Resisting What You Don’t Want To Feel Just Makes It Worse. Here’s A Different Strategy. | Ofosu Jones-Quartey and Cara Lai

Resisting What You Don’t Want To Feel Just Makes It Worse. Here’s A Different Strategy. | Ofosu Jones-Quartey and Cara Lai

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

---

What you resist persists. Buddhist strategies for acceptance and equanimity.


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.


Ofosu leads meditation classes and retreats nationwide, having taught and led retreats at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, The Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, Brooklyn Zen Center, Cleveland Insight, Inward Bound Mindfulness and more.


As an accomplished hip hop artist under the name “Born I,” Ofosu released the mindfulness-themed album “In This Moment” in 2021. His most recent album is “AMIDA”, a spiritual, Lo-Fi Hip Hop album exploring life, death and his Buddhist faith.


Beyond music, Ofosu is an author. His self-published children’s book “You Are Enough” debuted in 2020 and his next work “Love Your Amazing Self” via Storey Publishing in 2022. Ofosu’s latest book: “Lyrical Dharma: Hip Hop as Mindfulness” will be released in 2025 via Parallax Press.


Ofosu lives in Rockville, Maryland, with his wife and four children.


Cara 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.


Speaking of podcasts, Cara also co-hosts a podcast called Adventures in Meditating (For Parents), along with Jess Morey and Jon Roberts.


Cara lives in Vermont with her husband and their 2-year-old son.

***

Want to study and practice with today's guests? Please check out these Spirit Rock offerings:

Cara Lai: Steadying the Heart (April 1-8; opens Dec 3)

Ofosu Jones-Quartey: BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Sangha (Nov. 24)

All 10% Happier listeners receive a discount code for our December Insight Retreat (Dec. 8-18) with the code TENPERCENT


Related Episodes:

The Upside of Desire | Cara Lai

Can You Get Fit Without Self-Loathing? | Cara Lai

Rewire How You Talk To Yourself | Ofosu Jones-Quartey

What It’s Like To Do A Year-Long Silent Meditation Retreat—By Yourself | Cara Lai


Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter here

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Ten Percent Happier online bookstore

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

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


Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/cara-ofosu-848


Episoder(903)

Finally... The Joseph Goldstein Episode

Finally... The Joseph Goldstein Episode

One of the first American Vipassana teachers and the co-founder of Insight Meditation Society, Joseph Goldstein, is a highly recognized name to many in western meditation. He has studied and practiced various forms of Buddhist meditation under world renowned teachers from India and he has led, and continues to lead, numerous insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide. Goldstein shares his abundance of knowledge on insight meditation, the confusion between attention and mindfulness, ethical frameworks and provides clarity on various terms such as the awakened mind, checking the attitude of the mind, in-order-to mind and more. Currently, Goldstein is a meditation teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts as well as on the Ten Percent Happier app. He is also the author of numerous publications such as Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening and One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism. Plug Zone Insight Meditation Society: https://www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein/ Joseph Goldstein Courses & Meditations on the Ten Percent Happier App: https://10percenthappier.app.link/x9Q0TCy36Z New York Insight December 5th Event: https://www.nyimc.org/event/an-evening-with-joseph-goldstein-and-dan-harris-staying-sane-in-a-crazy-world/ Bonus Meditation: Be Simple & Easy: https://10percenthappier.app.link/6WVKqYJV6Z Jeff Warren November Meditation Retreat: https://jeffwarren.org/event/fidgetyskeptics-northcarolina-2/ ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

25 Sep 20191h 59min

Living on Overtime, David C. Fajgenbaum

Living on Overtime, David C. Fajgenbaum

David Fajgenbaum, a young, promising medical student, could not have imagined he would become a patient in the same hospital he was serving his residency. After being diagnosed with a very rare illness, he came close to death on multiple occasions. In the throes of one encounter, he promised himself that if he survived, he would make a difference in the fight against this disease. Through his research, he found a drug that he believes has helped him into remission. In the wake of his bouts, he has chosen to live his life "on overtime," time that he is extremely lucky to have, gifting him a unique perspective on living we can all learn from. Fajgenbaum is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and leads the Castleman Research Program at Penn Medicine. He is the author of Chasing My Cure which details his journey of going from a college athlete, living a healthy life to being diagnosed, and the hurdles he had overcome with love, determination and faith. Plug Zone Actively Moving Forward (AMF): https://healgrief.org/ The Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN): https://cdcn.org/ Book: https://chasingmycure.com/ Twitter: @DavidFajgenbaum Facebook: @davidfajgenbaum, https://www.facebook.com/davidfajgenbaum/ ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

18 Sep 20191h 10min

Love, Death, Tech and Psychedelics, Jack Kornfield, Meditation O.G.

Love, Death, Tech and Psychedelics, Jack Kornfield, Meditation O.G.

As far as meditation teachers go, they don't come more highly regarded than our guest this week, Jack Kornfield. Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. You might think this meditation master is unflappable, but you would be mistaken. Kornfield discusses how he, one of the preeminent teachers in the field, still encounters difficult times, including how his marriage ended in divorce. He also delves into the role psychedelics play in the mindfulness movement. Plug Zone Website: https://jackkornfield.com/ Books: https://jackkornfield.com/books-audio-programs/ Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-wisdom-with-jack-kornfield/id923017416 Twitter: @JackKornfield Facebook: @jkornfield, https://www.facebook.com/jkornfield/ ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

11 Sep 20191h 24min

Civility Pays, Christine Porath

Civility Pays, Christine Porath

For Christine Porath, meditation was one way of coping with a toxic work environment. Her own experience, paired with watching her father suffer a serious health scare tied to his own harmful workplace atmosphere, led to her interest in researching civility in the workplace. She shares with us her findings, such as how working with uncivil co-workers can drive down morale as well as performance, and she presents data on the real-world financial consequences of incivility in the workplace. Porath is the author of "Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace" and co-author of "The Cost of Bad Behavior." Plug Zone Website: http://www.christineporath.com/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/Christine-Porath/e/B01NCOGEER%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share Twitter: @PorathC Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/christine_porath_why_being_nice_to_your_coworkers_is_good_for_business ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

4 Sep 20191h 14min

Can Meditation Prolong Your Life?, Dr. Peter Attia

Can Meditation Prolong Your Life?, Dr. Peter Attia

Peter Attia is the founder of Attia Medical, PC, a medical practice focusing on the applied science of longevity. In other words, his practice aims to increase the length of one's life, while simultaneously improving the quality. He explains how happiness, or emotional well-being, can help accomplish both and he recommends meditation as one way to achieve that emotional well-being. He knows this first hand; emotionally describing the personal struggles he overcame to transform himself into the person he is today. Discussing both his personal and professional beliefs he tells Dan, "Even If being happier didn't extend your life one day, even if it shortened your life a day, wouldn't it be worth it?" Plug Zone Website: https://peterattiamd.com/ The Peter Attia Drive Podcast: https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @PeterAttiaMD ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

28 Aug 20191h 30min

Doing "The Work," Byron Katie

Doing "The Work," Byron Katie

At 43 years old, Byron Katie was unhappily married, suffered from depression and agoraphobia and was addicted to codeine and alcohol. In fact, she felt so much self-hatred, she slept on the floor believing she did not deserve a bed. Yet in the midst of her crisis, she awoke one morning in a halfway house, with a sense of pure joy. A switch had been flipped and all her suffering disappeared. It had become evident to her that her thoughts were causing all her emotional pain and she had finally broken free. Katie believes she has been given a gift and now spends her life trying to help end suffering for others. Plug Zone The Work of Byron Katie: https://thework.com/ Books: https://www.amazon.com/Byron-Katie/e/B001H6S8B4 Twitter: @ByronKatie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theworkofbyronkatie/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dvufocK9zM6KnkronGbzA The Work App: https://thework.com/the-work-app/ ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

21 Aug 20191h 10min

Sharon Salzberg, A Meditation Master Stares Down Death

Sharon Salzberg, A Meditation Master Stares Down Death

World-renowned meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg recently faced a very serious health scare and a true test of her decades of practice. In this very candid conversation Sharon tells us what happened to her, how her mindfulness training took over to help her get through the crisis and the lessons she learned coming perilously close to death. Plug Zone Website: https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/ Social Media: @sharonsalzberg Ten Percent Happier Resources Loving-kindness + Walking meditation: https://10percenthappier.app.link/cnjzzwHvhX ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

14 Aug 20191h 28min

Patrick Dempsey, Meditation: The Secret to His Success

Patrick Dempsey, Meditation: The Secret to His Success

Patrick Dempsey is not just a pretty face. Sure he's widely known for playing McDreamy, aka Dr. Derek Shepherd, on ABC’s Grey's Anatomy, but that hardly scratches the surface. A meditator since the 1980's, he's used the practice to find the right state of mind for both his acting and professional race car driving. He's even traveled to India to further his practice. His mental training proved valuable during his mother’s battle with ovarian cancer, and he has since been inspired to start the Dempsey Center, which "makes life better for people managing the impact of cancer." In this enlightening conversation, he explains how mindfulness is a driving force in every aspect of his life. Plug Zone The Dempsey Center: https://www.dempseycenter.org/ The Dempsey Challenge: https://www.dempseycenter.org/dempsey-challenge/ ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326

7 Aug 20191h 9min

Populært innen Helse

fastlegen
hvordan-har-du-det-mann
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
leger-om-livet
psykodrama
rss-garne-damer
bak-fasaden-en-reise-i-livet-med-sykepleier-ine
morten-ramm-lar-kakla-ga-til-du-sovner
baarli-og-benjamin-gar-i-terapi
foreldreradet
hormonelle-frida
klimaks
g-punktet
hjernesterk
biohacking-girls-din-podcast-for-optimal-helse
hverdagspsyken
fremtid-pa-frys
fryktlos
rss-sunn-okonomi
rss-lavterskel