For episode 280 of the Metta Hour, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Insight Meditation Society, which opened doors on Valentine’s Day in 1976. 

Today, IMS is one of the Western world’s oldest and most respected meditation retreat centers, dedicated to providing a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom of mind and heart. The Retreat Center offers a range of silent meditation courses, ranging from a weekend to three months. IMS Online offers retreats, sanghas, dharma talks, courses, and other programming to support your practice from our virtual meditation hall. IMS also has two adjacent retreat facilities – the Retreat Center and the Forest Refuge – that are set among almost 400 secluded wooded acres in the quiet country of central Massachusetts. 

In this episode, Sharon presents a special episode from the archives of IMS history featuring her teacher Dipa Ma. Originally recorded in October of 1984, when Dipa Ma was visiting IMS, this dharma talk was given as part of the 1984 three-month retreat. Through an interpreter, Dipa Ma shares the story of how we came to meditation following tremendous loss. She reflects on her early years of practice under the tutelage of Anagarika Munindra and how she gradually began teaching meditation. She also takes questions from the audience about her practice from the attending three-month retreatants. 

Resources

A full transcript of this episode is available right here.

To learn more about the Insight Mediation Society, click here.

To learn more about Dipa Ma, click here.

To learn more about the Dharma Seed archive, click here.

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For episode 279, Jack Kornfield returns to the Metta Hour to talk about his new book, “All in This Together: Stories and Teachings for Loving Each Other and Our World.”

Jack trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India and has taught worldwide since 1974. He is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West. He is the cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology and has written more than fifteen books, including The Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and more. 

In this conversation, Sharon and Jack speak about:

• The impetus for Jack’s new book
• The universe is made of stories
• Beginner’s Mind as the goal of practice
• Ajahn Chah’s squirrel story 
• How repetition factors into storytelling
• Trusting the gifts of interconnectedness 
• Ram Dass as the great public neurotic
• The glance of mercy
• The Bodhisattva Vow
• Envisioning generosity to change the world
• Working with our expectations
• Despair is not the end of the story
• Mindful Service as a source of happiness
• The Insight Meditation Society's 50th anniversary
• The founding of IMS told by Jack
• How the Dharma evolves across cultures

This episode closes with a guided meditation from Jack. Learn more about Jack’s many offerings right here and get yourself a copy of his new book All in This Together.

Join the IMS 50th anniversary online celebration on February 14th, 2026! Learn more and register right here.

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For episode 278, Sharon sits down with author and friend, Parvati Markus, the editor of the new Ram Dass book, “There is No Other: The Way to Harmony and Wholeness.” 

Parvati is a developmental editor who has been midwifing non-fiction books and memoirs since her first efforts with Ram Dass’s classic Be Here Now. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Love Serve Remember Foundation and has helped with many other spiritual organizations and events. Parvati is also the author of numerous books, including Whisper in the Heart and Love Everyone. This is Parvati’s first appearance on the Metta Hour.

In this conversation, Parvati and Sharon speak about:

• How Parvati found her path
• Meeting Neem Karoli Baba
• Ram Dass and Parvati’s friendship
• Parvati’s contribution to “Be Here Now”
• The inspiration for “There is No Other”
• Moving past “us” and “them”
• Balancing real life & spiritual life
• Substituting noticing for judging 
• Neem Karoli Baba’s directive of service
• Ram Dass learning to accept help
• Moving from Role to Soul
• How to be here now in times of difficulty
• Community as the future Buddha
• Joseph Goldstein’s fateful meeting with Ram Dass
• What is Loving Awareness
• Ram Dass’s final public appearance

This episode closes with a guided meditation from Ram Dass that invites us to let go of the heaviness of confusion and our rigid models of who we are and how it is. 

Learn more about Parvati’s many book projects right here and get yourself a copy of Ram Dass’s new book “There is No Other” right here in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats.

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For episode 277, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, released on December 9th!

Written with Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. 

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. For the sixth episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Richie J. Davidson. 

Richie is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds. He is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. A friend and confidante of the Dalai Lama, he is a highly sought-after expert and speaker, leading conversations on well-being on international stages such as the World Economic Forum, where he serves on the Global Council on Mental Health. 

In this conversation, Sharon and Richie speak about:

• Richie’s pillars for human flourishing
• Free Kindness Curriculum app
• How to nurture enduring traits
• Lovingkindness as a training
• Our whole being is malleable 
• Flourishing is contagious
• Temporary states vs lasting traits
• We are born to be kind
• The Born to Flourish book, coming in March
• Changing our narratives
• Affective Neuroscience
• Six basic emotional styles
• Evolving the K-12 education space
• Supporting Healthcare providers
• Community as contemplative intervention
• What is Contemplative Neuroscience? 

The conversation closes with a guided meditation led by Richie. To learn more about Riche’s work or his different books, you can visit his website and access the free Healthy Minds Kindness Curriculum right here in English or Spanish.

You can learn more about Sharon’s brand-new children’s book, Kind Karl, right here.

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

For episode 276, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, released on December 9th! 

Written with Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. 

In this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. 

For the fifth episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Sumi Loundon Kim. Sumi is the Buddhist chaplain at Yale University. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, she is the founding teacher of Buddhist Families of Durham (NC). She is the author of  Blue Jean Buddha; The Buddha’s Apprentices; Sitting Together and of the children's book Goodnight Love: A Bedtime Meditation Story. 

In this conversation, Sumi and Sharon speak about:

• Sumi’s early life in Zen community
• Sumi’s first visit to IMS at age 16
• The value of spiritual practice during adolescence 
• Teaching meditation to kids through song
• Benefits of group practice for parents and kids
• Working with the five senses
• Implicit learning, leading by example
• Nurturing kindness in self-talk
• Creating a home as a sanctuary
• Designated device-free family time
• Meditation for college students
• Social connection promoting self-regulation
• Psychological fluency 
• A bedtime meditation for kids: “Goodnight Love”

Get a copy of Sumi’s book “Goodnight Love” right here.

You can learn more about Sharon’s brand-new children’s book, Kind Karl, right here.

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

For episode 275, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, out now! 

Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. 

To learn more about Sharon’s children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here.

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. For the fourth episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Ali Smith, Andres Gonzales and Atman Smith of the Holistic Life Foundation.

Andy, Ali, and Atman co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001, a non-profit organization bringing yoga, meditation, and breath-work to thousands of at-risk kids in Baltimore and beyond. Their work has received wide national attention due to their remarkable results in public schools where suspension rates plummet and graduation rates skyrocket. Outside of the Holistic Life Foundation, Ali, Atman, and Andy also teach to diverse populations worldwide, including drug treatment centers, mental crisis facilities, homeless shelters, and Yoga, Wellness, and Mindfulness Festivals. 

Their first book, “Let Your Light Shine” was published in 2022 by Penguin Random House.

In this conversation, Sharon, Atman, Andres and Ali speak about:

• The creation of the Holistic Life Foundation

• Experiencing meditation early in life

• Working in underserved communities

• Teaching with trauma awareness

• HLF Retreats and certification programs 

• The importance of sharing love 

• Benefits of mindfulness for kids

• Partnering with schools and education systems 

• Modifying practice for younger minds

• How to champion love

• Encouraging authentic, in-person interaction

• Giving from a place of overflow

• Caring for ourselves to better care for others

The episode closes with a guided practice. You can learn more about the Holistic Life Foundation’s work on their website, right here. And get a copy of the book“Let Your Light Shine” right here.

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Sharon joins Raghu and Duncan on the Mindrolling Podcast to discuss the loving-kindness lessons in her first children’s book, Kind Karl. Together, they explore how mindful kids grow into mindful adults and why these teachings matter.

Kind Karl will be released on 12/9! Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. To learn more about Sharon’s forthcoming children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here. 

This time on Mindrolling, Duncan, Sharon, and Raghu connect over:

• Sharon’s upcoming children’s book on mindfulness and loving-kindness, Kind Karl
• Understanding how habits like greed and fear begin in early childhood
• How issues like greed have roots in early childhood
• Learning from Karl the Crocodile: navigating big feelings, mistakes, and emotional complexity
• Karl the Crocodile as an inspiration for parents dealing with guilt and stress
• Making mindfulness accessible and engaging for children of all ages
• Putting our thoughts onto clouds and allowing them to float away
• Loving-kindness meditations for kids: getting the whole family into mindfulness practice

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 and check out Insight Meditation Society.

“It’s not a small thing to have even a little act of kindness because of what’s happening to us inside. That’s something Karl the Crocodile gets into. He really decides to change when he makes that experiment, which can be kind of radical: help them instead of hurt them, help yourself, and forgive yourself. How does it feel inside when we choose that?” –Sharon Salzberg

About Duncan Trussell:

Duncan Trussell is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, and actor. His popular podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, has been downloaded over 25 million times and is known for its blend of humor, fringe ideas, eclectic guests, and great interviews. The DTFH is the foundation for Duncan’s Netflix animated series, The Midnight Gospel, which he co-created with Pendleton Ward in 2020. To learn more about Duncan’s work, visit his website at duncantrussell.com.

"It starts right at the beginning, they want each other's toys. This is built into us. Whenever you look out into the world at the stuff going on and the big picture, it really isn't that different from siblings, except the problem is that these are adults and there isn't anyone to tell them, okay, you're getting a time out." –Duncan Trussell

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For episode 274, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, coming out on December 9th!

Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. 

To learn more about Sharon’s forthcoming children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here.

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. For the third episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Meena Srinivasan.

Meena Srinivasan is an educational leader, speaker, author, and visionary edupreneur. With over two decades of dedicated service, she has consistently championing the fusion of Mindfulness and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). In 2022, she was featured as one of Mindful Magazine's "Ten Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement," while also gaining recognition in Educational Leadership Magazine for her insights into Mindful Leadership and Wellbeing. Her recent TEDx Talk on Tenderness is one of the most popular talks of 2024 with more than 2 million views. A dedicated practitioner for more than 25 years, Meena is a newly ordained lay Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition, in the lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who calls her a “precious ambassador of mindfulness.”

In this conversation, Meena and Sharon speak about:

• Aligning inner life with outer work
• Meena’s early spiritual foundation in Hindu culture
• Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
• SEL practices for different ages & environments
• Smell the Flower and Blow Out the Candle meditations
• Supporting kids in crisis
• Thích Nhất Hạnh’s School of Interbeing
• The importance of parents'’ and educators’ well-being
• Community practice as a necessity 
• Transformative Educational Leadership 
• Meena’s research on tenderness with Yale 
• Tenderness versus compassion, vulnerability & empathy
• The Three Breath Hug Meditation
• The Non-Toothache Meditation

The episode closes with Meena leading guided practice. You can learn more about Meena’s work on her website, right here.

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

For episode 273, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, coming out on December 9th!

Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. 

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. For the second episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Dr. Christopher Willard.

Chris is a clinical psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of numerous publications for children and adults. An internationally sought-after speaker and mindfulness educator, his books include Growing Up Mindful, Raising Resilience, and Alphabreaths.

In this conversation, Sharon and Chris speak about:

• The benefits of mindfulness in family systems
• Chris’s personal journey with mindfulness
• How mindfulness can be accessible for kids 
• Emotional growth and connection at any age 
• Simple at-home practices 
• Modeling calm compassion 
• How kids can emotionally regulate 
• The benefits of meditation in schools 
• Challenges of technology in family life
• How self-compassion prevents burnout
• Nurturing empathy, presence and resilience 
• The goal of presence, not perfection

The episode closes with Chris leading guided practice. You can learn more about Chris’s work on his website, right here.

To learn more about Sharon’s forthcoming children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here.

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

For episode 272, we are launching a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, coming out on December 9th! 

Co-authored by Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a new children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness. To learn more about Sharon’s forthcoming children’s book, Kind Karl, and pre-order a copy with a special pre-order gift, you can visit Sharon’s website, right here.

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. 

For the first episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Susan Kaiser Greenland. Susan is a mindfulness educator and bestselling author, specializing in distilling global wisdom traditions and scientific research into straightforward everyday practices. In the early 2000s, she helped pioneer the introduction of secular mindfulness into classrooms through her Inner Kids model. After decades of working with children and adults and writing two widely translated books, Susan’s latest book, Real-World Enlightenment, was published in 2024 by Shambhala.

In this conversation, Susan and Sharon speak about:

• Susan’s journey with meditation
• Meditation’s effect on Susan’s son
• Inspiration for writing The Mindful Child
• Volunteering in schools
• Creating the Inner Kids program
• The importance of storytelling
• The playful approach for young ages
• The positive effects of mindfulness in schools
• The “Pink Bubble” compassion exercise
• Mindfulness for family dynamics
• Susan’s UCLA research findings
• Susan’s most recent book, Real World Enlightenment

The episode closes with Susan leading guided practice. You can learn more about Susan’s work on her website, right here.

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