10% Happier With Dan Harris

Dan Goleman and Richie Davidson, both titans in their respective fields and best-selling authors, have co-written a new book out now entitled, "Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body." Goleman, a renowned psychologist and science journalist, and Davidson, a prominent neuroscientist and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds, talk about their cutting-edge research in this new book, comparing brain activity of "Olympic level" meditators (such as monks) to meditation beginners and how mindfulness can be restorative for brain health. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Justin von Bujdoss was working as a hospice chaplain in New York City, traveling all over the five boroughs and greater metropolitan area to visit patients, when he began volunteering at the city's notorious Rikers Island Jail. Von Bujdoss started out teaching meditation to groups of female inmates, but now he's the first ever staff chaplain for the city's Department of Corrections, providing spiritual and emotional support for officers, and he talks about seeing suffering on both sides of prison life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Being out on a surfboard, when it's just you and the ocean, is "a meditative space," Jaimal Yogis said, "There's a certain amount of solitude that's just built into the experience." The longtime surfer and meditation teacher talks about his first memoir, "Saltwater Buddha," a coming-of-age story about running away at 16 and buying a one-way ticket to Maui to surf, joining a monastery and almost becoming a Zen monk and then launching a journalism career, and his second memoir, "All Our Waves Are Water," which is out now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Progress on the meditation path tends to involve moral progress. You tend to become a better person as well as a happier person... I personally think that you should not be allowed to call yourself enlightened if you're a jerk," said Robert Wright, a best-selling author with extensive knowledge on philosophy and religion. Wright, whose new book out now is titled, "Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment," offers his thoughts (and skepticism) on what it means to achieve true enlightenment and whether mindfulness meditation could change the world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

LeAnn Rimes has been making a name for herself and her powerful voice since her early teens -- she's the youngest person ever to win a Grammy -- and the country music star's career includes writing books and appearing in TV series and movies, including the new film, "Logan Lucky." In our interview, Rimes opens up about another side of her life: How meditation has changed how she feels about herself and interacts with others. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I don’t claim that ['The Princess Bride'] is a Buddhist story, but I do think it has some Buddhist elements," Ethan Nichtern said. "It's a deconstructed fairytale that's... really about trying to navigate relationships from this space of compassionately not knowing." Nichtern, a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, uses moments from the cult-classic movie in his upcoming book, "The Dharma of The Princess Bride," out Sept. 12, to illustrate his personal life -- he says his father's best friend is actor Christopher Guest, who plays the notorious "six-fingered man" -- and to discuss having compassion when figuring out relationships. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the final installment from the "10% Happier" road trip, Dan Harris and meditation teacher Jeff Warren ended their cross-country tour at a Wanderlust Hollywood event in February, where they hosted a live discussion and Q&A with recording artist Moby and Bill Duane, the Superintendent of Well-Being at Google. The guys offered their advice on how to overcome meditation frustrations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anurag Gupta, who immigrated to the U.S. from India at age 10, has devoted much of his adult life to helping reduce racial inequality and transform bias into awareness and understanding with mindfulness techniques. An attorney and mindfulness expert, Gupta founded BE MORE America, a non-profit that works with various organizations, including hospitals, banks, tech firms and police academies, to train professionals on how to eliminate bias in hiring and decision making. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shortly before his 40th birthday, Rich Roll was walking up a flight of stairs when he suddenly felt like he was about to have a heart attack. That terrifying moment led the former entertainment attorney, who had already been through rehab for alcohol abuse, to overhaul his lifestyle and now he is a dedicated vegan who has completed some of the world's most grueling and extreme endurance races. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At a time when there have been controversial police shootings of unarmed civilians and many officers risking their lives to protect their communities feel under siege, one potentially constructive element being introduced into this highly-charged atmosphere is mindfulness. Richard Goerling, a police lieutenant in Hillsboro, Oregon, who has served in law enforcement for 20 years, works with police departments around the country to teach officers how reduce stress, combat unnecessary use of force and make smarter decisions in the field through mindfulness training. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's easy to become addicted to the constant stream of information coming at us from the 24-hour news cycle, social media, and our own desire to be informed. Led by Sebene Selassie (Podcast Ep. #42), this meditation helps us take a break from information overload. This meditation is part of a new Mindfulness in an Age of Polarization series on the 10% Happier app. Whether your personal politics lean left or right - top teachers have been enlisted to create bipartisan meditations that can help us navigate the challenges of our increasingly polarized world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Virginia Heffernan, who has written for several major publications including as a television and Internet culture columnist for the New York Times, opens up for the first time about her addiction to prescription drugs and her decision to get sober. The author of "Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art" and a co-host for Slate's "Trumpcast" podcast, Heffernan talks about the turmoil she was facing in her work and personal life, her relationship with religion and her Twitter persona @Page88. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In another installment from the "10% Happier" road trip, Dan Harris and meditation teacher Jeff Warren sat down with Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, at the congressman's office on Capitol Hill in January shortly after President Trump's inauguration. Ryan, who has been meditating for years, talks about bringing in teachers to host meditation sessions for members of Congress and their staffs, and why he believes meditation should be taught in public schools. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

VanyerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk got his start as "the wine guy" when he launched one of the first wine e-commerce websites in the U.S. He began making a wine video blog as YouTube was coming up and went on to build an entire social media-focused empire. Vaynerchuk was skeptical of trying meditation, so Dan brought in mindfulness teacher Cory Muscara (Ep. #82) to help. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Renowned mindfulness teacher Mark Coleman, founder of Awake in the Wild and The Mindfulness Institute, has led wilderness meditation retreats from Alaska to Peru. Coleman talks about making peace with our "judging thoughts" and how nature can "open the heart" and relieve stress, even if you're stuck on a cross-country flight and taking notice of the landscape below or just taking a moment to feel the wind on your face. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

James Gimian, who has been in publishing since the '70s, started covering the emerging mindfulness movement for a small magazine years ago when he said it became clear that secular mindfulness was taking root in "a big and significant way." In 2011, he spearheaded the launch of Mindful, a mission-oriented non-profit organization and magazine dedicated to bringing secular mindfulness to the masses, offering community building, profile pieces, advice and guidance. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This a special pre-Tony Awards episode of the podcast with multi-platinum recording artist and actor Josh Groban, who is nominated for best lead actor in a musical for his role in Broadway's "Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812." Dan Harris and meditation teacher Jeff Warren sat down with Groban at the start of their cross-country meditation bus tour back in January to teach this Broadway first-timer how to meditate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cory Muscara, 27 years old, admits he first tried meditation because he wanted to impress his college girlfriend -- but it changed his life forever. Muscara, an econ major who considered a finance career, switched gears and spent six months practicing mindfulness meditation as a Buddhist monk, completed numerous meditation training programs and eventually became the founder and head teacher of the Long Island Center for Mindfulness, bringing meditation into school, health care and corporate settings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In conjunction with Sharon Salzberg's new book, "Real Love," the folks at the 10% Happier app recorded a series of six audio meditations that can be used as a complement to the book or as standalone. The first of this series is being made available right here on the 10% Happier podcast and is about connecting with your own goodness. If that sounds gooey, Sharon breaks it down for us in her inimitable style, showing us how recognizing the good is a healthy counter to habits of self-criticism and negative thinking. This meditation and five more from Sharon are available on the 10% Happier app. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I think people do things motivated by love, certainly more strongly sometimes, and more successfully, than when motivated by hate... I think love is actually the force that keeps us going," said renowned meditation teacher and best-selling author Sharon Salzberg. A regular on the "10% Happier" podcast, Salzberg talks about her new book, "Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection," out June 6, which explores how we can change the way we feel about having self-compassion, love for all beings and love for life itself. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.