For episode 203 of the Metta Hour Podcast, we have the first in a special series celebrating Sharon’s new book, “Real Life.” This interview features a conversation between Sharon and Jon Kabat-Zinn, pulled from the Living An Authentic Life Summit. Jon is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, and its world-renown Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic. He is the author of 15 books, including the bestseller Full Catastrophe Living. His latest book published in 2023 is Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief: Practices to Reclaim Your Body and Your Life.The conversation begins with Jon leading a guided meditation practice, followed by a dynamic interview in which Jon and Sharon discuss:• Jon’s first exposure to meditation• mindfulness as a love affair• what is authentic living• translating ancient teaching of the Buddha• Jon’s early teaching at UMass• freeing ourselves from delusion• waking up in every moment• the compassion in mindfulness• finding freedom from painTo learn more about Jon’s work, teaching schedule, and latest book, Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief, you can visit his website. To hear this interview in its entirety, you can sign up right here for the Living an Authentic Life Summit which runs online from March 29th – April 2nd and it is free to join.“When you tune into yourself, you’re actually tuning into the entire universe, of which you are an intimate and insanely beautiful and mysterious part.” – Jon Kabat-ZinnSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For Episode 202 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon is joined by lifelong friend, Jack Kornfield to talk about the power of Community.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, Jack and Sharon discuss the many nuances of community, which is one of the three gems in Buddhism. They speak about:• What the three jewels are• The ways that community supported their early life on the path• What community offers the individual• What COVID revealed about interconnection• The epidemic of loneliness• How to cultivate community today• Jack’s new endeavor, Cloud SanghaThe episode closes with Jack leading a guided meditation. Join Sharon, Jack and seven of today's thought leaders in the space of mindfulness and meditation for a free online summit! Take a journey to inner peace, freedom and joy March 29 – April 2, 2023. Enroll for the Living an Authentic Life Summit for free: Join The Free SummitJack trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. Jack’s books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a father, husband and activist.To learn more about Jack’s work and his many offerings, you can visit jackkornfield.com. To learn about Cloud Sangha, you can visit cloudsangha.co.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Koshin Paley Ellison joins Sharon for Episode 201 of the Metta Hour speaking about his new book, Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaKoshin is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and ACPE Certified Chaplaincy Educator. After more than a decade as a chaplain and psychotherapist, Koshin co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. Koshin is a renowned thought leader in contemplative care and he is the author of several books. In this conversation, Sharon and Koshin speak about:• What drew Koshin to write on the 8-Fold Path• The importance of the four noble truths outside Buddhism• The definition of suffering in Buddhism• Being with suffering in a loving way• Writing as a form of gratitude• The 8-Fold Path as approach to practice• Shame versus embarrassment• Right Effort and Right Speech• Healing Toxic Masculinity• What does it mean to be a diverse person• The Pandemic of LonelinessThe episode closes with Koshin leading a guided meditation practice “Opening the Cage” from his book. To learn more about Koshin’s work, you can visit zencare.orgAbout Koshin Paley Ellison:Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN, is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and ACPE Certified Chaplaincy Educator. After more than a decade as a chaplain and psychotherapist, Koshin co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. Koshin’s work has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets. He is the author of Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion (Balance/Hachette, 2022); Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up (Wisdom Publications, 2019); and the co-editor of Awake at the Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End of Life Care (Wisdom Publications, 2016). Keep up with Koshin Paley Ellison on Instagram“Everything is a moment of practice, everything has that potential.” – Koshin Paley EllisonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 200 of The Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Diana Winston and Sue Smalley, Ph.D. about the re-release of their book, Fully Present: The Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness. In this episode, Sharon, Diana and Sue speak at length about the advances in research over the past decade in the scientific research of meditation, mindfulness and compassion practice.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaDiana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center and the author of The Little Book of Being, and Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens. She has been teaching mindfulness since 1999 in a variety of settings, and developed the evidence-based Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPS) curriculum and the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation, which trains mindfulness teachers worldwide.Sue Smalley, Ph.D. is a Professor emerita in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA, who has conducted seminal studies on the genetics of ADHD and Autism Spectrum disorders, publishing over 100 peer reviewed papers in the field of behavioral genetics.In 2004, she founded the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, and more recently helped co-create the Bedari Kindness Institute at UCLA.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For Episode 199 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon and Joseph Goldstein are interviewed by Lily Cushman, recalling their early lives.They each share what drew them to the path of meditation in the late sixties and early seventies and their initial years of practice in the East. This podcast is being released in tandem with the Insight Hour Podcast. Joseph Goldstein has been teaching meditation since 1974. He and Sharon are co-founders of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, located in Barre, Massachusetts. Joseph is the author of numerous books, including Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening and Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom. Dan Harris calls him “a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society.”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, Joseph shares about:growing up in the Catskills • early encounters with death and loss • Studying philosophy at Columbia University • living in New York City during his college years • joining the Peace Corps and living in Thailand • his first encounters with Buddhist monks • the resonance of finding the spiritual path • the ups and downs of his initial years of practice • finding his teacher, Munindra • meeting Sharon at her first retreat with S.N. Goenka • his experiences as more westerners arrived in India • the community that emerged out of the Goenka retreats • grappling with his “body of steel” for many years • the parallels of the evolution of his and Sharon’s pathSharon shares about:the difficulty of her childhood • her first encounter with Buddhist Philosophy in college • creating a study abroad program to take her to India • receiving Chögyam Trungpa’s advice on where to learn meditation • searching for meditation instruction across India as a young woman • the scene at her first retreat led S.N. Goenka • the difficulty of her first instruction being a ten-day retreat • some themes of her initial meditation experiences • learning how to navigate her inner life • meeting Joseph for the first time • her and Joseph’s different practice needs in their early years • crafting a spiritual path before there was a model for that life in the WestTo learn more about Joseph’s work, you can visit dharma.org/joseph. His teachings can also be found on the Ten Percent Happier App, the Waking Up with Sam Harris App and on the Dharma Seed app.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We have something special to share with you!Dan Harris (host of Ten Percent Happier) flies to Dharamsala, India to spend two weeks in the orbit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This is the first installment of a five-part audio documentary series, something we’ve never done before now. Over the course of the episodes, we talk to His Holiness about practical strategies for thorny dilemmas, including: how to get along with difficult people; whether compassion can cut it in an often brutal world; why there is a self-interested case for not being a jerk; and how to create social connection in an era of disconnection. We also get rare insights from the Dalai Lama into everything from the mechanics of reincarnation to His Holiness’s own personal mediation practice. In this first installment, Dan watches as a young activist directly challenges His Holiness: In a world plagued by climate change, terrorism, and other existential threats, is the Dalia Lama’s message of compassion practical — or even relevant? Want more of The Dalai Lama’s Guide to Happiness? Listen to the Ten Percent Happier podcast here.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sharon welcomes Shakil Choudry for Episode 198 of the Metta Hour Podcast.Shakil is an educator, consultant, and author with over 25 years of experience in the field of racial justice, diversity, and inclusion. He coaches executive teams and facilitates dialogue processes to resolve inter-group conflict, having led projects internationally and with organizations locally. He is the author of “Deep Diversity: A Compassionate, Scientific Approach to Achieving Racial Justice.”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 Shakil discuss:• How Shakil was drawn to racial diversity work • The first representation Shakil was exposed to in media • The impact of Interconnection • Holding tension between Individualism and Community • Developing Equity Literacy around oppressive social structures • Learning the patterns of inequality • 360-hour rule of learning • The tipping point of George Floyd’s death • The emotionality of racial justice • Shame as a learning tool • How do you make people change? • The power of listening • The four pillars of Shakil’s approach to racial healing • Emotional beings first, thinking beings second • The function of Bias • How the groups we belong to form our identity • The dynamics of in-groups and out-groups • The nuance of power dynamicsNEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommune.com/ramdass"The political forces right now in the world are about extremism. They are yanking communities apart and separating them. Filling them with fear and lies and hate. So, truth is needed in that. Discernment is needed and that. Compassion is needed in that. Care is needed in that. Those who have the capacity can, and should step in with those tools. Shaming and blaming, there is a place for it... but we often need a different approach. Not everyone can do it, but those of us who can need to step in to support a different culture and conversation." - Shakil ChoudrySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Daniel Goleman join Sharon for a special episode of the Metta Hour Podcast celebrating the launch of their brand new book, Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice of Clarity and Compassion.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaTsoknyi Rinpoche is a beloved teacher among the new generation of Tibetan Buddhist meditation masters. Widely recognized as an outstanding meditation teacher for over twenty-five years, he is the author of Open Heart, Open Mind, Fearless Simplicity, and Carefree Dignity. Daniel Goleman is the internationally bestselling author and coauthor of several books, including Emotional Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits. He was a science reporter for The New York Times and was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.In this special episode, Sharon, Daniel, and Rinpoche speak about:• How Rinpoche began teaching • The ways psychology shapes spiritual practice • The first time Rinpoche taught in the States • John Welwood & Spiritual Bypass • How their new book came to be • Finding our natural pace in a speedy culture • The Subtle Body • Balancing Restlessness • Working with our “Beautiful Monsters” • How childhood imprints affect us • When an experience we have is real but not true • Rinpoche’s fear of heights • Handshake practice • Obstacles of love and compassion • Cultivating intrinsic okay-ness • Grounding in the body • The importance of “Wise Hope”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 196 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks special guest, Dr. Gabor Maté. Gabor is highly sought after for his expertise working with addiction, stress, and childhood development. He has written several bestselling books, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, When the Body Says No, and Scattered, and co-authored the book Hold On to Your Kids. His works have been published internationally in nearly thirty languages. Gabor’s new book, The Myth of Normal, has just been released in September of 2022.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 episode, Sharon and Gabor discuss:How Gabor defines the term “normal” • Human’s incredible and sometimes dangerous adaptability • The percentages of folks on medication • How our culture engenders illness • The evolutionary nature • The essence of interconnection across culture, science & spirituality • Thích Nhất Hạnh’s inter-being teaching • The concept of the “identified person” • Addiction as the canary in the mine • Traumatic events versus the dramatic wounds we sustain as a result • The complex factors that motivate caregivers • Why caregivers tend toward trauma • Compassion Fatigue is a lack of self-compassion • Negative self-talk as an impact of trauma • The difference between responsibility and blame • The role of community in healing • Authenticity versus attachment • Childhood development • Is it ever too late to heal? • Gabor’s practice of Compassionate Inquiry • The evolution of addiction treatments • How our culture profits off of addictionThe conversation closes with a twelve-minute guided inquiry exercise by Gabor. To learn more about Gabor’s work, you can visit his website at drgabormate.com or find his latest book, The Myth of Normal, available in hardcover, audio and ebook formats.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Husband and wife, Barbara Graham and Hugh Delehanty join Sharon Salzberg for Episode 195 of the Metta Hour Podcast.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaBarbara Graham is a New York Times bestselling author, essayist, and  playwright. She is the author of several books, including her 2022 novel “What Jonah Knew.” Hugh Delehanty is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a National Magazine Award-winning editor, and a certified meditation teacher with more than 25 years of practice.In this episode, Sharon, Hugh and Barbara discuss:How Barbara & Hugh came to spiritual practice • How creativity can be informed by meditation • Finding joy in creative expression • Cultural assumptions about creativity • Training capacities we don’t think we have • Confronting our creative fears • The seed for Barbara’s recent book • Writing the thing you’re most afraid of • How visual art informed Hugh as a writer • The mystery of reincarnation • Hugh’s work in sports writing • Phil Jackson’s coaching ethos • Compassion in sports • Leonard Cohen • Trusting ones creative impulsesThe episode closes with a meditation led by Hugh on open awareness. Learn more about Hugh’s work hughdelehanty.com at and get yourself a copy of Barbara’s new book, “What Jonah Knew” at barbaragrahamauthor.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.