Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - 590: For When You’re Feeling Stuck Inside Your Own Head | Bonus Meditation with The Science of Happiness

Episode Date: April 28, 2023

We’re bringing you a special meditation from another podcast that Dan is a fan of – and where he’s been a guest. It’s called The Science of Happiness, and it’s hosted by the great Dacher Keltner, a psychologist and author who has been on this show many times. Every other week, his show releases guided practices called Happiness Breaks. And the one we’re dropping here for you is led by Dekila Chungyalpa, founder and director of the Loka Institute at the Center for Healthy Minds. This meditation is about connecting with nature, and it’s from a series on The Science of Happiness about climate hope. About The Science of Happiness:What does it take to live a happier life? Learn research-tested strategies that you can put into practice today. Hosted by award-winning psychologist Dacher Keltner. Co-produced by PRX and UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.For more on the upcoming climate hope series on The Science of Happiness, click here. 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. It's Friday, time for a guided meditation. And this week we are taking on what I sometimes call the apex predator of spiritual cliches, oneness or interconnection. What does that even mean? There is a reason cliches become cliches because they're true. So how do we actually tap into this idea of interconnection and why?

Let me start with the why. Here is at least one reason. How many times have you found yourself feeling stuck in your head? Isolated. Cut off. Like your problems are your own unique, special bespoke hellscape. This sense of isolation of being a solitary ego, peering fretfully out at the world is the source of a ton of our unhappiness. An antidote is to wake up to the fact that you are inextricably and non-negotiably part of something larger. Today's meditation is designed to help you get there.

And it comes from our friends over at another podcast that I'm a fan of and where I've been a guest. That podcast is called The Science of Happiness and it's hosted by the great Dacker Keltner, Dacker as a psychologist and author who's been on this show several times. Every other week his show releases guided practices called Happiness Breaks. And the one we're dropping here is led by

D'Aquila Chungi-Elpa, and it's about, and again, I know this can be a cliche notion, but trust me, it's incredibly important. It is about connecting with nature. I'm D'Acker Keltner. Welcome to Happiness Break, a series by the Science of Happiness, where we take a little break on our day to try practices to improve ourselves and our relationships. Today's Happiness Break is part of our special series called Climate, Hope, and Science.

We're going to do a meditation in which we reflect upon our inner connectedness with nature. We are guided in this meditation by Dekele Chungielpa. She's the founder and head of the Loka initiative at the University of Wisconsin, which brings together faith leaders and culture keepers of indigenous traditions on environmental and climate issues. Over 100 empirical studies have found that being in nature immersing ourselves in the outdoors, or even viewing nature in paintings and videos,

can have powerful impacts upon our brains, our bodies, our emotions, and our relationships with others. When we feel connected with nature, research shows very importantly, we're also more likely to act to protect our environment. Nature immersion and the feelings that accompany it fuel climate action. For those of you who identify as environmentalists, I hope this brief meditation adds to reserves and commitment to protecting life. For those of you

who simply want a moment of peace to connect with nature, I hope this practice provides that as well. Here's Dikila. Hello everyone, Kuzuzanpo and Tashite Le. I come from a tiny place in the Eastern Himalayas called Sikkim, and I belong to a devout Tuvenbu this family, and I'm part of the Karmakagyu lineage of Tuvenbu thism. This lineage, which is a thousand years old, is known especially for great meditation masters

who spend a lot of time in wilderness. I am not a meditation teacher. I am very fortunate in that I have received a lot of instruction and experience through my llamas and my debut teachers. Whatever I offer here is really a variation of practice that was taught to me and I offer it in fellowship rather than as an instruction. Alright, having said all of that, let's get started. So the first thing is that I want you to get comfortable in your seat. Wiggle around if you need to, roll your shoulder back, clench and clench your hands, loosen up.

It doesn't matter how you're sitting, if you're sitting on a chair or on the floor, but whatever it is, I want you to start straightening up your spine. Imagine a string is pulling your spine up, and so you come, erect, straight, spine, and then imagine that you let the string go, and so you settle, you relax into your own body. And as you're relaxing into your own body, I want you to be aware of what's around you. What do you see? What do you hear? What is in the room with you? In the community you are in. It is enough to be just gently conscious of all these life forms that are around you.

Let them enter your consciousness now. Let them enter your consciousness now. As we get comfortable, let's bring our awareness back to our bodies and to the top of our heads. Allow your attention to descend gently down your body to wherever you are touching the earth, however your body is pressed to the ground. It can be through the seat of a chair, through the floor, even the soles of your feet. No matter how many stories you may be up in a building, no matter how you are seated, the earth is holding you up. There is relationship here.

There is awareness here. There is compassion here. Bring your awareness to the breath that is coming in. It's expanding your chest, contracting your diaphragm, all that combination of the nitrogen and the oxygen and carbon dioxide that's moving through your bloodstream right now, entering all those different parts of your body. And as you exhale, imagine all of those gases

leaving your body and entering the surroundings. That carbon dioxide is being used by all the plants near you during photosynthesis. This is harmony. This is what interdependence looks like. All of that oxygen that keeps us alive comes from the plankton in oceans, forests, plants, lakes around you. Just as the carbon dioxide we exhale where the oxygen has come from. The Amazon, the Pacific Ocean, the Great Lakes, Congo Forest, all the nearby parks and vegetation where we live,

your beloved houseplants, we couldn't survive without oxygen, and it is provided to us unconditionally, effortlessly by the earth. The very source of life comes from outside of ourselves. Along with that, the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, all of these things are provided by the planet in a pure display of interdependence. And understanding that what we take and give back contributes to this larger cycle of interdependence. A humans are beloved, but all of the species that make home on this incredible planet receive the same care and nourishment. Tigers, whales, bees, or kids. Some of us inhale

oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and some of us do the reverse. And yet, here we all are, receiving life as we inhale, offering life as we exhale. Whether we mean to or not, all of us transfer energy and nutrients to one another, we participate effortlessly as part of this vast ecosystem. Relax and allow yourself to intentionally be part of it. Now, as you inhale, imagine your breathing the earth's compassion. And as you exhale, exhale any softness, tenderness, gratitude, you may have experienced during this practice. Inhale compassion, exhale gratitude. We humans are part of nature. We belong here and the earth holds us up unconditionally. Thank you. That was Dequila Chungielpa, the founder and head of the Loka Initiative at the University of Wisconsin at Center for Healthy Mines. I'm Dacker Keltner. Thanks for taking this happeness break with us.

Check out our show notes to learn more about DeKila's work and to hear more episodes from our series, climate, hope and science. Thank you to Dekila, Change Elpa, and also to Dacker Keltner from the Science of Happiness. Go check out that show wherever you're listening to this one. Speaking of this show, we'll be right back here on Monday with Michael Imperiole from the sopranos and from white lotus. He is Really dedicated and devout Buddhist. He knows a lot. I was kind of blown away by that conversation. So you'll hear that on Monday. 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.

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