For episode 264, Soren Gordhamer returns to the Metta Hour for our ongoing Anxiety Series.

In this series, Sharon is speaking with Mental Health experts, providers and different researchers for tools to work with anxiety in increasingly challenging times. This is the fifth episode in the series.

Soren Gordhamer is the founder and host of Wisdom 2.0, the premier conference exploring living with greater mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion in the modern age. He is also a Co-Founder and General Partner of Wisdom Ventures, along with Jack Kornfield and Yung Pueblo, which invests in companies creating a more just and compassionate world. Soren is also the founder of the Lineage Project in NYC, and also spent a year on the Global Walk for a Livable World, a three-and-a-half world walk. He and Jon Kabat-Zinn also co-hosted the Mitigation Retreat, which was a free 3-month course held every weekday offering meditations and teachings during Covid.

Soren is the author of numerous books. His latest, The Essential: Discovering What Really Matters in an Age of Distraction, was released in May of 2025.

In this episode, Sharon and Soren speak about:

• The context for cultural anxiety
• The development of social media
• Becoming aware of our stories
• Do we need a new narrative?
• Redefining our worth
• Revamping our North Star
• Harnessing all our energies
• Dismantling our armor
• How shame drives mental health
• The point of vulnerability
• Dalai Lama meeting formerly incarcerated
• Living from a place of lack
• Ram Dass’ somebody-ness
• Soren walking the world
• The role information plays in anxiety

Soren closes the conversation with a guided meditation. To get a copy of Soren’s new book, The Essential, visit his website right here.

Listen to Soren’s first appearance on the Metta House from 2020 right here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 263 of the Metta Hour, we are continuing our Anxiety Series with a re-release of a conversation with Dr. Richie J. Davidson, PhD, that originally aired in 2023.

In this series, Sharon is speaking with Mental Health experts, providers, and different researchers for tools to work with anxiety in increasingly challenging times. This is the fourth episode in the series. Richie Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds. He is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. A friend and confidante of the Dalai Lama, he is a highly sought-after expert and speaker, leading conversations on well-being on international stages such as the World Economic Forum, where he serves on the Global Council on Mental Health.

Join Richie’s upcoming course The Science of Flourishing: Well-Being Skills for Daily Life. Save 20% off the course using the coupon code METTA20.

In this episode, Sharon and Richie discuss:

• How Richie came to this path

• Meeting Daniel Goleman and Ram Dass

• How Danny Goleman brought Sharon to her first retreat

• The term “Mental Health”

• Innate Goodness

• Believing in Growth Mindset

• A vision of possibility for ourselves

• The role of systemic oppression in mental well-being

• Intergenerational Resilience

• Richie’s four pillars of well-being

• Personal mental hygiene

• “The road to Lhasa goes up and down” - Mingyur Rinpoche

• The value of community and teachers in mental health

• Richie driving Mingyur Rinpoche

• Contemplative Neuroscience

• The Science of Flourishing Course

• Richie’s new book project

• The conversation closes with a guided meditation led by Richie.

To learn more about Riche’s work or his different books, you can visit his website and check out the Center for Healthy Minds.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For episode 262, Sharon speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman as part of the Metta Hour Anxiety Series.

In this series, Sharon is speaking with Mental Health experts, providers and researchers for tools to work with anxiety in increasingly challenging times.

Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He is founder of the Center for Human Potential and founder of Self-Actualization Coaching. Scott is the author of eleven books, including Rise Above, his forthcoming book set for release in 2025. Scott is also host of The Psychology Podcast— which has received over 30 million downloads.

In this conversation, Sharon and Scott speak about:

• Having growth motivation

• Shifting the narrative of anxiety

• Scott’s childhood experiences

• Curiosity versus grit

• How to shift out of fear

• Creating space around anxiety

• Welcoming our beautiful monsters

• Broadening the Window of Tolerance

• Experiencing a sense of bothness

• Scott’s new book, Rise Above

• Victim versus empowerment mindset

• Learned Hopefulness

• Finding the light within

• Pros and cons of sensitivity

• The blessings of gratitude and awe

The episode closes with Scott leading a Tonglen practice.

You can learn more about Scott’s work right here and check out his new book, Rise Above, right here.

Check out the first two episodes in the Anxiety Podcast Series with Dr. Jud Brewer right here and Dr. Jenny Taitz right here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.