Today’s episode is special, it’s a unique meditation deep dive that brings together the deep, research-driven insights from Daniel Goleman, best known for his work on Emotional Intelligence, as well as his book, Altered Traits. Daniel takes us into the science behind meditation and also asks a surprising question - what if popular wisdom and science about meditation were wrong? Goleman reveals powerful new truths about meditation, what it really is and isn't, and how only about 1% of the 6,000+ studies done on the topic are what might be considered "good science."
We then turn it over to Sharon Salzberg, renowned meditation and loving-kindness teacher and founder of Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She travels the world teaching people how to become aware and cultivate loving-kindness in their lives and has been doing so for decades. Sharon also recently partnered with Dan Harris to bring her latest venture to life, 10% Happier, an exciting new app that builds on Dan’s book, 10% Happier.
And finally, I’ll take the meditation reigns for our Act 3, guiding you through a special blended mindful body scan and loving-kindness meditation.
I hope you enjoy this meditation deep-dive. And if you loved this episode, be sure to share it around, and listen to the full-length conversations with Daniel and Sharon, linked below
You can find Daniel Goleman at:
Website : https://www.danielgoleman.info/
First Person Plural: EI & Beyond podcast : https://pod.link/1538498597
You can find Sharon Salzberg at:
Website : https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/
Instagram : https://instagram.com/sharonsalzberg/
Metta Hour podcast : https://pod.link/923019021
If you LOVED this episode:
You’ll also love the full-length conversations we had with Daniel Goleman (https://tinyurl.com/GLPgoleman) and Sharon Salzberg (https://tinyurl.com/GLPsaltzberg).
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hey said. Today's episode is different and cut a special. It is
meditation, deep diet that brings together the research driven
insides from Daniel gorman, whose best known for his work on emotional intelligence, as well as his book alter traits Daniel takes us
into this science behind meditation also really asked a surprising question: what if pop
The wisdom and signs about meditation was all wrong. He asked
reveals powerful new truths about meditation. What it really is an isn't it
only about one percent of the more than six thousand studies done on the topic are: what might be considered good science. We then too
it over to share in salzburg, renowned, meditation teacher and loving kindness, teacher and the fao.
of the insight meditation society in bari massachusetts. She has
how will the world teaching people how to become aware and cultivate?
been kindness in their lives and has been doing so for decades
Sharon also partner within harris to bring to life ten percent happier and finally, I will take the meditation arranged for our meditation
three guiding you through a special one, did a minefield bodies can any love
kindness meditation. So, let's kick off with inside.
From my conversation with Daniel goldman
the
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harris journalists who had a panic attack on national television and then send out on this journey of transformation and he's now on a quest to help others also achieve peace and happiness, and every week Dan talked you top scientists, meditation teachers. Even the odd celebrity in wide ranging conversations at explore topics like productivity, anxiety and lightness, psychedelic and relationships, the interviews cover everyone from brown brown to cerebral less to sam Harrison more. I love learning from his questions and experiences and incredible guess think of listening to ten percent happier as a work out. For your mind, fine ten percent happier where every listen to pot casts library
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to start your one month. Free trial with the economist today, because the world won't wait, it spoke gum, altered, traced it I did with Richard David had just coming up. We looked at the strongest studies on meditation we found even from the beginning you get
benefit for concentration matches that focus and you're a mengele, which is the part bring which flips out when you get upset calms down under stress,
and ass. You wanna go layers deeper into that with you. It seems to be a d fascination around meditation and on so many different levels, whereas at touchdown road started with my bar mitzvah. Ok,
I sister gave me a book called zen flesh, send bones which was
Section of sand stories- and it just blew me away- I had never even imagine that there were methods like them
or that people had experiences that took them out of their ordinary awareness and were transcendent, and when I got to college I was very interesting. I looked into different kinds of, but I started meditating on college. Frankly, because I was anxious and it told me, calm down
and when I got to graduate school I manage to do my dissertation on meditation and stress reactivity. You know like actually got a traveling fellowship predictor of wrongful shifting
india and I made it my business to look up yogi
law moves.
one because our
Did you know you know what happens so you end up in india. What happens there will in india? I was lucky enough to be with someone:
You may have heard of you know who robbed us is surround us, wrote a book called be here now.
He mentioned, the old man at the blanket maharajah name, calling about new chrome size with an incredibly bob, her and nikolay barber was kind of ideal type of what was possible through consciousness change for the better. He was many people would call him enlightened.
He was loving. He was super present. He had an or around him, which was contagious friend of mine, very brilliant, whose with them put it. This way said the miracle. Wasn't it
when I was with him, I love maharajah. The miracle was it: I loved everybody else too. So his quality of being really infiltrated
for me. It was an inspiration in terms of what is possible for human potential, but could we pass
Maybe like then, I went about guy india, which is where the buddha was in line buddhist centre and
There I studied meditations like mindfulness in it
advanced level, insight, meditation.
And I saw texts that date from the fifth century that describe very matter of factly what you can do in meditation that will help you become like neem, karoli baba, presumably or that you know
what language for it, and it was that I tried to bring back to psychology. Oh, I was just about to a couple of decades too soon,
When you first discovered these texts, did you believe
There were sort of a linear path that would take me from point a to wear. Maharajah was used.
like a big thing, I don't off its linear. You know those issues they have come up with evil cathedrals ere. I think it's more like
Were you start out one way and it looks like you're getting somewhere than all of a sudden you circle back, and you know I. I dont know that it's
linear progression, but I in the research we looked at in the book altered traits- and you know now- there's six thousand peer review studies of meditation, but my coauthor richard davidson has very strict standards. He looked at the methodology and he said maybe one percent are really strong
Talk about though, but it makes it very clear that the more you do, the greater the benefits become: there's a dose response relationship. So right from the beginning of say, mindfulness people have benefits, they focused better, the calmer, but he's been able to bring olympic level meditating is over.
Nepal and india mainly to benigno geese flies them over brings them to the brain. Lab has an do different exercises, scans, the brains and the results are pretty astounding and its.
Is that something is going on here that we don't know in our psychology, but should, for example, if you take one of the yoke is, and you look at their brainwaves-
You see something really interesting, ordinarily for me and maybe for you and listeners when you get an insight like how to solve that problem, I've been grappling with a realise what I should do with this thing. A creative insight, your brain shows a particular wave called the gamma for about a half. Second doesn't show up
much otherwise, but its very fleeting? These yogi issuing gamma all the time
I dont know how to interpret that there is
really great, ran
it's like you've, never seen purple petulance I hear they describe it as a spaciousness, a presence,
A readiness for whatever comes
they. This is really no words, for I don't know if you know this information, but is the gamma detectable
at the moment that somebody would identify as the moment of insight or shortly before I dont know so good question.
Although it might be the moment before the accusations and research where there is sort of like there is a lesson conscious awareness at something just happen before we even know that we want to govern. This has to do with how the mind is constructed, an act that the kind of unconscious for this work goes on knows things before presents to us. In a word us.
So for that reason I suspect it much up just before we get the idea
before this research with either of you have even gas that it was possible to
sustain a gamma ray wasted.
no in effect other scientists, are just amazed
some other amazing findings that it occurred to you. Don't have be olympic level long term editors, people of economic practicing every morning for
years and sometimes go to a retreat. There are many people like that. If they do one day of meditation like six hours or so there's, what's called a down regulation of the genes for inflammation, that means the genes that create inflammation throughout the body which are at cause in a wide range of disorders. Arthritis, diabetes, cancer, heart disease- they go quiet. This is what's called epigenetics. Epigenetics is understanding this not genes you have, but whether you turn them on or off. So what they found is that a day of meditation turns them off. While that was,
shock to people in genomics science thick, didn't think that, after a day of any kind of mental activity would affect eugene actively it in the least so, along the way, there have been many discoveries that are, I opening fur
science, as we know it today, I think in the future it will be taken for granted
It is there and understanding of why they can. That example that you just gave you know that you sit for six hours or whether written that meditation for six hours. It starts to effect you in Abidjan
Level, why is? Is there an explanation? Is that still an open question,
Well, I have made. I think the specific mechanism is quite unknown yeah, but we do know. There's a.
and more correlation between mood states and health.
And this may be one of the linkages that ran explains that yeah
and like sitting six hours.
It's spread out over twenty minutes a day for x number of days doesn't have. The same effect doesn't seem too so interesting. So it's so it's not just dose dependent in terms of yeah like this much every day. For allowing of time it seems like intense periods mixed in with it's almost like interval training exactly so. The data so far seems to suggest that the benefits of meditation are enhanced by retreats full days a week, a month of continual meditation which is like going to you know, professional baseball players go to camp in florida. For this led to up, there
im. So why not the mental game? It's the same principle has to do with mastering expertise in any domain. You know that the ten thousand hour rule is kind of a beam that surrounds a myth, but it's generally that the more hours you put in the better you get. But the key difference is this: in any domain, meditation chess math doesn't matter golf most amateurs improve their game to about fifty hours and then plateau the
pros all the pros have coaches and they keep working on whatever it is. They need to improve all their lives and that's why they're at the top of the game, so the yankees, for example, that davidson studied it was constant all head teachers of teachers continuously
the lives who were somewhere there are more advanced. What they're doing? Just like you know, professional singers, opera singers have voiced coaches same thing.
That's so interesting to he said, and it makes perfect sense. I had the chance to sit down with a k Anders Eriksson, who was near this.
Said the crow ten thousand, which we now know, is he's a little myth that the ten a house is they like the threats,
quite clearly what my razor said, but but he's here
The same thing is like the best of the best in any domain. He was really sorry
into the role of the teacher in the process
the extra costs,
somebody who can look an answer be a part of it and say: okay, we need to keep continually shifting how Europe
about this, so that its not just showing up and doing it by road, but actually saying ok. How was that an relate iterating on this? But
in the context of meditation of almost heard that, yes, I've heard that of that a teacher is important and at the same time,
I have always heard some duration of the instruction of most important thing to do is to show up and said every day and don't judge the quality of any one. Given time on that, but you're saying that's an absurd both
ok, I think it's very important to have a non judge. Mental attitude towards given meditation session. All kinds of things can happen.
it's like when you go to the gym and you'd going
say: you're, doing nautilus machines and do these repetition every time you do the repetition you're strengthening them. The muscle just a little bit you may not enjoyed as much as you did yesterday, doesn't matter,
same with meditation. Every time you focus on your breath and your breath wanders, you notice it wandered. You bring it back, you're, strengthening a little bit the circuitry for concentration. It doesn't matter if you enjoy it or not. Just that you do it. So that's true
other hand, a teacher and meditation might say. Well, you ve really got your concentration down at sea
Who can gain more insight, watch your thoughts come and go, don't treat them as distractions. Well, that's different instruction and it needs to come at the right time or its helpful. If it comes at the right time- and it turns out there instruct
it's like that all the way up the ladder- and I don't even know what the top of the ladder is yeah- and it makes complete sense that when I think about the quality of my practice, so I sit daily. Just mine are very fundamental brethren into mindfulness practice and been doing it for since two thousand and ten and I'm not in love with my practice like
I don't sit and see and feel amazing. No, it's not the post is not my experience. Nobody ever promised you fail to me should promise you and it took me a while to understand that that that's okay, hey! Yes, yes, exactly in fact,.
I was just talking to someone who said you don't try to meditate, but I think my mind
just goes crazy. I can't be a meditative and I said you know actually that's the first major.
site. Congratulations because you're. Looking at your mind, we dont
your realize? How busy your mind is all the time until we stop and look at it in meditation and then the other of this happened with eugene.
And certainly happen to me? You realize your mind is wandering all the time. It's a state and meditation is the attempt to bring discipline to that mine.
Also, how did you learn to meditate? You know I. I came to meditation in a bit of an odd way and I was teaching yoga for a number of years, so I took a number of workshops and had different teachers and and but
I became pretty fascinated with yoga initially through meditation, because in a very past life I was a lawyer and I was not handling it well and it was causing a massive amount of stress. My life ended up hospitalized actually, and I was looking for ways to be okay in the you know the career that I had chosen that that window of time
And yoga was interesting to me. Meditation was something that I had always been kind of interested him, but never really got and breathing panorama. So I started my it's almost like my gateway drug was actually more pollyanna and I realise that it could very quickly come into a much more calm state through that and that brought me to
which brought me to meditation, but I dabbled in it. I never really embraced it until I was kind of forced to two thousand and ten. I ended up with tinnitus so yeah, like literally in the blink of an eye justice loud high, pitched ringing in my ears, and I didn't handle it well hahaha. I was one of the people that did not habituate well or easily, and it was crushing me so I started looking into my passion. It turns out that kind of, as a flute too, I was working on a book on how people handle uncertainty and in one of the ways, was mindfulness and meditation, and that turned me onto how mindfulness can help people process pain, sustained pain without the stimulus going away the pain still there, but you can train yourself to handle it better, and I wondered. Could this also help me with the sound of my head and and that took me down a rabbit,
well the where I ended up kind of going back to certain teachers going to a mindfulness based cognitive therapist, who also had tinnitus and said what could work and then I kind of overtime experiment, because I realized I had to develop my own practice. That would work with what I was moving through. So I tried a lot of things and ended up blending a blend of
I'd like to get me to a place where I could actually be still and allow this thing to just surround me and be a part of me and not for you out with anxiety until finally, I got to the point where I realize sitting one day in my mind, had drifted from the sound
and that was the moment when I realized I was figure it out and from tat day on this. It's a sustained practice in for me. It's funny, I think because- and I ll show you have this conversation to this- is a daily practice. This is like brushing my teeth for me and people ask me like how do you keep
doing it. For me, I have a dell reminder, my head of where things can go. I down
Maybe I'd habituated thy now and I'll be fine without it, but it also became a game
It is so much other goodness.
that I don't want to give it up, because so many of the benefits that you've talked about your I have experience in relationships and life in business. So I started renovating for very similar reasons. I was in college and I was anxious and, and I found meditation hey, it helps me be less anxious which in turn helps you be more focused and overtime. I was pleased with the benefits general benefits of the practice, and you know what we found looking at the literature. One is just exactly what you mention: people who have chronic pain or chronic condition like tinnitus is irritating and drives you crazy. Who do mindfulness are able to do two things change your relationship to the irritant, to the pain, whatever it is, which is wonderful, you're not caught up by it and are not reacting because of it. You're. Just saying oh, it's there, and the other thing is that the amygdala, which is
It goes nuts as their trigger for the fight or flight response, quiets down calms down, so it's less reactive, so those two are very powerful. Mindfulness based stress reduction, which jon kabat Zinn was developed by John cabot's in another old friend from cambridge. Interestingly, is used very commonly now in medical settings to help people who have chronic pain, because it doesn't take that physiological sensation away at all. It takes the emotional reaction away,
and that's what makes all the difference yeah it makes so much sense. It's a dream that you came to it from sir, like a similar angle. Originally it's funny. It seems like you're, so you don't have it. Then she gave him.
not to outside the window, run das. Those guys, some of you guys relate the mind from this mafia,
My thoughts on its like ourselves very early, that's too
What is interesting is it. It seems likely you ve developed this research and the research has been the or the interests in and then that developed for you in writing
in depth, study and for various people has been expressed in different ways.
In the last, it feels like the last five years. There's been this major tipping point and you write about this and all their traits about the difference between deep and wide insert. The way that meditation and mindfulness is like moving out into the world and there's a plus and a minus to that. I guess well, first of all what you mentioned
as the kind of tipping point for mindfulness inside there. You see it very clearly, so we reviewed all of the academic studies peer review, literature status and we draw a curve of how many there were per year five years.
We just went ballistic. There are now more than a thousand studies a year, scientific studies of meditation or mindfulness, and the question is deep or wide, as as we put it in the book and the deepest is the way these practices are done in their native setting, say in a monastery in asia or an ashram in asia, then those methods have been brought to america and their meditation
There's something has been left behind, but there's still pretty deep and because some things have been left behind, some of which are culture. Specific, more people have access to the methods. Then they ve been taken outside the spiritual context, totally. In fact, the person who urge this was the dalai lama. He said a richer davidson, a meeting of minds and life dialogues which which he and I have helped organised. From my time
scientists meeting with dialogue mama for around a particular topic. There was one on destructive emotions. A dialogue says to davidson. You know our tradition. Has many methods seem to work very well for managing destructive emotions? I urge you to take them outside
religious context, test them rigorously in the lab and if they are of benefit to people, spread them very widely, and that's exactly what's been happening with the science. So davidson was one of those who established that these methods work. Mbs are my space
reduction and beseech tee that you did. Those are variations of traditional methods that have been tweet so that their success.
well, tour even more wide range people and that's kind of level, three and level for which is the widest or like the aps in the new york times, the mindless tip for the day or those go too far more people, but they they art is deep.
as the other method, so it's kind of trade off and I see value in books. I think if these are a benefit, why not sure them as widely as possible?
and on the other hand, people who are joining them and in the less deep way, may not realise that they could go deeper and some people who are doing the deep methods complaint about that and say. Well, they don't realize really what they're doing, but I can see the value of every level there I mean this is almost like their minds on his shaming to a solution,
he lay between the people who ve chosen to go deeper and those who stay service, but also those who promote the wider. The exposure limit.
and ass. He version literally to you. I see I see the white as the point of entry for most people,
in a certain percentage of those people will be. I ah there's something going
however, that maybe I didn't even expected, I wonder what else is happening underneath the hood here and
yeah there's an imitation, and then the cool thing is that, yes, you can go deeper you on, but even at
surface level there is. I mean what's interesting as near through the resources that are you're talking. Man there's benefit you now under the shallow and wide level, but it seems like there's a big bridge between that and you dont you practice. I think that there is a continual march there and you were you, watch delta, continue and by how many sheer hours, with instruction that you put in
so anyone who starts at a very you know the widest levels gone to scale. The app can progress if they want
and I could go to work
say, you're doing mindfulness go doing
in sight. New york weekend go to incite meditation centre to a weak longer ten day retreat and it gets richer and richer of the more you do, and that's so
clear from a scientific data. Now among the resource that you ve done and with the vote that you have come out right now,
You share some of the really interesting. Can a surprising research is running. Anything else really chunk, daddy insight. While we did not see this coming
you know. I just did a list of fifty seven.
I find the of as yes a lot and each of them a good reason to meditate. So I think I've told you the two that really pop out the. What did you do make finding out? Who expected that and then the gamma and the pain at the yogis, no pain, no and then gamma all the time. That's astounding. Another thing that surprised us and pleased us was that loving kindness practice where you systematically wish well to people have been kind
shoot yourself to the people. You love people, you know a wider of people in the city, people beyond. Finally, everyone actually seems to strengthen the circuitry for it's same circuitry as a parent's love for a child. It's a circuitry for concern, caring and compassion in the brain, and it makes you more likely to actually help people, and this happens very quickly. You start seeing it right at the beginning of practice and we think that the brain is prepared to learn to love and that's for us. That was both a surprise.
And a very pleasing. Hmm, that's certainly a nice thing to think about, and in this day and age where I think we are, we need as as much as possible one of the things
and carried out also is to the origins of the practice across many different traditions, weathers mindfulness, sir, that so many different ways to approach. Meditative practices very often has been attached to an aspiration, whether you call it. Somebody bless light men whatever it may be. An that's been you. I know you know what
it's sort of like a say, there's an attachment to an outcome when you're along any of this pass, which kind of like everybody's working towards that thing- and this is one of the ways that you get there is developing this practice
that there has been described as having so many profound benefits. Have you found in the research that any of the states that would be described in classic litter turn associated with less money and lighten at this thing arm validated scientifically and anyway? So our book is called altered traits and were actually not that interested in the state were interested in the lasting effects on your very being every spiritual traditions that has modification by the way that includes every major
Didn't you know there were christian monks in egyptian desert desert in the second century, who were basically look like like, like he's in the himalayas. Today there are doing they had em what a all other had beads
they're doing a martyr key relays on the they had to go to a mount athos with the muslim invasion came, but it's the same, unbroken tradition in christianity, their jewish meditation, stairs islamic meditations, whose hinder its buddhist every major religion has it, but who is kind of paradoxical actually in when we looked at the research, the every tradition says the key to this deep change.
stepping out of your everyday south into were transcend being that may or may not mean somebody, but it does mean you're, less self focused and your more open to the needs of others. That's one of the trade changes that we find and the Paradise for us was. That was the least interesting to researchers. Researchers are happy to look at how your concentration and proves how you get calmer, I'll, get more, loving, less selfish, not so interested there. Only like three or four studies we could find that or on them. And yet, if you look in the traditions themselves, they talk about
and yoga tradition from the small self to the biggest self in buddhism, from those small self to the nine, so that there may not be a difference who knows but is in that direction
well, it is very clear and so we're looking at traits, because what we realized is that all of the spiritual traditions are talking about a being which is less concerned with selfish things. My this, my that more open to other beings, more calm, more equanimity is more generous, more focused more present, and it seemed to us that those are overlooked largely in our culture, but there's intrinsic value,
in that mode of being so what was the trait changes were looking for, not in the states and a lot of those traditions will say. For example, if you look at potentially the yoga sutras, are you look at the facility mug of that fifth century meditation texts later? They both treat somebody or concentrate of highs as nice, but not the point. It's interesting. The point is who you are after you leave the cave there before enlightened men, chop wood carry water after enlightenment, chop, wood carry water, you just feel differently about it. There, which also describes coming full circle yeah when you show up in india- and you see maharaja sitting there and there is
It's something exactly yeah. I think we all want to feel that way when it comes down to it. If we could close our eyes and say I wanna move through whatever I moved through on a daily basis- and I want some of that- I hope we all get.
Yeah I, which makes me curious why that part of it is the least research part of it. I wonder, fits because it's the least tangible celibacy bible
in business contexts like exact publishable. I think that the research reflects the underlying values and culture yeah. That makes sense. I guess unfortunate though it's important that we know it yeah. Thank you.
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wisdom and myth busting from someone who has been front row and
centre in the research behind meditation, and now we shift gears a bit to move more into an exploration of the soul, of meditation, its relationship to eastern philosophy and what exactly? What
kindness or metta meditation is, I think, this one
they serve interesting.
Culture assumptions about buddhism he this is also because it is so much a part of this american culture. These days is at buddhism is just buddhism right.
Then there are some very their different pass: indifferent,
images that really have different ones is. The thing is that
I know got really confused and so
I would sit to meditate, for example, and instead of doing either methodology I was just thinking
this showed it should do. This should do that which runs better with him.
faster. How do I get my confessor? Well, these
we'll seem more like the nervous people that I know these people better than I know those people. I knew those people like keep a chart that I finally I said to myself just do something it doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment, but you've got to get out of your head. You've got to actually put this into practice and and do something, and the burmese tradition just seems simpler-
correct and that's what I did draw then there's a lesson in there also, sir. He spent so much time in our head trying to like not wanted to make the mistake of taking the wrong path or trait the trait anxious. I think
Something really powerful will be said about just creating momentum.
You know and then adjusting course. If it's not for some reason, we feel it's not right down the road of so stuck, I'm just stay
still know how do something there, how much
was an cures for you to come
the community surrounding that tradition. Along with
teachings is another's. You know you got the teachings, but you ve lost
The teacher and you ve got a community and they all play the wrong. I think it is paramount.
I have, since you know how much closer relationships with tibetan teachers in tibetan communities, but I think the strongest singer drew me to the people doing tibetans.
Just at the time was a tremendous sense of commitment. You know really. Hedge
Have you been today? You know now
process since your life. What have you given up today that you might have grabbed home
How much renunciation did you practice today? You, the burmese regime,
The traditional were more, I think, focused on those immersion experiences in the retreats at this. For that time was that was attracted to because
like you now is like a completely modeled life. You know
it's the schedule. It was the rebels that they locked the gates that was like he wanted to go by
he had to climb over the gate like a big thing, and he knows somebody like awaken chanting. I had other teachers to in that tradition who were incredible, you know and and very important for me,
also, it's not meant to be like. Oh, this is how you can over the rest of your life, but this is a way.
Of letting it all now and for make, as you can tell from an example,
that's it's better than the burmese at a certain kind of mind, side. Wake up, and I think she said she walks essential work and to have it decided for me- was actually a great place.
yeah in those days in our world,
structurally supported me: yeah,
You also mentioned that the sort of the intensive retreat nature of what you are doing, I think I know you
he met there, but for my benefit and for the better for this, can you take me into what you mean by that more yeah? I mean there is just a certain
structured second immersion experience where those retreats were not completely silent, but
silent days and silent periods. In these days. I think
Within that style they are silent, but you wake up
radically. Some early hour the morning fender, theirs
schedule of sitting, men are going it in her walking meditation, but I am ass. The insight meditation society sunrise, cofounded you'd, have sitting melted
Walking meditation some meals everything's in silence, except for it
your contact in other times when you can ask questions of it,
times instruction at times we made a teacher and a smaller group or individually, and you sit
what is it you can sit? You can eat now and then and then
a lecture just Chris at night,
and then there's another okay, another city read so you can
held in this container of structures. Tremendous group supports has tremendous peer pressure.
We haven't had extremely nice referendum, nor not military, like noah's can like say why
here he slept like an hour. You take
walk in the woods, a bad person innocent like that at all, but the structure exists, support you
seems like has also meant to push you yeah so
It was the why there what's behind the weather,
with things one is in terms of a retreat, the thread that gives us the most
it's all continuity of practice where everything becomes a practice, whether you drinking a cup of tea or getting dressed you're sitting here walking and so is a huge amount of
possibility taken away from here. You like cooking you're, not shopping, energeia laundry, you not hear you bring taken care of and fears
great, I thought I heard about that
in our see, you're held in this, the only fingered your job is cultivating awareness and love and captain compassion, that's it.
for two days through day, seven days a week either. So that's it
using thing and then being pushed it's like
lungs. It's in the right way of so many people have ideas,
What should happen when they meditate in people say offered to me if they meet me, and here I am
meditation so I tried it once I felt at it and then maybe
they described, I couldn't stop thinking. I could make my my black. I couldn't have only beautiful thoughts. I couldn't
the anxiety away or whatever we say you cannot fail at it, but that's actually impossible because the
all is not to have a certain things have been more or not happened.
I was to relate differently that anything that is happening in our thoughts,
sensations, whatever it is pleasant, painful, mitchell, weeds
our relationship to all. That's like open and present in now
judging and compassionate and saw answer. You can't have the wrong experience as long as there's that understanding then
putting your heart into it and and not you know, kind of giving up.
Two and a half minutes into a sitting is available.
You don't sleep, hey! You know it's a tremendous experience. You touch my two phrases around the practice.
My from this, and also matter are loving kindness and describe a bit. Worried
our expenditure like. What do you mean by mindfulness it? What do you mean by loving kindness?
I'm curious how those play together was qualities,
You know they're very supportive of one.
very intertwined, is methodologies that can be done
anguished so with my from his practice, the goal is to really see ones experience more clearly without so many distorting lenses. You know so, for example, maybe you have
Have it wants me? Uncomfortable arises in your body to railway, stop it
again to the future, like watching. I felt in ten minutes with tomorrow's vote next week,
Not only do we have the actual experience in the moment we have all that in additional anticipation was miserable, and so we see that
Getting to arise, let go of it and come back to what actually happening so we start
it's centering the attention and the feeling of the breath and the moves of the body and emotions and and so on. So it becomes this way
developing a lot of insight and understanding about our experience is roughly looking at our expense.
See now, instead of being driven by the these old habits. Loving kindness practice is a different method, where I sometimes called
stretch. You know where we realise that we tend to pay
tension in a certain way and we consciously pay attention in a different way. So, for example,
you're in the habit of the end of the day of looking back at yourself, almost zero, evaluate yourself like how they do today and if you're in the house
If pretty well only remembering the mistakes you made and what you didn't do quite right, which most of us are a stretch, and it's almost like
Ask you anything good happened today and a good within me.
in our. So we do that through
silent repetition of certain phrases so that were paying attention differently. Stead of
ass to getting ourselves and blaming ourselves or wishing ourselves well. Another example is: there are tons of people we encounter. We look greater now. They're objects to us personal works behind the counter.
the single market or maybe homeless person. You know, and so the question becomes worms
them instead of through them. So this is
Like a need to like
take them home with you or your best friend. But what is that moment? We, like
I recognise that humanity that person, and so we used the phrase- is to pay attention differently,
so actually takes intentionally when it can mix our world bigger, more inclusive
I mean it's beautiful. It's also in also speaks to how much we don't see where he now and how much more
the world there really is available to us yeah, totally totally yeah
Can you take me more into loving kindness practice? You talk about server
aggression, and I know it starts with a reflection on you.
which is it serve an interesting always look at that with this Karl erik
the yelling in yoga. Others are himself here which is about people trousers nonviolence, but I think for a large as we don't look
First, as non violence to ourselves. We just kind of like immediately. She will thus for other people more towards other people, and it seems like new that reflection and the first choice
A phase of loving kindness, magician is really what's. List
this on ourselves? Selves will one
I have seen the practice of loving kindness is as a practice of generosity. It's like generosity of spirit and suppose we look at mature,
generosity just as a kind of teaching vehicle cousin, so much more concrete rate. So it said that the best kind of general
stick comes from a sense of inner abundance and it makes sense.
because even if you have a huge amount,
external measures. If you have the internal,
feeling that you don't have enough it's very hard to give. So we might give for marketing,
motives obligation or showing offer martyrdom weird
we don't deserve to have anything, but the best kind of generosity comes.
that sets of inner bandits, and so then,
generosity of spirit thanking somebody being present with somebody paying attention,
loving kindness for them having compassion for them fulfilled depleted and over com
got nothing going on inside it's very hard to be giving our offering from a good place very, very hard, so
is big emphasis on loving kindness for oneself, site renewal,
resilience its creating,
wherewithal that sense of inner resource, so that we can in a much better way
pay attention to others, and so, at all
struck me as odd. You know that
even in the traditional buddhist teaching start with loving kindness for yourself- and I thought well, that is in a show its
self denial and suffer negation, but it's not enough,
it's about building a sense of resource there, and then
a lot of sense. You know if you're on empty yeah, exactly not again and if you generally wanna be of service to you. Gotta have
or ass, you under completely got an answer. If anybody yeah yeah another than
it makes lessons, but I wonder sometimes if we look at that part of the practice and say well, let me do something to love myself up or like, as being about,
south aggrandizing yourself serene and that's what stops us from wanting to go around on the server oh yeah trends in practice it softly. I
often surfing handed one of my books who sang. Isn't it ironic?
Researchers, here's the thing you can do twenty minutes a day, really help your friend. We do it but really
it may one hundred have time. You know I can't do it. I can possibly do it. You should see my to do list that so selfish. You know I need to care everybody else. I can spend twenty minutes, but you can't
run on empty forever. You just can't you know, so it's not so.
It's not it's not the same as being self preoccupy under their whatever it's really important
site. I love the airplane analogy sake. What are the instructions? I give your apparent put the mask on you first right rekissed.
no service anyone else. If you go out yeah, if there is, there is.
Here is a shaman all that stuff it just gets put upon us
love what you share your earlier, a conversation about the fact that you just mentioned that year before this you're walking down the street new york city and you're, looking at different people offering loving kindness, is it just a break?
or is that just the way I mean? Is that a deliberate practice for you at this point? Or is it just the way you are yeah since deliberate fat? Okay
nice and I get- I don't do that, but I'd like to
just sit every day I have like a form of meditation practice for four years
I went to Burma nineteen eighty five saw it started practice in january, seven,
and january seventh. Nineteen, seventy one I happened to be teacher, yet
Joe riddles studio knowing her with a lousy that night- and I remembered an eye- I said: hey, guess what
you know this is my forty fair anniversary of becoming unmeditated. I so legislature
and ass the door- and I say you gonna, get me a cake which he was sounds like like yeah, so it took a while before I went to Burma did intensive, loving kindness practice like fourteen years, but from eighty five
till eighty nine. That was my entire practice, where those sitting at home rose on richard adjusted, loving kindness practice and most people
have some kind of awareness practice and some kind of loving kindness, compassion practice, and you just divide up the time in different ways of these days. The way divide up the time is my daily
sitting is largely like my first practice but
This resolved to do loving, kindness whenever waiting, and I can't every mode of transportation- is waiting. Suddenly airplanes, walking, dallas
of new york and literally waiting in online and the girls restore some like their set of fretting or getting piece. You know I do.
Having kindnesses very interesting,
interesting in what way like what is it well for one thing
and that all the same judge
whence might arise in my mind, but I cannot, but with little loving kindness like. Why are you wearing a jacket so hot out before
be yeah, something like that yeah? It's like he can end it with a different energy yeah yeah
but that's so interesting to love the feather. That's you're not denied
in the fact that you're still a human being league of evil, they're still judgment are still less than that. It's like and not so much but but and you can then come back to this place.
which just leaves you reoriented you now, it's not like you have to leave behind that essence of who you are to keep keep coming back to a place and a practice here and over the time I mean justin,
You live in a world everyone here that no definitely in
So I went into somebody smiling coming in another direction, demonstrate this mountain laughing
Maybe they're doing it to the heavy right when they
nice assumption, just like I'm gonna see that their. Dare you to thank you how things really
citing what you doing. It's too, sir, look at your journey from him getting on a plane you now and the building this incredible centre in community communities around the world and now becoming one of the people who really leading. How do we actually take this with integrity and leverage technology and flattened the world to a certain extent, we will not have direct access to one or teachers again to experience it. Thank you. Thank you.
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I love sharon's deep well of wisdom and experience, and now I thought I might step in and share something I don't believe I've ever done,
here on the pod cast, even though I've been meditating myself for over a decade and taught and practice
yoga and meditation to thousands of people over many years
The eu into a bit of a special blended practice that takes us.
Into a grounding in our bodies and breath and then entered
This is a simple version of a loving kindness practice together. So, finally,
comparable sea can be on a couch, can be a cushion,
bolster liver, allows
can settle land mass upright, but not overly eric
positions that you want to be like your active, but not straining you're comfortable tens,
for a little bit of time here so
around a little bit settle end, so that you feel good with whatever you're doing.
Just close your eyes for a moment and just noticed your body do a quick scan from the top of your head and
attention just slowly poured down through your body.
Noticing how everything fears can move your shoulders around the little bare squeezing
for a second energy exhaled scant drop omen. Let a man,
this plan.
Awareness down around your hips and your legs and just noticed a sensation
say settlement to the cushion or whether
Is it your sitting on fuel,
they sit nuns in contact and the legs and contact with the floor or wherever they may be touching.
taken, as in here with your eyes, closed full body inhale through your nose.
Your mouth.
Again, through your nose hell and through your mouth once more through your mouth
To steal your body settled really comfortably
I still closed again just scanned from the top of the head. Slowly, thomas is it.
Attention were drifting down through you.
they can ephemeral line of awareness suggest slowly lowers the tip top of your head down through your body and ass. It goes just noticing that area
seems to release so comfortably surgeon
without intention without having to force anything just now,
wrap noticing her body ass, comfortable place. As you do.
Very slowly very deliberately, he's your left hand up and placed her left palm right against your heart.
So you feel the warmth of your hand slowly penetrating and feel that
oft energy of your heart slowly, pouring out into your palm
otis association for a moment.
An equally slowly really gently
early ease her right hand out, so that your party,
sitting gently against the stomach.
Again, noticing the warmth pouring in from the palm.
and similarly, the softest energy barely perceptible pouring back
into the palm.
You may notice at your shoulders, and they have raised- are tightened abed as he did that, sir keeping
and where they are relaxing pounds, but keeping where they are too slowly
let your shoulders relax now and soften them again, with your eyes still closed with the next in hell
Breeze slowly into the top harm, and let your inhale poured down into the bottom is: it
She's gentler.
And then slowly, exhale allow, in the bottom hand, received in the top hand, to settle back into the chest
And breathing in through the top palm and then pouring down at the bottom
exhaling from the bottom, slowly rising up now, letting everything settle just one more time into the top through the bottom
Then excel at the hands: slow, sly back into the centre of the body, keeping that stillness.
Energetic circuit between the heart and the centre, with your eyes,
just slow early release, your palms gently back down and your lap or wherever feel comfortable to returning
sensation of.
And then bring a visual representation in your minds. I picture so
just sitting here
sense of ease since have a sense of acceptance, discreet. That picture yourself.
And then begin to offer yourself certain wishes.
So without vision, sitting in front of you.
as you breathe just very slowly and quietly recite with your mind, the following frances may be free, may be happy.
May be healthy, may be loved, may live with he's, sending it out to you do yourself and you can even change it. So, let's try that man
be free. May I be happy, may I be healthy? May I be loved? May I live with ease,
Be free, mammy, happy, may I be healthy,
maybe love
I live with ease. May I be free, be happy, be healthy, beloved.
Live with ease repeating the phrase while you hold that image of yourself.
Wishing this thing was to yourself and opening sir
introduce wishes.
Allowing them to land. May I be free, be happy, be healthy, beloved, live with you,
Can I stay in here.
and the next justly
of that image of herself.
I'll take a moment and just bring into your mind's, I the images
but who you love.
Additionally, somebody
So dear to you- and they may be with us.
There they may be somebody who's past. It's ok there, one brain that vision and making make it is clear, as you can order, they look like order. They wearing.
Are they feel like create that visual in your minds? I, and then we are
for that same set of glass
With our wishes to them may be free.
May be happy- may be healthy.
May be loved.
may you live with ease, may be free may be happy, may be held
maybe loved, may live with, is may be free, be happy, be healthy, be loved.
Labour with continuing to repeat. There is what you hold that image of this person you care so deep.
bout in your minds are made me free, be happy, be healthy bill.
Love live with ease
continue slowly with that.
slowly and then ass. You are ready
deep in hell,
winslow they just exhale and let it out.
And then let go of the image of that person. Just slender serve flood off into the ether.
then very gently bring their minds. I
image of somebody who maybe appears in your daily life, but you really have no feelings for knowing no specific connection to somebody.
Have you seen passing, maybe somebody who set the daily who make sure coffee or a barrister? Maybe it's
To somebody who you know in passing
really don't have any connection, no strong feeling for about or against to spring a picture.
Of that in your minds I,
see them in your minds? I and we
that same series of wishes to them
I mean that your I may be free may be happy,
Maybe healthy.
Maybe last may live with ease.
Maybe free navy happy may be healthy.
Maybe laughed may live with, ease may be free, be happy, be healthy, we love, live with, maybe free be happy, be healthy.
They laughed live with a nice in Hell.
Naturally, I shall just let that person go into the eastern partnership.
And the main your minds, I very gently very gently,
image of sunday with whom you feel it
Sense of unease sense of struggle, it may be,
What do feel has done you wrong? May just be somebody here.
Comfortable with.
And this can sometimes be challenging.
if doing so starts to bring up so much
Comforter unease or suffering within year than just allow.
That person to drift off and replace them with yourself, because you're the one in need of wishes of love so
well that person in your mind's eye and create that same image.
And to them we offer the same may be free.
may be happy.
May be healthy.
Maybe laughed.
May you live with ease may be free may be happy, may be healthy,
Maybe loved.
May you live with ease may be free, be happy, be healthy, been love with ease, may be free, be happy, be healthy, beloved, live with.
Taking a gentle opera and there's u excel just let their person evaporate out into the ether slanning her mind. Still nice inquire.
And then, finally and very gently.
bringing into your minds. I the experience of all those people and all those beyond a sense of oneness, as if.
No matter who it is that we perceive to exist outside of this sort,
terry boundary recall our body were all just a part of one shared existence when shared energy, one shared experience of love, sir.
generosity feeling that
effectiveness and bring inter minds eyes. Sense of oneness community
However, you choose to manifested in your mind
Of the loose beings all around you, everyone with whom we ve just talked and they go,
community around us.
and we offer the same blessings to us all. May we be free.
May we be happy, may we be healthy.
maybe be loved. May we live with ease, maybe be free
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
Maybe they loved, maybe live with a maybe be free, be happy.
Be healthy, be loved, liver with ease. May we be free, be happy, be healthy, be loved,
who had taken a deep breath, then fill ah the room. All those in our minds are national
hell. Just let him evaporate into the ether. The eyes still closed again
Gently return: a soft left palm to your heart and the soft right palm tears stomach just breathe into your hands feeling the connection.
Letting the shoulders relax.
With his final exile, allow your palms just jail, a return to your lab, surrendering, open sure, there's relaxed and as already very slowly,
Your eyes left open.
Looking gently around him.
In the same energy to the rest of your day,.
Well. I hope you enjoy this meditation deep dive. We look forward to doing similar served when did mash up montage episodes in the future that are focused on specific topics, bringing together the wisdom, stories and expertise of different guess, sweeping so fortunate to have on the show over the years, and if you loved this episode.
Sure to shared around, if you want to make that loving kindness meditation at the end of part of us, are about weekly practice, then
All means feel free to and listen to the full length converse
nations with Daniel and sharing both so rich
and so wise and so deep and
Generous both.
Which are linked in the show notes below thanks. So much see you next time,
the.
Transcript generated on 2023-06-17.