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


Avsnitt(947)

Amos Lee, Reaching Out Through Music

Amos Lee, Reaching Out Through Music

Musician Amos Lee started meditating in college as a way to cope with his mother's breast cancer diagnosis and his own Generalized Anxiety Disorder. For two years, he was going on retreats and meditating two hours a day. Lee knows what it's like to face personal hardships, so he views his music "as a service," a way to reach out and comfort people who may also be suffering. He talks about how working on his new album, "My New Moon," was therapeutic for him, writing about some very personal experiences. Finally, Lee performs a song he wrote after witnessing his grandmothers passing, in this touching episode. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326.

21 Nov 201854min

Matt Gutman, The Boys in the Cave

Matt Gutman, The Boys in the Cave

ABC News Senior National Correspondent Matt Gutman is, unfortunately, no stranger to tragedy, both in his career as a journalist and his personal life. He learned the practice of meditation at just 12 years old, mere months before his father would be killed in a plane crash. And now, nearly 30 years later he's reporting on how meditation played a role in the miraculous rescue of 12 boys trapped in a cave in his new book, "The Boys in the Cave: Deep Inside the Impossible Rescue in Thailand." He opens up about his own personal tragedy and gives a riveting account of that rescue in this week's conversation. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326.

14 Nov 20181h 1min

Jordan Harbinger, Networking and Relationship Development

Jordan Harbinger, Networking and Relationship Development

7 Nov 20181h 3min

Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety

Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety

31 Okt 201852min

Tal Rabinowitz, Forgoing Hollywood and Finding Meditation

Tal Rabinowitz, Forgoing Hollywood and Finding Meditation

Tal Rabinowitz was a top executive at NBC, developing some of the network's high profile comedy programs, but after nearly 20 years in the business she was let go. And then, SHE let go. Rabinowitz found herself burned out and ready to take her career in a new direction. She tells Dan how and why she decided to open up her own meditation studio, what her meditation practice looks like and how she's introducing meditation to her two-year-old daughter.

24 Okt 201856min

Adam Grant, The Benefits of Generosity

Adam Grant, The Benefits of Generosity

Kindness has a bad rap, often being viewed as a sign of weakness. But Adam Grant, an award-winning researcher and Wharton's highest-rated professor, tells Dan Harris good guys don't have to finish last. In fact, Givers, those willing to help others, are often the top performers in their field of choice. Later in the interview, Dan and Adam engage in a thoughtful debate about the benefits of meditation.

17 Okt 20181h 14min

Shawn Achor, The Science Behind Gratitude

Shawn Achor, The Science Behind Gratitude

While so much of science is dedicated to finding the causes and cures for depression, anxiety and stress, Shawn Achor studies the opposite. He is a happiness researcher. Achor looks at the science of happiness and uses research-based techniques to make us more optimistic and help us lead happier lives.

10 Okt 20181h 15min

Strauss Zelnick, Becoming Ageless

Strauss Zelnick, Becoming Ageless

At just 32 years old Strauss Zelnick became the president and chief operating officer of 20th Century Fox. He was young, successful and appeared to have it all, but internally he was struggling. Zelnick says he was unhappy, anxious all the time and drinking every night. Now, nearly 30 years later, Zelnick remains super successful and thanks to his daily physical and spiritual practice he's become the picture of health. Zelnick reveals his secrets in his new book Becoming Ageless: The Four Secrets to Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever and discusses them with Dan in this interview.

3 Okt 20181h 8min

Populärt inom Hälsa

somna-med-henrik
rss-bara-en-till-om-missbruk-medberoende-2
inga-beiga-morsor
johannes-hansen-podcast
sova-med-dan-horning
sexnoveller-deluxe
alska-oss
rss-sjalsligt-avkladd
angestpodden
not-fanny-anymore
brottarbroder
rss-viktmedicinpodden
rss-the-house-podcast-3
rss-en-tyngre-podd
sa-in-i-sjalen
tyngre-radio
giggles-med-wiggles
rss-beratta-alltid-det-har
rss-angra-inget-3
rss-activation-podcast