Ethan provides a dharma talk on the relationship between Self, Non-Self, Guilt and Remorse, and delves into a classic teaching called the "four powers" for how we meet our habitual stuck places and negative behavior with an eye toward gradual transformation. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Ni...
Aug 15, 2024•44 min•Ep. 117
Ethan talks to one of his key teachers along the path, Dr. Gaylon Ferguson about Beginner's Mind, Original Mind and the relationship between Zen and Tantric Buddhism drawing from Dr. Ferguson's new book Welcoming Beginner's Mind: Zen and Tibetan Buddhist Wisdom on Experiencing Our True Nature . Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on Septembe...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 116
Ethan continues his insights into our political moment after VP Kamala Harris ascends to candidacy. He reviews five practices for engagement with this season ( reducing media intake, increasing volunteering and engagement , mindfulness meditation, body practice, and rest ) and explores the Buddhist idea of "not one not two" for how we can experience unity at this time without cult thinking or purity testing. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Budd...
Jul 25, 2024•43 min•Ep. 115
Ethan wades into the 2024 American election, first sharing some thoughts on recent events, the dystopian state of American media, and finally, five practices we can each do to feel more connected and empowered and less panicky as the crucial election approaches. And yes, he's an optimist about American democracy. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Please remember to pick up a copy o...
Jul 18, 2024•44 min•Ep. 114
Ethan and David Nichtern discuss the priniciple and practices of Windhorse meditation, and how to ride the energy of one's life and emotions, especially when showing up to do something that is hard to do. This is the second part of their recent conversation. The first part appeared on David's Creativitiy, Spirituality and Making a Buck podcast . Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere! Check out all the cool offerings a...
Jun 24, 2024•56 min•Ep. 113
Ethan and Marianne Williamson discuss her unique spiritual journey, her new book The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love , and her wisdom regarding the intersection of spiritual practice and political engagement. Her book is available everywhere in all formats now! Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including the upcoming Course with Ethan on Confidence and ...
Jun 18, 2024•56 min•Ep. 112
Ethan and activist and author Shannon Watts recently had a conversation on confidence, gender and activism on IG live. Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training starting June 14. Shannon Watts: The founder of Moms Demand Action , Shannon Watts was named one of TIME ’s 100 Most Influential People , Glam...
Jun 11, 2024•31 min•Ep. 111
Ethan interviews two teachers and co-authors of the bold new book How We Ended Racism: Realizing A New Possibility in One Generation , Justin Michael Williams and Shelly Tygielski. The conversation bridges optimism and pragmatism, along with inner and collective work. Take a listen! Justin Michael Williams brings people together across divides with a multigenerational message of hope, empowerment, and unity. He is an award-winning speaker, Grammy®-nominated recording artist, and author of Stay W...
Jun 03, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Ethan continues to explore the themes of his new book by discussing self-confidence, no-self, working with praise and criticism, and humility with Jaimal Yogis and Lou Sharma. Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out this week! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training starting June 14. Sign up for the free online lecture with David Nichtern on May 28 on...
May 24, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Ethan continues to explore the themes of his new book by looking at the first of the "four powers of confidence." Why does the practice of compassion help us overcome insecurity and show up when life gets hard? What are the three elements of compassion? Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out this week! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training starting...
May 19, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 108
Ethan continues to explore the themes of his new book by looking at how the discussion of confidence can be seen as a discussion of our relationship to Fear and Hope. He explores the roots of Confidence is ancient Buddhism, as well as just beginning to unpack the ideas of the eight worldly winds, experiences that every human must face. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training starting June 14. Sign up for the free le...
May 06, 2024•38 min•Ep. 107
Ethan begins to explore the themes of his new book by looking at how our meditation practice can help us to work with the crucial and elusive experience of confidence. He explores our attitude of how we enter into the meditation session and engage with our own sense of worthiness as our minds, and our lives, knock us around. How do we learn to "Hold our Seat" in the midst of a messy mind and a world on fire. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindful...
Apr 23, 2024•38 min•Ep. 106
Using the recent solar eclipse (and a few suprising responses to Ethan celebrating it) as a jumping off point, Ethan looks at the worldviews of scientific materialism and animism, Ethan looks at the role of magic in developing a grounded but awe-inspired approach to our spiritual practice. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training starting June 14. Also check out upcoming in-person retreats in May and June . Pre-Order...
Apr 15, 2024•38 min•Ep. 105
How do you go from a life in fashion to being a well-known and respected spiritual teacher and icon? Ethan is joined by friend, teacher and author of the brand new book Spiritually, We (out now) for a discussion of Sah's path into meditation, Buddhism, developing his own movement-based practice system and becoming a teacher and healer. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon , including upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training starting June 14. Also check out upcoming...
Apr 08, 2024•53 min•Ep. 104
Starting off from the recent work—and calling out—of scientist and wellness personality Andrew Huberman, Ethan explores the relationship between trying to control one's biological reality in relationship to controlling one's environment and relationships. Ethan looks at discipline from a Buddhist perspective, and how the practice of discipline leads us—ironically—to let go of control and perhaps, in turn, experience real joy. Check out all the cool offerings at Dharma Moon, including upcoming Mi...
Apr 01, 2024•38 min•Ep. 103
Is "Buddhist Guilt" a thing? How does it stop us from meditating? Using his own experience with himself, students, and the classic teachings, Ethan's gives tips for how to work with obstacles that stop us from meditating and that obstruct our practice when we get to the meditation seat. Check out all the cool offerings at Dharma Moon, including the upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training beginning March 22, 2024. Also check out upcoming in-person retreats in May and June . Pre-Order Eth...
Mar 18, 2024•43 min•Ep. 102
Using American political media's obsessive focus on (only one of) the presidential candidate's advanced age, Ethan examines a Buddhist view on the ways in which aging brings about both greater wisdom and, perhaps, greater stuckness, and the ways in which youth includes great imagination and also impatience. Ethan examines the concepts of eldership, mentorship, and lineage from a Buddhist perspective and examines his own growth path "aging" as a person, as a Buddhist student and teacher, over the...
Mar 08, 2024•36 min•Ep. 101
Ethan discusses the Buddhist practice of generosity by looking at an amazing billionaire's gift by Dr. Ruth Gottesman, another famous billionaire's apocalypse bunker, and, of course, the annual headache of doing your taxes. Check out all the cool offerings at Dharma Moon, including the upcoming Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training beginning March 22, 2024. Also check out upcoming in-person retreats in May and June . For an easily downloadable, self-paced video course to establish a mindfulnes...
Feb 29, 2024•42 min•Ep. 100
Holding the awful events of the world in mind, Ethan discusses anxiety as we try to hold together our personal world, our relationships, and the larger world in chaos. He goes further into the nooks and crannies of the four noble truths in relation to generalized anxiety, and closes by offering a guided meditation to work with your anxiety right now. Check out all the cool offerings at Dharma Moon, including the free online event on Feb 27 with David Nichtern and Robert Thurman, " Teaching Mindf...
Feb 23, 2024•38 min•Ep. 99
In this inventive episode, Ethan discusses our obsession with apocalyptic thinking using the four noble truths. A lifelong fan of science fiction, he discusses the Buddhist roots of dystopian obsession, and the confusing craving to annihilate existence in the question for peace. Check out all the cool offerings at Dharma Moon, including the free online event on Feb 27 with David Nichtern and Robert Thurman, " Teaching Mindfulness and The Role of The Teacher ." Also check out upcoming in-person r...
Feb 16, 2024•51 min•Ep. 98
Ethan is joined by author, teacher and writing coach Lisa Weinert. They discuss the power of storytelling as both a spiritual and psychological method for healing. They also talk about why the act of writing is so excruciating, as well as the relationship between storytelling and embodiment. They definitely do not discuss their 9th Grade English teacher, Mr. Hubner. Lisa is the author of the book Narrative Healing: Awaken the Power of Your Story (Hachette, 2023). She has taught and lectured on t...
Feb 09, 2024•53 min•Ep. 97
Ethan discusses the often confusing term "Basic Goodness." He breaks down some thoughts on why the term—and the transformative experience it points toward—can be elusive and confusing. He also goes into some of the historical origins of the term that illuminate its meaning and offers tools for how to work with it to ask wise questions about our experience in both meditation and everyday life. Check out all the cool offerings at Dharma Moon, including the free online event with David Nichtern and...
Feb 02, 2024•58 min•Ep. 96
Ethan is joined by author and teacher Deborah Eden Tull . Eden’s Buddhist teaching emphasizes the personal, interpersonal, transpersonal, societal, ecological, mystical, and global impacts of awareness practice. Her current focus is Sacred Activism, empowering people in conscious response and regenerative leadership as we collectively navigate the climate crisis. She is a member of the national Eco-Dharma Advisory Committee of Buddhist teachers and leaders in the eco-dharma movement. Eden’s firs...
Jan 29, 2024•50 min•Ep. 95
Ethan gives his "hot takes" as an active participant and casual observer of American politics on the severely compromised state of American democracy. He addresses the idea that we are all burnt out on America, and discusses the three aspects of compassionate action, and why, for the benefit of ourselves and others, getting off our screens and into simple participatory action is key. For more info on Ethan visit EthanNichtern.com and DharmaMoon.com Also, check out Dhar ma Moon’s upcoming free ev...
Jan 23, 2024•54 min•Ep. 94
Ethan is joined by author , teacher, Nonviolent Communication trainer and Somatic Experiencing practitioner Oren Jay Sofer . They discuss being "dharma dads," not having enough time to practice meditation with a kid, how to make classic teachings modern, Oren's new book Your Heart Was Made For This, and Oren's complex experience of being a Jewish and Buddhist American in the wake of the atrocities in Palestine and Israel. Oren has practiced meditation in the early Buddhist tradition since 1997, ...
Jan 16, 2024•55 min•Ep. 93
Ethan is joined by friend, author , meditation teacher, and mutual aid activist Shelly Tygielski. They discuss the grind of modern work life, the experience of Enoughness, alternative economic models and the power of mutual aid. Shelly runs a popular Instagram feed, @ mindfulskatergirl. As a philanthropist and social activist, Shelly Tygielski has been hailed by individuals ranging from President Joe Biden to Arianna Huffington and Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn to Maria Shriver. She is the founder of the g...
Jan 10, 2024•58 min•Ep. 92
Ethan discusses the question of "God" from a Buddhist perspective, examining the ideas of theism, atheism, and non-theism. He delves into ways the concepts of God, gods, and goddesses are already relevant to Buddhist thought, and also talks about the salvation that does and doesn't happen at a Taylor Swift concert. For more info on Ethan visit EthanNichtern.com and DharmaMoon.com Also, check out the upcoming free online lecture (Jan 9): Right Livelihood - What Buddhism Can Learn From Capitalism ...
Jan 04, 2024•51 min•Ep. 91
Ethan discusses the difference between resolution, intention and aspiration as we head into the New Year, along with the wellness phenomenon of "Quitter's Day." For more info on Ethan visit EthanNichtern.com and DharmaMoon.com Also, check out the upcoming free online lecture: Right Livelihood - What Buddhism Can Learn From Capitalism and Dharma Moon’s Yearlong Buddhist Studies program . For an easily downloadable, self-paced video course to establish a mindfulness meditation practice, check out ...
Dec 30, 2023•31 min•Ep. 90
Ethan is joined by friend, bestselling author , dharma practitioner and astrologer Juliana McCarthy . They discuss the odd scientific precision of astrology and this moment in astrological history, which McCarthy calls arguably "the most significant astrological moment in human history." Juliana runs a popular Instagram feed, @etherealculture . She gives talks regularly and leads various workshops and retreats . If you’re interested in online talks, videos, and class, visit her Patreon page here...
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 89
In this episode, Ethan talks with his friend, mentor and teacher Sharon Salzberg about the power of studying Buddhism within a supportive community for working with one's mind and other's effectively and compassionately at a time of turmoil. Ethan also presents a deep overview of Dharma Moon's Yearlong Buddhist Studies Program which begins on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2024. For more info visit EthanNichtern.com and DharmaMoon.com . For more info on Sharon Salzberg, please visit SharonSalzberg.com...
Dec 20, 2023•55 min•Ep. 88
