Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - 496: Why Calm Is More Effective Than Reactivity | Bonus Meditation with Sebene Selassie

Episode Date: September 9, 2022

Hope is a skill. Using the phrase ‘let it be’ invites us to be more relaxed with life and lets us envision a better world.About Sebene Selassie:Growing up, Sebene felt like a big weirdo. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised in white neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., she was a tomboy Black girl who loved Monty Python and UB40. She never believed she belonged. Thirty years ago, she began studying Buddhism as an undergraduate at McGill University where she majored in Comparative Religious Studies. Now, Sebene is a teacher, author, and speaker who teaches that meditation can help us remember our inherent sense of belonging, that our individual freedom affects absolutely everyone and everything, and that our collective freedom depends on each and every one of us. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Learn Acceptance, Spark Hope,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=0c9bda64-63da-44ed-8569-cfb9bd3d38cc.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it even mean to live a good life? Is it about happiness, purpose, love, health, or wealth? What really matters in the pursuit of a life well lived? These are the questions award-winning author, founder, and interviewer Jonathan Fields asks his guests on the Top Ranked Good Life Project podcast. Every week, Jonathan sits down with world renowned thinkers and doers, people like Glenn and Doyle, Adam Grant,

Young Pueblo, Jonathan Height, and hundreds more. Start listening right now. Look for the Good Life Project on your favorite podcast app. This is the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey, everybody. Happy Friday. It's bonus meditation time.

A question that often comes up among meditators is, if I get too calm, will I be ineffective? Today our teacher, do you sure? Seven A. Celacine makes the case that you will be much more effective if you come from a place of calm rather than reactivity. And she shows us how to switch modes using a key phrase. More about Seb before we dive in here, she's a core meditation teacher over on the 10% happier app and a former repeat guest on this podcast. She was born in Ethiopia and raised in Washington, DC and has been studying Buddhism for three decades. And she is also the author

of the book, You Belong, a Call for Connection. Here we go now with my friend, Sevene, Solace. Hi, this is Sevene. Let it be invites us into a more relaxed relationship with our experience. To trust life, and to make room for our deepest hopes for ourselves and our world. Let's practice with this powerful phrase. Find a comfortable meditation position wherever you are. You can close your eyes if you'd like or keep them open with a soft gaze. Start by taking a deep inhale and a deep exhale. Let it be actually has two meanings. Let it be may we trust life and let it be may our deepest wishes come to fruition. You can think of this phrase as the attitude we're bringing to this meditation.

Whatever happens in your experience for this session, you can tell yourself, let it be. Sometimes it can be helpful to use a question in combination with the phrase. You can ask yourself, what's here right now? Noticing any sensations, thoughts or emotions. And then add, let it be. Practice this way for some time on your own. When we develop the capacity to let our experience be as it is, we create a more centered and calm condition within. From here, we have the ability to bring about meaningful change that is not coming from reactivity, but from our deepest aspirations. Consider a hope you have for our global community.

No wish is too small or too big. There's no wrong hope if it's rooted in kindness. Choose something that is meaningful for you. Imagine what this deep aspiration of yours would lead to. Allow yourself to feel its impact for you and for others. Know that imagining it brings even more calm to your life. Add our phrase. Let it be. Let it be. When we practice like this, we create a more collected and calm presence, making us more For the changes we want to bring into the world. Let it be. You can open your eyes now and begin to move your hands and feet as we end this meditation. Remember you can bring this phrase let it, into any part of your day. Thanks for practicing with me, and may you be well.

Thank you to 7A. We'll see you right back here on Monday for a brand new episode. Hey, hey, prime members. You can listen to 10% happier early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. Or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts. Before you go, do us a solid and tell us all about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey

Celebrity feuds are high stakes. You never know if you're just gonna end up on page six or Du Moir or in court I'm Matt Bellasai and I'm Sydney battle and we're the host of Wondery's new podcast Disantel where each episode we unpack a different iconic celebrity feud. From the buildup, why it happened, and the repercussions. What does our obsession with these feuds say about us? The first season is packed with some pretty messy pop culture drama, but none is drawn out in personal as Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears. When Britney's fans form the free Britney movement dedicated to fraying her from the infamous

conservatorship, Jamie Lynn's lack of public support. It angered some fans. A lot of them. It's a story of two young women who had their choices taken away from them by their controlling parents, but took their anger out on each other. And it's about a movement to save a superstar, which set its sights upon anyone who failed to fight for Britney. Follow disenthal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or The Wondry App. Raising kids can be one of the greatest rewards

of a parent's life. But come on, someday, parenting is unbearable. I love my kid, but is a new parenting podcast from Wondry that shares a refreshingly honest and insightful take on parenting. Hosted by myself, Megan Galey, Chris Garcia, and Kurt Brown-Oller, we will be your resident not-so-expert experts.

Each week we'll share a parenting story that'll have you laughing, nodding, and thinking. Oh yeah, I have absolutely been there. We'll talk about what went right and wrong. What would we do differently? And the next time you step on yet another stray Lego in the middle of the night, you'll feel less alone. So if you like to laugh with us as we talk about the hardest job in the world, listen to, I love my kid, but wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app.