Unhappiness Is Not a Life Sentence | Christina Feldman

Unhappiness Is Not a Life Sentence | Christina Feldman

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

---


Is it possible to be happy no matter what happens? Today we’re going right to the source of what makes us unhappy to learn how to disarm and disable potential suffering before it owns us.


Everything that comes up in our mind is either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. In other words, with everything we experience, we either want it, don’t want it, or we don’t care. In Buddhism, this is called “feeling tones” or “vedana” and it is known as the second foundation of mindfulness in the Buddha’s comprehensive list. So why does this matter? Because if you are unaware of the pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral tones, then you are being controlled by them. Similarly, if you are unaware that certain people or things provoke aversion, then you can unthinkingly avoid or even be aggressive towards them. In this way, we can be like puppets on a string— just yanked around by greed, hatred, and numbness.


Today’s guest, dharma teacher Christina Feldman, is going to drill down on this embarkation point for our suffering, zap it with mindfulness and help us understand how we don’t have to live like puppets on a string.


Feldman began teaching in the west in the seventies after spending years in Asia studying Buddhist meditation. She is a co-founder of Gaia House, a retreat center in the UK, and has also served as a guiding teacher at Insight Meditation Society beginning in its early days. More recently, she is a co-founder of Bodhi College, which is dedicated to the study and practice of the early teachings of the Buddha. She is the author of a book called, Boundless Heart: The Buddha's Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity, and co-author of Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Psychology.


This episode is the second installment of a series we've launched on the four foundations of mindfulness.


In this episode we talk about:


  • Why vedana is often called, “the ruler of consciousness” or “the king, or the queen of consciousness”
  • How to practice with vedana, and the benefits thereof
  • Her lovely description of the Buddha as being very focused on understanding “the architecture of distress and unhappiness”
  • Her contention that unhappiness is not a life sentence.
  • Her definition of genuine happiness
  • What she means by the power of “giving greater authority to intentionality, rather than to mood or story”
  • And her personal practice of setting life intentions every year



Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/christina-feldman-500


Jaksot(902)

Vince Horn, Buddhist Geek on Struggling with Nirvana

Vince Horn, Buddhist Geek on Struggling with Nirvana

Vince Horn, the co-founder of Buddhist Geeks, says when he reached nirvana, he found it "disappointing" and "anti-climactic," which set him on a new journey to map his experience. A practicing meditation teacher from Asheville, N.C., Horn's latest project is called Meditate.io, a free course on aiming to make in-depth meditation training more approachable.

4 Tammi 201756min

Josh Radnor, "How I Met Your Mother" Star Back in Theater

Josh Radnor, "How I Met Your Mother" Star Back in Theater

Josh Radnor, best known for playing Ted Mosby on TV's "How I Met Your Mother," started practicing meditation over a decade ago after he went through a break-up and never really stopped. Radnor's career extends beyond TV -- though he stars in PBS's "Mercy Street" -- to include acclaimed indie film work, Broadway roles, his current role in "The Babylon Line," and he credits meditation for helping him navigate it all.

28 Joulu 201640min

Andrew Olendzki, Teaching Old-School Buddhism

Andrew Olendzki, Teaching Old-School Buddhism

Andrew Olendzki is a Buddhist scholar of the Pali canon, the original, authentic teachings of the Buddha that have been passed down for centuries. He even speaks Pali, the ancient Indian language the Buddha spoke and taught in. Olendzki started the Integrated Dharma Institute as a way to bring these teachings to the masses.

21 Joulu 20161h 2min

Handling Holiday Stress (Bonus Episode!)

Handling Holiday Stress (Bonus Episode!)

From the pressures of buying and receiving gifts to surviving awkward office parties, the holidays can be a stressful time of year. On a special edition of the "10% Happier" podcast, our host Dan Harris leads a roundtable discussion with two meditation teachers, Sharon Salzberg and Kate Johnson, as well as David Gelles, an author and New York Times business reporter who covers the meditation scene, on how meditation can help us get through the holidays.

19 Joulu 201655min

Joe DiNardo, Grief and Meditation

Joe DiNardo, Grief and Meditation

Joe DiNardo, a businessman and attorney from Buffalo, New York, was married to his wife Marcia for 15 years when she was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. DiNardo used to his years of meditation practice to help get through the grief of losing her and in his new book, "A Letter to My Wife," he shares anecdotes about the relationship they had and the love he found.

14 Joulu 201656min

Robert Thurman, Renowned Buddhist Scholar

Robert Thurman, Renowned Buddhist Scholar

Bob Thurman, the father of actress Uma Thurman, was one of the first Americans to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He later gave up his robes and is now one of the most famous Buddhist scholars around, having worked with the Dalai Lama for over 50 years and traveled the world lecturing on Buddhist teachings.

7 Joulu 20161h 12min

John Mulaney, Comedian Turned Broadway Star

John Mulaney, Comedian Turned Broadway Star

John Mulaney, known for his stand-up comedy and his work on "Saturday Night Live," first turned to meditation while filming a short-lived sitcom that bore his name, "Mulaney." He now has a daily meditation practice, which he often practices in a dark dressing room before he goes on stage for "Oh, Hello," the two-man Broadway show he co-wrote and stars in with fellow comedian Nick Kroll.

30 Marras 201651min

Jessica Morey, Teaching Meditation to Teenagers

Jessica Morey, Teaching Meditation to Teenagers

Jessica Morey has turned what some may see as the impossible -- teaching teenagers how to meditate -- into her life's work. Morey, who attended her first meditation retreat at age 14, is the co-founder and current executive director of Inward-Bound Mindfulness Education, or iBme. It’s a non-profit organization that takes teens to residential retreat centers and out into the woods for hiking and meditation across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

23 Marras 201654min

Suosittua kategoriassa Terveys ja hyvinvointi

unicast
psykopodiaa-podcast
tiedenaiset-podcast
vakeva-elama-viisaampi-mieli-vahvempi-keho
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
selvin-pain
katilon-kahvitunti
fitnessvastaanotto
meditaatiot-suomeksi
terapiassa
rss-uplevel-by-sonja-hannus
aamukahvilla
selviytyjat-tarinoita-elamasta
paritellen
rss-rentoudu-podcast-rentoutumiseen-hanna-viljanmaa
kierron-verran-toivoa
rss-narsisti
rss-onnistunut-laihdutus
paaasia-podcast
ruokaklinikka