10% Happier with Dan Harris

In this episode, we go there. All the way there. All those horrifying little thoughts that white people might have - eg: Have you ever felt superior to, or suspicious of, black people? - let's drag them out of the subconscious and look at them. We don't need to submerge them or swat them away. But here's the thing: can we do it with some semblance of mindfulness and even friendliness? This isn't an exercise in ritual shaming; guilt and shame are just self-centeredness cul-de-sacs. After all, we didn't summon these thoughts; they were injected into us by the culture. So fellow white people, instead of just looking at the race discussion as something supremely discomfiting, let's also look at it as an opportunity to do what we've been attempting to do in meditation all along: to know our minds better so that we don't blindly act out all of our conditioning. Our guest this week is the magnificent Shelly Graf. Shelly was recommended to me by my TPH colleague, Matthew Hepburn. Shelly is a social worker and a staff dharma teacher at the Common Ground Meditation Center in Minneapolis. To be clear, Shelly doesn't pretend to be an expert who has it all figured out - simply a meditation teacher who has committed to deeply engaging on the issue of race. So in that spirit, here we go: Shelly Graf. Where to find Shelly Graf online: Website: https://commongroundmeditation.org/ STwitter: https://twitter.com/cgmed Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommonGroundMeditation/ Check our our new, free collection of meditations called Relating to Race in the Ten Percent Happier app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/RelatingToRace Other Resources Mentioned: Refuge (Buddhism) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refuge_(Buddhism) Karma in Buddhism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_in_Buddhism Maitr? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitr%C4%AB Ruth King - https://ruthking.net/ Episode 164: Ruth King, Being Mindful of Race - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5p3BTgqKgke7PYSUbzvPrR Three Marks of Existence: Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_marks_of_existence M?na - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81na Common Ground Meditation Center - https://commongroundmeditation.org/ The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture - https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture-characteristics.html Detour-Spotting for White Anti-Racists - https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/olson.pdf List of resources from Resmaa Menakem - https://www.resmaa.com/resources Racial Affinity Group Development Program - https://ruthking.net/learning-with-ruth/ra-gdp/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shelly-graf-256

We have spent the past few episodes talking with black and white Americans about race. But for this episode I wanted to get the view from outside. So I called up a man on the other side of the planet who is widely recognized to be one of the world's greatest living meditation masters. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is the author of such books as The Joy of Living and In Love with the World. He's only in his mid-forties - which is young by my standards - but as the child of another great meditation master, he began doing long retreats in his teens. He now teaches all over the world, with centers on five continents. He's known for his candor and humor. We cover an enormous range of topics here, including: love, hate, panic, boredom, relationships, death, and whether we humans are fundamentally good. And as a bonus, he guides a brief meditation toward the end. Quick audio note: Mingyur Rinpoche spoke to us from his busy home in Kathmandu, Nepal, so you'll occasionally hear some background noises, including barking dogs. Try to use your practice to just let it go. Where to find Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche online: Website: https://tergar.org/about/mingyur-rinpoche/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mingyurrinpoche Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mingyur.rinpoche/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mingyurrinpoche/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MingyurRinpoche Book Mentioned: In Love with the World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying: https://www.amazon.com/Love-World-Journey-Through-Bardos/dp/0525512535 Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mingyur-rinpoche-255

Many, if not most, white people don't think of themselves as racialized. Race, we might tell ourselves, is an issue for people who have different skin colors than ours: black people, Hispanic people, Asian people, indigenous people, etcetera. But, of course, white is a racial category. (Important side note: race, for the record, is not a biological thing; it's socially constructed.) Sadly, the white people who seem to have most clearly grasped that white is a race are white nationalists. But now it's time for white people to see whiteness, to talk to one another about it. This, many people in the racial justice world argue, is the key first step towards white people engaging fully in creating a more equitable society. My guest is Eleanor Hancock, who is the Executive Director of a group called White Awake, which employs "educational resources and spiritual practices" to engage white people "in the creation of a just and sustainable society." Eleanor was recommended to me by Sebene Selassie, who is one of the core teachers on the Ten Percent Happier app. Eleanor and I talk about why this work is so important, why so many white people resist it, the barriers white people face when they begin the work, the role of meditation, and the problematic aspects of white wokeness in these discussions. Where to find Eleanor Hancock & White Awake online: Website: https://whiteawake.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/White-Awake-325759947539605/ For updates on upcoming courses from White Awake, check our their website and social media pages. Other Resources Mentioned: Assata Shakur / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assata_Shakur COINTELPRO / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO Kara Dansky / https://www.shambhalamountain.org/teacher/kara-dansky/ Anne Braden / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Braden Ann Atwater / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Atwater C. P. Ellis / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Ellis 7 thoughts on "Roots Deeper than Whiteness" / https://whiteawake.org/2018/10/27/roots-deeper-than-whiteness/ Neoliberalism / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism Bacon's Rebellion / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon%27s_Rebellion Jacqueline Battalora / https://www.speakoutnow.org/speaker/jacqueline-battalora Down Home NC / https://downhomenc.org/ What is white supremacy? By Elizabeth 'Betita' Martinez / http://www.pym.org/annual-sessions/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2017/06/What_Is_White_Supremacy_Martinez.pdf Ian Haney López / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Haney_L%C3%B3pez Solidarity for Survival / https://www.davidbfdean.com/ian-haney-lopez Defund Police: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Says Budgets Wrongly Prioritize Cops Over Schools, Hospitals / https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/1/keeanga_yamahtta_taylor_defund_us_police Birth of a White Nation / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riVAuC0dnP4 Who Invented White People? / http://uuwhiteness.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/READING_-Who-Invented-White-People.pdf Handout 2: Not Somewhere Else, But Here | Building the World We Dream About | Tapestry of Faith / https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/btwwda/workshop7/handout2 White Awake Summer Study & Action Group / https://mailchi.mp/whiteawake/study-support-action-summer-2020 Resources to support: List of Bail Funds for Protestors across the Country / https://bailfunds.github.io/ National Bail Fund Network / https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory The Bail Project / https://bailproject.org/ Color Of Change / https://colorofchange.org/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/eleanor-hancock-254

Many of us come to meditation for comfort. But, especially for white people, right now is a time to embrace our discomfort. Lama Rod Owens encourages me to step way out of my comfort zone in this conversation, and I am grateful to him for it. Owens is the author of the soon-to-be-released book, Love and Rage. As it says in the bio on his website, his story sits at the "cross sections" of so many aspects of American life "as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South." He was officially recognized by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism after he completed a three-year silent retreat, during which time he says he dealt with years of past pain and trauma. As you will hear him say in this interview, he "worked his butt off to feel ok." After retreat, he completed a Master of Divinity at Harvard. I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did. Where to find Lama Rod Owens online: Website: https://www.lamarod.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lamarod1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamarod/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lamarodowens/?hl=en Books: Love and Rage - The Path to Liberation Through Anger / https://bookshop.org/books/love-and-rage-the-path-of-liberation-through-anger-9781623174095/9781623174095 Radical Dharma - Talking Race, Love and Liberation / https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Dharma-Talking-Race-Liberation/dp/1623170982 Ten Percent Happier Challenge Update We've decided to postpone the Pandemic Resilience Challenge while we recalibrate it to better meet the needs of this moment. We want to make sure we're supporting you in coping with our current social crisis as well as the pandemic. We're not cancelling the challenge, just postponing - if you signed up for updates, you'll continue to receive information. Thank you for your patience and for giving us the time to get this right. You can find updates on the challenge at tenpercent.com/challenge Other Resources Mentioned: Narrative 4 Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lama-rod-owens-253

There is fury in America's streets - and we, as meditators, have the opportunity to use our practice to do the hard work of seeing things clearly (including the ugliness in our own minds), and responding wisely. I'm incredibly grateful to my guest, meditation teacher Sebene Selassie, for agreeing to come on this show on short notice (like, two hours beforehand) to discuss such a painful subject. This episode is in response to the protests that have broken out nationwide in the wake of the case of George Floyd, a black man who died after nearly nine minutes with his neck under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis. Our conversation is personal and raw. Most of all, we hope it is useful. Where to find Sebene online: Website: https://www.sebeneselassie.com/ Instagram @sebeneselassie // https://www.instagram.com/sebeneselassie/ Other Resources Mentioned: W. E. B. Du Bois // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR L,A Times Op-ED // https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-30/dont-understand-the-protests-what-youre-seeing-is-people-pushed-to-the-edge The 1619 Project by New York Times // https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html Seeing White - Scene on Radio // https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/ Well Read Black Girl // https://www.wellreadblackgirl.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Challenge: https://www.tenpercent.com/challenge Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sebene-selassie-252

How do we handle pandemic-induced anxiety or grief? What does a spiritual guru do to relax while on lockdown? We put those questions - and more - to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The man needs little introduction. He's the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, and a global cultural icon who has been featured in an Apple ad, a Martin Scorsese biopic, and in a classic Bill Murray scene from Caddyshack. We spoke to His Holiness from his home in Dharamsala, India. Also on the line: Richard Davidson from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Richie (that's what everyone calls him) is an old friend of the Dalai Lama's. They've been collaborating for decades on scientific research into the effects of meditation on the brain. After we hear from the Dalai Lama - who makes a series of surprising statements - we'll unpack it all in a separate convo with Richie. Where to find The Dalai Lama online: Website: https://www.dalailama.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DalaiLama Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalailama/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gyalwarinpoche Ten Percent Happier Pandemic Resilience Challenge: On June 10, we're launching the Pandemic Resilience Challenge: a free 21 day meditation challenge to help all of us cope with the anxiety, uncertainty, loneliness, boredom and all the other fun emotions we're experiencing during this pandemic. To join the waitlist and receive updates, visit https://tenpercent.com/challenge. Where to find Richie Davidson online: Healthy Minds Innovations // https://hminnovations.org/hmi/about Center for Healthy Minds // https://centerhealthyminds.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/healthyminds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforhealthyminds/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthy.mind Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide We want to deeply thank and recognize healthcare workers, teachers, warehouse workers, grocery and food delivery workers for the essential role that they play in our lives. For FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/the-dalai-lama-251

Pema Chodron 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. Notwithstanding her chipper demeanor, she has worked hard to point out to her readers and students that groundlessness and uncertainty are fundamental facts of life - which are becoming increasingly salient in our current crisis. Pema Chodron 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 on an old-school landline. 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." Where to find Pema Chodron online: Website: https://pemachodronfoundation.org/about/pema-chodron/ Twitter: Pema Chödrön (@AniPemaChodron) / https://twitter.com/AniPemaChodron Facebook: Pema Chodron / https://www.facebook.com/Pema.Chodron/ Instagram: AniPemaChodron (@anipemachodron) / https://www.instagram.com/anipemachodron/ Books Mentioned: When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron / https://www.amazon.com/When-Things-Fall-Apart-Difficult-ebook/dp/B00BBXJH2C Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chodron / https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V77TZ33/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1 Emotional Awareness by The Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman / https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Awareness-Overcoming-Psychological-Compassion/dp/0805090215 Other Resources Mentioned: Theravada Tradition / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_meditation#Contemporary_Therav%C4%81da Tonglen Practice / https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-tonglen/ For a limited time, we're offering a 40% discount on a year-long subscription to the app. Visit tenpercent.com/podcast40 to get your discount and get support for your meditation practice today. This promotion is only available to users without a current Ten Percent Happier app subscription. Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide We want to deeply thank and recognize healthcare workers, teachers, warehouse workers, grocery and food delivery workers for the essential role that they play in our lives. For FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/pema-chodron-250

Roshi Joan Halifax is definitely not arguing the pandemic is a good thing, but she also believes we shouldn't let this crisis go to waste. It's a wake-up call, she says - a chance for us to really take a beat and ask ourselves what actually matters, both individually and as a culture. 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. And her motto for this crisis, as you will hear, is: strong back, soft front. Where to find Roshi Joan Halifax online: Website: https://www.upaya.org/about/roshi/ Twitter: Joan Halifax (@jhalifax) / https://twitter.com/jhalifax Facebook: Joan Halifax / https://www.facebook.com/joan.halifax For a limited time, we're offering a 40% discount on a year-long subscription to the app. Visit tenpercent.com/podcast40 to get your discount and get support for your meditation practice today. This promotion is only available to users without a current Ten Percent Happier app subscription. Other Resources Mentioned: Glassman Roshi / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Glassman Arnold van Gennep / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_van_Gennep What is Jukai? / https://www.lionsroar.com/what-is-jukai/ Biography of Nelson Mandela – Nelson Mandela Foundation https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography Malala - Girls' Education / https://malala.org/advocacy?sc=header Heather McTeer Toney / https://www.momscleanairforce.org/team/heather-mcteer-toney/ The Sun My Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh / https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Heart-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/dp/0712654224 Aldo Leopold / https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/ Robert Bly / http://www.robertbly.com/ Stanislav Grof / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof Venerable Tara Tulku Rinpoche Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App Access for Journalists, Teachers, Healthcare, Grocery and Food Delivery, and Warehouse Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joan-halifax-249

Rest assured, this is not an episode where we're going to argue about politics. Instead, it's about how to maintain our happiness, calm, sanity, generosity, and compassion in the face of an increasingly ugly political dynamic that impacts all of us during this pandemic. Ezra Klein is the founder and editor-at-large of Vox.com, host of the Ezra Klein Show podcast, and author of the new book, Why We're Polarized. In this episode, we talk about the roots of what he calls the "Coronavirus culture war," the role of mindfulness in depolarizing ourselves, and the limited benefits of varying your media diet (and why podcasts are better than Twitter in this regard). As you'll hear, Klein acknowledges his own struggle to remain un-polarized but as a journalist he is committed to providing dispassionate analysis. Towards the end, Ezra speaks candidly about his anxiety and his struggles with his own meditation practice during this crisis. For a limited time, we're offering a 40% discount on a year-long subscription to the app. Visit tenpercent.com/podcast40 to get your discount and get support for your meditation practice today. This promotion is only available to users without a current Ten Percent Happier app subscription. Where to find Ezra Klein online: Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/ezra-klein Twitter: Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) / https://twitter.com/ezraklein Facebook: Ezra Klein - Home / https://www.facebook.com/ezraklein/ Book Mentioned: Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein / https://www.amazon.com/Why-Were-Polarized-Ezra-Klein/dp/147670032X Other Resources Mentioned: Better Angels / https://www.thebetterangelssociety.org/ Weather Underground / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Underground Civil Rights Act / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 Ross Douthat / https://www.nytimes.com/by/ross-douthat Twitter's Flawed Solution to Political Polarization / https://dupri.duke.edu/news-events/news/twitters-flawed-solution-political-polarization The Weeds Podcast / https://www.vox.com/the-weeds Morning Joe / https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe Pod Save America /https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-america/ The Federalist / https://thefederalist.com/ The Ben Shapiro Show / https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-ben-shapiro-show The Argument / https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-argument Ethan D. Hersh / https://www.eitanhersh.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App Access for Journalists, Teachers, Healthcare, Grocery and Food Delivery, and Warehouse Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ezra-klein-248

Why are so many of us having such weird dreams these days? How do we successfully interact with family members while on lockdown? Are we all experiencing some sort of trauma? These are just some of the questions with which we grapple during this discussion with Dr. Mark Epstein. It is no exaggeration to say that Mark has played a pivotal role in my life. My then-fiancé (and now wife), Bianca, gave me one of Mark's books (called Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart) back in 2009, and it genuinely changed my life. It was my first introduction to Buddhism. And to hear someone with actual medical experience (Mark is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist) extol the virtues of meditation made me reconsider a practice I had long considered ridiculous. In this chat, we also talk about blurring the line between meditation and therapy, and the profound value of not taking yourself too seriously. Enjoy. Where to find Mark Esptein online: Website: http://markepsteinmd.com/ Twitter: @Mepstein108 / https://twitter.com/Mepstein108 Facebook: Mark Epstein, MD / https://www.facebook.com/markepstein108/ Book Mentioned: The Trauma of Everyday Life / https://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Everyday-Life-Mark-Epstein/dp/0143125745 Other Resources Mentioned: Joseph Goldstein / https://www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein/ Roberth Thurman / https://bobthurman.com/ Ram Dass / https://www.ramdass.org/ Samuel Beckett / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett Jack Kornfield / https://jackkornfield.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App Access for Teachers, Healthcare, Grocery and Food Delivery, and Warehouse Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Get more focus and clarity by bringing mindfulness to your company with a team subscription to Ten Percent Happier! Visit tenpercent.com/work to learn more. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mark-epstein-247

This pandemic is a colossal test of our patience - from dealing with family to interminably long wait times on calls with the unemployment office to just wanting this whole nightmare to evaporate so we can go back to the movies. We've got a special, two-part episode this week. In the first part, we bring on a pair of researchers who study patience. The good news: they have found that patience is a quality we can train and develop through meditation and other strategies, including cognitive reappraisal, transcendence, or just learning how to fake it until you make it. (Side note: we also fall into an interesting chat about the benefits of defensive pessimism versus strategic optimism.) After the researchers, we bring on legendary meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg for a deeper dive into how to use meditation to increase our patience, especially when it comes to interpersonal stuff (which, let's be honest, includes other people and ourselves). Our patience experts are Dr. Sarah Schnitker from the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at Baylor University, and Dr. Kate Sweeny from the Psychology department at the University of California, Riverside. Where to find our guests online: Dr. Kate Sweeny / http://www.katesweeny.com/ Dr Sarah A. Schnitker / https://www.baylor.edu/psychologyneuroscience/index.php?id=950614 Sharon Salzberg / https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/ Other Resources Mentioned: Wendy Wood University of Southern California (Habits Research) / https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/wendy-wood Richie Davidson Research on Pain and meditation / https://news.wisc.edu/meditation-expertise-changes-experience-of-pain/ Walter Mischel Marshmellow Test / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App Access for Teachers, Healthcare, Grocery and Food Delivery, and Warehouse Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Get more focus and clarity by bringing mindfulness to your company with a team subscription to Ten Percent Happier! Visit tenpercent.com/work to learn more. Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/patience-246

What will we be like when this thing is finally over? Will we be even more fearful and divided? Or is there a realistically rosier scenario? This is just one of the subjects we explore in a wide-ranging conversation with Rev. angel Kyodo williams. We also talk about the disutility of guilt in the face of all the horror we're witnessing in the time of COVID, and how to reclaim the word "love" from the land of hopeless cliché. I really enjoyed this conversation, especially how it warmed up as it went. By way of background, Reverend angel is the author of such books as Radical Dharma and Being Black. She is the second black woman to be recognized as a teacher in the Japanese Zen lineage. One of her main areas of interest is how to apply meditation to social issues such as race, climate, and economic inequality. A lot of people think meditation and activism are two separate things, but Rev. angel argues that "without inner change, there can be no outer change." In this chat, we start with big-picture issues, and increasingly move toward more personal stuff. She's one of those people who gets even more fascinating the more time you spend with her. Where to find Rev. angel Kyodo williams online: Website: https://angelkyodowilliams.com/ Twitter: angel Kyodo williams (@ZenChangeAngel) / https://twitter.com/zenchangeangel Facebook: Rev. angel Kyodo williams / https://www.facebook.com/zenchangeangel Instagram: angel Kyodo williams (@zenchangeangel) / https://www.instagram.com/zenchangeangel/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ZenChangeAngel We've been nominated for two Webby awards. If you love and want to support our work, please vote for us via links in the episode description. Vote for us in the health & fitness app category / https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/apps-mobile-and-voice/apps-mobile-sites-general/health-fitness Vote for us in the voice category / https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/apps-mobile-and-voice/general-voice/health-fitness-lifestyle Other Resources Mentioned: Tonglen Practice / https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-tonglen/ James Doty / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Doty_(physician) All About Love by bell hooks / https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Love-Visions-Paperback-ebook/dp/B078GL796R Loving Kindness Practice / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitr%C4%AB Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide We want to deeply thank and recognize teachers, warehouse workers, grocery and food delivery workers, and healthcare workers for the essential role that they play in our lives. For FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/rev-angel-kyodo-williams-245

I call Gretchen Rubin the "Swiss Army Knife for Happiness." Present her with a problem, and she will flood you with practical, customized solutions. I love having Gretchen on this show not only because she's smart and funny and we're friends, but also because she provides some compelling counterprogramming. Most of our guests come from the meditation world, but Gretchen approaches happiness from a very different angle. She's a lawyer by training - she began her career clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor - who went on to write a series of books that examine small, doable ways to boost our happiness in everyday life. Her books include her breakout memoir The Happiness Project, and then follow-on bestsellers such as The Four Tendencies (which is a fascinating look at how different kinds of people form habits). In this interview, we explore a bunch of ways to improve your day-to-day life in this pandemic. We talk about: family relationships, decluttering, setting priorities, managing your relationship to technology, treating yourself without overindulging, and going easy on yourself versus expecting more from yourself. Where to find Gretchen Rubin online: Website: https://gretchenrubin.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/gretchenrubin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GretchenRubin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretchenrubin/ Book Mentioned: Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin / https://gretchenrubin.com/books/outer-order-inner-calm/about-the-book We've been nominated for two Webby awards. If you love and want to support our work, please vote for us via links in the episode description. Vote for us in the health & fitness app category. / https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/apps-mobile-and-voice/apps-mobile-sites-general/health-fitness Vote for us in the voice category. / https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2020/apps-mobile-and-voice/general-voice/health-fitness-lifestyle Other Resources Mentioned: Susan Kaiser Greenland / https://www.susankaisergreenland.com/ Some Good News / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOe_y6KKvS3PdIfb9q9pGug The Four Tendencies Quiz / https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide We want to deeply thank and recognize teachers, warehouse workers, grocery and food delivery workers, and healthcare workers for the essential role that they play in our lives. For FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources visit https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gretchen-rubin-244

On this episode, a bad news / good news situation. Let's start with the bad news: human beings are not wired for uncertainty. It short circuits our system. The mind wants to plan, to work things out - and, in a pandemic, that is basically impossible. The good news: meditation is perfectly designed to take the edge off, if not more. Our guest this week is Jack Kornfield, a pioneering meditation teacher, prolific author, a former Buddhist monk, and a clinical psychologist. We talk about: how to use meditation to embrace uncertainty, the importance of getting in touch with your own "tainted glory," and why we shouldn't fear the schmaltz. (That last one was mostly for me.) Where to find Jack Kornfield online: Website: https://jackkornfield.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackKornfield Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jkornfield Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_kornfield/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5JayBKk-Bynk6XnUnU7vLA Other Resources Mentioned: Lady Gaga Kicks Off 'One World: Together at Home' With Performance of 'Smile' / https://variety.com/2020/music/news/lady-gaga-smile-together-at-home-1234584282/ Spring Washam / https://www.springwasham.com/ Ram Dass / https://www.ramdass.org/ Neem Karoli Baba / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem_Karoli_Baba Wangari Maathai / https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai Preah Maha Ghosananda / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preah_Maha_Ghosananda Dolly Parton's Poem / https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xdJu6FCR9/ Insight Meditation Society / https://www.dharma.org/ Jack Kornfield's Meditations / https://jackkornfield.com/meditations/ Tara Brach / https://www.tarabrach.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers, Grocery Store & Food Delivery Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jack-kornfield-243

No matter what your economic situation is, you have likely experienced some money worries during this pandemic. I know I have- and I say that as someone who is in an extremely fortunate position. So many people have lost businesses, lost jobs, had salaries cut- or we are worried about one of these things happening to us. Given the massive insecurity and uncertainty abroad in the land, we wanted to explore a Buddhist approach to financial concerns. It's not like the Buddha never said anything on this matter. He wasn't expecting all meditators to live in caves with shaved heads. There's a ton of useful stuff in Buddhism on the issue of money, and there are a lot of meditative techniques for handling our financial anxieties. So we brought on a great Buddhist teacher by the name of Ethan Nichtern. He's been on the show before. He has written a few books, including one called The Road Home. He also hosts a podcast by the same name. We had a great chat, and I'm excited to bring it to you. Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Where to find Ethan Nichtern online: Website: https://www.ethannichtern.com/ Social Media: Twitter: Ethan Nichtern (@ethannichtern) / https://twitter.com/ethannichtern Facebook: Ethan Nichtern / https://www.facebook.com/EthanNichtern/ Book Mentioned: The Dharma of the Princess Bride, by Ethan Nichtern / https://www.amazon.com/Dharma-Princess-Bride-Buddhism-Relationships/dp/0865477760 Other Resources Mentioned: Sharon Salzberg / https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/ Bodhisattva / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva The Eight Worldly Winds / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_Buddhism#Eight_Worldly_Conditions Joseph Goldstein / https://10percenthappier.app.link/TEXKruciQ5 Buddha's Brain, by Rick Hanson / https://www.rickhanson.net/books/buddhas-brain/ The Road Home podcast / https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-road-home-with-ethan-nichtern/id1392813061 Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright / https://www.amazon.com/Why-Buddhism-True-Philosophy-Enlightenment/dp/1439195455 Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives by Adam Grant / https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986 Invisible Hands / https://www.invisiblehandsdeliver.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/ethan-nichtern-242

Jeff Warren is someone for whom I have a special affection. We chronicled our friendship in a book we co authored, called Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, in which we took a gonzo cross-country bus trip to help people overcome various obstacles to establishing a meditation practice. On that trip, I started calling him "Meditation MacGyver," because he is a loveable, excitable meditation nerd who can seemingly come up with practices for any person in any circumstances. He even got my wife meditating (after years of refusing to do so because I had been so annoying when I pestered her to practice). So, who better to turn to in this crisis? By way of background, Jeff is a meditation teacher, based in Toronto, where he helps run a group called the Consciousness Explorers Club. He is also featured in many of the courses and guided meditations on the Ten Percent Happier app. He is brilliant and hilarious and, as you will hear, very open about his own personal struggles. Where to find Jeff Warren online: Website: https://jeffwarren.org/ Jeff on Ten Percent Happier: https://10percenthappier.app.link/jeff-warren Social Media: Facebook: Jeff Warren / https://www.facebook.com/jeffwarren.org/ Instagram: Jeff Warren (@_jeffwarren_) / https://www.instagram.com/_jeffwarren_/ YouTube: Jeff Warren / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOpVNy60LTCmAwfZ6zOroQ Resources Mentioned: Shinzen Young / https://www.shinzen.org/ A Common Language / https://jeffwarren.org/articles/a-common-language/ A Night Practice / https://jeffwarren.org/articles/a-night-practice/ Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace / https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Jest-David-Foster-Wallace/dp/0316066524 Consciousness Explorers Club / http://cecmeditate.com/ Watchmen Sharon Salzberg & Joseph Goldstein Retreat: https://www.dharma.org/joseph-goldstein-sharon-salzberg-shelter-for-the-heart-and-mind-an-online-retreat/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jeff-warren-241

Most, if not all, of us are experiencing a cocktail of challenging emotions these days - whether in the background or in the foreground of our psyche. Speaking personally, I thought my primary issue was anxiety, but I had a vague sense that maybe it was more than that. Then I read an excellent, widely-circulated article that put a name to at least one aspect of my nameless, miasmatic dread. The article was from the Harvard Business Review, and the headline was, "That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief." The article featured an interview with a grief expert named David Kessler, who explained that there are many flavors of grief. Some of us are grieving people we've lost, but millions more are grieving a way of life or a sense of security that seems lost - or we're experiencing anticipatory grief about an uncertain future. Not only was it helpful for Kessler to name this phenomenon, but he also had a bunch of excellent thoughts about how to manage it, including the exhortation to find meaning in this mess. In fact, that's the name of his new book: Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. So we invited him on. Here he is: David Kessler. Where to find David Kessler online: Website: https://grief.com/ Social Media: Twitter: @IamDavidKessler / https://twitter.com/iamdavidkessler Instagram: @iamdavidkessler / https://www.instagram.com/iamdavidkessler/ Facebook: David Kessler / https://www.facebook.com/IamDavidKessler/ Books Mentioned: Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief / https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Meaning-Sixth-Stage-Grief/dp/1501192736 On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss / https://www.amazon.com/Grief-Grieving-Finding-Meaning-Through/dp/0743266293 Other Resources Mentioned: David's Online Grief Group / https://www.facebook.com/groups/DavidKessler David's Harvard Business Review Article / https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief Paul Denniston & Grief Yoga / https://griefyoga.com/ Bessel van der Kolk / https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/ Elizabeth Kubler Ross / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_K%C3%BCbler-Ross Elizabeth Kubler Ross Foundation / https://www.ekrfoundation.org/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/david-kessler-240

It's easy to add insult to injury in this pandemic by beating ourselves up. Why are we not exercising more? Eating less? Or boosting our productivity? Kristin Neff, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, says we need to give ourselves a break. To be clear, that does not mean relinquishing our high standards. Neff is one of - if not the - world's leading experts on self-compassion. That's a squishy-sounding term, but there is a lot of hard-nosed evidence behind it. Per Neff, not beating yourself up does not equate to being lazy. It's about knowing the difference between healthy perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism. It's about going easy without going soft. The smart, sparing use of the inner cattle prod. This was exactly the conversation I needed to have right now. Where to find Kristin Neff online: Website: https://self-compassion.org/ Social Media: Twitter: @self_compassion / https://twitter.com/self_compassion Facebook: Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff, Ph.D. / https://www.facebook.com/selfcompassion Other Resources Mentioned: Richard Schwartz, Internal Family Systems / https://ifs-institute.com/ Evelyn Tribole, Intuitive Eating / https://www.evelyntribole.com/ Chris Germer / https://chrisgermer.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/kristin-neff-239

Our guest this week gives a bracingly candid account of loneliness - one made all the more remarkable by the fact that he is a former surgeon general. Even before the current coronavirus pandemic, we were in the midst of another, quieter pandemic: loneliness. The term sounds somewhat unpleasant, but make no mistake: loneliness is, in fact, a deeply pernicious and insidious state, both psychologically and physiologically. And now, with all the social distancing we're doing, the loneliness problem is on steroids. This problem touches those not only people who live alone, but also those of us who may be surrounded by family. Loneliness doesn't require you to be alone. As you will hear, it's more about the quality of your relationships. Our guest, Dr. Vivek Murthy is, as mentioned, the former surgeon general. He has just published a book about loneliness, called "Together." We're doing this episode in a bit of a different way. We actually interviewed Vivek twice. The first time I spoke to him was right before the pandemic truly took off in the U.S.. He gave an incredible interview that we were excited to post. But then things really went haywire with the virus, so we wanted to have him on to talk about that. So we'll do this episode in two parts. First, you'll hear the newer interview - which is more topical. Then you'll hear the earlier interview, where he goes into greater depth. Where to find Dr. Vivek Murthy online: Website: https://www.vivekmurthy.com/ Book: https://www.vivekmurthy.com/together-book Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/vivek_murthy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrVivekMurthy/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drvivekmurthy Other Resources Mentioned: RULER at YALE http://ei.yale.edu/ruler/ruler-overview/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/vivek-murthy-238

Even in the middle of a pandemic, it's still OK to experience delight. That's per legendary meditation teacher, Sylvia Boostein. In fact, she says, moments of happiness can fortify you to deal with the difficulties we are all facing. In other words, joy is a necessity, not a luxury right now. That is just one of many wisdom bombs Boorstein drops in this conversation. We also discuss how to cultivate "inner cordiality" and the quality of mind that has become her "savior" in these dark days. Boorstein is a genuine contemplative O.G., part of the vanguard of teachers who introduced mindfulness into the American mainstream. She is still going strong in her mid-eighties, after having lived a colorful life. Not only is she one of America's most respected teachers, but she is also a psychotherapist, peace activist, and grandmother. As you'll hear, when she is not meditating, she is a gifted storyteller. She self-deprecatingly refers to it as "boundless talk-aremia," but I suspect that, for you, listening to Sylvia will, in itself, be a source of delight. Where to find Sylvia Boorstein online: Website: http://www.sylviaboorstein.com/ Social Media: Twitter: @SylviaBoorstein https://twitter.com/sylviaboorstein Facebook: Sylvia Boorstein - https://www.facebook.com/sylviaboorstein/ Book Mentioned: Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake by Sylvia Boorstein - http://www.sylviaboorstein.com/books Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sylvia-boorstein-237 Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care

The coronavirus outbreak may pose one of the greatest challenges to romantic relationships in modern memory. For those of us living in close quarters with spouses or partners, how do we live our day to day without resorting to hollering, stony silence, or violations of local and federal statutes? For those of us living alone, what are the rules around online dating? Esther Perel is on the front lines of this battle. She is a renowned psychotherapist who continues to do couples counseling even as the pandemic rages. Much of this work can be heard on her popular podcast Where Should We Begin? She's also the author of the awesomely-entitled, bestselling book Mating in Captivity. In this episode, we cover the benefits of sex (even if you're not in the mood), humor, and a specific kind of "thank you." She also holds forth on anticipatory grief and a concept I found particularly compelling: "ambiguous loss." Where to find Esther Perel online: Website: https://www.estherperel.com/ Podcast: https://whereshouldwebegin.estherperel.com/ Podcast: https://howswork.estherperel.com/ Upcoming Live Broadcasts with Esther: "The Art of Us: Love, Loss, and Loneliness Under Lockdown" - https://events.estherperel.com/april-2020-webinar/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EstherPerel Other Resources Mentioned: Tanya Selvaratman: Where Can Domestic Violence Victims Turn During COVID-19? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opinion/covid-domestic-violence.html Pauline Boss - Ambiguous Loss - https://www.ambiguousloss.com/ John Gottman - The Gottman Institute - https://www.gottman.com/ Megan Flemming - https://greatlifegreatsex.com/ Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Show Notes: https://tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/esther-perel-236

A statement of the blazingly obvious: we are living in stressful times. A statement of the slightly less obvious: meditation, while not a panacea, can help. In this episode, we're bringing you one of the western world's greatest living meditation masters: Joseph Goldstein. I'm biased, of course, because he is my meditation teacher. I have known him for many years, and he has had an incalculably positive impact on my life. In fact, he has already come to my rescue once during this pandemic, at a moment when I was personally struggling. And now, I'm excited to unleash him on all of you. In this chat, he lays out a meditative toolkit for navigating the current crisis. His advice is actionable for absolute beginners as well as longtime meditators. Towards the end of the conversation, he proposes one approach that some of you may find deeply challenging, but I find to be extremely compelling. Plug Zone: Insight Meditation Society: https://www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein/ Joseph Goldstein Courses & Meditations on the Ten Percent Happier App: https://10percenthappier.app.link/x9Q0TCy36Z Joseph Goldstein Books: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Goldstein/e/B00DPSACUW Additional Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: https://tenpercent.com/live Coronavirus Sanity Guide: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide Free App access for Health Care Workers: https://tenpercent.com/care Full Show Notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-235

So many of us have people in our lives who we feel are not taking this pandemic seriously enough. How do we handle them? Yell, lecture, call them out on Twitter? What about flooding them with articles? Or is there a saner course of action that is likely to be more effective? In this episode, we have two experts in ethics to sort through this and other ethical dilemmas in the age of COVID. JoAnna Hardy is a meditation teacher with a special interest Buddhist ethics. Greg Epstein is the humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT. Issues we tackle include: Is it ever ok to break social distancing? What are the ethical implications of moving your family out of the city to the country? And, what about stocking up on toilet paper? Episode Resources: JoAnna Hardy: https://www.joannahardy.org/ JoAnna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannahardy65/ Greg Epstein: https://chaplains.harvard.edu/people/greg-epstein Greg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregmepstein Full Episode Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joanna-hardy-greg-epstein-234 Ten Percent Happier Live: Website: www.tenpercent.com/live In the Ten Percent Happier App: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TenPercentHappierLIVE YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3AWCFuxotrXmgqUHQdwyg

If, given the deeply suboptimal circumstances in which we find ourselves right now, you are cycling through anxiety, depression, anger, and apathy, I suspect this conversation with legendary meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg may elevate your mood. It certainly worked for me. I was in a little bit of a dark place when I hopped on the line with her- stuck in a story about how this pandemic is a waking nightmare with no expiration date. But there is something powerful about talking to someone who has spent 50 years dedicated to meditation and Buddhism. She provides a reframing, a dose of perspective, and practical, science-backed skills. Plus, like many of the best meditation teachers, she is quite funny. Enjoy. Full Show Notes: http://tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sharon-salzberg-232 Sharon Salzberg's Resources: Website: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/ Books: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/books-audio/ Podcast: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/metta-hour-podcast/ Ten Percent Happier LIVE: Website: www.tenpercent.com/live In the Ten Percent Happier App: https://10percenthappier.app.link/TenPercentHappierLIVE YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb3AWCFuxotrXmgqUHQdwyg

We are in the middle of a giant, global experiment in remote work. Even in the best of times, working from home is tricky. You're surrounded by distractions: pets, laundry, Netflix. But in the midst of this pandemic, WFH (as the millennials call it) is even harder, given that many of us are cooped up with our children, cut off from our coworkers, and overwhelmed by anxiety. Our guests, Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter, from Potential Project, are experts in bringing mindfulness into the workplace. In this episode, we explore solutions to four major problems: distraction, isolation, virtual collaboration, and balancing family life. Plugzone: Website: https://www.potentialproject.com/ Books: https://www.potentialproject.com/books/the-mind-of-the-leader/ Rasmus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmushougaard/ Jacqueline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinecarter1/ Other Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: We'll be streaming live on YouTube at 3PM ET every weekday. If you miss us live, you can catch the episode here at www.tenpercent.com/live or on the Ten Percent Happier app. Full show notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/rasmus-hougaard-jacqueline-carter-232

We're in the middle of one of the greatest tests for parents in modern memory. Tens of millions of us, cooped up in our homes with our kids, as a consequence of the coronavirus. Susan Kaiser Greenland can help. She's a former corporate attorney who transformed herself into one of the world's leading experts in meditation for kids, teens and parents. In this episode, she delivers tons of practical tips for formal and informal meditation practices -- for all age groups. She also talks about practices that can help parents not turn on one another in this excruciatingly stressful time. Plugzone: Website: https://www.susankaisergreenland.com/ Previous episode with Susan Kaiser Greenland & Annaka Harris, episode #121 Teaching Mindfulness to Kids: https://radiopublic.com/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harr-WwE9m8/s1!e8765 Other Resources: Ten Percent Happier Live: We'll be streaming live on YouTube at 3PM ET every weekday. If you miss us live, you can catch the episode here at www.tenpercent.com/live or on the Ten Percent Happier app. Email address for health care workers who want free access to the app: [email protected] Full Show Notes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/susan-kaiser-greenland-231

Many of us can feel burnt out, tired or stretched too thin. It can be hard to balance everything on our plates, especially in work environments that require long hours and multi-tasking. But Alex Soojung-Kim Pang says that overworking can actually hinder productivity, and that working less can help you get more done. After struggling to deal with the pressure of numerous projects as a technology forecaster and consultant, Pang took a sabbatical at Microsoft Research in Cambridge. He realized that he had accomplished more in just a few short months than he typically did at work. Now, Pang challenges the relationship we have with work, claiming that cramming in all those overtime hours is not beneficial to the mind and body. He says working too hard blocks creative flow and has negative effects on quality. Pang discusses how he came to this realization and how it can be applied to your life. Plug Zone Website: http://www.askpang.com/ Website: http://www.strategy.rest/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/Alex-Soojung-Kim-Pang/e/B001KHJ91I Twitter: https://twitter.com/askpang Yung Pueblo featured on ABC's Nightline https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/yung-pueblo-instagram-people-heal-happier-life-69352620 Full Show notes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/Alex-Soojung-Kim-Pang-230 Jeff Warren Retreats: https://jeffwarren.org/event/fidgetyskeptics-california/ https://jeffwarren.org/event/how-to-guide-meditation/ https://jeffwarren.org/event/omegaretreat/ Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Stephen Batchelor is a Buddhist teacher who takes an unconventional approach to the practice. He was more of a scholar, studying logic and philosophy rather than mantras and deities. In his early life, Stephen traveled to India and met the Dalai Lama, which led him to become a monk who practiced Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Throughout his practice, Stephen felt torn between reason and faith, which ultimately resulted in his secular approach to Buddhism. He follows it as an ever-changing awakening rather than as a religious belief. Stephen eventually transitioned from Tibetan to Zen practice, as he was drawn by the meditation and existential questions of the world. He says keeping an open and questioning mind is key to the practice, and Zen frees the mind from what holds it back, allowing creativity and the ability to embark on the arts. Stephen says that though it's important to have a sense of where the Buddhist teachings come from, we shouldn't get stuck trying to preserve or replicate something that has survived for hundreds of years already. Instead, we should take the risk of translating the insights of these traditions into new forms of language, expression and art form that engage with our modernity. Plug Zone Podcast Audience Survey: www.tenpercent.com/survey Dan's Documentary: Guardians of the Amazon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdTAbgPQuNI Stephen Batchelor Website: https://www.stephenbatchelor.org/index.php/en/ The Art of Solitude: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300250932/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Batchelor/e/B000ARBI4K Mara Opera: Santa Fe New Mexico, Thursday 5th of March with Stephen Batchelor https://santafevipassana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mara-flyer.pdf Full Show Notes: http://tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/stephen-batchelor-229 Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Valerie Brown grew up in poverty in Brooklyn, New York. When she was a teenager, her mother passed away and her father left her to fend for herself. Valerie was forced to become an adult before anyone should have to. She put herself through school, becoming a successful lawyer and lobbyist before realizing that she had been running away from something her whole life. She had been trying to escape her past. Even with all of her success and overcoming hardships, Valerie still found herself unhappy and unfulfilled. That's when she found mindfulness and meditation. With a new clarity in life, she no longer felt the need to run away because she could now happily live in the present. Valerie is now a leadership coach, educator and retreat leader, helping those in need of clarity in their lives. Though she loves to help everyone, Valerie focuses on people of color who face adversity. Plug Zone Website: www.leadsmartcoaching.com Books: www.amazon.com/Valerie-Brown/e/B00MDBD72M El Camino de Santiago in Spain Pilgrimage: https://www.leadsmartcoaching.com/services/pilgrimage-art-sacred-travel/ Ten Percent Happier Plugs Podcast show-notes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/valerie-brown-228 Podcast Survey: www.tenpercent.com/survey Event with Dan at New York Press Club: https://www.nypressclub.org/in-conversation-with-10-happiers-dan-harris-on-march-4-2020/ Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Rhonda V. Magee is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and an internationally-recognized thought and practice leader focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law and social change work. Born in North Carolina in 1967, Rhonda experienced a childhood of significant trauma and challenge. Yet, she was gifted with the insight that through a life of caring engagement, self-development, and service with others, she could find a way up and out. She has dedicated her life to healing and teaching in ways that support others in a journey to wholeness and justice. A student of a variety of Buddhist and other wisdom teachers, including Norman Fischer, Joan Halifax and Jon Kabat-Zinn, she trained as a mindfulness teacher through the Oasis Teacher Training Institute of the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness. She teaches mindfulness-based interventions, awareness, and compassion practices from a range of traditions. Plug Zone Website: https://www.rhondavmagee.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Work-Racial-Justice-Transforming-ebook/dp/B07PLDQFYR Twitter: @rvmagee Show Notes Page https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/rhonda-v-magee-227 Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Yung Pueblo (Diego Perez) grew up in poverty after his family immigrated from Ecuador to Boston, Massachusetts. He fell into heavy drugs in his college years, consumed in misery and sadness, before going on his first Vipassana meditation retreat. There, he learned how to accept and embrace change in one's self, be present in the moment and find joy in both the ups and downs of life. Now a well-known meditator, writer and public speaker, Yung Pueblo uses a plethora of social media platforms to help others on their own journeys towards a free life. Plug Zone Website: http://yungpueblo.com/ Book - Inward: https://www.amazon.com/Inward-Yung-Pueblo/dp/1449495753 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yung_pueblo Twitter: https://twitter.com/YungPueblo Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Sonja Lyubomirsky has been studying human happiness for 30 years. As a professor at the University of California Riverside, her research has centered around things people can do to become happier. In this episode she talks about her findings, including the power of social connection and how that might just be the key ingredient to happiness. She also talks about how we can increase our level of social connection. Show notes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast Sonja's Website: http://drsonja.net/about-sonja/ Sonja's Books: https://www.amazon.com/Sonja-Lyubomirsky/e/B001JP269S/ Sonja at UC Riverside: https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/sonja Sonja on Ten Percent Happier: https://10percenthappier.app.link/0E69lbTsH3 Check out the new Ten Percent Happier course on Health Habits with Kelly McGonigal and Alexis Santos: WWW.TENPERCENT.COM/HABITS In the App: https://10percenthappier.app.link/gAd07mXoo2 References in the show: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Susan Cain https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153 Nick Epley, research on talking to strangers on the train https://www.nicholasepley.com/publications Liz Dunn - UBC Barrista researcher https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/curriculum-vitae-2/publications/ Ed Dieiner - https://eddiener.com/ Barb Frederickson - Love 2.0 https://www.positivityresonance.com/ Dacher Keltner - UC Berkley https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner Ken Sheldon https://psychology.missouri.edu/people/sheldon Susan Nolen-Hoeksema https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Nolen-Hoeksema/e/B001H6IJH2 Martin Seligman - UPenn Positive Psychology https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/people/martin-ep-seligman Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202 Lisa Walsh - Expressing gratitude on the other person https://www.lisacwalsh.com/ Nial Bolger - Columbia (visible versus invisible social support) https://psychology.columbia.edu/content/niall-bolger Ezra Klein's Podcast with Allison Gopnick https://www.vox.com/podcasts/2019/6/13/18677595/alison-gopnik-changed-how-i-think-about-love) Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Being open to the feelings of anxiety and fear can be terrifying, but Tara Brach, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC, has a method to guide us through our most difficult emotions. In this episode Brach details how her method, which goes by the acronym R.A.I.N., provides steps to help us face and process our own emotions. She has made strides within the meditation community by weaving together western psychology insights with meditation to begin the emotional healing process. Brach received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology and completed a five-year Buddhist teacher training program at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She leads silent meditation retreats, has numerous publications and a weekly podcast. She is the author of Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, and her most recent publication, Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of R.A.I.N. Plug Zone Website: https://www.tarabrach.com/ Podcast: https://www.tarabrach.com/talks-audio-video/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/l/B001KE8BHO?_encoding=UTF8&redirectedFromKindleDbs=true&ref_=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1&rfkd=1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Radical Compassion Challenge: https://www.tarabrach.com/calendar/radical-compassion-challenge-free-10-day-online-event/ Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a key player bringing mindfulness meditation to the mainstream. In 1979, he introduced the now world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, a meditation therapy used to treat a variety of illnesses. In this episode, Kabat-Zinn talks about the importance of awareness and why now, more than ever, having awareness and being present in each moment is vital. He says meditation doesn't end when you get off the cushion. Rather, we should view every moment in life as a meditative practice. Plug Zone Jon Kabat-Zinn's Website: https://www.mindfulnesscds.com/ Books: https://www.mindfulnesscds.com/pages/books-by-jon-kabat-zinn Previous podcast: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jon-kabat-zinn-75 Podcast References Spaceship Earth by Buckminster-Fuller: https://www.amazon.com/Operating-Manual-Spaceship-Buckminster-Fuller/dp/3037781262 Calmer Choice on Cape Cod: https://calmerchoice.org/ MIT Study of mindfulness with middle school children: http://news.mit.edu/2019/mindfulness-mental-health-benefits-students-0826 Jon Kabat-Zinn Forward for "Current Opinion in Psychology": https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X19300211?via%3Dihub Ram Dass: https://www.ramdass.org/ Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

While in medical school in the mid-90's, Alexis Santos found himself in the midst of a spiritual crisis. At one of the top medical schools in the country, he felt unfulfilled and disillusioned by the stress and unhappiness around him and in his fellow students. After two years, he changed course and travelled to India, where he was first introduced to insight meditation on a 10-day retreat in the S.N. Goenka tradition. Interested to deepen his meditation practice, he happened across Sayadaw U Tejaniya, an unknown meditation teacher in Burma at the time. Recognizing his good fortune, Alexis decided to stay on, where he ordained as a Buddhist monk for two years. At the encouragement of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Alexis began teaching and in 2016 he completed the Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society teacher training program with Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield and others. He now teaches meditation retreats at centers throughout North America, Europe and Australia. In this episode, the conversation gets an interesting start with Alexis sharing his views on sleepiness and meditation, and then moving on to his time in Burma with Sayadaw U Tejaniya, the masculine and feminine approach to meditation and habit formation and how to use all our waking hours to practice meditation in daily life. Website: https://www.alexissantos.io/about Alexis courses in the app: https://10percenthappier.app.link/Alexis-Santos Alexis Santos on Dharma Seed: https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/525/ Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Ten Percent Happier Discount: www.tenpercent.com/2020 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Dr. Matthew Walker is a sleep scientist with a PhD in neurophysiology. His research investigates the impact of sleep on human health and diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cancer. In this episode, Dr. Walker shares significant findings on what happens to us when we do not get enough sleep. He also offers practical tips on how we can get more, quality sleep and how meditation can help. Join the New Year's Meditation Challenge: https://10percenthappier.app.link/IpETZ7CAX1 Plug Zone-- Book: Why We Sleep, https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501144316 Website: https://www.sleepdiplomat.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sleepdiplomat?lang=en Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Award-winning registered dietitian Evelyn Tribole inspires people to rethink their relationship with food and enjoy eating. In today's diet culture, people have stopped trusting their bodies and are ignoring its cues. In her nutrition counseling practice, Evelyn helps people tune in to what their bodies are trying to tell them through awareness and intuitive eating. In this episode, Evelyn describes how her meditation practice has deepened her passion for her career. She further explains the ten principles detailed in her new book, "Intuitive Eating," about rejecting the diet mentality and making peace with all food. Join the New Years Meditation Challenge: https://10percenthappier.app.link/IpETZ7CAX1 Plugzone: Website: https://www.evelyntribole.com/ New Book: https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-4th-Anti-Diet-Revolutionary/dp/1250255198/ Work book: https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Workbook-Principles-Relationship/dp/1626256225/ Books: https://www.evelyntribole.com/evelyns-books/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evelyntribole/ Mentioned on the show: - Crazy Wisdom - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/209-kryptonite-for-inner-critic-self-compassion-series/id1087147821?i=1000453700663 Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4

For as long as she can remember, Kelly McGonigal has felt motivated to understand the causes of pain and suffering and find ways to relieve them. This motivation led her to pursue a career in psychology and cultivate a meditation practice. In this episode Kelly talks about the types of meditation that have the biggest impact for her and how she integrates them into her daily life. She also discusses her new book, "The Joy of Movement," which she hopes will help change the negative perceptions some have about exercise. Calling her book a love letter to movement and human nature, she believes movement can help us access the positive states of bliss, joy, hope, and connection. She also offers practical tips for building healthy habits. Check out the new Ten Percent Happier course on healthy habits with Kelly McGonigal: http://www.tenpercent.com/habits (App: https://10percenthappier.app.link/gAd07mXoo2) Plugzone: - Website: http://kellymcgonigal.com/ - "The Joy of Movement": https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Movement-exercise-happiness-connection-ebook/dp/B07Q4LY2CV - Previous Books: http://kellymcgonigal.com/books - TED Talk: How to make stress your friend https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?language=en - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellymariemcgonigal/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellymcgonigalauthor/ Books mentioned: "Fearless Heart": https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Heart-Courage-Compassionate-Transform/dp/1101982926 Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Nikki Mirghafori has been an Artificial Intelligence scientist for nearly three decades. She never intended to become a Buddhist teacher, but after establishing herself in her AI career, she devoted her time to extensive meditation training. She now teaches Dharma internationally. In this fascinating discussion, Nikki details her extraordinary life experiences. From growing up in Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, to writing a thank you letter to a tick that gave her Lyme disease. She talks about her meditation practice today and how it has evolved from when she first started. And she dives into the process and benefits of one of her more challenging teachings, the Mindfulness of Death. Plugzone: Nikki's Website: https://www.nikkimirghafori.com/ The Most Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw Bhaddanta Acinna: https://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/about-us Podcast Episode #10 Leigh Brasington: https://podcasts.apple.com/my/podcast/10-leigh-brasington/id1087147821?i=1000367352158 Ten Percent Happier Gift: https://www.tenpercent.com/gift Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Norman Fischer is a poet, writer, and Zen priest who has dedicated his life to studying, practicing and teaching Zen Buddhism. After graduating from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he moved to San Francisco to learn how to practice meditation in the Soto Zen tradition. He spent decades studying the practice and serving the temple at the San Francisco Zen Center, where he went on to serve as the co-abbot from 1995-2000. After retiring as co-abbot, he founded the Everyday Zen Foundation where he continues to offer teachings and lead retreats. In this episode, Norman discusses with Dan the importance of expanding the way we think about ourselves and the world we live in because, he says, we are drowning in the limitations we've collectively set for ourselves and the ways we live in the world. The theme of the reflections in this episode come from Norman's new book titled "The World Could Be Otherwise." Plugzone: Website: https://www.normanfischer.org/ Everyday Zen Foundation: http://www.everydayzen.org/ The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path: https://www.amazon.com/World-Could-Otherwise-Imagination-Bodhisattva/dp/161180504X Other books mentioned in this conversation: The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli: https://www.amazon.com/Order-Time-Carlo-Rovelli/dp/073521610X Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Elizabeth Stanley has a long history of stress and trauma. In this episode she talks about the adversities she has suffered, which include a near death experience and losing her eyesight for extended periods of time from contracting Lyme disease while serving in the military. After decades of "powering through" and not dealing with her difficult emotions, she reached a breaking point. That's when her healing journey began and she found meditation, sitting multiple long retreats. Stanley has since created a resilience training program, called Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training, that she has taught to military troops and to people working in high-stress situations. Her book, "Widen the Window," offers tools on thriving during stress and recovering from trauma. Plugzone: Website: https://elizabeth-stanley.com/ "Widen the Window": https://www.amazon.com/Widen-Window-Training-Thrive-Recover/dp/0735216592 Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Thubten Chodron was born in Chicago and grew up near Los Angeles. She felt her life's calling was to help others, so she became a teacher, landing her first job in the inner-city schools of Los Angeles. Looking for something to do during summer break, she saw a flyer for a meditation course being taught by two Tibetan Lamas. Little did she know, taking this course would change the trajectory of her life. The teaching that resonated with her most was about setting motivations. She realized that though she was doing good things in her life, the motivations she had for doing them were self-centered. Chodron wanted to dedicate her life to living selflessly and with altruistic intentions. She felt the only way she could do that was to let go of her worldly attachments, including her marriage, and become a Buddhist nun. She believes we all have the potential to be happy and live altruistically, but we get in our own way. In this episode, Chodron offers her thoughts on how to set selfless motivations as we live our everyday lives. Plugzone: Personal Website: https://thubtenchodron.org/ Sravasti Abbey: https://sravastiabbey.org/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sravastiabbey Books: The Compassionate Kitchen: Buddhist Practices for Eating with Mindfulness and Gratitude https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Kitchen-Practices-Mindfulness-Gratitude/dp/1611806348 Other book titles by Thubton Chodron: https://www.amazon.com/Thubten-Chodron/e/B000APM652

Kittisaro graduated from Princeton as a Rhodes Scholar and went on to Oxford before going to Thailand to ordain with Ajahn Chah in 1976. He was a monk for 15 years. Thanissara started Buddhist practice in 1975, decided to ordain after meeting Ajahn Chah and spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun. They had known each other for years when they fell in love in 1991. They decided to leave the order so they could be together and were married the following year. They have gone on to become co-founders of Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat in South Africa and co-authors of Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Guide to Engaged Buddhism. They are Guiding Teachers of Sacred Mountain Sangha, on the Spirit Rock Teacher Council, and are Core Teachers at Insight Meditation Society. In a wide ranging interview, they discuss their practice and how their monastic lives have prepared them for their life in a relationship. Plug Zone Website: http://sacredmountainsangha.org/ Books Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism: https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Heart-Contemplative-Journey-Buddhism/dp/1583948392 Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth -- The Buddha's Life and Message through Feminine Eyes https://www.amazon.com/Time-Stand-Up-Buddhist-Manifesto/dp/158394916X Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author Esther Perel is recognized as one of today's most insightful and original voices on modern relationships. Perel provides her insight on such topics as: how to make a relationship work in today's society, the real reasons why we cheat, and how political or economic shifts can affect our relationships. Her celebrated TED talks on relationships have garnered more than 28 million views and her international bestseller Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence became a global phenomenon translated into 25 languages. Plug Zone Website, Newsletter and Blog: https://www.estherperel.com/ Podcast: Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/where-should-we-begin-with-esther-perel/id1237931798 Podcast: How's Work? With Esther Perel: https://open.spotify.com/show/0P13JasQfVZ1RiDCMZMYNU Book: Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence: https://www.amazon.com/Mating-Captivity-Unlocking-Erotic-Intelligence/dp/0060753641 Book: The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity: https://www.estherperel.com/store/the-state-of-affairs TED Talk: Rethinking infidelity… a talk for anyone who has ever loved https://www.ted.com/talks/esther_perel_rethinking_infidelity_a_talk_for_anyone_who_has_ever_loved?language=en TED Talk: The secret to desire in a long-term relationship: https://www.ted.com/talks/esther_perel_the_secret_to_desire_in_a_long_term_relationship?language=en The Future of Love, Lust, and Listening: SXSW 2018: https://www.sxsw.com/interactive/2018/esther-perel-interactive-keynote-at-sxsw-2018-video/ Relationship Skills and Workplace Dynamics at SXSW 2019: https://www.sxsw.com/interactive/2019/esther-perel-on-relationship-skills-and-workplace-dynamics-at-sxsw-2019-video/ Instagram: @estherperelofficial Twitter: @EstherPerel Facebook: @esther.perel, https://www.facebook.com/esther.perel/ Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

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 likeable, whatever that means. In the workplace strong women are often criticized for being cold, while warm women may be seen as pushovers. In her just released book, The Likeability Trap, and in our conversation, she discusses this issue and explains how and why both men and women should combat it. Plug Zone The Likeability Trap: https://www.amazon.com/Likeability-Trap-Break-Free-Worth/dp/0062838768 Website: http://aliciamenendez.com/ Twitter: @AliciaMenendez Instagram: @aliciamenendezxo Facebook: @AliciaMenendezTV An Evening with Joseph Goldstein and Dan Harris: Staying Sane in a Crazy World https://www.nyimc.org/event/an-evening-with-joseph-goldstein-and-dan-harris-staying-sane-in-a-crazy-world/ Episode References Psychological Safety / What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html THE FIVE INVITATIONS: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully https://fiveinvitations.com/the-book/ WeCroak: https://www.wecroak.com/ Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Brian Grazer is a Hollywood giant! He's made more than 100 films including Splash, Apollo 13 and the best-picture-winning A Beautiful Mind. He tells Dan this week how he has used his own curiosity in others to build powerful relationships. He takes us back to when he was a law clerk at Warner Bros. delivering papers to the biggest names in Hollywood and how he was able to overcome personal obstacles to strike up conversations he would turn into connections. Grazer also discusses how he uses transcendental meditation to calm feelings of anxiety and fear. We also discuss his latest book, Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection, his secrets on how to engage with others, and the importance of eye contact is when it comes to building relationships. Plug Zone Face to Face: https://www.amazon.com/Eye-Contact-Power-Personal-Connection/dp/1501147722 A Curious Mind: http://www.grazeriscurious.com/ Social: @BrianGrazer An Evening with Joseph Goldstein and Dan Harris: Staying Sane in a Crazy World https://www.nyimc.org/event/an-evening-with-joseph-goldstein-and-dan-harris-staying-sane-in-a-crazy-world/ Dan's Book Recommendations: https://www.tenpercent.com/reading Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group: https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Dr. Susan Pollak found refuge in meditation at a young age, introduced to it by a family member. Describing herself as an anxious and neurotic kid, she noticed how meditation offered her some relief. Pollak has remained fascinated with meditation ever since. She earned degrees in comparative religion and psychology, becoming a psychologist, and for decades she has been integrating the practice of mediation into psychotherapy. In her new book, "Self-Compassion for Parents," she explains why parents need to care for themselves first in order to provide the best care for their children. For those short on time, she's created meditation practices that take just a few minutes and she explains how even small moments of mindfulness can make a big difference. Plug Zone The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy: http://meditationandpsychotherapy.org/ Center for Mindfulness and Compassion: https://www.chacmc.org/ The Art of Now Blog: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-now Website: https://www.drsusanpollak.com/ Self-Compassion for Parents: https://www.amazon.com/Self-Compassion-Parents-Nurture-Caring-Yourself/dp/1462533094 Additional Books: https://www.drsusanpollak.com/books.php Addiction-Related Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (Habit Change): https://www.brown.edu/public-health/mindfulness/people/judson-brewer-md-phd G. Alan Marlatt (Addictive Behaviors): http://depts.washington.edu/abrc/marlatt.htm Jessica Morey Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme): https://ibme.com/ Ten Percent Happier Podcast Insiders Feedback Group https://10percenthappier.typeform.com/to/vHz4q4 ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Life can be challenging. It's comforting to have kind, supportive people around you to help you through it. Dr. Kristin Neff believes it's equally important to cultivate a kind, supportive inner voice. In her last year of graduate school Neff was going through what she calls a messy divorce. Looking for a way to alleviate the strong feelings of stress and shame she was experiencing, she found meditation. Drawn to the integration of mindfulness and compassion practices, she was able to work through her emotional turmoil. She came to the realization that she deserved kindness and encouragement and she didn't need to rely on anyone other than herself to fulfill those needs. That epiphany inspired her to spend the next several years of her life doing self-compassion work. Neff believes self-compassion is a trainable skill anyone can learn, even those who are not naturally inclined to be kind to themselves. She recently co-created a workbook that guides the reader through the practices of mindful self-compassion, hoping to help others experience the life-changing benefits of being kind to ourselves. Plug Zone Website: https://self-compassion.org/ Workbook: https://self-compassion.org/mindful-self-compassion-workbook/ Twitter: @self_compassion TED Talk: https://ed.ted.com/on/zhq011AI ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

Dr. Sydney Spears is a professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and holds a PhD in Clinical Social Work from Smith College. As a woman of color, she tells us she has experienced layers of oppression and discrimination. Looking for a way to make sense of these experiences, and the difficult emotions she felt because of them, she became interested in meditation. Through her mindfulness practice she realized her identity did not need to be defined by the social constructs society often uses to discriminate. She found comfort in knowing that while she may not be able to control her external experiences, no one could affect her internal peace. Now she teaches the concept of mindful self-compassion to help others come to this same realization. Plug Zone Website: https://midlifeateasecounseling.com/ Twitter: @MidlifeAtEase Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness: https://mindfulness-alliance.org/ ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

We are all guilty at times of taking on too much. Our guest this week, Jocelyn K. Glei, explains some of the benefits of taking a step back. She discusses the importance of slowing things down to prevent burnout and boost creativity. She's written about maximizing potential and managing each day. Her most recent book is Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work Done. Plug Zone Website: https://jkglei.com/ Hurry Slowly Podcast: https://hurryslowly.co/ Course: https://reset-course.com/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/Jocelyn-K-Glei/e/B00BSX6EJE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 Twitter: @jkglei ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326