For episode 130 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks Joel Leon.

Joel is a performer, author, and storyteller who writes and tells stories for Black people. Born and raised in the Bronx, Joel specializes in moderating and leading conversations surrounding race, masculinity, mental health, creativity and the performing arts, with love at the center of his work and purpose. He is the author of “Book About Things I Will Tell My Daughter” and “God Wears Durags, Too”.

This is the third episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Joel and Sharon discuss love as an agent of change in the world, reclaiming it from its more often romantic definitions. Joel shares how he came to Buddhist teachings and how they have affected his life and art, especially now, during the Coronavirus quarantine in NYC. They discuss many of the themes in Real Change, especially the role that art plays in social change movements, and how differently that is viewed in eastern versus western cultures. The conversation closes with Joel leading a ___-minute guided meditation practice.

Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!

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For episode 129 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with friend and colleague, Sebene Selassie for the Real Change Series.

Sebene Selassie has been teaching meditation workshops, courses and retreats for over a decade and her first book, “You Belong” was released in August of 2020 by HarperOne. She has studied Buddhism for over 30 years and received a BA from McGill University in Religious and Women’s Studies and an MA from the New School where she focused on cultural studies and race. Her work has taken her everywhere from the Tenderloin in San Francisco to refugee camps in Guinea, West Africa. Sebene is proud to have served on the boards of New York Insight Meditation Center, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and Sacred Mountain Sangha.

This is the second episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Sebene and Sharon discuss some of the overlapping themes from their new books, Real Change and You Belong, exploring the ways meditation practice can inform social action such as agency, cultural conditioning, inherent bias, self-love and balance.

Learn more about Sebene’s offerings at sebeneselassie.com.

You can also get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!

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

For episode 128 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks with Sensei Joshin Byrnes for the Real Change Series.

Sensei Joshin Byrnes is a Zen priest, teacher, activist, and the founder of the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in Vermont. Joshin maintains a core practice of bearing witness to homelessness by offering street retreats in cities around the country and has spent much of his career working for social change nonprofits in the areas of AIDS and HIV prevention, child welfare, and community-based philanthropy.

This is the first episode of the Real Change Podcast series. In this conversation, Joshin and Sharon discuss some of the themes from her new book, Real Change, exploring the ways that meditation practice can inform social action. They discuss working with anger, pathological altruism, finding long term resilience and joy in activism, and working to find balance. To close the conversation, Joshin leads a ten-minute meditation practice on equanimity.

Get your copy of Sharon's newest book, Real Change, at sharonsalzberg.com or your favorite place to get books or audiobooks!

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For episode 127 of the Metta Hour, Sharon chats with Bethany Saltman about her new book, Strange Situation.

Bethany is an author, award-winning editor, and researcher. Her work can be seen in magazines like the New Yorker, New York Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Parents, Town & Country, and many others. Her first book, “Strange Situation: A Mother’s Journey Into the Science of Attachment” was just released in April of 2020. In this conversation, Bethany and Sharon discuss attachment theory in the Buddhist perspective, and how it can serve as the ground for tuning into life in a softer and fuller way. To close the conversation, Bethany leads a short Zazen meditation practice.

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For episode 126 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with civil rights activist, filmmaker, lawyer and innovator, Valarie Kaur.

Valarie is the founder of The Revolutionary Love Project and has won policy change on multiple fronts – hate crimes, racial profiling, immigration detention, solitary confinement, Internet freedom, and more. Her new book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love was just released in June of 2020. In this conversation, Valarie talks about her roots growing up as a Sikh woman in the United States, and the experiences that shaped her life as an activist. She and Sharon discuss the role of love in activism, forgiveness, and self-care, and Valarie leads a guided meditation practice to close the conversation. Learn more about Valarie’s work at seenostranger.com.

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For episode 125 of the Metta Hour, Sharon is re-releasing a previously released episode of the podcast from 2018, featuring a conversation with colleague Rhonda V. Magee.

Rhonda is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco, and is an internationally-recognized thought and practice leader on integrating Mindfulness into Higher Education, Law and Social Justice. She is the author of the 2019 book, “The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness.”

In this conversation, Rhonda and Sharon discuss a holistic approach for compassionate and restorative justice in underserved communities and the different levels of social change that exist– and how to work in those levels for real growth. The episode closes with an eight-minute guided meditation led by Rhonda. Learn more about Rhonda’s work at www.rhondavmagee.com.

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For episode 124 of the Metta Hour, Sharon is re-releasing a previously released episode of the podcast from 2018, featuring a conversation with author, teacher, and activist, Ruth King.

Ruth King is an international teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition, blending mindfulness and meditation principles with an exploration of racial conditioning and its impact. She is the author of “Mindful of Race,” published in June of 2018. In this conversation, Ruth and Sharon speak at length about racial conditioning and racial justice, the nuance of identity, and Ruth’s work rebuilding communities with new understanding and connection.

Learn more about Ruth and her work at https://ruthking.net.

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Dr. Rick Hanson visits Sharon to explore resiliency, lasting traits, and the intersection of neuroscience and spirituality.

In this episode of the Metta Hour, Sharon is joined by Dr. Rick Hanson, the author of the new book Neurodharma. In this joyful and bright conversation, these two teachers uncover and elucidate core themes from the book, sharing anecdotal experiences to bring to life concepts and lessons which are both timely and insightful. Would you like to find out how to reach your highest happiness, foster resiliency in difficult situations, and create lasting positive traits in your life? Dr. Hanson has you covered with his fresh and contemplative approach to bridging together the worlds of neuroscience and spiritual tradition.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, senior fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. Learn more about Dr. Rick Hanson, his available courses, and his podcast, Being Well, at rickhanson.net.

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Many are experiencing loneliness and deep feelings of disconnect during this period of quarantine due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Sharon Salzberg offers wisdom for being with ourselves in these difficult emotional states, and how to tap into a more rooted truth of our authentic self, as well as the interconnection that surrounds our lives. Sharon also leads a guided meditation centered around the breath with an emphasis on counteracting the biological effects of quarantine stressors.

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Mindfulness teacher and grassroots community organizer Shelly Tygielski joins Sharon Salzberg for a conversation around supporting one another through community and integrating mindfulness into social activism.

Shelly Tygielski is the founder of Yuru Meditation and the mutual aid community Pandemic of Love, which was started in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Pandemic of Love began on March 14th, 2020 with the humble intention of helping people in Shelly’s local community. However, that act of love and kindness spread quickly. It is now a beautiful movement made possible by hundreds of volunteers and tens of thousands of donors who are helping those in need throughout the world.

Are you in need due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic? Do you have the resources to help another individual or family who is running out of hope? Visit pandemicoflove.com to find out how you can give or receive aid quickly, discretely and directly.

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