Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

For episode 282, Elisha Goldstein, PhD, returns to the Metta Hour to speak with Sharon about his new book, Tiny Shifts: How Emotional Health Transforms Stress, Relationships, and Longevity.
Elisha Goldstein is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and the co-founder of The Center for Mindful Living and Psychotherapy in Los Angeles. For over two decades, he has helped people break free from the conditioning that keeps them stuck in cycles of stress and overwhelm, uncovering how emotional health naturally transforms stress, relationships, and longevity. Elisha is the author of several books, including Uncovering Happiness, and The Now Effect, as well as hosting The Emotional Longevity Podcast.
In this conversation, Sharon and Elisha speak about:
Living in a culture of overwhelm
David Foster Wallace’s fish story
Insight alone doesn’t create change
Underlying conditioning of chronic stress
Realizing our natural intelligence
The challenge of practicing wisdom
How tiny shifts create lasting change
Interrupting stress patterns
Emotional regulation and impulse control
The 4R method: Recognize, Release, Refocus, Reinforce
How emotional health supports longevity
Listening to the body’s signals
Reclaiming our attention
This episode closes with a guided meditation led by Elisha.
Learn more about Elisha’s new book Tiny Shifts: How Emotional Health Transforms Stress, Relationships, and Longevity and his other offerings, by visiting his website right here. You can listen to Elisha’s first appearance on the Metta Hour from 2018 right here.
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The Buddha taught a path of awakened living, but how does that manifest in today’s world of constant connectivity and widespread suffering?
How do we keep our hearts open without being defined or hardened by the pain that surrounds us, whether personal, collective, or historical? How do we navigate the paradox of holding both pain and joy, without mistaking suffering for punishment or personal failure? Can we infuse our compassion with wisdom and perspective to find the agency to take meaningful action in our communities? In her new series, Engaged Compassion, Sharon delves into these questions and more, engaging in candid conversations with a diverse group of teachers, activists, and changemakers.
For the inaugural episode, Sharon’s speaks with longtime friend and colleague, Jerry Colonna—a renowned coach, writer, and speaker who specializes in leadership, business, and the practice of radical self-inquiry. Jerry is the Co-founder and CEO of Reboot.io, a company inspired by the belief that work need not destroy us. He is also the author of two books: "Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up" (2019) and "Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong" (2023). For more than two decades, Jerry has championed the idea that work should be non-violent to the self, the community, and the planet. This marks his third appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast.
In this conversation, Sharon and Jerry speak about:
Suffering and the end of suffering
The Four Noble Truths
Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel
Holding many things at once
Where resilience comes from
How generosity can appear in extreme loss
Jerry’s time in India after an earthquake
The dynamics of hope and fear
How we actually “get over loss”
Misunderstanding karma
Control veiled as “magical thinking”
How unworthiness leads to isolation
Compassion is not hierarchical
The Dalai Lama winning a Grammy
Suffering versus Extra Suffering
Facing our helplessness
The fixation with fixing things
Finding fuel for the long haul
Facing our nihilism
Additional Resources
You can learn more about Jerry’s work and his organization Reboot.io right here. This episode is also being release on the Reboot Podcast, which can be found right here. You can listen to Jerry’s first appearance on the Metta Hour in Episode 102, recorded in 2019 and his second appearance, Episode 229, recorded in 2023.
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For episode 280 of the Metta Hour, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Insight Meditation Society, which opened doors on Valentine’s Day in 1976.
Today, IMS is one of the Western world’s oldest and most respected meditation retreat centers, dedicated to providing a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom of mind and heart. The Retreat Center offers a range of silent meditation courses, ranging from a weekend to three months. IMS Online offers retreats, sanghas, dharma talks, courses, and other programming to support your practice from our virtual meditation hall. IMS also has two adjacent retreat facilities – the Retreat Center and the Forest Refuge – that are set among almost 400 secluded wooded acres in the quiet country of central Massachusetts.
In this episode, Sharon presents a special episode from the archives of IMS history featuring her teacher Dipa Ma. Originally recorded in October of 1984, when Dipa Ma was visiting IMS, this dharma talk was given as part of the 1984 three-month retreat. Through an interpreter, Dipa Ma shares the story of how we came to meditation following tremendous loss. She reflects on her early years of practice under the tutelage of Anagarika Munindra and how she gradually began teaching meditation. She also takes questions from the audience about her practice from the attending three-month retreatants.
Resources
A full transcript of this episode is available right here.
To learn more about the Insight Mediation Society, click here.
To learn more about Dipa Ma, click here.
To learn more about the Dharma Seed archive, click here.
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For episode 279, Jack Kornfield returns to the Metta Hour to talk about his new book, “All in This Together: Stories and Teachings for Loving Each Other and Our World.”
Jack trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India and has taught worldwide since 1974. He is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West. He is the cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology and has written more than fifteen books, including The Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and more.
In this conversation, Sharon and Jack speak about:
The impetus for Jack’s new book
The universe is made of stories
Beginner’s Mind as the goal of practice
Ajahn Chah’s squirrel story
How repetition factors into storytelling
Trusting the gifts of interconnectedness
Ram Dass as the great public neurotic
The glance of mercy
The Bodhisattva Vow
Envisioning generosity to change the world
Working with our expectations
Despair is not the end of the story
Mindful Service as a source of happiness
The Insight Meditation Society's 50th anniversary
The founding of IMS told by Jack
How the Dharma evolves across cultures
This episode closes with a guided meditation from Jack. Learn more about Jack’s many offerings right here and get yourself a copy of his new book All in This Together.
Join the IMS 50th anniversary online celebration on February 14th, 2026! Learn more and register right here.
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For episode 278, Sharon sits down with author and friend, Parvati Markus, the editor of the new Ram Dass book, “There is No Other: The Way to Harmony and Wholeness.”
Parvati is a developmental editor who has been midwifing non-fiction books and memoirs since her first efforts with Ram Dass’s classic Be Here Now. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Love Serve Remember Foundation and has helped with many other spiritual organizations and events. Parvati is also the author of numerous books, including Whisper in the Heart and Love Everyone. This is Parvati’s first appearance on the Metta Hour.
In this conversation, Parvati and Sharon speak about:
How Parvati found her path
Meeting Neem Karoli Baba
Ram Dass and Parvati’s friendship
Parvati’s contribution to “Be Here Now”
The inspiration for “There is No Other”
Moving past “us” and “them”
Balancing real life & spiritual life
Substituting noticing for judging
Neem Karoli Baba’s directive of service
Ram Dass learning to accept help
Moving from Role to Soul
How to be here now in times of difficulty
Community as the future Buddha
Joseph Goldstein’s fateful meeting with Ram Dass
What is Loving Awareness
Ram Dass’s final public appearance
This episode closes with a guided meditation from Ram Dass that invites us to let go of the heaviness of confusion and our rigid models of who we are and how it is.
Learn more about Parvati’s many book projects right here and get yourself a copy of Ram Dass’s new book “There is No Other” right here in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats.
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