Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

For episode 225 of the Metta Hour, Sharon welcomes New York Times bestselling author Katherine May.Click here to learn more about Sharon’s new book, Finding Your Way, available Oct 10th!Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster. Her most recent book, “Enchantment: Awakening Awe in an Anxious Age” was an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. Her internationally bestselling hybrid memoir “Wintering” was adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week. Katherine’s podcast, How We Live Now, ranks in the top 1% worldwide, and she has been a guest presenter for On Being’s The Future of Hope series. Katherine lives with her husband, son, two cats, and a dog. She loves walking, sea-swimming, and pickling slightly unappealing things.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaIn this conversation, Sharon and Katherine discuss:Coming into contact with lifeLearning to pay attention againThe way rushing hinders our attentionNot spending time in one paradigm at a timeSharon’s favorite word“Enchantment” following “Wintering” thematicallyChallenging our assumptionsHuman endeavors that inspire aweAwe isn’t just about prettinessKatherine’s experience learning meditationThe myth of a perfect mindfulness performanceThe bigger picture balance in lifeBlocks we can feel towards our pleasure and joyHolding joy and pain simultaneouslyHow Interconnection expands us to the natural worldKatherine closes the session with a short reading from her book, “Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age,” now available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. You can visit her website to learn more about Katherine and hear her podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 224 of the Metta Hour, Sharon sits down with Susan Bauer-Wu to talk about her new book, A Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis with the Power of Our Hearts & Minds.Susan is an organizational leader, clinical scientist, and mindfulness teacher whose lifework has been dedicated to alleviating suffering and fostering well-being through contemplative wisdom. Susan  is the president of the Mind & Life Institute and deeply committed to the care of our planet and to policies and personal actions that will ensure a future we can love for our children and grandchildren.In this conversation, Sharon and Susan discuss:Susan’s early career in HealthcareAuthentic Presence & Compassion How Susan connected to climate workInterconnection means we’re the problem & solutionThe genesis for Susan’s book, A Future We Can LoveThe meeting of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Great ThunbergThe Dalai Lama’s history as a climate activistHow writing the book affected SusanThe science of climate feedback loopsHow Buddhist teachings help us engage in climate changeLearning to metabolize difficult feelingsBeing a Bodhisattva of the EnvironmentSusan’s vision for the futureSusan closes the session with a guided meditation and ecosattva vow. You can get a copy of Susan’s book A Future We Can Love, right here.Ram Dass' Love Serve Remember Foundation and the Alan Watts Organization invite you to open your mind, open your heart, and tap into the living truth of Alan Watts and Ram Dass. Click to learn more about this special 4-week Virtual Course: The Presence of the Way: The Dharma of Alan Watts and Ram DassSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 223 of the Metta Hour, we are continuing our Mental Health Series.In this series, Sharon sits down with different teachers, experts, and health advocates to explore and destigmatize mental health by applying the tools of Buddhist wisdom and spiritual practice. For this fourth episode of the series, Sharon speaks with neuroscientist, artist, and activist Dr. Sará King.Sará is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Public Health at the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion in Human Health and Social Justice at UCSD. She is also the co-director of Mobius, a home for the development of Liberatory Technology, and the founder of MindHeart Collective. In 2022, she was also named one of the “10 Most Powerful Women in Mindfulness” by Mindful Magazine.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaIn this conversation, Sharon and Sará discuss:• Sará’s personal history that shaped her path• The hope that Neuroplasticity offers• How well-being is understood in neuroscience• Sará’s definition of the term “social justice”• Loving Awareness• Growth versus fixed mindset• The stories that are told about us• The role of pain in Mental Health• Sará’s Systems Based Awareness Map• Cultivating system-based thinking• Resilience building• Post-Traumatic Growth The conversation closes with a guided meditation led by Sará. To learn more about Sará’s work, you can visit her website.Mental Health ResourcesNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline call 988 or (800) 273-8255Psychology Today Find a Mindfulness-Trained TherapistActive Peace Yoga with Reggie HubbardThe Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry KaufmanMark Epstein Psychiatrist & Author with a Buddhist LensNalanda Institute Contemplative Psychotherapy ProgramExpress Yourself Black Man Healing Community for Black MenOption B Grief, Trauma and Loss SupportBlack Boys Om Black Boys & Men Healing & Wellness EducationCloud Sangha Community For Meditation & WellnessThe Trevor Project Support for LGBTQ Mental HealthTherapy for Black Girls Mental Wellness for Black Women and GirlsThe Friendship Bench Creating Safe Spaces & CommunityHope for Bereaved Grief Support GroupsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 222 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are closing out the Real Life Series to celebrate Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.”This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Andrés Gonzalez, Ali, and Atman Smith, recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit.Andy, Ali, and Atman co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation, a non-profit organization bringing yoga, meditation, and breath-work to thousands of at-risk kids in Baltimore schools since 2001. Their work has received wide national attention due to their remarkable results in public schools where suspension rates plummet and graduation rates skyrocket. Outside of the Holistic Life Foundation, Ali, Atman, and Andy also teach to diverse populations worldwide, including drug treatment centers, mental crisis facilities, homeless shelters, and Yoga, Wellness, and Mindfulness Festivals. Their first book, “Let Your Light Shine” was published in 2022 by Penguin Random House.To learn more about Andy, Ali, and Atman’s work, you can visit the website for their book.Real Life, the book that inspired this series, is now available from Flatiron Books in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. To learn more about the book or get a copy, you can visit Sharon’s website here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 221 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are continuing the Real Life Series in celebration of Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.” In this conversation, Sharon and Daisy Hernández speak about the emergence of equanimity on the spiritual path and the dawning of clarity.This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Daisy Hernández, recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaDaisy Hernández is a Journalist, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Northwestern University and the author of The Kissing Bug, which won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and was selected as an inaugural title for the National Book Foundation’s Science + Literature Program. Her memoir A Cup of Water Under My Bed won the IPPY Award for best coming-of-age memoir and Lambda Literary’s Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award.To learn more about Daisy’s work, you can visit her website."Don’t sweat the small stuff. My mother used to say that, I guess. In Spanish, the equivalent to ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ is ‘No te ahogues en un vaso de agua’, literally, ‘don’t drown yourself in a cup of water.” – Daisy HernándezReal Life, the book that inspired this series, is now available from Flatiron Books in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. To learn more about the book or get a copy, you can visit Sharon’s website here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 220 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are continuing the Real Life Series celebrating Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.”This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Mark Epstein, recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit.Real Life, the book that inspired this series, is now available from Flatiron Books in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. To learn more about the book or get a copy, you can visit Sharon’s website here.Mark Epstein is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, Going on Being, and his newest work The Trauma of Everyday Life. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and is currently Clinical Assistant Professor in the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University.To learn more about Mark’s work, you can visit his website. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 219 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are continuing the Real Life Series celebrating Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.”Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaJoél Leon is a storyteller, performer, poet, musician, and author who proudly hails from The Bronx. He is an alumnus of the famed Creative Collective NYC Creative Class and has gone on to win The BCA Bronx Recognizes Its Own Award in Poetry. In addition, he has authored the acclaimed books - “Book About Things I Will Tell My Daughter” and “God Wears Durags, too.” Joél is currently a Creative Director at the New York Times’s T Brand Studio.To learn more about Joél’s work, visit him on Instagram and other socials: @iamjoelleonThis interview features a conversation between Sharon and Duncan Trussell, recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Valarie Kaur, a renowned civil rights leader and bestselling author, discusses the transformative power of love in advocating for justice. She shares her personal journey into activism fueled by grief from a hate crime, emphasizing the importance of community healing and storytelling. The conversation delves into harnessing ‘divine rage’ as a force for social change and the necessity of deep empathy amidst division. Kaur also highlights how embracing gratitude and a sense of wonder can enrich our everyday lives and promote resilience.

For episode 217 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we are continuing the Real Life Series celebrating Sharon’s new book by the same name, “Real Life.” This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Dr. Gabor Maté about states of contraction and how that relates to addiction. Recorded for the Living An Authentic Life Summit. Gabor Maté is a renowned speaker and bestselling author. After 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience, Gabor worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. The bestselling author of four books published in over thirty languages, Gabor is sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship between stress and illness. His latest book, released in 2022, is titled the Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture. In this conversation, Gabor and Sharon speak about states of contraction and how that relates to addiction.To learn more about Gabor’s work, visit his website at drgabormate.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Comedian Duncan Trussell explores states of contraction and finding openness. They discuss misconceptions about meditation, the transformative power of service, and the importance of authenticity. Duncan shares personal struggles with meditation and expresses gratitude and excitement for recent experiences.