New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

---

Kabat-Zinn on the nitty gritty practicalities of starting a practice, being fully present with no agenda, and letting go of “the story of me.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Back in the 1970s, he came up with something called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR, which is a secular way of teaching Buddhist meditation. He’s written many books, including Full Catastrophe Living; Wherever You Go, There You Are; and Coming to Our Senses. His latest book is called Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief.

In this episode we talk about:

The nitty gritty practicalities of starting a practice
How he’s learned to be more relaxed about his practice—including advocating for meditating in bed
How to practice being fully present with no agenda
How investigating your motivations—something most people don’t do— can help you be more mindful
How to practice letting go of “the story of me”

Related Episodes:

Tripping Out with a Legend: Jon Kabat-Zinn on Pain vs. Suffering, Rethinking Your Anxiety, and the Buddha's Teaching in a Single Sentence

Jon Kabat-Zinn | Meditation as a Love Affair

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter here

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Ten Percent Happier online bookstore

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/jon-kabat-zinn-2024

17. Ridiculousness Threshold: 29 December 2011