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    You Are Not Your Thoughts | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein

    enAugust 07, 2020

    Podcast Summary

    • Understanding Emptiness or Selflessness in BuddhismBuddhism's concept of emptiness suggests that on a fundamental level, there's no permanent 'you'. Instead, thoughts and experiences arise and pass, much like dictators giving orders but holding no inherent power. Practicing this perspective can lead to liberation from thoughts and emotions, bringing greater peace and happiness.

      According to the 10% Happier podcast, emptiness or selflessness is a concept in Buddhism that can be difficult to understand, but it doesn't mean we don't exist. Instead, it suggests that on a fundamental level, there is no permanent "you." Instead, thoughts and experiences arise and pass, much like dictators giving orders, but ultimately holding no inherent power. Practicing this perspective can lead to liberation from the grip of thoughts and the resulting emotions. During a bonus meditation, Joseph Goldstein encourages listeners to approach thoughts in a light-hearted way, recognizing their transient nature and not taking them too seriously. This perspective can help reduce the hold that thoughts have over us and bring about greater peace and happiness. If you're a Wondery Plus subscriber, you can listen to this meditation and more bonus content right now.

    • Observe thoughts and emotions during meditationDuring meditation, instead of suppressing thoughts or emotions, observe them with curiosity and awareness to cultivate a more spacious and open mind.

      During meditation, instead of trying to suppress thoughts or emotions, we should observe them with curiosity and awareness. Sit comfortably, focusing on your breath and body, and when thoughts or sounds arise, make a mental note and return to your awareness of breathing or sitting. Don't be discouraged if your mind wanders; simply acknowledge it and begin again. The goal is not to stop thinking, but to observe and investigate the nature of our thoughts and emotions. By practicing this mindfulness, we can cultivate a more spacious and open mind, allowing us to better cope with daily distractions and stressors.

    • Exploring the Basics of Meditation with Joseph Goldstein on 10% HappierStart your meditation journey with Joseph Goldstein's 7-day Basics course on the 10% Happier app, debunking myths and introducing fundamental concepts.

      There are numerous meditations available from Joseph on the 10% Happier app, including a flagship course called "The Basics," which is an excellent way to begin practicing meditation. Joseph and the host discuss the fundamental concepts of meditation and debunk common myths. This seven-day program is an effective way to get started. In the coming weeks, the podcast will delve deeper into themes of grit and resilience. Additionally, Wondery offers a new family-friendly podcast called "The Cat in the Hatcast," featuring Dr. Seuss characters and the Cat in the Hat himself. The podcast is filled with fun songs, tongue twisters, and witty wordplay, providing an enjoyable listening experience for the whole family. Listeners can access these podcasts early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus or using Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Don't forget to share your feedback by completing a survey at Wondery.com/survey. Happy listening!

    • Exploring the Controversial Reality TV Show 'The Swan'The Swan, a reality TV show from the early 2000s, showcased women undergoing physical transformations and competing in a beauty pageant after months of isolation and criticism, leading to ethical concerns and a cringeworthy viewing experience. Producers should consider the potential consequences of their ideas before bringing them to the public.

      The early 2000s saw a surge in controversial reality TV shows, with The Swan being a prime example. Hosted by Misha Brown on The Big Flop podcast, this episode explored the ill-fated series where women underwent physical transformations and competed in a beauty pageant after months of isolation and criticism. The result was a viewing experience that left audiences cringing rather than entertained. This experiment in reality TV, with its isolating and demeaning nature, highlights the importance of ethical considerations in entertainment production. It serves as a reminder that not all big ideas are good ideas, and that the potential consequences should always be carefully weighed before bringing them to the public. Listen to The Big Flop on Wondery or wherever you get your podcasts for more insight into the biggest pop culture fails of all time.

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    An acclaimed science writer on how to upgrade your mind by using more than your head.


    When you think about thinking, most of us think of it as a supremely solo pursuit. You’re in your head, concentrating and cogitating, all by yourself. But the science shows that if you want to improve your thinking, you need to get out of your head. Today we’re going to talk about a concept called “the extended mind.” Your mind isn’t just in your skull: it’s in your body, it’s in the people around you, it’s in your surroundings. The best thinking requires that you break out of what the writer David Foster Wallace called “the skull sized kingdom” and access these other resources.


    This may sound abstract, but our guest today makes it very practical. Annie Murphy Paul is an acclaimed science writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Scientific American, Slate, Time, and The Best American Science Writing, among many other publications. She is the author of Origins and The Cult of Personality, hailed by Malcolm Gladwell as a “fascinating new book.” Currently a fellow at New America, Paul has spoken to audiences around the world about learning and cognition; her TED talk has been viewed by more than 2.6 million people. A graduate of Yale University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has served as a lecturer at Yale University and as a senior advisor at their Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Her latest book is The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain


    In this episode, we also talk about:


    • How to use your surroundings to think better 
    • My favorite of the three areas of this book – thinking with our relationships
    • Why “groupthink” isn’t always a bad thing (OR you can say, the benefits of thinking in groups)
    • What she called “extension inequality” – that this benefit of the extended mind isn’t available to all people



    Related Episodes: Ancient Secrets to Modern Happiness | Tamar Gendler


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/anniemurphypaul


    Additional Resources:

    Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

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    On Having Your Own Back | Bonus Meditation with Jess Morey

    On Having Your Own Back | Bonus Meditation with Jess Morey

    Connecting to self-compassion can be really tough. Ease the struggle by imagining your loved ones sending care & support your way.


    About Jess Morey:


    Jess Morey is a lead teacher, cofounder and former executive director of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education which runs in-depth mindfulness programming for youth, and the parents and professionals who support them across the US, and internationally. She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by the Insight Meditation Society (IMS), and has maintained a consistent commitment to meditation since. Diving head first into meditation at such a key developmental stage makes the revelatory perspective of mindfulness & compassion her natural home turf, and gives her an easy, conversational teaching style anyone can relate to.


    For more information on Inward Bound: https://inwardboundmind.org/


    For more information on the Contemplative Semester: https://www.contemplativesemester.org/


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Compassion For Yourself.”



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    Practical advice from a straight-talking, formerly incarcerated, occasionally profane dharma teacher.


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    In this episode we talk about:

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    • Noting practice
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    • Redirecting awareness
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    • When to opt for distraction
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    • Vinny’s ancestor practice
    • What is the connection between seeing our family patterns and not taking what is not ours?  
    • How loyal have we been to our suffering?



    Related Episodes:


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    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/vinny-ferraro



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    The Science Of Overcoming Perfectionism | Thomas Curran

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    Actionable advice on working with one of the few socially acceptable vices.


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    In this episode we talk about:


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    • The recipe for achieving inner abundance
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    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/thomas-curran


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    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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    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “What Is Happiness.”



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    Dua Lipa On: Radical Optimism, Falling On Stage, And “Writing Yourself Into A Good Idea”

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    Talking creativity and sanity with one of the world’s biggest pop stars.


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    • The impact of trauma
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    • And how to cultivate what scientists call Positive Relational Energy


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    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/emma-seppala-764


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    The creator of somatic experiencing shows Dan how to heal trauma through the body.

     

    Peter A. Levine, Ph.D., has spent the past 50 years developing Somatic Experiencing. He holds a doctorate in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and a doctorate in Psychology from International University. His work has been taught to over 30,000 therapists in over 42 countries. He is the author of the new book, An Autobiography of Trauma.


    Content warning: This episode includes discussions of rape and violence.


    In this episode we talk about:


    • How to do somatic experiencing. You’ll see Dan play the role of guinea pig + make weird sounds
    • The difference between somatic experiencing and talk therapy
    • Somatic experiencing practices we can implement into our lives
    • Why some people feel horror/terror at the thought of re-occupying the body and how to overcome those fears
    • What the research says – and how these practices around body awareness have gone from the fringes to entering the scientific mainstream
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    • Practices to fortify us in times of difficulty
    • Facing mortality 



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    What Science and Buddhism Say About How to Regulate Your Own Nervous System | Deb Dana & Kaira Jewel Lingo

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    An Ace Therapist Gives Dan A Run For His Money | Dr. Jacob Ham

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    Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter here

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    How To Meditate If You Have ADHD (Or Are Simply Fidgety And Distractible) | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren

    How To Meditate If You Have ADHD (Or Are Simply Fidgety And Distractible) | Bonus Meditation with Jeff Warren

    Tap into your ADHD superpowers with a meditation that celebrates your unique wiring. Embrace exploration and self-acceptance.


    About Jeff Warren:


    Jeff is an incredibly gifted meditation teacher. He's trained in multiple traditions, including with renowned teacher Shinzen Young. Jeff is the co-author of NY Times Bestseller "Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics," and the founder of the Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in Toronto. He has a knack for surfacing the exact meditation that will help everyone he meets. "I have a meditation for that" is regularly heard from Jeff, so we've dubbed him the "Meditation MacGyver."


    More information on the group retreat (AKA Meditation Party) at the Omega Institute is here


    To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Meditating with ADHD.” 



    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    Rewire How You Talk To Yourself | Ofosu Jones-Quartey

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    Ofosu Jones-Quartey, a meditation teacher, author, and musician hailing from the Washington DC area brings over 17 years of experience in sharing mindfulness, meditation and self-compassion practices with the world. Holding a bachelor’s degree from American University and certified by the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, Ofosu is a graduate of the Teleos Coaching Institute and is the male voice on the Balance meditation app, reaching over 10 million subscribers. 


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    Beyond music, Ofosu is an author, releasing his self-published children’s book “You Are Enough” in 2020 and “Love Your Amazing Self” via Storey Publishing in 2022. He lives in Rockville, Maryland, with his wife and four children.


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    • All the reasons people resist self-compassion, and his rebuttals
    • Whether self-compassion is selfish
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    • How to do self-compassion on the cushion, including practices like body scans, metta, and a check-in practice you can use at the very start of your sits
    • And how to teach self-compassion to children



    Related Episodes:

    The Voice in Your Head | Ethan Kross



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    Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes


    Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/ofosu-jones-quartey



    Additional Resources:


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    Related Episodes

    Understanding emptiness

    Understanding emptiness

    Nothing appears out of nowhere; everything arises out of previous conditions. Everything, no matter how solid it appears to be, is simply process. This is what we call emptiness.

    The point of understanding and knowing emptiness is to relieve our distress. Once we truly see emptiness, we no longer have to carry the burden of hostility and dissatisfaction around with us. Instead, we can relax and enjoy our world.

    Episode 186 - Change your view and everything changes

    Episode 186 - Change your view and everything changes

    Within Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhists are sometimes referred to as "inner beings." What this means is that we turn inward. We learn to cultivate happiness and solve problems by changing our thoughts and actions. Like a sculptor with clay, our mind shapes our experiences. By observing thoughts, feelings, and habits, we gain insight into the workings of the mind. With this awareness, we can transform mental mental states to alleviate suffering. 

    Understanding that the source of a problem is inside a person doesn't imply blame but highlights our potential for growth and transformation. Recognizing internal causes allows us to engage in practices like mindfulness and meditation to address the root of problems and make real change.

    For example, the mind of anger distorts the way a person appears to us. Anger makes a person we normally love seem full of faults and unpleasant. Seeing our loved one through the lens of anger, causes us to see an enemy. By understanding the nature of anger and that its causes are thoughts, feelings, and the habit of anger, we can change these inputs. We could change our angry thoughts that focus on their faults to thoughts of appreciation for them. We can change our feeling to one of compassion for them. Ultimately, through practice, we can change our underlying habit of anger and live in a much more peaceful world. This process holds true for all our habits of mind. When we accept responsibility for our actions, feelings, and mental states, we take a huge step towards addressing the root causes of our problems.

    Not by matted hair, not by clan, 

    Not by birth does one become a brahmin.

    The one in whom there is truth and Dharma 

    Is the one who is pure, is a brahmin (Fronsdale, 2011)

    —Buddha, The Dhammapada, Verse 393

     

    References with Links

    Buddha.The Dhammapada. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. (Kindle). Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 78 (Link) 

    Buddha (1986).The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories. Translated by Daw Mya Tin, M.A. (Website). Edited by Editorial Committee, Burma Tipitaka Association Rangoon. Courtesy .of Nibbana.com. For free distribution only, as a gift of dhamma. Retrieved from https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=393

    Find us at the links below: 

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Buddhismforeveryone

    Facebook Group:Join our private group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sanghatalk/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddhism.with.joann.fox

    Website: Buddhismforeveryone.com

    Episode 17 - The Bodhisattva and Cherishing Others

    Episode 17 - The Bodhisattva and Cherishing Others

    The Bodhisattva and Cherishing Others

     

    In this episode we look at the Bodhisattva wish to become an awakened person for the benefit of all beings. Does this wish to help all beings resonate with us; could this be our own journey? While we pose these profound questions to ourselves, we take a practical step in that direction and make the intention to cherish others. With the mantra “May you be happy”, we try to care for, help and cherish others as much as possible. We can think that every time we cherish another person it is like a rep, building the muscle of love and compassion that can transform us first into a deeply happy person and ultimately into a Buddha.

     

    “Who will master this world

    And the realms of Yama and the gods?

    Who will select a well-taught Dharma teaching,

    As a skilled person selects a flower?

     

    One in training will master this world

    And the realms of Yama and the gods?

    One in training will select

    A well-taught Dharma teaching,

    As a skilled person selects a flower.”

     

    References:

    The Dhammapada, by Buddha. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 12.

     

    Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Acharya Shantideva. Translated into English by Stephen Batchelor. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Dharmasala. April, 1979. Pages 22-23.

    https://www.tibethouse.jp/about/buddhism/text/pdfs/Bodhisattvas_way_English.pdf

     

    Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 1. Pages 281-282. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

     

    Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 3. Pages 35-37.. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.

     

    Episode 18: Emptiness and Impermanence

    Episode 18: Emptiness and Impermanence

    In this episode, we try to get a feeling for emptiness, Buddha’s most profound teaching and the realization that leads to enlightenment. Buddha taught that the ultimate nature of all things is emptiness. When we say our glass is empty and ask for more, the glass is empty of something. This is the same with the emptiness of reality; it means our reality is empty of something. We ask then, “reality is empty of what?” Buddha taught that our reality is empty (or lacks) inherent existence. A Tibetan singing bowl, for example, is not inherently a Tibetan singing bowl. Someone might see it as a pot for planting flowers or a bowl for chips or salsa. The object is empty of existing inherently as a Tibetan singing bowl. This also means the bowl is full of possibilities for how it can exist. This is true of our self. If we even get a slight feeling for our self being empty, it opens up infinite possibilities for our us. We can be anything. We can exist in any new, healthy way we can imagine-- we can even become a Buddha. In the meditation, we contemplate emptiness and imagine that emptiness blows up any limiting beliefs we have about our self.

    Emptiness is also referred to as ultimate truth. Ultimate truth is like one side of the coin of reality and conventional truth is like the other side of this coin. Here Buddha explains how things exist by convention. This is how we can relate to how things in the conventional world. However, conventional truth is not how we normally relate to things. We normally think things exist just as they appear, independent of our mind’s perception. In reality, how things appear to us depends completely on our mind.

    Another aspect of conventional truth is impermanence. Sure, we can take the ten-year challenge on social media and compare pictures of ourselves today to photos from ten years ago and roughly understand impermanence (LOL). When Buddha points our impermanence, however, it is toward a liberating understanding of the totality of impermanence. For example, when Buddha said “knowing this body is like foam”, he illustrates the subtle impermanence of the body and self. Subtle impermanence means that everything is newly arisen in every moment. Logically, the person of this moment is caused by the person of the previous moment, and a cause and an effect cannot be the same. A seed cannot be a sprout. An acorn cannot be a great oak tree. Thus, we are not the same person we were yesterday. We are not even the same person we were a moment ago. How liberating! When someone is in a rut and feels bad about themselves, they are grasping at a permanent self (and perhaps one they don’t like very much). Conventional truth reveals that the self they are holding onto doesn’t even exist anymore.

    Our past is created by the present moment. Our past is created by how we reflect on it presently. Wading a little into the truth, we can learn to let go of the past. We can learn to let go of who we think we are and make room for a new self. In the meditation, we imagined emptiness exploding our self. We tried to feel the infinite possibilities that realizing the emptiness of our self awakens. Then we reflected on the subtle impermanence of our self. We try to feel that, arising from emptiness, we are a completely new self. We are a completely different than the self we were yesterday. We will be a completely new self tomorrow, full of possibilities.

    “Knowing this body is like foam,

    Fully awake to its mirage-like nature,

    Cutting off Mara’s flowers,

    One goes unseen by the King of Death.”

    --Buddha (Dhammapada, verse 46)

    References:

    The Dhammapada, by Buddha. Translated by Gil Fronsdale. Shambala, Boston and London, 2011, pp. 12. 

    Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Acharya Shantideva. Translated into English by Stephen Batchelor. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Dharmasala. April, 1979. Pages 22-23.

    Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Je Tsongkhapa, Volume 3. Pages 1961, 2014, 2019. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief, and Guy Newlan, Editor.