The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern

Ethan talks to author, meditation teacher, scientist and lawyer Anu Gupta about his new book Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From--and the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them. They discuss Anu's life, how bias brought him to the brink of taking his own life, and his extensive work with organizations getting to the roots of internalized biases. They get into bias from both a Buddhist philosophical and scientific perspective. Finally, discuss the current state of America in terms of bias, as well how prejudice might be affecting our experience of the upcoming elections. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher with Rebecca D'onofrio and David Nichtern on Thurs Sep 19! Anu Gupta is a human rights lawyer, scientist, scholar of bias, meditation teacher, and the founder and CEO of BE MORE with Anu, an e-learning company that trains professionals across corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors to advance inclusion and wellness by breaking bias. His work has reached 300+ organizations, training more than 80,000 professionals and impacting over 30 million lives. 

Ethan provides a dharma talk on the (originally Jungian) idea of The Shadow and the current popularization of "Shadow Work." He explores the ways that Tantric Buddhism offers to work with our more difficult and suppressed experiences, as well as the concept of treating our most difficult experience as "beautiful monsters." Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher with Rebecca D'onofrio and David Nichtern! Visit https://ethannichtern.com for books, upcoming events, classes, and to get on his monthly email list! You can get a copy of Ethan's new book Confidence: Holding Your Seat Throught Life's Eight Worldly Winds in paperback, audiobook, or e-book!

Ethan provides a dharma talk on why practicing self-compassion can be so tricky and so "blocked." He offers some helpful tips you might not have considered (or maybe you have!) for practicing lovingkindness and compassion, both on the meditation seat and in life in general. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Nichtern! Visit https://ethannichtern.com for books, upcoming events, classes, and to get on his monthly email list!

Ethan talks to teacher Shawn J. Moore, aka The Mindful Rebel, aka "Part Buddha, Part Biggie" about his somewhat unique path to mindfulness and dharma, and about the meaning of holding space, allowing yourself to just be, and transformational leadership. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Nichtern! About the Guest: Residing at the intersection of leadership and mindfulness, Shawn J. Moore creates sacred spaces for stillness and self-inquiry to help social impact leaders align their strengths, intentions, and impact. Through his integrative approach, he holds transformative containers for self-renewal, personal discovery, and capacity-building that ease clients on their journey towards peace, clarity, and freedom. Shawn is committed to empowering change-makers to become embodied leaders – unified in mind, body, and heart – with the tools to mindfully pause, reconnect to their inner knowing, make strengths-driven decisions, and lead the change they believe the world needs. Shawn has an intuitive way of weaving all that he has learned on his path to help those on the inner journey of discovery – including meditation, sound healing, yoga nidra, and coaching, all through the lens of Buddhist philosophy. 

Ethan provides a dharma talk on the relationship between Self, Non-Self, Guilt and Remorse, and delves into a classic teaching called the "four powers" for how we meet our habitual stuck places and negative behavior with an eye toward gradual transformation. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Nichtern! Visit https://ethannichtern.com for books, upcoming events, classes, and to get on his monthly email list!

Ethan talks to one of his key teachers along the path, Dr. Gaylon Ferguson about Beginner's Mind, Original Mind and the relationship between Zen and Tantric Buddhism drawing from Dr. Ferguson's new book Welcoming Beginner's Mind: Zen and Tibetan Buddhist Wisdom on Experiencing Our True Nature. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Nichtern! Dr. Gaylon Ferguson, PhD, was core faculty in Religious and Interdisciplinary Studies for fifteen years at Naropa University. A senior Buddhist teacher, he has led mindfulness retreats since 1976 and is the author of the new book Welcoming Beginner’s Mind (2024), Natural Wakefulness, and Natural Bravery.  

Ethan continues his insights into our political moment after VP Kamala Harris ascends to candidacy. He reviews five practices for engagement with this season (reducing media intake, increasing volunteering and engagement, mindfulness meditation, body practice, and rest) and explores the Buddhist idea of "not one not two" for how we can experience unity at this time without cult thinking or purity testing. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Check out the free Imposter Syndrome event on September 3 with Duncan Trussell and David Nichtern! Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere!

Ethan wades into the 2024 American election, first sharing some thoughts on recent events, the dystopian state of American media, and finally, five practices we can each do to feel more connected and empowered and less panicky as the crucial election approaches. And yes, he's an optimist about American democracy. Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training. Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere!

Ethan and David Nichtern discuss the priniciple and practices of Windhorse meditation, and how to ride the energy of one's life and emotions, especially when showing up to do something that is hard to do. This is the second part of their recent conversation. The first part appeared on David's Creativitiy, Spirituality and Making a Buck podcast.  Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the upcoming Course with Ethan on Confidence and Windhorse Meditation! David Nichtern is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Awakening From the Daydream: Reimagining The Buddha's Wheel of Life and Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck. He mentors individual students both in person and online, and leads meditation teacher training programs around the world. He is also a four time Emmy-winning and two time Grammy-nominated composer and producer, as well as the founder of Dharma Moon Records and 5 Points Records.

Ethan and Marianne Williamson discuss her unique spiritual journey, her new book The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love, and her wisdom regarding the intersection of spiritual practice and political engagement. Her book is available everywhere in all formats now! Please remember to pick up a copy of Confidence: Holding Your Seat Through Life's Eight Worldly Winds out everywhere! Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the upcoming Course with Ethan on Confidence and Windhorse Meditation! Marianne Williamson: For more than four decades, Marianne Williamson has been a leader of spiritually progressive circles. She is the author of 16 books, four of which have been #1 New York Times best sellers. Her website: https://marianne.com Williamson founded Project Angel Food, a non-profit organization that has delivered more than 18 million meals to ill and dying homebound patients in the Los Angeles area since 1989. The group was created to help people suffering from the ravages of HIV/AIDS. She has also worked throughout her career on poverty, anti-hunger and racial reconciliation issues. In 2004, she co-founded The Peace Alliance and supported the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. Williamson ran for the democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States in both 2020 and 2024.