Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - How To Counteract Your Negativity Bias | Bonus Meditation with Kaira Jewel Lingo

Episode Date: October 27, 2024

Cultivating what’s good in us helps during times of both abundance and adversity. In fact, it’s when times are hard that we need it the most.About Kaira Jewel Lingo:At the age of twenty-five, Kaira Jewel Lingo entered a Buddhist monastery in the Plum Village tradition and spent fifteen years living as a nun under the guidance of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Now based in New York, she sees her work as a continuation of Engaged Buddhism as well as the work of her parents, inspired by their stories and her dad’s work with Martin Luther King Jr. on desegregating the South. The author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving through Change, Loss and Disruption, Kaira Jewel especially feels called to share mindfulness and meditation with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as activists, educators, youth, artists, and families.Recently on the podcast: Six Buddhist Practices To Stay Calm In A Tumultuous World | Kaira Jewel Lingo, Valerie Brown and Marisela GomezTo find this meditation in the Happier app, you can search for “Growing the Good.”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. It's the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey, hey, it's bonus meditation time. You know how sometimes it feels like everything is going wrong simultaneously? It's in those moments when you need a little gratitude, which I just have to say on the subject of gratitude, it has been ground into a fine powder by the cliche machine. It's often served up to us with, you know, images of stacked rocks and latte foam art, but there's a ton of evidence that gratitude can have quite profound psychological and physiological impacts. So let's get into it now with our meditation teacher, du jour, Kyra Jewell Lingo.

A little bit about Kyra Jewell before we jump in. At the age of 25, she entered a Buddhist monastery in the Plum Village tradition. She spent 15 years living as a nun. She's now based in New York, where she teaches and writes. Her most recent book, co-authored with Valerie Brown and Maricela B. Gomez Gomez is called Healing Our Way Home. And you can hear all three of those ladies on a recent podcast episode we did.

Go check the feed or I will drop a link in the show notes to this. Here we go now with Kyra Juelingo. Hi, this is Kyra Jewell. We may believe that in order to be happy, our suffering has to disappear completely. But though you may be struggling in a time of transition or adversity, you can still be in touch with what is wholesome and good in yourself and around you. In fact, this is the moment you need it the most. Nurturing the good is crucial to your well-being and resilience in the face of change and tumult. So let's give it a try. Begin by settling into the body. Feel the breath.

Notice how it connects you with your environment. We'll begin by opening to what's here in the body and mind with whatever acceptance or kindness you can muster. We'll begin by opening to what's here in the body and mind, with whatever acceptance or kindness you can muster. If there is some sorrow, frustration, or pain you're experiencing in your body or mind, allow it space to be here. As you give your feelings time and space, also gently see if you can open to be aware of what is not going wrong. Notice what is happening even in the midst of this difficulty or pain

that is going well sensations in the body? Are even just appreciating the fact that you're showing up here right now. Feel into how both of these things can coexist. The difficulty and the awareness of what is okay. What is good. Now I invite you to appreciate yourself for showing up here today, as well as the many ways that you're open to learning. Something in you is energetic and motivated to grow and deepen. It cares about your own inner life, your own happiness. Feel the goodness of this impulse in you that brought you to meditate today. A kind of faith in yourself and your own inherent goodness.

Feel it in your body and anchor it there. Open to it. Let it grow in you. You can transition out of the practice now by gently moving your body and opening your eyes if they were closed. Nice work. Thank you for your practice. See you next time. Thank you Kyra Jewell. You can find more meditations like this one over on the Happier app. Just download the app wherever you get your apps to get started. If you like 10% Happier, and I hope you do, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry 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 Wondry.com slash survey.