So many people are interested in their family tree. What kind of lives did our ancestors lead and what do their stories say about us? Today’s guest, Spring Washam, asks us to reckon with the people who have come before us in order to fully understand who we are and why we do the things we do. Washam is a well-known teacher, author, and visionary leader based in Oakland, California. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment and her newest book , The S...
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep 556•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Awar...
Feb 06, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 555•Transcript available on Metacast 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 exac...
Feb 03, 2023•12 min•Ep 554•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 01, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep 553•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 552•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Jan 27, 2023•6 min•Ep 551•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 550•Transcript available on Metacast 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 of...
Jan 24, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ove...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 549•Transcript available on Metacast 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, Buddhis...
Jan 20, 2023•6 min•Ep 548•Transcript available on Metacast 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 p...
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep 547•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Califor...
Jan 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 546•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jan 13, 2023•7 min•Ep 545•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 544•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Jan 09, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep 543•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jan 06, 2023•45 min•Ep 542•Transcript available on Metacast 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? Downlo...
Jan 05, 2023•33 min•Ep 541•Transcript available on Metacast 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. W...
Jan 04, 2023•33 min•Ep 540•Transcript available on Metacast 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 co...
Jan 03, 2023•29 min•Ep 539•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jan 02, 2023•40 min•Ep 538•Transcript available on Metacast 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. O...
Dec 30, 2022•6 min•Ep 537•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Dec 28, 2022•49 min•Ep 436•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast 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 pr...
Dec 23, 2022•6 min•Ep 536•Transcript available on Metacast 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 misunder...
Dec 21, 2022•55 min•Ep 370•Transcript available on Metacast 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....
Dec 19, 2022•57 min•Ep 316•Transcript available on Metacast 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: "...
Dec 16, 2022•6 min•Ep 535•Transcript available on Metacast 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 includ...
Dec 14, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep 534•Transcript available on Metacast 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 co...
Dec 12, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep 533•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Dec 09, 2022•6 min•Ep 532•Transcript available on Metacast 
