Dharma Lab

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We are so honored to welcome Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche to another episode of Dharma Lab.
In today’s conversation with Cort and Richie, Rinpoche shares practical ways to stay present in a busy life: a powerful metaphor (“time is like a rubber band”), an “inner sky” teaching for working with anxiety and emotional storms, and a simple micro-practice you can try in under a minute.
They also explore why meditation can increase energy and effectiveness, how altruistic intention can transform stress into purpose, and what early research suggests about “flourishing” rippling outward into our families, workplaces, and communities.
Podcast Chapter List:
00:00 – Mingyur Rinpoche’s “32 projects” and the secret to steady energy00:27 – Why busyness pulls the mind into past/future (and out of the present)00:55 – How stress shows up in the body 01:14 – “Time is like a rubber band”: making practice fit real life03:13 – Retreat, discipline, and why highly productive people still practice deeply05:23 – The “inner sky”: storms of emotion don’t change awareness06:25 – The airplane rule: “Put your mask on first” (service without burnout)08:24 – Altruistic motivation: practicing for the benefit of others08:53 – Richie’s 2-minute post-meditation calendar practice (be more helpful today)09:56 – “Plugging into a power source”: curiosity, insight, and wisdom as fuel10:06 – The trap of endless wants/needs—and why it’s draining10:26 – Service as nourishment: turning a busy day into a meaningful day21:11 – Doomscrolling vs. creating space for wisdom and compassion24:50 – The science question: does flourishing ripple into systems and communities?25:25 – Mexico healthcare study with Atentamente (practice in the real world)26:35 – Randomized controlled trial results: wellbeing, care outcomes, productivity28:30 – 1-minute micro-practice with Mingyur Rinpoche: connect with the wish to be happy, and expanding that intention outward: love, compassion, and shared flourishing

In case you missed it, previous conversation with Rinpoche:
Cort and Richie’s new book is coming out in a few weeks! Pre-order Born to Flourish and get:
* 1 full year of paid access to Dharma Lab ($100 value) with weekly essays, research updates, podcasts, and member-only online events
* Live access to an exclusive Born to Flourish Launch Event
* Richie and Cort’s personal reading list on the art of flourishing
* A daily protocol for training the mind to flourish
Other posts referenced in this episode:


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

Jon Kabat-Zinn joins Richie and Cort for a wide-ranging conversation on mindfulness, science, and what it means to fully inhabit your life.
From the launch of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in a hospital basement in 1979 to more than 1,000 scientific papers a year on mindfulness today, this episode traces how a simple practice entered mainstream medicine and reshaped the way we understand stress, healing, and human potential.
Along the way, the conversation moves from chronic pain and anxiety to awareness as a trainable capacity, the role of community, and why paying attention may be one of the most important skills of our time.
As Jon reflects, if you are missing this moment, what makes you think you will not miss the next?
This episode explores how mindfulness can extend beyond stress reduction toward living more deliberately, with clarity, compassion, and connection.
Podcast Chapter List:
00:00 – The Gateway: Stress, Burnout & Why We Come to Practice01:08 – Introducing Jon Kabat-Zinn & the Origins of MBSR05:12 – What Is Mindfulness? Dharma, Awareness & Human Potential09:07 – Why MBSR Started in a Hospital Basement18:39 – “They Gave You the Patients No One Could Help”19:58 – How Science and Contemplative Practice Came Together21:42 – The 2003 Randomized Controlled Trial That Changed the Field25:18 – Meeting People Where They Are: Anxiety as a Doorway26:28 – “Are You Your Diagnosis?” Identity & the Shift from Doing to Being30:11 – Why More People Meditate — But Many Still Struggle33:50 – Medicine for Humanity: Mindfulness in a Time of Crisis40:52 – Awareness as a Human Superpower45:00 – Flourishing Is Contagious (And Trainable)46:46 – Awe, Connection & Learning to Pay Attention47:59 – Not Missing Your Life: Thoreau, Walden, & Living Deliberately49:15 – A Rhapsody for Mindfulness
Cort and Richie’s new book is coming out in a few weeks! Pre-order Born to Flourish and get:
* 1 full year of paid access to Dharma Lab ($100 value) with weekly essays, research updates, podcasts, and member-only online events
* Live access to an exclusive Born to Flourish Launch Event
* Richie and Cort’s personal reading list on the art of flourishing
* A daily protocol for training the mind to flourish


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

Flourishing is multi-dimensional. In today’s episode of Dharma Lab, we apply the four dimensions of flourishing (awareness, connection, insight, and purpose), to something we all experience: anxiety.
When these skills are at our fingertips, we can deploy different ones in different contexts, or bring several to bear at once. Together, they form a rich set of practices to enhance well-being in everyday life.
Our discussion explores anxiety as an evolutionary feature of the human brain rather than a personal defect; how it is rooted in the brain’s tendency to predict potential threats; and how it may reflect something fundamentally wholesome: a drive to protect and care.
Podcast Chapter List:
00:00 – Short-Circuiting Resistance: A New Way to Relate to Anxiety01:03 – Why Anxiety Is Normal (And Even Necessary)04:29 – The Brain as a Prediction Machine06:16 – Anxiety as an Evolutionary Safety System10:05 – The Four Dimensions of Flourishing12:12 – Skill #1: Awareness and Mindfulness in Moments of Anxiety16:26 – Acceptance and the Reduction of Resistance19:05 – Meta-Awareness and What Happens in the Brain20:31 – Making Friends With Anxiety22:18 – Skill #2: Connection and Appreciation24:12 – Common Humanity and the “Just Like Me” Practice26:06 – Kindness as a Regulator of Emotion29:16 – Skill #3: Insight Into Beliefs and Expectations33:32 – Recognizing Anxious Thought Patterns in Real Time36:58 – Skill #4: Purpose as a Buffer Against Stress37:30 – Research on Teachers, Purpose, and Recovery41:17 – Turning Struggle Into Fuel for Service43:15 – Purpose and Physiological Recovery45:04 – Why These Four Skills Work Together47:17 – Applying the Four Dimensions to Everyday Anxiety
Our new book is coming out next month! Pre-order Born to Flourish and get:
* Live access to an exclusive Born to Flourish Launch Event
* Richie and Cort’s personal reading list on the art of flourishing
* A daily protocol for training the mind to flourish
* 1-year paid membership to Dharma Lab with weekly essays, research updates, podcasts, and member-only online events
From the archives:


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Dharma Lab, Cort and Richie explore one of the core ideas behind Born to Flourish: that our inner state doesn’t stay inside. It ripples outward…shaping classrooms, workplaces, families, and even measurable outcomes like student achievement.
Through personal stories and groundbreaking research from public schools, they unpack how awareness, connection, insight, and purpose don’t just transform individuals, they transform systems.
Podcast chapter list:
00:00 – Intro: Can Flourishing Be Contagious? (Neuroscience + Real-World Impact)01:23 – The Dalai Lama at NIH: Compassion in Action06:49 – Why This Moment Changed Science Leaders Forever09:52 – Is Compassion Trainable? The Science of Human Plasticity15:30 – A Workplace Story: How Kindness Transformed a Toxic Boss19:45 – The Neuroscience of Contagion: How Emotions Spread23:50 – 850 Teachers, Randomized Trial using the Healthy Minds App26:42 – The “Holy Grail” Finding: Improved Student Test Scores28:01 – Interdependence Explained: Why We’re Not Separate30:31 – How One Teacher’s Mindset Changes an Entire Classroom31:56 – “Buy One, Get Two Free”: The Ripple Effect of Wellbeing32:17 – Practical Habit #1: Intentionally “Infect” Others with Kindness34:30 – Practical Habit #2: Curate Your Mental Inputs35:53 – Why It’s Easier Than You Think (And Why the World Needs It)
Our new book is coming out next month! Pre-order Born to Flourish and get:
* Live access to an exclusive Born to Flourish Launch Event
* Richie and Cort’s personal reading list on the art of flourishing
* A daily protocol for training the mind to flourish
* 1-year paid membership to Dharma Lab with weekly essays, research updates, podcasts, and member-only online events
From the archives:



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dharmalabco.substack.com/subscribe