Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - How To Be Less Judgmental: An On-The-Go Meditation | Bonus Meditation with Jay Michaelson

Episode Date: August 25, 2024

A busy city is an ideal place to cultivate loving-kindness and powerfully connect to those around you while you’re out & about.About Jay Michaelson:Jay Michaelson is a writer & journalist, rabbi & meditation teacher, keynote speaker, and scholar of religion. Jay is the author of ten books, most recently The Secret That Is Not A Secret: Ten Heretical Tales. His 2022 book, The Heresy of Jacob Frank: From Jewish Messianism to Esoteric Myth, won the National Jewish Book Award for scholarship. He holds a JD from Yale, a PhD in Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, and nondenominational rabbinic ordination.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Loving-Kindness in the City.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to 10% happier early and ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. This is the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Happy Sunday, everybody. It's time for a bonus meditation. Today we're going to get off the cushion and out into the world. This is a practice from my great friend and great meditation teacher, Jay Michelson, where we're going to take a walk out into a busy city or wherever you happen to live, and we're going to practice turning down the dial on judgmentalism.

Little bit more about Jay. He's a meditation teacher, as I mentioned. He's also a writer, a journalist, a rabbi, a keynote speaker, a scholar of religion, and the author of 10 books, most recently, The Secret That Is Not a Secret, 10 Heretical Tales. He holds a JD from Yale, a PhD in Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, and a non-denominational rabbinic ordination. Long way of saying, very impressive, dude, and this is a great practice. Here we go with Jay Michelson.

Hi, this is Jay. I live in a big city, one of the biggest in fact, New York. And while people often ask how it's possible for a meditation teacher to live in the noisy, pushy city, actually I find the city a great place to meditate on the go. There are many city practices I love, and this one, cultivating loving kindness, is one of my favorites. Let's give it a try. practices I love, and this one, Cultivating Loving-Kindness, is one of my favorites. Let's give it a try. The best place to do this meditation is out in the city itself. You could be sitting at your favorite cafe, looking at people coming and going,

or on the bus, or in the park. Anywhere, really. You don't even need to be still. As long as you watch where you're going, we're going to keep our eyes open for this one, you can even be part of the rush yourself. To begin, whether you're sitting or standing, take a moment to just ground in the body. What does that mean? It means just taking a second to center yourself, using your physical body as an anchor. Noticing the weight on your feet or on your butt. Maybe noticing the sensation of a single breath coming and going. Here you are. That's all.

Try that for a bit. Okay, let's get to it. First, notice someone nearby. Doesn't matter who. Just get a quick look at them whether they're still or in motion. Maybe register what they're wearing, what they look like. And now the fun part. We're going to just imagine a story.

Suppose they're checking their phone, for example. I wonder why. Texts from a loved one? Anxious news about a friend in the hospital? Of course, we have no idea. Which is exactly the point. We almost never know what's going on for the people right around us. It's easy to form judgements, make assumptions, and even to get annoyed at total

strangers. At least here we're being honest about the fact that we're making all this stuff up. So, back to that person. Chances are, at some point in their life, they lost someone they once loved. Maybe a parent, maybe a grandparent or friend. someone they once loved. Maybe a parent, maybe a grandparent or friend. Can you open your heart a bit to this total stranger, imagining them in that difficult situation? So open, tender, vulnerable. Next, imagine them in a moment of joy, maybe with a lover or a friend or at a music concert or some happy occasion, like a birthday. And just imagine them happy. And let's extend them a little wish of loving kindness. Nothing major, just a little wish of goodwill, hoping that the moment they're in now has

a little joy or contentment or consolation or peace. And with that, we'll come back to our own experience, our own body and mind, checking in, seeing how we feel. I really love this practice. First, I love people watching and imagining things. But more deeply, I find it cures loneliness and opens my heart. Have a kind and open day. Thank you, Jay. 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.