Buddhist nun and teacher Venerable Amy shares how we can practically manage anxiety, depression, and other difficult emotions with Buddhist meditation and mind training techniques. Venerable Amy Miller is a Tibetan Buddhist nun and teacher who's managed several Buddhist retreat centers, including the Vajrapani Institute in California and Vermont's Milarepa Center. She's the co-author of Buddhism in a Nutshell, and currently a resident teacher and board member at Land of Medicine Buddha in Santa ...
Aug 23, 2022•57 min•Ep. 115
A clear-eyed meditation on suffering: both what suffering is, and the mental source of suffering in our delusions of attachment, anger, and self-centered ignorance. We practice the antidotes to these delusions, giving us tools for a more balanced, less self-centered view of our experience that offers sustained stability and happiness through life’s challenges and desires. 16. Guided Meditation: Letting Go of Suffering Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich ...
Aug 16, 2022•29 min
Do each of us believe deep down that we’re just a little bit more important than everyone else? My happiness, my goals, my relationships? The root cause of our suffering from the Buddhist perspective is this belief, a delusion called ignorance, seen as the true source of all our suffering: from disappointment in the face of life’s setbacks, to the dissatisfaction we can feel even when we get exactly what we want. It’s a retelling of the Buddha’s very first teaching, The Four Noble Truths: on suf...
Aug 09, 2022•40 min
Dr. Mark Westmoquette leads a Zen Buddhist meditation to help navigate conflict in your daily life. He uses the story "Cutting the Cat in Two"—a famous Zen koan—to lead the practice and illustrate the importance of embodiment and shifting one's perspective. Episode 114: “Cutting the Cat in Two”: A Guided Meditation for Dealing with Conflict From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and lonelines...
Aug 02, 2022•16 min•Ep. 114
Dr. Mark Westmoquette is an astrophysicist who became a student of Zen Buddhism and yoga. Now an author and meditation and yoga instructor, Mark has written a new book called Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People. In this podcast episode, we talk about this meaty topic of how to deal with difficult people who Mark calls 'troublesome Buddhas,' from our boss to our partner to world leaders and that person who takes your parking space. Episode 113: Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficu...
Jul 26, 2022•48 min•Ep. 113
What do you do when you’re alone ? When you’re scared, anxious, lonely, afraid, or feeling strong craving? In our guided meditation we explore the Buddhist view on refuge and how to find a deep source of strength and peace within our own minds. 112. Guided Meditation on Finding Refuge in the Mind From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and loneliness—and cultivate the deeper causes of a happy ...
Jul 19, 2022•30 min•Ep. 112
What do you do when you’re alone? When you’re anxious, lonely, or afraid, when you feel strong craving? What do you turn to? In this episode we look at where our mind runs when we feel pain, when we don’t feel balanced or whole. We’ll examine the Buddhist view on this subject that reveals a deep source of strength and support within our own minds accessible to each of us any time we need it. 14. What Do You Do When You're Alone? Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to shar...
Jul 12, 2022•29 min
Buddhist psychologist Lorne Ladner leads a meditation on giving and receiving love, a loving-kindness meditation with themes of connection, gratitude, and warmth. Episode 111: Guided Meditation on Giving and Receiving Love with Buddhist Psychologist Lorne Ladner From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and loneliness—and cultivate the deeper causes of a happy mind; connected, loving relationshi...
Jul 05, 2022•24 min•Ep. 111
We talk with clinical psychologist and Buddhist practitioner Lorne Ladner about his patients' top questions, the difference between selfishness and self-compassion, setting healthy boundaries, and treating depression with Buddhist psychology. Episode 110: Buddhist Psychologist Lorne Ladner Read more in Dr. Lorne Ladner's wonderful book, The Lost Art of Compassion. From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxi...
Jun 28, 2022•48 min•Ep. 110
A meditation practice of self reflection, taking control of the mental cause and effect that's normally unconscious: the habits and activities conditioned by evolution, our upbringing, society and the media. This is a practice you can do at the end of each day: reviewing your day, rejoicing in the positive, and finding ways to sincerely forgive yourself for anything that you regret, so you can sleep better and be your best self the next day. Episode 12: Guided Meditation on Mental Cause and Effe...
Jun 21, 2022•24 min
Science has greater and greater mastery in understanding and controlling physical cause and effect, from planets to particles, but we are only starting to understand cause and effect in our minds. Evolution, habits, and society all affect our behavior. How do we gain conscious control of our behavior, much less our thoughts? One method is a daily practice of self-appreciation and self-forgiveness that lets us release regret and pain to face each day with renewed presence and joy. Episode 11. Men...
Jun 14, 2022•34 min
Catholic priest and Benedictine monk Father Laurence Freeman discusses the role of community, meditation, contemplation, and science in his life and his dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He emphasizes his trust in humanity and the importance of wonder in our daily lives. Episode 109: https://www.skepticspath.org/podcast/ meditation-science-and-christianity-with-father-laurence-freeman / From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute...
Jun 07, 2022•23 min•Ep. 109
Christian Scholar Greg Hillis speaks of the parallels between Christianity and Buddhism, the possibility of universal love, mystical experiences that break through to the beauty and interconnectedness of reality, and social activism that respects—and even loves—those we disagree with. Episode 108: Universal Love in Christianity and Buddhism with Dr. Greg Hillis From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxiety...
May 31, 2022•42 min•Ep. 108
A guided meditation on impermanence that helps us release fear and anxiety to embrace the constant change at every scale of reality: from particles, possessions, homes, and the environment, to our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, and relationships. When we embrace impermanence, we more easily take on challenges like today’s Coronavirus crisis. We become more fully present to those around us and we can even more deeply appreciate life’s impermanent pleasures. Episode 10. Guided Meditation - E...
May 24, 2022•23 min
We cling to things as if they won’t change, but change is the nature of reality. When we embrace impermanence, we prepare ourselves for big changes, and are able to let go of our fear and anxiety to become more fully present to those around us, to make the most meaningful choices day-to-day, and to more deeply appreciate life’s fleeting pleasures. Episode 9. Embracing Impermanence Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytic...
May 17, 2022•25 min
Laurie Anderson leads a meditation on death and rebirth, guiding you through the Buddhist understanding of death, the bardo, and a joyous rebirth. These tracks come from Songs from the Bardo, an album inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Meditating on death is a powerful Buddhist practice that enhances gratitude, helps you embrace impermanence, and increases mindfulness. Laurie Anderson is one of our greatest living artists. Her work includes spoken word and performance, top-charting albums...
May 10, 2022•23 min•Ep. 107
Grammy Award winning artist Laurie Anderson, a longtime student of Buddhism and meditation, shares her personal path with Buddhism, approaching art with a beginner’s mind, staying present with suffering without letting it overwhelm you, and making our lives meaningful. Laurie Anderson is one of our greatest living artists. Her work includes spoken word and performance, top-charting albums and music videos, digital art, film, virtual reality, and the invention of ingenious instruments like the ta...
May 03, 2022•41 min•Ep. 106
Scott Snibbe becomes the interviewee in this week's episode as Ven. Fabienne Pradelle speaks with him about finding meaning and spirituality through art and creativity, love without attachment, misconceptions about Buddhism, the afterlife, and our infinite potential. Ep. 105: Ten Million Percent Happier - Interview with Scott Snibbe From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and loneliness—and cu...
Apr 26, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 105
This guided meditation takes us through different ways of observing the mind, first examining its ever-present parts: perception, feeling, will, and awareness. Then we explore the nature of subjective reality itself by asking what is the mind without thoughts? Where is the space of our consciousness? And, how finely can we slice moments of consciousness? Do we ever arrive at a quantum of consciousness? Episode 7. Guided Meditation: What Is the Mind? Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to ...
Apr 19, 2022•29 min
If the mind is our thoughts, then what is it that observes those thoughts? What are we without thoughts? Do we ever truly see an object, or only its mental reconstruction? Though we are all convinced that we have one, science has no agreed definition for consciousness or mind. Even subjectively, the mind is elusive, difficult to pin to any specific mental experience. Episode 6. What Is the Mind? Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Bu...
Apr 12, 2022•20 min
Dr. Thupten Jinpa on the intersection of science, Buddhism, and critical thinking; how Buddhist principles can help us solve the climate crisis; and how to lead fulfilling lives at home with our families and relationships. Dr. Thupten Jinpa is one of the most renowned living Buddhist scholars and practitioners. He has served for decades as the Dalai Lama's principal translator and was a Buddhist monk for the first decades of his life in addition to his PhD in religious studies from Cambridge Uni...
Apr 05, 2022•53 min•Ep. 104
Rob Hopkins, climate activist, co-founder of the Transition Network and host of the podcast series From What If to What Next talks about an engaged, passionate form of Buddhism that actively works for positive change in our communities and in the world. 103. From What If to What Next — Rob Hopkins' Climate Optimism From August 28 to 31, Scott Snibbe is leading an in-person meditation retreat at Vajrapani Institute. We’ll explore antidotes to anxiety, fear, and loneliness—and cultivate the deeper...
Mar 22, 2022•51 min•Ep. 103
Kim Stanley Robinson is one of the greatest living science fiction writers, and one of the few people ever to have developed a credible solution to the climate crisis, which he describes in his latest novel, The Ministry for the Future . In this interview, we talk about climate change solutions, Buddhism in his life and work, sci-fi and cli-fi (climate fiction), colonizing Mars, the outdoors as meditation, and how to stay optimistic. 102. Kim Stanley Robinson on Solving the Climate Crisis, Buddh...
Mar 15, 2022•51 min•Ep. 102
A guided meditation on the preciousness of our next 24 hours alive and our unique place in the universe as science understands it: intelligent, self-aware beings at the end of 14 billion years’ cosmic and biological evolution. 5. Guided Meditation: The Preciousness of Life Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation in a form that requires no belief beyond what science currently accepts. The first 40 episodes o...
Mar 08, 2022•17 min
“It is not more surprising to be born twice than once,” Voltaire once said. In this episode we contemplate the miracle of existing at all, from our place at the end of our universe’s 14 billion years’ evolution, to the simple joy of another 24 hours alive that Thich Nhat Hanh describes in Peace Is Every Step. 4. The Preciousness of Life from Cosmos to the Kardashians Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation ...
Mar 01, 2022•20 min
Ayya Dhammadipa leads a 12-minute meditation on empathetic joy, also known as mudita. In this practice, we use joy that is sparked by the joy of other beings to radiate this state of mind, allowing the opportunity to go beyond ourselves and into a much vaster space of joyously relating to the world. This practice is one of the four brahmaviharas, also known as the heavenly dwellings or four immeasurables. Ayya Dhammadīpā is a Buddhist nun and teacher with a unique background: Before becoming a n...
Feb 22, 2022•14 min•Ep. 101
Ayya Dhammadipa is a Buddhist nun and teacher with a unique background: Before becoming a nun, she got an MBA, worked in investment banking, and was a devoted mother. For twenty years, she studied in the Zen Buddhist tradition, but now practices the earlier Buddhist lineage of Theravada. In this episode, she talks about these interesting turns in her life, where mindfulness fits into a complete path of self-development, how to balance motherhood with practice, and the misunderstood benefits of g...
Feb 15, 2022•50 min•Ep. 100
A complete guided meditation session expanding your compassion, stabilizing concentration on the breath, and observing your thoughts. Episode 3: Guided Meditation: Stabilizing the Mind and Watching Thoughts Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation in a form that requires no belief beyond what science currently accepts. The first 40 episodes of the podcast gradually go through all of these topics, in order, b...
Feb 08, 2022•32 min
Over the past few years meditation has become popular as a way to help reduce stress, be focused at work, sleep better, or simply relax. Yet meditation isn’t just a tool to improve focus or relax, but a way to strengthen the positive qualities we all naturally possess: compassion, kindness, generosity, patience, humor, and finding joy in everyday life. This episode explores this higher purpose of meditation through the less familiar technique of analytic meditation that uses stories, thoughts, a...
Jan 31, 2022•35 min
Author, mother and meditation teacher Jenna Hollenstein joins us to challenge the stereotype of Buddhist practice as solitary and silent, offering instead an engaged, active form of mindfulness and compassion that mothers can practice in everyday life as a Mommysattva: a warrior of compassion, wisdom, and lovingkindness. Find her latest book here: Mommysattva: Contemplations for Mothers Who Meditate (Or Wish They Could) . Learn more about Jenna and her other books on her website and find out abo...
Jan 25, 2022•34 min•Ep. 99
