10% Happier with Dan Harris

What it is, how beginners can get a taste, the dangers of striving, and whether tech can make it easier.

Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General). Since 2012, he has authored more than 120 publications, presented more than 150 times at international, national, regional and local conferences and speaker series, and been cited more than 8,000 times.

In this episode we talk about:

• What Matthew's learning about advanced states of meditation, and what they do to the brain
• What relevance advanced meditation might have for the rest of us
• How we might get a taste of these states ourselves
• Whether technology might ultimately help some of us advance more quickly
• The psychological risks of practicing deep end meditation

Related Episodes:

• Dr. Richie Davidson, Daniel Goleman – Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body
• Nirvana | Joseph Goldstein
• A Meditator in the Arena | Sam Harris
• Willoughby Britton, Jared Lindahl -- Does Meditation Have a Dark Side

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Additional Resources:

• Meditation Research Program at Harvard
• Matthew Sacchet on X (Twitter)
• Matthew Sacchet's LinkedIn

Featuring a meditation teacher, author, professor, and dedicated experimenter with these molecules.

Jay Michaelson is a journalist, meditation teacher, rabbi, and professor of religious studies whose work for the last several years has been focused on psychedelics, meditation, and spirituality.

Jay is a field scholar at Emory University's Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality, and a fellow at Harvard Law School's project on Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience. He is currently a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, teaching courses on psychedelics, law, and religion.

In this episode we talk about:

• Everything you should know about psychedelics if you're wondering whether to give them a try
• What the research shows thus far
• The differences among various compounds
• The overlap between meditation and psychedelics
• The difference between spirituality and healing
• The dizzying question of whether these medicines have a separate consciousness
• And more

Related Episodes:

• Psychedelics and Meditation | Michael Pollan - by DB - Dan Harris
• What to do About Eco-Anxiety | Jay Michaelson

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Additional Resources:

• Both/And with Jay Michaelson
• A special guided meditation from Jay to accompany this episode
• Two free upcoming events:
• Emory Science on Spiritual Health Conference (free, online)
• Harvard Symposium on Psychedelics in Monotheistic Traditions (which Jay co-chairing)

A node of sanity in these challenging times.

Bill Weir is America's leading climate reporter. His new book is a celebration of our planet and human brilliance. It is a hopeful plea for communities to rally around nature, new ideas and each other, to create the kind of resilience that lasts generations.

In this episode we talk about:

• How a hotter earth is increasingly changing our lives
• Why some experts say the climate issue is half physics, half psychology
• How to work with feelings like rage and despair
• Why so many of us look away from the climate crisis
• Why acceptance is not surrender
• And the utility of class psychological frameworks, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' Five Stages of Grief

Related Episodes:

• What to do About Eco-Anxiety | Jay Michaelson

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Additional Resources:

• Order Life as We Know It (Can Be)

One of my favorite episodes that we've recorded in a long while.

Joseph Goldstein is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, both in Barre, Massachusetts. He is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Insight Meditation and The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation. Joseph has studied and practiced meditation since 1967 under the guidance of eminent teachers from India, Burma, and Tibet and he leads Insight Meditation retreats around the world.

This year, IMS printed a collection of Joseph's poetry, titled Dreamscapes of the Mind: Poems and Reflections. The book includes 21 poems and almost a dozen short verses.

We have made copies available for a suggested donation of $12 to support IMS's Retreat Center scholarship fund (shipping to U.S. addresses only).

For a copy of Joseph's book, visit give.dharma.org/JGpoetry

In this episode we talk about:

• Impermanence, impersonality, and the vast spaciousness of the mind
• Mortality
• How we can use mindfulness to be more creative
• Joseph reads one of his favorite poems (and a couple others)
• Thoughts on how to approach death
• What Joseph means by dreamscape of the mind
• Deep Dharma topics like Nirvana, rebirth, taking refuge and more

Related Episodes:

• Joseph Goldstein + Mark Epstein On: How To Handle Unwanted Experiences, How Not To Waste Your Suffering & The Overlap Between Buddhism + Therapy
• I Just Did A 10-Day Silent Meditation Retreat With Joseph Goldstein. Here's What I Learned
• Dr. Mark Epstein On: How To Transform Your Neuroses Into "Little Shmoos"
• Nirvana | Joseph Goldstein

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Additional Resources:

• For a copy of Joseph's book, visit give.dharma.org/JGpoetry

What confidence does to your brain, why it helps with anxiety, and how to get it if you don't already have it. Plus, the problem with overconfidence.

Ian Robertson is a Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Trinity College and was the founding director of Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. He has written five books, the latest of which is called, How Confidence Works.

In this episode we talk about:

• What confidence actually is
• How to boost confidence
• The dangers of overconfidence, and how to guard against it
• The role of anxiety and failure
• The "Oscar effect", and why winners tend to live longer
• How to reframe anxiety as excitement
• The role of gender, race, and class on confidence levels
• The importance of distancing yourself from confidence saboteurs
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• A Buddhist Recipe For Confidence | Ethan Nichtern
• Do You Feel Like an Imposter? | Dr. Valerie Young (Co-Interviewed by Dan's Wife, Bianca!)

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A candid, useful, and hilarious conversation.

Chodo Robert Campbell Sensei is a Zen teacher, bereavement specialist, grief counselor and a recognized leader for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying, aging, and sobriety. The educational non-profit he co-founded, the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, touches thousands of lives every year through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices. Chodo has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets.

Koshin Paley Ellison is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, leader in contemplative care, and co-founder of an educational non-profit called the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. His books, grounded in Buddhist wisdom and practice, have gained national attention. Through its numerous educational programs, contemplative retreats, and Soto Zen Buddhist practices, the New York Zen Center touches thousands of lives every year. Koshin has appeared on dozens of podcasts and his work has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets.

In this episode we talk about:

• We get really real on the role of early childhood trauma and how that can show up in our relationships
• The importance of understanding your partner's operating manual and how to come up with rules of the road
• The role of humor in relationships—how it can be used to successfully name the difficult parts of our partner's personality—and how that can go wrong
• Why it's important to do your own work outside of your relationship—in therapy and meditation or whatever is useful to you
• And the value of learning to be uncomfortable… together

Related Episodes:

• How (and Why) to Hug Your Inner Dragons | Richard Schwartz
• Escape From Zombieland | Koshin Paley Ellison
• The Surprising Power of "Healthy Embarrassment" | Koshin Paley Ellison
• The Art of Growing Up, Jerry Colonna
• Jerry Colonna, 'CEO Whisperer' and Reboot.io Founder - Dan Harris
• This Neurobiologist Wants You To Ask One Question To Reframe Anxiety, Depression, And Trauma | Dr. Bruce Perry (Co-Interviewed by Dan's Wife, Bianca!)
• The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole

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Why self-inquiry is the first ingredient to a healthy relationship.

Jillian Turecki is a renowned relationship coach, teacher, author, and host of the podcast, Jillian On Love. Fueled by an insatiable curiosity about what makes a relationship thrive, Jillian has helped thousands over the last 20 years through her teachings, courses, and writing to revolutionize their relationship with themselves so that they transform their romantic relationships.

In this episode we talk about:

• The difference between lust and love
• How to make the idea of self love more than an empty cliché
• How to be honest with your partner
• The myth of finding "the one"
• How to be your best self even after you've exited the honeymoon stage
• And why, if you want a successful relationship, you have to make peace with your parents

Related Episodes:

• #510. Me, a Love Story: How Being OK With Yourself Makes You Better at Everything | Sharon Salzberg
• #464. How to Keep Friendships From Imploding | Esther Perel
• Esther Perel on the One Thing That Will Improve the Quality of Your Life

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Data-driven, dharma-informed, Dan-tested strategies for improving relationships of all kinds.

In this episode we talk about:

• The value of having platonic friends in addition to your spouse or partner
• A key communication skill that Dan picked up from the writer and researcher Brené Brown
• How humor can help your relationships – and how it can hurt
• A cognitive reframe from couples therapist Esther Perel
• How to manage conflict in a healthy way
• And one of Dan's favorite Saturday Night Live sketches: Man Park

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Practical strategies for managing our emotional lives.

Dr. Ethan Kross, author of the international bestseller Chatter, is one of the world's leading experts on emotion regulation. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan's top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the Director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory.

In this episode we talk about:

• What an emotion actually is
• The myth that we should only experience positive emotions
• Why sometimes avoidance is a smart strategy
• The six emotional "shifters" we can use to regulate our emotions
• The role of our senses
• How to use mental time travel to shift perspective
• And the role of our surroundings, relationships, and culture

Related Episodes:

• #365 The Voice in Your Head | Ethan Kross
• The Neuroscience Of: Emotional Regulation, Relationships, Body Image, And Intuition | Emma Seppälä

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How your reliance on being liked, being comfortable, and being perfect is blocking you from making the change you want.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is one of the most influential doctors in the UK with over two decades of experience. He now hosts Europe's biggest health podcast, Feel Better, Live More, he is the author of 5 Sunday Times bestsellers, he regularly appears on BBC television, national radio and his TED talk, How To Make Disease Disappear, has almost 6 million views.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why we have an overreliance on experts and perfection
• Barriers and solutions to long term change
• How to stop people pleasing (or become a "people pleaser in recovery")
• Tips for neutralizing emotional discomfort and stress
• The "life is an escalator" myth, and our relationship with complaining
• How to adapt to adversity without feeding our bad habits
• Escaping the trap of busyness
• And much more

Related Episodes:

• Why Your Bad Habits (and Addictions) May Be Getting Worse - and How Mindfulness Can Help | Dr. Jud Brewer
• How To Actually Keep Your New Year's Resolutions | Dan Solo Episode

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