Synopsis
Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical ABC newsman who had a panic attack live on Good Morning America, which led him to something he always thought was ridiculous: meditation. He wrote the bestselling book, "10% Happier," started an app -- "10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics" -- and now, in this podcast, Dan talks with smart people about whether there's anything beyond 10%. Basically, here's what this podcast is obsessed with: Can you be an ambitious person and still strive for enlightenment (whatever that means)? New episodes every Wednesday morning.
Episodes
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A Buddhist Recipe For Confidence | Ethan Nichtern
28/08/2024 Duration: 01h10minCultivating resilience in the face of whatever comes up.Ethan Nichtern is the author of Confidence: Holding Your Seat through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds and several other titles, including the widely acclaimed The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path. A renowned contemporary Buddhist teacher and the host of The Road Home Podcast, Nichtern has offered meditation and Buddhist psychology classes at conferences, meditation centers, yoga studios, and universities, including Brown, Yale, and NYU. He has been featured by CNN, NPR, the New York Times, Vogue, and Business Insider and has written for the Huffington Post, Beliefnet, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and more. He lives in Brooklyn. Visit him online at http://www.EthanNichtern.com.In this episode we talk about:Authentic vs performative confidenceThe line between humility and confidenceA Buddhist list called the Eight Worldly WindsA slew of little practices you can do in order to boost your confidence (or resilience or equanimity)T
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Why Your Brain Turns The Miraculous Into The Mundane—And How To Fix It | Maria Popova
26/08/2024 Duration: 01h12minSmart and practical strategies for living, in Maria's words, wonder-smitten by reality.Maria Popova thinks and writes about our search for meaning — sometimes through science and philosophy, sometimes through poetry and children's books, always through the lens of wonder. She is the creator of The Marginalian (born in 2006 under the name Brain Pickings), which is included in the Library of Congress permanent digital archive of culturally valuable materials, author of Figuring, and maker of the live show The Universe in Verse — a charitable celebration of the wonder of reality through stories of science winged with poetry, which is now also a book.In this episode we talk about:Wonder as a tool for improving all of your relationshipsThe tyranny of the word shouldHow the hardest thing in life is not getting what you want, it's knowing what you wantWhy she doesn't believe in making meditation a tool, even though she's been practicing for 14 yearsThe illusion of certaintyThe immense value of intellectual humilityS
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How To Be Less Judgmental: An On-The-Go Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Jay Michaelson
25/08/2024 Duration: 06minA busy city is an ideal place to cultivate loving-kindness and powerfully connect to those around you while you’re out & about.About Jay Michaelson:Jay Michaelson is a writer & journalist, rabbi & meditation teacher, keynote speaker, and scholar of religion. Jay is the author of ten books, most recently The Secret That Is Not A Secret: Ten Heretical Tales. His 2022 book, The Heresy of Jacob Frank: From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth, won the National Jewish Book Award for scholarship. He holds a JD from Yale, a PhD in Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, and nondenominational rabbinic ordination.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loving-Kindness in the City.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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From Wild Card with Rachel Martin: Taylor Tomlinson
23/08/2024 Duration: 31minThere’s a great podcast we want to introduce you to today, hosted by our friend Rachel Martin at NPR. It’s her new show, called Wild Card, which she describes as “part-interview, part-existential game show.” It’s a different way of approaching a celebrity interview, with a special deck of cards that helps shape the conversation. It’s a really fun show, and she talks to some really big names, including David Lynch, LeVar Burton, Issa Rae, and US Poet Laureate Ada Limon. Rachel was also a guest on this very podcast recently, and we had a great conversation and even played a little bit of the card game, so go back in your podcast feed and check that out. You can also listen to it here. The Wild Card episode we’re sharing with you today features Taylor Tomlinson, who has found the kind of success many comedians dream about, with multiple Netflix specials and a late-night hosting gig — After Midnight on CBS. She tells Rachel that part of the secret to her success is fear. They also swap stories about the
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NPR’s Rachel Martin On: Surviving The News, Making A Huge Career Pivot, And Hosting A Metaphysical Game Show
21/08/2024 Duration: 01h11minThe radio stalwart addresses life’s biggest questions.Rachel Martin is the co-creator and host of the podcast Wild Card, an interview game show about life's biggest questions. She invites notable guests to play a card game that lets them open up about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped their lives.Martin spent six years as a host of Morning Edition, and was the founding host of NPR's award-winning morning news podcast Up First. She previously hosted Weekend Edition Sunday. She served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues, and also worked as a NPR foreign correspondent. Martin also previously served as NPR's religion correspondent. In this episode we talk about:How to survive the newsHow to make a huge career pivotWhat it’s like to become an orphan as an adultInsomnia and meditationHow to decide what matters in your lifeWe play the game Wild Card!We talk about how good we are at being wrongAnd lastly, something light… mortality
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The Gulf Between Your Internal Life And How The World Sees You | Anna Marie Tendler
19/08/2024 Duration: 01h04minLessons learned from the psychiatric hospitalWe’ve got a fascinating and very personal discussion today about the often very painful gap between the way you feel on the inside and the way the world perceives you. We also cover the urgency and difficulty of sitting with your own discomfort. Anna Marie Tendler is an artist and writer. She is also the author of a new memoir called ‘Men Have Called Her Crazy’. In this episode we talk about:The circumstances of her checking into a psychiatric hospital in 2021The difference between our interior emotions and our exterior selvesThe help she found through Dialectical Behavior Therapy – DBTWe dive into a very specific theme of the book – and its title – the insidious ways in which men have impacted her life. And lastly, how she found a way to sit with discomfort and pain, while showing up in the world authentically to herself.Related Episodes:#510. Me, a Love Story: How Being OK With Yourself Makes You Better at Everything | Sharon SalzbergThe Science Of
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Jeff Tweedy (From Wilco) On: Music As A Lifeline, Shame, Schadenfreude, And Freaking Out On Weed
16/08/2024 Duration: 41minDan dweebs out with a dad rock icon.Jeff Tweedy is the lead singer and songwriter of the Grammy award winning rock band, Wilco. The band have put out 13 albums… and shortly after this interview was conducted, the band put out a new EP. Jeff has released two solo albums and has written three books, including his latest, which is called World Within A Song: Music That Changed My Life And Life That Changed My Music.This interview is part of an occasional series we do called Boldface, where we talk to well known people who are willing to go there. We’ve already dropped two Boldface episodes this week: the rapper and author Common and the actress, activist and author Goldie Hawn.Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/jeff-tweedy-813Additional Resources:Download the Ten Percent Hap
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A Candid Conversation With The Rapper Common On: Self-Worth, Fitness, Trauma, And The Evolution Of Vulnerability In Hip-Hop
14/08/2024 Duration: 54minThis multi-hyphenate opens up about his four pillars of health and successCommon is an Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy Award–winning music artist. He is an actor and producer, and has appeared in numerous critically acclaimed films, as well as hit TV series. He is the author of One Day It’ll All Make Sense and Let Love Have the Last Word, which were both New York Times bestsellers. He was raised in Chicago and currently resides in Brooklyn.In this episode we talk about:Common’s relationship with self esteem growing up, and where he eventually found his own self worth.What it’s like dealing with rejection as an artistHis book ‘And Then We Rise’The four different wellness pillars in his book; food, the body, the mind, and the soulThe positive impact that therapy has had on his lifeWhat his meditation practice looks likeThe evolution of vulnerability in hip hopThe evolution of vulnerability in his lifeAnd his relationship with spiritualityRelated Episodes:Rewire How You Talk To Yourself | Ofosu Jones-Quart
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Goldie Hawn On: “Brain Breaks,” Curiosity, And How To Make A Romantic Relationship Last For 30 Years
12/08/2024 Duration: 01h03minDon’t be fooled by the bubbly public persona.Goldie Hawn is an Academy Award winning actress, producer, director, and best-selling author. She’s written two best-selling books, a memoir called A Lotus Grows in the Mud and then, more recently, 10 Mindful Minutes, which is for kids and parents. She is also the Founder of MindUP, a charity that equips children with mental fitness.In this episode we talk about:How she got interested in meditation — a story that, like Dan’s, involves panic attacksThe power of curiosity What she means when she talks about GodWhat it means to take a “brain break”Why jealousy has never really been part of her repertoireAnd how to make a romantic relationship last.Related Episodes:How To Live A Happier Life | The Dalai Lama & Dr. Richard DavidsonSign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popu
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Radical Disarmament For Your Inner Critic | Bonus Meditation with La Sarmiento
11/08/2024 Duration: 06minOur inner critics are sticky and painful. Practice radical kindness and self-compassion to reprogram harmful self-talk habits.About La Sarmiento:La Sarmiento (they/them) is a mentor for the MIndfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) and a teacher with Banyan. They have taught meditation retreats for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Teens, and Young Adults, and everyone in-between around the United States since 2010 and are a 2012 graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader Training. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “When Your Inner Critic Is Unrelenting.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Eight Things I’m Doing To Stay Sane During Election Season | Dan Harris
09/08/2024 Duration: 27minA personal program for working with election-induced anxiety. We’re dropping a special/experimental pod today, because we know a lot of you are freaking out about the election — so Dan’s going to talk through some strategies he is personally using to keep it together during this turbulent time. Additional Resources: Podcast episode with Bill Doherty (Braver Angels)Feedback form: let us know what you think!Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/dan-harris-electionAdditional Resources:Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/installSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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What It’s Like To Do A Year-Long Silent Meditation Retreat—By Yourself | Cara Lai
07/08/2024 Duration: 01h17minCara Lai has worked as an artist, wilderness guide, social worker, and therapist before becoming a full time meditation teacher. She teaches teens and adults at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and Ten Percent Happier.To find out more about what Cara does, you can go to her website, www.caralai.org – where she’s got some online meditation classes, including one called Meditate Your Face Off. She also has a monthly class for parents, co-led by Ofosu Jones-Quartey and Jess Morey, both of whom have been heard on this podcast. Speaking of podcasts, Cara also co-hosts a podcast called Adventures in Meditating (For Parents), along with Jess Morey and Jon Roberts.Cara will also be a core teacher for a 14-week residential semester program for youth ages 18-32 this Fall in Marlboro VT. The program is called the Contemplative Semester, and there are many folks who will be teaching who have been in the TPH orbit, including Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jessica Morey, Kaira Jewel Lingo, and more. You can fin
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How Turning Habits Into Rituals Can Help You At Home, At Work, And When You’re Anxious | Michael Norton
05/08/2024 Duration: 01h14minA Harvard professor on how to elevate everyday activities in order to lift your mood, improve your relationships and rise to new challenges.Michael Norton is the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He has studied human behavior as it relates to love and inequality, time and money, and happiness and grief. He is the author of The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions. In this episode we talk about: The difference between habits and ritualsHow rituals impact various spheres of life, including creativity, grief and politics - and how not all rituals are beneficial how to transform your everyday activities into rituals and how they can inject meaning into your life and give a boost to your relationshipsHow to introduce rituals into your workplace without falling back on cliché (like trust falls)Related Episodes:What Science Says About Money and Happiness | Elizabeth Dunn — Ten Percent Happier Ho
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A Meditation For When You’re Melting Down | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie
02/08/2024 Duration: 06minWhen you’re spiraling with intense emotions, here’s a practice to help pick you up off the bathroom floor. 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.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Meltdown.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#d
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A Buddhist Antidote To Fear And Anxiety | Devin Berry
31/07/2024 Duration: 01h07minThe two practices that helped turn this self described scowling, sarcastic skeptic into an expert meditatorSince 1999, Devin Berry has been a dedicated meditation practitioner, his practice is deeply rooted in the metta and vipassana teachings of the Insight Meditation tradition. He spent nearly five years in silent, intensive retreats, cultivating his practice and understanding. Devin is deeply committed to the personal and collective liberation of marginalized communities, believing that integrating reflection and insight leads to clarity and wisdom, which in turn fosters wise action.Devin is a dharma teacher at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), where he serves as a guiding teacher. He also shares his teachings through Sounds True and at various sanghas and centers across the country.In this episode we talk about:Why mindfulness alone is not enoughHow metta is part of four related mental skills, called the brahma viharas—and how to practice thoseThe story of how and why the Buddha invent
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The Science Of Manifestation: Can This Stanford Neuroscientist Convince A Skeptical Dan To Give It A Shot? | Dr. James R. Doty
29/07/2024 Duration: 01h15minOur guest today is James R. Doty, a neurosurgeon who has just written a whole book about the science of manifestation – although, as you’ll hear him admit, there’s very little ‘magic’ involved in his process. James R. Doty, M.D. is a Stanford neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, compassion researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. He’s the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University. In this episode we talk about:Doty’s six steps to manifestHis very interesting backstoryThe art and science of intention setting and the role of our neural pathways.How caring can ignite our Parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn can help us manifest betterPractical tips for embedding an intention into our subconscious.The keys to understanding what we want vs. what we needAnd how to ‘alert the bloodhound’ to harness the full power of your mindRelated Episodes:#388. The Science of Training Your Attention | Dr. Amishi JhaThe Art
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Relaxed, Not Casual | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein
28/07/2024 Duration: 06minWatching things come and go helps weaken obsessive cravings both in meditation and in our lives.About Joseph Goldstein:Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world -- a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society -- with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970's, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Going Deeper: Seeing Change.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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From Ted Talks Daily: The Benefits Of Not Being A Jerk To Yourself
26/07/2024 Duration: 14minWe're introducing you to the Ted Talks Daily podcast, with an episode featuring our own Dan Harris. Here's his TED Talk, "The Benefits Of Not Being A Jerk To Yourself."After over two decades as an anchor for ABC News, an on-air panic attack sent Dan Harris's life in a new direction: he became a dedicated meditator and, to some, even a guru. But then an anonymous survey of his family, friends and colleagues turned up some brutal feedback -- he was still kind of a jerk. In a wise, funny talk, he shares his years-long quest to improve his relationships with everyone (starting with himself) and explains the science behind loving-kindness meditation, and how it can boost your resiliency, quiet your inner critic and simply make you more pleasant to be around.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Mindfulness Without All The Effort | Loch Kelly (Co-Interviewed By Matt Harris)
24/07/2024 Duration: 01h14minLoch Kelly is an author, psychotherapist, and nondual meditation teacher. Loch has Master’s Degrees from both Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. He has his own app, called Mindful Glimpses. Loch is also a very popular teacher on the Waking Up app, run by friend of show, Sam Harris.Free 30 days of the Waking Up meditation app: https://www.wakingup.com/tenpercent Free training and guided meditation pack from Loch Kelly: https://lochkelly.org/cycle-of-dissatisfaction Related Episodes:Sam Harris on: Vipassana vs. Dzogchen, Looking for the Looker, and Psychic PowersSign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter hereFollow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTokTen Percent Happier online bookstoreSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelOur favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular EpisodesFull Shownotes: https://wwwdww.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/loch-kellySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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The Science Of Memory: How To Get Better At Remembering And Be Okay With Forgetting | Charan Ranganath
22/07/2024 Duration: 01h16minA neuroscientist’s strategies to help you remember what really matters, and how mood, multitasking and other people can impact our memoriesCharan Ranganath is a professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to What Matters. In this episode we talk about:The different kinds of memory that help us function day to dayThe impact mood has on memories - not just making them, but recalling themWhy forgetting is not only useful but essential - even if it doesn’t always feel like itPractical tips to help us remember better, including distinctiveness, meaning & organization, planting cues, and chunkingWhy making errors is actually one of the best things you can do for learning and memory Related Episodes:How To Prevent Dementia | Lisa Genova — Ten Percent HappierHow to Actually Be Present