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It might be hard to find a more annoying cliché than self-love; it can seem empty and inactionable. And even if you could make it work, I think many of us suspect it would lead to complacent resignation or unbridled narcissism. But there is an enormous amount of evidence that self-love, or as the scientists call it, self-compassion, can make you more effective in reaching your goals as well as lead to better relationships with everybody around you.

On today’s show, the great meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg will walk us through the idea that love— both self-love and other love— is a skill that can be cultivated with massively positive impacts.

Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her forthcoming release, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom, is set for release in April of 2023 from Flatiron Books. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.

This episode comes out in conjunction with Dan Harris’ recent TED Talk on self-love. You can watch the full talk here.

In this episode we talk about:

The definition of self-hatred and its predominance in the West
The real practical benefits of self-compassion
Whether there is a difference between self-compassion and self-love
Why many people resist the idea of self-love
The distinction between empathy and compassion and how they work together in Buddhism
How to have lovingkindness for somebody who doesn't feel we have the right to exist
Reclaiming words like love and happiness
And how generosity makes us more whole

Full Shownotes: www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sharon-salzberg-510

Van Jones