For episode 254, we are continuing the Fireside Chat Series on the Metta Hour with guest Ruth King.

This series features intimate conversations with longtime dharma teachers about the early days of their practice and the most impactful moments with their own teachers. Hosted by IMS Online, the sixth episode in this series. Ruth King is the Founder of Mindful of Race Institute, LLC, and is a celebrated author, educator, and meditation teacher. She teaches mindfulness meditation retreats worldwide and develops meditation practitioners at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, and the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. Ruth is the author of several publications including her most recent, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From The Inside Out.

In this conversation, Ruth and Sharon discuss:

• Ruth’s first invitation to meditation
• First hearing Jack Kornfield teach
• The deep calling to teach
• Initial misconceptions about meditation
• Ram Dass giving Joseph Goldstein his first teaching job
• Sharon’s first teaching retreat
• Ruth’s first teaching in the DC area
• Ruth’s life as a writer
• Artistry and mindfulness
• Ruth’s BIPOC teaching & online academy
• The season of eldership 
• The process of downsizing and moving
• Letting go versus not holding on
• Nothing is permanent, perfect, or personal
• This episode closes with a guided meditation by Ruth.

You can learn more about Ruth’s work right here and get a copy of Mindful of Race right here. Learn more about IMS Online right here. Listen to Ruth’s first episode on the Metta Hour from 2018, Episode 87, right here.

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For episode 252, Cory Allen makes his first appearance on the Metta Hour podcast.

Cory Allen is an author, coach, podcaster, and influencer from Austin, Texas. He writes daily thoughts on mindfulness and mental clarity for his large Instagram following, reaching over a million people a week. Cory is the author of two books, his most recent, Brave New You, has just been released from Hay House in 2024 in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats. His podcast And Then It Hit Me, has over 300 episodes to date.

In this conversation, Sharon and Cory discuss:

• Meditation Barbie
• Cory’s origin story
• Opening to greater possibility
• Cultivating greater agency
• Story is everything
• Keeping language real
• Having an original mind
• The importance of self-trust
• How our faith evolves
• How Sharon challenges herself
• Intuition as an entryway to our deeper self

Cory closes the conversation with a guided meditation. You can learn more about Cory’s work right here and get a copy of his new book, Brave New You, right here. 

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For episode 252, Kristin Neff returns to the Metta Hour for her third appearance on the podcast.

Dr. Kristin Neff is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first empirical studies on self-compassion more than twenty years ago. She has been recognized as one of the most influential researchers in psychology worldwide is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Kristin runs the Self-Compassion Community, an online learning platform where people can learn the skill of self-compassion with the help of others, and is author of the bestselling books Self-Compassion and Fierce Self-Compassion. Her new book, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout, co-authored with Chris Germer, is now available everywhere.

In this conversation, Kristin and Sharon discuss:

• Kristin’s personal burnout 
• Kristin’s definition of compassion
• Myths of self-compassion
• What happens in burnout
• Negativity bias sinkholes
• The necessity of positive states
• Healthy boundaries
• Loving the Inner critic 
• Research on Self-Compassion
• Self-Compassion Example Scenarios
• Kristin’s new community offering

Kristin closes the conversation with a guided meditation on Self-Compassion.

You can learn more about Kristin’s work right here and get a copy of her new book, Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout right here.

You can join Kristin’s Self-Compassion Community right here and take her Self-Compassion Quiz right here. 

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For episode 251, Ethan Nichtern returns to the Metta Hour to talk about his new book, Confidence: Holding Your Seat through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds.

Ethan is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and the host of The Road Home Podcast. He is the author of several books, including The Road Home, and has been featured by CNN, NPR, the New York Times, Vogue, and Business Insider, and more.

In this conversation, Sharon and Ethan discuss:

• What Ethan’s been up to the past 7 years
• What inspired Ethan’s new book
• The image of tube people
• The dichotomy of hope/fear
• The eight vicissitudes
• Ethan’s definition of equanimity
• Holding Your Seat
• Learning to stay with your own mind
• The positive sense of pride
• Confidence as self-respect
• Building confidence if trauma is present
• Window of Tolerance
• The Four Powers of Confidence
• Ethan’s life as a Dad

Ethan closes the conversation with a guided meditation on Raising Windhorse. You can learn more about Ethan’s work and get a copy of his new book, Confidence, right here. Listen to Ethan’s Road Home Podcast right here.

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For episode 250, Reggie Hubbard returns to the Metta Hour podcast to talk about Election Stress.

Reggie is a certified yoga and meditation teacher and the founder/chief serving officer of Active Peace Yoga. He has taught Members of Congress, Congressional Staff, major labor unions, leading progressive organizations, and individuals from all walks of life the simple tools for managing stress and bringing peace to mind, body, and spirit. Reggie’s life work sits at the intersection of bringing more peace and balance to activists; guiding the wellness community toward being more engaged, concerned citizens; and enhancing the well-being of all walks of life.

Join Sharon for a 7-day online course that helps us reclaim kindness as the superpower it truly is. Distilling over 50 years of Buddhist teaching into practical, accessible and actionable lessons, Sharon’s course points us to the core of what it means to be alive, connected, and whole. Learn more: Kindness In A Fractured World

In this conversation, Sharon and Reggie discuss:

• Reggie’s recent health emergency
• Finding agency to take action
• Life is not a race
• Recovery process
• Voting is a sacred act
• Life in the margins
• Working w/ intense emotions
• Reggie’s work with systems
• Boundaries are our friends
• The sanctity of your nervous system
• Grounding into the body
• Lovingkindness in activism
• Less pointing fingers, more opening arms
• Equanimity supporting the process
• A daily wellness election checklist
• Sharon’s Ishta Deva, Lady Liberty

Reggie closes the conversation with a healing sound meditation. You can learn more about Reggie’s work right here. 

For Election Resources from Sharon, click right here.

You can check out Reggie’s previous appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast in Episode 201 right here, that was part of our Mental Health Series.

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For episode 249, Anu Gupta returns to the Metta Hour to speak about his new book, “Breaking Bias: Where Stereotypes and Prejudices Come From and - the Science-Backed Method to Unravel Them.”

Anu is an educator, lawyer, scientist, and the founder and CEO of BE MORE with Anu, an education technology benefit corporation that trains professionals across corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors to advance DEIB and wellness by breaking bias. His first book, “Breaking Bias” is now available from Hay House.

In this episode, Anu and Sharon discuss:

• How Anu became interested in science
• Anu’s childhood being marginalized 
• The Dalai Lama writing the foreword for Anu’s book
• Why Anu chose to write a book
• Working with Oprah & Isabel Wilkerson
• Neuro-decolonization
• Growth Mindset
• Anu’s PRISM system
• The neuroscience behind PRISM
• The impact of lovingkindness meditation on Anu
• Stereotypes: what they are and how they affect
• The Night of Buddha’s enlightenment

Anu closes the conversation with a guided lovingkindness meditation. You can learn more about Anu’s work at Be More with Anu and get a copy of “Breaking Bias” on his website right here.

Join Sharon for a 7-day online course that helps us reclaim kindness as the superpower it truly is. Distilling over 50 years of Buddhist teaching into practical, accessible and actionable lessons, Sharon’s course points us to the core of what it means to be alive, connected, and whole. Learn more: Kindness In A Fractured World

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For episode 248, Cortland Dahl makes his first appearance on the Metta Hour to speak about his new book, “A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism: The Path of Awareness, Compassion, and Wisdom.”

Cortland is a scientist, Buddhist scholar & translator, and meditation teacher. He is the co-founder of Tergar International, a global network of meditation centers, with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Cortland is also actively involved in scientific research on meditation and human flourishing at the Center for Healthy Minds.

In this conversation, Sharon and Cortland discuss:

• What brought Cortland to spiritual practice
• Eastern versus Western cultural conditioning
• The Tibetan culture of being
• Reclaiming the word “devotion”
• Cortland learning the Tibetan language 
• The impetus for Cortland’s new book
• The Dalai Lama’s first visit to IMS and North America
• The Four Noble Truths
• Cortland’s first encounter with Buddhism
• Learning to take refuge
• How long until we’re enlightened?
• Nurturing our inspirations
• Recreating ancient traditions in the 21st Century
• Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
• The Center for Healthy Minds

Cortland closes the conversation with a guided meditation on Open Awareness. You can learn more about Cortland’s work and get a copy of “A Meditator’s Guide to Buddhism” right here.

Learn more about Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Tergar International right here and the Center for Healthy Minds right here.

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For episode 247, we are continuing the Fireside Chat Series on the Metta Hour with guest Joseph Goldstein.

This series features intimate conversations with longtime dharma teachers about the early days of their practice and the most impactful moments with their own teachers. Hosted by IMS Online, the fifth episode in this series. Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and lovingkindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, where he is on the guiding teachers’ Founders Council. In 1989, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Joseph first became interested in Buddhism as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in 1965. Since 1967 he has studied and practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under eminent teachers from India, Burma and Tibet. He is the author of many books, including Mindfulness and Insight Meditation.

In this conversation, Sharon and Joseph discuss:

• The origin story of founding IMS
• Sharon and Joseph’s first meeting in India
• Joseph’s apartment in Boulder, CO
• How Joseph found Munindra, his first serious teacher
• What Joseph loves mosts about teaching
• Joseph’s first lovingkindness intensive
• Dipa Ma’s meditative life
• What inspired Joseph most about Dipa Ma
• Unifying confidence and humility in ourselves
• Working with the inner critic when teaching
• Learning how to say “I don’t know”
• Dudjom Rinpoche and re-incarnation
• Understanding the basis for our opinions
• Early challenges in Joseph’s teaching
• The popularization of meditation
• What inspired Joseph to pursue Buddhism
• Taking delight in being awake
• Approaches for self-acceptance
• Advice for new retreatants

You can learn more about Joseph’s work and many books right here and listen to his Insight Hour Podcast right here. Learn more about IMS Online right here.

Listen to Lily Cushman interview both Sharon and Joseph in Episode 199 of the Metta Hour right here or check-out some older conversations with Jospeh in Episode 110 and Episode 47.

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For episode 246, Susan Cain makes her first appearance on the Metta Hour!

Susan is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Quiet, and Bittersweet, which was also an Oprah Book Club selection. She has spent the last twenty years exploring a particular realm of human nature: the quiet, the sensitive, the thoughtful, the bittersweet. Susan’s record-smashing TED talks have been viewed over 50 million times and she the host of the Quiet Life online community.

In this conversation, Susan and Sharon discuss:

• How Susan approaches writing
• VIA character strength test
• Does great art have to come from great pain
• How suffering brings us together
• Susan embracing her “differences”
• The Quiet Life Community
• Why sadness is a bridge to connection
• The Dalai Lama the Darwinist
• Moral elevation
• Dipa Ma telling Sharon she would teach
• Leonard Coen as Susan’s patron saint
• Beauty in the broken world
• Never be ashamed of your suffering
• The history of the word “loser”
• Susan learning Lovingkindness meditation
• Lovingkindness and boundaries
• Chocolate and Brussels sprouts

Susan closes the conversation with a guided reflection. You can join Susan’s Quiet Life Community right here.

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For episode 245, we are continuing the Fireside Chat Series on the Metta Hour with guest Guy Armstrong.

This series features intimate conversations with longtime dharma teachers about the early days of their practice and the most impactful moments with their own teachers. Hosted by IMS Online, the fourth episode in this series. Guy Armstrong has been leading insight meditation retreats since 1984 in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. His training included living as a monk for a year in the Thai forest lineage. Guy is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and a guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and is the author of Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators from Wisdom Books.

In this conversation, Sharon and Guy discuss:

• Guy’s first encounter with meditation 
• How Sharon reached her first retreat 
• The mystery of being drawn to practice 
• The three characteristics of existence
• Guy’s introduction to Emptiness 
• Mahasi Sayadaw noting technique
• Mental Noting Technique 
• Insights of anattā (Emptiness)
• The path Guy has taken since 1976
• The importance of relaxation
• What advice Guy would give his younger self
• Goenka’s directive to sit two-hours a day
• Thai Buddhist monk Ajahn Buddhadasa
• The year that Guy was a monk in Thailand
• Burmese Theravāda monk, Pa Auk Sayadaw

The episode closes with some questions from the audience on Emptiness, Dzogchen practice, Tsoknyi Rinpoche Handshake practice, the spectrum of Emptiness, “where is mind,” and the Jhanas. 

You can learn more about Guy’s work right here and get a copy of his book, Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators, right here. Learn more about IMS Online right here. Listen to Guy’s first episode on the Metta Hour, Episode 90, right here from 2019.

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For episode 244 Valerie Mason-John makes their first appearance on the Metta Hour to speak about their new book, “First Aid Kit for the Mind: Breaking the Cycle of Habitual Behaviors”.

Valerie is a founding facilitator of Compassionate Inquiry and the author of eleven books, including the award-winning book, “Eight Step Recovery.” They are a co-founder of the training program, Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery, and work as a public speaker in the field of Mindfulness for Addiction and Trauma.

In this conversation, Valerie and Sharon discuss:

• How lovingkindness saved Valerie’s life
• How Valerie became the “Bully Doctor”
• Valerie’s journey in recovery
• The importance of community in recovery
• Recovery Cafe
• Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry
• Thoughts are not facts
• First-Aid Kit for the Mind
• The breath is medicine
• What is still true? What can we rely on?
• Dharma: that which we can rely on
• Thich Naht Hanh’s influence on Valerie
• How to maintain mindfulness 
• The role of Storytelling in Valerie’s work
• How story compounds addiction
• Playwriting and poetry as social justice

Valerie closes the conversation with a guided meditation LOVE from their new book, First Aid Kit for the Mind. Learn more about Valarie’s work on their website right here.

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