Working through fear by anchoring in the breath and body gives you the capacity to be fully available to help when help is needed. 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 Reli...
Apr 14, 2023•8 min•Ep 584•Transcript available on Metacast You may have heard our interview with Sharon Salzberg earlier this week where we talked about openness, not believing the stories you tell yourself, and why the most powerful tools often seem the most stupid at first. I’m a big fan of hers and everything she does, so we wanted to give you a special preview of her new book, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom . In Real Life , Sharon sets a path out for us, merging the insights of inspiring voices with her ow...
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast It’s likely uncontroversial to assert that Jennifer Senior is one of our finest living journalists. She’s currently a staff writer at The Atlantic and before that she spent many years at the New York Times and New York magazine . Jennifer’s written on a vast array of topics, but she has a special knack for writing articles about the human condition that go massively, massively, viral. One such hit was a lengthy and extremely moving piece for The Atlantic that won a Pulitzer Prize. It was about a...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 583•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is a rangy and fascinating conversation with a titan of the modern mindfulness scene: Sharon Salzberg. She is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society , a renowned meditation retreat center and has written twelve books. Her latest is called, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom . We get personal and talk about a fascinating question: why did so many Jewish kids of Sharon’s generation (the Boomers) get interested in meditation? Sharon was par...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr•Ep 582•Transcript available on Metacast This four-part breathing technique calms the nervous system, relaxes the body, and is an effective antidote to obsessive over-thinking. 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...
Apr 07, 2023•7 min•Ep 581•Transcript available on Metacast A beautifully weird conversation with the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded its world-renown Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Clinic in 1979, and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (CFM), in 1995. He is the author of many books including Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are. His latest boo...
Apr 05, 2023•45 min•Ep 580•Transcript available on Metacast Today we have a truly incredible episode about how to meditate in hell. You’re going to meet a man named Jarvis Jay Masters, who I interviewed from his cell on death row at San Quentin prison in California. Any of us who meditate do our best to apply it to life’s ups and downs — but this person has been applying it in some truly extreme circumstances. Jarvis has now spent more than three decades on death row, including more than two decades in solitary confinement. Shortly after Jarvis’s d...
Apr 03, 2023•49 min•Ep 579•Transcript available on Metacast As a wrap up to our Work Life series, we want to share a preview of another podcast we love: Prof G hosted by Scott Galloway. His interview, "Scott Galloway on: the Impact of Work on Mental Health, the Role of Luck in Success, and How Much is Enough," kicked off this latest series. Scott's show combines business insight and analysis with life and career advice, and we're big fans. In this episode of Prof G, Scott shares his view on the "Future of Work"— from recruiting, to mentorship, to b...
Mar 31, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 1970s, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world hav...
Mar 31, 2023•7 min•Ep 578•Transcript available on Metacast People have mixed feelings about the popularization of mindfulness and meditation over the last 10 or 15 years with some referring to it as “McMindfulness.” The critiques can be worthy and the mainstreaming of meditation and mindfulness also have helped millions of people upgrade their lives. One of the many areas where mindfulness and meditation have made inroads of late is the workplace. All sorts of employers are offering their teams access to meditation via apps or in-person training. ...
Mar 29, 2023•55 min•Ep 577•Transcript available on Metacast This is the third installment in our Work Life series. In other episodes, we cover topics like imposter syndrome, whether mindfulness really works at work, and whether you should actually bring your whole self to the office. Today's episode is one that many of us struggle with: interpersonal conflict at work. Our guest is a true ninja on this topic. Amy Gallo is a workplace expert who writes and speaks about interpersonal dynamics, difficult conversations, feedback, gender, and effective communi...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep 576•Transcript available on Metacast You can refresh your energy in just a few moments. If you do it mindfully, you'll boost your presence and attention for the rest of the day. About Anushka : Anushka Fernandopulle teaches Insight meditation in the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of the world. Anushka is a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher's Council and has trained in the Theravada Buddhist tradition for 30 years in monasteries in Sri Lanka & India as well as urban US settings. Anushka has an MBA from Yale and works wit...
Mar 24, 2023•7 min•Ep 575•Transcript available on Metacast The phrase imposter syndrome has increasingly crept into the culture. If you haven’t heard of it, it basically means that you feel like you’re a fraud, despite evidence to the contrary. As this term has gained more purchase in our culture, it’s also been subjected to an increasing amount of scrutiny and criticism, and also confusion. So, today we’re going to try to cut through some of that with Dr. Valerie Young, who’s been an internationally recognized expert on imposter syndrome since 1982. Yo...
Mar 22, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 574•Transcript available on Metacast This is the first of a four part series on work that we’re calling, “Work Life.” Work can play a huge role in our sanity and happiness, or lack thereof. So today we're going to tackle some common and thorny questions with a guy who has been extremely successful at work and now teaches other people how to do so. We talk about questions such as how much work life balance should we really strive for? Is hustle culture really dead? What's the role of luck in success? How much is enough a...
Mar 20, 2023•50 min•Ep 573•Transcript available on Metacast As skeptics, we can question if our lives have meaning. Reflecting on the impact of your good actions can counteract these desolate feelings. 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 medita...
Mar 17, 2023•7 min•Ep 572•Transcript available on Metacast It’s hard not to like Lewis Howes. He’s extremely open about his personal struggles, from childhood trauma to romantic challenges, from family drama to failure and self-doubt. Lewis is a voracious learner, relentless in his pursuit of his interests–and he’ll bust his ass to get to the bottom of things in his own life. His main area of interest is what he calls greatness. He hosts a podcast, a very popular one, called The School of Greatness. He has spent many many years interviewing people who h...
Mar 15, 2023•54 min•Ep 571•Transcript available on Metacast There’s so much compelling research behind the notion of self compassion. Even though many of us think we need an internal cattle prod in order to retain our edge, research shows that people who have a supportive inner attitude — who have their own back — are more resilient and effective. Not to mention happier. And nicer. And yet, it is easy for skeptics to be turned off by some of the language and practices of self compassion. So today we brought in a guest who puts it in plain English, and is...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep 570•Transcript available on Metacast Feel the true strength and happiness that comes from courageous vulnerability, the valuable art of knowing yourself deeply. 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...
Mar 10, 2023•7 min•Ep 569•Transcript available on Metacast The human animal doesn’t love paradox. We love a clear, simple story. Us versus them. Good versus evil. But life is rarely like that. This is especially true when it comes to wrestling with history. Our guest today calls it the patriot’s dilemma. How do you love your country while also acknowledging the painful and horrifying stuff that has happened in the past? Dolly Chugh is a professor at the New York University Stern School of Business where she teaches MBA courses in leadership and manageme...
Mar 08, 2023•56 min•Ep 568•Transcript available on Metacast Usually episodes of this show are organized around one big question, but today’s guest, Jonathan Haidt, is just too interesting for one clear focus. In this episode, we dig into a ton of fascinating topics, including: why it can make you happier to see your own irrationality and hypocrisy, the value of interacting with ideas you do not like, how to navigate social media sanely, how to get ahead at work (and stay happy in the process), the upside of striving, the wisdom of the Stoics, and more.&n...
Mar 06, 2023•53 min•Ep 567•Transcript available on Metacast Go from "seeing red" to seeing the value in anger without being carried away by it and doing or saying things you'll regret later. About Jessica 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 Socie...
Mar 03, 2023•6 min•Ep 566•Transcript available on Metacast Very often, when somebody pisses us off, our first instinct might be to plan some sort of revenge even if we rarely, if ever, actually follow through with it. Obviously, the trait of revenge seeking is counterproductive and it happens to also feel terrible. All the great wisdom traditions tell us that we should be forgiving instead and this isn’t just some sort of finger wagging from the morality police; it’s just straight up good advice. It’s in your best interest not to be coiled up inside end...
Mar 01, 2023•56 min•Ep 565•Transcript available on Metacast Meditation and mindfulness doesn’t uproot your capacity to be judgmental, but it can help you see the value in being judgmental by learning how to work with the judging mind. La Sarmiento has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1998. La is a mentor for the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, a teacher with Cloud Sangha, and a contributor to the Ten Percent Happier app. In this episode we talk about: How mindfulness can help us identify when we’re being judgmental T...
Feb 27, 2023•55 min•Ep 564•Transcript available on Metacast Learn how to grow your resilience by connecting to a positive attitude, resolve, and allowing yourself to say yes to difficult emotions. About Sebene Selassie: Sebene Selassie was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and began studying Buddhism thirty years ago as an undergrad who majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, she is a meditation teacher, speaker, and author of the book “You Belong: A Call for Connection.” To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for...
Feb 24, 2023•7 min•Ep 563•Transcript available on Metacast This is the last episode in our four-part series where we’re counter-programming against the way Valentine’s Day is often celebrated, and examining different kinds of relationships including romantic, friendship, and family. Today we’re probing a mystery: Why, from an evolutionary standpoint do we take heartbreak and rejection so hard? It can send the body and mind into a vicious spiral. As one genomics researcher has said, “heartbreak is one of the hidden landmines of human existence.“&nb...
Feb 22, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep 562•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know that having friends can make you less depressed? One survey found that the average American had not made a new friend in the last five years but 45% of people said they would go out of their way to make a new friend if they only knew how. Our guest today, Dr. Marisa G. Franco, has written a bestselling book about how understanding your own psychological makeup and attachment style can help you make and keep friends. Franco is a psychologist and a professor at the U...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep 561•Transcript available on Metacast Mindfulness isn't about making your heart open. It's about feeling however you feel, respecting that, and sometimes, saying no. About Cara Lai: Cara Lai has worked as an artist, wilderness guide, social worker and psychotherapist. She teaches teens and adults at Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and UCLA. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Boundaries: Saying Yes to Saying No.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19....
Feb 17, 2023•6 min•Ep 560•Transcript available on Metacast If you’re part of a family, you’ve probably experienced some level of drama. Maybe it’s minor annoyances, like an uncle who chews too loudly. Maybe it’s divorce, sibling rivalry, or abuse. There are lots of flavors in this noxious cornucopia. Nedra Glover Tawwab is a licensed clinical social worker and the author of the new book Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships . She’s here to talk about how to handle family drama of all types. This is episode two of a four part ser...
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep 559•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is part one of our four-part series where we’re counter-programming against the way Valentine’s Day is often celebrated, and examining different kinds of relationships including romantic, friendship, and family. Today’s guest hews a bit more closely to the traditional Valentine’s Day theme and will do some myth-busting around all the things we tend to get wrong when we talk about romantic relationships. Myisha Battle is the author of the book, “This Is Supposed to Be Fun...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep 558•Transcript available on Metacast Sharon expertly guides you through a body scan to help you feel relaxed and at home in your body. About Sharon Salzberg: Sharon Salzberg is 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 a co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the ...
Feb 10, 2023•7 min•Ep 557•Transcript available on Metacast 
