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

A compendium of expert advice on handling all the complications — and pleasures — that the holiday season brings.

I have whipped up a holiday survival guide for you, a series of evidence-based strategies for navigating what can be a tricky time of year.  

During the course of this episode, I'm going to talk about nine pain points, including navigating political differences around the dinner table, overeating, overwhelm, travel indignities, social anxiety, difficult family members, etc. I'm going to share with you a bunch of strategies pulled from ancient wisdom and modern science.  

In this episode we talk about practical strategies for dealing with nine pain points of the holiday season:

• The expectation of perfection
• Overwhelm
• Difficult family dynamics
• Grief
• Loneliness
• Social anxiety
• Overeating
• Holiday travel
• Financial worries

Related Episodes:

How to Feel Less Enraged And Hopeless When You Consume The News | Sharon McMahon

Science-Based Tools For When You’re Stressed, Obsessed, Or Overthinking | Dr. Jenny Taitz

How to Speak Clearly, Calmly, and Without Alienating People | Dan Clurman and Mudita Nisker

The Science of Loss and Recovery | Mary-Frances O’Connor

Strategies for Social Anxiety | Ellen Hendriksen

The Anti-Diet | Evelyn Tribole

Can Anxiety Be a Gift? | Dr. David Rosmarin

Your Craving Mind | Kevin Griffin

Why Your Bad Habits (and Addictions) May Be Getting Worse - and How Mindfulness Can Help | Dr. Jud Brewer

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

Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/holiday-survival-guide

Additional Resources:

• Download the Happier app today: https://my.happierapp.com/link/download

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

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Scientific evidence that spending time in nature has profound impacts on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

We’ve got something special planned for you today. We’re talking about the massive psychological and physiological benefits of being in nature.

Nature impacts your mood. It has a whole long list of positive benefits for your nervous system, and even changes how you are with other people. In fact, as you'll hear today’s guest say, “nature is healthcare”. 

Dr. Dacher Keltner is one of the world’s foremost emotion scientists. He is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center. He has over 200 scientific publications and six books, including Born to Be Good, The Compassionate Instinct, The Power Paradox, and Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. He has written for many popular outlets, from The New York Times to Slate, and has consulted extensively for Google, Apple, and Pinterest, on issues related to emotion and well-being. He also hosts the podcast The Science of Happiness.

This is the first of a three-part series we’re doing focused on the benefits of spending time outside. Today we talk about how it impacts sleep, cognition, memory, your nervous system, and your relationships. Next week, we address the 80% of Americans who live in urban areas—how do you derive these benefits? And in week three, we take a deep dive on the science of walking. 

Related Episodes:

#546. This Scientist Says One Emotion Might Be the Key to Happiness. Can You Guess What It Is? | Dacher Keltner

We Know Nature Is Good for Us. Here’s How To Make Time for It, Scandinavian Style | Linda Åkeson McGurk

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Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dacher-keltner-bonus-1

Additional Resources:

Download the Happier app today: https://my.happierapp.com/link/download

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

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Radical strategies for the scarcity mindset.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. 

Her new book, The Serviceberry, is about a plant whose behavior is a model not only for our individual lives, but potentially for rethinking the global economy.

In this episode we talk about:

• Nature as a model for the economy
• How to reclaim our stolen attention
• Practices of gratitude
• Counterintuitive advice on wealth and security
• How to change your relationship to the living world
• The science of biomimicry
• Plants as persons, and the study of plant cognition
• And the importance of recognizing both Western science and the indigenous worldview

Related Episodes:

#546. This Scientist Says One Emotion Might Be the Key to Happiness. Can You Guess What It Is? | Dacher Keltner

We Know Nature Is Good for Us. Here’s How To Make Time for It, Scandinavian Style | Linda Åkeson McGurk

#505. The 5 Things That Are Ruining Your Meditation (and Your Life) – And How to Handle Them | Bonnie Duran

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

Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/robin-wall-kimmerer-861

Additional Resources:

Download the Happier app today: https://my.happierapp.com/link/download

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

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Evidence from the guy who pioneered the science.

James Pennebaker is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is known for his early research on expressive writing and health. More recently, he has pioneered ways to study people’s personalities and behaviors through the analysis of their language use. His text analysis program LIWC is used across disciplines. Author of over 300 scientific articles and 8 books, his research has affected our understanding and treatment of mental and physical health of people dealing with upheavals in their lives.

In this episode we talk about:

• The specific form of journaling, called expressive writing or therapeutic journaling, that he invented and studied. 
• Other kinds of journaling such as to-do lists and gratitude lists. 
• Why writing things down helps shift our perspective on our stress or trauma. 
• How that can lead to a cascade of benefits, from improved sleep to improved working memory
• And why Pennebaker, who’s a very laid-back dude, is so laid-back about how often we need to journal in order to derive its benefits

Dump It Here journal is available now. https://shop.danharris.com/ 

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Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/pennebaker-860

Discomfort with the unknown is a natural human response. This meditation will help you relax as you practice allowing the rhythm of life to unfold.

About Alexis Santos:

Alexis has practiced and taught Insight Meditation in both the East and West since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya (a well respected meditation teacher in Burma whose teachings have attracted a global audience), and his teaching emphasizes knowing the mind through a natural and relaxed continuity -- a style of practice that's particularly useful during our crazy lives. Alexis has completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training, teaches retreats across the globe, and currently lives in Portland, Maine.

To find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Facing Uncertainty.”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

A crucial (and often misunderstood) concept in Buddhism: letting go.

For this episode, Executive Producer DJ Cashmere interviewed a trio of brilliant Dharma teachers to get their advice about how to handle surrendering or letting go. This is the fourth in a series of 'correspondent' episodes, in which DJ identifies a pain point in his life and meditation practice, then goes out into the world to report on the best ways to address it.

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a former nun in the Plum Village tradition started by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Vinny Ferraro teaches at the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock, and also in prisons. Matthew Brensilver teaches at many of the same retreat centers, and spent many years working in the field of addiction pharmacotherapy.

*Find the Soft Belly Meditation here 

*Check out Sebene Selassie’s website and newsletter, Ancestor to Elements. Plus, her ‘Let It Be’ guided meditation on DanHarris.com

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

Matthew Brensilver, Buddhist Psychology Training (Begins in January)

Vinny Ferraro: A Year to Live; Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully (Begins in January)

Kaira Jewel Lingo: Healing Our Way Home (Oct. 20); Insight Meditation Retreat (April 9-16; opens Dec. 11)

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

Vinny and Kaira Jewel will also teach at the Insight Meditation Society:

Kaira Jewel Lingo, Strength to Love: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King: Jr. (Jan 17 - Jan 20), and Return to Wholeness: Opening to Wisdom & Love (online) (Mar 23 - Mar 29)

Vinny Ferraro, Peace in Presence: A Four-Night Retreat for All (Jan 31 - Feb 4)

Related Episodes:

• Listen to all of DJ’s correspondence episodes here
• 3 Buddhist Strategies for When the News is Overwhelming | Kaira Jewel Lingo
• How to Keep Your Relationships On the Rails | Kaira Jewel Lingo
• Three Buddhist Practices For Getting Your Sh*t Together | Vinny Ferraro
• Why Self-Hatred Makes No Sense | Matthew Brensilver
• How to Actually Be Present | Matthew Brensilver

Also, the teachers’ sites:

https://vinnyferraro.org/

Vinny Ferraro's Course, A Year To Live

https://www.kairajewel.com/

https://www.matthewbrensilver.org/

Feedback form: Let us know what you think!

https://www.happierapp.com/contact

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

Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dj-surrender-4

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

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What ancient Greeks and Romans figured out about stress reduction.

You may have heard about stoicism, in the common parlance, as having a stiff upper lip, sucking it up, grinning and bearing it, suppressing your emotions, etcetera. Or you may have heard of Stoicism, the ancient Greco/Roman philosophy, that has become the de rigeur set of life hacks among millennial self-optimizers. 

In this episode, guest Nancy Sherman argues that Stoicism is way deeper than any of that. She will argue that, in fact, Stoicism is kind of the opposite of all the above. It’s a way to truly know your patterns of thought and emotion. 

Nancy Sherman is a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. She is an expert in ethics, the history of moral philosophy, moral psychology, military ethics, and emotions. Her most recent book is called Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience.

This episode is a rebroadcast from 2021: it’s one of our most-listened episodes, and we thought it might be particularly useful in this time of election-related stress. 

In this conversation, we:

• cover the basics of Stoicism, 
• how and why capital “S” Stoicism is often misinterpreted, 
• a meditation practice called “premeditation of evils,” which is far more practical than it may sound, 
• and another practice designed to make you feel “at home in the world”.

Content Warning: There is a brief reference to suicide.

Related Episodes:

Ancient Strategies for Managing Stress & Anxiety | Ryan Holiday

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

Full Shownotes: https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/nancy-sherman-rerun

Additional Resources:

• Download the Happier app today: https://my.happierapp.com/link/download

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

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How to get the practice into your molecules—not in some militaristic way, but in a way that feels easy and natural.

Alexis Santos has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. After graduating from Harvard University in 1995, he spent several years in medical school before leaving his chosen career as a doctor to seek out a different path. It was while traveling in India that he was introduced to insight meditation.

Since that time, Alexis has practiced in many meditative styles and traditions, including with Sayadaw U Tejaniya, the Thai Forest tradition with Ajahn Sumedho, the Tibetan tradition with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and within the lay Western insight community where he continues to learn from the growing diversity of voices.

Alexis's primary teacher has been Sayadaw U Tejaniya, from the Burmese Theravada tradition, and with whom he ordained as a Buddhist monk from 2003 - 2005. Sayadaw encouraged Alexis to teach in 2012. Alexis also completed the Spirit Rock/IMS four-year teacher training program with Jack Kornfield and others, including mentors Joseph Goldstein and Carol Wilson. 

​

Alexis teaches meditation at retreat centers around the world. He is featured on the Ten Percent Happier meditation app and is co-founder of Open Door Meditation Community in Portland, Maine where he is a guest teacher. 

Alexis's teaching style is natural and uncrafted. He brings a practical, intuitive and compassionate approach to the development of wisdom.

***

Want to study and practice with Alexis? Visit his website at alexissantos.io where you can join his freely offered online practice sessions.

He will also be teaching at the Insight Meditation Society from March 5 - 12. When Awareness Becomes Natural: An U Tejaniya-style Insight Meditation Retreat

Related Episodes:

A More Relaxed Way to Meditate | Alexis Santos

I Just Did A 10-Day Silent Meditation Retreat With Joseph Goldstein. Here’s What I Learned

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

Full Shownotes: https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/alexis-santos-855

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

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How optimizing this skill can change your life – and the world.

Rabbi Sharon Brous has some extremely practical tips for how to improve what psychologists call your social health. She is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a Jewish community in LA. Her new book, a bestseller, is called The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World.

Related Episodes:

• This Neurobiologist Wants You To Ask One Question To Reframe Anxiety, Depression, And Trauma | Dr. Bruce Perry (Co-Interviewed by Dan's Wife, Bianca!)

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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/rabbi-sharon-brous-852

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

---

The Buddhist case — and toolkit — for “don’t-know mind.”

For this episode, Executive Producer DJ Cashmere interviewed a trio of brilliant Dharma teachers to get their advice about how to handle being wrong. This is the third in a series of 'correspondent' episodes, in which DJ identifies a pain point in his life and meditation practice, then goes out into the world to report on the best ways to address it.

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a former nun in the Plum Village tradition started by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Vinny Ferraro teaches at the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock, and also in prisons. Matthew Brensilver teaches at many of the same retreat centers, and spent many years working in the field of addiction pharmacotherapy.

*Matthew’s Dharma talk on Knowing And Not-Knowing

****

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

Matthew Brensilver, Buddhist Psychology Training (Begins in January)

Vinny Ferraro: A Year to Live; Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully (Begins in January)

Kaira Jewel Lingo: Healing Our Way Home (Oct. 20); Insight Meditation Retreat (April 9-16; opens Dec. 11)

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

& if you'd like to study with these guests on the East Coast, check out these retreats at the Insight Meditation Society:

Kaira Jewel Lingo, Strength to Love: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King: Jr. (Jan 17 - Jan 20), and Return to Wholeness: Opening to Wisdom & Love (Mar 23 - Mar 29)

Vinny Ferraro, Peace in Presence: A Four-Night Retreat for All (Jan 31 - Feb 4)

Related Episodes:

• Listen to all of DJ’s correspondence episodes here
• 3 Buddhist Strategies for When the News is Overwhelming | Kaira Jewel Lingo
• How to Keep Your Relationships On the Rails | Kaira Jewel Lingo
• Three Buddhist Practices For Getting Your Sh*t Together | Vinny Ferraro
• Why Self-Hatred Makes No Sense | Matthew Brensilver
• How to Actually Be Present | Matthew Brensilver

Also, the teachers’ sites:

https://vinnyferraro.org/

Vinny Ferraro's Course, A Year To Live

https://www.kairajewel.com/

https://www.matthewbrensilver.org/

Feedback form: Let us know what you think!

https://www.happierapp.com/contact

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/dj-being-wrong-3