Dissecting the process of her book, The Power of Meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith joins David to explore bringing depth to our lives via belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling.

Pick up Emily's book, The Power of Meaning, HERE.

This time on the CSM Podcast, David and Emily discuss:

• Positive Psychology: shifting from a focus on what’s wrong to the science of well-being and human flourishing
• How connecting to something greater than ourselves can lead to self-transcendence and deeper meaning
• What scientific research reveals about activities that create a meaningful life
• Making intentional, values-aligned choices instead of following external pressures
• Emily’s four pillars of meaning: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling
• Finding true community and belonging without reinforcing exclusion or “othering”
• How cultural values are evolving toward greater empathy, compassion, and collective care
• The bodhicitta aspiration: working toward the end of suffering for all beings

Start your journey from meditation practitioner to meditation guide via Dharma Moon’s course, Deepening Your Practice to Teach or step on into their 100-Hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training. 

About Emily Esfahani Smith:

Emily Esfahani Smith is the author of The Power of Meaning. A psychotherapist and writer, her articles have appeared in The Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Her TED Talk, 'There's more to life than being happy,' has been viewed over 15 million times." Learn more on Emily’s website.

“The more I got into the research, the more that I saw that maybe it’s not happiness that we should be pursuing and glorifying, but maybe it’s this concept of leading a meaningful life.” – Emily Esfahani Smith

About David Nichtern:

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy Award-winning musician. David’s journey has crisscrossed with the Maharaji/Ram Dass sangha for decades. He has produced multiple Krishna Das albums and frequently joins the Bhaktettes live on guitar. He considers himself to be a first cousin and an honorary member of the Bhakti community.

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Blending together Bhakti and Buddhism, best of friends Krishna Das and David Nichtern discuss the gradual cultivation of practice and finding your ‘niche’ within the dharma.

Join the Wisdom & Wellbeing Week 1 Intensive with Krishna Das & Nina Rao | January 3 - 10, 2026 | Click to Learn More

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, David and Krishna Das thoughtfully explore:

• Leaning into the dharma and gradually planting seeds of spiritual practice 
• Giving oneself fully to whatever one is doing in daily life and in practice
• Deepening concentration and devotion in the Bhakti yoga tradition
• Using the breath as an anchor for mindfulness
• The story of Hanuman and how he represents the strength to remove obstacles
• The Amitabha Mantra, a powerful Buddhist tool for purification
• Krishna Das’ reflections on a bucket list: seeking out more stability, remembrance, and selfless service
• Stability, clarity, and emotional resilience as the byproducts of mindfulness meditation
• Honoring the diversity of spiritual paths and listening deeply to what resonates with the individual soul

About Krishna Das:

Layering traditional Hindu kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Grammy nominee Krishna Das has been called yoga’s “rock star.” With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling chant artist of all time. His album ‘Live Ananda’ (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.

KD spent the late ’60s traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass’ own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji. Krishna Das now travels the world sharing his kirtan practice and wonderful stories of his life, of Maharaji-ji, of his life on the Path and discusses bringing chanting into our lives through retreats and workshops. To date, KD has released 15 well-received albums, most recently Trust in the Heart released in October 2017.

Join Krishna Das in Boone, North Carolina this August for the fourth annual Ram Dass Legacy Summer Mountain Retreat.

MORE INFORMATION and OFFERINGS VISIT: https://krishnadas.com/ KRISHNA DAS ON SOCIAL: FACEBOOK: facebook.com/KrishnaDasMusic INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/krishnadasmusic YOUTUBE: / krishnadasmusic X: @krishnadas #KrishnaDas

About David Nichtern:

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician. David’s journey has crisscrossed with the Maharaji/Ram Dass sangha for decades. He has produced multiple Krishna Das albums and frequently joins the Bhaktettes live on guitar. He considers himself to be a first cousin and honorary member of the Bhakti community.

Head over to DharmaMoon to sign up for The Body of Meditation Teacher Training Course, starting July 10th, 2025.

“There’s not spiritual life and worldly life, there’s just your life—you’ve got to live it. If you don’t develop some inner strength, will, and direction in daily things, when you sit down on the mat it’s not going to be any different. How you sit is how you live, and how you live is how you sit.” – Krishna Das

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Old friends Sharon Salzberg and David Nichtern meet to discuss the calamity of misplaced faith and the expansion that can come from individualized social action.

Join Sharon's Upcoming Course with Tricycle to uncover your Buddhist Personality Type

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This week on the CSM podcast, David and Sharon have a thought-provoking conversation about:

• Expanding the definition of social action to include art and genuine spiritual practice
• Looking deeper into the root cause of social problems
• Attempting to bring Buddhist teachings into a democracy
• Misplaced faith and the three root poisons in Buddhism - Grasping, Aversion, and Delusion
• Purification: going beyond awareness and into the elbow grease required for actually changing negative patterns
• The building blocks of real mindfulness and incorporating many different practices
• Kali Yuga, considering the state of the world, and trying to remain optimistic 
• Understanding the consequences of our actions and our role in the collective
• How we relate to unchosen suffering and chosen suffering 

Sign up for Dharma Moon’s Summer 100-Hour Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Course with David Nichtern, starting June 13th. Or, for a shortened version, join Dharma Moon for an Introductory Weekend Course on the Path of Meditation and Mindfulness.

About Sharon Salzberg:

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed five million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. Learn more about Sharon and her books at www.sharonsalzberg.com

About David Nichtern:

David Nichtern, founder of Dharma Moon, is a senior Buddhist teacher who has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 40 years. He was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. He is also a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context. David is also a multiple Grammy-nominated and Emmy award-winning musician. David’s journey has crisscrossed with the Maharaji/Ram Dass sangha for decades. He has produced multiple Krishna Das albums and frequently joins the Bhaktettes live on guitar. He considers himself to be a first cousin and honorary member of the Bhakti community.

"There's this saying going around that action absorbs anxiety. If you're feeling really anxious, uptight, take action. Action might not mean marching, signing a petition, or vocalizing, it may mean helping your neighbor." – Sharon Salzberg

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Meditation teacher, Susan Piver, joins David Nichtern to share her profound and ever-evolving connection to The Heart Sutra.

Learn about the heart and mind of practice with David Nichtern and Krishna Das in an upcoming free online talk! Register HERE.

In this episode, David Nichtern and Susan Piver explore:

• The many variations of The Heart Sutra and why it deeply inspires Susan
• Focusing on the sound of the words in The Heart Sutra, not just the meaning of the words 
• Considering how a sutra can transform an environment and how an environment can transform a sutra 
• The inseparability of meaning, sound, and atmosphere within the Heart Sutra 
• A reading of The Heart Sutra from Susan Piver 
• Tying our daily lives back to some form of study or practice
• Emptiness as the main theme of The Heart Sutra, and of the Buddhist arena in general 
• Why Buddhist emptiness is not nihilism but an expansive, liberating insight
• The transformative value of being around someone wise with skillful means

About Susan Piver:

Susan Piver has an international reputation as an exceptionally skillful meditation teacher. She teaches workshops and speaks on mindfulness, innovation, communication, relationships, and creativity. Susan has been a student of Buddhism since 1995, graduated from a Buddhist seminary in 2004, and was authorized to teach meditation in 2005. In 2012, she founded The Open Heart Project, the world’s largest online-only meditation center. Susan is also a New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book, Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra, is now available. You can keep up with Susan on Instagram or on her website.

Join Susan for a 10-day Heart Sutra meditation retreat this August, 2025

“Emptiness sounds like everything’s dead, but empty doesn’t mean that. It means empty of separate existence. You are here due to causes and conditions. You did not get here in a space capsule. So, emptiness could be expressed more accurately as the great expanse, fullness, complete fullness.” – Susan Piver

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Facing the obstacles on a spiritual path, Lama Rod Owens, David Nichtern, and Michael Kammers, discuss the seven sorrows of the new saint.

Grab Lama Rod’s new book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors

In this episode, David, Michael and Lama Rod chat about:

• Realizing that liberation is driven by uncomfortable contradictions
• The seven great sorrows of the new saint
• Leaving people behind on a spiritual journey
• Offering space to paradoxes in order to find clarity
• Support on the Boddhisatva path
• Focusing our energy on ourselves
• Prayer as an imperative part of spiritual work
• Being relevant and speaking the language of the times
• Teachers who inspired and helped Lama Rod
• Being yourself and using your own qualities to help others
• Commitment to a reduction of violence
• Getting active in getting free

About Lama Rod Owens:

Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive.

For current offerings and programs, click here. 

“The whole project of The New Saints was to delve into the frustrations of paradox, of contradictions. One of the things that deepens our suffering is our attempt to make everything make sense. That’s how we get trapped in delusion, trying to make it make sense when instead we are trying to transcend it.” – Lama Rod Owens

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Exploring the themes in his new book, Confidence, Ethan Nichtern chats with his dad, David, about vulnerability, truth, and the state of the world.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, David and Ethan speak about:

• Ethan’s new book and what real confidence is
• False confidence and manipulation
• The current political environment and seeking the truth
• Why authenticity is so important
• Examples of people who radiate confidence and light the candles of others
• How sadness can be an authentic response to the state of the world
• The Eight Worldly Winds and practicing confidence
• How we are all vulnerable to imposter syndrome
• Awareness and tuning into our inner knowing to avoid being caught in emotions
• Remembering our powerful and tender hearts

Check out these on-demand online courses from David Nichtern and an upcoming course from Ethan Nichtern based around his new book HERE.

About Ethan Nichtern:

Ethan Nichtern is a Buddhist teacher, and is the author of the acclaimed book The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path, which was selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2015, and one of Tech Insider’s “9 Books That Define 2015.” He also wrote The Dharma of The Princess Bride: What The Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships and most recently, Confidence: Holding Your Seat through Life’s Eight Worldly Winds.

For the past 20+ years, Ethan has taught meditation and Buddhist psychology classes and workshops around New York City and North America and Europe, along with working with students privately. He has primarily studied in the Shambhala and other Tibetan traditions, but has also studied Theravadan and Soto Zen Buddhism. He is also an avid yoga practitioner. He served as Shastri, or Senior Teacher-In-Residence, for the Shambhala Meditation Center of New York, from 2010-2018. Continue listening to Ethan on his podcast, The Road Home.

“I think there is a compassion element to genuine confidence where you’re using your own confidence to light other people’s candle.” – Ethan Nichtern

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Highlighting the intersection between love and awareness, Rhonda V. Magee joins David to discuss real change in a culture of separation.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on the CSM podcast, David and Rhonda converse about: 

• Rhonda’s background and personal definition of love
• Real change through love, inspiration and a sense of connection
• The inter-being of mindfulness and metta
• The principle of loving everyone and telling the truth
• What happens when truth is met with resistance or denial
• Living in a time where we have constant reminders of fear and anger
• How our culture has reduced us and objectified us
• Intergenerational phenomena and walking through many phases of life
• What we leave behind for the next generation and what we can learn from youth
• Real and perceived differences
• Deepening our own well-being so that we can be there for others

Join David Nichtern for a free online talk on teaching mindfulness and the role of the teacher, Tuesday, May 28th, 2024 at 6:00 PM: FREE ONLINE TALK

About Rhonda V. Magee:

Rhonda V. Magee is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and a leading mindfulness teacher and practice innovator with a focus on applying mindfulness to the hardest challenges of our times. She is an internationally-recognized teacher, guide and mentor, focused on integrating mindfulness into higher education, law and social change work. A prolific author, she draws on law and legal history to weave storytelling, poetry, analysis and practices into inspiration for changing how we think, act and live better together in a rapidly changing world. Keep up with Rhonda on her website or on social media.

“I fully believe, for most of us, especially in the West, grounding in a quality of love and care as how we experience awareness is pretty important because we have so much healing to do. We’ve been so alienated from ourselves, each other, from the planet.” – Rhonda V. Magee

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Ramin Nazer and David Nichtern explore the individual’s place in an ever-changing and technologically-advancing world.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

This time on CSM, we hear about: 

• Technological advancement and the collective mind
• Sci-Fi and fear vs. hope for the future
• The unsustainability of bliss
• Eternalism and the hellscape of pointlessness
• The dystopia of A.I and ChatGPT
• Safe zones versus growth zones
• Creativity and trying to guess what the world wants to see
• Creating a balance in a chaotic world
• The fundamental experiences that ground us
• Psychedelics as a liberating disruption
• Simulations, robots, and ‘I am-ness’
• The dynamics of polarity

About Ramin Nazer:

Ramin Nazer is a multi-talented artist, podcaster, comedian, game creator and musician based out of LA. He is best known for his consistent stream of unique, psychedelic-spiritual, bite-sized art for the social media age, as well as his podcast, with comedian Shane Mauss, Mind Under Matter, where they take a hilarious and scientific approach to human behavior. You can tap into Ramin’s steady flow of art on his Instagram, tap into his solo podcast Rainbow Brainskull, and peer into his myriad offerings at RaminNazer.com.

“According to Buddhism, the solution is you maintain your status as a human being who has ups and downs, who has lungs, and disappointments, yet there’s a seed of real depth of wisdom and understanding and compassion in it. You bypass the God realms.” – David Nichtern

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Discussing his experience with panic attacks, Dan Harris describes the tools that have helped him move from resistance to acceptance.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

In this episode, David and Dan dive into:

How Dan went from experiencing panic attacks to finding meditation

Dan’s definition of happiness

Stabilizing our well-being

The compounding effect of meditation practice

Navigating difficult external experiences

Working on a loving-kindness practice

Pith instructions from spiritual teachers

Allowing feelings instead of resisting

The fear of death and all pervasive suffering

Temporal experiences and observing the pause of time

Impermanence and not taking everything so seriously

Equanimity and looking at our emotions as passing weather

Grab your copy of the 10th-anniversary edition of Dan's book, 10% Happier, HERE to learn more about the benefits of meditation in his life.

About Dan Harris:

Dan Harris is an author, podcaster, and a retired American journalist for ABC News. He was an anchor for Nightline and co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America. After an on-air panic attack, Dan dedicated himself to meditation and spreading the word about its benefits. His “10% Happier” podcasts feature interviews with other meditators. Dan’s book, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Really Works – a True Story, was published in March 2014.

“Panic is just a set of physical sensations, which as a panic sufferer, I have experienced countless times and always survived. So, it’s okay, just let it go. Let the sensations be there, it’s okay to feel it. What is making it worse is my resistance to it.” – Dan Harris

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Examining the interplay between mind and body, neuroscientist Dr. Sarà King and David Nichtern talk trauma, dream-work, and the sense of self.

David and Dr. Sarà traverse these topics:

• Dr. Sarà’s research on generational trauma and ancestral intelligence
• The autonomic nervous system and how trauma is stored in the body
• Fight, Flight, Freeze, Faint, and gauging if a situation is safe or dangerous
• How contemplative practices can modulate the trauma response
• What the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for
• How we create personal narratives
• Neuroscience and quantum energy
• Dr. Sarà’s own journey to liberation from trauma
• Co-Creating our own reality with the universe
• Dreams, trips, bardos and beyond
• Dr. Sarà’s work in creating a map of awareness
• The relationship between biometrics and story-telling
• AI, cosmology, and merging biosynthetic beings with human consciousness

“There is this real delicate dance and interplay that’s happening between the mind and the body to construct a sense of self, me, I, at any given moment.” – Dr. Sará King

About Dr. Sará King:

Dr. Sará King is a UCLA-trained neuroscientist, political and learning scientist, social entrepreneur, public speaker, and yoga and mindfulness meditation instructor. She has over 20 years of experience as a research scientist, and specializes in the study of the relationship between mindfulness, complementary alternative medicine, and social justice. She is the scientific consultant for Peace in Schools, a dharma teacher with Presence Collective, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurology, and the founder of MindHeart Consulting, a scientific consultancy offering seminars, research and development, and trauma healing circles.

Keep up with Dr. King on Instagram or HERE

Join Ethan Nichtern and Shelly Tygielski on January 9th for a free online event: "Right Livelihood: What Capitalism Can Learn From Buddhism"

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