For episode 136 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague, Soren Gordhamer.Soren is the founder and host of Wisdom 2.0, and the author of the book by the same name. He has spoken on and taught mindfulness to people around the world–from youth in New York City’s juvenile halls, to trauma workers in Rwanda, to the staff at Google’s corporate headquarters.This is the ninth episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Soren and Sharon discuss the role that meditation has played in Soren’s life and how it has informed his work as a change-maker. They discuss the importance of voting and the role meditation plays in citizenship. Soren also shares about his #VoteKindness initiative for the upcoming US election of 2020. The episode closes with Soren leading a 10-minute guided meditation practice.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 135 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with one of her oldest friends and colleagues, Jack Kornfield.Jack Kornfield is a beloved author and meditation teacher who trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974, and his books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.A longtime activist, Jack discusses with Sharon the role of an engaged life in the spiritual path, as taught in the Buddhist tradition. They share an intimate conversation with stories since meeting and becoming friends in 1974, and how activism has shaped their teaching and lives. They also discuss voting as a spiritual act and the organization that Jack is supporting to help get out the vote for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election: Buddhists & Yogins United. The conversation closes with Jack leading a guided meditation on Loving Awareness. Learn more about Jack's offerings at jackkornfield.comGet your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 134 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with social change agent, Marc Solomon.Marc is a nationally recognized political strategist and campaign leader with 25 years of experience in strategy, campaign management, policy development and execution, messaging and communications leadership, and field mobilization. Marc was one of the key architects of the marriage equality movement and has applied lessons from the marriage equality movement to help secure impactful criminal justice reforms, pass laws enacting automatic voter registration, advance pro-immigrant policies, and build bipartisan support for ending partisan gerrymandering. Learn more about Marc’s public affair’s work at civitaspublicaffairs.comIn this episode, Sharon and Marc discuss his work as an activist, in particular, cultivating resilience working on long-term civil rights movements, and the role that meditation has played in his own life. Marc closes the conversation by leading a guided lovingkindness meditation practice.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 133 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Anu Gupta.Anu Gupta is a scientist, educator and lawyer. He is the Founder of Be More with Anu, a science-backed, compassion-based approach, after conducting decade-long research on the causes of and solutions to racial and gender inequality.In this episode, Sharon and Anu speak at length about Anu’s personal journey to becoming a meditator, and his work as a facilitator in breaking bias, healing trauma, mending policies, and channeling resources equitably. Anu closes the conversation by leading a guided meditation practice.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 132 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks Diego Perez, known more commonly as Yung Pueblo, for the Real Change Podcast Series.Diego is a meditator, writer, and speaker who is widely known on Instagram and various social media networks through his pen name Yung Pueblo. Online he reaches hundreds of thousands of people every month through his written works that focus on the reality of self-healing, the movement from self-love to unconditional love, and the wisdom that comes when we truly work on knowing ourselves.This is the fifth episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Diego shares his journey of coming to Vipassana meditation. They share stories about the influence that S.N. Goenka has had on both their lives, as well as the role Dipa Ma has okayed for them both. Diego shares about his life as a community organizer and activist before becoming a writer, and they discuss at length the relationship between inner transformation and outer transformation. The conversation closes with Diego leading a reflection on practice and transformation.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 131 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with her close friend, Sylvia Boorstein for the Real Change Podcast Series.Sylvia Boorstein has been teaching Dharma and mindfulness meditation since 1985, and is the author of five books. She is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, a psychotherapist, wife, mother and grandmother.vIn this conversation Sharon and Sylvia talk about their initial meeting in the1980s through lovingkindness practice, and how that practice has shaped Sylvia’s practice and teaching. They discuss their experiences in the pandemic, and what is still true: the three characteristics of existence from the Buddhist framework. Sylvia shares about her experiences working with worry or other unstable mind energies through the five hindrances.This is the fourth episode of the Real Change Podcast Series, and Sylvia shares her experiences as a longtime activist, and why she considered her spiritual practice in her 20s and 30s to be activism. She also speaks about her arrest in 2003 with Jack Kornfield for the peaceful protest of the invasion of Afganistan. They also discuss Sylvia’s involvement with the Peace Alliance. The conversation closes with Sylvia leading an eight-minute guided meditation practice on lovingkindness.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 130 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks Joel Leon.Joel is a performer, author, and storyteller who writes and tells stories for Black people. Born and raised in the Bronx, Joel specializes in moderating and leading conversations surrounding race, masculinity, mental health, creativity and the performing arts, with love at the center of his work and purpose. He is the author of “Book About Things I Will Tell My Daughter” and “God Wears Durags, Too”.This is the third episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Joel and Sharon discuss love as an agent of change in the world, reclaiming it from its more often romantic definitions. Joel shares how he came to Buddhist teachings and how they have affected his life and art, especially now, during the Coronavirus quarantine in NYC. They discuss many of the themes in Real Change, especially the role that art plays in social change movements, and how differently that is viewed in eastern versus western cultures. The conversation closes with Joel leading a ___-minute guided meditation practice.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 129 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague, Sebene Selassie for the Real Change Series.Sebene Selassie has been teaching meditation workshops, courses and retreats for over a decade and her first book, “You Belong” was released in August of 2020 by HarperOne. She has studied Buddhism for over 30 years and received a BA from McGill University in Religious and Women’s Studies and an MA from the New School where she focused on cultural studies and race. Her work has taken her everywhere from the Tenderloin in San Francisco to refugee camps in Guinea, West Africa. Sebene is proud to have served on the boards of New York Insight Meditation Center, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and Sacred Mountain Sangha.This is the second episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Sebene and Sharon discuss some of the overlapping themes from their new books, Real Change and You Belong, exploring the ways meditation practice can inform social action such as agency, cultural conditioning, inherent bias, self-love and balance.Learn more about Sebene’s offerings at sebeneselassie.com.You can also get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 128 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Sensei Joshin Byrnes for the Real Change Series.Sensei Joshin Byrnes is a Zen priest, teacher, activist, and the founder of the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in Vermont. Joshin maintains a core practice of bearing witness to homelessness by offering street retreats in cities around the country and has spent much of his career working for social change nonprofits in the areas of AIDS and HIV prevention, child welfare, and community-based philanthropy.This is the first episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Joshin and Sharon discuss some of the themes from her new book, Real Change, exploring the ways that meditation practice can inform social action. They discuss working with anger, pathological altruism, finding long term resilience and joy in activism, and working to find balance. To close the conversation, Joshin leads a ten-minute meditation practice on equanimity.Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 127 of the Metta Hour, Sharon chats with Bethany Saltman about her new book, Strange Situation.Bethany is an author, award-winning editor, and researcher. Her work can be seen in magazines like the New Yorker, New York Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Parents, Town & Country, and many others. Her first book, “Strange Situation: A Mother’s Journey Into the Science of Attachment” was just released in April of 2020. In this conversation, Bethany and Sharon discuss attachment theory in the Buddhist perspective, and how it can serve as the ground for tuning into life in a softer and fuller way. To close the conversation, Bethany leads a short Zazen meditation practice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.