Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - Don’t Be Yanked Around by Your Thoughts | Bonus Meditation with Sharon Salzberg

Episode Date: March 1, 2024

At times it feels like thinking trips us up more often than it helps. In this session, everyday New Yorker—and meditation luminary—Sharon Salzberg coaches you toward feeling more empowered relating to your own thoughts. About Sharon Salzberg:A towering figure in the meditation world, Sharon Salzberg is a prominent teacher & New York Times best-selling author. She has played a crucial role bringing mindfulness and lovingkindness practices to the West.Sharon co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield and is the author of thirteen books, including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness, Real Love, and the most recent Finding Your Way. Sharon lives in New York City and teaches around the world.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Getting Some Space from Your Thoughts.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Before we start the show, I wanna tell you about a live recording of this podcast that we're doing in York City on March 28th. I will be interviewing two frequent fliers from this show, the legendary meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein, who will be just coming off a three-month solo silent meditation retreat and Dr. Mark Epstein, a Buddhist therapist and best-selling author. The event will actually be a celebration of the 10th anniversary of my first book, 10% Happier, and a percentage of the proceeds will go to the New York Insight Meditation Center.

Come early if you want for a VIP guided meditation and Q&A with me. Thanks to our friends over at Audible for sponsoring this show and the event. Tickets on sale right now at symphonyspace.org. This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Happy Friday everybody. Time for a bonus meditation. I often remind meditators that the goal of the practice is not to stop thinking or clear your mind

That's impossible. Today the great meditation teacher Sharon Salzburg is gonna help us Simply notice our thoughts as a way to get a little distance from them Little bit more about Sharon. She's one of the leading figures in the Western Buddhism and mindfulness scene along with her colleagues Joseph Goldstein and Jack Cornfield. She founded the Insight Meditation Society or IMS in Barrie, Massachusetts in the 1970s. It is now really an absolute gem of a place where people can do meditation retreats. It's where I do mine. Sharon has also written 13 books, including her most recent called Finding Your Way. Here we go now with Sharon Salzburg. Hi, this is Sharon. On a fundamental level, thoughts are the natural manifestation of cognition,

presenting as words in the mind. Our goal is not to cut off or abolish thinking, which is an essential and often enriching faculty. Our goal is to know what we are thinking as we are thinking it, with enough space that we are empowered to choose. base that we are empowered to choose. So I want to take this thought to heart, act on it or let it go. Please sit comfortably with either your eyes closed or slightly open. However you feel most at ease.

Take a couple of deep breaths and then allow the breath to become natural so you're not trying to make it deeper or different. Center your attention on the feeling of the breath, wherever it note in, out, or rising, falling to help support the awareness of the breath. In, out, rising, falling. If you don't need to try to take in every thought that passes through your mind, it's just the ones that pull us away from the breath. Just spend a few moments noting as though to say, oh yes, this is what's happening right now. And then come back in, out, rising, falling. The The mental noting is the platform for mindfulness. We see what's happening right now as it is. We're not elaborating it. We're not judging it.

It's just others thinking. Are there thinking? And when you feel ready, you can open your eyes or lift your gaze and we'll end the meditation session. Thank you for your practice. Big thank you to Sharon. You can find more meditations like this one over on the 10% happier app. Just download the app wherever you get your apps to get started. If you like 10% happier, I hope you do, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com

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