and mindfulness meditation, and how Kelly seeks to combine them
    • The value of being able to both observe and high-five your demons
    • Working with our “core beliefs” about ourselves and the world
    • The calming power of drawing your attention to the back side of your body throughout the day
    • Working with “opposites” as a way to get unstuck in difficult moments
    • What Kelly means by the blind spot effect
    • Setting intentions


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kelly-boys-531

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    530: Your Anxiety Questions, Answered | Judson Brewer Dec 05, 2022

    The subject of anxiety never seems to lose its relevance. In this special episode we answer listener voicemails with one of the world’s leading experts on anxiety.


    Dr. Jud Brewer is the Chief Medical Officer at Sharecare and the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center. He is also the New York Times best-selling author of Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind and an expert in the field of habit change and the science of self-mastery.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The current levels of anxiety in our culture
    • Why fear and planning can be helpful, but worrying is not
    • The role of curiosity and kindness in short circuiting anxiety
    • How to differentiate between anxiety and excitement
    • Whether we can try too hard to treat our anxiety
    • And why as a society we are moving away from distress tolerance


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/judson-brewer-530

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    529: Partying With Your Imperfections | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren Dec 02, 2022

    This simple but profound meditation will help you flip the judgment switch and genuinely welcome whatever your life presents.


    About Jeff Warren:


    Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto.


    He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver."



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Welcoming Your Imperfection,” or click here:

    "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=dfa31f5f-cf3e-40a6-ae63-ecf0ee524803"



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    528: The Surprising Power of “Healthy Embarrassment” | Koshin Paley Ellison Nov 30, 2022

    We’ve all got parts of our personality or our past that we’re ashamed of. We might refer to these parts of ourselves as our demons, our baggage, or our secrets; no one is immune.


    So, how do you want to deal with this situation? Stay coiled in shame and denial? That only makes the demons stronger. An alternative, per my guest Koshin Paley Ellison, is to approach your stuff with “healthy embarrassment.” That allows you to work more skillfully with your baggage so that it doesn’t own you. And once you’re cooler with yourself, that can improve your relationships with other people, which is probably the most important variable for your happiness. And healthy embarrassment is just one of many extremely useful things we are going to talk about today.


    Koshin Paley Ellison is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and Certified Chaplaincy Educator. He is the co-founder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, an amazing place which, among other things, trains people to be volunteers in hospice centers. Koshin is the author of a new book called Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion, which centers on a classic Buddhist list called The Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s recipe for enlightenment or, as Koshin puts it, “the most awesome combo platter.”


    In this episode we talk about:

    • What is The Eightfold Path and how it fits into another Buddhist list, The Four Noble Truths
    • How to use the list to do life better
    • The danger of perfectionism in putting the list to use in your life
    • How to bridge the gap between what we say we care about and what we’re actually doing with our lives
    • How sitting with your pain can lead to freedom
    • The utility and pitfalls of gossip
    • How we can look at the idea of “killing” in many different ways, including how one can “kill a moment” or “the energy in a room”
    • How the concept of “right effort” can help us find the balance between not doing enough and overworking ourselves
    • How being uncomfortable is a sign of real engagement with our practice
    • And Koshin’s addition of the concept of “mystery” as another aspect of the eightfold path



    Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/koshin-paley-ellison-528

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    527: How To Handle Dread | Saleem Reshamwala Nov 28, 2022

    Today we explore the entire dread spectrum with Saleem Reshamwala, who took a deep dive on this very common, very uncomfortable emotion. What is dread, exactly? What evolutionary purpose does it serve? Most importantly, how do we deal with it? What are the antidotes?


    Reshamwala has worked for The New York Times, PBS, and also TED, where he hosts a podcast called Far Flung. He is also the host of More Than A Feeling, another podcast here at Ten Percent Happier. Saleem and his team recently launched something called The Dread Project - we shared their first episode kicking off the series last week. It’s a five-day series that investigates dread. Each day of the challenge, listeners tackle dread in a different way. You can sign up for The Dread Project at dreadproject.com.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Dread-management techniques, including: journaling, drawing, and welcoming your dread to the party inside your head
    • How to face dread when it comes to climate change
    • And the biggest dread of all— death



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/saleem-reshamwala-527

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    526: A Meditation to Help You Not Lose Track of What You Actually Care About | Bonus Meditation with Dawn Mauricio Nov 25, 2022

    Setting intentions regularly can be an incredibly effective and deeply satisfying tool to map out how you want to live your life.


    About Dawn Mauricio:


    Dawn Mauricio discovered the practices of Buddhist meditation in 2005, and from then on, did what any well-intentioned perfectionist would do — plunge in head first! Since then, she's graduated from several teaching programs, including Spirit Rock's four-year Teacher Training. Her teaching style is playful, dynamic, and heartfelt, and she teaches extensively in her home-country of Canada, as well as the US, to teens, people of color, and folks of all backgrounds.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Daily Intention Setting,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=deaecaa8-6b71-43cd-b2f7-a406c93fafd4


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    295: This Thanksgiving, How to Make Gratitude More Than a Platitude | DaRa Williams Nov 23, 2022

    Can gratitude be more than just a platitude? Our guest today argues: yes.


    DaRa Williams is a longtime practitioner and teacher of meditation. She is one of the guiding teachers at Insight Meditation Society, a graduate of the Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Society Teacher Training Program, and also has a clinical mental health private practice in Manhattan. DaRa also says, only semi-facetiously, that she believes gratitude can be considered the fifth Brahma Vihara.


    In this conversation we talk about:

    • How to start knitting gratitude into your everyday life
    • Whether gratitude is possible when everything sucks
    • How to avoid spiritual bypass
    • The opportunity that suffering brings for happiness
    • How to take our suffering less personally
    • The power of reminding yourself that you are nature
    • And our unconscious fascination with creating difficulty



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dara-williams-295-rerun

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    525: The Science of Motivation | Ayelet Fishbach Nov 21, 2022

    There are all sorts of ways to struggle with getting things done. Maybe you’re a procrastinator, maybe you’re somebody whose energy flags in the middle of a project, maybe you’re too stubborn and don’t know when to quit, or maybe you’re somebody who sets too many goals and gets burned out. Whatever your situation, we all struggle with motivation. The good news is that there’s a whole crew of scientists who study best practices for getting things done, including today’s guest, Ayelet Fishbach, PhD.


    Fishbach is one of the most eminent players in the field. She is the Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. She is also the author of Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The crucial first step of setting goals
    • How to pick the right goals for you
    • Whether it’s more effective to have a goal that is positive – where you’re aiming to achieve something specific – or negative – where you’re aiming to stop doing something
    • Whether to-do lists work
    • Whether incentives work
    • Best practices for monitoring your progress
    • The importance of celebrating milestones
    • The importance of negative feedback
    • Why the 10,000 steps per day goal makes motivational sense even though it’s been proven to be scientifically arbitrary
    • And how to know when to let go of a goal



    Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ayelet-fishbach-525

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    524: Curiosity: An Antidote to Overwhelm | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Nov 18, 2022

    Bring an open minded curiosity to your big emotions and get to know yourself more fully, developing resilience to deal with all the feels.


    About Sharon Salzberg:


    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.


    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Being with Big Emotions,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0606529f-6448-4fa4-8b87-d9c64666f743

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    523: A Masterclass in Handling Yourself When Things Suck | Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Daniel Goleman Nov 16, 2022

    This episode is for anyone who has ever had a tough or tricky moment. In other words, everyone who is currently drawing breath on planet earth right now.


    Today’s guests are powerhouse duo Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Daniel Goleman.

    Tsoknyi Rinpoche is one of the greatest living Tibetan masters who has a whole toolbox of techniques for dealing with difficult moments, habitual patterns, and common meditation obstacles. He’ll be in conversation with Daniel Goleman, a trained scientist and science writer best known for his landmark book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Together, they have just written a book called Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice of Clarity and Compassion.


    This is the fourth and final installment of our series called, The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together. In each episode we bring together a meditative adept or Buddhist scholar and a respected scientist. The idea is to give you the best of both worlds to arm you with both modern and ancient tools for regulating your emotions.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The single word that Rinpoche believes captures the most challenging aspect of modern life
    • Two of the biggest obstacles for meditators
    • What Rinpoche calls the “drop it” practice
    • Rinpoche’s term, “beautiful monsters”
    • The four steps of the “handshake” practice, which is meant for meeting difficult emotions and being OK with them
    • Why reasoning with your feelings doesn’t work
    • How to experience a fundamental OK-ness independent of external conditions
    • A personal story from Rinpoche about being with one of his own difficult habits
    • What Rinpoche calls the “three speed limits”
    • And, “belly breathing”



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/tsoknyi-rinpoche-daniel-goleman-523

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    522: What Science and Buddhism Say About How to Regulate Your Own Nervous System | Deb Dana & Kaira Jewel Lingo Nov 14, 2022

    Is it possible to learn to spot which state your nervous system is in and move from suboptimal states to much better ones? The subject of how to work with your own nervous system is called Polyvagal Theory and today’s guests Deb Dana & Kaira Jewel Lingo will give us a primer on what that exactly means. They will also talk about how our nervous systems are connected to the nervous systems of other people, and how we can learn to co-regulate our systems for the betterment of others.


    Deb Dana is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who is a clinician, consultant and author specializing in complex trauma. Her work is focused on using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma, and creating ways of working that honor the role of the autonomic nervous system. She has written several books, including Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory.

    Kaira Jewel Lingo is a Dharma teacher with a lifelong interest in spirituality and social justice. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Kaira Jewel now teaches internationally in the Zen lineage and the Vipassana tradition, as well as in secular mindfulness, with a focus on activists, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, artists, educators, families, and youth. She is author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption.

    This is the third installment of our series called, The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together. In each episode we bring together a meditative adept or Buddhist scholar and a respected scientist. The idea is to give you the best of both worlds to arm you with both modern and ancient tools for regulating your emotions.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The basics of Polyvagal Theory
    • A fascinating and easily graspable concept from Buddhist psychology called, “store consciousness”
    • The interconnectedness of our nervous systems and the responsibility that creates for all of us
    • How to handle being annoyed
    • What happens when we beat ourselves up with “shoulds,” and how to stop doing that
    • The value of simply knowing, in the moments when you’re stuck, that those moments are impermanent
    • How to allow your suffering to inform your life
    • The value of “micro-moments”
    • Two ways of caring for painful states without suppressing them
    • And the power of action and service in overcoming anxiety



    Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/deb-dana-kaira-jewel-lingo-522

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    521: Presenting The Dread Project Nov 11, 2022

    The team over at our sister show, More Than a Feeling, are diving deep into an emotion that a lot of us can relate to: dread. And while that may sound unappetizing, they’ve found a way to make this series delightful and useful.


    It’s called “The Dread Project,” and today you’re gonna hear their kick off episode, and then next week, every day, in the More Than a Feeling podcast feed, you’ll find a short episode that will give you a new, short and fun exercise on how to work with your dread.


    Sign up for The Dread Project Challenge at dreadproject.com, and you’ll get five days of emails with insights from each day’s episode and the exercise that goes with it.

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    520: Can You Really Trust Your Feelings? | Lisa Feldman Barrett & John Dunne Nov 09, 2022

    A common idea in the west is that our feelings or emotions should be viewed with suspicion, superseded or overridden by rational thought, and that your mind is a battleground between emotions and rationality. But on the show today, guests Lisa Feldman Barrett and John Dunne are going to offer a very compelling science backed argument that disputes the notion that thinking and feeling are distinct. Furthermore, they argue that understanding how emotions are actually made can be a life or death matter.


    Lisa Feldman Barrett is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Barrett is among the top 1% most-cited scientists, having published over 270 peer-reviewed scientific papers. She has written several books, including How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain, and Seven And A Half Lessons About The Brain. Her TED talk has been viewed more than 6.5 million times.


    John Dunneholds the Distinguished Chair in Contemplative Humanities at the Center for Healthy Minds of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focuses on Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice, especially in dialog with Cognitive Science and Psychology. He earned his PhD from Harvard.


    This is part two in a series we’re calling The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together.In each episode we bring together a meditative adept or Buddhist scholar and a respected scientist. The idea is to give you the best of both worlds to arm you with both modern and ancient tools for regulating your emotions.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Lisa’s scientific definition of emotions
    • John’s Buddhist contention that emotions, as a category, do not exist in Buddhism
    • The difference between suffering and discomfort
    • What we can do to master our emotions including understanding what Lisa terms as our “body budget”
    • Becoming more emotionally intelligent
    • Mastering our feelings in the moment
    • Whether or not pain is an emotion and how it works
    • How and why to be present in the here and now
    • The upside of unpleasant feelings



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lisa-feldman-barrett-john-dunne-520

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    519: The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together | Shinzen Young and James Gross Nov 07, 2022

    In western culture, there's been a long held view that our ability to reason should be placed above our emotions. But the hard truth is that our emotions are there and they're non-negotiable— and If you don't know how to work with them, they can own you.

    The good news is that you can work with them and that there are many systems for doing so. To boot, you can learn a ton by listening to your emotions in the right ways.

    Today’s guests, Shinzen Young and James Gross will help us understand how to work with our emotions and offer both techniques in modern science and ancient wisdom in order to do so.

    Gross is the Ernest R. Hilgard Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory. Young is an American mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. He teaches something called Unified Mindfulness, which you will hear him describe in this conversation.

    This is part one in a series we’re calling The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together.In each episode we bring together a meditative adept or Buddhist scholar and a respected scientist. The idea is to give you the best of both worlds to arm you with both modern and ancient tools for regulating your emotions.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • James’s “modal model” for understanding what emotions are and how they work
    • James’s five different types of strategies you can use for regulating your emotions
    • Shinzen’s contention that emotions have two sides to them
    • How we can experience emotions with more fulfillment and less suffering via a mindfulness training he calls “focus factors”
    • James’s “process model of emotion regulation”
    • What James believes are the elements that unite science and Buddhism
    • Shinzen’s contention that anyone can experience massive benefits of mindfulness training if their meditation practice has four key components



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shinzen-young-james-gross-519


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    517: Love In War | Esther Perel Nov 04, 2022

    We’re sharing a very special episode from a frequent guest of the show, Esther Perel. In this episode, “Love in War with Esther Perel: Ukraine,” you’ll hear a couples session led by Esther, between a husband and wife whose family has been torn apart by the war in Ukraine. Through the lens of relationship, you experience both the horrors of war and the relatability of intimate relationships.

    Esther Perel is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of many books, including Mating In Captivity. She’s also the host of the podcasts Where Should We Begin? and How’s Work?.


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    518: Get Your Joy On | Bonus Meditation with La Sarmiento Nov 04, 2022

    Cultivate resilience by choosing to turn towards joy, and transform difficult times into growth opportunities and heartache into gratitude.


    About La Sarmiento:


    La Sarmiento is the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington's BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Sanghas and a mentor for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and Cloud Sangha. They graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center's Community Dharma Leader Training Program in 2012. As an immigrant, non-binary, Filipinx-American, La is committed to expanding access to the Dharma. They live in Towson, MD with their life partner Wendy and rescue pups Annabel and Bader.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Opening to Joy,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=ad5f5edb-d41b-4419-8cdd-cbe4155ef6ae.



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    516: Robin Roberts on the Skill of Optimism Nov 02, 2022

    It is so easy to be pessimistic and, in fact, we are evolutionarily wired towards it with a built in negativity bias. This bias can be super useful, because it keeps us on guard for threats. But like all biases, it can warp the way we see the world. This is why optimism can be incredibly helpful. We’re not talking about blind optimism here but more about grounded, realistic and reasonable optimism.


    Our guest today, Robin Roberts, has come by this skill the hard way. Not only is she one of the boldest of the boldface names in the news business, where she is forced to confront crime, war, and natural disasters on the regular, but she’s also come through two very serious bouts of cancer.


    Roberts is the longtime co-anchor of Good Morning America. She has a new book called, Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams in which she talks about how she has honed her optimism chops, and how you can, too.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • How to strengthen your optimism muscle
    • Making “one day, day one”
    • Operationalizing your goals
    • Robin’s meditation practice
    • Napping during meditation
    • How she gets enough sleep given her crazy schedule
    • Envisioning the victory
    • Flipping the script so that instead of thinking “what could go wrong?” we think, “what could go right?”



    Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/robin-roberts-516


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    372: The Science of Making and Keeping Friends | Robin Dunbar Oct 31, 2022

    Friendship might not necessarily be something you’ve considered to be an urgent psychological and physiological issue. One thing we explore a lot on the show is that the quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life, and sadly, in many ways, it’s harder than ever to make and keep friends. With loneliness and disconnection on the rise, our society just wasn’t constructed for social connection, and recent data suggests we’re in a friendship crisis, with many of us reporting that we have fewer close friendships than ever.


    Our guest today is Robin Dunbar, an Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University and the author of numerous books on the development of homo sapiens. Dunbar is perhaps best known for formulating “Dunbar's number,” which is a measurement of the number of relationships our brain is capable of maintaining at any one time. He is a world-renowned expert on human relationships, and has a ton of fascinating research findings and practical tips for upping your friendship game.


    In this conversation, we dive into the science behind human relationships, the upsides and downsides of maintaining friendships on social media, the viability of friendships across gender lines, and what science says you can do to compensate if you feel you are currently lacking in close friendships.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/robin-dunbar-372-rerun

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    515: A Meditation for When You’re in a Fight With Somebody You Love | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Oct 28, 2022

    Conflict is inevitable in any relationship. By identifying what really matters to us, we can strengthen our most meaningful connections.


    About Oren Jay Sofer:


    Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation, and Nonviolent Communication in secular and Buddhist contexts. Oren has practiced meditation in the early Buddhist tradition since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India with Anagarika Munindra and Godwin Samararatne. He is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and a graduate of the IMS - Spirit Rock Vipassana Teacher Training, and current member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council.


    Oren is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, a practical guidebook for having more effective, satisfying conversations.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “When We Fight With People We Love,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=4de9fcbb-c18d-44c0-bdca-328c38289a9f.



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    514: Six Buddhist Strategies for Getting Along Better with Everyone | Sister True Dedication Oct 26, 2022

    Relationships can be tricky. Especially if you find yourself upset with someone, and instead of talking it through, you let it fester until one moment you completely lose it and end up having to apologize. If you’ve ever felt like you had friction with the people in your life, or that you’ve been taken for granted, today’s episode offers you solid strategies to cope.


    Sister True Dedication is a Zen Buddhist nun and teacher ordained by the great meditation teacher and author, Thich Nhat Hanh. She edited several of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books, including The Art of Living and Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. She was born in the United Kingdom, studied history and political thought at Cambridge University, and worked for BBC News before ordaining as a nun at the age of 27.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The six phrases – or mantras – that Thich Nhat Hanh recommended people use in their relationships
    • Keeping misunderstandings “dust free”
    • Taking action to make sure anger doesn’t fester
    • The importance of recognizing that our understanding of the world is always partial
    • Bringing mantras to work
    • How Sister True Dedication went from journalism to the monastery


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sister-true-dedication-514

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    513: If You’ve Ever Doubted Whether Meditation Works, Listen to This Story | Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez Oct 24, 2022

    You may remember hearing a massively viral story from a few years ago about a school in Baltimore that gave students meditation, instead of detention.


    Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andres Gonzalez founded the Holistic Life Foundation and are the authors of Let Your Light Shine, which recounts the story of their work helping traumatized children in one of America’s most underserved cities, and how mindfulness tools can help children and communities not only survive, but thrive.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The story behind their meditation-instead-of-detention initiative
    • Their experience asking principals to give them the most challenging students
    • What it’s like working in one of the most violent cities in the world
    • The results from teaching students yoga and meditation
    • How we can apply the lessons they’ve learned to meditation and life


    Content Warning: Explicit language. For a clean version of this episode, please listen on the Ten Percent Happier app or at tenpercent.com


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ali-smith-atman-smith-andres-gonzalez-513

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    512: An Ingenious Way to Handle Your Inner Critic | Bonus Meditation Sharon Salzberg Oct 21, 2022

    Instead of letting your inner critic control you, turn it into a caricature so you can find a little space in the relationship.


    About Sharon Salzberg:


    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.


    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Dressing Up The Inner Critic,” or click here:

    "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=cadfb39c-1d15-49bf-a628-ee718d84cfe4"

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    511: George Saunders on: “Holy Befuddlement” and How to Be Less of a “Turd” Oct 19, 2022

    One of the great perils and problems of our age is that we sometimes become too entrenched in our views and attached to being right.


    According to guest George Saunders, the antidote is something he calls “holy befuddlement.”


    George Saunders is the author of eleven books, including Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for best work of fiction in English. His most recent book, Liberation Day, is a collection of short stories that explore the ideas of power, ethics, and justice, cutting to the heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How George Saunders creates “holy befuddlement” in himself and in his readers
    • How shaving down dogmatism can help us be, in his words, less of a “turd”
    • How to deal with heightened expectations we might have of ourselves
    • Healthy ways to enjoy praise
    • What it looks like to cultivate a relationship with our self, to the extent that the self exists
    • The importance of moral ambiguity in his work
    • The impact of meditating – or not meditating – on our creative work
    • And forgiveness and coming up short


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/george-saunders-511


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    510: Me, A Love Story: How Being OK With Yourself Makes You Better at Everything | Sharon Salzberg Oct 17, 2022

    It might be hard to find a more annoying cliché than self-love; it can seem empty and inactionable. And even if you could make it work, I think many of us suspect it would lead to complacent resignation or unbridled narcissism. But there is an enormous amount of evidence that self-love, or as the scientists call it, self-compassion, can make you more effective in reaching your goals as well as lead to better relationships with everybody around you.


    On today’s show, the great meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg will walk us through the idea that love— both self-love and other love— is a skill that can be cultivated with massively positive impacts.


    Salzbergis a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her forthcoming release, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom, is set for release in April of 2023 from Flatiron Books. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.


    This episode comes out in conjunction with Dan Harris’ recent TED Talk on self-love. You can watch the full talk here.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • The definition of self-hatred and its predominance in the West
    • The real practical benefits of self-compassion
    • Whether there is a difference between self-compassion and self-love
    • Why many people resist the idea of self-love
    • The distinction between empathy and compassion and how they work together in Buddhism
    • How to have lovingkindness for somebody who doesn't feel we have the right to exist
    • Reclaiming words like love and happiness
    • And how generosity makes us more whole



    Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sharon-salzberg-510

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    509: How to Deal With Stressful Thoughts | Bonus Meditation with Jessica Morey Oct 14, 2022

    Relieve your anxiety by exploring the relationship between stress and thinking while learning to break unhealthy habit loops.


    About Jess Morey:


    Jess Morey is a lead teacher, cofounder and former executive director of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education which runs in-depth mindfulness programming for youth, and the parents and professionals who support them across the US, and internationally.


    She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), and has maintained a consistent commitment to meditation since. Diving head first into meditation at such a key developmental stage makes the revelatory perspective of mindfulness & compassion her natural home turf, and gives her an easy, conversational teaching style anyone can relate to.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Soothe Stressful Thoughts,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=eb664bd8-0560-439e-9e57-e5eddb622bfa.

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    508: Seven Buddhist Ingredients for a Happy Mind | Pascal Auclair Oct 12, 2022

    Are you interested in suffering less? Today's guest, Dharma teacher Pascal Auclair, is going to talk about seven very specific and practical ways to train your mind for reduced suffering by exploring a Buddhist list called the seven factors of awakening, which is a part of the fourth foundation of mindfulness. We’ve talked about a bunch of Buddhist lists on the show before, but this is one of the happiest of all the lists to explore.


    Pascal Auclair has been immersed in Buddhist practice and study since 1997, sitting retreats in Asia and America. He has been mentored by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield, who have both been previous guests on this show. Pascal is now a core teacher at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Massachusetts. He is also a co-founder of True North Insight and one of its guiding teachers.


    This episode is the fifth and final installment of a series we've launched on the four foundations of mindfulness.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The movement from difficult states of mind to more beneficial and helpful states of mind
    • How the 7 factors can help you create your “best mind”
    • The difference between the “energizing” and “calming” factors
    • How to practically apply these factors to your daily life
    • And specifically how the seven factors can improve your relationships



    Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/pascal-auclair-508


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    507: An Episode for Overthinkers | Tuere Sala Oct 10, 2022

    Thoughts are not your enemy in meditation. If you’re getting distracted while you meditate, that’s not necessarily a problem. Thoughts are natural. They’re always going to come. The point is not to clear the mind and to magically eradicate all thinking, the point is to have a different relationship to your thoughts.


    When we’re not mindful of our thoughts, they march into the room, tell us what to do, and we act them out, reflexively, habitually and automatically— like puppets on a string. Our guest today, Dharma teacher Tuere Sala, is going to talk about how to cut the strings of what can often be a malevolent puppeteer.


    Sala is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Retreat Center. She’s a former prosecutor who has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years and is especially focused on bringing the dharma to nontraditional places. She is a strong advocate for practitioners living with high stress, past trauma and difficulties sitting still.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Why we get caught in our thinking
    • Understanding that our thoughts are not who we are
    • How to direct our attention away from negative thoughts
    • How the idea of permanency causes suffering
    • Using thinking itself as the object of our meditation
    • Noticing mind states
    • Relative reality vs. ultimate reality
    • The eight states of mind and their felt sense in the body
    • And Sala’s definition of true liberation


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/tuere-sala-507

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    506: Undomesticate Your Mind | Bonus Meditation with Cara Lai Oct 07, 2022

    Let your attention be fueled by interest and discover how meditation can feel more engaging and enjoyable.


    About Cara Lai:


    Cara Lai spent most of her life trying to figure out how to be happy, or at least avoid total misery, which landed her on a meditation cushion for the majority of her adulthood. Throughout many consciousness adventures including a few mind-bendingly long meditation retreats, she has explored the wilderness of the mind, chronic illness, the importance of pleasure, and a wide range of other things that she might get in trouble for mentioning publicly.


    In the past, Cara has worked as an artist, wilderness guide, social worker and psychotherapist, but at this point she’s given up on being an adult in exchange for an all-out mindfulness rampage. Her teaching is relatable, authentic, funny and sometimes crass, and is accessible for many people. She teaches teens and adults at Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and UCLA; ultimately hoping to become as good of a show-off as Dan. And to help people be happier.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Undomesticate Your Mind,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=8a578725-d3e5-464a-bcd2-e1789716e3e5.


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    505: The 5 Things That Are Ruining Your Meditation (and Your Life) – And How to Handle Them | Bonnie Duran Oct 05, 2022

    The Buddha was an inveterate list-maker who gave us easy to remember checklists to help us do life better. One of the handiest lists the Buddha made was called the five hindrances, which is a part of the fourth foundation of mindfulness. This list outlines the five things that mess us up when we’re trying to meditate — or, in fact, when we’re trying to do anything. If you’ve got issues right now, odds are pretty high that you are in the throes of one of the hindrances. The excellent news is that the Buddha not only made a taxonomy of the hindrances but also a long list of antidotes. We’re going to run through all of this today with Bonnie Duran, a great dharma teacher who is making her second appearance on the show.


    Duran is a teacher and member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Director of the Center for Indigenous Health Research at the University of Washington’s Indigenous Wellness Research Institute. She combines extensive research and practice of Buddhism with her deep understanding of indigenous spiritual practices.


    This episode is the fourth installment of a series we've launched on the four foundations of mindfulness.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • How the five hindrances manifest in our daily lives
    • Using the RAIN technique to investigate the 5 hindrances
    • Whether there is any type of desire that is helpful
    • Cultivating a sky-like attitude
    • How to not water the seeds of negativity
    • The similarities between Indigenous beliefs and what the Buddha taught
    • How body scans can be an antidote to sleepiness
    • And whether you can ever uproot the hindrances entirely



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/bonnie-duran-505

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    504: How To Stop Living An Artificial Life | Karen Armstrong Oct 03, 2022

    Most of us come into the world with the suspicion that we are the center of the universe. This self-preoccupation is natural, but it can often lead to unhappiness in the form of rumination, wallowing, comparison, etc.


    Our guest today, author Karen Armstrong, has a clear proposal for how we can stop living what she calls “artificial” lives and shave down our inborn self-centeredness. Not for nothing, she believes her proposal has the added benefit of perhaps helping to save the planet.


    Armstrong is a former nun who has become one of the world’s leading thinkers on religion (particularly the monotheistic ones). She has written such bestsellers as: A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, The Battle for God, Islam: A Short History, and Buddha. Her latest book is called Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • Practices you can try for using nature as a way to make yourself happier
    • How Armstrong conceives of God at this point in her life
    • The benefits of the Confucian practice of “quiet sitting”
    • How her time as a nun paradoxically made her more self-preoccupied rather than less
    • And her definition of holiness



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/karen-armstrong-504

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    503: Free Range Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Sep 30, 2022

    Bringing awareness to everyday activities can be a taste of freedom to help you move through your day with clarity, energy, and well-being.


    About Alexis Santos:


    Alexis Santos is a featured teacher on the Ten Percent Happier app and has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, with whom he ordained as a Buddhist monk, and has taught at retreat centers around the globe.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “While Going About Your Day,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0a6b880d-a114-4db6-a502-3f70c56e3078.


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    502: The Mental States That Steal Your Calm | Bhikkhu Bodhi Sep 28, 2022

    Ever have that experience where you catch yourself in a moment of anger, judgmentalism or fear? And, with a wince, immediately tell yourself a whole story about what kind of person you are? How do you stop this from happening or cut it short once it’s already begun?


    The answer? Mindfulness or having the basic self-awareness to see what kind of mental states are arising so that you are not owned them. To use a technical Buddhist term this is called, “mindfulness of mind.” It’s the ability to see your mind states without taking them personally and it comes from one of the Buddha’s most famous lists called the four foundations of mindfulness.


    Today we are going to learn about the whys and wherefores of mindfulness of mind from one of the most esteemed living Buddhist scholars, Bhikkhu Bodhi. Bodhi is a monk,originally from NYC. He is a prolific translator, scholar, and author of books on the Buddha’s teachings. He is also President of the Buddhist Association of the United States and co-founder and Chairperson of the Board of Buddhist Global Relief.

    This episode is the third installment of a series we've launched on the four foundations of mindfulness.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The historical backdrop of the four foundations of mindfulness
    • What exactly the Buddha meant by “mindfulness of mind”
    • How we can know whether or not we are being mindful
    • How not to let our mindfulness become a sort of compulsive internal nanny state
    • Practical instructions for the third foundation (given that the Buddha never actually gave them)
    • And Bhikkhu Bodhi’s view that we should not be mindfulness zealots



    Photo Credit: Hsiao Ying Chang (史曉瑛)



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/bhikkhu-bodhi-502

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    501: Messiness Is Not a Moral Failing | KC Davis Sep 26, 2022

    Today we’re talking about an often overlooked source of suffering— housework. There are so many ways in which housework can be a bummer. Maybe we’re feeling guilty about the fact that our place is always a mess. Maybe we’re driving ourselves crazy with obsessive cleaning. Maybe we have relatives who are overly critical about the state of affairs in our home. Maybe gender politics with our spouses and partners is a source of strife.


    Our guest today, KC Davis, helps deconstruct these often rigid and daunting cultural norms that surround the concept of domestic bliss. As a self-styled anti-perfectionist, Davis has garnered a huge audience on TikTok with more than 1 million followers. She has also written the book, How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing.On today’s show, she offers a ton of practical tips that are rooted in self compassion and the dogged determination not to use shame as a motivator when it comes to our domestic lives.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • One of KC’s slogans,“You don’t exist to serve your space, your space exists to serve you”
    • The difference between what’s “normal” and what’s “functional”. For example, why that pile of laundry on the floor is just fine if it works for you
    • Why it’s important to think of house work as morally neutral. For example, why doing dishes has nothing to do with you being a good or bad person
    • Why she doesn’t believe laziness exists
    • The power of what she calls “category cleaning”
    • Breaking the clean/not clean binary
    • And achieving equitable division of labor around the house



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kc-davis-501

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    486: Malcolm Gladwell on: Working From Home, Kindness, Sacrifice, and Making Mistakes Sep 23, 2022

    In this previously released episode, Malcolm Gladwell responds to backlash he received over his belief that working in an office—and the collaborative creative environment it can offer—is in your best interest (and in the interest of others). We also dive deep into some of the important themes featured in the seventh season of his podcast Revisionist History, including: kindness, generosity, and sacrifice. And, Dan and Gladwell share their biggest mistakes as journalists.

    Malcolm Gladwell is the president and co-founder of Pushkin Industries, and the author of six New York Times bestselling books including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, David and Goliath, and Talking to Strangers. He’s also the host of the new Pushkin podcast Legacy of Speed.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The backlash Malcolm faced from his work from home comments
    • Pushing the noise aside when it comes to social media
    • Lessons in kindness from a recent Revisionist History episode
    • The importance of flow states
    • How he personally relaxes
    • Why people should have a lifelong pursuit or practice
    • What he thinks now about his famous 10,000 hours argument
    • Why we need to engage and investigate the views of others to be morally alert as human beings
    • His biggest journalistic mistake



    Content Warning: Brief mention of eating disorders.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/malcolm-gladwell-486

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    500: Unhappiness Is Not a Life Sentence | Christina Feldman Sep 21, 2022

    Is it possible to be happy no matter what happens? Today we’re going right to the source of what makes us unhappy to learn how to disarm and disable potential suffering before it owns us.


    Everything that comes up in our mind is either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. In other words, with everything we experience, we either want it, don’t want it, or we don’t care. In Buddhism, this is called “feeling tones” or “vedana” and it is known as the second foundation of mindfulness in the Buddha’s comprehensive list. So why does this matter? Because if you are unaware of the pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral tones, then you are being controlled by them. Similarly, if you are unaware that certain people or things provoke aversion, then you can unthinkingly avoid or even be aggressive towards them. In this way, we can be like puppets on a string— just yanked around by greed, hatred, and numbness.


    Today’s guest, dharma teacher Christina Feldman, is going to drill down on this embarkation point for our suffering, zap it with mindfulness and help us understand how we don’t have to live like puppets on a string.


    Feldman began teaching in the west in the seventies after spending years in Asia studying Buddhist meditation. She is a co-founder of Gaia House, a retreat center in the UK, and has also served as a guiding teacher at Insight Meditation Society beginning in its early days. More recently, she is a co-founder of Bodhi College, which is dedicated to the study and practice of the early teachings of the Buddha. She is the author of a book called, Boundless Heart: The Buddha's Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity, and co-author of Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Psychology.


    This episode is the second installment of a series we've launched on the four foundations of mindfulness.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Why vedana is often called, “the ruler of consciousness” or “the king, or the queen of consciousness”
    • How to practice with vedana, and the benefits thereof
    • Her lovely description of the Buddha as being very focused on understanding “the architecture of distress and unhappiness”
    • Her contention that unhappiness is not a life sentence.
    • Her definition of genuine happiness
    • What she means by the power of “giving greater authority to intentionality, rather than to mood or story”
    • And her personal practice of setting life intentions every year



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/christina-feldman-500


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    410: Why You’re Not Seeing the World Clearly— and How to Fix It | Jessica Nordell Sep 19, 2022

    Jessica Nordell is a science and culture journalist who has written for the Atlantic and the New York Times. She earned a B.A. in physics from Harvard and an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her new book is called The End of Bias, A Beginning: The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias.


    Photo Credit: Leslie Plesser


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Why humans have biases
    • What happens physiologically when biases are challenged
    • Why some of the most popular personal and institutional strategies for confronting biases do not work
    • The role that mindfulness and loving-kindness can play in reducing bias


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jessica-nordell-rerun

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    499: An Antidote to Body Shame | Bonus Meditation with Dawn Mauricio Sep 16, 2022

    Try this powerful metta practice where you connect directly with the feelings of loving-kindness in your body and then expand out to others.


    About Dawn Mauricio:


    Dawn Mauricio discovered the practices of Buddhist meditation in 2005, and from then on, did what any well-intentioned perfectionist would do — plunge in head first! Since then, she's graduated from several teaching programs, including Spirit Rock's four-year Teacher Training. Her teaching style is playful, dynamic, and heartfelt, and she teaches extensively in her home-country of Canada, as well as the US, to teens, people of color, and folks of all backgrounds.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loving-Kindness in the Body,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=a51646c8-17e1-4f15-abcd-5082f1c5f8e5.



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    498: What "Getting Out of Your Head" Actually Means | Dawn Mauricio Sep 14, 2022

    It’s such a common desire to get out of our heads — to escape the nonstop, mostly self-referential chatter, the habitual storylines, the ancient resentments and the compulsive self-criticism. Many of us take elaborate and even drastic measures in this regard like self-medication, shopping, tech addiction, and so on. But there’s a much healthier option that is readily and perpetually available. In fact, we’re dragging it around with us all the time, the body.


    The Buddha is said to have laid out four ways to be mindful. In other words, to be awake to whatever is happening right now. The first of these four foundations of mindfulness is mindfulness of the body and todays’ guest, meditation teacher Dawn Mauricio, will walk us through the practical applications of this foundation.


    Mauricio has been meditating since 2005 and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s four-year teacher training program. She is also the author of the book,Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners: 50 Meditations to Practice Awareness, Acceptance, and Peace. Dawn’s been on the show before to talk about how to handle difficult people.


    This episode is the first installment of a series we've launched on the four foundations of mindfulness.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • What it actually means to get out of your head and into your body and all of the practical ways to get there
    • How strong emotions and seductive technology can work against us
    • And what to do when being aware of your body might actually not be the best thing for you



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dawn-mauricio-498

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    497: How to Deal With Emotionally Immature People (Including Maybe Your Own Parents) | Lindsay C. Gibson Sep 12, 2022

    Emotionally immature people (EIP’s) are hard to avoid and most of us, if not all of us, have to deal with them at some point in our lives. These interactions can range from mildly annoying to genuinely traumatic, especially if the emotionally immature people in question are our own parents, which is true for an awful lot of us.


    Today’s guest, clinical psychologist Lindsay C. Gibson, gives advice for dealing with emotionally immature people, whether they’re your parents or not. She has written a sleeper hit book on the subject called, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The signs of emotional immaturity
    • Whether or not I’m emotionally immature
    • What happens to children who are raised by emotionally immature parents, including their signature coping strategies
    • Why adult children of EIP’s turn to healing fantasies, and how to let them go
    • How to cope with emotionally immature parents as an adult
    • What role compassion should and should not play in your relationship with EIP’s
    • How to heal



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lindsay-gibson-497

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    496: Why Calm Is More Effective Than Reactivity | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Sep 09, 2022

    Hope is a skill. Using the phrase ‘let it be’ invites us to be more relaxed with life and lets us envision a better world.


    About Sebene Selassie:


    Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Learn Acceptance, Spark Hope,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0c9bda64-63da-44ed-8569-cfb9bd3d38cc.

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    495: Why Is Everyone Talking About the Enneagram? And What the Hell Is It? | Susan Piver Sep 07, 2022

    In the last couple of years, many people have been extolling the virtues of something called the "Enneagram" but—what the hell is it?


    On today’s show, longtime dharma teacher, Susan Piver, is here to demystify it. As she explains, the Enneagram is a tool that allows people to figure out their personality type and says it has been one of, if not the most important, tool in her personal development.


    Piver has been a student of Buddhism since 1995, graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004 and was authorized to teach meditation in 2005. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project— the world’s largest online-only meditation center. She’s written ten books including her latest called The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • What the Enneagram is and why Piver finds it so helpful
    • What she means by warriorship
    • The nine personality types, which she views as maps of our blind spots
    • Why, unlike other personality systems, there is no test for the Enneagram (at least in Susan’s view)
    • And we talk about why Susan thinks the Enneagram and Buddhism mix so well even though on first blush it would seem to contradict the dharmic emphasis on the self being an illusion



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/susan-piver-495

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    494: How to Speak Clearly, Calmly, and Without Alienating People | Dan Clurman and Mudita Nisker Sep 05, 2022

    Most of us talk all day long. We speak to each other, we type at each other, and of course, we talk to ourselves internally. Talking and listening is a key part of what it means to be human and It’s very hard to be a successful person if you can’t communicate your ideas and listen to and understand other people.


    Today’s guests, Mudita Nisker and Dan Clurman, are here to explain some very simple and easy to understand communication skills that can transform your life. Their new book, Let's Talk: An Essential Guide to Skillful Communicationconcisely summarizes their teachings and they’re coming on the show today to walk us through some of the key learnings from this book.


    Over the past thirty years Nisker and Clurman have provided communication training to individuals and organizations in the private, public, government, and nonprofit sectors. They have also led workshops, and trained staff at leading mindfulness centers such as Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Clurman is a communication coach and professor in the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Nisker is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • Talking vs. listening
    • Content vs. process
    • The power of saying nothing at all
    • Reflective listening
    • The Buddhist concept of Right Speech
    • Content goals vs. relationship goals
    • “I” language
    • Provisional language
    • Stating positive intentions
    • Framing
    • And Flooding vs. chunking



    You can read an excerpt of the book, Let's Talk: An Essential Guide to Skillful Communication if you subscribe to our TPH newsletter, which comes out every Sunday. And you can subscribe if you go to: tenpercent.com/newsletter.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dan-clurman-and-mudita-nisker-494

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    493: A Very Simple Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Sep 02, 2022

    Being aware of the breath is a foundation of mindfulness. The goal is to gently return, with growing kindness, again and again.


    About Sharon Salzberg:


    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.


    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Basic Breath Meditation,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=3ff23976-95f1-48fc-8973-fec1210b12dc.

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    492: You’re Breathing Wrong. Here’s How to Fix It | James Nestor Aug 31, 2022

    At times, self-improvement can seem like a never-ending hallway filled with limitless shame and insufficiency. So when something as simple as the breath falls into this category, it seems only natural to meet that news with some resistance. Our guest today, James Nestor argues that many of us, of all things, are breathing incorrectly but that by fixing our breathing, it can help with both physical and psychological ailments.


    Nestor is a science journalist who wrote a book called, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, which spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was translated into more than 35 languages.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How Nestor got interested in breathing in the first place
    • Why we are the worst breathers in the animal kingdom
    • The importance of posture
    • The deleterious effects of mouth breathing
    • Why we need to chew more
    • The relationship between breathing and anxiety
    • The relationship between breathing and sleep
    • And we dive into a variety of breathing exercises



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/james-nestor-492

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    491: A New Way to Think About Your Money | William MacAskill Aug 29, 2022

    Most of us worry about money sometimes, but what if we changed the way we thought about our relationship to finances? Today’s guest, William MacAskill, offers a framework in which to do just that. He calls it effective altruism. One of the core arguments of effective altruism is that we all ought to consider giving away a significant chunk of our income because we know, to a mathematical near certainty, that several thousand dollars could save a life.


    Today we’re going to talk about the whys and wherefores of effective altruism. This includes how to get started on a very manageable and doable level (which does not require you to give away most of your income), and the benefits this practice has on both the world and your own psyche.


    MacAskill is an associate professor of philosophy at Oxford University and one of the founders of the effective altruism movement. He has a new book out called, What We Owe the Future, where he makes a case for longtermism, a term used to describe developing the mental habit of thinking about the welfare of future generations.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Effective altruism
    • Whether humans are really wired to consider future generations
    • Practical tips for thinking and acting on longtermism
    • His argument for having children
    • And his somewhat surprising take on how good our future could be if we play our cards right



    Podcast listeners can get 50% off What We Owe the Future using the code WWOTF50 at Bookshop.org.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/william-macaskill-491

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    490: A Sit-Back, Relax, No-Agenda Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren Aug 26, 2022

    After an intense day, try this simple meditation to decompress and de-stress by getting comfy and putting your feet up.


    About Jeff Warren:


    Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver."



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “End of Day Decompress: The Porch Sit,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=df063222-15c4-4b4c-b15c-5ce2b6ca8d80.



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    219: How to Create an Exercise Habit Without Driving Yourself Nuts | Kelly McGonigal Aug 24, 2022

    In this episode from our archives, psychologist Kelly McGonigal dives into her book The Joy of Movement and practical steps on how to develop healthy habits.


    Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and a leading expert in the new field of “science-help.” She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine into practical strategies for health, happiness, and personal success. She is the author of The Joy of Movement, The Willpower Instinct, and The Upside of Stress.


    In this conversation we talk about:


    • Why her book is a love letter to movement and human nature
    • The science behind the runner’s high
    • Why she wants to change the conversation around movement
    • Why shame and self-criticism is disempowering and not motivating
    • The value of setting intentions
    • How Kelly has used psychology and meditation to relieve her own pain and suffering
    • And what Tonglen meditation is — and its impact on her life



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kelly-mcgonigal-rerun

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    489: Can You Really Conquer Hatred Through Love? | Father Gregory Boyle Aug 22, 2022

    The idea of loving people no matter what— no matter how obnoxious or unacceptable their behavior is can sound simultaneously treacly and downright impossible.


    But today's guest Father Gregory Boyle talks about the practicality of this idea by showing how the concept of loving no matter what can be used as a tool— not to condone bad behavior but to help see people as doing their best, no matter how unskillfully.


    Father Gregory Boyle is a Jesuit priest who founded a remarkable organization called Homeboy Industries, which is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world. He has a new book out called, The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • How Homeboy Industries began 34 years ago
    • Boyle’s practices for working with stress
    • What he means when he says you have to put death in its place
    • Motivating people through joy rather than admonition
    • How to catch yourself when you’re about to demonize or be judgmental
    • How to set boundaries
    • How to dole out consequences without closing the doors to anybody
    • And we talk about Father Boyle’s quite expansive and inclusive notion of God



    Content warnings: There are mentions of sensitive topics including, sexual trauma, violence, drug abuse and domestic abuse.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/father-gregory-boyle-486

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    488: Are You Focusing on the Right Things in Your Life? | Bonus Meditation with La Sarmiento Aug 19, 2022

    Our busy lives rarely afford us time to reflect on what’s truly important. Remembering what matters most empowers us to engage meaningfully.


    About La Sarmiento:


    La Sarmiento is the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington's BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Sanghas and a mentor for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and Cloud Sangha. They graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center's Community Dharma Leader Training Program in 2012. As an immigrant, non-binary, Filipinx-American, La is committed to expanding access to the Dharma. They live in Towson, MD with their life partner Wendy and rescue pups Annabel and Bader.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Finding Purpose: What Matters Most?,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=c83def97-a4b0-420b-b7b2-223636f3546e.



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    487: How (And Why) To Lose Yourself | Jay Garfield Aug 17, 2022

    Today’s episode looks at one of the hardest Buddhist principles to grasp— the notion that the self is an illusion. Many people get stuck on the misunderstanding that they don’t exist. They look in the mirror and say, “Of course I exist. I’m right there.” And that’s true, you do exist, but just not in the way you think you do.


    Today’s guest, Jay Garfield explores this notion by arguing that you are indeed a person just not a self— a principle that can simultaneously feel both imponderable and liberating.


    Jay Garfield is the Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy, Logic, and Buddhist Studies at Smith College and a visiting professor of Buddhist philosophy at Harvard Divinity School. He is the Author of multiple books, including his latest, which is called, Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live without a Self.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The difference between a person and a self
    • The problems with being taken by the illusion of selfhood
    • Why he believes the illusion of self is not an evolutionary design flaw
    • The many benefits of “losing ourselves”
    • How to actually lose ourselves
    • The concept of Interconnection
    • His definition of real happiness
    • The difference between pain and suffering and how to have the former without the latter



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jay-garfield-487

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    486: Malcolm Gladwell on: Working From Home, Kindness, Sacrifice, and Making Mistakes Aug 15, 2022

    Since the start of COVID-19, more people are working from home, and with that, more people have strong opinions about whether or not it’s the best route to take.


    In today’s episode, Malcolm Gladwell responds to recent backlash over why he believes that working in an office—and the collaborative creative environment it can offer—is in your best interest (and in the interest of others). We also dive deep into some of the important themes featured in the seventh season of his podcast Revisionist History, including: kindness, generosity, and sacrifice. And, Dan and Gladwell share their biggest mistakes as journalists.


    Malcolm Gladwell is the president and co-founder of Pushkin Industries, and the author of six New York Times bestselling books including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, David and Goliath, and Talking to Strangers. He’s also the host of the new Pushkin podcast Legacy of Speed.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The backlash Malcolm faced from his work from home comments
    • Pushing the noise aside when it comes to social media
    • Lessons in kindness from a recent Revisionist History episode
    • The importance of flow states
    • How he personally relaxes
    • Why people should have a lifelong pursuit or practice
    • What he thinks now about his famous 10,000 hours argument
    • Why we need to engage and investigate the views of others to be morally alert as human beings
    • His biggest journalistic mistake



    Content Warning: Brief mention of eating disorders.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/malcolm-gladwell-486

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    485: A Kind of Meditation You Might Be Overlooking | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Aug 12, 2022

    Bringing mindfulness to walking is an opportunity to build awareness and relax the mind as you move about your day.


    About Alexis Santos:


    Alexis Santos is a featured teacher on the Ten Percent Happier app and has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, with whom he ordained as a Buddhist monk, and has taught at retreat centers around the globe.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Everyday Natural Walking,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=adef9231-650a-4853-ab5b-bcf476ac21a7.




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    484: Do You Want to Be Happier or Not? | Mushim Patricia Ikeda Aug 10, 2022

    Oftentimes Buddhism can take a tough love, no nonsense approach to happiness by saying, if you want to be happier, sometimes you need to face hard truths.


    In today's episode we’re going to talk about a Buddhist list called The Three Characteristics. These are the three non-negotiable truths about reality, which you have to see and understand in order to be happy. Granted, when looked at from a certain angle, these truths, or characteristics of reality can suck at times. But do you want to see the truth of things or not? Do you want to be happier or not?


    Our guide through these three characteristics is the mighty Mushim Patricia Ikeda. Mushim has a background in both monastic and lay Buddhist practice and is a core teacher and community director at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California. This is her second appearance on the show.



    Content Warning: This episode briefly mentions child loss.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • The three characteristics, alternatively known as the three Dharma seals
    • Our conflicted relationship to change
    • Our brain’s tendency to focus on the negative
    • Practices that can help with handling change more effectively
    • How not taking your thoughts so personally can build your resilience
    • And why Mushim believes that universal non-discriminating love is synonymous with Nirvana



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mushim-patricia-ikeda-484

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    483: Four Ways to Boost Your Mindfulness Muscle | Joseph Goldstein Aug 08, 2022

    These days, the word mindfulness has become a buzz phrase but very often people don’t know what the word actually means, much less how to practice it. One simple definition of mindfulness is the ability to see what’s happening in your mind without getting carried away by it. The benefits of doing so are vast and profound— from decreased emotional reactivity to being more awake to what’s actually happening in your life.

    Today's guest Joseph Goldstein talks about a classic Buddhist list called the four foundations of mindfulness, which lays out various techniques for developing mindfulness within your practice.


    Goldstein is one of the premier western proponents of Mindfulness. He co-founded the legendary Insight Meditation Society alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. He also wrote a book called Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The historical context for the four foundations of mindfulness
    • Why he thinks the Buddha loved lists
    • Why the Buddha placed mindfulness of the body first on the list
    • The steps to mastering mindfulness of the body
    • The meaning of the word embodied and how that’s different from our usual mode of being in the world
    • How and why to do walking meditations
    • What are feeling tones and why are they important
    • Practices for cultivating mindfulness of mind
    • And we talk about some of the mantras that Joseph uses when teaching


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-483

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    482: A Meditation for When Things Suck | Bonus Meditation with Kaira Jewel Lingo Aug 05, 2022


    Cultivating what’s good in us helps during times of both abundance and adversity. In fact, it’s when times are hard that we need it the most.


    About Kaira Jewel Lingo


    Kaira Jewel Lingo was an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing. She's now a lay dharma teacher based on Long Island. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. and an M.A. in anthropology and social sciences. She’s also the author of the book We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption.




    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Growing the Good,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=5e3aaefe-3a96-40a4-ad6a-1c41c9b9754d.

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    481: How to Break Bad Mental Habits | Carol Wilson Aug 03, 2022

    There are so many benefits to mindfulness with one of the biggest being the cultivation of more self-awareness. This cultivation can lead to identifying the unhelpful mental habits that can develop over the years.


    Today we’re going to talk to Carol Wilson who offers very clear and practical ways that Buddhist meditation can help us turn down the volume on our unproductive mental habits and be less reactive.


    Wilson is a guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Society, where for many years she has taught their annual three-month retreat. She began her insight meditation practice in 1971 in India and in the 1980s she spent a year in Thailand as a Buddhist nun.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How to be mindful throughout the day
    • The concept of 360 degree awareness
    • Noticing when one experiences wanting or aversion
    • Why Wilson believes that the root of suffering comes from making it all about us
    • How seeing torment can help us experience freedom from the self
    • The benefits of reflecting on your past acts of generosity
    • Bringing awareness to your motivations
    • And doing a gratitude practice regularly to change the weather pattern in your mind



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/carol-wilson-481

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    480: What is Sadness Good For? | Susan Cain Aug 01, 2022

    Many of us may have a reflexive reaction when we notice we’re feeling down: we want it to go away. Maybe we think something is wrong with us and we automatically self medicate in any number of ways. But how do we square this with the fact that many of us may also really like sad movies and music? And making things even more complex, how do we compute the fact that the universe is constantly handing us opportunities to feel awe, gratitude, and joy, often at the exact same moment that sadness arises?


    What’s going on with this complex and conflicted relationship we have with a perfectly normal human emotion?


    Our guest today Susan Cain has written a whole book about this called Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. In this book, she explores how the capacity to tune in to the inherent joy and sadness of the human situation can be a superpower for connection.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Whether bittersweetness is a skill you can hone
    • The relationship between bittersweetness and the Buddhist concept of impermanence
    • Why we feel embarrassed about discussing sorrow and longing
    • How sadness can be transmuted into creativity, and how that creativity can lead us out of sadness
    • And how America, a country founded on so much heartache, turned into, in her words, “a culture of normative smiles”




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/susan-cain-480


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    479: A Meditation for Pain Relief | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Jul 29, 2022

    Sharon teaches you a simple breathing technique to release tension and reduce the intensity of a painful experience.


    About Sharon Salzberg:


    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.


    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Breathing to Release Pain,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=9a2fee2c-a8ea-443c-bf4f-d4329f2eb2ef.

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    366: How to Outsmart Your Pain | Christiane Wolf Jul 27, 2022

    Sit in meditation for a few minutes and you’re likely to experience pain, either physical or psychological. Hang around the meditation scene for very long, and you are likely to hear the expression, “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”


    And that’s what this episode is all about— boosting your pain tolerance through meditation. Because pain really is inevitable, but can you reduce your suffering through mindfulness and compassion?


    Our guest today, Christiane Wolf, argues ‘yes’. She is a physician turned mindfulness and compassion teacher and teacher trainer. She is an authorized Buddhist teacher in the Insight (Vipassana) meditation tradition, teaching classes and retreats worldwide, and she’s also the author of ​Outsmart Your Pain: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to Help You Leave Chronic Pain Behind.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Meditation techniques that offer us a better relationship to pain
    • How to work with the physicality of pain
    • The stories we tell ourselves about our pain
    • And seeing pain as an opportunity



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/christiane-wolf-rerun

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    478: Why You Keep Repeating Painful Patterns | Radhule Weininger Jul 25, 2022

    We all have long-standing painful patterns of behavior or inner storylines that can cause us to react disproportionately or inappropriately to everyday events.


    Today's guest, Dr. Radhule Weininger, has a term for this. She calls them longstanding recurrent painful patterns or LRPPs.


    Weininger is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and teacher of Buddhist meditation and Buddhist psychology. She has a new book, Heart Medicine: How to Stop Painful Patterns and Find Peace and Freedom—at Last


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How to recognize a problematic pattern or when you’ve been “lrpp-ed”
    • Why Dr. Weininger believes that Buddhism and western psychology, when practiced together, can help us deal with these recurring patterns
    • Unpacking the word trauma
    • The psychological term “mismatch” and how it relates to childhood trauma or hurt
    • How to practice meditation in order to tolerate discomfort



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/radhule-weininger-478

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    477: An Antidote for Anxiety | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Jul 22, 2022

    Find freedom from obsessive loops of fear by getting grounded in the body, dropping the stories, and bringing some kindness to the struggle.


    About Sebene Selassie:


    Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loosening the Grip of Panic,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=cea1fa4d-882a-4b50-b966-20d97d08d84d.



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    476: How to Actually Be Present | Matthew Brensilver Jul 20, 2022

    Today we’re gonna tackle one of the best known contemplative clichés: being in the present moment and inhabiting the now.


    The present moment seems to be a state we aspire towards, but are rarely given practical information about how to actually achieve. But today’s guest, Matthew Brensilver offers just that— practical information on how to achieve being present. We also explore his argument that when painful memories surface in meditation, it acts as a kind of exposure therapy that acclimates us to the things we may not want to face.


    This is Matthew Brensilver‘s second appearance on the show. He teaches retreats at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and other Buddhist centers. Before committing to teach meditation full-time, he spent years doing research on addiction pharmacotherapy at the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine. Matthew is the co-author of two books about meditation during adolescence and continues to be interested in the unfolding dialogue between Buddhism and science.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • What “be present” actually means
    • What to do when Buddhist teachings or meditation instructions feel out of reach and when we start compulsively self-assessing against them
    • What to do when a memory arises in meditation, especially a difficult memory
    • The brain’s tendency toward constant prediction
    • The benefits of meditation retreat
    • And distinguishing between true alarms and false alarms




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/matthew-brensilver-476


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    475: Run Towards the Danger | Sarah Polley Jul 18, 2022

    Often, when you’re afraid of something, the best advice is deeply counterintuitive, not to mention inconvenient: to turn toward the source of your fear.


    Today we’re going to talk about the fear of confronting your own past with our guest Sarah Polley.


    Polley is an Oscar nominated filmmaker and actress who recently wrote a new book, called Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory. In her book, she explores the relationship between her past and present and how the two are in constant dialogue.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The story of her concussion and the unusual advice she got from a specialist that became not just a path to recovery, but a sort of personal credo, “run toward the danger”
    • What we often do with our stories of childhood shame, and the immense power of talking about it
    • How she has come to stop seeing her anxiety as a stop sign
    • Her argument that the advice to “listen to your body” is not always the best advice
    • The liberating potential of intentionally making uncharacteristic decisions
    • Her path to meditation and her current practice
    • And the limits of her own “run towards the danger” mantra




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sarah-polley-475

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    474: Next-Level Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Diana Winston Jul 15, 2022

    Expand and strengthen your understanding of awareness through an exploration of focused, investigative, and flexible awareness.


    About Diana Winston:


    Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center and the author of The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness. She has taught mindfulness since 1999 at hospitals, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and schools in the US and Asia. She developed the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) curriculum and the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation, which trains mindfulness teachers worldwide. She is also a founding board member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Exploring Awareness Three Ways,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0445dec7-d4dc-4358-ad9f-87a7058eb4a6.



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    473: The Opposite of Depression | Samantha Boardman Jul 13, 2022

    Depression is a debilitating problem both on an individual and a societal level and it has only gotten worse during the pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, depression is now one of the leading causes of disability on the planet.


    Our guest today Dr. Samantha Boardman is going to talk about what she calls the opposite of depression— something called positive psychiatry. This approach focuses on the positive things in the lives of her patients rather than just the pathologies.


    Boardman is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, which is also where she went to medical school and did her four year residency program. She later went back and got a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She recently put out a book called Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength



    In this episode we talked about:

    • The 3 C’s (factors contributing to vitality)
    • The notion that our understanding of happiness does not have to be internally oriented
    • How not all socializing is created equal
    • Why identifying your values is important
    • The value of hobbies
    • The flake factor
    • And the value of failure


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/samantha-boardman-473

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    472: How a Buddhist Monk Deals With Anxiety | Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche Jul 11, 2022

    Anxiety has long been a massive societal issue that has spiked during the pandemic.

    In this episode, renowned Buddhist monk Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche talks in detail about how he personally works with anxiety and panic and the practices he draws upon when dealing with these states.

    Mingyur began doing long retreats in his teens and now teaches all over the world. He’s written the books The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness and In Love with the World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying. He also oversees the Tergar Meditation Community, a global network of Buddhist meditation centers.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Working with strong emotions using sound and the breath
    • Deconstructing your reality to make it workable
    • Understanding what awareness is in a Buddhist sense
    • How to make meditation free-range and available to you all times
    • The simple but also tricky advice of, “stop doing and just be”
    • When to take a step back or even take a break from meditation
    • What Mingyur Rinpoche says is the true purpose of the practice.


    This interview was recorded in person at the TED conference in April of 2022, where both Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Dan Harris spoke.


    Full Shownotes:

    https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche-472


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    471: What Does Interconnection Actually Mean? | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren Jul 08, 2022

    Connecting with the universal world wide web of meditators expands your perspective and helps cultivate a deep feeling of belonging.


    About Jeff Warren:


    Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver."



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Symphony of Interconnection,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=1255a87a-5d7e-4736-9d6e-750e582f96f8.


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    470: An Episode About Anger | Jacoby Ballard Jul 06, 2022

    In this episode, the social justice educator and activist Jacoby Ballard talks about a universal, or near universal, issue: anger. And, he offers us two mental skills that can help channel anger into something even more powerful and effective. Those skills are forgiveness and equanimity.


    Ballard is a meditation and yoga teacher and the author of a new book called, A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation


    Content Warnings: There are some brief references to sensitive topics, including trauma and suicide.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How he went from an activist largely fueled by anger to a dharma teacher with a very different approach
    • The sometimes useful role of anger in activism and the danger of being stuck in anger mode
    • The subtle but powerful move of getting in touch with what is beneath our anger
    • Using annoyance as a jumping off point for inner investigation
    • Ways to work with anger and learning to discharge the energy in our body
    • Forgiveness, including forgiving ourselves
    • Getting over our need to be right
    • Equanimity, or as Jacoby calls it, his “tussle with equanimity”



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jacoby-ballard-470

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    469: A Mystery That Matters | Anil Seth Jul 04, 2022

    How, on this planet, did we go from molten lava and shifting tectonic plates to sentient beings? How are you awake and aware right now? Who and where and what exactly is the “you” that is experiencing everything?


    Guest Anil Seth says that exploring these questions can lead to real and radical changes in your life, including reducing your emotional reactivity.


    Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness. His TED Talk on consciousness has been viewed over 13 million times. Most recently, he is the author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How brains give rise to consciousness
    • The bundle theory of self
    • The comfort in thinking of the self as impermanent
    • A new way to think about emotional states
    • How Seth’s personal experience with long COVID has changed his own sense of self
    • The question of whether we have free will
    • Whether machines can be conscious – and whether we should be afraid of artificial intelligence




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/anil-seth-469

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    468: Meditating on a Mystery | Bonus Meditation with JoAnna Hardy Jul 01, 2022

    What and who are you? In this advanced exploration, you are invited to contemplate what is and isn’t definable about your identity.


    About JoAnna Hardy:


    JoAnna Hardy is an insight meditation (Vipassanā) practitioner and teacher. She is also on the faculty at the University of Southern California, a meditation trainer at Apple Fitness+, a founding member of the Meditation Coalition, a teacher's council member at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and a visiting retreat teacher at Insight Meditation Society.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for ”Exploring Identity,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=a40fbc27-1341-496e-978a-3e462fce5bc0.



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    467: Five Ways to be Less Distracted | Shaila Catherine Jun 29, 2022

    One of the most common and insidious complaints of meditators is distraction, which can be a frustrating and difficult obstacle. Even the Buddha himself acknowledged this common problem and laid out some detailed practices for dealing with it.


    In this episode, Shaila Catherine outlines the Buddha’s five strategies to help us tackle distractions, which can be applied to our meditation practice as well as other aspects of our lives.


    Catherine is a dharma teacher whose latest book is calledBeyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind. She is also the founder and principal teacher at Insight Meditation South Bay and has 40 years of practice, including nine years, cumulatively, of silent retreat. Her first TPH appearance, which we called How to Focus, aired in May 2021.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • The Buddha’s struggles with distraction
    • Shaila’s attempts to make the teachings of the Buddha accessible to contemporary minds
    • The importance of getting to know your own thought patterns
    • The counterintuitive strategy of “avoid it, ignore it, forget it”
    • Replacing seduction with mindfulness
    • Developing a flexibility of mind
    • Why we’re vulnerable to our own tendencies when we’re not mindful




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shaila-catherine-467

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    466: The Science of Handling Uncertainty | Maya Shankar Jun 27, 2022

    It seems like a design flaw in our species that we live in a world of constant change yet most of us are not comfortable with uncertainty.


    In this episode, we talk to Maya Shankar about how to get better at dealing with change and to stop seeking what scientists call “cognitive closure.”


    Shankar is a former Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. She also served as the first Behavioral Science Advisor to the United Nations, and is currently a Senior Director of Behavioral Economics at Google. She is the host of the Pushkin Industries podcast A Slight Change of Plans, which was named Best Show of the Year in 2021 by Apple.



    In this episode we talk about:


    • Why humans are so uncomfortable with uncertainty and change
    • What a behavioral scientist actually does in the world
    • Why even the host of a podcast about change isn’t immune to the uncertainties of life
    • The benefits of cultivating a more malleable sense of self
    • Why humans are such bad forecasters
    • The importance of auditing yourself when you’re undergoing a big change
    • How to take advantage of big reset moments
    • The concept of cognitive closure and why encouraging an open mind can make us more resilient





    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/maya-shankar-466

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    465: Dismantling Perfectionism | Bonus Meditation with La Sarmiento Jun 24, 2022

    Nourish yourself with some kindness and shift away from self-criticism towards accepting yourself fully, even your hardest parts.


    About La Sarmiento:


    La Sarmiento is the the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington's BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Sanghas and a mentor for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program and for Cloud Sangha. They graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center's Community Dharma Leader Training Program in 2012. As an immigrant, non-binary, Filipinx-American, La is committed to expanding access to the Dharma. They live in Towson, MD with their life partner Wendy and rescue pups Annabel and Bader.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Dismantling Perfectionism, Accepting Yourself,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=dd701886-ad66-417a-b466-cdefb92ff5c8.

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    464: How to Keep Friendships From Imploding | Esther Perel Jun 22, 2022

    “The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life.”

    These words from the legendary Esther Perel have the power to genuinely change your outlook on life. But while it’s easy to hear them and immediately have your mind go to family relationships or romantic relationships, today we’re going to talk about friendships. Friendships can be massive contributors to mental health. They can also, when they go pear-shaped, be the source of abundant misery.

    Today’s guest is the legendary Esther Perel. Her resume is beyond impressive: She is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of books such as Mating in Captivity. Her TED talk has attracted more than 30 million views. She is fluent in nine languages. She is the host of the popular podcasts Where Should We Begin? and How’s Work? And her latest project is called Where Should We Begin - A Game of Stories with Esther Perel.

    In this episode we talk about:

    • How the pandemic has impacted our friendships
    • Esther’s contention that “love and commitment and intimacy don’t just belong to the world of romantic couples”
    • What makes friendship unique, in good ways and tricky ways
    • What to consider when determining whether to confront a difficulty in a friendship
    • How to conduct a self-assessment of yourself as a friend
    • How systematic we should be about cultivating and maintaining our friendships
    • How to reconnect with friends authentically
    • Whether or not we can have platonic friendships across the gender spectrum
    • How to handle friendships when you’re in a romantic relationship, including friendships you share, friendships with those with whom your partner doesn’t get along, and friendships with exes


    Content warning: There are some brief references to sensitive topics, including suicide.

    *Esther Perel invites you and a colleague to apply for a session with her that will be part of the new season of her podcast How's Work? Her team is looking for work pairs, co-founders, colleagues, managers, or any combination to join her for a session to explore the future of work together. Apply here.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/esther-perel-464

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    463: Solutions to all of Your Moral Dilemmas | Michael Schur Jun 20, 2022

    Life is filled with all kinds of moral dilemmas— from the mundane to the momentous. Should I lie and tell my friend that I like her ugly shirt? Can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people? How much money should I give to charity? Ultimately, does anything we do even matter?


    In today’s conversation, television writer and producer, Michael Schur helps us to navigate our moral dilemmas and answer some of these difficult questions.


    Schur is best known for creating and co-creating such shows as Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, and Rutherford Falls. Additionally, he has worked on shows like The Office, Master of None, The Comeback, and Hacks. He is also the Author of How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • What got him started on the road to reading philosophy and studying ethics
    • The so-called “trolley problem”
    • Trusting your gut
    • Natural states of virtue
    • The evolutionary advantages of virtue
    • And how white lies can be beneficial in a complicated and messy society


    This interview was recorded in person at the TED conference in April of 2022, where both Michael Schur and Dan Harris spoke.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/michael-schur-463

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    462: How to Be With What's Bugging You | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Jun 17, 2022

    Build resilience for tough situations. Learn the tools to develop self-empathy, clarifying what matters to you most and how to move forward.


    About Oren Jay Sofer:


    Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation, and Nonviolent Communication in secular and Buddhist contexts. Oren has practiced meditation in the early Buddhist tradition since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India with Anagarika Munindra and Godwin Samararatne. He is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and a graduate of the IMS - Spirit Rock Vipassana Teacher Training, and current member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council.


    Oren is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, a practical guidebook for having more effective, satisfying conversations.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Self Empathy,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=c547f8dc-f150-464a-ba59-3131a4bf6944.

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    307: The Science of Emotional Intelligence | Daniel Goleman Jun 15, 2022

    How much would your relationships improve if you could up your emotional intelligence game? That phrase, “emotional intelligence” or EQ, entered the lexicon over 25 years ago, when Daniel Goleman wrote a book by the same name.


    In this episode, Daniel Goleman talks about the four components of emotional intelligence and how we can develop these skills in our daily lives.


    Golman is a Harvard-trained psychologist who, along with other contemplative luminaries such as Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg and Jon Kabat-Zinn, went to Asia and discovered meditation in the 1960s— making it a huge part of their lives and careers.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • The four components of emotional intelligence, how to develop them, and why these skills matter so much during the middle of a pandemic
    • Empathy and relationship management in the age of zoom
    • The “marshmallow test” and impulse control
    • A phenomenon he calls, “amygdala hijacks”
    • Why so many Jewish kids in the sixties and seventies got turned on to Buddhism


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/daniel-goleman-repost



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    461: 4 Ways Not To Be Owned By Your Sh*t | Susan David Jun 13, 2022

    It’s completely natural when dealing with anxiety, depression, anger, shame, or any other unpleasant emotion, to just want it to go away.


    Guest Susan David says that these discomforts are the price of admission to being alive and offers an approach called emotional agility as a way to navigate them.


    Susan David, Ph.D. is a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of a book called Emotional Agility. Her TED Talk on the subject has been viewed more than eight million times.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Her definition of emotional agility
    • The four skills of emotional agility
    • Why she says our emotions are data, not directives
    • How to move skillfully through a world that “conspires against us seeing ourselves”
    • How to avoid emotional “fusion”
    • The power of tiny tweaks
    • And “emotional granularity”— what it is, why it matters and how to practice it



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/susan-david-461

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    460: This Will Put Things in Perspective for You | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Jun 10, 2022

    Start focused on what's truly important. When you pause to remember the big picture, your day can move forward grounded in integrity & wisdom.


    About Alexis Santos:


    Alexis Santos is a featured teacher on the Ten Percent Happier app and has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, with whom he ordained as a Buddhist monk, and has taught at retreat centers around the globe.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Wake Up With Perspective,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=cb852965-67e4-4b4c-a2d0-c3765c3224bc.



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    459: 5 Ways To Get Over Yourself | Pascal Auclair Jun 08, 2022

    The phrase, “Get over yourself” is often used in a flippant way, but it’s actually speaking to a deep human need to get out of our heads and off our own backs. At a fundamental level, this is what Buddhism is all about— seeing through the illusion of the self, which can be the source of so much of our suffering.


    In this episode guest Pascal Auclair talks about how we can unlock this suffering through the use of a foundational Buddhist list called the five aggregates.


    Pascal Auclair has been immersed in Buddhist practice and study since 1997. He has been mentored by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, where he is now enjoying teaching retreats. Pascal teaches in North America and in Europe. He is a co-founder of True North Insight and one of their guiding teachers.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How the five aggregates got Auclair hooked on Buddhist practice and philosophy
    • The five aggregates as a way to work with difficulty
    • Living with the non-negotiable prospect of dying
    • Paying attention to pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feeling tone
    • Meditation training as a way to understand that experiences are conditional



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/pascal-auclair-459

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    458: You Don’t Have to be Miserable While Doing Important Work | adrienne maree brown Jun 06, 2022

    Our culture has oddly conflicting views about pleasure.


    In this episode, author adrienne maree brown explores the importance of pleasure and how it changes your experience of the world.


    adrienne maree brown is the writer-in-residence at the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, and author of Grievers (the first novella in a trilogy on the Black Dawn imprint), Holding Change: The Way of Emergent Strategy Facilitation and Mediation, We Will Not Cancel Us and Other Dreams of Transformative Justice, Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds and the co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements and How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office. She is the cohost of the How to Survive the End of the World, Octavia’s Parables and Emergent Strategy podcasts. adrienne is rooted in Detroit.


    In this conversation we talked about:

    • What is pleasure activism
    • The role of sex and drugs
    • Why we should say yes more
    • How to be in touch with our sense of “enough”
    • The role of gratitude
    • The line between commitment and detachment
    • How she defines authentic happiness
    • Her self-description as “a recovering self-righteous organizer,” and why self-righteousness actually leads to powerlessness


    Content Warning: Discussions of sex and drugs.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/adrienne-maree-brown-458


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    457: What’s Going on When You’re Procrastinating? | Jay Michaelson Jun 03, 2022

    Acknowledging the hard feelings that accompany procrastination can help you alleviate avoidance and accomplish the task at hand.


    About Jay Michaelson:


    Dr. Jay Michaelson is a Senior Content Strategist at Ten Percent Happier and the author of seven books on meditation, including his newest, Enlightenment by Trial and Error. In his “other career,” Jay is a columnist for The Daily Beast, and was a professional LGBTQ activist for ten years. Jay is an ordained rabbi and has taught meditation in secular, Buddhist, and Jewish context for eighteen years.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Procrastination Medication,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=5d0ef603-6af6-4b9d-bc81-7920fbda1efa.

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    456: Time Management for Mortals | Oliver Burkeman Jun 01, 2022

    In a culture that values persistent productivity, one can be left feeling chronically behind.


    In this episode, author and recovering time management junkie, Oliver Burkeman encourages us to stop scrambling to fit it all in by exploring the relationship between our mortality and getting things done.


    Oliver Burkeman is the author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. Former guest Adam Grant has called it, “The most important book ever written about time management.” This is Oliver’s second appearance on the show. Burkeman joined us on the show a few years ago to talk about his other book, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. He also writes a bi-weekly email newsletter called The Imperfectionist.


    In this conversation, we talk about:

    • Why accepting mortality is a crucial step in improving our relationship to time
    • His conviction that it’s not about being more efficient. It’s about knowing what to neglect
    • Patience as a superpower and the impatience spiral
    • The benefits of burning bridges
    • Becoming a better procrastinator
    • The benefits of rest
    • What he calls “cosmic insignificance therapy”
    • Practical tips, such as the “fixed volume approach to productivity,” the value of serialization, and strategic underachievement.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/oliver-burkeman-456

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    212: The Likeability Trap | Alicia Menendez May 30, 2022

    Our guest this week is Alicia Menendez, an award-winning journalist, who finds herself in a common position for many women: caring way too much about what others think of her. Be nice, but not too nice. Be successful, but not too successful. Just be likable, whatever that means. In the workplace strong women are often criticized for being cold, while warm women may be seen as pushovers. In her book, The Likeability Trap, and in this conversation, she discusses this issue and explains how and why both men and women should combat it.


    In this conversation, we talk about:

    • The aforementioned likability trap
    • The structural imbalance in feedback for women and men in the workplace
    • The things for men to consider as they engage with women in the workplace



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/alicia-menendez-212

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    454: A Meditation for Self-Criticism| Bonus Meditation with Diana Winston May 27, 2022

    Tune in mindfully to help alleviate the pain of feeling unworthy and cultivate more compassion and joy for yourself.


    About Diana Winston:


    Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center and the other of The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness. She has taught mindfulness since 1999 at hospitals, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and schools in the US and Asia. She developed the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) curriculum and the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation, which trains mindfulness teachers worldwide. She is also a founding board member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Unworthiness,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=59c693e4-de4c-4e08-8eee-95fb36296938.



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    453: An Ace Therapist Gives Dan A Run For His Money | Dr. Jacob Ham May 25, 2022

    Sometimes part of healing trauma means learning how to be human.


    This episode is the last episode of our Mental Health Reboot series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month. Dr. Jacob Ham, who was introduced in Stephanie Foo’s episode earlier this week, helped Stephanie through her case of complex PTSD and discusses how to live with the hardest things that have happened to you.


    Dr. Ham is the Director of the Center for Child Trauma and Resilience and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He sees children, youth, adults, and families across the age range and for a variety of issues.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • What Dr. Ham says may be the “most important thing he’s discovered” as a therapist
    • Why he shuts down his clients’ attempts to intellectualize their experiences
    • Kairos versus kronos
    • Why Dr. Ham says the Incredible Hulk is so important to him
    • The concept of mentalization
    • What it means to love exquisitely
    • And whether or not we have to learn to love ourselves before we can learn to love others




    Content Warning: Explicit language.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jacob-ham-453

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    452: How To Live With The Worst Things That Ever Happened To You | Stephanie Foo May 23, 2022

    We’ve all had difficult, and sometimes horrible things happen to us.


    While some people may be luckier than others, it’s rare that anyone goes unscathed. This episode is part of our Mental Health Reboot series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.


    In this episode, Stephanie Foo shares her story of being diagnosed with complex PTSD and how she learned to process her trauma and live with her past. The result of her journey is a new book called What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma.


    Stephanie Foo is a journalist and radio producer. Her previous work includes This American Life, The Cut, Reply All, and 99% Invisible. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times and Vox.


    In this conversation we talk about:

    • The various therapies, meditation styles, and wellness modalities Stephanie explored to help process her trauma
    • What actually worked for her, and how it might be relevant to other survivors
    • Shame, gratitude, and self-love
    • Her transformative work with Dr. Jacob Ham, who will be featured in another episode this week.



    Content Warnings: Discussions of trauma and abuse, references to addiction and mental health challenges. Explicit language.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/stephanie-foo-452


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    451: Don’t Take What Happens in Your Head Personally | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein May 20, 2022

    Emotions can feel so personal. Joseph helps you get your feet back under you. Remember: your mind doesn't have to push you around.


    About Joseph Goldstein:


    Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Releasing Moods & Emotions,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=63bba532-84e7-4dd1-a0df-5f734be86239.

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    450: The Science of Loss and Recovery | Mary-Frances O’Connor May 18, 2022

    Very few of us will live a life without loss.


    As part of our Mental Health Reboot series in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, this week’s episodes talk a lot about grieving. Mary-Frances O’Connor, an expert in bereavement research, explores the science of how we grieve and experience loss, whether it’s a job or a loved one.


    Mary-Frances O'Connor is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona, where she is also the Director of Clinical Training. And she is the author of a book called The Grieving Brain.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The distinction between grief and grieving
    • How her Buddhist practice has influenced her understanding of grief
    • Whether or not we can ever quote/unquote “get over it”
    • Why she argues for “a really big toolkit of coping strategies”
    • How to understand the work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross today
    • What grieving looks like in a pandemic
    • What to say to people who are grieving
    • The new diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder


    Content Warning: Brief mention of suicide.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mary-frances-oconnor-450


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    449: Loss is Inevitable. Here’s How to Handle It. | Kathryn Schulz May 16, 2022

    There is an unstoppable flow of gain and loss within our lives.


    Processing this flow helps us to develop equanimity. In this conversation, Pulitzer Prize-winner and New Yorker staff writer Kathryn Schulz discusses her new book Lost and Found: A Memoir, in which she explores experiencing both a huge loss anda huge gain, and how to live in a world where both happiness and pain commingle.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How humans experience grief
    • A gift you can give to the grieving
    • Why she loves the clichés that remind us to enjoy the moment
    • Her broad understanding of the term “loss”
    • Why the key word in ‘lost and found’ is “and”
    • What she’s learned about compromising in relationships



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kathryn-schulz-449

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    448: Your Umbrella in a Sh*t Storm | Bonus Meditation with Matthew Hepburn May 13, 2022

    Learn to find a feeling of protection and trust during a downpour of stressful thoughts or overwhelm.


    About Matthew Hepburn :


    Matthew is a meditation and dharma teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience and a passion for getting real about what it means to live well. He emphasizes humor, technique, and authentic kindness as a means to free the mind up from unnecessary struggle and leave a healthier impact on the world.


    Beyond Ten Percent Happier, Matthew has taught in prisons, schools, corporate events and continues to teach across North America in buddhist centers offering intensive silent retreats and dharma for urban daily life.


    Matthew is the host of the Twenty Percent Happier podcast, where you'll get to eavesdrop on people getting real about the challenges all of us face, and you’ll hear how through meditation, those challenges are transformed.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Shelter in a Storm: Finding Refuge,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=8e3f8e99-e4b3-4c54-b46d-f57647b254db.



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    340: The Science of Hope | Jacqueline Mattis May 11, 2022

    How does hope work?


    In this episode from the archives, Rutgers University clinical psychologist Dr. Jacqueline Mattis discusses hope from a scientific perspective and how we can cultivate it.


    Dr. Mattis, who is also a Dean of faculty at Rutgers, did not start her career wanting to study hope. She started out studying spirituality and religiosity, specifically concentrating her field work and interviews in African-American and Afri-Caribbean urban communities. She wanted to know why people living under high stress conditions so often choose to be good and compassionate. And that research ultimately led her to hope.




    In this episode we talk about:


    • How her family history influenced her relationship to optimism and faith
    • The difference between spirituality and religiosity
    • The benefits of hope and skills to cultivate it
    • The ways hope can go wrong
    • And the benefits of denial




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jacqueline-mattis-340-repost

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    447: Jonathan Van Ness on Shame, Shopping, Bodies, and Hope May 09, 2022

    How do you find hope in a lifetime that has experienced more trauma than most?


    Guest Jonathan Van Ness says that the key is to stay curious and focus on happiness and joy, even if it’s just in a tiny corner.


    Jonathan Van Ness is a hairstylist by trade and best known as one of the hosts of the Netflix series Queer Eye. He is also the author of Love That Story and the New York Times bestselling memoir Over the Top, and the host of the podcast Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • The universality of processing grief
    • What a “window of tolerance” means
    • Getting curious about shame
    • Body dysmorphia
    • JVN’s complex and contradictory feelings about shopping
    • What “parts therapy” or Internal Family Systems therapy is
    • Setting boundaries
    • Connecting and cultivating joy


    Content Warning: Explicit language and mentions of sexual abuse, substance amuse, body dysmorphia, and references to sex.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jonathan-van-ness-447

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    446: How to Use Meditation for Sleep | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle May 06, 2022

    This body scan meditation is designed to be simple and relaxing. It's the perfect bedtime companion for a good night's rest.


    About Anushka Fernandopulle:


    Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka.

    Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Bedtime Body Scan,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=33b34fe4-6b04-43f6-b2cd-51a9bb83fce2.

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    445: The Science of Sleep | Dr. Sara Mednick May 04, 2022

    If you’re trying to improve your sleep, thinking about doing so right before you get into bed might not be the best approach.


    Dr. Sara Mednick, is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of the new book The Power of the Downstate. This episode is part of our month-long “Mental Health Reboot” series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.


    According to her research, Dr. Mednick says that we need to take a more holistic approach to getting better sleep, and that sleep is just one of the ways that our bodies rest and restore.


    In this conversation, we talk about:

    • The nuances of napping
    • Dr. Mednick’s definition of the “downstate”
    • Whether there are practices that can compensate for poor sleep
    • Why heart rate variability is an important measurement of health
    • Why sex is so helpful for sleep
    • And when to take melatonin to best effect



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sara-mednick-445


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    444: How to Sleep Better | Diane Macedo May 02, 2022

    Sleep may be the apex predator of healthy habits, so why are so many of us getting terrible sleep?


    Guest Diane Macedo launched a very detailed personal investigation in order to fix her sleeping habits and joins us for the first episode of a month-long “Mental Health Reboot” series we’re doing to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.


    Diane Macedo is the author of the new book The Sleep Fix: Practical, Proven, and Surprising Solutions for Insomnia, Snoring, Shift Work, and More. As an ABC News anchor and correspondent, she appears on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and Nightline. She’s also the daytime anchor for ABC News Live.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Key signs that you’re not getting enough sleep
    • Do sleeping pills really work
    • When and how to find a sleep specialist
    • How to deal with performance anxiety around sleep
    • The difference between sleep deprivation and insomnia
    • Mindfulness and sleep
    • And the biggest sleep myths



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/diane-macedo-444


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    443: More Than A Feeling | Saleem Reshamwala Apr 29, 2022

    Most of us have gotten at least a little emotional at some point recently. It’s natural. But why do we have emotions and how much should we pay attention to them on any given day? Can we learn to skillfully choose which emotions to listen to and which ones to just let move on by?


    In More Than A Feeling, the latest podcast from Ten Percent Happier, host Saleem Reshamwala goes on a real life quest to find the answers to these questions. He’ll experiment with neuroscientists, dive into stories with historians and philosophers, and document how musicians, therapists, hairdressers and airplane pilots work with emotions.



    About Saleem Reshamwala:


    Saleem Reshamwala is the host of More Than A Feeling, Ten Percent Happier's podcast about human emotions. He is an Emmy-nominated producer, for his video work on implicit bias with the New York Times, a winner in the Best Music Video category at Harlem's Hip Hop Film Festival, and a mentor for The Sauce Fellowship, a Southern youth digital storytelling program in conjunction with the New Orleans Video Access Center.



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    442: Get Happier Without Losing Your Edge | Kamala Masters Apr 27, 2022

    Can you become happier, more balanced, and practice equanimity without losing your edge?


    Guest Kamala Masters was one of the teachers at Dan’s first ever meditation retreat. In this episode she dives into how to develop equanimity and shares her story of learning how to practice meditation during her everyday life while raising three children on her own.


    Kamala Masters has been meditating since the 1970s, first with Anagarika Munindra, who was Joseph Goldstein’s first teacher, and then with the Burmese master Sayadaw U Pandita with whom she twice temporarily ordained as a Buddhist nun. More recently, she’s been training with another Burmese master we’ve talked about here on the show, Sayadaw U Tejaniya. She is a Guiding Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society, and the co-founder of the Vipassana Metta Foundation, which developed the Maui Dharma Sanctuary.


    In this conversation we talk about:


    • What is equanimity?
    • The most common misconception about equanimity
    • The near and far enemies of equanimity
    • The power and limitations of setting intentions




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kamala-masters-442

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    441: A Thing Most Men Won’t Talk About | Aaron Flores Apr 25, 2022

    Why is it that many men seem unenthusiastic about discussing body image issues?


    We take a deep dive into this topic with Aaron Flores, a Los Angeles-based registered dietician and nutritionist, and one of the few men very active in the space of intuitive eating. Aaron talks about how capitalism ties our weight to our worthiness, and his notion that “our body is not a project.”


    In this episode we also discuss:

    • What intuitive eating is
    • How men experience body image issues, and why they often don’t talk about it
    • The relationship between diet culture and capitalism
    • What “health at every size” means and why it’s sometimes controversial
    • Guidelines for parents
    • The role of self-compassion when it comes to food



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/aaron-flores-441


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    440: Meditation for Short Attention Spans | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Apr 22, 2022

    Collect yourself in the morning to start off on your best foot. If you start collected, you’ll have better luck staying collected.


    About Sharon Salzberg:

    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.

    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Get Going with Focus,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=3bd1a8a1-84f8-4be9-8f67-14eb4e0ec5fe

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    348: How To Focus | Shaila Catherine Apr 20, 2022

    Many of us find our minds flitting all over the place, in meditation and elsewhere. In today’s episode we’re going to learn practical techniques for boosting concentration on and off the cushion. This is the second episode in a two-part series on focus we are airing this week.


    Today’s guest is an Olympic-level concentrator who has tons of tips for staying focused. We also talk about one of the more exotic meditation subjects: The altered states of consciousness called the jhanas that are available to advanced meditators who can attain deep states of concentration.

    Shaila Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a meditation group in Silicon Valley. She has been practicing meditation since 1980 and has more than nine years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She’s the author of Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity.

    In this conversation, we talk about:

    • The basic building blocks of concentration in a meditation practice
    • Cultivating the right attitude for meditation
    • The difference between concentration and mindfulness
    • Whether ‘jhana’ states are attainable for regular people


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shaila-catherine-repost-348


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    439: Why You Can’t Pay Attention - And How to Think Deeply Again | Johann Hari Apr 18, 2022

    What is it about modern life that is completely disrupting our ability to focus, and how much of it is our fault?


    Turns out, not a lot. A number of factors from technology to our sleep habits, and even air pollution, play a role in what causes us to have about the same attention regulation skills as a kitten. In this first episode of our two-part series on focus, guest Johann Hari breaks down why our ability to pay attention is collapsing, and what we can do about it.


    Johann Hari is the author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again. His first book, Chasing the Scream: the First and Last Days of the War on Drugs was adapted into the Oscar nominated film The United States Vs Billie Holiday as well as a documentary series.


    Johann is also the author of Lost Connections: Uncovering The Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions which was featured in a previous episode. His TED Talks have been viewed more than 80 million times.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • Johann’s notion that there are twelve factors draining our focus
    • His argument for the importance of both collective and individual action to reclaim our attention
    • What he learned from a self-imposed three-month internet-free experiment
    • How this impacts our children, and what we might do about it



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/johann-hari-439

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    438: How to Stay Calm Without Being Passive | Bonus Meditation with Roshi Joan Halifax Apr 15, 2022

    Returning to the practice of equanimity keeps you both grounded and receptive, especially during times of turmoil and uncertainty.


    About Roshi Joan Halifax:


    Roshi Joan Halifax is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care. She is also the Founder, Abbot, and Head teacher of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her books include Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet, and The Fruitful Darkness: A Journey Through Buddhist Practice and Tribal Wisdom.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Strong Back, Soft Front,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=4cfcfe2d-f5fb-4142-9bd0-3fb6b2041324.



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    318: A New Way To Think About Your Time | Ashley Whillans (2021) Apr 13, 2022

    What if one of the keys to happiness is how intentional you are with your time?


    Ashley Whillans is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School and author of the book Time Smart. Her groundbreaking research has led her to radically reevaluate how she spends her own time. Her goal is to help you move from time poverty to time affluence.


    In this conversation, we talk about:

    • How to do a time audit
    • Funding time, finding time, and reframing time
    • The surprising extent to which prioritizing time over money predicts happiness–and what to do if you usually do the opposite
    • How to handle “time confetti”
    • The value of canceling meetings


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ashley-whillans-repost-318

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    437: Unseating the Inner Tyrant | Ajahn Sucitto Apr 11, 2022

    Often, we are our own worst critic.


    In this episode, Buddhist monk Ajahn Sucitto explores ways to unseat the inner tyrant and make peace with the nagging voice inside of you that seems to always demand perfection, but never offer praise.


    Ajahn Sucitto was raised in the United Kingdom and became a monk in 1975 in the lineage of the Thai forest master, Venerable Ajahn Chah. In 1979, he helped establish Cittaviveka, also known as Chithurst Forest Monastery, in West Sussex, England where he still lives.


    In this episode we talk about:

    • Strategies for addressing our inner critic
    • Why we shouldn’t operate at 100%
    • The foolishness of turning our minds into courts of law
    • The Buddhist precepts (or ethical guidelines)
    • And the essential nature of sangha/community



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ajahn-sucitto-437

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    436: Brené Brown Says You're Doing Feelings Wrong Apr 08, 2022

    Brené Brown has found that most people are only able to identify three emotions: happy, sad and pissed off.


    In this episode we explore how better understanding the full spectrum of your emotions, rather than drowning in them, can become an upward spiral.


    Brené Brown is the author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her latest book is Atlas of the Heart, which is also the name of her new HBO Max series. Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston and a visiting professor in management at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Her TED talk on the Power of Vulnerability is one of the top five most-viewed TED talks in the world, with over 50 million views.


    We Talk About:


    • Why she decided to map the 87 key emotions and experiences
    • How she was deeply influenced by the Buddhist concept of the “near enemy”
    • Why she no longer believes it's possible to read emotions in other people
    • Why meaningful connections require boundaries


    Content Warning: This episode contains explicit language, but a clean version of the episode is available at tenpercent.com and on the Ten Percent Happier app.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/brene-brown-436

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    165: How to Argue Better | Oren Jay Sofer Apr 06, 2022

    This episode dives into our archives to revisit the notion of communication as a learnable skill. Often some of the most painful situations you encounter are the result of poor communication. The good news is that communication is a skill that can be learned.


    Author and meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer, a leading figure in the field of interpersonal communication, breaks down how communication can be one of the most powerful levers for creating positive change in your life.


    Oren Jay Sofer is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication. He also teaches mindfulness, meditation and nonviolent communication in secular and Buddhist contexts. He graduated from Insight Meditation Center’s Spirit Rock Vipassana Teacher Training and is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto.



    In this conversation, we also talk about:

    • How to become aware of what motivates you to communicate the way you do
    • Strategies for how to have more meaningful conversations
    • What it means to lead with presence
    • How conflict has the possibility to deepen our relationships and make peace



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/oren-jay-sofer-repost-165

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    435: Mind-Blowing Sex | Dr. Lori Brotto Apr 04, 2022

    What role does mindfulness and meditation play when it comes to sex? It may be the key to alleviating sexual distress in your relationships, and in this episode Dr. Lori Brotto talks about scientific evidence that shows how mindfulness can improve your sex life.


    Dr. Lori Brotto is a clinical psychologist, the director of the University of British Columbia’s Sexual Health Laboratory, the Canada Research Chair in Women’s Sexual Health; the Executive Director of the Women’s Health Research Institute; and the author of Better Sex through Mindfulness.


    We talk about:


    • Mindfulness practices for individuals and couples who want to improve their sex lives
    • The number one cause of sexual distress and how it manifests in different genders
    • The importance of “interoception” or awareness of our bodily sensations
    • Identifying the most common myths about sex


    Content Warning: This episode includes conversations about sex.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lori-brotto-435

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    434: Meditation for Control Freaks | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Apr 01, 2022

    Get comfortable with uncertainty and cultivate trust in life, even in the most turbulent times.


    About Sebene Selassie:


    Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Trust Yourself and Breathe,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=7d6060b0-8c20-4fb0-860b-ed5fd7ef5914.

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    363: How to Keep Your Relationships On the Rails | Kaira Jewel Lingo (2021) Mar 30, 2022

    This episode explores a Buddhist tool for resolving conflict and keeping your relationships on the rails. This tool, known as the Beginning Anew practice, was designed by the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who died back in January, and who we are celebrating this week on the show. On Monday’s episode, we spoke with a long-time student of Thich Nhat Hanh, Brother Phap Dung.


    Today’s guest is Kaira Jewel Lingo. She was an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing. She's now a lay dharma teacher based on Long Island. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. and an M.A. in anthropology and social sciences. She’s also the author of a recent book called, We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption.


    This interview discusses the Beginning Anew practice and:

    • The four steps of the practice.
    • How even skeptics can see the value in the practice.
    • How it can strengthen relationships and resolve conflict.
    • Kaira Jewel's own experience with the practice as both a teacher and a practitioner.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kaira-jewel-lingo-repost

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    433: How to Suffer Well | Brother Pháp Dung Mar 28, 2022

    In January 2022, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master, peace activist, poet, and author passed away. He was the founder of the International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called him “an Apostle of peace and nonviolence” when nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thousands of people came out for his funeral.


    Brother Pháp Dung is making his second appearance on the show to talk about Thich Nhat Hanh. If you missed it last time he was on, Brother Pháp Dung has an incredible personal story. He was born in Vietnam in 1969 and came to the US at the age of nine. He worked as an architect/designer for four years before becoming a monk. He was very close personally with Thich Nhat Hanh, who he refers to as “Thây,” or teacher, and is now a Dharma teacher himself in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition.


    This episode explores:

    • The life of Thich Nhat Hanh: his path to Buddhism in the 1960’s and his exile from Vietnam for opposing the war.
    • The meaning of “wrong view” or wrong perception.
    • What non-separation and inter-being is.
    • Thich Nhat Hanh’s view that birth and death are only notions.
    • Grief, and why learning how to suffer will help you suffer less.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/brother-phap-dung-432


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    432: Cut the Strings of the Malevolent Puppeteer | Bonus Meditation with Dawn Mauricio Mar 25, 2022

    It’s super normal to want what feels good and avoid what feels bad. Unlock your unconscious habits to make wiser & more thoughtful choices.


    About Dawn Mauricio:


    Dawn Mauricio discovered the practices of Buddhist meditation in 2005, and from then on, did what any well-intentioned perfectionist would do — plunge in head first! Since then, she's graduated from several teaching programs, including Spirit Rock's four-year Teacher Training. Her teaching style is playful, dynamic, and heartfelt, and she teaches extensively in her home-country of Canada, as well as the US, to teens, people of color, and folks of all backgrounds.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Making Conscious Choices,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=dbf8b791-9110-4200-b473-54e9e0872fdb.


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    431: The Joys of Insignificance | Ron Siegel Mar 23, 2022

    Many, if not all, of us have a nonstop, ambient thought-track running through our minds of: how am I doing? How do I look? Why did I say that? Am I running behind? What do other people think of me?


    How did we get this way? And what do we do about it? Ron Siegel has thought a lot about this, and has plenty of practical answers, including the notion that we should lean into our insignificance. Many of us grew up being told how we were special. But Ron argues that the words, “you’re not special,” constitute extremely good news.


    Dr. Ron Siegel is a part-time assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and a board member at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. In his private clinical practice, he provides mindfulness-oriented psychotherapy. He is also the author of the new book, The The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are.


    The episode explores:

    • The notion that we didn’t evolve to be happy.
    • Why we self-evaluate
    • The downsides and upsides of self-assessment.
    • Strategies for dealing with this often irrational self-grading criteria, which include mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude.
    • What it means to “lean our ladder against the right wall.”


    Content Warning: This conversation includes brief references to mature topics, including sex and addiction.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ron-siegel-431

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    430: From Evangelical Pastor to Buddhist Nun | Venerable Pannavati Mar 21, 2022

    Venerable Pannavati is a former evangelical pastor who has been ordained in three separate Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Chan, and Mahayana. She’s the co-founder and co-Abbot of Embracing-Simplicity Hermitage and Meditation Center; Co-Director of Heartwood Refuge and President of the Treasure Human Life Foundation. She teaches around the world, was a 2008 recipient of the Outstanding Buddhist Women’s Award, and currently serves as the Vice President of the US Chapter of the Global Buddhist Association.


    This episode explores:


    • Why many meditators try to jump over important preliminary steps.
    • Why Buddhism isn’t necessarily fun or easy.
    • The utility and impact of making vows.
    • What Venerable Venerable Pannavati calls healthy shame.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/venerable-pannavati-430


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    429: The Upside of Apocalypse | Lama Rod Owens Mar 18, 2022

    We’re now entering year three of the pandemic, and even though we’re in a very different stage of the game, there are still so many questions: Is it safe or ethical to return to “normal”? How do you deal with people who have different views on safety and vaccines? What do you do if you’re just bone tired of this whole mess?


    Today’s guest is Lama Rod Owens, who was trained in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and is the author of the book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger. Lama Rod has been kind enough to come on to the show during moments of crisis. I spoke with him shortly after the murder of George Floyd and also during the 2020 elections. As you’re about to hear, one of the core arguments he will make is that apocalypse (and he has a broad understanding of what that word means) can present an opportunity.


    This episode explores:

    • The benefits of having an existing practice in times of heightened anxiety and uncertainty.
    • Developing a direct, open relationship with fear.
    • Working with regret.
    • Why taking care of yourself is not selfish.
    • Lama Rod’s take on social media and watching TV as a way to reset.
    • The obstacles to empathy.
    • A more expansive definition of the word violence.
    • A jarring New York Times article that posits that the recent rise in pedestrian deaths could be in part due to social erosion created by the pandemic.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lama-rod-owens-427


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    428: Is It Possible You Are Irrational About COVID? | David Leonhardt Mar 16, 2022

    As we enter year three of the pandemic, the psychology of COVID is no less complex or consequential. This episode features one of the most prominent chroniclers of the pandemic, David Leonhardt from the New York Times, who argues that there is irrationality on all sides when it comes to the pandemic. He would also urge you to consider whether you might be over or underestimating the risks of COVID, based on where you stand politically.


    This episode also explores: the state of play in the pandemic right now and where we may be headed next; why and how attitudes about the pandemic, at least here in the US, have sorted along partisan lines; whether it makes sense to be angry with the unvaccinated; how a rise in vehicle crashes might speak to how COVID accelerated the fraying of America's social fabric; and David’s argument for why history and human decency can be a source of optimism going forward. David will also respond to his vehement critics who argue that his emphasis on lifting COVID restrictions and returning to some semblance of normalcy callously disregards the needs of the immunocompromised and unvaccinated.


    David Leonhardt is a senior writer for The New York Times. He writes The Morning, The Times’s flagship daily newsletter, and also writes for the Sunday Review section. He has worked at The Times since 1999 and has previously been an Op-Ed columnist, Washington bureau chief, co-host of “The Argument” podcast, founding editor of The Upshot section and a staff writer for The Times Magazine. In 2011, he received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/david-leonhardt-426


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    427: How Do I Meditate When There’s a War Going On? | Claude AnShin Thomas Mar 14, 2022

    How can we meditate when it seems like the world is falling apart? How do we titrate our news consumption? What do we do with our fears about World War III? How can we do anything constructive to help given how far away many of us are from the action? Why are so many people so upset about Ukraine when they weren’t paying much attention to the wars raging in places like Syria, Yemen, or Ethiopia?

    Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to answer these questions, given his experience in combat. Claude AnShin Thomas is an ordained monk in the Japanese Soto Zen Tradition. At 17, he signed up to fight in Vietnam and spent his tour of duty in the theater of war, surrounded by death and destruction. He came home suffering from an undiagnosed case of PTSD and spent years grappling with addiction and homelessness before he was introduced to Buddhism. He says meditation can help all of us look at the roots of war and violence that we all harbor.

    Claude Anshin is now the founder of the Zaltho Foundation, dedicated to addressing the causes and consequences of violence in and among individuals, families, and societies. He has served in war zones, hospitals, schools, and prisons. He has also led meditation retreats at sites of war and suffering, and has worked with gang members, guerillas, and refugees. He is the author of the award-winning book At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace, which has been translated into several languages, and Bringing Meditation to Life.

    This episode explores the above questions and additionally:

    • The narcotic effect of war.
    • How Buddhism helped Claude Anshin be at peace with what he calls his own unpeacefulness, and yet, why, to this day, he has to reckon with his impulse towards violence.
    • Why he doesn’t believe there is such a thing as a “just war.”


    Content Warning: There are discussions of war, violence, suicide, and substance abuse throughout this episode.

    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/claude-anshin-thomas-427

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    426: Shame is Psychic Constipation | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Mar 11, 2022

    Self-compassion may appear soft, but it’s actually the very thing that allows us the strength & resilience to meet the challenges we face.


    About Alexis Santos:


    Alexis has practiced and taught Insight Meditation in both the East and West since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya (a well respected meditation teacher in Burma whose teachings have attracted a global audience), and his teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity -- a style of practice that's particularly useful during our crazy lives. Alexis has completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training, teaches retreats across the globe, and currently lives in Portland, Maine.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Three Steps to Self-Compassion,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=cdbc03be-f1e7-48b1-bd7f-ec435dc095a8.


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    425: Compassion Is the Ultimate Tool for the Truly Ambitious | Paul Gilbert Mar 09, 2022

    Dr. Paul Gilbert OBE is a professor of psychology at the University of Derby, Founder and President of The Compassionate Mind Foundation, the founder of Compassion Focused Therapy, and in 2011 was awarded the Officer of the British Empire, or OBE, from Queen Elizabeth II for his continued contribution to mental healthcare. He’s also the author of several books including The Compassionate Mind, Living Like Crazy, Overcoming Depression, and his latest, Compassion Focused Therapy: Clinical Practice and Applications.


    This episode explores:


    • What Compassion Focused Therapy actually is.
    • Why he says wisdom and courage are key to compassion.
    • Some surprising truths about your inner critic.
    • How compassion can be used to your advantage, especially if you’re ambitious.
    • The relevance of various meditation practices to cultivating compassion.
    • How trauma can impact our ability to access compassion, and what we might do about it.
    • The importance of the vagus nerve and its relationship to compassion, mindfulness, and friendship.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/paul-gilbert-425


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    424: Become an Active Operator of Your Nervous System | Deb Dana Mar 07, 2022

    We don’t think about it this way, but as we move through the day, the various moods we inhabit — excitement, engagement, aggression, fear, dejection — they’re all dictated by, or correlated with, our nervous system, or to be specific, our autonomic nervous system. The guest for this episode explains how you can become an active operator of your own nervous system.


    Deb Dana is a licensed clinical social worker, clinician, and consultant who specializes in working with complex trauma — although the advice in this episode can apply to everyone. She is also the author of Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory.


    This episode explores:

    • What polyvagal theory is.
    • The case for understanding our nervous system.
    • The practical tools and exercises for changing our nervous system and learning to become more regulated.
    • The fact that our nervous systems aren’t simply isolated, self-contained phenomena – they are social structures.
    • Our responsibilities for our own nervous system and the nervous systems of others.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/deb-dana-424

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    A Ridiculous Meditation| Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren Mar 04, 2022


    Laughter is the best medicine. Use this practice to provoke a little lightheartedness and remember the beautiful ridiculousness of it all.


    About Jeff Warren:


    Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver."


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Keep a Sense of Humor,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=53176e1d-3144-415c-bc61-cdd16dc0d3c1.


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    423: A Serious Case for Humor | Jennifer Aaker & Naomi Bagdonas Mar 02, 2022

    A common denominator among all of the great meditation teachers is a sense of humor. They take the teaching seriously, but they don’t take themselves seriously. So perhaps there’s a link between human flourishing and humor. That’s not to say you have to be hilarious in order to be happy, but it clearly helps a great deal not to take yourself so seriously. And it turns out that humor is a skill.


    Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas co-teach a course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, called, “Humor: Serious Business.” They also co-authored a book called, Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (and How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You.)


    Dr. Jennifer Aaker is the General Atlantic Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business whose work has been published in leading scientific journals and featured in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Science. Naomi Bagdonas is a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an executive coach. She trained formally at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, teaches improv in San Francisco’s county jail, and performs in comedy venues.


    This episode explores:

    • Why Naomi and Jennifer say we’ve fallen off a humor cliff
    • The four main humor styles and how to figure out which is yours
    • When self-deprecation works, and when it doesn’t
    • How to conduct a humor audit
    • How to sign off your emails
    • The relationship between humor and status
    • The connection between humor and love
    • A taxonomy of workplace humor
    • The different types of humor fails, and what to do about them


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jennifer-aaker-naomi-bagdonas-423

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    422: Climate Change as an Opportunity | Bhikkhu Anālayo Feb 28, 2022

    Today’s guest makes an extremely convincing case that there are many self-interested reasons to look squarely at the reality of climate change. Bhikkhu Anālayo, who is originally from Germany, is a renowned scholar-monk, a faculty member at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and the author of numerous books on meditation and early Buddhism, including Satipatthāna: The Direct Path to Realization, which has been very influential with many of the teachers you’ve heard on this show, including Joseph Goldstein. This episode focuses on another of his books, called Mindfully Facing Climate Change.


    This episode explores:

    • The four types of meditation Anālayo recommends for mindfully confronting climate change
    • Anālayo’s contention that meditation isn’t about ceasing the flow of thoughts, but rather ceasing our belief in the thoughts
    • The question of whether individual actions matter in the face of a global crisis
    • Anālayo’s compelling case for a kind of practice called death contemplation


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/bhikku-anālayo-422


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    Do This When Anxious | Bonus Meditation with Kaira Jewel Lingo Feb 25, 2022

    Learn to connect with the true home of strength, wisdom, and clarity inside of yourself, a place of safety that no one can take away.


    About Kaira Jewel Lingo:


    Kaira Jewel Lingo, was an ordained nun of 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, and is now a lay Dharma teacher based on Long Island. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology and Social Sciences. She’s edited a few books by Thich Nhat Hanh, including Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Deeply Accepting Yourself,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=80a32f4a-43bf-4fed-a990-1662eea30848.

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    421: There’s No Part of Your Life You Can’t Make More Awesome | Jeff Warren Feb 23, 2022

    It is very easy to think about your meditation practice as being quarantined to those minutes when you’re dutifully sitting down with your eyes closed. But actually the point is to turn your whole life into a practice. Our guest Jeff Warren has a very broad, capacious understanding of the concept of practice. There’s formal meditation practice, but also: movement practice, work practice, relationship practice, sleep practice, art practice, and more. It’s really about the goal, which few of us will ever fully attain, of turning everything you do into something intentional and illuminating.


    Jeff Warren is a frequent guest and good friend to the Ten Percent Happier podcast and app. He co-wrote a book with Dan called Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. He’s a longtime meditation teacher, and the founder of the Toronto-based Consciousness Explorers Club. He is also the cohost of an excellent new podcast, called The Consciousness Explorers Podcast. In every episode Jeff, and his co-host Tasha Schumann test out a new practice. Be sure to check it out.


    This episode explores: what it might mean to make your whole life a practice; how to connect with your baseline okayness; mindfulness of seeing; Koan practice; running as practice; being your own teacher; how (and why) to make your practice social; and practicing with ADHD, a condition with which Jeff has lived with for many years.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jeff-warren-421

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    420: The Elephant in the Meditation Room | Christopher Ford Feb 21, 2022

    Today’s episode is the culmination of a long search to find a countervailing force: a Buddhist Trump supporter. This search was born out of the Buddhist impulse to find the other side. What is talked about as cultivating non-attachment to views and also called “beginner’s mind.” As you will hear, after a lot of searching, we finally found our person. Christopher Ford is a longtime Republican who worked for Trump (albeit indirectly) at the State Department. Ford wrote a pair of fascinating and provocative articles for the Buddhist magazine Lion’s Roar. One was entitled, Zen and the Moral Courage of Moderation. The other was called, The Elephant in the Meditation Room.


    Christopher Ford is a lay chaplain in the Soto tradition of Zen Buddhism. His teacher is Roshi Joan Halifax, who has been on this show a couple of times and is herself a longtime progressive. From January 2018 until January 2021,he served at the state dept as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation. He’s also worked at the National Security Council, and as a congressional staffer.


    This episode explores:

    • Ford’s argument for a Buddhist conservatism
    • Ford’s experience in the Trump administration and his assessment of our current political state
    • The personal tools Ford recommends using in day-to-day life, some of which go right to the issue of not being attached to our views




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/christopher-ford-420


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    Homicide Prevention Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Feb 18, 2022

    What is real love, without the trappings? In this reflection, you'll learn how to tap into feelings of love while maintaining clarity.


    About Sharon Salzberg:


    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.

    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.



    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Real Love in Relationships,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=e1800e19-afab-43c3-b197-690d74c289d0.



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    419: The Good News About Your Inevitable Decline | Arthur Brooks Feb 16, 2022

    The unavoidable truth is that our skills change as we get older. We invest so much in our professional success, and then at some point, things change. But there’s good news. While certain abilities and mental capacities erode with age, others get stronger. With some foresight, planning, and good habits, you can make the second half of your life way better than the first.


    Arthur Brooks is the author of a new book called From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. Arthur has seen the themes of this book play out in his own life. He started his career as a classical French horn player, then got his PhD in public policy analysis, and went on to run a think tank called the American Enterprise Institute. He then left that to be a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. He also does work with The Atlantic , where he writes a column and hosts a podcast called How to Build a Happy Life.


    This episode explores: success addiction, and how to avoid it while still being successful; what it means to “live like Bach;” fluid intelligence vs. crystallized intelligence; what investments we can make now to increase the likelihood of more happiness later; the four most important habits of the happiest people; a workable definition of happiness; and how he feels about his own shifting capacities, having researched the subject for many years.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/arthur-brooks-419


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    418: How Not to Ruin Your Relationships | Drs. John & Julie Gottman Feb 14, 2022

    If you care about your long term health and happiness, the quality of your relationships is an area you should focus on. And the good news here is that love – as it applies to friends, family, and romantic partners – is not a factory setting, but instead a skill. Drs. John and Julie Gottman are the perfect guests to talk about how to cultivate good relationships in your life.


    World-renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction, Dr. John Gottman has conducted over 40 years of breakthrough research with thousands of couples. He is the co-founder of The Gottman Institute and Affective Software Inc. as well as author of over 200 published academic articles and author or co-author of more than 40 books, including The New York Times bestseller The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.


    Dr. Julie Gottman is the Co-Founder and President of The Gottman Institute and Co-Founder of Affective Software, Inc. A highly respected clinical psychologist and author, she is sought internationally by media and organizations as an expert advisor on marriage, domestic violence, gay and lesbian adoption, same-sex marriage, and parenting issues. She is the co-creator of the immensely popular The Art and Science of Love weekend workshop for couples and she also co-designed the national clinical training program in Gottman Method Couples Therapy.


    This episode explores: how to talk (and listen) to your partner in moments of conflict; what to do before you start trying to solve a problem together; why “there’s no such thing as constructive criticism;” the details of John’s research findings, which have allowed him to predict with stunning accuracy whether a couple will get divorced; how the Gottmans themselves do when it comes to operationalizing their findings/advice; how and why betrayal occurs; when a couple should consider separating; the role mindfulness can play in healthy relationships; and the role of humor in relationships.


    Content warning: There are a few mentions of sensitive topics, most notably domestic violence, which Julie discusses for a few minutes towards the end of the interview.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/john-julie-gottman-418


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    An Antidote to the Mortal Threat of Loneliness | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Feb 11, 2022

    We all long to be seen and experience connection. Being fully present with your loneliness can actually be a powerful way to feel less alone.


    About Oren Jay Sofer:


    Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication. He has practiced meditation since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India and is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training program. Oren teaches retreats across the country and works as Senior Program Developer at Mindful Schools, teaching and developing curricula for one of the international leaders of mindfulness in education.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loneliness and Connection,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=de5f07ba-bb54-400a-9fa7-73757ac29c63.



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    417: Why I’m Not a Buddhist | Evan Thompson Feb 09, 2022

    This episode features Evan Thompson, author of the book Why I Am Not a Buddhist. Evan Thompson is a writer and professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His work and research focuses on the nature of the mind, the self, and human experience combining cognitive science, philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, particularly Asian philosophical traditions.


    This episode explores: Thompson’s beef with what he calls “Buddhist exceptionalism,” “Buddhist modernism,” and “neural Buddhism;” why Buddhism is so attractive in the Western world; our culture’s need for validation of meaning through science; McMindfulness and the Western obsession with individualism; the dialogue between science and Buddhism; what the Buddha meant by the word dukkha, or suffering; and Evan lays out his case for an alternative to Buddhist exceptionalism, which he calls “cosmopolitanism.”


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/evan-thompson-417

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    416: Hinduism 101 | Swami Tyagananda Feb 07, 2022

    One of the most consistent requests we get from listeners is to explore non-Buddhist forms of meditation. That’s what we’re going to do with this episode. Our guest is Swami Tyagananda, who has been a Hindu monk since 1976, and is now the Hindu chaplain both at MIT and Harvard.


    This conversation explores: the basics of Hinduism, including its history, and its approach to prayer and meditation; letting go; karma; rebirth (and how and why to escape it); the deep connections between the Buddhist and Hindu traditions; Swami Tyagananda’s contention that all prayers are answered; and a recipe for reducing stress and anxiety. Swami Tyagananda also shares his thoughts about how to deal with our sense of not-enoughness or incompleteness and he provides a new way of thinking about the trickiest of all Buddhist concepts: annata, or the idea that the self is an illusion.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/swami-tyagananda-416


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    On Not Holding Grudges | Bonus Meditation with Diana Winston Feb 04, 2022

    Finding forgiveness can help you feel lighter, freer, and more at peace. Diana says “it's not easy, but powerful, and completely worth it.”


    About Diana Winston:


    Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center where she also teaches mindfulness practices to the general public.

    Her easy-on-the-ears west coast style rests on top of a rigorous scientific mind, and a vast amount of teaching experience. She has developed curriculum and taught mindfulness since the early 90’s in a variety of settings including hospitals, universities, corporations, non profits, and schools. She has taught mindful awareness to health professionals, leaders, teachers, activists, seniors, and adolescents in the US and Asia. A published researcher and author, Diana has also written for numerous meditation publications, where her daughter, Mira, often makes an appearance in her examples of bringing mindfulness to daily life.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Forgiveness for Others,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=6e200a0e-c93c-442d-8c9d-bb042d6cac0e.

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    415: Why Self-Hatred Makes No Sense | Matthew Brensilver Feb 02, 2022

    This episode, with Matthew Brensilver, explores a compelling Buddhist question: does self-hatred, or self-love, make sense if the self is an illusion? Matthew Brensilver, PhD, is a clinical social worker and experienced teacher of meditation retreats. He also worked at an organization called Mindful Schools, which teaches teachers how to teach meditation.


    This episode also explores: how and why to view your anger with skepticism; the relationship between self-love and personal ethics; what to do if you think you’re a good person but have no interest in changing your behavior to get better; how to handle a nagging sense of moral un-justifiability; and how Matthew has arrived at a place of relative peace with his own mortality.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/matthew-brensilver-415

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    414: What We Can Learn About Happiness from Babies | Alison Gopnik Jan 31, 2022

    Dr. Alison Gopnik is a psychologist at UC Berkeley and one of the world’s leading experts in cognitive development. She is also the author of several books, including The Philosophical Baby and The Gardener and the Carpenter. This episode with Dr. Gopnik explores two big and fascinating themes.


    The first is enlightened self-interest. We all want to be happy. Every sentient being has that in common. One of the most successful, although counterintuitive, strategies for getting happier is to get out of your own head and help other people. Alison argues that caring is a skill that we can all develop, and there are ways to scale it so that we can improve our entire society.


    The second, and related theme, explores what we can all learn about happiness from babies. In this episode Alison discusses: the “learning trap” common to adults that four-year-olds can help us avoid; the potential role of meditation in helping us see the world and solve problems more like children; the difference between our spotlight attention and children’s lantern consciousness; the strategy of solving problems by not trying to solve problems; and her critique of our modern conception of parenting, and what she thinks should replace it.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/alison-gopnik-414


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    Buddhist Lessons on Anxiety | Leslie Booker (2021) Jan 28, 2022

    All week, we’ve been running “best of” episodes as part of our Taming Anxiety series – and this is the final episode in that series.


    Leslie Booker (who goes by Booker) is one of America’s leading dharma teachers. She’s worked with incarcerated and vulnerable youth, she’s done mindfulness and cognitive-based therapy work on Rikers Island, and she’s written about best practices for teaching yoga in criminal justice settings. She’s a graduate of three different training programs at Spirit Rock, including their four-year Retreat Teacher Training Program.


    In this conversation, Booker makes the case that one of the most important, even life-saving, tools when it comes to dealing with anxiety is our ability to connect with other people. And - like the three characteristics, Booker argues that the experience of anxiety is inherently impermanent, unsatisfactory, and unreliable (or, in Pali, it has the characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anatta). Understanding this fundamental truth, she says, can help us see our anxiety with more clarity, and therefore relate to it more skillfully. Booker also explains why bringing awareness to our bodies can help settle us in our most anxious moments.


    Just a note: this interview was first recorded in May of 2021, so you may hear a few slightly dated references, but the topic of anxiety, for better or worse, is perennially relevant.


    Join Booker next week as we re-launch the Taming Anxiety Challenge, over on the Ten Percent Happier app. To join the Challenge, just download the Ten Percent Happier app today wherever you get your apps or by visiting tenpercent.com. If you already have the app, just open it up and follow the instructions to join!


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/leslie-booker-repost


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    How to Break Your Anxiety Habit | Judson Brewer (2021) Jan 26, 2022

    This week, we’re sharing some of the best episodes in our archives about anxiety. Dr. Judson Brewer is a psychiatrist and deep dharma practitioner who argues that anxiety is a habit, and is one that you can unwind. This interview explores: what is anxiety; why Dr. Brewer views anxiety as a habit; how mindfulness can be harnessed to deal with anxiety; and if there is any level of stress or anxiety that is healthy.


    Dr. Jud Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University and author of the New York Times Best Seller, Unwinding Anxiety. He has designed a number of apps that use mindfulness to treat addiction and anxiety, including Eat Right Now, Craving to Quit, and Unwinding Anxiety. You can also find Dr. Brewer on the Ten Percent Happier app where he teaches a mindful eating course.


    Just a note: This episode is a rerun from March 2021. There are some references that might seem a little out of date, but the content remains relevant.


    We’re re-launching our ten-day meditation challenge, called the Taming Anxiety Challenge, over on the Ten Percent Happier app. To join the Challenge, just download the Ten Percent Happier app today wherever you get your apps or by visiting tenpercent.com. If you already have the app, just open it up and follow the instructions to join!


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/judson-brewer-repost



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    Sara Bareilles: Anxiety, Anger, and Art (2021) Jan 24, 2022

    This week, we're posting some of our best podcasts from the archives on a dragon many of us face internally – anxiety. The first episode of the series features Sara Bareilles.


    Sara Bareilles is a singer, songwriter, composer, and actor who earned Tony and Grammy Award nominations for her Broadway musical Waitress. She also stars in the show Girls5eva, which is back for a second season this year on Peacock.


    Behind all of Sara's artistic and professional successes, there is a meditator who is fearlessly open and public about her struggles with anxiety and depression. In this conversation, she talks about: her history of anxiety and depression; the relationship between suffering and art; whether meditation might defang somebody's creativity; how she works with anger; and her relationship with social media. She’ll also share some of the backstories behind some of her hit songs.


    Just a note: This episode is a rerun from June 2021. There are some references that might seem a little out of date, but the content remains relevant.


    Content Warning: This conversation features an exploration of depression and anxiety with one very brief mention of self-harm.



    We’re re-launching our ten-day meditation challenge, called the Taming Anxiety Challenge, over on the Ten Percent Happier app. To join the Challenge, just download the Ten Percent Happier app today wherever you get your apps or by visiting tenpercent.com. If you already have the app, just open it up and follow the instructions to join!

    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sara-bareilles-repost

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    The Massive Power of Not Taking Sh*t for Granted | Bonus Meditation with Matthew Hepburn Jan 21, 2022


    Gratitude, like hope, is a skill. Daily cultivation leads to lower stress levels, stronger relationships, and higher emotional resilience.


    About Matthew Hepburn:


    Matthew Hepburn is a straight shooting, clear thinking, and dedicated meditation teacher. His personal practice caught fire over the course of several extended meditation retreats and volunteering to teach buddhist meditation in prisons in his early twenties. Now he shares his love of contemplative practice with people on intensive silent retreats, through dedicated daily life practice as a core teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and as the Editor of Mobile Content for Ten Percent Happier.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Daily Gratitude Booster,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=ab981c0f-d353-4c75-a218-42f3255abe75.

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    413: The Science of Depression | Sona Dimidjian Jan 19, 2022


    This episode features one of the world’s leading experts in depression and how meditation can help. Dr. Sona Dimidjian is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This episode explores the seasonal impacts on depression, the research on how meditation can help depression, and what she calls “behavioral antidepressants.”


    Content Warning: There are a number of references to suicide in this conversation.


    Be sure to check out TPH’s newest show, Childproof, available wherever you get your podcasts.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sona-dimidjian-413

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    412: The Zen of Therapy | Mark Epstein Jan 17, 2022

    Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Epstein, discusses his new book The Zen of Therapy, in which he explores how his decades of studying and practicing Buddhism has influenced his work as a therapist.


    In this episode, Dan and Mark discuss: the immense value of developing a clear and warm relationship to your own dysfunction; anger; how much people can actually change; how Buddhism has influenced Mark's practice as a psychotherapist; and Mark’s formative relationship with the legendary spiritual teacher and ex-academic Ram Dass.


    This interview was recorded live as part of an online benefit for New York Insight Meditation Center and Cambridge Insight Meditation Center – two great institutions, both worth checking out and supporting.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mark-epstein-412

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    Childproof with Yasmeen Khan: Parenting Changes Us, Whether We Like It or Not Jan 14, 2022

    Being a parent is really freakin’ hard. Of course, it can also be incredibly rewarding and delightful. Either way, it consumes us.


    Childproof is a show about us, the parents, and how we can raise kids without losing track of ourselves in the process. Each week host Yasmeen Khan, a journalist and mom, brings us conversations and stories with fellow parents and experts on how to navigate this whole parenting thing — especially the shifts that happen within ourselves. Because parents are growing too.


    In episode one, we're diving into one enormous question: how have you changed since becoming a parent? Maybe you've changed in ways you're not comfortable with, or maybe you'd actually like things to be different. Perhaps you've never even considered the question. Today we're digging into all the ways we transform as parents and, more importantly, how to deal with change when it feels really hard.


    About Yasmeen Khan:

    Yasmeen Khan is the host and managing editor of Childproof, Ten Percent Happier’s podcast focused on parenting. She was a public radio journalist for nearly 15 years, at WNYC Radio in New York and before that at North Carolina Public Radio.


    While at WNYC, her award-winning work included coverage of the New York City schools; youth and family life; and policing. She produced in-depth stories on the city’s segregated school system, and dove into the municipal archives to tell the story of a massive 1964 school boycott.


    Yasmeen’s 2019 investigation into New York City’s child welfare system showed how the city increasingly used its authority to remove children from their parents without a court order.


    Yasmeen has also held jobs as a bartender, toll collector, and dishwasher. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

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    411: Are You Willing to Challenge Your Own Tribe? | Robert Wright Jan 12, 2022

    Why, from an evolutionary perspective, is it so terrifying for many of us to contemplate challenging our own tribe? How comfortable would you be hopping on social media and questioning the deeply held convictions of your closest friends and colleagues? Even if you don’t want to be public about it, are there ways to have more empathy for somebody whose views are different from yours? Robert Wright believes the future of civilization hinges on our ability to get better at this.


    Robert Wright is the author of the bestselling book Why Buddhism Is True. He also writes the Nonzero Newsletter, is host of The Wright Show podcast, and his newest mission is something he calls the Apocalypse Aversion Project. This episode explores: how mindfulness meditation can help us overcome our biases; how we are often manipulated by natural selection; the concepts of confirmation bias and attribution error; the pain and joy of pushing back against the conventional wisdom of your own tribe; the difference between cognitive and emotional empathy; why Robert is a big believer in talking to people with whom he disagrees; and the importance of making friendships across ideological lines.


    This episode is the second in our weeklong series about bias. If you missed Monday's episode with the excellent journalist Jessica Nordell, you can listen here.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/robert-wright-411

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    410: Ways to End Bias That Will Also Make You Happier | Jessica Nordell Jan 10, 2022

    Jessica Nordell is a science and culture journalist who has written for the Atlantic and the New York Times. She earned a B.A. in physics from Harvard and an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her new book is called The End of Bias, A Beginning: The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias.


    This episode explores: why humans evolved to have biases; what happens physiologically when biases are challenged; why some of the most popular personal and institutional strategies for confronting biases do not work; the role mindfulness and loving kindness meditation can play in reducing bias; and the power of studying history.


    This episode is part one of a weeklong series the TPH podcast is doing about bias. Part two features Bob Wright, author of Why Buddhism is True, who has done some interesting work to challenge his own tribal instincts.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jessica-nordell-410


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    Do This When You’re About to Lose It | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Jan 07, 2022

    These potent tools help ease intense frustration through calming breathing, listening to sound, and watching thoughts & feelings come and go.


    About Sharon Salzberg:


    A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.

    Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and the most recent Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Frustration Buster,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=ab114638-3fb1-4f24-bed8-01021d2a843b.

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    409: For the Burned Out, Fried, and Exhausted | Emily & Amelia Nagoski Jan 05, 2022

    The final episode of our New Year’s Getting Unstuck Series features Emily and Amelia Nagoski. Our goal with this episode, as it has been with all the episodes throughout the series, is to arm you with new ways of thinking about where you might be stuck in your life and to give you new tools for getting unstuck.


    Emily Nagoski has a PhD in Health Behavior and is the author of the hit book Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life. Her twin sister, Amelia Nagoski, holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts. Together, Emily and Amelia are the co-authors of the New York Times bestselling book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.


    This episode explores:

    • How Amelia was hospitalized for stress-related illness twice, and how learning the science behind burnout and emotional exhaustion helped save her life.
    • The three characteristics of burnout, and why women in today’s society are particularly susceptible to one of the characteristics: emotional exhaustion.
    • The “human giver syndrome,” a term created by Emily and Amelia, which they say is very common among women, and why things can be especially hard for women.
    • Why it’s important to understand the difference between addressing stressful circumstances in our lives and dealing with the actual physical experience of stress in our bodies.
    • A slew of evidence-based, ready-to-try-today interventions that people of all genders can use to “complete the stress cycle.”


    Content Warning: There are some references to sensitive topics, including sexual trauma, self-harm, domestic abuse, and violence.


    January 7th is the last day to join and complete the Getting Unstuck Challenge, a free 14-day meditation challenge from Ten Percent Happier to help you push through whatever is holding you back. Click here to get started.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/emily-amelia-nagoski-409


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    408: Can You Handle This? | Tara Brach Jan 03, 2022

    This is the third episode of our Getting Unstuck Series and we’re kicking off the new year with a giant in the meditation world. Tara Brach holds a PhD in clinical psychology and has been practicing and teaching meditation around the world for more than four decades. She is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and the author of numerous books. She’s here today to talk about her newest, which is called Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural Goodness, and features illustrations by Vicky Alvarez.


    Tara’s argument is that we too often get stuck in what she calls a “trance of unworthiness,” spiraling into negativity about who we are and how we are in the world. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that we all have an inherent goodness – what is sometimes called “Buddha nature,” and what she in this book calls “the gold.”


    In this episode, Tara explains that the boundaries around what we are willing to accept in ourselves mirror the boundaries around our own capacity for happiness, and she offers actionable tools for expanding our ability to accept. She also talks very bravely about how she’s done this work on herself.


    Join us today for Getting Unstuck – our free 14-day meditation challenge, over on the Ten Percent Happier app. Click here to get started.

    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/tara-brach-408

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    How Not to Feel Like You Suck at Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein Dec 31, 2021


    The three most important words in mindfulness are "simply begin again." This meditation focuses on the key to all meditation techniques.


    About Joseph Goldstein:


    Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Simply Begin Again,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=fa2ec8eb-0480-4328-b0bd-0cbedbd86c0b.

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    407: How a Buddhist Teacher Gets Unstuck | Matthew Hepburn Dec 29, 2021

    It’s the second episode of our Getting Unstuck Series. In this episode, Buddhist teacher and TPH fan favorite Matthew Hepburn offers a Buddhist lens on getting unstuck across many facets of our lives: from our relationship with technology to the difficulty we sometimes experience when asking for help.


    Matthew Hepburn is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock four-year teacher training program and the host of the Twenty Percent Happier Podcast. In this episode, Matthew will explain why joining a meditation challenge can be useful for anyone, whether you’re booting up, rebooting, or simply seeking to maintain a meditation practice. We also explore how incorporating simple phrases throughout the day can help us rewire our brains and reimagine our existence.


    Join us for Getting Unstuck – our free 14-day meditation challenge, featuring Matthew and other great meditation teachers. The challenge starts on January 3, over on the Ten Percent Happier app. Click here to get started.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/matthew-hepburn-407

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    406: That Rut You’re In – This One Word Could Pull You Out | Nedra Tawwab Dec 27, 2021

    This is the first episode of our Getting Unstuck Series. This episode, featuring social worker and NYT bestselling author Nedra Tawwab has some incredibly practical advice for various forms of stuckness, and it basically comes down to one word: boundaries. Nedra is a social worker and the New York Times bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, which became so popular this past year that she has now followed up with an accompanying workbook. In the book, Nedra lays out a whole taxonomy of boundaries: their levels, their types, and their internal and external manifestations. In this episode, she explains it all, as well as how to summon the bravery to set and maintain boundaries even when it’s difficult and how to respect other people’s boundaries. Over the course of the conversation, she makes the convincing argument that if we can learn to see our world through the lens of boundaries, we can find some of the peace that may be eluding us. In other words, we can get unstuck.


    Content Warning: This episode includes brief references to sensitive topics such as sexuality, abuse, and neglect, all in the service of exploring the myriad ways in which learning to set boundaries can help us find peace and get unstuck.


    This episode is the first in the Getting Unstuck Series on the podcast. On Monday, January 3, you can join the Getting Unstuck Challenge, a free 14-day meditation challenge over on the Ten Percent Happier app. Click here to get started.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/nedra-tawwab-406

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    How to Be OK with Change | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle Dec 24, 2021

    Relax into a flow of breath sensations, and hone your ability to decrease stress & resistance, and experience a more harmonious happy life.


    About Anushka Fernandopulle:


    Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka.

    Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Breathing, Flow, & Change,” or click here.


    Click here to give a gift subscription to the Ten Percent Happier app.

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    Karamo: How to Actually Do Self-Love (January, 2021) Dec 22, 2021

    With the approach of the new year (and perhaps New Year’s resolutions) we’ve decided to replay a very popular episode, featuring one of the most prominent proselytizers for self-love, Karamo from Queer Eye.


    Karamo was the first openly gay black man on reality TV when he appeared on MTV's The Real World Philadelphia back in 2004. When he left TV and found out he was a dad, he got custody of his son, adopted his son's half-brother and worked for a decade as a social worker before returning to the media world. He's now the culture expert on the blockbuster Netflix reboot of Queer Eye. Karamo also hosts his own podcast and is the author of a memoir, as well as a children's book, which he co-wrote with his son.


    In today’s conversation, we talk about why, for Karamo, learning to love himself started with learning to love his first name; how he overcame negative messages inside his abusive childhood home; why men struggle so much with the concept of self-love; and the areas in his own life where he struggles the most to practice what he preaches.


    Click here to give a gift subscription of the Ten Percent Happier app.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/karamo-repost


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    How to Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman (May, 2021) Dec 20, 2021

    We’re almost at that time of year where we contemplate making New Year’s resolutions. So we decided to rerun an episode about the blazingly obvious fact that creating healthy habits can be infernally difficult. But why? And what are the best strategies for getting around this?


    Katy Milkman has spent nearly two decades researching these questions. She's a behavioral scientist and professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She hosts a podcast called Choiceology and has written a book called How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. This episode explores why willpower is such an unreliable inner resource, why making habit change fun is such a powerful technique and key strategies from her quiver, such as “the fresh start effect,” “temptation bundling,” “commitment devices,” “piggybacking” and “giving yourself a mulligan.”


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/katy-milkman-repost

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    Ten Percent Happier Presents: Childproof with Yasmeen Khan Dec 17, 2021

    Being a parent is really freakin’ hard. Of course, it can also be incredibly rewarding and delightful. Either way, it consumes us.


    Childproof is a show about us, the parents, and how we can raise kids without losing track of ourselves in the process. Each week host Yasmeen Khan, a journalist and mom, brings us conversations and stories with fellow parents and experts on how to navigate this whole parenting thing — especially the shifts that happen within ourselves. Because parents are growing too.


    About Yasmeen Khan:


    Yasmeen Khan is the host and managing editor of Childproof, Ten Percent Happier’s podcast focused on parenting. She was a public radio journalist for nearly 15 years, at WNYC Radio in New York and before that at North Carolina Public Radio.


    While at WNYC, her award-winning work included coverage of the New York City schools; youth and family life; and policing. She produced in-depth stories on the city’s segregated school system, and dove into the municipal archives to tell the story of a massive 1964 school boycott. Yasmeen’s 2019 investigation into New York City’s child welfare system showed how the city increasingly used its authority to remove children from their parents without a court order.


    Yasmeen has also held jobs as a bartender, toll collector, and dishwasher. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

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    405: How You Can Help End Polarization and Inequality – and Get Happier, Too | Robert Putnam & Shaylyn Romney Garrett Dec 15, 2021

    In this episode, Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett discuss the recent book they co-authored, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again.


    Robert Putnam is perhaps best-known for his seminal book Bowling Alone, about the increasing atomization and isolation of American society. He is the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. Shaylyn Romney Garrett is a writer and social entrepreneur who holds a BA in History from Harvard.

    Content Warning: There are multiple references to racism and racial violence in this episode.


    Click here to give a gift subscription to the Ten Percent Happier app.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/putnam-romney-garrett-405

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    404: What Is Nirvana? | Robert Thurman Dec 13, 2021

    If you want to make change in a world filled with all sorts of horrors and obstacles, does it help or hurt to stay cheerful while you go about your business? Robert Thurman argues passionately in favor of cheerfulness, although he will admit to still being miserable in his own way. This is an expansive conversation that covers everything from: what is nirvana to the Buddhist Four Noble Truths to why the Buddha was a scientist.


    Robert Thurman is a legend. As a young Harvard student, he got into an accident and lost the use of one of his eyes. He dropped out and went on a spiritual quest that brought him to India, where he became the first Westerner to be ordained as a monk by the Dalai Lama, with whom he remains close friends. Thurman later disrobed, got married, and had a bunch of kids, including the movie star Uma Thurman. He also became an academic. He was a Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University until December 2020 and is the President of the Tibet House U.S., a non-profit in New York City dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization. He and his wife, Nena, also run an affiliated center, called the Menla Retreat, which is north of New York City.


    Bob just turned 80, but he is very busy. He has a new book called Wisdom is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life. He also writes a regular newsletter for Substack and hosts The Bob Thurman Podcast.


    This is a wide-ranging interview with a fast-moving mind that talks about: bliss-void-indivisible, why we feel unsafe when we’re happy, and why Robert was happy to lose his eye. Robert also offers his frank reflections on the promise and limits of the dharma from someone who has been practicing and studying for sixty years. If you don’t understand every reference, try to let it wash over you because the net effect is pleasantly head-spinning.


    Check out the Dalai Lama’s talk – “The Ultimate Source of Happiness,” which is free for everyone in the Ten Percent Happier app.

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    How To Balance Happiness and Ambition | Twenty Percent Happier with Matthew Hepburn Dec 10, 2021


    Check out this sneak peak into an episode of our new podcast Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.


    About Matthew Hepburn:


    Matthew Hepburn is a straight shooting, clear thinking, and dedicated meditation teacher. His personal practice caught fire over the course of several extended meditation retreats and volunteering to teach buddhist meditation in prisons in his early twenties.


    Now he shares his love of contemplative practice with people on intensive silent retreats, through dedicated daily life practice as a core teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and as the Editor of Mobile Content for Ten Percent Happier.

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    403: This Episode Will Make You Stronger | Sister Dang Nghiem Dec 08, 2021

    It’s hard to be a human. No matter how good things are for you, being alive is still hard; whatever your life circumstances are, we’re all subject to impermanence and entropy. This episode dives into a five-part Buddhist list for being stronger in the face of whatever life throws at you. And the person who will be walking us through this list has an enormous amount of standing to talk about strength.


    Sister Dang Nghiem, who goes by Sister D, is a nun in the Plum Village tradition and a disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She was born in Vietnam during the war, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. Sister D experienced an unfathomable amount of loss before relocating to the US, where she became a doctor and later, after experiencing more loss, became a nun. She’s written several books. Her most recent is Flowers in the Dark.


    In this conversation, Sister D shares her story, and then walks us through The Five Strengths of Applied Zen Buddhism which include trust, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.


    Content Warning: This episode covers difficult topics including death, mental illness, and sexual abuse.


    The Anti-Diet Challenge has already begun, and today is the last day to join! If you’re not already a Ten Percent Happier subscriber, you can join us by starting a free trial that’ll give you access to the challenge, along with our entire app. Click here to get started.

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    402: How To Work Around Your Own Irrationality | Richard Thaler Dec 06, 2021

    This episode explores how to make the infernally difficult challenge of habit formation a little easier, with guest Richard H. Thaler, who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2017 for his pioneering work in the fields of behavioral economics and finance. Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, where he also serves as the director of the Center for Decision Research. He is also the co-author, with Cass R. Sunstein, of Nudge: the Final Edition.


    In this episode, Dan and Richard discuss what a nudge is as well as its opposite – which Thaler and Sunstein call sludge. They also discuss other fascinating concepts, including: choice architecture, mental accounting, libertarian paternalism, bounded rationality, and how the lessons of behavioral economics can lead to a happier life


    The Anti-Diet Challenge kicks off today in the Ten Percent Happier app. If you’re not already a Ten Percent Happier subscriber, you can join us by starting a free trial that’ll give you access to the challenge, along with our entire app. Click here to get started.

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    Rewire Your Relationship To Your Body | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle Dec 03, 2021

    Gratitude practices are transformative. Experiment with gratitude for your own body, noticing the relaxation and ease that results.


    About Anushka Fernandopulle:


    Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Grateful For Your Body,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=de800c6b-56cc-4e97-ad22-a3b68e74086f.

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    401: How to Embrace the Anti-Diet | Christy Harrison Dec 01, 2021

    This episode is the second in our two-part Anti-Diet Series, and features guest Christy Harrison. Christy is an anti-diet registered dietitian and nutritionist, a certified intuitive eating counselor, and a certified eating disorders specialist who has struggled with disordered eating herself. She has come out the other side and written a book called Anti-Diet, and in this episode, she discusses how to transform your relationship with food and your body.


    This conversation explores Christy’s personal experience with disordered eating, the problems with and deep historical roots of diet culture, the scientific evidence against dieting, and the principles of intuitive eating.


    Content warning: This conversation touches on sensitive topics such as eating disorders and body image, some of which might carry an emotional charge for some listeners.


    Christy is also the instructor in our brand-new Anti-Diet Challenge over in the Ten Percent Happier app. This seven-day challenge helps you build a better relationship with food and your body and is backed by science and supercharged with meditation.

    The Anti-Diet Challenge kicks off on Monday, December 6 in the Ten Percent Happier app. If you’re not already a Ten Percent Happier subscriber, you can join us by starting a free trial that’ll give you access to the challenge, along with our entire app. Click here to get started.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/christy-harrison-401

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    400: Jameela Jamil on Mental Self-Defense Nov 29, 2021

    Our guest for our 400th episode is actor and activist Jameela Jamil, who you may have seen on such shows as The Good Place, The Misery Index, and Legendary. Outside of her acting career, Jameela is known for launching a movement and platform called I Weigh. She's also the host of the I Weigh podcast, where she talks to everybody from Reese Witherspoon to Vivek Murthy, the US Surgeon General, to Gloria Steinem.


    This episode explores: how to develop what Jameela calls mental self-defense; how to be ruthless when it comes to personal boundaries; the difference between body positivity and body neutrality; how she handles the scrutiny and toxicity of social media; and how men can play a positive role in a world with profound double standards when it comes to looks.


    Content Warning: This episode touches on the topics of suicide, eating disorders, and sexuality. Any profanity has been bleeped out.


    This episode is the first in our two-part Anti-Diet Series. In this series, you’ll not only have the chance to reconsider your relationship to food, eating, diet, exercise, and body image–you’ll also learn practical, research-backed tools for approaching all of these things in a healthier, more mindful way. It’s also the subject of our newest Challenge over in the Ten Percent Happier app. In the 7-day Anti-Diet Challenge, we are going to help you build a better relationship with food and your body. The Anti-Diet Challenge kicks off on Monday, December 6, in the Ten Percent Happier app. If you’re not already a Ten Percent Happier subscriber, you can join us by starting a free trial that’ll give you access to the challenge–along with our entire app. Click here to get started.

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    An Ancient Antidote to Holiday Stress | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Nov 26, 2021

    This meditation will explore an ancient meditation on the classical elements of matter, helping you connect more deeply with your body.

    Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us.

    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Four Elements,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=1ba1eb16-2918-4f7d-b4cd-160ecad8e4ab.

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    399: How to Get Out of Your Head | Willa Blythe Baker Nov 24, 2021

    It is a common desire to get out of our heads, to escape the internal noise, the chatter, the Sturm und Drang, the sound and fury, etc. You hear about it in pop songs and poetry, this urge to be blown away, to transcend. But how do you actually do it?


    Willa Blythe Baker can help answer this question and is a font of practical advice. She is the Founder and Spiritual Director of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH. She was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. She has a doctorate from Harvard University and is the author of the new book, The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom.


    This episode talks about Willa’s new book and explores: what somatic mindfulness is; the four levels of your body; specific exercises for getting out of your head; and how to meditate without all the effort. This rangy conversation goes on all sorts of fascinating, esoteric digressions, but always comes back to the practical stuff.


    Subscribe by December 1 to get 40% off a Ten Percent Happier subscription! Click here for your discount.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/willa-blythe-baker-399

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    398: The Right Kind of Suffering | Paul Bloom Nov 22, 2021

    Is there a good kind of suffering? Paul Bloom says, yes -- there is a kind of suffering that you choose. This voluntary suffering can reduce anxiety and make your life more meaningful. This episode explores that idea, along with: why we are hardwired to worry about bad things (and why that’s ok); the difference between chosen and unchosen suffering; post-traumatic growth and why it’s not always true that what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger; benign masochism and the blurring of pleasure and pain; and cognitive empathy vs. emotional empathy.

    Dr. Paul Bloom is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. He is the author of six books, the most recent of which is called, The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning.

    Subscribe by December 1 to get 40% off a Ten Percent Happier subscription! Click here for your discount.

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    How Not To Be Owned By Your Emotions | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein Nov 19, 2021

    Joseph teaches you how to authentically accept difficult emotions to make them more manageable and less overwhelming.

    Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher.

    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “It’s Okay to Feel This,” or click here.

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    Best of the Archives: How Your Emotions Are Made | Lisa Feldman Barrett Nov 17, 2021

    Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is at the forefront of understanding human emotions: what they are, why humans evolved to have them, how they’re different from feelings, and what science says about how to manage them. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, with appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She’s written several books, including How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. This episode explores how we can “deconstruct” our own emotions, and the overlap between her research findings and Buddhism.

    Just a note: This episode is a rerun from earlier this year, and the interview was recorded in March 2021. There are some references to COVID that might seem a little out of date, but the content remains relevant.

    Subscribe by December 1 to get 40% off a Ten Percent Happier subscription! Click here for your discount.

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    397: How to Benefit From Religion, Even as a Nonbeliever | David DeSteno Nov 15, 2021

    Dr. David DeSteno has embarked on a project he calls “religio-prospecting.” In other words, he has been looking at the scientific evidence that many ancient religious traditions can confer all sorts of benefits, whether you’re a believer or not. He points out that many secular people practice mindfulness, even if they’re not Buddhists. His question is - what’s the next mindfulness?


    David DeSteno is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, where he directs the Social Emotions Group, and the author of a new book called How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion, and is the host of a new podcast on PRX, also called “How God Works.” This episode explores David’s desire to study the benefits of religious practice in a scientific way and the evidence behind such practices as: sitting shiva, gratitude, the Apache sunrise ceremony, and Japanese Shinto rituals around childbirth.

    Subscribe by December 1 to get 40% off a Ten Percent Happier subscription! Click here for your discount.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/david-desteno-397

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    Meditation: Simple, But Not Easy | Twenty Percent Happier with Matthew Hepburn Nov 12, 2021

    Check out this sneak peak into an episode of our new podcast Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.


    About Matthew Hepburn:


    Matthew Hepburn is a straight shooting, clear thinking, and dedicated meditation teacher. His personal practice caught fire over the course of several extended meditation retreats and volunteering to teach buddhist meditation in prisons in his early twenties. Now he shares his love of contemplative practice with people on intensive silent retreats, through dedicated daily life practice as a core teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and as the Editor of Mobile Content for Ten Percent Happier.


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    396: Don’t Side With Yourself | Matthew Hepburn Nov 10, 2021

    Work can be one of the most difficult places to apply meditative concepts such as mindfulness, patience, and kindness. But work can also be an amazing testing ground for your attempts at meditation and other forms of self-improvement.


    Unlike many meditation teachers, Matthew Hepburn has spent a lot of time in the professional world. He has worked at Apple and in the service industry. He’s also a long time leader at the Ten Percent Happier company and is the host of the new Twenty Percent Happier podcast. In this episode, Matthew talks about how to change your relationship to your thoughts; how to navigate the highs of praise and the lows of blame; how to handle relationships at work, including relationships that require you to give and/or receive feedback; and how to bring your mindfulness practice to your workplace, starting with something as simple as a cup of coffee.


    And be sure to join Matthew in the seven-day Work Life Challenge, where you’ll get the chance to practice a meditation related to your work life, led by Matthew or Dawn Mauricio, another TPH meditation teacher and recent podcast guest. Download the Ten Percent Happier app now to join the Challenge for free.


    The "Healing Ourselves, Healing Our World," online benefit for the New York Insight Meditation Center is on November 13 and 14. Register here to participate.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/matthew-hepburn-396


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    395: How to Handle Difficult People | Dawn Mauricio Nov 08, 2021

    It’s been a problem ever since the dawn of humankind: how do we deal with jerks? What do you say to them? And how do you not make everything worse? And what if the jerk is you?


    We’re going to get into this and other issues in this episode with a meditation teacher named Dawn Mauricio. This is the fourth episode in our five-part Work Life Series, and it is time to bring in some dharma. It turns out the Buddha had a not-insignificant amount of wisdom to offer that is directly applicable to both our inner and outer work lives.


    Dawn Mauricio is an excellent teacher who is making her Ten Percent Happier podcast debut with this episode. Dawn has been meditating since 2005 and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s four-year teacher training program. She is also the author of the book Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners: 50 Meditations to Practice Awareness, Acceptance, and Peace. In this episode, Dawn talks about how to deal with jerks, imposter syndrome, and what the dharma can teach us about the technology that dominates so much of our lives both in and outside of work.



    Dawn is one of two phenomenal mediation teachers in the Work Life Challenge in the Ten Percent Happier app. In this free challenge, you’ll get seven days of video interviews, led by Dan, tackling tough work topics. Then, you’ll get a short meditation from either Dawn or Matthew Hepburn, another TPH teacher, so that you can practice what you’ve learned.


    Download the Ten Percent Happier app now to join the free Challenge today.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dawn-mauricio-395


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    394: Staying Sane at Work | Laurie Santos Nov 05, 2021

    It turns out you can call up Laurie Santos and ask about any conundrum and she will respond with a veritable treasure trove of scientifically-grounded relatable wisdom. In this episode, we ask the question: how do you hit the reset button at work? This question can apply to a variety of contexts - maybe you’re leaving a job, looking for a job, starting a new job, or trying to do your current job more mindfully.


    Dr. Laurie Santos is a professor of psychology at Yale University and the host of the popular podcast The Happiness Lab. In this episode, she provides a slew of science-backed strategies for hitting the reset button at work, including: increasing our time affluence; challenging our misconceptions about how much we actually dislike work; leveraging the power of ritual in order to draw firmer boundaries around our work; employing a values-based strategy called “job crafting;” and what to do when someone else at work–someone who is not us–succeeds.


    This interview was recorded live on Facebook, and Dr. Santos will be dropping a version of the same conversation over on The Happiness Lab podcast. Be sure to check it out!


    This episode is part of the Work Life series we are running here on the show. In conjunction with this series on the podcast, we’re launching a Work Life challenge over on the Ten Percent Happier app. We’ll be dealing with issues such as feedback, imposter syndrome, jerks at work, burnout, productivity shame, and more. You can download the app here, or wherever you get your apps to join the challenge for free.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/laurie-santos-394

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    393: How to Give Feedback Without Ruining Everything | Kim Scott Nov 03, 2021

    One of the hardest things to do in any relationship is give feedback. It’s always dicey. You don’t want to be too aggressive. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But you also don’t want to be too indirect.


    That’s where radical candor comes in. This term comes from Kim Scott, who is the bestselling author of Radical Candor and Just Work. She has coached executives at Dropbox and Twitter, and has led teams at Google. In this conversation she’ll not only talk about how to speak with radical candor, but also how to avoid its evil cousins: ruinous empathy, manipulative insincerity, and obnoxious aggression. She’ll also talk about how to push for more equitable workplaces at all levels of an organization, how to speak up about diversity issues without ruining your career, and what to do if you’re the person who has created harm. Kim will also talk about the difficult wake-up call that led her from her first book to her second.


    This episode is part of the Work Life series we are running here on the show. In conjunction with this series on the podcast, we’re launching a Work Life challenge over on the Ten Percent Happier app. We’ll be dealing with issues such as feedback, imposter syndrome, jerks at work, burnout, productivity shame, and more. You can download the app here, or wherever you get your apps to join the challenge for free.


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kim-scott-393


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    392: How to Fight Languishing (at Work and Everywhere Else) | Adam Grant Nov 01, 2021

    This episode officially marks the launch of the Work Life Series, a brand-new, five-part series that’s all about how to live better lives at work. In each episode, we’ll be hosting meditation teachers, thought leaders, and top-of-their-field scientists to explore how to better connect with coworkers, boost our on-the-job resilience, and bring mindfulness to our work. And to help you put into action what you learn here on the show, you can join our free Work Life Challenge: a new meditation challenge specifically designed to help you navigate your life at work, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app. Download the app here or wherever you get your apps to join the Work Life Challenge for free.


    To kick things off in the Work Life Series, we’ve got a longtime TPH fan favorite: Adam Grant. Adam is an organizational psychologist at The Wharton School and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of multiple books, including his most recent, Think Again. He is also the host of a hit podcast from TED called WorkLife. In this episode, Adam will talk about languishing, some of his ideas for what to do about it, why and how to rethink flexibility at work, and much more.



    Please note: There are brief references to alcohol & substance abuse and multiple references to anxiety and depression in this episode.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/adam-grant-392


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    Mindfulness Under Pressure | Twenty Percent Happier with Matthew Hepburn Oct 29, 2021

    Check out this sneak peak into an episode of our new podcast Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.


    About Matthew Hepburn:


    Matthew Hepburn is a straight shooting, clear thinking, and dedicated meditation teacher. His personal practice caught fire over the course of several extended meditation retreats and volunteering to teach buddhist meditation in prisons in his early twenties.


    Now he shares his love of contemplative practice with people on intensive silent retreats, through dedicated daily life practice as a core teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and as the Editor of Mobile Content for Ten Percent Happier.



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    391: The Benefits of Thinking Like an Entrepreneur | Reid Hoffman Oct 27, 2021

    The advice to “think like an entrepreneur” can, from a certain angle, come off as the kind of rote, tech-bro guidance you’d get from a millennial lifehacker. But Reid Hoffman makes a good case that all of us, whether entrepreneurs or not, can benefit from having what he calls an “entrepreneurial mindset.” He says this mindset is a trainable skill, and he believes that capitalism and compassion (two words you don’t often hear together) are compatible.


    Reid Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn, a partner at Greylock, the venture capital company, and the host of Masters of Scale podcast, which is all about how uber-successful people/companies got where they are. And now he has a new book, also called Masters of Scale.


    This episode explores: how to train for an entrepreneurial mindset; how to live a life that minimizes the odds of burnout; how to network without it feeling icky; the value of curiosity; the importance of “failing fast”; how to deliver feedback in a stressful environment; and how he thinks we can make capitalism more compassionate and equitable.



    Be sure to listen to our new podcast, Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/reid-hoffman-391


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    390: A Buddhist Recipe for Handling Turmoil | Kaira Jewel Lingo Oct 25, 2021

    We all know that change is inevitable and impermanence is non-negotiable. But somehow it can feel surprising, maybe even wrong, when we personally hit turbulence. The Buddha had a lot to say about this, and so does our guest.


    Kaira Jewel Lingo has come back to the show to talk about her new book, We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption. This episode explores a few of those strategies including: waking up to what’s happening right now; trusting the unknown; a Buddhist list called the Five Remembrances; how gratitude helps us in times of disruption; and accepting what is (and why this is different from resignation or passivity).


    Kaira herself is no stranger to impermanence: she spent 15 years as a Buddhist nun, and then decided to leave, which caused no small amount of disruption.


    Please note: There are brief mentions of domestic violence, abuse, the suffering of refugees, and war in this episode.



    To help you find your way during times of upheaval, loss, and transition, Kaira Jewel has recorded a series of meditations in the Ten Percent Happier app. Check it out by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps, tapping on the Singles tab, and searching for the topic called "Made for These Hard Times." Or, you can just click here.


    And while you’re there, be sure to listen to our new podcast, Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kaira-jewel-lingo-390


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    How to Stay Focused in Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle Oct 22, 2021

    Regather your attention with this short meditation. Afterwards, you can use that newfound focus to make progress on whatever matters most.

    About Anushka Fernandopulle:

    Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India, and Sri Lanka.

    Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute.

    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Gathering Focus,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=c71121c5-1b01-4e6b-babb-a43ce5f568b3.

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    389: What the Buddha Taught About Friendship | Kate Johnson Oct 20, 2021

    Friendship was important to the Buddha. In fact, there’s a whole passage in the Buddhist scriptures, or suttas, about friendship, with seven strategies for friendship, some of which we will discuss in this episode, with Kate Johnson.


    Kate has been meditating for over twenty years and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s four-year teacher training program. She is the author of a new book that has drawn praise from people like Lama Rod Owens, Jack Kornfield, and Ruth King. The book is called Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World. In the book, and in this conversation, Kate draws on an ancient Buddhist text known as the Mitta Sutta to offer actionable strategies for realness, generosity, and other key ingredients for friendship.


    Radical Friendship is available on Bookshop, Indiebound, Barnes and Noble or Amazon


    To practice cultivating radical friendship, check out some related meditations in the Ten Percent Happier app. If you're already listening to this episode in the Ten Percent Happier app, just scroll down to the "Related" section for meditations on friendship from Sebene Selassie, Oren Jay Sofer, and Joseph Goldstein. If you're not a subscriber, click here or download the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps and click on the "Podcasts" tab to get started.


    And while you’re there, be sure to listen to our new podcast, Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.




    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kate-johnson-389


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    388: The Science of Training Your Attention | Dr. Amishi Jha Oct 18, 2021

    Distraction is one of the top complaints of meditators -- and of pretty much every human being, in this era that has been dubbed the “info blitzkrieg.” In this episode, we’ll hear from Dr. Amishi Jha, who has spent years studying the impact of meditation on people who work in high stress professions and has collaborated with the military, first responders, and elite athletes. Her new book is about how to, in her words, focus without all the struggle, take back your attention from the pull of distraction, and function at your peak.


    Dr. Jha is Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami, the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative, and author of a new book called Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day.


    In this episode, Dr. Jha talks about: peak mind; the neuroscience of attention; how and why meditation works for high stress groups; multitasking vs. task switching; simulation mode vs. mindful mode; and answers the burning question - what is the least amount of meditation minutes one can do and still derive all the advertised benefits?


    As Dr. Jha mentioned in the episode, she recorded a meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app to help you practice paying attention to your attention. Check it out by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps, tapping on the Singles tab, and searching for her meditation called "Find Your Flashlight.” Or, click here to play the meditation.


    And be sure to check out our new podcast, Twenty Percent Happier, available exclusively in the Ten Percent Happier app.



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/amishi-jha-388


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    Stepping Back From Stress| Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Oct 15, 2021

    Taking a bigger perspective and staying grounded in the body helps us experience life’s inevitable stress without being taken over by it.


    About Alexis Santos:


    Alexis has practiced and taught Insight Meditation in both the East and West since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya (a well respected meditation teacher in Burma whose teachings have attracted a global audience), and his teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity -- a style of practice that's particularly useful during our crazy lives. Alexis has completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training, teaches retreats across the globe, and currently lives in Portland, Maine.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Stepping Away from Stress,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=6ab4db4d-eeb9-4f7e-baca-14938ce9d57c.


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    387: Twenty Percent Happier | Matthew Hepburn Oct 13, 2021

    In this special episode we’re going to do some mindful eavesdropping. You’re going to get a chance to listen in on a process that rarely, if ever, gets aired publicly. You’re going to hear real students talking to a real meditation teacher about real life issues -- issues in their meditation practice, and issues related to applying meditation to your everyday life.


    The meditation teacher for this episode is Matthew Hepburn. Matthew has spent the last decade teaching meditation in schools, prisons, and meditation centers around the country. He’s an incredibly skilled, wise, and funny teacher. He’s also worked for many years at Ten Percent Happier, where Matthew is a stalwart on the content team.


    We cover some fascinating issues, including: how meditation can make you braver at work; undercover practices you can do with your spouse or partner; how to find meaning in everyday annoyances; how to handle fear; and the one thing that will break any meditation practice.


    You can listen to 20% Happier exclusively on the Ten Percent Happier app and download today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install



    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/matthew-hepburn-387


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    386: Sitting with Chaos | Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Oct 11, 2021

    Very few of us relish chaos and disruption, but they are facts of life, given the nonnegotiable nature of change. In this episode with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, we’re going to talk about how to tune into the value of disruption, and learn how to sit with the chaos.


    Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is an ordained Zen priest, holds a Ph.D., and worked for decades as a social science researcher and development director for non-profit organizations. She is also a prolific author.


    In this conversation we’ll explore: what to do with the unknown and not having any answers; the power of a “sip of silence” (her term); what she means by the phrase “death as a doorway to tenderness;” how she defines tenderness - a word that can easily get bogged down in sloppy sentimentality; and what she meant when she wrote “I'm not advocating love as an answer to all of the ills of the world. Then again, it is just that simple to be love.”


    Content Warning: There are brief mentions of assault; spiritual, sexual, and substance abuse; and racism, including a recent incident Zenju experienced herself.



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    Embrace the Cheese Factor | Bonus Meditation with Diana Winston Oct 08, 2021

    This session walks you through a guided visualization imagining immersing yourself in a pond of loving-kindness and letting the water infuse you.


    About Diana Winston:


    Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center where she also teaches mindfulness practices to the general public.


    Her easy-on-the-ears West Coast style rests on top of a rigorous scientific mind, and a vast amount of teaching experience. She has developed curriculum and taught mindfulness since the early 90’s in a variety of settings including hospitals, universities, corporations, non profits, and schools. She has taught mindful awareness to health professionals, leaders, teachers, activists, seniors, and adolescents in the US and Asia. A published researcher and author, Diana has also written for numerous meditation publications, where her daughter, Mira, often makes an appearance in her examples of bringing mindfulness to daily life.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loving-Kindness Visualization,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=9d970c28-16b8-45df-82de-24d61bde4075.

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    385: The Awesome Power of "Touchy-Feely" | Carole Robin and David Bradford Oct 06, 2021

    We talk a lot on this show about social connection, but in this episode we’re going to get super granular on how to actually do relationships better.


    Carole Robin and David Bradford taught the most popular elective course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for a combined total of 75 years. Officially, the name of the course is Interpersonal Dynamics, but everybody calls it “Touchy-Feely.” Together they have written the new book, Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues.


    We dive into the six hallmarks of what they call “exceptional relationships,” how to be honest and vulnerable without overdoing it, why the questions “how am I feeling?” and “how are you feeling?” are central to improving our communication, the inevitability of risk when you set out to deepen a relationship, and why meditation is helpful in all of this.


    Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/carole-robin-david-bradford-385

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    384: What to do About Eco-Anxiety | Jay Michaelson Oct 04, 2021

    In the mental health community, there’s a new term: “Eco-Anxiety.”

    Our guest in this episode, Jay Michaelson, has been thinking hard about climate change for many, many years. Michaelson is a meditation teacher, rabbi, lawyer, activist, and journalist. And he is also a core teacher in the Ten Percent Happier app. He’s covered climate change extensively, and has taught environmental ethics at Boston University Law School and Chicago Theological Seminary. He has also been a leading environmental activist in religious communities.


    In this conversation, we talk about what Jay thinks some meditation teachers get wrong about climate change, what he calls the “delusion” that individual habit change can make an impact, how we can use meditation to engage more effectively in the kind of politics he says we need to move the needle on a systemic level, and how to use meditation and deep breathing to handle eco-anxiety.



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    Joy Vs. Happiness | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Oct 01, 2021

    What if we told you that joy doesn’t have to be an accident? Learn how to develop joy in this guided session from Sebene.


    About Sebene Selassie:


    Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer.


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Joy,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=8ab8948a-d112-423a-bf8b-78f1e6e2b291.



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    383: An "Erotic" Approach to the Climate Crisis | Dr. Andreas Weber Sep 29, 2021

    In this episode we’re talking about increasing happiness by connecting to nature.

    Guest Andreas Weber is a renowned philosopher, biologist, and writer based in Berlin. He is the author of many books, including Matter & Desire: An Erotic Ecology. He has a fascinating and surprising approach: calling for an “erotic” relationship to nature. Weber calls it “erotic ecology” and argues that we have been socialized to have an instrumental view of nature and instead wants us to be in a love relationship with nature.

    In this conversation, we talk about how to actually practice erotic ecology, what Weber means when he says love is the foundational principle of reality, how and why to make ourselves “edible,” and how Weber manages his own pessimism when it comes to climate change.

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    382: Stoicism 101 | Nancy Sherman Sep 27, 2021

    You may have heard about stoicism, in the common parlance, as having a stiff upper lip, sucking it up, grinning and bearing it, suppressing your emotions, etcetera. Or you may have heard of Stoicism, the ancient Greco-Roman philosophy, that has become the de rigeur set of life hacks among millennial self-optimizers. In this episode, guest Nancy Sherman argues that Stoicism is way deeper than any of that. She will argue that, in fact, Stoicism is kind of the opposite of all the above. It’s a way to truly know your patterns of thought and emotion. Nancy is a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. She is an expert in ethics, the history of moral philosophy, moral psychology, military ethics, and emotions. Her most recent book is called Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience. In this conversation we cover the basics of Stoicism, how and why capital “S” Stoicism is often misinterpreted, a meditation practice called “premeditation of evils” (which is far more practical than it may sound), and another practice designed to make you feel “at home in the world." Please note: This interview includes a brief reference to suicide. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/nancy-sherman-382 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How to Meditate with No Agenda | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren Sep 24, 2021

    Free your creativity with this light meditation and see where the momentum takes you. About Jeff Warren: Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He has trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author, with Dan, of the NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and is the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver." To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “The Art of Creative Freedom,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=60216495-f77b-491e-b1c5-ad1de8eda6dc.


    Here are the steps for sending us a question for our upcoming Work Life Series:

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    2. Hold the phone about 8-10 inches from your face, then tap “record.”

    3. Tell us your name, where you’re from, and what your question is. Try to keep it to about a minute or so.

    4. Stop the recording, then check it to make sure it sounds clear.

    5. Email it to us at: listener@tenpercent.com by September 27, 2021.

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    381: What Does it Actually Mean to Be a "Whole Person"? | Scott Barry Kaufman Sep 22, 2021

    In this episode, we’re going to demystify concepts such as: self actualization, personal growth, authenticity, and bringing your “whole self” to the table. Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist. He is the founder and director of the Center for the Science of Human Potential at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Wellbeing Science. He also hosts the #1 psychology podcast in the world - The Psychology Podcast. And he is the author of a new book called Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. We talk about the meaning of “transcendence” and the difference between transcending in an unhealthy and healthy way; being compassionate, understanding, accepting, forgiving, and perhaps even loving about your foibles and ugliness; and the difference between authenticity and “pseudo-authenticity”. You can download the Ten Percent Happier app here today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Here are the steps for sending us a question for our upcoming Work Life Series: 1. Go to a quiet place and open the default voice memo recording app on your phone. 2. Hold the phone about 8-10 inches from your face, then tap “record.” 3. Tell us your name, where you’re from, and what your question is. Try to keep it to about a minute or so. 4. Stop the recording, then check it to make sure it sounds clear. 5. Email it to us at: listener@tenpercent.com by September 27, 2021. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/scott-barry-kaufman-381 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    380: Psychedelics and Meditation | Michael Pollan Sep 20, 2021

    Michael Pollan has done more than perhaps anybody else in recent history to change the conversation on the use of psychedelic drugs, or plant medicine. He is author of the best selling book called How to Change Your Mind and he recently followed up with another book called This is Your Mind on Plants. Pollan is also the co-founder of the University of California Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, along with another recent podcast guest, Dacher Keltner. In this conversation we talk about whether psychedelics and meditation can mix and the links between psychedelics, meditation and Buddhism; the universal human drive to change consciousness; and his experiences with the three plants that he focuses on in his new book: opium, caffeine, and mescaline. Please note: this episode contains conversations about depression, suicide, and substance use. Here are the steps for sending us a question for our upcoming Work Life Series: 1. Go to a quiet place and open the default voice memo recording app on your phone. 2. Hold the phone about 8-10 inches from your face, then tap “record.” 3. Tell us your name, where you’re from, and what your question is. Try to keep it to about a minute or so. 4. Stop the recording, then check it to make sure it sounds clear. 5. Email it to us at: listener@tenpercent.com by September 27, 2021. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/michael-pollan-380 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Accepting the Unpleasant | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein Sep 17, 2021

    Accepting the unpleasant: easier said than done. Joseph demonstrates how to overcome reactivity and build the skill of acceptance. About Joseph Goldstein: Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Accepting the Unpleasant,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=296ad59c-5122-4d9f-b6fd-de245aa50ac0. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    379: How to Get the Wisdom of Old Age Now | Dilip Jeste Sep 15, 2021

    Happiness levels are really high when we’re young. They then steadily dip through our 20s, 30s, and 40s, and bottom out in our early 50s–at which point, they make a sharp and sudden rise. Then, through our 60s, 70s, and 80s, they are way above where we were in our youth. Why is this? Why do we get happier even as our bodies are falling apart? Here’s another question: Why, from the standpoint of evolution, do humans stick around way past the point of reproductive age? The answer to all of these questions, per our guest today, is: wisdom. Dr. Dilip Jeste is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good. In this conversation, we talk about how exactly he defines wisdom, what people of all ages can do to become wiser now, and the relationship between wisdom and loneliness. A quick content warning: this conversation includes references to sensitive topics, including suicide, substance abuse, and depression. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dilip-jeste-379 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    378: Life, Interrupted | Suleika Jaouad Sep 13, 2021

    Here’s a thought experiment: how would you handle it if you got a terrible diagnosis? Of course, many of us have no choice but to find out. This is the situation Suleika Jaouad faced when she got gravely ill at a very young age. She had to figure out how to have a sense of agency when so much was out of her control, and how to stay awake and present when her life was hanging in the balance. Suleika Jaouad is a journalist, author, speaker, cancer survivor, and the author of a book called Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted. She is also the creator of “Life, Interrupted,” the Emmy award-winning New York Times column and video series that she created from her hospital bed. In this conversation, we talk about: Suleika’s journey from being diagnosed with leukemia as a young adult to her recovery today; managing your emotions in excruciating situations; handling an ocean of uncertainty; feeding your need for creativity and productivity when your body is in mutiny mode; and the immense value of strategically going easy on yourself, especially when you’re an ambitious person. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/suleika-jaouad-378 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    High-Fiving the Inner Critic | Bonus Meditation with La Sarmiento Sep 10, 2021

    Today’s meditation is animated by two profound insights. The first is that we don’t just tend to listen to our inner critic–we tend to believe it. And the second is that the path forward requires us to treat our inner critic with compassion and kindness. About La Sarmiento: La Sarmiento is a meditation teacher and board president at the Insight Community of Washington, and the guiding teacher of its People of Color and LGBTQ communities. They are also a mentor in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    377: A More Relaxed Way to Meditate | Alexis Santos Sep 08, 2021

    A common problem among type-A people is trying to win at meditation. But the practice doesn’t work like that. If you over-effort, if you try to make something happen, it’s pretty much guaranteed not to happen. What is guaranteed is that you will suffer. Meditation is like a video game where you can’t move forward if you want to move forward too badly. Our guest today is Alexis Santos, who has been practicing meditation for twenty years and was a student of the highly influential Burmese monk Sayadaw U Tejaniya. Alexis is also a core teacher in the Ten Percent Happier app and the lead teacher of our On the Go course. In this episode, Alexis recounts his time learning from Sayadaw and shares an approach to meditation that is more relaxed than what many of us may be used to. It just might change your practice. Watch Season 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To join the Ted Lasso Challenge by midnight tonight, download the Ten Percent Happier app here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/alexis-santos-377 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    376: Letting Go of Perfectionism | La Sarmiento Sep 06, 2021

    In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between kindness and what our guest, La Sarmiento, calls “radical kindness,” how to muster the strength to be kind to annoying people while setting appropriate boundaries, the difference between radical compassion and what the Tibetans call “idiot compassion,” and their experience of learning to accept themselves in a culture that is not always so welcoming. Sarmiento, whose pronouns are they/them, has been practicing Vipassana meditation since the 1990’s. They are a graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader Training Program and a mentor in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. They serve as the guiding teacher for the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ sanghas at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC, where they are also board president. We are bringing you this Ten Percent Happier podcast series in collaboration with the Apple TV+ Original Series Ted Lasso because kindness is a huge theme in the show, and there are many practical lessons embedded right in the plot. CTA: Watch Season 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/la-sarmiento-376 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    This Will Make You Stronger | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Sep 03, 2021

    Deepen your inner strength and learn to draw boundaries and respond to injustice in this powerful loving-kindness meditation for yourself. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Kindness for Inner Strength,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=135d547d-18a1-48a6-a562-e325f74ffe40. About Sharon Salzberg: A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of nine books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, and Real Love. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    375: Reversing the Golden Rule | Jamil Zaki Sep 01, 2021

    In this episode we’re talking about how what you believe— about yourself, or about the world — can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. So if you believe the world is a cold and unforgiving place, it can become that way. And if you believe that you have limited capacities for kindness, you can, in effect, make it so. Our guest is Jamil Zaki, who is making his second appearance here on the show. Jamil is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. He is a leading expert on empathy and the author of the book The War for Kindness. Jamil discusses three levels of kindness: kindness toward ourselves, kindness in our close relationships, and kindness in our communities. He argues that starting with the self is critical, but also that the kinder we can make our communities, the kinder we will be ourselves. And the more we reorient ourselves to focus on the positive, the more we can create a self-fulfilling prophecy of kindness. We are bringing you this Ten Percent Happier podcast series in collaboration with the Apple TV+ Original Series Ted Lasso because kindness is a huge theme in the show, and there are many practical lessons embedded right in the plot. Watch Season 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To sign up for the Ted Lasso Challenge, download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jamil-zaki-375 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    374: The Evolutionary Case for Kindness | Dacher Keltner Aug 30, 2021

    Here’s a question: Is there an evolutionary advantage to being kind? Our guest today is Dacher Keltner, an eminent scientist who will make the case that, contrary to popular conceptions of evolution (dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest), and contrary to a lot of what we see on the news, our species is actually uniquely wired for kindness and compassion. Dacher Keltner is the Director of the Social Interaction Lab at the University of California at Berkeley, the Faculty Director of the Berkeley Greater Good Science Center, and the author of the book Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. In this episode, we talk about Darwin’s perspective on human sympathy and selfishness, where he stands on the question of Original Sin versus Buddha Nature, the importance of touch when it comes to communicating compassion, and the relationship between teasing and kindness. We are bringing you this Ten Percent Happier podcast series in collaboration with the Apple TV+ Original Series Ted Lasso because kindness is a huge theme in the show, and there are many practical lessons embedded right in the plot. Watch Season 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dacher-keltner-374 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How Not to Lose It with Your Loved Ones | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle Aug 27, 2021

    Develop the skill and sensibility of kindness, warmth, and goodwill by bringing your loved ones to mind. We are bringing you this Ten Percent Happier podcast series in collaboration with the Apple TV+ Original Series Ted Lasso because kindness is a huge theme in the show, and there are many practical lessons embedded right in the plot. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Kindness for Loved Ones,” or click the link for the ‘Kindness: Ted Lasso Style’ singles meditation pack: https://10percenthappier.app.link/KindnessTedLassoStyle About Anushka Fernandopulle: Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    373: Optimizing Your Stress | Modupe Akinola Aug 25, 2021

    Stress – which many of us despise and try to avoid – does not actually have to be a bad thing. Rather, it’s our relationship to stress, our mindset about stress, that determines whether we are helped or harmed by it. Today’s guest has the science to back this up and the practical tools to help you transfer her insights from the lab to your life. Modupe Akinola is an Associate Professor of Management at the Columbia Business School and host of the TED Business podcast. She is also one of the featured experts in our Stress Better course in the Ten Percent Happier app. In this conversation, Modupe talks about what she’s learned during these extraordinarily stressful last couple of years, what she calls the “stress mindset” (and how to cultivate it), and the vast resources available to us for handling stress (and how to tap them). We also dive into another of Modupe’s areas of expertise: how to have productive conversations around the often stressful–but critical–issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Get ready for the upcoming Ted Lasso Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/modupe-akinola-373 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    372: The Science of Making and Keeping Friends | Robin Dunbar Aug 23, 2021

    Friendship might not necessarily be something you’ve considered to be an urgent psychological and physiological issue. On this show, we spend a lot of time exploring how the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives and our health. Sadly, in many ways, it’s harder than ever to make and keep friends. With loneliness and disconnection on the rise, it’s clear that our society just wasn’t constructed for social connection. And recent data suggests we’re in a friendship crisis, with many of us reporting that we have fewer close friendships than ever. Our guest today is Robin Dunbar, an Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University and the author of numerous books on the development of Homo sapiens. Dunbar is perhaps best known for formulating “Dunbar's number,” which is a measurement of the number of relationships our brain is capable of maintaining at any one time. He is a world-renowned expert on human relationships, and has a ton of fascinating research findings and practical tips for upping your friendship game. In this conversation, we dive into the science behind human relationships, the upsides and downsides of maintaining friendships on social media, the viability of friendships across gender lines, and what science says you can do to compensate if you feel you are currently lacking in close friendships. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/robin-dunbar-372 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Rewiring Your Motivations | Bonus Meditation with Jess Morey Aug 20, 2021

    Brighten your mind and be a force for good today by practicing intentions of kindness, generosity, and honesty with Jess. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Kind and Generous Intentions,” or click the link for the ‘Kindness: Ted Lasso Style’ singles meditation pack: https://10percenthappier.app.link/KindnessTedLassoStyle. About Jess Morey: Jess Morey is a graduate of the Insight Meditation Society’s 4-year teacher training program and a cofounder of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, which runs in-depth mindfulness programming for youth and the parents and professionals who support them, across the US and internationally. Jess began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), and has maintained a consistent commitment to meditation since. Diving head first into meditation at such a key developmental stage makes the revelatory perspective of mindfulness & compassion her natural home turf, and gives her an easy, conversational teaching style anyone can relate to. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Improving Your Relationships - Buddhist Style | Martine Batchelor Aug 18, 2021

    This great deep-Dharma episode is all about using an ancient, fascinating, and readily-accessible Buddhist concept as a way to improve your interactions with other human beings. The concept in question is called vedana, or “feeling tone.” Our guest, Martine Batchelor, will explain. She was a Buddhist nun in Korea for ten years and is now a lecturer, spiritual counselor, and author of such books as “The Path of Compassion” and “Women in Korean Zen." Two brief notes: First, this episode is a re-run, which we’re doing a few times this summer in order to give the staff a breather, and also to resurface some of our older gems for our newer listeners. Second, this conversation includes some brief references to sensitive topics, including sexual activity and substance abuse. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/martine-batchelor-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    371: Help, Work Sucks | Cal Newport Aug 16, 2021

    A lot of us right now would probably agree that the technologies meant to make our jobs easier are actually stressing us out. (Think: the email and Slack messages that never stop and with which you can never catch up.) The worst part is the dopamine hit that you can get hooked on that comes with getting new information, causing you to check your messages way too often. And all of this has been exacerbated by working remotely. In this episode, our guest Cal Newport says that these technologies have created what he calls “the hyperactive hive mind,” and he has a ton of thoughts about how to stop it. He’s a computer science professor at Georgetown University and a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including A World Without Email, Digital Minimalism, and Deep Work. He’s also the host of the popular Deep Questions podcast. In this conversation, we talk about how to minimize the impact of the hyperactive hive mind, how the way we work is fundamentally broken, how we ended up in our current work situation where we're checking email and Slack all the time, and what this does to our brain. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/cal-newport-371 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How to Be Cool with All of You | Bonus Meditation with Dawn Mauricio Aug 13, 2021

    You are complex and contain multitudes. Try this refreshing take on loving-kindness and offer love to all the different parts of yourself. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loving Your Many Sides,” or click the link for the ‘Kindness: Ted Lasso Style’ singles meditation pack: https://10percenthappier.app.link/KindnessTedLassoStyle About Dawn Mauricio: Dawn Mauricio (she/her) has been practicing and studying Insight Meditation since 2005, and has graduated from several Buddhist programs, including Spirit Rock's 4-year Retreat Teacher Training. She teaches with a playful, dynamic, and heartfelt approach in Canada and the US, to teens, people of color, and folks of all backgrounds. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    370: How Do You Love Without Being Attached? | Kevin Griffin Aug 11, 2021

    In this episode we’re tackling some thorny dharma questions. For example: How do you love someone without attachment? How do you love yourself when the self is allegedly an illusion? Our guest today is a repeat customer, Kevin Griffin. He joined us a few months ago in an episode about the nature of craving and addiction. This time, Kevin’s back with a semi-skeptical take on loving-kindness -- that venerable, if somewhat misunderstood, Buddhist practice. Our conversation is centered around a book he wrote, called Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World. We talk about lovingkindness vs. “living kindness," the dangers of modern metta practice, and the idea that you don't have to feel love all the time (but can still seek to handle situations with non-ill-will). Please note: This conversation includes brief references to addiction and other forms of suffering. If you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, download it for free wherever you get your apps: https://10percenthappier.app.link/download-app. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kevin-griffin-370 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    369: How To End The War With Your Body | Sonya Renee Taylor Aug 09, 2021

    It is incredibly common for many of us humans, whatever our gender, to be at war with our bodies -- trying to live up to the people we see in the movies, on social media, or even the versions of ourselves in old pictures. This never-enough-ness can lead to an ambient level of self-loathing that can be incredibly destructive. That's where "radical self-love" comes in. Our guest today is Sonya Renee Taylor. She is the author of three books, including The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. She is the Founder and Radical Executive Officer of The Body is Not An Apology. She has come to this work as a result of her own personal pain, as a Black woman inhabiting a body that she says does not conform to societal norms. In this conversation, we talk about defining radical self-love (and why she believes it's our natural state), tools for cultivating radical self-love, and the connection between being OK with yourself and the larger society. (Also, just a heads up: There is one brief reference to sex.) If you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, you can download it for free wherever you get your apps: https://10percenthappier.app.link/download-app. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sonya-renee-taylor-369 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Try This for Stress | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Aug 06, 2021

    Being kind to ourselves in hard times bolsters our resilience, so we can learn from setbacks rather than getting stuck in rumination. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Self-Kindness for Stress,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=135d547d-18a1-48a6-a562-e325f74ffe40. About Sebene Selassie: Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Escape From Zombieland | Koshin Paley Ellison Aug 04, 2021

    Modern life has turned many of us into zombies. We walk around with our noses in our phones, constantly on the hunt. We’re not looking to eat people’s brains, per se, but we are looking for mindless hits of dopamine -- from the latest headline, email, text, or “like” on our Instagram post. This has profound consequences, for us as individuals and for the society as a whole. Our guest in this episode argues that we need to wake up to this, and learn how to create human connection. Koshin Paley Ellison is an author, Zen priest, and Jungian psychotherapist. He co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and is the author of Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up. Ellison dives into his attempts to rescue the cliche of intimacy, how to build meaningful relationships, and what it means to “Find Your Five.” He also discusses how experimenting with what he calls "healthy embarrassment" (or allowing yourself to feel exposed) makes for better relationships. In fact, he’ll model some of that for us, quite bravely. Just a note: This is a re-run from a few years back. We’re re-running a few episodes this summer to give our staff a break, and also to get some of our favorite older episodes into the ears of our many new listeners. Also: This conversation includes references to sensitive topics, including lived experiences of hatred and abuse. That said, it happens in the context of discussions about vulnerability and healing. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/koshin-paley-ellison-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    368: A Rarely Accessed Source of Joy | Roman Mars Aug 02, 2021

    Today’s episode is about finding joy, pleasure, interest, and even gratitude in a surprising source: everyday objects and infrastructure. Our guest Roman Mars is the host and creator of 99% Invisible, a radio show and podcast about design and architecture. It is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Roman is also a bestselling author; he recently co-authored The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design. Roman talks to us about how he got interested in design, how the name “99% Invisible” came to be, his new book about the under-observed aspects of the built world, the importance of reading plaques and utility markers, design as coercion, and a shared love of 90s punk rock. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Show notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/roman-mars-368 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Counteracting Your Negativity Bias | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle Jul 30, 2021

    Often we forget to acknowledge the good in our lives. Happiness and well-being can be as accessible as simply recalling moments of kindness. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Recalling Kind Moments,” or click the link for the ‘Kindness: Ted Lasso Style’ singles meditation pack: https://10percenthappier.app.link/KindnessTedLassoStyle About Anushka Fernandopulle: Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    367: The Price of Secrecy | Michael Slepian Jul 28, 2021

    This episode is all about secrets. Did you know that there are 38 categories of secrets—and statistically, according to Michael Slepian, you probably have about 13 of them right now? Slepian is the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School. He studies the psychology of secrets — and how keeping secrets affects our social life and work life, particularly as it pertains to trust and motivation. In this conversation we dive into common misunderstandings about secrets, the hardest part about having secrets, the toll secrets take (both physically and psychologically), how other people can help us handle our secrets in a healthier way, and the impact of societal systems and structures on our secret keeping. (One thing to note: There are brief references to abuse and other traumatic events that some people keep secret.) If you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, download it for free wherever you get your apps: https://10percenthappier.app.link/download-app. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/michael-slepian-367 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    366: How to Outsmart Your Pain | Christiane Wolf Jul 26, 2021

    Sit in meditation for a few minutes and you’re likely to experience pain, either physical or psychological. Hang around the meditation scene for very long, and you are likely to hear the expression, “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.” And that’s what this episode is all about -- boosting your pain tolerance through meditation. Because pain really is inevitable, but can you reduce your suffering through mindfulness and compassion? Christiane Wolf argues ‘yes’. She is a physician turned mindfulness and compassion teacher and teacher trainer. She is an authorized Buddhist teacher in the Insight (Vipassana) meditation tradition, teaching classes and retreats worldwide, and she’s also the author of the new book “Outsmart Your Pain”. In this conversation, we talk about meditation techniques that offer us a better relationship to pain, how to work with the physicality of pain, the stories we tell ourselves about our pain, and seeing pain as an opportunity. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/christiane-wolf-366 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How Not To Be A Jerk (Even with Difficult People) | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Jul 23, 2021

    With guidance from Oren, this session will let you experiment with ways to find a genuine sense of kindness for yourself and for others. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Practicing Kindness,” or click the link for the ‘Kindness: Ted Lasso Style’ singles meditation pack: https://10percenthappier.app.link/KindnessTedLassoStyle. Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Subscription required. Apple TV+ and/or select content may not be available in all regions. About Oren Sofer: Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication. He has practiced meditation since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India and is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training program. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University and is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    The Art and Science of Compassion | Thupten Jinpa Jul 21, 2021

    It can be incredibly frustrating when life-changing, world-changing concepts such as compassion and kindness are often presented as cliches, because scientific research strongly suggests that learning how to practice compassion -- through meditation and other modalities -- can genuinely change your life. And enough of us did it, it could maybe change the world. One of the people who is the best at getting this message out, in new and creative ways, is Thupten Jinpa. He is a former Tibetan monk who went on to go to Cambridge University, where he got a B.A. in philosophy and a Ph.D. in religious studies. Since 1985, he has been the principal English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In this conversation, we talk about developing a compassionate meditation practice, building kindness and empathy, the connection between intention setting and compassion, and identifying and regulating negative emotional reactions. A few technical notes: This episode is a rerun. We do reruns when we have episodes that are amazing that we think our newer listeners might enjoy. We also do them to give our staff a break once in a while. We actually recorded this conversation live in front of an audience at the Asia Society in New York City a few years ago. It was the day after the school shooting in Parkland, so you will hear a few references to that. Check out Joseph Goldstein's course on compassion in the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/CompassionWithJoseph Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/thupten-jinpa-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    365: The Voice in Your Head | Ethan Kross Jul 19, 2021

    The craving, complaining, and comparing voice in our heads can be the source of incalculable suffering, but is it all bad? And are there ways to talk to yourself that can turn your inner voice into a powerful ally? Ethan Kross is a Professor in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business and the author of the new book, Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters, and How to Harness It. In this conversation, we talk about why we have voices inside our head, how they can be either a blessing or a curse, how to access your inner coach rather than your inner critic, how changing our outer environment can impact your inner environment, and how you can use the much-maligned social media for support. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ethan-kross-365 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Be Aware and Don’t Cling | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein Jul 16, 2021

    Too many expectations can lead to disappointment. This meditation helps you avoid preconceived notions and see what is already there. About Joseph Goldstein: Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Be Aware and Don’t Cling,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=9c0526bc-52b3-44f9-b386-61502770cf00. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    364: Getting Over Yourself | Joseph Goldstein Jul 14, 2021

    For the uninitiated, Joseph Goldstein is one of the cofounders of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. In this episode Joseph covers strategies for getting over yourself. Every year, Joseph does a three-month retreat by himself at his home in Massachusetts. This year, he emerged with a bunch of thoughts on what’s called “the three proliferating tendencies,” or three “prapancas,” to use the ancient Pali term. These are three ways in which we perpetuate a sense of self -- not a healthy sense of self, but an unhealthy sense of self. You can think about the process of going deeper in meditation as a process of lightening up or getting less self-centered. Now, you’re about to get a master class in doing just that. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-364 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    363: How to Keep Your Relationships On the Rails | Kaira Jewel Lingo Jul 12, 2021

    Today’s episode is about a Buddhist tool for resolving conflict and keeping your relationships healthy. Today’s guest, Kaira Jewel Lingo, was an ordained nun of 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, and is now a lay Dharma teacher based on Long Island. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology and Social Sciences. She’s edited a few books by Thich Nhat Hanh, including Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children. In this interview, Kaira Jewel talks about: the Beginning Anew practice (and how even skeptics can see the value in it); how Beginning Anew can strengthen relationships and resolve conflicts; the four steps of the practice; and her own experience with the practice, as both a teacher of it and a practitioner of it. If Kaira Jewel's insights on gratitude within the practice intrigue or inspire you, you might like a fantastic meditation we released recently on the Ten Percent Happier app called "Daily Gratitude Booster" by Matthew Hepburn. It's the perfect way to cultivate a regular practice of gratitude, which, like meditation itself, is a skill that you can improve. Check it out by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps (https://10percenthappier.app.link/install) or click the link in our show notes to be taken directly to Matthew's meditation: https://10percenthappier.app.link/DailyGratitudeBooster. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kaira-jewel-lingo-363 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Can You Be Curious Without Getting Judge-y? | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Jul 09, 2021

    In this session from Oren, learn how to use meditation to become less reactive and more open in relationships, conversations, and your life. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Curiosity without Judgment,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=26d7d194-8d16-4a6f-91e5-b1f07345abc8. Of course, if you don't have the app, you can download the Ten Percent Happier app today, for free: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. About Oren Jay Sofer: Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication. He has practiced meditation since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India and is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training program. Oren teaches retreats across the country and works as Senior Program Developer at Mindful Schools, teaching and developing curricula for one of the international leaders of mindfulness in education. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    The Science of Happiness | Emiliana Simon-Thomas (2020) Jul 07, 2021

    In a previous interview with Dan, the Dalai Lama said something along the lines of, “everyone’s selfish; that’s the way we’re wired. But if you’re going to be selfish, you should be wisely selfish.” Wise selfishness takes into account the fact that what really makes humans happy is to care for other people. This notion has been a central part of the Buddhist platform for millennia, but is now being borne out in scientific research. Today’s guest is Emiliana Simon-Thomas. She is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, where she is a co-instructor of its Science of Happiness online course. In this conversation, Emiliana talks to us about the difference between empathy and compassion, how we can be happier by being more compassionate and connected, what we misunderstand about love, and a more scientific definition for that culturally loaded term. Just to note -- this is a re-run of an older episode we pulled out of our vault for a few reasons: 1) It’s summer and we want to give our tireless staff a break; and 2) This is one of our all-time favorite episodes and one that many of our newer listeners may not have heard. For more science-based happiness practices, you can download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/emiliana-simon-thomas-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    362: Rethinking Your Relationship to 'Stuff' | The Minimalists + Oren Jay Sofer Jul 05, 2021

    We’ve been meaning to tackle our relationship to 'stuff' for a while now. This subject can go deep. It’s not just about decluttering (although that can actually be pretty substantial work); it’s about rethinking your whole life. Recently we spoke to a pair of gentlemen known as The Minimalists -- whose names are Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus. They’re perhaps best known for their documentaries on Netflix: “Minimalism” and “Less is Now”. They also have a very popular podcast and have written a series of books. Their latest book, “Love People, Use Things”, comes out this month. In this episode, we talk about their powerful and painful personal path to Minimalism; the freedom that they say comes from living with less; how to actually do Minimalism; and the pitfalls of the path. And as a bonus pairing, we’ve brought back a Ten Percent Happier favorite, Oren Jay Sofer. Oren is a renowned Buddhist teacher who has been meditating for nearly a quarter of a century. As part of his training he spent over two years living with less as a Buddhist renunciate, and he makes a compelling case for bringing minimalism into the mindfulness practice, and for letting go. For more from Oren and other great meditation teachers, download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/the-minimalists-oren-sofer-362 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Joseph Goldstein on Self-Compassion | Bonus Meditation Jul 02, 2021

    Self-compassion is powerful, but it's not always easy to acknowledge your own pain. This meditation helps you default to compassion. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Self-Compassion,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0ee0c676-4215-4d7f-9b0d-9129a3d79a5b. If you don't have the Ten Percent Happier app, you can download it today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. About Joseph Goldstein: Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    361: Why Men Armor Up | Daniel Ellenberg Jun 30, 2021

    Today's episode is a deep dive into the male operating system and how it can be upgraded. Today's guest, Daniel Ellenberg, is a psychotherapist, marriage and relationship therapist, author, and facilitator. He has been leading men’s groups for over 30 years and is the new sitting president of the American Psychological Association's “Division 51: Society for the Psychological Study of Men & Masculinities." In this conversation, Dr. Ellenberg explains: what masculinity actually means; what prevents men from forming bonds with other men; “traditional masculinity ideology”; why men die earlier than women; the importance of self-compassion for men; and how to be a good role model as a dad, friend, and fellow man. Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/daniel-ellenberg-361 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    360: Self-Compassion Ain’t Always Soft | Kristin Neff Jun 28, 2021

    There’s a widely held assumption that if you have a warmer, friendlier relationship with yourself, you will not only slack off and be ineffective, but also that you will be a doormat. My guest today says: not true. She’s making the case that self-compassion, when properly understood, can lead to a kind of ferocity. It can help you stand up for yourself and others. Kristin Neff is the central pioneer in the field of self-compassion research and her work has had a massive impact on me and my own work. She is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s the author of the book Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, and now she has a new book, called Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive. This conversation is for everyone, whether you identify as a woman or not. These concepts are universal, although, as you will hear Kristen argue, there is special importance for women. And speaking of gender, we are dedicating this week to that subject. Coming up on Wednesday, we’re going to talk about masculinity with a guest named Daniel Ellenberg. In this episode with Kristin Neff, we talk about: tender self-compassion vs. fierce self-compassion; the three main forms of fierce self-compassion; how to take a fierce self-compassion break; destructive vs. constructive anger; why she wrote the book specifically for women, and why you should read it, regardless of your gender socialization; how men can help the women in their lives develop this kind of ferocity; and how self-compassion can help us face our biases. For more resources on self-compassion, you can download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kristin-neff-360 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    The Delusion of Perfection | Bonus Meditation with Leslie Booker Jun 25, 2021

    The struggle to keep up in the era of social media is universal. Bring compassion to your inner critic & release the delusion of perfection. About Leslie Booker: Booker brings her heart and wisdom to the intersection of Dharma, Embodied Wisdom, and Social Justice. Much of her work has been supporting incarcerated and vulnerable youth populations. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Taming Your Inner Critic,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=2789fd7d-8427-4956-9378-0f01d59238c4. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    359: The Hard Questions That Might Save Your Relationship | Susan Piver Jun 23, 2021

    Today we have some counterintuitive relationship advice. If you’re in a tough spot with your loved one, why would you want to have a deep chat about religion, politics, work, or your eating habits? Wouldn’t that just make everything worse? My guest today says asking these hard questions is exactly what you should do. Susan Piver is a fan favorite in TPH-world. She has been a practicing Buddhist for more than a quarter-century. She’s a graduate of a Buddhist seminary, founder of The Open Heart Project, and a New York Times bestselling author of many books, including How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life. This month, she’s releasing a revised and expanded edition of her blockbuster book, The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say “I Do.” This book started out as a relationship tool for recently engaged couples, but it’s taken on a much broader life. You can use it if your long-term relationship has hit a snag, if you’ve recently broken up with someone and want to understand why, or if you’re single and just want to know yourself better. The book originally came out 20 years ago, but a lot has changed since then, so Susan has gone through and done a big rewrite. In this conversation, we talk about: why hard questions are so key to building or rebuilding the foundation for a healthy relationship; the difference between love affairs and long-term relationships (and how failing to see the difference can tank your relationship); why breakups are rarely caused by lack of love, but instead by something else; and Susan will explore, from a Buddhist perspective, what happens when the boundaries between you and another person begin to dissolve – and what to watch out for when this happens. Also, there’s (just barely!) still time to join us in our free Taming Anxiety Challenge. This ten-day meditation challenge will teach you how to understand your anxiety and give you practical tools for coping with the difficult thoughts and emotions that arise when you are anxious. And it’s also a great way to kickstart your meditation practice. You can join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You should be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Be sure to sign up by June 24! Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/susan-piver-359 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    358: Buddhist Lessons on Anxiety | Leslie Booker Jun 21, 2021

    Taming Anxiety Series - Episode 4: Welcome to the final episode in our Taming Anxiety Series! Today's guest, Leslie Booker – who goes by "Booker" – is one of America’s leading dharma teachers. She began sharing the practice with vulnerable populations back in 2005 and is a graduate of three different training programs at Spirit Rock, including their four-year Retreat Teacher Training Program. In this conversation, Booker will make the case that one of the most important, even life-saving, tools when it comes to dealing with anxiety is our ability to connect with our communities. She also brings our attention to yet another Buddhist list – the “three characteristics.” And she explains how bringing awareness to our bodies can help settle us in our most anxious moments. This, I should say, is something she’s worked on with me personally. If you’d like to see that, you can actually do so, because we filmed it as part of our new Taming Anxiety Challenge, a ten-day meditation challenge which begins today over in the Ten Percent Happier app. Booker is one of the core teachers in the Taming Anxiety Challenge, which features short videos and guided meditations about how to live with anxiety more intentionally. In the app, you’ll see her share strategies with me – and you – for putting into practice everything we talk about on the podcast today — including ways to normalize the experience of anxiety in your community. In fact, by joining the Taming Anxiety Challenge, you'll be part of a community of thousands of meditators learning to cope with anxiety. You can even invite your friends or family to join you in the Challenge – for free! You'll get a notification each time they meditate, so you can be accountable to and supportive of each other. You can join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You should be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/leslie-booker-358 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    357: Strategies for Social Anxiety | Ellen Hendriksen Jun 18, 2021

    Taming Anxiety Series - Episode 3: As we move into summer and more and more vaccines go into arms, your town or city (or state or country) may soon be opening back up, if it hasn’t already. Some of us are ecstatic. A lot of us are anxious. (And by the way, those are not mutually exclusive. It’s totally possible to be both.) If the thought of large crowds or even small dinner parties makes your palms sweat, don’t worry. You’re not alone. (And if this was true for you even before the pandemic, you’re not alone there, either.) Our guest today is here to help. Ellen Hendriksen is a clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety and social anxiety and serves on the faculty at Boston University's Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. She is the author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. In today’s episode she explains how to increase your tolerance for uncertainty; how and why social anxiety has gotten worse since the start of the pandemic; and, what you can do to face your own anxiety around social interactions, especially if you’re in a place that is reopening. She’ll also answer some questions from you, our listeners. In addition to this series on the podcast, we are launching a free Taming Anxiety Meditation Challenge in the Ten Percent Happier app, to help you practice what you’re learning. In this brand-new ten-day meditation challenge, we’ll be pairing a leading anxiety expert and a top-notch meditation teacher together to help you practice what we’re talking about on the show. The free Taming Anxiety Challenge begins on Monday, June 21, and will run for ten days. Each day, you'll receive a video and you'll complete a short meditation. You'll also receive daily reminders to help keep you on track, and you can even invite your friends to join you. Join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You should be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ellen-hendriksen-357 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    356: Anxiety, Explained | Luana Marques Jun 16, 2021

    Taming Anxiety Series - Episode 2: Anxiety is very common -- but also commonly misunderstood. So today we’re doing a show that you might think of as: Everything You Wanted to Know About Anxiety (But Were Afraid to Ask). This is the second episode in a four-part series we’re calling “Taming Anxiety.” (By the way, if you missed the first episode, with pop-star/Broadway star/sitcom-star Sara Bareilles, I strongly recommend checking that out.) Today, though, we are diving into the science of anxiety with Dr. Luana Marques. Luana is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, and the author of Almost Anxious: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Worry or Distress a Problem? You might also recognize her from this show, because she was also our very first guest on the topic of Covid, way back in March of 2020, in an episode titled “How to Handle Coronavirus Anxiety.” In this episode, Luana will explain, from a scientific perspective, what anxiety actually is; why it isn’t actually a problem in and of itself – instead, it’s our relationship to it that’s (often) a problem; what the "TEB Cycle" is, and how to work with it; the short-term benefits of avoiding things that cause us anxiety – and the long-term consequences of that avoidance; and how to handle anxiety-induced phobias, including, in my case, a pronounced fear of elevators. Plus, we’ll take some voicemails that you, our listeners, have submitted. You can also learn how to actually practice everything we'll talk about in today’s episode by participating in our free Taming Anxiety Challenge over in the Ten Percent Happier app, which kicks off next Monday, June 21. Join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You will be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/luana-marques-356 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    355: Sara Bareilles: Anxiety, Anger, and Art Jun 14, 2021

    Taming Anxiety Series - Episode 1: Today is a big day here on the podcast, both because we have a fantastic new episode, and because this episode is actually kicking off a series we have been wanting to produce for a long time, called “Taming Anxiety.” Anxiety is a massive issue in our society. Even before the pandemic, it was on the rise. Now, the situation is even worse. Chances are it has afflicted you or someone you love at some point, on some level: maybe you’ve received an actual diagnosis, like generalized anxiety disorder, or maybe you’re prone to symptoms closer to panic, or perhaps you’re just susceptible to a bit too much garden-variety worrying. Maybe your kids are increasingly anxious. Or maybe, like me, you’ve got a few different items on the menu–some low-level professional freakouts here, some panic attacks in elevators (or on live TV) over there… Anyway, the bad news is that anxiety is unlikely to disappear overnight. But the good news is that you can change your relationship to it. Hence this two week series we’re launching today. We’ve got two episodes with scientists and one episode with a meditation expert on deck to help you learn to tame your anxiety. And we’ve even got a free meditation challenge over in the Ten Percent Happier app to help you bring these lessons into your practice. But before we get to that, let me introduce today’s guest. We’re kicking things off with a personal story. Sara Bareilles is a fearsome polymath: a singer, songwriter, composer, actor… the list goes on. She earned Tony and Grammy Award nominations for the Broadway musical Waitress, she’s got a new album out called Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl, and she stars in the new Tina Fey-produced series Girls5eva, which is streaming right now on Peacock. Behind all this artistic and professional success is a meditator who is deliberately open and public about her struggles with anxiety and depression. In this conversation, she talks about: her history of anxiety and depression; the relationship between suffering and art, and whether meditation might defang someone’s creativity; how she works with anger; her relationship to social media; and we get an intimate glimpse into the back-stories behind some of her hit songs. This is the first episode in our new “Taming Anxiety” series, and there will be an accompanying meditation challenge over in the Ten Percent Happier app. It’s also called “Taming Anxiety,” and it launches next week, on Monday, June 21st. The idea here is that you will be able to use the challenge to integrate everything you’ve learned in the podcast series into your neurons. Join the Taming Anxiety Challenge by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install. You should be prompted to join the Challenge after registering your account. If you've already downloaded the app, just open it up or visit this link to join: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TamingAnxietyChallenge. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sara-bareilles-355 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    A Strategy for the Toughest Emotions | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg Jun 11, 2021

    Bring wisdom and compassion alongside difficult emotions by first calming your body & mind and then opening to the feels with acceptance. About Sharon Salzberg: A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield. She is a New York Times best-selling author whose books include Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, Real Love, and Real Change. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Letting Tough Emotions Be,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=2649944e-3c86-4237-9232-ddb9a2437925. Excited about the Taming Anxiety Challenge? Download the Ten Percent Happier app today to get ready: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    354: The Surprising Upsides of Self-Deception | Shankar Vedantam Jun 09, 2021

    Anyone with a passing familiarity with Buddhism will know that “delusion” is rarely, if ever, mentioned in a positive way. In fact, the Buddha included delusion (aka: confusion about the way things really are) on his list of “the three poisons.” The whole point of meditation, per the Buddha, is to uproot delusion -- along with greed and hatred. Only then can you be enlightened. My guest today is here to valiantly make the case that delusion -- or self-deception -- has an upside. Many upsides, in fact. While he concedes that self-deception can, of course, be massively harmful, he argues that it also plays a vital role in our success and wellbeing, and that it holds together friendships, marriages, and nations. Understanding this, he says, can make you happier, more effective, and -- crucially -- more empathetic with people with whom you disagree. Shankar Vedantam is the host of the popular podcast and radio show Hidden Brain. His new book is called Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. In this conversation, we talk about: the many ways our brains filter and alter our perception of reality; why we evolved for a robust capacity to lie to ourselves; and how his research on delusions has colored his view of the chaos and confusion of our modern world. Are you excited about the upcoming Taming Anxiety Challenge? If so, you can download the Ten Percent Happier app today to get ready: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shankar-vedantam-354 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    353: Chris Bosh: Making Your Inner Voice Your Ally Jun 07, 2021

    One of the more surprising lessons I’ve learned as an ambitious person is that perhaps the best recipe for success is... keeping your ego in check. For a long time, I subconsciously believed that you needed to be unremittingly selfish to “make it.” But after life delivered me repeated beat-downs, I finally got the message: sometimes what’s best for me is to focus on greater good -- on the team. It’s enlightened self-interest. (For the record, I am not perfect at this.) My guest today has also learned this lesson the hard way. Chris Bosh is an 11-time NBA All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and he was just recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He says his proudest moments as a player came from defeating his own ego, and you’ll hear him explain how he learned to do this. You’ll also hear him talk about something that anyone who’s ever been born needs to learn how to do (given that we live in a universe where impermanence is a nonnegotiable fact): letting go. In 2016, Chris nearly died from a blood clotting illness that sidelined him. He spent the next couple of years trying to make his way back to the NBA before retiring in 2019. He’s just written a new book, in which he tells his story and compiles some hard-won wisdom. It’s called Letters to a Young Athlete. But you don’t have to be an athlete to benefit; it’s really for anyone who’s interested in excellence. In this conversation, Chris and I talk about the difficult process of letting go of something you love; the in’s and out’s of his journey with his own ego, both during and after his playing career; how to set aside the inner chatter in your mind in order to be in the present moment; and how to play every game–whatever that might mean to you–like it’s your last. Before we dive in, I also want to let you know about a special series of episodes we’ll be launching next week here on the podcast. It’s called “Taming Anxiety.” It will feature interviews with top anxiety researchers and a dynamite meditation teacher. And, as is our wont here in TPH-land, we’ll be launching a free companion meditation challenge on the Ten Percent Happier app to help you put everything you learn in the podcast series into practice in your daily life -- to integrate it into your neurons, as I like to say. Get ready to join the free challenge on June 21 by downloading the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/chris-bosh-353 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Dan Tells A Meditative Story Jun 04, 2021

    In this episode from the excellent podcast Meditative Story, recorded a couple of years ago, Dan shares a candid look at his attempts to connect more with his son, Alexander, on their first father-son trip. Meditative Story combines human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. You can learn more about it here: https://meditativestory.com/, and listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1472106563. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    352: Why You’re Burning Out -- And How to Fix It | Leah Weiss Jun 02, 2021

    Covid appears to have brought on a spike in burnout, especially among women, millions of whom have exited the workplace since the pandemic began. So what is burnout, exactly? How do you know if you qualify? How do you fix it? And can meditation help? That’s what we’re tackling today with Leah Weiss, who despite being a longtime meditator herself, has experienced burnout firsthand. Leah is a researcher and author. She was a founding faculty member of the Compassion Institute at Stanford University, and she’s the co-founder of Skylyte - a company that specializes in using the latest science to help organizations prevent burnout. She’s written two books. The most relevant for our purposes is called: How We Work: Live Your Purpose, Reclaim Your Sanity, and Embrace the Daily Grind. In this conversation, we cover: the differences between anxiety, depression, and burnout; how to detect burnout; how burnout runs along a spectrum, and is a “full body experience;” why meditation can help but also make some people more susceptible to burnout; what can be done to protect women in the workplace; and her argument that burnout isn’t just a personal problem, but also a systemic one. Also: If you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, you can download it for free here: https://www.tenpercent.com/?_branch_match_id=888540266380716858, or wherever you get your apps. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/leah-weiss-352 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    351: A Buddhist Approach to Patience | Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche May 31, 2021

    These are not hospitable times for the mental skill of patience. Instant gratification has never been more thoroughly scaled. You can order food, taxis, and shampoo from your phone. Streaming services autoplay the next episode of whatever show you’re binging. You can ask Siri or Alexa for the weather, the latest sports scores, or the dating history of Paul Rudd. And on a deeper level, of course, global tumult is trying our patience -- with the pandemic, political polarization, climate disruption, and cultural divides over race, gender, and more. My guest today comes armed with great tools we can all use to exercise a muscle that, for many, is badly atrophied. As you’ll hear him explain, the Buddhist approach to patience goes way beyond grin and bear it; instead it’s about developing a mind that can work positively with whatever is bothering us. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche grew up in a monastic environment in Northern India. His father was said to be the third incarnation of a great Tibetan master. His mother was his first teacher -- a renowned practitioner who completed thirteen years of solitary retreat before she got married. Rinpoche now lives in the U.S. -- in southern Colorado, where he has a mountain retreat center called Longchen Jigme Samten Ling. His students include former guests on this show, such as Pema Chödrön, the best-selling Buddhist author, and Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, a teacher and author who is also his wife. Rinpoche has a new book out called Peaceful Heart: The Buddhist Practice of Patience. In this interview we talk about: how to define patience from the Buddhist lens; what practices he suggests for getting better at patience; the difference between patience and passivity; the challenges he still faces in the patience arena; and the role of patience in eating and in enduring physical pain. Also: We're offering 40% off the price of a year-long subscription for the Ten Percent Happier app until June 1st. Visit https://www.tenpercent.com/may to sign up today. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/dzigar-kongtrul-rinpoche-351 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Strong Back, Soft Front | Bonus Meditation with Roshi Joan Halifax May 28, 2021

    Returning to the practice of equanimity keeps you both grounded and receptive, especially during times of turmoil and uncertainty. About Roshi Joan Halifax: Roshi Joan Halifax is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and pioneer in the field of end-of-life care. She is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her most recent book is Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Strong Back, Soft Front,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=4cfcfe2d-f5fb-4142-9bd0-3fb6b2041324. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    350: How to Be Courageous | Stacy McClendon May 26, 2021

    Many of us know that meditation can confer benefits such as self-awareness, calm, and compassion, but what about courage? My guest today says, yes. Meditation can boost your courage quotient. And she will talk about exactly how. Her name is Stacy McClendon. She is a teacher at the Common Ground Meditation Center in Minneapolis. She also has a background in social work. This is the second episode in our weeklong series marking the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Stacy has been organizing and hosting weekly Truth and Justice Vigils online, available to anyone, during and after the trials of the men charged with murdering George Floyd. In this conversation, we talk about: a Buddhist list called the Ten Paramis, and how those qualities can support courage; how white people can step up and be courageous; how compassion is not a weakness; and how to be what she calls a “compassionate agitator.” One technical note, you might hear a little background noise, including church bells, birds, and Stacy’s 20 year old cat, Rain, who happened to share some opinions. We're offering 40% off the price of a year-long subscription for the Ten Percent Happier app until June 1st. Visit www.tenpercent.com/may to sign up today. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/stacy-mcclendon-350 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    349: Meditation is Not Just a Solo Endeavor | Pamela Ayo Yetunde May 24, 2021

    There’s a meditation pitfall that’s pretty easy to fall into. In fact, I’ve fallen into it many times. It’s this idea, which we can hold consciously or subconsciously, that meditation is a solo endeavor. “I’m doing it to reduce my stress, or boost my focus, or... make myself ten percent happier.” All of that is fine. It’s actually great. But in my experience, the deeper you go into this thing, the more you see that the self is less stable and more porous than you previously imagined. And you also see that it’s really impossible to be happy in a vacuum; your happiness depends on the well-being of the people around you. We’re going to explore this notion of meditation as a team sport today with Pamela Ayo Yetunde. She’s the co-editor of Black & Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us About Race, Resilience, Transformation & Freedom, which just won the Nautilus book award. She’s got a law degree from Indiana University and a theology degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. She also founded something called Buddhist Justice Reporter: The George Floyd Trials, which you will hear her discuss in this conversation. This is the first of two conversations we’re posting this week to mark the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. In this chat with Ayo, which is the name she prefers to be addressed by, we cover: a concept she calls "shock protection"; living nobly in a time of ignobility; how we can move toward civility; various interpretations of the Buddhist concept of no-self, including viewing no self as inter-dependence; and how white people in particular can maintain their focus on issues of race, even when we have the option of looking away. Also, one order of business: We're offering 40% off the price of a year-long subscription to the Ten Percent Happier app until June 1st. Visit https://www.tenpercent.com/may to sign up today. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/pamela-ayo-yetunde-349 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Concentration 101 | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren May 21, 2021

    Concentration is the backbone of meditation. Strengthen your ability to return to the present with this basic, but essential, technique. About Jeff Warren: Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver." To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Concentration 101,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=9da8efcf-5948-4235-bd95-4c719ef5d964. We want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    348: How to Focus | Shaila Catherine May 19, 2021

    Living as we do in an era that has been called the info blitzkrieg, staying focused can be extremely difficult for many of us. This can be true when we’re working and trying to stay on task. It can also be true in meditation, when we might find our minds flitting all over the place. My guest today is an Olympic-level concentrator and she has tons of tips for staying focused. We also talk about one of my favorite meditation subjects: the altered states of consciousness called “the jhanas” that are apparently available to advanced meditators who can attain super-deep states of concentration. (I say “apparently” because I clearly have never been in these altered states.) Shaila Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a meditation group in Silicon Valley. She has been practicing meditation since 1980, with more than nine years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She’s the author of Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity. In this conversation, we cover: the basic building blocks of concentration in meditation practice; cultivating the “right attitude” for meditation; the difference between concentration and mindfulness and how they support each other; and whether the jhana states are attainable for regular people. We also want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for everything you do. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources, visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth. Finally, there's an online event tomorrow you might want to check out. It's called "Well-Being Is a Skill," and it's being led by Dr. Richard Davidson at the New York Insight Meditation Center. More info can be found here: https://www.nyimc.org/event/well-being-is-a-skill/. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shaila-catherine-348 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    347: What You Can Learn About Your Relationships from a Former Neo-Nazi | Shannon Foley Martinez May 17, 2021

    We’ve got a provocative but deeply practical episode today. All of us have people in our lives — whether it be our personal lives, our professional lives, or even just people we see on TV — with whom we disagree. So how can we coexist, or even reach a state of mutual understanding, with these people? It’s not an overstatement to say that your personal happiness, as well as the future of the planet, may rest in part in our collective ability to hone these skills. My guest today has done this work in some of the most extreme ways imaginable. She is a reformed neo-Nazi by the name of Shannon Foley Martinez who now works to deradicalize extremists. She’s also a consultant at American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab. In this conversation, we talk about how she got into the white power movement, how she got out of it, her methods for de-radicalizing people who are still in the movement, how she applies those methods to more mundane conversations across the many lines of differences that run through our society—and how you can, too. Just a quick note - you’ll hear some background noise, from a lawnmower and a barking dog— but that’s just the reality of recording podcasts in the middle of a pandemic. Also, as you might imagine, we hit on some pretty sensitive material here, including discussions of hate-fueled violence, racism, sexual assault, and homophobia. We also want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: tenpercent.com/mentalhealth Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shannon-foley-martinez-347 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    The Four Most Important Habits in Life | Bonus Talk with Jeff Warren May 14, 2021

    Practices like meditation help us cultivate habits that help instead of hurt. Here are four of them. About Jeff Warren: Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver." To find this talk in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “The Four Most Important Habits in Life,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=6748a2ec-017c-4176-8de6-545df0792793. We want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: tenpercent.com/mentalhealth See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    346: The Gospel of Adequacy | Miguel Sancho & Felicia Morton May 12, 2021

    Often on the show, we bring on incredibly accomplished meditation practitioners or influential researchers who have deep things to teach us, based on their personal experience or professional pursuits. And while many of these people talk openly about their personal deficiencies, they are nonetheless speaking to us from the mountaintop, as it were. Today we are doing something entirely different. Over the years, we’ve had many requests to bring on “normal people.” That’s what you’re getting today. Normal people who survived something extreme, with the help of meditation and other modalities, and are here to talk about it in extraordinarily raw and honest terms. Miguel Sancho is the author of a new book called More Than You Can Handle: A Rare Disease, A Family in Crisis, and the Cutting Edge Medicine That Cured the Incurable. We’ve all heard stories about parents of children with serious, and possibly fatal, illness. Often in those stories, the parents come off as saintly. Miguel takes a very different route. His book is both vulnerable and hilarious. His son’s illness forces him to wrestle with his personal demons, his marital difficulties, and his volcanic temper. He even tells us about getting evicted from the Ronald McDonald House. In the end, he lands on what he calls “the gospel of adequacy.” Full disclosure: Miguel is an old friend of mine. We worked together for many years at ABC News, where he was a senior producer at 20/20. Together, we covered stories about Scientology, self-help gurus, and fundamentalist Mormons. Also joining us for this interview is Miguel‘s wife, Felicia Morton, who is the president of her own full-service public relations firm. We start with Miguel solo and talk for quite a while, then take a quick break and come back with both Miguel and Felicia. We talk about: the benefits — and limits —of meditation, what they learned about creating a healthy marriage, finding meaning in suffering, and letting go of ego and control. TPH Mental Health Awareness: We want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: tenpercent.com/mentalhealth Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/miguel-sancho-felicia-morton-346 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    345: How to Change Your Habits | Katy Milkman May 10, 2021

    To state the blazingly obvious, creating healthy habits can be infernally difficult. But why? And what are the best strategies for getting around this? My guest today has spent nearly two decades researching these questions. Her name is Katy Milkman. She is a behavioral scientist and professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She hosts a podcast called Choiceology and has written a new book called, How to Change. In this conversation, we talk about why willpower is such an unreliable inner resource, why making habit change fun is such a powerful technique, and key strategies such as “the fresh start effect,” “temptation bundling,” “commitment devices,” “piggybacking,” and giving yourself a Mulligan. We also talk about the potentially sensitive subject of getting other people to change. Are you interested in teaching mindfulness to teens? Looking to carve your own path and share this practice in a way that feels real, authentic, and relevant in today’s world? Our friends at iBme are accepting applications for their Mindfulness Teacher Training program - catered towards working with teens and young adults. The last round of applications are due May 15th and scholarships are available. For more information and to apply, check out: https://ibme.com/mindfulness-teacher-training/. We also want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth. We have one final item of business, and it is an invitation for you to participate in this show. In June, we’ll be launching a special series of podcast episodes focusing on anxiety – something I’m sure we’re all too familiar with. In this series, you’ll become intimately familiar with the mechanics of anxiety: how and why it shows up and what you may be doing to feed it. And this is where you come in. We’d love to hear from you with your questions about anxiety that experts will answer during our anxiety series on the podcast. So whether you’re struggling with social anxiety, anxiety about re-entering the world post-Covid, or have any other questions about anxiety - we want to hear from you. To submit a question or share a reflection call (646) 883-8326 and leave us a voicemail. If you’re outside the United States, you can email us a voice memo file in mp3 format to listener@tenpercent.com. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 12th. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/katy-milkman-345 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    A Non-Obvious Way to Relax | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle May 07, 2021

    Using the practice of gratitude, you can learn to relax your body and settle your mind. About Anushka Fernandopulle: Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Unwind with Gratitude,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=be9f6e9c-3b3b-4a1b-bdd5-5ef516879189. We want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    344: How to Handle Anger, Uncertainty, and Self-Loathing | Mushim Patricia Ikeda May 05, 2021

    When somebody wrongs you, what is the wise way to handle your anger? Is forgiveness possible? What about friendliness? My guest today has a lot of thoughts about how to handle anger and how to respond to people who mean you harm. It might surprise you to hear from a Buddhist teacher who actually isn’t utterly disparaging of anger. In fact, she is proud (somewhat facetiously) of having been called “the original Angry Asian Buddhist.” Her name is Mushim Patricia Ikeda, and she is my kind of Buddhist. She self-describes as “snarky,” and, as you will hear, she loves to laugh. She has doable, down-to-earth strategies, and she makes a compelling, if counterintuitive, case for the pragmatism of sending goodwill to people who want to harm you. Mushim is a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. She is a writer, activist, and diversity consultant. She has trained for decades as both a lay and monastic Buddhist. Aside from anger, we also discuss how to handle uncertainty, and what Mushim calls a “pandemic of self-loathing” in our culture. But we begin with some candid talk about the trauma of being an Asian-American during a time of rising violence against the AAPI community. This is the second in a two-part series on the uptick in anti-Asian violence -- a trend that should be particularly worrisome for this audience, given the Asian roots of meditation and many of the other happiness-producing modalities we talk about on this show. If you missed it, go check out Monday’s episode, where we explore the history of anti-Buddhist and anti-Asian violence in America (which started decades before the pandemic), and the hurt felt by many Asian-American Buddhists about how they can be overlooked by other American Buddhists, including, sometimes, me. Two other items of business: first, are you interested in teaching mindfulness to teens? Looking to carve your own path and share this practice in a way that feels real, authentic, and relevant in today’s world? Our friends at iBme are accepting applications for their Mindfulness Teacher Training program - catered towards working with teens and young adults. The last round of applications are due May 15th and scholarships are available. For more information and to apply, check out: https://ibme.com/mindfulness-teacher-training/. And second, we want to recognize and deeply thank mental health professionals for all you do. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources, visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mushim-patricia-ikeda-344 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    343: What Everyone Who Meditates Should Know | Chenxing Han and Duncan Ryūken Williams May 03, 2021

    If you meditate (or do yoga, for that matter), you may have been taught by a Westerner, but you owe a gigantic debt of gratitude to the giants and geniuses in Asia who developed these practices. This fact can be overlooked or downplayed -- intentionally or otherwise -- by Western practitioners, including, sometimes, me. However, in the midst of a spike of anti-Asian violence, now seems like a very good time to learn more about where these practices came from, and why many Asian-American Buddhists sometimes feel erased. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it can also add depth and perspective and freshness to your practice. In this episode, we have two fascinating guests who will talk about what it’s been like for them to be Asian American Buddhists in the midst of this spate of hate crimes, and walk us through the long and ugly history of anti-Buddhist violence in America. We also talk about: how all meditators (not just people in vulnerable communities) can learn resiliency through meditation; the connection between karma and reparations; and whether it’s possible, or advisable, to generate goodwill towards people who hate you. We also have a frank conversation about how some of my own messaging about Buddhism in America has missed the mark. My guests are: Chenxing Han, who is the author of Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists. She holds a BA from Stanford and an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union. And, Duncan Ryūken Williams, who is the author of American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War. He has a B.A. in Religious Studies from Reed and a Ph.D. in Religion from Harvard. He is currently a professor at the University of Southern California. He’s also a Zen priest. Both Duncan and Chenxing are helping to organize a national ceremony -- which will take place the day after we post this interview -- on the 49-day anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings that took the lives of several Asians and Asian-Americans. (For more on that ceremony, click here: https://www.maywegather.org/) One thing to say before we dive in: we are dedicating this whole week to the spike in hate crimes against members of the AAPI community. On Wednesday, we’ll talk to Mushim Ikeda, a Buddhist teacher, about how all of us can use meditation to deal with anger, uncertainty, and self-loathing. And two more items of business: first, are you interested in teaching mindfulness to teens? Looking to carve your own path and share this practice in a way that feels real, authentic, and relevant in today’s world? Our friends at iBme are accepting applications for their Mindfulness Teacher Training program - catered towards working with teens and young adults. The last round of applications are due May 15th and scholarships are available. For more information and to apply, check out: https://ibme.com/mindfulness-teacher-training/ And second, we want to deeply thank and recognize mental health professionals for your support. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/chenxing-han-duncan-ryuken-williams-343 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    A Deep Hack for Dealing with Family | Bonus Meditation with Anushka Fernandopulle Apr 30, 2021

    Develop the skill and sensibility of kindness, warmth, and goodwill by bringing your loved ones to mind. About Anushka Fernandopulle: Anushka teaches meditation, works as an organizational consultant, and does leadership coaching with individuals and teams. She has practiced meditation for over 25 years, including four years in full-time intensive training in monasteries and retreat centers in the US, India and Sri Lanka. Her work is informed by a BA in anthropology/religion from Harvard University, an MBA from Yale focused on leadership and organizational behavior, and certification in coaching from the Coaches Training Institute. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Kindness for Loved Ones,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=302c268c-6239-492d-8a2b-7c4154d22c20 If you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, you can download it for free wherever you get your apps: https://10percenthappier.app.link/download-app See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    342: The Science of Building Better Relationships | Marissa King Apr 28, 2021

    The idea of networking can be fraught. For some people, it might, at times, seem either icky or pathetic to deliberately try to make friends, either in a personal or professional context -- especially since so many of us may be feeling a bit socially awkward anyway, after months of Covid restrictions. However, my guest today will argue that there are profound health benefits to building positive relationships, and she has advice about how to actually do it, based on neuroscience and psychology. Marissa King is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, where she studies social networks, social influence, and team dynamics. She is also the author of a recently-released book, called Social Chemistry: Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection. In this conversation, we talk about: how your social networks impact your mental health; how, when it comes to social networks, quality and structure are more important than quantity; why you’re not as bad at being social as you may think; the importance of humor; how status and privilege play into networking; the benefits of calling up old friends you haven’t spoken to in a while; and she will ask you to consider whether you are a convener, a broker, or an expansionist. This is actually part two of a two-part series that we're running this week about the hard science and soft skills of social connection. If you missed it on Monday, we had an amazing interview with a researcher named Barbara Fredrickson from UNC Chapel Hill. She has a lot of fascinating things to say about what love actually is and takes a pretty broad view of the concept of love. You don't have to listen to that in order to understand this episode, but I think they work great in concert. One more item of business, and it is an invitation for you to participate in this show. In June, we’ll be launching a special series of podcast episodes focusing on anxiety, something I’m sure we’re all too familiar with. In this series, you’ll learn the mechanics of anxiety: how and why it shows up and what you may be doing to feed it. And this is where you come in. We’d love to hear from you with your questions about anxiety that experts will answer during our anxiety series on the podcast. So whether you’re struggling with social anxiety, anxiety about re-entering the world post-Covid, or have any other questions about anxiety - we want to hear from you. To submit a question or share a reflection call (646) 883-8326 and leave us a voicemail. If you’re outside the United States, you can email us a voice memo file in mp3 format to listener@tenpercent.com. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 12th. And if you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, you can download it for free wherever you get your apps or by clicking here: https://www.tenpercent.com/?_branch_match_id=888540266380716858. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/marissa-king-342 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    341: The Art and Science of the World’s Gooiest Cliche | Barbara Fredrickson Apr 26, 2021

    One of our primary missions on this show is to rescue vital ideas that have lapsed into cliches. There are so many important concepts out there that many of us might be tempted to dismiss because they are encrusted with cultural baggage or have been reduced to potentially annoying or sappy slogans. So, for example, we’ve talked a lot on this podcast about things like: hope, gratitude, and “listening to your body.” All of which can sound like the type of empty bromide that your spin instructor yells at you while encouraging you to pedal faster. But, in fact, these are all incredibly important operating principles for a healthy life. And, not for nothing, they are all backed up by hard science. So today we’re going to tackle what may be the oldest and gooieset cliche of them all: love. The word has been ruined, in many ways, by Hollywood and pop songs. For many of us, the mere mention of the word conjures images of Tom Cruise, with tears in his eyes, while the string music swells, declaring, “You complete me.” But in my view, and in the view of my guest today, love needs to be usefully defined down. In other words, we need to knock love off its plinth, and apply it to a much wider range of human interactions. We also need to think of love not as something magical that requires luck or money or looks, but instead as a trainable skill -- one with profound implications for our health. Barbara Fredrickson is the Kenan Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has written two books: one is called Positivity, the other is called Love 2.0. In this interview, we talk about how she defines love, based on her research; how meditation can help build this skill; how taking a few extra minutes to chat with people, even if you feel busy, can have psychological, physiological, and even professional benefits; and how to manage social anxiety as we emerge from our Covid cocoons. This episode is actually part one of a two-part series running this week on social connection. Coming up on Wednesday, we’ll hear from Marissa King, a professor at Yale who studies how to create social networks, even when it feels uncomfortable. And by social network, I don't mean something like Facebook. I mean actual networks of actual human beings that you see in person. She’s got a lot of practical and actionable advice about how to do that, even within the context of Covid. So be sure to listen in on Wednesday. One more item of business, and it is an invitation for you to participate in this show. In June, we’ll be launching a special series of podcast episodes focusing on anxiety, something I’m sure we’re all too familiar with. In this series, you’ll become intimately familiar with the mechanics of anxiety: how and why it shows up, and what you may be doing to feed it. And this is where you come in. We’d love to hear from you with your questions about anxiety that experts will answer during our anxiety series on the podcast. So whether you’re struggling with social anxiety, anxiety about re-entering the world post-Covid, or have any other questions about anxiety - we want to hear from you. To submit a question or share a reflection call (646) 883-8326 and leave us a voicemail with your name and phone number. If you’re outside the United States, you can email us a voice memo file in mp3 format to listener@tenpercent.com. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 12th. And if you don't already have the Ten Percent Happier app, download it for free wherever you get your apps or by clicking here: https://www.tenpercent.com/?_branch_match_id=888540266380716858. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/barbara-fredrickson-341 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    What’s Good | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Apr 23, 2021

    Counteract negativity bias by appreciating the goodness in life: simple acts of kindness, moments of beauty, and even your own good efforts. About Oren Jay Sofer: Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication. He has practiced meditation since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India and is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training program. Oren teaches retreats across the country and works as Senior Program Developer at Mindful Schools, teaching and developing curricula for one of the international leaders of mindfulness in education. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    340: The Science of Hope | Jacqueline Mattis Apr 21, 2021

    Today we’re talking to a renowned psychologist who has come up with five strategies for cultivating hope. Dr. Jacqueline Mattis is a clinical psychologist from Rutgers University, where she is also a Dean of Faculty. As you will hear, she did not start her career wanting to study hope. She started out studying spirituality and religiosity, specifically doing lots of field work and interviews in African American and AfriCaribbean urban communities. She wanted to know why people living under high-stress conditions so often choose to be good and compassionate. That research eventually led her to hope. This the final interview in our two-week series on hope. The three previous guests approached the topic from a Buddhist perspective. Today, Dr. Mattis will talk about hope from a scientific perspective. How does hope work? And what are the benefits? What she does have in common with our previous guests is that she sees hope as a skill, not as a complacent state of unfounded optimism. If, after this interview, you find yourself wanting to put hope to work in your own life, and you’ve got the Ten Percent Happier app, then make sure to check out our new talks and meditations from some of our finest teachers about how to cultivate hope as a skill. Click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/HopeIsASkill, or tap on the “Singles” and “Talks” tabs in the app to check them out. And if you don’t have the app, you can try it for free today. Just download the Ten Percent Happier app wherever you get your apps, or click here: https://www.tenpercent.com/?_branch_match_id=888540266380716858. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jacqueline-mattis-340 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    339: Why Buddhism Is Inherently Hopeful (Despite All the Talk of Suffering) | Oren Jay Sofer Apr 19, 2021

    Buddhism can get a bad rap as being hopelessly pessimistic -- in no small measure because one of the Buddha’s first principal pronouncements was, “Life is suffering.” But if you listen to the rest of his spiel, you will hear that the Buddha acknowledges that life can be hard, but then goes on to say that we can make it better. He then spells out a bunch of practical techniques for doing so, which makes Buddhism essentially hopeful. We’re now in week two of our two-week series on hope, where we’ve been positing that hope isn’t just some vague, rosy state of mind -- it is, in fact, a skill. Today’s guest is Oren Jay Sofer, a Buddhist teacher who has been meditating for nearly a quarter century. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University and is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication. Oren’s view of hope starts with the Buddhist notion of impermanence. Everything is changing all the time. That doesn’t necessarily mean things are always guaranteed to get better. That brand of hope, Oren says, can lead to a sort of grasping that pulls us out of the present and ultimately feeds our suffering. Instead, Oren makes the counter-intuitive argument that in order to hope effectively, we have to detach from results and outcomes. Oren is also lending his expertise to our Hope is a Skill series in the Ten Percent Happier app. If you’re already a subscriber, make sure to check out our new meditations to hone your hope skills — including some from Oren. You can find them in the “Hope is a Skill” topic in the Singles tab, or by clicking here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/HopeIsASkill. And if you’re not yet a subscriber and want to check out Oren’s new meditations in our app, now is a great time to give it a go. You can download the Ten Percent Happier app here: https://www.tenpercent.com/ (or wherever you get your apps). Once you subscribe, you’ll have access to all the great resources in the Hope is a Skill series, as well as tons of content – meditations, talks, full-on courses – all designed to help you wherever you are on your meditation journey. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/oren-jay-sofer-339 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How to See Hope in the Everyday | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Apr 16, 2021

    Learning to trust life moment-to-moment is a powerful practice. Check it out. About Sebene Selassie: Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    338: Discomfort: A Counterintuitive Source of Hope | Sebene Selassie Apr 14, 2021

    As you may know, we are in the midst of a two-week series on hope – a concept we are trying to rescue from the realm of rote cliche and empty bromides. Our belief is that hope, when properly understood and practiced, is not baseless optimism or naivete, but a powerful skill. Today’s guest, Sebene Selassie, has earned her capacity to hope the hard way, surviving multiple rounds of advanced cancer. She is also the author of an excellent book called You Belong, and is one of the most popular teachers on the Ten Percent Happier meditation app. And as part of the work we are doing to train people in the skill of hope right now, she has recorded some brand new meditations for the app. If you’re a subscriber, tap on the “Singles” tab in the app to check those out, or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/HopeIsASkill. You’ll also find a variety of other new meditations and talks – all of which revolve around the theme of hope as a skill. In this interview, Seb talks about: hope as it relates to Buddhist concepts such as karma, impermanence, and the Eightfold Path; what it means to not be in contention with reality; the difference between “let it be” and “let it go;” and what hope means in the context of the climate crisis. We also talk about a private conversation that she and I recently had that was very challenging for both of us, but also gave us both cause for hope. If you enjoy hearing from Sebene and want to try her meditations on the Ten Percent Happier app, but you’re not yet a subscriber, now’s the time! In addition to getting immediate access to Sebene’s meditations in the “Hope is a Skill” topic, there are tons of resources for starting, rebooting, or going deeper into your personal meditation practice. Just click here to get started https://www.tenpercent.com/, or download the Ten Percent Happier app today, for free, wherever you get your apps. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sebene-selassie-338 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    337: Hope Is a Skill | George Mumford Apr 12, 2021

    Spring is here. Vaccines are entering arms. But for many of us, hope can feel slippery and fleeting. Even with the pandemic seeming to abate, there's still a lot of uncertainty and suffering. That’s why, starting today, we’re launching a special two-week series on hope: what it is, what it isn’t, and how and why to cultivate it. The word “hope” might feel vague, or gauzy–or even, given the current state of the world, misguided. And if you’re using the commonly understood definition of hope, that might be true. Many of us think about hope as wishing for some specific outcome or result: a raise, a promotion, a romantic entanglement, or a return to an exact replica of pre-pandemic living. We can get attached to these outcomes–and then get disappointed when they (inevitably) don’t work out exactly as we’d hoped. But there is a way to hope wisely. And over the next two weeks, both here on the podcast and in the Ten Percent Happier app, we’re going to teach you how. We’ve enlisted an all-star slate of Buddhist teachers, mindfulness experts, and scientists, who will make the case that hope is a skill. One you can get better at. Today on the podcast, we’ve got the perfect guest to kick off our series. George Mumford is a personal friend and a much-loved contributor to the Ten Percent Happier app. Years ago, he overcame a heroin habit to become one of the nation’s leading mindfulness teachers. He’s worked with some of the world’s top athletes, including Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant. In today’s episode, he’s going to talk about his own tumultuous path towards hope, how it relates to the Buddhist idea of right action, and also a list he calls the Four A’s. A quick heads up: in our conversation, George talks frankly about his aforementioned substance abuse, which might be a sensitive topic for some listeners. If you’re a subscriber to the Ten Percent Happier app, you're going to want to check out our exclusive new "Hope is a Skill" content. We’ve got fresh meditations and talks on the subject -- just tap on the “Singles” and “Talks” tabs in the app to check them out, or click here (https://10percenthappier.app.link/HopeIsASkill). If you’re not a subscriber, now’s the time. In addition to the “Hope is a Skill” meditations, there are tons of resources for starting, rebooting, or deepening your meditation practice. Just download the Ten Percent Happier app today, for free, wherever you get your apps to get started: https://10percenthappier.app.link/download-app. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/george-mumford-337 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How to Handle Restlessness | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein Apr 09, 2021

    In this guided meditation, Joseph unpacks what restless energy is all about, showing you how to go from restless to restful. About Joseph Goldstein: Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Three Mindfulness Strategies from Joseph Goldstein (2020) Apr 07, 2021

    To inject a little sunshine, perspective, and wisdom, we thought it might make sense to repost one of our favorite conversations of the last year. This is a straight up meat-and-potatoes meditation talk from the one and only Joseph Goldstein. In this chat, we explore three profoundly useful meditation strategies: mindfulness of thinking, awareness of rushing (a deeply ingrained habit for many of us), and the genuine insight that can emerge from everyday activities. For the uninitiated, Joseph is one of the founding teachers on the Ten Percent Happier app. He's a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, and is the author of several books, including the recently reissued The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation. Also: Next Monday, April 12, we're launching a two-week series about hope. As we head into spring and vaccines go into arms, we’re going to argue that hope is a skill – one you can get better at. And not only are we exploring hope on the podcast, we will also have bespoke meditations from our podcast guests dropping in the Ten Percent Happier app so that you can actually practice hope as a skill. If you don't already have it, get the app now. Download the Ten Percent Happier app, for free, wherever you get your apps to get started. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    336: How Your Emotions Are Made | Lisa Feldman Barrett Apr 05, 2021

    Today’s guest is at the forefront of understanding human emotions: what they are, why humans evolved to have them, how they’re different from feelings, and what science says about how to manage them (rather than get yanked around by them all the time). Dr. Lisa Feldman-Barrett is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, with appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She’s written several books, including How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain and Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain. In this conversation, we talk about how we can “deconstruct” our own emotions, and the overlap between her research findings and Buddhism. And one more order of business: Next Monday, April 12, we're launching a two-week series about hope. Hope was perhaps one of the cruelest casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. As we start to inch our way into a vaccinated world, there are ways we can skillfully engage with hope without setting ourselves up for disappointment. And not only are we exploring hope on the podcast, but we also have new bespoke meditations from our podcast guests and teachers dropping in the Ten Percent Happier app so that you can actually practice hope as a skill. If you don't already have it, get the app now so that you're ready to practice. To get started, download the Ten Percent Happier app, for free, wherever you get your apps. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lisa-feldman-barrett-336 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    A Great Way to Relax | Bonus Meditation with Oren Jay Sofer Apr 02, 2021

    Learn to use mindfulness of your natural breath as a way to create relaxation for yourself, any time, any place. About Oren Jay Sofer: Oren Jay Sofer teaches mindfulness, meditation and Nonviolent Communication. He has practiced meditation since 1997, beginning his studies in Bodh Gaya, India and is a long-time student of Joseph Goldstein, Michele McDonald, and Ajahn Sucitto, and is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock Teacher Training program. Oren teaches retreats across the country and works as Senior Program Developer at Mindful Schools, teaching and developing curricula for one of the international leaders of mindfulness in education. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    335: A Pressure Cooker for Insight | Bart van Melik Mar 31, 2021

    The great meditation teacher Ram Dass once said, “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” My guest today comes with tools to help you keep your cool when interacting with family -- or anyone else. We’re going to talk about a kind of meditation practice known as “relational dharma,” or “insight dialogue.” It’s a way of taking meditation off the cushion and into the crucible of conversation. My guest is Bart van Melik, who teaches veterans and children in juvenile detention centers. He’s co-author of a book called Still, in the City: Creating Peace of Mind in the Midst of Urban Chaos. He graduated from the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training and Community Dharma Leader Program. He’s based in New York City, but he’s currently in his country of birth, The Netherlands. In this conversation, you will hear lots of tips about how to actually practice relational meditation and insight dialogue, which Bart calls a “pressure cooker for insight.” Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/bart-van-melik-335 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    334: Three Lessons from Happiness Research | Emma Seppälä Mar 29, 2021

    People in the mindfulness meditation world often note that what we’re teaching is not a breathing exercise; the goal is to just feel the breath as it naturally occurs (if you’ve chosen the breath as the thing you want to focus on). However -- and this is something we haven’t spent much time exploring on the show -- there is a ton of evidence to suggest that actual breathing exercises can also have powerful benefits, physiologically and psychologically. That’s one of the things we’re going to talk about today with Emma Seppälä, who is a Lecturer at the Yale School of Management and Faculty Director of the Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program. She is also the Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, and the author of a book called The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success. As the title of today’s episode suggests, we’re going to talk about three big takeaways from happiness research. One has to do with breathing exercises. The second has to do with the power of nature to impact your mind. And the third has to do with social connection, something many of us are badly missing in this pandemic. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/emma-seppala-334 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Mindfulness in the Body | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Mar 26, 2021

    Is your mind racing to the past or future? Practice bringing awareness to the body and breath as a way to reconnect to the present. About Sebene Selassie: Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    333: The Self-Interested Case for Examining Your Biases | John Biewen Mar 24, 2021

    Too often, the process of looking at your biases can be presented like eating your vegetables. But one of the most fascinating and rewarding things I have attempted to do in recent years is to take a good, hard look at my own prejudices and conditioning, especially as a white man. I still screw up all the time. However, one thing that I think is often underplayed is that doing this work can be deeply enjoyable–and can also pay profound dividends. One of my most important role models here has been John Biewen, host of a podcast called Scene on Radio. The show has had four seasons, but the seasons that have most impacted me are Seasons 2 and 3. Season 2 is called “Seeing White,” in which he explores white people and whiteness. Season 3 is called “Men,” in which he looks at sexism. I was not surprised to learn that John is a meditator, a practice which, he explains, has helped him as he’s done his work. Also: We're offering 40% off the price of an annual subscription to our companion meditation app–also called Ten Percent Happier–for our podcast listeners. We don’t do discounts of this size all the time, and of course nothing is permanent—so get this deal before it ends on April 1st by going to https://www.tenpercent.com/march. And here’s a link to this weekend's Love & Resilience Summit, where I'll be presenting: https://promo.lionsroar.com/contemplative-care-summit-register/ Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/john-biewen-333 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    332: The Profound Upside of Self-Diminishment | George Saunders Mar 22, 2021

    There is a powerful scene in a novel called Lincoln In the Bardo, where President Abraham Lincoln has come to the cemetery where his young son, Willie, is soon to be buried. Willie had passed away at the White House where he had gotten sick. Lincoln is so distraught that he goes to the graveyard to get one last glimpse at his boy’s dead body. As the President is leaving, and in the grips of perhaps the worst psychic pain available to any human, he has an insight. His suffering, he realizes, comes from viewing his son as solid, when, in fact, they are both just “energy bursts” or “two passing temporarinesses.” There is a reason this insight will be familiar to anyone with a passing familiarity with Buddhism, and that is because the author, George Saunders, is a practicing Buddhist. Lincoln in the Bardo won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for best work of fiction in English. Saunders has written ten other books, including the newly released A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, which is about how to become a better reader and that can tell us about how to live. This was an enormously valuable conversation for me, both as a meditator and as an author (because he has many, deeply useful thoughts about the craft). We talk about many things here, including: the “unified theory of brain,” how writing resembles meditation, his speculations about the afterlife, and a speech he gave on kindness that went viral. Another order of business: In response to our ever-changing reality, we’ve done our best to use this podcast to help you figure out how to navigate our world. And as you know, the practice of meditation undergirds nearly all of the practical takeaways you hear us discuss on this podcast. Many of our podcast guests have also contributed to our companion meditation app, which is also called Ten Percent Happier. Our app helps you understand both how to practice meditation and how meditation can help you navigate our ever-changing world. We hope that you'll subscribe to our app to learn how to care for yourself and others during crises (which are, after all, inevitable). To make it easier, we're offering 40% off the price of an annual subscription for our podcast listeners. We don’t do discounts of this size all the time, and of course nothing is permanent—so get this deal before it ends on April 1st by going to https://www.tenpercent.com/march. And here’s a link to Love & Resilience: The Contemplative Care Summit (March 25 - 29). And finally, be sure to check out The Science of Happiness podcast, available here and wherever you get your podcasts. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/george-saunders-332 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Getting Out of Your Own Head in Everyday Life | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos Mar 19, 2021

    When we're busy, we can get caught up in thoughts about what we're doing. Instead, you can practice bringing your attention to the doing itself. About Alexis Santos: Alexis has practiced and taught Insight Meditation in both the East and West since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya (a well respected meditation teacher in Burma whose teachings have attracted a global audience), and his teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity -- a style of practice that's particularly useful during our crazy lives. Alexis has completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training, teaches retreats across the globe, and currently lives in Portland, Maine. We hope that you'll subscribe to our app to learn how to care for yourself and others during crises (which are, after all, inevitable). To make it easier, we're offering 40% off the price of an annual subscription for our podcast listeners. We don’t do discounts of this size all the time, and of course nothing is permanent—so get this deal before it ends on April 1st by going to www.tenpercent.com/march See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    331: How to Understand Oneness | Roshi Norma Wong Mar 17, 2021

    Today we’re diving into a concept that is simultaneously one of the oldest contemplative cliches and one of the most profound head scratchers — oneness. Can *you* be one with everything if *you* don’t really exist? And, even if we manage to grok this idea, what are the practical ramifications? Actually, this is just one of the many riddles and paradoxes we’ll be exploring today. My guest is Roshi Norma Wong. She was recommended to us by frequent guest and friend of TPH, The Reverend angel Kyodo Williams. Roshi Norma is a Zen Master, a life-long resident of Hawaii, a former State legislator, and abbot of a Zen temple called Anko-in. In this conversation, we talk about: • Understanding -- and experiencing -- oneness • Removing the binary between relaxation and focus • Why she thinks we need to cultivate pride and humility simultaneously • Why she thinks that before we try to solve the world’s problems, we need to become better people • And why our current moment of compounding global catastrophes presents us with an unprecedented opportunity Speaking of transformation in the face of crisis, we’ve always done our best to use this podcast as a place to figure out how to navigate our ever-shifting world. Over the last year, for example, we’ve spoken with experts about how to cope with the coronavirus, from dealing with anxiety and grief to parenting in a pandemic to worries about money. The practice of meditation undergirds all of the practical takeaways you hear us discuss on this podcast–and many of our podcast guests have contributed to our companion meditation app. Our app helps you understand both how to practice meditation and how meditation can help you navigate our ever-changing world. We hope that you'll subscribe to our app to learn how to care for yourself and others during crises (which are, after all, inevitable). To make it easier, we're offering 40% off the price of an annual subscription for our podcast listeners. We don’t do discounts of this size all the time, and of course nothing is permanent—so get this deal before it ends on April 1st by going to www.tenpercent.com/march, for 40% off your subscription. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/roshi-norma-wong-331 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    330: How This Plague Ends (and What It Tells Us About Human Nature) | Nicholas Christakis Mar 15, 2021

    We all remember that fateful week, almost exactly a year ago, when it all seemed to sink in for so many of us–when Tom Hanks got sick, the NBA suspended games, and the (now former) President addressed the nation in primetime. The big question now is: When and how will this plague end? My guest today has a clear vision for how things are likely to play out from from here. His name is Dr. Nicholas Christakis. He’s a physician, sociologist, and director of the Human Nature Lab at Yale University. He’s written a number of books, but there are two that we will discuss in this episode. His latest is called Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live. The other book we’re going to talk about is on a related subject. It’s called Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. In it, Christakis argues that human beings are fundamentally good. In fact, as you will hear, it is our goodness that the virus exploits. One more order of business: when COVID began affecting our lives, most of us were in immediate crisis, wondering about the answers to very basic questions: How do I get food safely? How do I care for my children and/or do my job under less-than-ideal circumstances? Will my loved ones and I be safe? In response to our changing reality, we’ve used this podcast to help you figure out how to navigate our new world. We’ve spoken with experts about how to cope with this crisis, from dealing with anxiety and grief to parenting in a pandemic to worries about money. As you know, the practice of meditation undergirds all of the practical takeaways you hear us discuss on this podcast–and as you may or may not know, many of our podcast guests have contributed to our companion meditation app. We hope that you'll subscribe to the Ten Percent Happier app to learn how to care for yourself and others during crises (which are, after all, inevitable). To make it easier, we're offering 40% off the price of an annual subscription for our podcast listeners. We don’t do discounts of this size all the time, and of course nothing is permanent—so get this deal before it ends on April 1st by going to to https://www.tenpercent.com/march for 40% off your subscription. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/nicholas-christakis-330 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    How To Handle It When People Let You Down | Bonus Meditation with Diana Winston Mar 12, 2021

    Feeling let down is hard. We can’t control others, but practicing equanimity will help you feel more ease and acceptance. About Diana Winston: Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center, where she also teaches mindfulness practices to the general public. Her easy-on-the-ears West Coast style rests on top of a rigorous scientific mind and a vast amount of teaching experience. She has developed curriculum and taught mindfulness since the early 90’s in a variety of settings including hospitals, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and schools. She has taught mindful awareness to health professionals, leaders, teachers, activists, seniors, and adolescents in the US and Asia. A published researcher and author, Diana has also written for numerous meditation publications, where her daughter, Mira, often makes an appearance in her examples of bringing mindfulness to daily life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    329: How to Break Your Anxiety Habit | Judson Brewer Mar 10, 2021

    To mark the first anniversary of the week in March 2020 when Covid fundamentally altered our lives, we’re launching a special two-part series. Today, we’re going to be talking about anxiety, which has been spiking during the pandemic. My guest is Dr. Jud Brewer, a psychiatrist and deep dharma practitioner who argues that anxiety is a habit–one that you can unwind. Then, next Monday, we’ll talk to Nicholas Christakis, who is not only a doctor but also the head of the Human Nature Lab at Yale, about when the pandemic will end, and what this ordeal has revealed about our species. But today it’s anxiety with Jud Brewer. Some of you may know Jud from the Ten Percent Happier app, where he teaches a mindful eating course. He’s also been on this show several times. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. He’s got a number of apps that use mindfulness to treat addiction, including Eat Right Now, Craving to Quit, and Unwinding Anxiety. He also has a brand new book, called Unwinding Anxiety. In this interview, we talk about: how exactly mindfulness can be harnessed to deal with anxiety; what is anxiety anyway, and why does he view it as a habit? And we publicly debate something we have been privately discussing: Is there any level of stress or anxiety that is healthy? One more thing: We are looking for a podcast marketer. If you love this show, marketing, and building relationships, we would love to have you on the team to help us grow Ten Percent Happier and our future shows. Please apply at https://www.tenpercent.com/careers. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/judson-brewer-329 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    328: A Conversation about Abuse, Agency, and Mindfulness | Tanya Selvaratnam Mar 08, 2021

    Before we dive in, a warning: this conversation includes descriptions of abuse and violence. As you may know, March 8th, the day we’re dropping this episode, is International Women’s Day. We have a story today about intimate violence, which has long been a problem for women around the world, and has only intensified during the pandemic. My guest is Tanya Selvaratnam, a writer and artist who I’ve known socially for many, many years. I was truly shocked when Tanya’s name surfaced in the media three years ago, in connection with the case of Eric Schneiderman. Eric was the celebrated Attorney General of New York State. He was also a regular on the local meditation scene. I knew Eric and Tanya were dating. What I did not know was that, behind the scenes, Eric was allegedly physically and emotionally abusing Tanya. She has now come out with a book, called Assume Nothing, which goes into searing detail about not only the alleged abuse, but also about how she flipped the script, regained her agency, helped bring her alleged abuser down, and how she has healed subsequently -- in no small part through meditation and therapy. Please note: If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, you can find resources curated by Tanya at the “full shownotes” link below. We’d also like to provide more context about the allegations Tanya shares in this interview: When the allegations of abuse against New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman by Tanya and three other women were first made public in The New Yorker in May 2018, Schneiderman quickly resigned. In a statement at the time, he said, “serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me.” He also said, “While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office.” After a six-month investigation, prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against Schneiderman, citing legal impediments, including statutes of limitations. But the district attorney assigned to the case by Governor Andrew Cuomo also said that she “believed the women who shared their experiences” with investigators. In response, Schneiderman said, "I recognize that District Attorney Singas' decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong. I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers, and for the impact it had on them." I should also note that our team reached out to Eric Schneiderman and that he declined to comment for this episode. Two more items: First, remember to check out “In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson,” a new podcast from ABC News, on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/ladybird), Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3ukYgoq), or wherever you’re listening now. Finally, we are looking for a podcast marketer at Ten Percent Happier. If you love this show, marketing, and building relationships, we would love to have you on the team to help us grow Ten Percent Happier and our future shows. Please apply at https://www.tenpercent.com/careers. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/tanya-selvaratnam-328 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Coming into Balance | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Mar 05, 2021

    Coming into balance is about accepting that balancing is a process, not a destination. Sebene will help you make the most out of the process. About Sebene Selassie: Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    327: Uprooting Your Delusions | Andrea Fella Mar 03, 2021

    I know you guys, and it is pretty clear you love deep dharma episodes. Today we’ve got a dharma episode that is quite timely. As you all know, we live in a time when most people are getting their news from carefully curated information silos. As a result, we often create very specific views— about public figures, current events, our fellow citizens — and we can cling pretty tightly to those views. Today we’re gonna talk about how useful and even pleasurable it can be to dig into the roots of these biases and dismantle them— to pop our bubbles of delusion. It can be a relief. It can be eye-opening. It can change the way you relate to yourself and to other people. My guest is Andrea Fella. She is the co-teacher at the Insight Meditation Center and the Insight Retreat Center in Redwood City, California. She has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1996, and teaching Insight Meditation since 2003. She is particularly drawn to intensive retreat practice, and has done a number of long retreats, both in the United States and in Burma. During one long practice period in Burma, she ordained as a nun. Also: We are looking for a podcast marketer! If you love this show, marketing, and building relationships, we would love to have you on the team to help us grow Ten Percent Happier and our future shows. Please apply at https://www.tenpercent.com/careers. And don’t forget to check out the new ABC podcast In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson, which you can find here: https://abcaudio.com/podcasts/in-plain-sight/ Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/andrea-fella-327 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    326: How to Make a Masterpiece | Pete Docter Mar 01, 2021

    We’re all creatives, whether we think of ourselves that way or not. In so many aspects of your life, from planning your future to planning a meal to curating your social media, you need to be able to both envision and then execute. And how you work with your mind in these moments is key. Today, we are going to hear from a master creator -- the mind behind brilliant Pixar movies such as Inside Out, Up, and the recently-released Soul -- about how to run a creative process at the highest possible level. (I have a six-year-old, and, in my opinion, one of the worst parts of the job of being a dad is sitting through insipid children's entertainment. But the aforementioned films have been both thrilling and moving to consume, for both me and my son.) My guest today is Pete Docter, who directed all three of those films. He is the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar. He is also a meditator and a practicing Christian whose films are each motivated by a big, pressing question he is posing to himself about his own life. In this conversation, he takes us inside the making of his films, most notably Soul, for which he and his team had to invent a coherent metaphysical scheme to explain both the afterlife -- and the before. We also talk about how his spiritual practices support his storytelling endeavors, and how to power through the pain, frustration, and embarrassment of trying to make something truly original. One more thing: We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to help us out by answering a survey about your experience with this podcast. Our team here cares deeply about you, our listeners, and we are always looking for ways to improve. Please go to https://www.tenpercent.com/survey. And thank you. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/pete-docter-326 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Freedom Anywhere | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein Feb 26, 2021

    In this guided meditation (which you can do anywhere), Joseph helps you relax the habit of personalizing everything, so you can live with more ease. About Joseph Goldstein: Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    325: A New Way to Think About Addiction | Annie Grace Feb 24, 2021

    The stereotypical depiction of fighting addiction makes it seem highly unpleasant: White knuckling, sweating it out, detoxing, going cold turkey–you get the picture. This applies to classical addiction, and also to the less dangerous (but nonetheless nettlesome) unhealthy habits and compulsions that we all wrestle with. My guest today takes a very different approach. She aims to harness the pleasure centers of the brain as a way to handle addictive habits—and, controversially, she doesn’t believe you need to go cold turkey on alcohol, which is the main intoxicant she has targeted. Her name is Annie Grace, and she is the author of a very popular book called This Naked Mind. (Shout out to my friend and colleague Steve Baker, the executive producer of Nightline, who has gotten a lot out of Annie’s work, and turned me on to her.) This episode is the second in a two-part series we’re doing this week on addiction. If you missed it, go check out Monday’s episode with Buddhist teacher Kevin Griffin, who has worked to combine the dharma and the 12 steps. Speaking of the 12 steps, many people in the AA community are quite critical of Annie Grace, and she will address that in our conversation. We also cover: Her personal story, and why she now drinks as much alcohol as she wants to–which is none at all; the connection between her approach and Evelyn Tribole’s “intuitive eating”; and her thoughts on working with other addictions, including nicotine, gambling, shopping, pornography, and video games. Also: We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to help us out by answering a new survey about your experience with this podcast. We want to hear about your experience with our show, because we care deeply, and we are always looking for ways to improve. Please go to https://www.tenpercent.com/survey. Thank you! Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/annie-grace-325 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    324: Your Craving Mind | Kevin Griffin Feb 22, 2021

    This is an episode about our craving, grasping minds. Whether you have struggled with a classic addiction or not, we all have addictive tendencies; we all wrestle with desire. I often think about a provocative question once posed by my friend, Dr. Jud Brewer, a Buddhist practitioner and addiction specialist: Are we all addicted? The implied answer is yes. My guest today thinks about addiction in a similarly broad and compelling way. He talks about addictions to substances like drugs and alcohol, but also addiction to self and addiction to racism. Kevin Griffin is a longtime Buddhist practitioner and 12 Step participant, and is one of the founders of the Buddhist Recovery Network. He has trained with many of the legendary teachers we have interviewed on this show, including Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. He has written many books, including One Breath at a Time: Buddhism & the Twelve Steps. His latest is Buddhism & the Twelve Steps: Daily Reflections: Thoughts on Dharma and Recovery. This is the first in a two part series we’re doing this week on addiction. During the pandemic, we’ve seen alcohol use go up and drug overdose deaths rise. On Wednesday, we’re going to talk to a woman named Annie Grace, who has come up with what she believes is a powerful alternative to AA. But today, it’s Kevin Griffin. We cover a lot of ground here, including: How he connects the dharma to the 12 Steps, and a Buddhist list called the three refuges. But we start with what he calls the foundational addiction: addiction to the self. Podcast Survey - We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to help us out by answering a brand-new survey about your experience with this podcast. We want to hear about your experience with our show, because we care deeply, and we are always looking for ways to improve. Please go to https://www.tenpercent.com/survey. Thank you! Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kevin-griffin-324 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Forgive Yesterday and Reset | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie Feb 19, 2021

    Sometimes we get stuck in yesterday’s mistakes. Reset by using the freshness of each new breath and start your morning with ease. About Sebene Selassie: Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Making it RAIN | Tara Brach Feb 17, 2021

    Today we’re going to talk about a massively useful acronym, which can be used both on the cushion and in your free-range living. The acronym is RAIN -- R-A-I-N -- and rather than explaining it myself, I will leave that to my guest, who has become one of RAIN’s primary proponents. Tara Brach is an author, therapist, and meditation teacher. She has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, she founded the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, and she has written several books, including her latest, which is called Radical Compassion. We first posted this interview in January 2020, shortly after that book came out. In this conversation, we talk about: What RAIN is and how to apply it in many areas of your life, including relationships; a Buddhist list called The Eight Worldly Winds; and whether most people harbor a suspicion that there's something fundamentally wrong with us. But we start and end the conversation with a touchy subject. In my first book, I made fun of Tara a little bit, which didn’t go down that well with her, although I didn’t know that until this chat. I really respect how warm and open she was during this tricky discussion. Stay tuned until the very end, when we fully wrap that subject up. Also: We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to help us out by answering a brand-new survey about your experience with this podcast. Our team here cares deeply about you, our listeners, and we are always looking for ways to improve. Please go to https://www.tenpercent.com/survey. Thank you! Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/tara-brach-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    Holding it Together When Things Fall Apart | Pema Chödrön Feb 15, 2021

    We’re now almost a full year into the era of Covid restrictions, and I suspect that many of you, as I am, are starting to internalize the fact that, notwithstanding the vaccines, there’s likely a ways to go yet. And the mental health issues are piling up: The depression, anxiety, and addiction. Moms, people of color, and elderly people who can’t see their families are among those getting hit especially hard. To inject a little sunshine, and perspective, and wisdom, we thought it might make sense to re-post one of our favorite conversations of the last year. Pema Chödrön has seemingly been trying to prepare us for this pandemic for years, through a series of popular books, with titles such as When Things Fall Apart, Welcoming the Unwelcome, and The Wisdom of No Escape. But as you will hear, she is anything but gloomy. Like all of the great meditation teachers I’ve met, she has a lightness and a sense of humor about her. She was born Deirdre Blomfield in Connecticut. She lived a conventional life, going to UC Berkeley, becoming a school teacher, and having a pair of kids. But after a rough divorce, she found herself adrift. During this time, she discovered Tibetan Buddhism, shaved her head, and became a nun. Now in her mid-eighties, she lives in rural Nova Scotia, where she is the director of Gampo Abbey. We connected with her — back in May — on an old-school landline. I was recording my half of the conversation from a closet in our erstwhile apartment in New York City, which at the time was the epicenter of the outbreak in America. We talked about how to actually welcome the unwelcome. We also discussed how to befriend your demons, sympathize without being stupid, lighten up in the face of fear, and embrace chaos as “extremely good news.” One other thing: we would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to help us out by answering a brand-new survey about your experience with this podcast. To do so, please go to https://www.tenpercent.com/survey. And thank you! Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/pema-chodron-repost See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    You Are Not Alone | Bonus Meditation with Joanna Hardy Feb 12, 2021

    Use meditation to connect to how you’re feeling and to unlearn the habit of abandoning yourself when you most need to feel connected. About Joanna Hardy: JoAnna Hardy can talk about meditation to pretty much anybody. She not only teaches in traditional environments like retreat centers, but also in both schools and jails. JoAnna has been studying meditation for nearly two decades and she's done some amazing work ensuring that the practice is available to people who might not otherwise have access to it. JoAnna teaches at the Insight Meditation Society, at Spirit Rock, and is a Founding Member of The Meditation Coalition. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    323: How (and Why) to Hug Your Inner Dragons | Richard Schwartz Feb 10, 2021

    How do you relate to the more difficult— and even ugly— aspects of your personality? How do you feel about yourself when you are, say, in a judgmental or vengeful or jealous mode? Is that an opportunity for self-laceration? My guest today agrees with me that one of the healthiest possible inner moves is to learn how to hug your dragons, instead of attempting to slay them (which is only likely to make them stronger). Dr. Richard Schwartz is a psychotherapist with a Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy. He founded something called the Internal Family Systems model of therapy, often referred to as IFS. His basic idea is that our consciousness is broken down into several parts. These parts can become rebellious and troublesome when traumatized or unattended. In this conversation, we talk about: how to relate to your parts more successfully; the overlap between IFS and Buddhism; and why meditation isn’t enough, in his view. We also attempt to dive in and do some IFS therapy work together. I’m not sure I was a particularly good patient, but you can judge for yourself. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/richard-schwartz-323 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    322: A Deeply Healthy Kind of Perfectionism | Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo Feb 08, 2021

    We have talked a lot on this show about how perfectionism can have pernicious impacts on your psyche. Today we’re going to talk about how, by contrast, a certain kind of perfection is very much worth aiming for. We’re diving into another Buddhist list in this episode: the six paramitas, or the six perfections. These are six mental skills that you will never perfect, most likely. But simply working on them can confer massive benefits. My guest is Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo. She was born Diane Perry in England, but 55 years ago, she traveled to India, where she ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. At one point, she quite famously spent 12 years living and practicing in a cave in the Himalayas. She’s now the Founding Director of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in India. We start by discussing her extraordinary life. Then we dive into the six paramitas. We talk about: why patience is a kind of armor, why we need other people to push our buttons, the importance of dissolving the small self to get to the perfection that lies beyond, how to convince your ego to walk this path, and why she thinks a sense of humor should be the seventh paramita. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jetsunma-tenzin-palmo-322 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    I Don’t Want to Meditate | Bonus Meditation with Matthew Hepburn Feb 05, 2021

    Is meditation the last thing you want to do right now? This one’s for when closing your eyes and watching your breath sounds like torture. About Matthew Hepburn: Matthew Hepburn is a straightshooting, clear thinking, and dedicated meditation teacher. His personal practice caught fire over the course of several extended meditation retreats in his early twenties, and for the last 5+ years he has been teaching meditation at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center in Boston, MA. Matthew is currently a participant in the four-year Insight Meditation Society Teacher Training Program, where he studies with renowned teachers including Joseph Goldstein. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


    321: The Joy of Being Wrong | Adam Grant Feb 03, 2021 <