Metta Hour With Sharon Salzberg

For Episode 115 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon sits down with Mirabai Bush and Raghu Markus in remembrance of the life and teachings of Ram Dass, who passed away on December 22, 2019.In this intimate conversation, these three longtime friends speak candidly about their personal loss in Ram Dass’ death and the loss the larger community is experiencing. They share old stories about knowing Ram Dass since the 1970s, and how his friendship has shaped each of their lives. They also discuss the book that Mirabai co-wrote with Ram Dass, “Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying” which was released in 2018.

For Episode 113 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon is in conversation with Dr. Steven C. Hayes, PhD.Steven C. Hayes is a professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is the author of over 40 books and hundreds of scientific articles and has served as president of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Dr. Hayes initiated the development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and of Relational Frame Theory and his latest book, A Liberated Mind was released in the summer of 2019 from Avery Books. In this episode, Sharon and Steven discuss the ACT method, and how this related to mindfulness practice. Steven closes the conversation with a ten minute guided practice. To learn more about Steven’s work, you can visit his website at stevenchayes.com

For Episode 112 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with meditation teacher Adreanna Limbach.Adreanna Limbach is a meditation instructor, personal development coach, and the author of the book, “Tea and Cake With Demons.” In this episode, Sharon and Adreanna speak about how Adreanna came to the path of meditation, and how that led her to teaching and coaching work. They speak at length about Adreanna’s new book “Tea and Cake With Demons” which was recently released in July of 2019 by Sounds True, discussing how Buddhist principles and practice can help us to cultivate self-esteem and self-worth. The episode closes with Adreanna leading a ten-minute guided meditation. To learn more, visit adreannalimbach.com.

For Episode 111 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon interviews Dr. Christian Conte, PhD. Christian is a licensed professional counselor, a certified Domestic Violence Counselor, and one of a handful of top-level Certified Anger Management Specialist in the world.Dr. Christian Conte currently applies his Yield Theory in maximum-security prisons throughout Pennsylvania and speaks to Law Enforcement officials around the country. In this episode, Sharon and Christian speak about his extensive work in prisons, and how he came to his path. They also discuss Christian’s new book “Walking Through Anger” recently released by Sounds True in 2019. The episode closes with Christian leading a guided meditation practice. To learn more, visit www.DrChristianConte.com.

For Episode 110 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with her longtime colleague, friend, and collaborator Joseph Goldstein.This episode was recorded in 2018 at the Garrison Institute at a retreat co-taught by Sharon and Joseph, entitled, “Experiencing Insight & Love”. Includes a guided meditation led by Joseph on Mindfulness of the Body, a guided walking meditation led by Sharon, and a question and answer session with retreat participants. To learn more about Joseph’s work, you can visit dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein to learn more!

For Episode 109 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon and colleague Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel explore the topic of Faith.Elizabeth is a teacher and author, and has studied and practiced the Buddhadharma for 35 years under the guidance of her teacher and husband Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. She is the retreat master of Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado and has spent over six years in retreat. She holds a degree in anthropology and an M.A. in Buddhist Studies and teaches worldwide. This episode was recorded live in the Spring of 2019 at New York Insight Meditation Center, where Sharon and Elizabeth bring their own unique perspective of faith from each of their respective Buddhist traditions. The episode closes with Elizabeth leading a seven-minute guided meditation. To learn more about Elizabeth’s work visit elizabethmattisnamgyel.com.

For episode 108 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon sits down with her Director of Operations, Lily Cushman.Lily is a teacher, musician, and author, and for nearly a decade, was the Owner and Director of the Brooklyn Yoga School, a lineage-based school run entirely by donation. Her work is a synthesis of the practices of Classical Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Insight Meditation and her first book “A Little Bit of Mantras: An Introduction to Sacred Sounds” was released in March 2019 from Sterling Publishing.This episode begins with a conversation with Sharon and Lily, and id followed by a live recording from the launch of Lily’s book at Deepak Homebase in New York, NY in the Spring of 2019. This live recording features call and response chanting led by Lily and special guest Krishna Das, as well as an in-depth interview of Lily by The Moth’s longtime artistic director, Catherine Burns. To learn more about Lily’s teaching and music, you can visit her website at lilycushman.com.

For Episode 107 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon is joined by Mark Epstein and Bob Thurman.This episode was recorded live at Tibet House in 2018. In this recording, Sharon, Mark and Bob discuss the topic of the ego, related to the self, through the lens of Buddhist Psychology, and how that relates to our sense of well-being. Bob leads a guided meditation on the topic, followed by questions from the audience.

For the 106th episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague, Marc Lesser.Marc is a speaker, facilitator, workshop leader, and executive coach, known for his engaging, experiential presentations that integrate mindfulness and emotional intelligence practices and training. He is the author of four books, including his 2019 release, “Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader: Lessons from Google and a Zen Monastery Kitchen.” Marc was the co-founder and CEO of the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, featuring a mindfulness program he helped develop within Google. Prior to his business and coaching career, he was a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center for 10 years, and director of Tassajara, Zen Mountain Center.In this episode, Marc shares how he came to the path of meditation and discusses with Sharon how his personal practice has evolved to inform his career as a leadership coach. They speak at length about Marc’s new book, and some of the common myths and challenges of leader

For the 105th episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with author and teacher, Diana Winston.Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education at the Semel Institute’s Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. She is the author of “The Little Book of Being” and the co-author of “Fully Present: The Science, Art and Practice of Mindfulness.”In this episode, Sharon and Diana speak at length about Diana’s new book, “The Little Book of Being” released in the Spring of 2019. They discuss natural awareness and formal meditation practice as well as the nuances of working with a teacher. The podcast closes with Diana leading a 5-minute guided meditation. To learn more about Diana’s work, you can visit dianawinston.com.

For episode 104 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague Dr. Judson Brewer MD PhD.Dr. Judson Brewer is a thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery”, having combined over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research.In this episode, Sharon and Dr. Jud speak about how Dr. Jud came to the path of mindfulness and meditation while in medical school, and how that evolved to become a cornerstone of his work. They speak at length about how the brain behaves in various states of connection, disconnection, lovingkindness, or loneliness and how this affects our ability to make choices freely. Dr. Jud also shares some of his work related to cravings and addiction, and rewards-based learning.

For episode 103 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague, Susan Kaiser Greenland.Susan Kaiser Greenland is an internationally recognized leader in teaching mindfulness and meditation to children, teens, and families. She is the co-founder of The Inner Kids Foundation and was on the clinical team of the Pediatric Pain Clinic at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. In this episode, Susan and Sharon speak about how Susan began her work bringing the tools of mindfulness to parents and children, as her personal journey as a practitioner. They discuss many of the challenges that kids today face with the rise of technology as well as the nuances of parenting in today’s fast-moving digital culture. The episode closes with a 5-minute guided meditation led by Susan.

For the 102nd episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon sits down with her longtime friend Jerry Colonna.In this episode, Sharon and Jerry speak at length about Jerry’s journey of meditation and self-discovery. Looking at how he has brought those experiences to the field of leadership and business. To learn more about Jerry’s work, visit: rebootbyjerry.com

For the 101st episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with clinical psychologist and author, Dr. Urszula Klich.In this conversation, Sharon and Urszula speak at length about techniques for working with pain by applying mindfulness, compassion and biofeedback. Urszula also leads a 12-minute guided meditation practice as part of this episode. To learn more about Urzsula’s work, visit: MyMindfulWayOfLife.com

Sharon sits down with playwright, Sarah Ruhl.Sarah is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and is currently on the faculty of the Yale School of Drama. She has been the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award, and the Whiting Writers’ Award. Sarah is the author of several books, including her collection of essays “100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write,” which was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2014, and “Letters from Max: A Book of Friendship” published in 2012.In this episode, Sharon and Sarah discuss the connection between creativity and practice at length. Sarah also reads from her book, discussing Metta (lovingkindness) Meditation, and Sharon’s childhood dream of writing a play!

For the 99th episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks will colleague and friend, Sebene Selassie. In this episode, Sharon and Sebene discuss how Sebene came to the path of meditation, her work as a teacher, identity, community and much more. Sebene also leads a guided meditation to close the conversation.Sebene is a dharma teacher, writer, coach and consultant. She began studying Buddhism over 25 years ago and has an MA from the New School where she focused on race and cultural studies. She is the former Executive Director of New York Insight Meditation Center and is passionate about making the dharma accessible and relevant for our times.

For episode 98 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon shares a conversation with Dr. Kristin Neff Ph.D.Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Neff is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, conducting the first studies on self-compassion fifteen years ago. She is the author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself and The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook. In this conversation, Sharon and Kristin speak about how Kristin came to specialize in the work of self-compassion, and the nuances between self-esteem and self-compassion. They discuss many of the scientific discoveries about self-compassion that research has uncovered, and how these findings debunk many of the cultural myths surrounding compassion today. The conversation closes with Kristin leading a 10-Minute guided meditation on balancing Compassion Burnout.

For the 97th episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon shares a conversation about raising resilient children with Mark Bertin, MD & Christopher Willard, PsyD.Buzz words such as “thriving,” “resilience,” and “mindfulness” may fill headlines and sell books, but what do they really mean, and how do we cultivate these traits in ourselves and our families? Sharon and her guests look beyond the buzzwords and towards the basic concepts of skillful parenting that have been known across cultures for millennia. Together they explore the best of what both science and wisdom traditions have to teach us about cultivating happy, healthy families.

For the 98th episode of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Dr. Amishi Jha Ph.D.Amishi is a Neuroscientist, an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami, and the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative. Amishi studies the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness-based training programs on cognition, emotion and resilience.In this episode, Amishi and Sharon speak about how Amishi came to the path of meditation, and how that has inspired her career as a researcher. They also speak about Amishi’s programs working with mindfulness training in education, corporate, elite sports, and the military.