Buddhist Practices for Busyness, Overwhelm, and Burnout | Brother Chân Pháp Hữu

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- There’s so much to be grateful for in modern medicine. We can all agree that we would not do as well in a world with no Advil or dentistry. And yet, our guest today, who is a renowned doctor, says modern medicine is overlooking something crucial: the pernicious impact that modern living has on our minds and bodies. In other words, we are surrounded by these hidden societal and structural sources of stress and we aren’t thinking about how to treat and prevent these factors that are degrading our happiness and our immune systems.  Dr. Gabor Maté is a bestselling author with an expertise on everything from stress to addiction to ADHD. His latest book is called, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture Content Warning: This episode has mentions of child abuse, sexual trauma, suicide and addiction In this episode we talk about: What he means by “the myth of normal” How diseases, such as autoimmune conditions, are an “artifact of civilization" How to begin to tackle what Dr. Maté calls, “the social sources of illness”  His definition of trauma and the difference between “big T traumatic events” and the trauma of “wounding” How trauma in society is so normalized that we don’t even recognize it Whether the term trauma is overused Why comparing suffering is a fruitless endeavor  What he means by “the necessity to be disillusioned”  The power and possibility of psychedelics  Why he thinks we should incorporate shamanic medicine into our western medical framework And what he means by “undoing self-limiting beliefs” and how these beliefs show up in our everyday lives Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gabor-mate-586

12 Apr 202357min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. Alexander Dreymon is the star of a great show on Netflix called “The Last Kingdom.” He plays a Viking, so you're literally not going to find a guy who is more stereotypically masculine. But I've gotten to know Alexander recently and he's also incredibly thoughtful.  We cover a lot of ground in this conversation: marriage, parenting, anger therapy, sleep, human connection, meditation, masculinity, and, uh, how to show your body on Netflix without developing body dysmorphia. We also talk a lot about his show, which is awesome, although it is coming to an end — just a few days ago, Netflix posted the series finale, a movie-length episode called “Seven Kings Must Die” that wraps up the whole story.  In this episode we talk about: how having male friends makes his romantic relationship even better The importance of therapy, of silliness and of kindness the importance of exercise in his life and how he tries not to get overly attached to his body looking a certain way a whole discussion between the two of us on the Buddhist idea of non-self  what his meditation practice looks like now that he has a toddler around the house what it's like to wrap up his show, the Last Kingdom, and what might be next Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/-alexander-dreymon-585  Where to find Alexander Dreymon online:  Instagram: @alexander.dreymon  Other Resources Mentioned: The books of Bernard Cornwell, on which “The Last Kingdom” series is based Additional Resources: Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

10 Apr 202356min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- It’s likely uncontroversial to assert that Jennifer Senior is one of our finest living journalists. She’s currently a staff writer at The Atlantic and before that she spent many years at the New York Times and New York magazine. Jennifer’s written on a vast array of topics, but she has a special knack for writing articles about the human condition that go massively, massively, viral. One such hit was a lengthy and extremely moving piece for The Atlantic that won a Pulitzer Prize. It was about a young man who died on 9/11, and the wildly varying ways in which his loved ones experienced grief. That article, called “What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind,” has now been turned into a book called, On Grief: Love, Loss, Memory. In this interview, we spend a lot of time talking about this truly fascinating yarn, but we also talk about her other articles: one about an eminent happiness researcher who died by suicide, another about why friendships often break up, and a truly delightful recent piece about the puzzling gap between how old we are and how old we think we are. Jennifer has also written a book about parenting, called All Joy and No Fun which we also reference a few times throughout. In this episode we talk about: Jennifer’s perspective on the Bobby McIlvaine story  Lesser known theories of grieving from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross The work involved in finding meaning in loss Why – from an evolutionary standpoint – we hurt so badly when we lose someone we love Commitment and sacrifice The puzzling gap between how old you are and how old you think you are The power and perils of friendship Why Jennifer has chosen to focus so much of her writing on relationships Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jennifer-senior-583

5 Apr 20231h 4min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Today’s episode is a rangy and fascinating conversation with a titan of the modern mindfulness scene: Sharon Salzberg. She is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, a renowned meditation retreat center and has written twelve books. Her latest is called, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom.  We get personal and talk about a fascinating question: why did so many Jewish kids of Sharon’s generation (the Boomers) get interested in meditation? Sharon was part of a whole crew called the JewBu’s — young Jewish people, mostly from New York, who found their way to India and other parts of Asia in the 1960s and 70s, learned about Buddhism, and then came home and taught it to so many of us.  In this episode we talk about: The case for openness versus constriction. What is openness? Why do we want it? And how does one achieve it?  How not to take so seriously the stories you tell yourself Whether shame is ever useful How the most powerful tools (like self-compassion) can often seem so stupid at first The importance of having a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset Why gratitude gets a bad rap The difference between self-centeredness and “healthy pride” Sharon’s recent and quite harrowing medical odyssey — and how meditation helped her get through it Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sharon-salzberg-582

3 Apr 20231h

As a wrap up to our Work Life series, we want to share a preview of another podcast we love: Prof G hosted by Scott Galloway. His interview, "Scott Galloway on: the Impact of Work on Mental Health, the Role of Luck in Success, and How Much is Enough," kicked off this latest series. Scott's show combines business insight and analysis with life and career advice, and we're big fans.  In this episode of Prof G, Scott shares his view on the "Future of Work"— from recruiting, to mentorship, to building teams. He touches on the role nepotism plays in the future of recruiting, to securing a job post-college, and team organization in the workplace.  You can hear more episodes of the Prof G podcast here.

31 Mars 202318min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- A beautifully weird conversation with the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.  Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded its world-renown Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Clinic in 1979, and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (CFM), in 1995. He is the author of many books including Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are.  His latest book, Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief, illustrates a range of evidence-based mindfulness meditation practices for those suffering with the challenges of chronic pain.  In this episode we talk about: The origins of MBSR and its relation to pain relief Pain vs. Suffering The accessibility of awareness The limitation of mindfulness meditation as a self-improvement practice The quote, “open your mouth and you’re wrong”  Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of of healing  Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jon-kabat-zinn-580

29 Mars 202344min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Today we have a truly incredible episode about how to meditate in hell. You’re going to meet a man named Jarvis Jay Masters, who I interviewed from his cell on death row at San Quentin prison in California. Any of us who meditate do our best to apply it to life’s ups and downs — but this person has been applying it in some truly extreme circumstances.  Jarvis has now spent more than three decades on death row, including more than two decades in solitary confinement. Shortly after Jarvis’s death sentence, he became interested in Buddhism, and started developing a rigorous practice under the tutelage of a Tibetan lama, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Jarvis has now written and published two books about his life, Finding Freedom and That Bird Has My Wings. Both feature forewords by the renowned meditation teacher Pema Chödrön, who has been on this show, and his second book was endorsed by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and also by Oprah Winfrey, who selected the book for her famous book club last year. Jarvis’s current appeal sits before a federal judge as we speak. A decision on his future could be reached any day.  Heads up there are frank discussions of suicide and domestic violence in this conversation. In this episode we talk about: His childhood His road to prison How he unlearned traditional (and harmful) aspects of masculinity How he began to write, and the impact that had on him and his standing in the prison How he meditates in a noisy prison The details of his meditation practice His off-the-cushion practice of ‘engaged Buddhism’ with his fellow inmates How he prepares for the possibility of release–and for the possibility of execution How he defines freedom Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jarvis-jay-masters-579

27 Mars 202348min

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- People have mixed feelings about the popularization of mindfulness and meditation over the last 10 or 15 years with some referring to it as “McMindfulness.” The critiques can be worthy and the mainstreaming of meditation and mindfulness also have helped millions of people upgrade their lives. One of the many areas where mindfulness and meditation have made inroads of late is the workplace.  All sorts of employers are offering their teams access to meditation via apps or in-person training. But does this stuff actually work? Does it really make you happier at work or better at your job? And what techniques produce which benefits? Professor Lindsey Cameron is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Management. Her research focuses on mindfulness as well as the future of work. She has a 20 year practice, having studied and taught primarily in the Vipassana and non-dual traditions. In her prior career, Professor Cameron spent over a decade in the US intelligence and in diplomatic communities serving the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. In this episode we talk about: What companies mean when they talk about mindfulness at work What the mindfulness at work research says and how Prof. Cameron parses the results The ways mindfulness helps us counteract our inherent biases and stereotypes Which specific practices are most beneficial, depending on the situation  Prof. Cameron’s tips for integrating small mindfulness moments into our everyday routines  Where she stands on the whole “McMindfulness” debate Prof. Cameron’s research into the gig economy — and how, paradoxically, an Uber worker can feel a sense of autonomy and freedom even though the work is ultimately being dictated by an algorithm Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lindsey-cameron-577

22 Mars 202355min