Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - How to Stay Cool No Matter What | Bonus Meditation with Matthew Hepburn

Episode Date: March 8, 2024

Guidance for any time you need to practice staying relaxed and ready for whatever life might throw your way.About Matthew Hepburn:Matthew is a meditation and dharma teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience and a passion for getting real about what it means to live well. He emphasizes humor, technique, and authentic kindness as a means to free the mind up from unnecessary struggle and leave a healthier impact on the world. Beyond Ten Percent Happier, Matthew has taught in prisons, schools, corporate events and continues to teach across North America in buddhist centers offering intensive silent retreats and dharma for urban daily life. To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Becoming Dauntless.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When you visit Audible, there are endless ways to ignite your imagination. With over 750,000 titles, including bestsellers, there's a listen for every type of listener. Discover all the best in audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, featuring authentic Canadian voices and celebrity talent. Check out Audible Canadian Originals, including The Downloaded, a sci-fi adventure featuring Brendan Fraser and Luke Kirby. A first listen is waiting for you when you start your free trial at audible.ca. Hey, Dan here.

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 bestselling 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. This week we're looking at how to prepare your mind to handle

Literally anything that might come up We know nothing is permanent That's a hard fact to take in and to live with if you're really open to it But there are ways to gain some confidence and some equanimity Even in the face of relentless change and our teacher du jour Matthew Hepburn is here to help us with that He's on staff over on the 10% happierier app. He's also taught in prisons, schools, and corporate events. And he's a great guy. I've known him for years. Here we go now with Matthew Hepburn. Hi, this is Matthew. One of my most influential teachers, Narayan Liebensen,

at times describes the confidence she's developed from a lifetime of meditation practice as feeling dauntless. What she means is that if we don't know how we're going to face the challenges life will inevitably throw at us, thinking about our future is going to feel daunting. But when we've learned the meditative approach of taking it one moment at a time, we begin to recognize that we can take on anything life throws at us. Come what may, as she likes to say. Let's dive in. Settle into a posture that feels stable and firmly rooted, whether standing, sitting, or lying down.

rooted, whether standing, sitting, or lying down. You can let the eyes close gently, or keep them slightly open if you choose. For the next few minutes, you can put down the past and the future. Just relax and feel the body relaxing. Here you are. The meditative approach to life is about simply responding to whatever is happening in this very moment. You can start by getting into your own mindfulness groove. Turn your attention to something here in the present moment. Whether that's hearing sounds or feeling the breath, choose one area of experience as your touchstone. Let yourself relax and turn your full attention there for a few moments right now. What's the mind doing now? Whether it's enjoyable, unnerving, or even boring, trust that you can respond by gently allowing a slightly

deeper breath and beginning again. What's happening in the body? Is there unnecessary tension that can be released? Or maybe there's a subtle mental resentment about a nagging area of discomfort. Can you add just a sliver more acceptance and letting go into the mix? Yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad, yw'r llwyddiad yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad. Yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad, yw'r llwyddiad yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad. Yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad, yw'r llwyddiad yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad. Yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad, yw'r llwyddiad yn ymwneud yw'r llwyddiad. Whatever happens in any moment, no matter how big or small. When you take the meditative approach, you can always make it through to the other side. Come what may. Take a moment here, quietly breathing and touching into your own sense of confidence rings.

When you're ready, you can open your eyes if they've been closed. Thanks for your practice. You got this. See you next time. Thank you Matthew. 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.