Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical journalist who had a panic attack on live national television, which led him to try something he otherwise never would have considered: meditation. He went on to write the bestselling book, 10% Happier. On this show, Dan talks with eminent meditation teachers, top scientists, and even the odd celebrity. Guests include everyone from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Brené Brown to Karamo from Queer Eye. On some episodes, Dan ventures into the deep end of the pool, covering subjects such as enlightenment and psychedelics. On other episodes, it’s science-based techniques for issues such as anxiety, productivity, and relationships. Dan's approach is seemingly modest, but secretly radical: happiness is a skill you can train, just like working your bicep in the gym. Your progress may be incremental at first, but like any good investment, it compounds over time.New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Listen to 10% Happier on the Wondery App or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting https://wondery.com/links/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harris now.
Radical strategies for the scarcity mindset.
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals.
Her new book, The Serviceberry, is about a plant whose behavior is a model not only for our individual lives, but potentially for rethinking the global economy.
In this episode we talk about:
Related Episodes:
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Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/robin-wall-kimmerer-861
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Evidence from the guy who pioneered the science.
James Pennebaker is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is known for his early research on expressive writing and health. More recently, he has pioneered ways to study people’s personalities and behaviors through the analysis of their language use. His text analysis program LIWC is used across disciplines. Author of over 300 scientific articles and 8 books, his research has affected our understanding and treatment of mental and physical health of people dealing with upheavals in their lives.
In this episode we talk about:
Dump It Here journal is available now. https://shop.danharris.com/
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Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/pennebaker-860
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An alternative for people who have trouble meditating on the breath.
About Sharon Salzberg:
Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is among the first to bring mindfulness & lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture fifty years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers.
A co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, Sharon is the author of thirteen books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindess.
In 2023, Sharon released two new books: Real Life, available from Flatiron Books, and Finding Your Way, a small gift book from Workman.
To find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Meditating with Touch Points.”
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A crucial (and often misunderstood) concept in Buddhism: letting go.
For this episode, Executive Producer DJ Cashmere interviewed a trio of brilliant Dharma teachers to get their advice about how to handle surrendering or letting go. This is the fourth in a series of 'correspondent' episodes, in which DJ identifies a pain point in his life and meditation practice, then goes out into the world to report on the best ways to address it.
Kaira Jewel Lingo is a former nun in the Plum Village tradition started by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Vinny Ferraro teaches at the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock, and also in prisons. Matthew Brensilver teaches at many of the same retreat centers, and spent many years working in the field of addiction pharmacotherapy.
*Find the Soft Belly Meditation here
*Check out Sebene Selassie’s website and newsletter, Ancestor to Elements. Plus, her ‘Let It Be’ guided meditation on DanHarris.com
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Want to study and practice with today's guests? Please check out these Spirit Rock offerings:
Matthew Brensilver, Buddhist Psychology Training (Begins in January)
Vinny Ferraro: A Year to Live; Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully (Begins in January)
Kaira Jewel Lingo: Healing Our Way Home (Oct. 20); Insight Meditation Retreat (April 9-16; opens Dec. 11)
All 10% Happier listeners receive a discount code for our December Insight Retreat (Dec. 8-18) with the code TENPERCENT
Vinny and Kaira Jewel will also teach at the Insight Meditation Society:
Kaira Jewel Lingo, Strength to Love: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King: Jr. (Jan 17 - Jan 20), and Return to Wholeness: Opening to Wisdom & Love (online) (Mar 23 - Mar 29)
Vinny Ferraro, Peace in Presence: A Four-Night Retreat for All (Jan 31 - Feb 4)
Related Episodes:
Also, the teachers’ sites:
Vinny Ferraro's Course, A Year To Live
https://www.matthewbrensilver.org/
Feedback form: Let us know what you think!
https://www.happierapp.com/contact
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Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok
Ten Percent Happier online bookstore
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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes
Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dj-surrender-4
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What ancient Greeks and Romans figured out about stress reduction.
You may have heard about stoicism, in the common parlance, as having a stiff upper lip, sucking it up, grinning and bearing it, suppressing your emotions, etcetera. Or you may have heard of Stoicism, the ancient Greco/Roman philosophy, that has become the de rigeur set of life hacks among millennial self-optimizers.
In this episode, guest Nancy Sherman argues that Stoicism is way deeper than any of that. She will argue that, in fact, Stoicism is kind of the opposite of all the above. It’s a way to truly know your patterns of thought and emotion.
Nancy Sherman is a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. She is an expert in ethics, the history of moral philosophy, moral psychology, military ethics, and emotions. Her most recent book is called Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience.
This episode is a rebroadcast from 2021: it’s one of our most-listened episodes, and we thought it might be particularly useful in this time of election-related stress.
In this conversation, we:
Content Warning: There is a brief reference to suicide.
Related Episodes:
Ancient Strategies for Managing Stress & Anxiety | Ryan Holiday
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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes
Full Shownotes: https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/nancy-sherman-rerun
Additional Resources:
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Discomfort with the unknown is a natural human response. This meditation will help you relax as you practice allowing the rhythm of life to unfold.
About Alexis Santos:
Alexis has practiced and taught Insight Meditation in both the East and West since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya (a well respected meditation teacher in Burma whose teachings have attracted a global audience), and his teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity -- a style of practice that's particularly useful during our crazy lives. Alexis has completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training, teaches retreats across the globe, and currently lives in Portland, Maine.
To find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Facing Uncertainty.”
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How to get the practice into your molecules—not in some militaristic way, but in a way that feels easy and natural.
Alexis Santos has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. After graduating from Harvard University in 1995, he spent several years in medical school before leaving his chosen career as a doctor to seek out a different path. It was while traveling in India that he was introduced to insight meditation.
Since that time, Alexis has practiced in many meditative styles and traditions, including with Sayadaw U Tejaniya, the Thai Forest tradition with Ajahn Sumedho, the Tibetan tradition with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and within the lay Western insight community where he continues to learn from the growing diversity of voices.
Alexis's primary teacher has been Sayadaw U Tejaniya, from the Burmese Theravada tradition, and with whom he ordained as a Buddhist monk from 2003 - 2005. Sayadaw encouraged Alexis to teach in 2012. Alexis also completed the Spirit Rock/IMS four-year teacher training program with Jack Kornfield and others, including mentors Joseph Goldstein and Carol Wilson.
Alexis teaches meditation at retreat centers around the world. He is featured on the Ten Percent Happier meditation app and is co-founder of Open Door Meditation Community in Portland, Maine where he is a guest teacher.
Alexis's teaching style is natural and uncrafted. He brings a practical, intuitive and compassionate approach to the development of wisdom.
***
Want to study and practice with Alexis? Visit his website at alexissantos.io where you can join his freely offered online practice sessions.
He will also be teaching at the Insight Meditation Society from March 5 - 12. When Awareness Becomes Natural: An U Tejaniya-style Insight Meditation Retreat
Related Episodes:
A More Relaxed Way to Meditate | Alexis Santos
I Just Did A 10-Day Silent Meditation Retreat With Joseph Goldstein. Here’s What I Learned
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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes
Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/alexis-santos-855
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How optimizing this skill can change your life – and the world.
Rabbi Sharon Brous has some extremely practical tips for how to improve what psychologists call your social health. She is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a Jewish community in LA. Her new book, a bestseller, is called The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World.
Related Episodes:
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Ten Percent Happier online bookstore
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Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes
Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/rabbi-sharon-brous-852
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Unraveling one of our main sources of unhappiness.
About Sebene Selassie:
Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. Sebene is a three-time cancer survivor of Stage III and IV cancer.
Check out Sebene’s Substack newsletter, Ancestors to Elements.
To find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Hope in the Everyday.”
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Buddhist case — and toolkit — for “don’t-know mind.”
For this episode, Executive Producer DJ Cashmere interviewed a trio of brilliant Dharma teachers to get their advice about how to handle being wrong. This is the third in a series of 'correspondent' episodes, in which DJ identifies a pain point in his life and meditation practice, then goes out into the world to report on the best ways to address it.
Kaira Jewel Lingo is a former nun in the Plum Village tradition started by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Vinny Ferraro teaches at the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock, and also in prisons. Matthew Brensilver teaches at many of the same retreat centers, and spent many years working in the field of addiction pharmacotherapy.
*Matthew’s Dharma talk on Knowing And Not-Knowing
****
Want to study and practice with today's guests? Please check out these Spirit Rock offerings:
Matthew Brensilver, Buddhist Psychology Training (Begins in January)
Vinny Ferraro: A Year to Live; Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully (Begins in January)
Kaira Jewel Lingo: Healing Our Way Home (Oct. 20); Insight Meditation Retreat (April 9-16; opens Dec. 11)
All 10% Happier listeners receive a discount code for our December Insight Retreat (Dec. 8-18) with the code TENPERCENT
& if you'd like to study with these guests on the East Coast, check out these retreats at the Insight Meditation Society:
Kaira Jewel Lingo, Strength to Love: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King: Jr. (Jan 17 - Jan 20), and Return to Wholeness: Opening to Wisdom & Love (Mar 23 - Mar 29)
Vinny Ferraro, Peace in Presence: A Four-Night Retreat for All (Jan 31 - Feb 4)
Related Episodes:
Also, the teachers’ sites:
Vinny Ferraro's Course, A Year To Live
https://www.matthewbrensilver.org/
Feedback form: Let us know what you think!
https://www.happierapp.com/contact
Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter here
Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok
Ten Percent Happier online bookstore
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes
Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dj-being-wrong-3
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
A Stanford innovation expert shares practical tips on future-proofing your mind.
Frederik Pferdt was Google’s first Chief Innovation Evangelist, where founded Google’s Innovation Lab. He’s also taught classes on innovation and creativity at Stanford University for more than a decade. His new book is called What's Next Is Now: How to Live Future Ready.
In this episode we talk about:
Related Episodes:
Dua Lipa On: Radical Optimism, Falling On Stage, And “Writing Yourself Into A Good Idea”
#516. Robin Roberts on the Skill of Optimism
#274 The Case for Optimism | Dr. Jonathan Salk
Sign up for Dan’s newsletter here
Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok
Ten Percent Happier online bookstore
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes
More from Frederik Pferdt:
Book: What's Next Is Now: How to Live Future Ready
NextLetter (newsletter signup): https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/#nextletter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frederikgpferdt/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgpferdt/?locale=en_US
Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/frederik-pferdt-851
Additional Resources:
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