Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris Wondery

This episode comes out for free on April 3, and is available early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers.

Today we have a truly incredible episode about how to meditate in hell. You’re going to meet a man named Jarvis Jay Masters, who I interviewed from his cell on death row at San Quentin prison in California. Any of us who meditate do our best to apply it to life’s ups and downs — but this person has been applying it in some truly extreme circumstances.

Jarvis has now spent more than three decades on death row, including more than two decades in solitary confinement. Shortly after Jarvis’s death sentence, he became interested in Buddhism, and started developing a rigorous practice under the tutelage of a Tibetan lama, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Jarvis has now written and published two books about his life, Finding Freedom and That Bird Has My Wings. Both feature forewords by the renowned meditation teacher Pema Chödrön, who has been on this show, and his second book was endorsed by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and also by Oprah Winfrey, who selected the book for her famous book club last year.

Jarvis’s current appeal sits before a federal judge as we speak. A decision on his future could be reached any day.

Heads up there are frank discussions of suicide and domestic violence in this conversation.

In this episode we talk about:
- His childhood
- His road to prison
- How he unlearned traditional (and harmful) aspects of masculinity
- How he began to write, and the impact that had on him and his standing in the prison
- How he meditates in a noisy prison
- The details of his meditation practice
- His off-the-cushion practice of ‘engaged Buddhism’ with his fellow inmates
- How he prepares for the possibility of release–and for the possibility of execution
- How he defines freedom

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/jarvis-jay-masters-579

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This episode comes out for free on March 31, and is available early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers.

Accepting the unpleasant: easier said than done. Joseph demonstrates how to overcome reactivity and build the skill of acceptance.

About Joseph Goldstein:

Joseph is one of the most respected meditation teachers in the world – a key architect of the rise of mindfulness in our modern society – with a sense of humor to boot. In the 1970s, he co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Since its founding, thousands of people from around the world have come to IMS to learn mindfulness from leaders in the field. Joseph has been a teacher there since its founding and continues as the resident guiding teacher.

To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Accepting the Unpleasant,” or click here: "https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=296ad59c-5122-4d9f-b6fd-de245aa50ac0"

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This episode comes out for free on March 29th, and is available early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers.
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People have mixed feelings about the popularization of mindfulness and meditation over the last 10 or 15 years with some referring to it as “McMindfulness.”

The critiques can be worthy and the mainstreaming of meditation and mindfulness also have helped millions of people upgrade their lives. One of the many areas where mindfulness and meditation have made inroads of late is the workplace.

All sorts of employers are offering their teams access to meditation via apps or in-person training. But does this stuff actually work? Does it really make you happier at work or better at your job? And what techniques produce which benefits?

Professor Lindsey Cameron is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Management. Her research focuses on mindfulness as well as the future of work. She has a 20 year practice, having studied and taught primarily in the Vipassana and non-dual traditions. In her prior career, Professor Cameron spent over a decade in the US intelligence and in diplomatic communities serving the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

In this episode we talk about:
- What companies mean when they talk about mindfulness at work
- What the mindfulness at work research says and how Prof. Cameron parses the results
- The ways mindfulness helps us counteract our inherent biases and stereotypes
- Which specific practices are most beneficial, depending on the situation
- Prof. Cameron’s tips for integrating small mindfulness moments into our everyday routines
- Where she stands on the whole “McMindfulness” debate
- Prof. Cameron’s research into the gig economy — and how, paradoxically, an Uber worker can feel a sense of autonomy and freedom even though the work is ultimately being dictated by an algorithm


Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/lindsey-cameron-577

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Practical strategies from an expert on work conflict. And this provocative question: what if you’re part of the problem?

You can refresh your energy in just a few moments. If you do it mindfully, you'll boost your presence and attention for the rest of the day.

What is “imposter syndrome”? Why are so many people talking about it? And what can you do about it? Dan and Bianca (a sufferer herself) talk to a leading expert.