How to Train a Happy Mind

Episódios

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  Guided Meditation: Transforming Bias with Equanimity #23 [rebroadcast] 04.08.2026 21min

  The Buddhist meditation on equanimity teaches a technique to eliminate bias and expand our love and concern from family and friends to strangers and even enemies. It tames our fierce attachment to loved ones and our anger toward enemies for a stabler, happier mind and a more just and equitable world. Episode 23: Guided Meditation: Transforming Bias with Equanimity Join our third annual How to Train a Happy Mind three-day in-person retreat in California's redwoods August 13–16. LEARN MORE If ...
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  Spiritual Democracy #22 [rebroadcast] 28.07.2026 31min

  In everyday life, we’re torn between fierce attachment to our loved ones and anger at those that give us trouble. But Buddhism, democracy, and social justice tell us that all people deserve the same rights and freedoms: we’re all equal, and we all deserve happiness. The Buddhist meditation on equanimity, applied to our everyday relationships and the painful daily news, teaches us a technique of “spiritual democracy” for developing healthy feelings of connection to others—even those we m...
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  Meditation to Cultivate Hope for the Future | Geshe Legtsok #226 21.07.2026 29min

  When uncertainty and bad news pull the mind toward pessimism, how can we cultivate genuine hope without ignoring reality? In this guided meditation, Geshe Legtsok leads a reflection on gratitude, good fortune, impermanence, and intentional action. By recognizing the blessings in our own lives, appreciating the positive contributions of others, and remembering that change is always possible, we develop a more balanced and hopeful outlook. Episode 226: Meditation to Cultivate Hope for the Futu...
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  Is This Actually the Best Time to Be Alive? — Geshe Legtsok #225 14.07.2026 41min

  What if we've been looking at the modern world all wrong? Despite the headlines, extreme poverty has plummeted, knowledge is more accessible than ever, and ancient meditation practices are spreading across the globe. In this conversation, Geshe Tenzin Legtsok suggests that humanity may not be living in the worst of times, but on the edge of an unprecedented opportunity for wisdom, compassion, and human flourishing. Episode 225: Is This Actually the Best Time to Be Alive? — Geshe Legtsok Join ...
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  The Determination to Be Free - Guided Meditation on Renunciation #18 [rebroadcast] 07.07.2026 25min

  Dostoevsky is often credited with saying, “The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.” The practice of renunciation begins by recognizing the ways we're already trapped—by anger, craving, impatience, and the endless search for satisfaction outside ourselves. This meditation helps us see these patterns clearly and turn toward a deeper source of freedom, discovering a refuge within our own mind that no external circumstance can provide. E...
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  The Red Pill of Renunciation: Embracing Reality as It Is #17 [rebroadcast] 30.06.2026 29min

  What do The Matrix and Jerry Seinfeld have in common with Buddhist wisdom? In this episode, Scott explores the practice of renunciation—not giving up life's pleasures, but letting go of the mistaken belief that lasting happiness comes from external circumstances. Through insights from The Matrix, comedy, and Buddhist psychology, discover how true freedom begins when we stop blaming the world for our suffering and start transforming our own minds. Episode 17: The Red Pill of Renunciation...
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  Remembering Robert Thurman: Psychonaut, Scholar, and Friend #224 23.06.2026 1h 9min

  Following the passing of Robert Thurman, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite conversations with the beloved scholar, teacher, and pioneer who helped bring Tibetan Buddhist wisdom to the modern world. A former monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Columbia University professor, bestselling author, and co-founder of Tibet House US, Thurman devoted his life to sharing profound insights on compassion, interconnectedness, and human flourishing. His books, teachings, and joyful spirit ...
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  Our Best Possible Future—Kim Stanley Robinson #223 16.06.2026 59min

  So many of us get lost in terror about humanity’s future, but how often do we ask, “What’s our best possible future?” Bestselling author and climate activist Kim Stanley Robinson joined Scott on Earth Day this year for an urgent and hopeful conversation at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism. This is the third time we've been fortunate enough to have Stan on the podcast, and this time we traced a through line across humanity’s past, present, and future through three of Scott's favorite books ...
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  Letting Go of Suffering - a Guided Meditation #16 [rebroadcast] 09.06.2026 29min

  This is a clear-eyed meditation on suffering: both what suffering is, and the mental source of suffering in our delusions of attachment, anger, and self-centered ignorance. We practice the antidotes to these delusions, giving us tools for a more balanced, less self-centered view of our experience that offers sustained stability and happiness through life’s challenges and desires. 16. Guided Meditation: Letting Go of Suffering Join our third annual How to Train a Happy Mind three-day in...
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  Am I More Important Than Everyone Else in the Universe #15 [rebroadcast] 02.06.2026 39min

  Do we each secretly believe we matter just a little more than everyone else? That my happiness, my ambitions, my relationships carry greater weight? From a Buddhist perspective, this deeply ingrained belief is the root of our suffering: a delusion known as ignorance, considered the true source of everything from heartbreak and disappointment to the quiet dissatisfaction that lingers even when we get exactly what we want. This is a modern retelling of the Buddha’s first teaching, T...
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  You Are Enough Meditation with Lodro Rinzler #222 26.05.2026 17min

  In this guided meditation, Lodro Rinzler leads you through a gentle practice of mindfulness, emotional awareness, and reconnecting with your basic goodness. Beginning with simple breath awareness, this meditation helps you return to the present moment with kindness and without judgment. In the second half of the practice, you’ll explore your emotional landscape using a powerful “yes, and” approach: acknowledging difficult feelings while also noticing the goodness that exists alongside them. T...
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  You Are Good, You Are Enough with Lodro Rinzler #221 19.05.2026 46min

  What if that voice telling you you’re broken or fundamentally flawed is wrong? That’s the radical message of today’s guest, Buddhist teacher and best-selling author Lodro Rinzler. His new book is called Your Good, You Are Enough. Lodro teaches a powerful idea from Tibetan Buddhism called basic goodness, that beneath all our self-doubt, anger, and anxiety, there’s something awake and whole already present in us. It sounds like a self-help slogan, but in fact, it’s something we can directly exp...
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  Guided Meditation: Alone Together #13 [rebroadcast] 12.05.2026 34min

  The essence of meditation is getting to know yourself alone, without social stimulus, entertainment, or reputation—what we truly are deep inside ourselves. There, we can find in our mind a place of satisfaction that’s equally at ease when we’re alone or when we’re with others. Episode 13: Guided Meditation — Alone Together Join our third annual How to Train a Happy Mind three-day in-person retreat in California's redwoods August 13–16. LEARN MORE If you’d like to practice with others and bri...
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  What Do You Do When You're Alone? #14 [rebroadcast] 05.05.2026 28min

  What do you do when you’re alone? When you’re scared, anxious, lonely, or afraid, when you feel strong craving? What do you turn to? In this episode, we look at where our mind runs when we feel pain, when we don’t feel balanced or whole. We’ll examine the Buddhist view on this subject that reveals a deep source of strength and support within our own minds accessible to each of us any time we need it. Episode 14: What do You do When You're Alone? [re-record] Join our third annual ...
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  Preciousness of Human Life Form: A Guided Meditation with Robert Thurman #220 28.04.2026 12min

  This guided meditation by Tibetan teacher Dr. Robert Thurman invites you to explore one of the most profound ideas in contemplative practice: the rarity and potential of being human. Through breath, visualization, and focused awareness, you’ll gently shift your attention inward to the center of your being, connecting with a deeper level of consciousness often overlooked in daily life. From this still point, the meditation expands your perspective, helping you reflect on the nature of awarene...
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  Can AI Teach Happiness? Meet Dharma Bob: Robert Thurman’s AI Avatar #219 21.04.2026 1h 2min

  Can an AI really teach us how to have a happy life? Robert Thurman, one of the most respected Buddhist scholars, thinks it's possible—and he's testing out the idea with an AI avatar of himself called Dharma Bob that was just released. Scott got a chance to sit down with both of them last week to have a chat about enlightenment, the benefits of AI, compassion, and Buddhism. Episode 219: Can AI Teach Happiness? Meet Dharma Bob: Robert Thurman’s AI Avatar Join our third annual How to Train...
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  Guided Meditation—Mental Cause and Effect #12 [rebroadcast] 14.04.2026 24min

  This is a guided meditation for self-reflection, so you can take control of the mental cause and effect that's normally unconscious: the habits and activities conditioned by evolution, our upbringing, society, and the media. You can do this at the end of each day: reviewing your day, rejoicing in the positive, and finding ways to sincerely forgive yourself for anything that you regret. This way, you can sleep better and be your best self the next day. Episode 12: Guided Meditation—Ment...
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  Mental Cause and Effect #11 [rebroadcast] 07.04.2026 33min

  Evolution, habits, and society all affect our behavior. How do we gain conscious control of our behavior, much less our thoughts? One method is a daily practice of self-appreciation and self-forgiveness that lets us release regret and pain to face each day with renewed presence and joy. Episode 11: Mental Cause and Effect Join our third annual How to Train a Happy Mind three-day in-person retreat in California's redwoods August 13–16. LEARN MORE If you’d like to practice with others an...
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  Equanimity Meditation for Balance and Rest with Margaret Cullen #218 31.03.2026 16min

  In this guided meditation, mindfulness teacher Margaret Cullen leads us into the practice of equanimity: the steady, balanced heart that can remain open in the midst of life’s constant change. Through gentle breath awareness and reflective phrases, this practice explores how we can care deeply for others while also recognizing the limits of our control over their happiness and suffering. Episode 218: Equanimity Meditation for Balance and Rest Join our third annual How to Train a Happy M...
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  Feel More, React Less with Margaret Cullen #217 24.03.2026 37min

  Meditation teacher and licensed psychotherapist Margaret Cullen recently published her book, Quiet Strength: Find Peace, Feel Alive, and Love Boundlessly Through the Power of Equanimity. In this book she reveals scientific breakthroughs and spiritual intersections that demonstrate how the power of equanimity allows us to live more fully, with balance and wisdom. In her interview with Scott, they discuss how equanimity can help in personal relationships, taking refuge, healthy activism, strugg...