Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

For episode 176 of the Metta Hour, Sharon is joined by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott.In this conversation, Neal shares his impetus for writing Shapes of Truth and how the book played a role in his first date with his now-wife, Annie Lamott. The three converse about the different ways they define the term and the experience of God or the divine, and how that interfaces with daily life. The episode ends with Neal leading a short guided reflection to bring the conversation to a close.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaNeal Allen is a coach and writer who studies and practices traditional and contemporary spiritual paths. He is the author of the 2021 release Shapes of Truth: Discover God Inside You. Anne Lamott is the New York Times best-selling author of 19 books, including collections of essays, novels, and long-form non-fiction, including the classic writing manual Bird by Bird and childrearing memoir Operating Instructions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 175 of the Metta Hour, Sharon welcomes Christiane Wolf, MD, Ph.D., for a conversation about chronic pain.Christiane Wolf is a physician, meditation teacher, and author. She is the author of the May 2021 release, Outsmart Your Pain: Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to Help You Leave Chronic Pain Behind, and is a senior teacher at InsightLA in Los Angeles. She is also the lead consultant and teacher trainer for the US Department of Veteran Affairs National Mindfulness Facilitator Training.In this conversation, Christiane shares her background in meditation and what inspired her to teach. Sharon and Christiane talk about how working with physical pain can be a template for working with emotional pain and some of the cultural conditioning that can make chronic pain more difficult. Christiane discusses the difference between accepting and acknowledging pain and the role that grief has to play with it. She also shares some of her modes of working with pain through mindfulness and self-compassion. The episode concludes with Christiane leading a short guided meditation.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/mettaThe paperback edition of Real Change is now available! Order HereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 174 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.Scott is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist exploring the mind, creativity, and the depths of human potential. He is the founder and director of the Center for the Science of Human Potential and the author of several books, including “Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization.” Scott is also the host of The Psychology Podcast, with over 17 million downloads.In this conversation, Scott and Sharon speak about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Scott’s revamp of the model in his recent book, “Transcend,” which was released in 2020. Scott discusses the metaphor of a sailboat to represent his model of self-actualization. Sharon asks Scott his thoughts about the overarching processes of moving from contraction to expansion in life and his approach to personal growth and transcendence from a modern psychological point of view. They also discuss the popular wellness trend, Toxic Positivity, and Scott’s response to this phenomenon, Tragic Optimism: the ability to find meaning in any form of suffering. The episode ends with Scott leading a short guided growth challenge exercise to bring the conversation to a close.This podcast is brought to you 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.

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book.These interviews originally aired in 2019 and 2020, with Sharon speaking to various folks about the intersection of mindfulness and loving kindness practice with social action. For the sixth and final episode of this anthology, we're exploring the theme of Burnout to Balance. This episode features interview clips with Ellen Agler, Joél Leon, Killian Noe, Sensei Joshin Byrnes and Shelly Tygielski. Each guest shares their own unique tools for cultivating balance and equanimity when dealing with the burnout that often accompanies social action work. The paperback edition of Real Change is now available! Order HereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 172 of the Metta Hour, we bring you a special memorial episode in honor of Bell Hooks.This episode features Sharon in conversation with bell and was originally released in May of 2017 as part of the Real Love Podcast Series. We’re re-releasing it now to honor bell's legacy and teaching after her recent passing in December of 2021. Bell hooks is the pen name of Gloria Jean Watkins - a cultural critic, feminist theorist, and world-acclaimed author. She has been named a leading public intellectual by The Atlantic Monthly, as well as one of Utne Reader's 100 Visionaries Who Could Change Your Life. This conversation was recorded live at the JCC Manhattan in 2017 and moderated by Melvin McLeod, the Editor-in-Chief of Lion's Roar magazine.Learn more about bell's work at bellhooksinstitute.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book.The paperback edition of Real Change is now available! Order HereIn celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in Novemberof 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book. These interviews originally aired on the podcast in 2020, with Sharon speaking to different meditation teachers and activists about the intersection of mindfulness and loving kindness practice with social action. For the fifth episode of this anthology, we're exploring the theme of The Interconnected World. This episode features interview clips from Anu Gupta, Ellen Agler, Sensei Joshin Byrnes, Mallika Dutt, Sebene Selassie, Soren Gordhamer, and Yung Pueblo. Each guest speaks about the nuanced ways in which interconnection informs their work and their own personal healing.This podcast is brought to you 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.

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book.These interviews originally aired on the podcast in 2020, with Sharon speaking to different meditation teachers and activists about the intersection of mindfulness and lovingkindness practice with social action. For the fourth episode of this anthology, we're exploring the theme of Anger to Courage. This episode features interview clips from Devon and Craig Hase, Sensei Joshin Byrnes, Marc Solomon, Mallika Dutt, and Shelly Tygielski. Each speak about their transformational journey working with anger: the pitfalls and promises of this powerful emotion and how to harness it for a courageous heart and mind.The paperback edition of Real Change is now available! Order HereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book.The paperback edition of Real Change is now available! Order HereThese interviews originally aired on the podcast in 2019 and 2020, with Sharon speaking to different meditation teachers and activists about the intersection of mindfulness and lovingkindness practice with social action. For Episode Three of the anthology, we're exploring the theme of Art as Activism. This episode features interview clips from Carla Goldstein, Gary Gach, Joél Leon, Sarah Jones, Sarah Ruhl, and Yung Pueblo. Each speak about their respective work as artists, and how they view this creative work as a form of activism and social change.This podcast is brought to you 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.

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book.These interviews originally aired on the podcast in 2020, with Sharon speaking to various folks about the intersection of mindfulness and lovingkindness practice with social action. For Episode Two of the Real Change Anthology, the Metta Hour Podcast explores the theme of "Grief to Resilience" with interview clips featuring David DeSteno, Ellen Agler, Jack Kornfield, Jana Kiser, Sensei Joshin Byrnes, Marc Solomon, and Sebene Selassie.Sharon hosts an 8-Day Real Change Challenge Dec 6-13th, featuring daily lessons, meditations, & calls to action. Register at SharonSalzberg.comThe paperback edition of Real Change is available Nov 30th: Preorder HereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In celebration of the paperback book release of Sharon's latest book, Real Change, in November of 2021, the Metta Hour is releasing an anthology of interviews exploring the themes from the book.The paperback edition of Real Change is now available! Order HereThese interviews originally aired on the podcast in 2020, with Sharon speaking to various teachers and activists about the intersection of mindfulness and lovingkindness practice with social action. For Episode One of the Real Change Anthology, the Metta Hour Podcast explores the theme of "Agency in Action" with interview clips featuring Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, and Yung Pueblo. They each share their unique experiences as activists and how that work intersects with their spiritual life.This podcast is brought to you 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.