Tenderness: Definition and Discovery

For episode 274, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, coming out on December 9th!

Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. 

To learn more about Sharon’s forthcoming children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here.

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. For the third episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Meena Srinivasan.

Meena Srinivasan is an educational leader, speaker, author, and visionary edupreneur. With over two decades of dedicated service, she has consistently championing the fusion of Mindfulness and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). In 2022, she was featured as one of Mindful Magazine's "Ten Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement," while also gaining recognition in Educational Leadership Magazine for her insights into Mindful Leadership and Wellbeing. Her recent TEDx Talk on Tenderness is one of the most popular talks of 2024 with more than 2 million views. A dedicated practitioner for more than 25 years, Meena is a newly ordained lay Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, in the lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who calls her a “precious ambassador of mindfulness.”

In this conversation, Meena and Sharon speak about:

• Aligning inner life with outer work
• Meena’s early spiritual foundation in Hindu culture
• Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
• SEL practices for different ages & environments
• Smell the Flower and Blow Out the Candle meditations
• Supporting kids in crisis
• Thích Nhất Hạnh’s School of Interbeing
• The importance of parents'’ and educators’ well-being
• Community practice as a necessity 
• Transformative Educational Leadership 
• Meena’s research on tenderness with Yale 
• Tenderness versus compassion, vulnerability & empathy
• The Three Breath Hug Meditation
• The Non-Toothache Meditation

The episode closes with Meena leading guided practice. You can learn more about Meena’s work on her website, right here.

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