Everyday Buddhism: Making Everyday Better

In this episode I talk with Nate Klemp, PhD. Nate is a bestselling author and formally trained philosopher. He is the author of the new book OPEN: Living With an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World. Nate is also the coauthor of the New York Times Editors’ Choice, The 80/80 Marriage: A New Model for a Happier, Stronger Marriage, and the New York Times Bestseller, Start Here: Master the Lifelong Habit of Wellbeing.

He has been featured in The LA Times, The New York Times, The Times London, and has appeared on Good Morning America and "Talks" at Google.

Nate co-founded the mindfulness training company Life Cross Training and holds a B.A. and M.A. in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD from Princeton University.

I cannot think of a better guest to have on the podcast during these uncertain, catastrophic times. His new book, OPEN: Living With an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World is an important antidote to the ongoing trauma and division of the times. He offers the remedy of opening our minds and hearts despite our instinct to close them.

Stay tuned as we talk about:

• How we're living in a time of closure: closing in through our screens and closing to each other.
• "Annihilating the power of the smart phone."
• The practice of skillful closing when things get too intense.
• How our mindset is contagious and how it reinforces our environment of closure.
• How we talk to each other about politics in either "strategic mode" where we're trying to 'win' or "communication" mode where we're trying to understand.
• Non-drug psychedelic experience and psychedelic-assisted therapy.
• Mindfulness, meditation, and the practice of open-awareness (like Dzogchen) meditation. 

And more!

I'm sure you'll enjoy the conversation with Nate as much as I did. He is wise, funny, and a delightful conversation partner!

In this episode I invited Scott Snibbe to join me for a conversation about Buddhist responses to the anxiety, apprehension, insecurity, fear, dread, anger … and on and on … that some people are feeling now.

Scott Snibbe is a twenty-five-year student of Tibetan Buddhism whose teachers include Lama Zopa Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

He is the author and host of the How to Train a Happy Mind book and podcast. Scott leads meditation classes and retreats worldwide in a style that will become evident in our upcoming conversation. His light-hearted approach is infused with humor, science, and the realities of the modern world.

Scott is a new media artist whose installations have been incorporated into museums, public spaces, and performances. He has collaborated with musicians and filmmakers including Björk, Philip Glass, Beck, and James Cameron, and his work can be found in the collections of New York MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other institutions.

Listen in as we talk about how the Dharma can help us see things as clear and non-reactive as possible. In this conversation, we talk about:

• The key to non-violent communications is listening.
• You don't have to agree with someone to understand them.
  
  
• The antidote to anger is curiosity.
  
  
• No matter what other people believe, each is driven by a desire for happiness.
  
  
• Radical acceptance and how acceptance IS transcendence.
  
  
• And so much more…

In this episode I talk with Natalie Baker. Natalie is a psychotherapist and Buddhist teacher, with more than 30 years of personal practice and 2+ decades of teaching experience. She is the founder of Neurofeedback Training Co. and a practicing psychotherapist in New York City, Natalie blends the wisdom of Buddhist psychology with modern therapeutic techniques, empowering individuals to navigate life's challenges with mindfulness, compassion, and resilience.

Natalie teaches from the strength of her own Buddhist practice, sharing the transformative power of mindfulness and meditation with others.

In addition to her psychotherapy practice, Natalie has been instrumental in bringing neurofeedback—a cutting-edge brain training technology—into the mainstream. Neurofeedback is often described as "meditation for the limbic brain", helping individuals achieve greater mental clarity and emotional stability by training the brain to self-regulate.

Stay tuned as we talk about some of my favorite subjects, including:

• Mindfulness and meditation
  
  
• Buddha Nature as basic goodness or fundamental sanity
  
  
• Finding the brilliance in the energy of fear
  
  
• Fearlessness and gentleness as key tools for self-healing and self-discovery
  
  
• Connecting with our warm heart

And more!

In this episode I talk with Nadia Colburn. Nadia is the author of the poetry books, I Say the Sky and The High Shelf, and her poetry and prose have appeared in more than eighty publications, including The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Spirituality & Health, Lion's Roar, and The Yale Review.

She holds a Ph.D. in English from Columbia University, is a yoga teacher and serious student of Thich Nhat Hanh, and is the founder of Align Your Story Writing School, which brings traditional literary and creative writing studies together with mindfulness, embodied practices, and social and environmental engagement. The school has a community of over 30,000 mindful writers. Nadia lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children.

Stay tuned as we listen to Nadia read some poems from her book and talk about, among many other things:

• The relationship between Buddhist / meditation practice and writing.
• Poetry and literature as a companion or an offering as a mirror to yourself.
• Literature as a place where people can speak truths that are sometimes uncomfortable but not talked about all the time.
• Writing as therapy and healing.
• And much more!

Sit back and enjoy the flow of conversation and poetry with the delightful Nadia Colburn.

In this episode I talk with Scott Snibbe, the creator and host of the popular podcast, A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment and the author of the new book, How To Train a Happy Mind, with foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Scott is a twenty-five-year student of Tibetan Buddhism whose teachers include Lama Zopa Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He leads meditation classes and retreats worldwide in a style that will become evident in our upcoming conversation. His light-hearted approach is infused with humor, science, and the realities of the modern world.

Scott is a new media artist whose installations have been incorporated into museums, public spaces, and performances. He has collaborated with musicians and filmmakers including Björk, Philip Glass, Beck, and James Cameron, and his work can be found in the collections of New York MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other institutions.

Listen as we talk about Scott's new book and how you really can build positive habits founded on ancient Buddhist practices, leading to a happy mind. And if you're a skeptic, no problem, Scott has you covered. Check out our conversation and I'm convinced you'll want more!

In this conversation, we talk about:

• The Lam-Rim, a 1000-year old Tibetan teaching tradition that is as effective today in training a happy mind.
• Analytical meditation—a practice both Scott and I credit for significant transformation in our lives … A practice of pointing the mind at the mind, training our thinking to be a friend and not a distraction.
  
  
• Buddha Nature—What is it?
• And so much more…