Noble Mind

We are hard-wired for survival, not necessarily happiness. So, what can we do to strengthen our capacity for happiness? And how can we apply the principles of self-compassion as we work through challenging times? In this episode of Noble Mind, Victoria Brattini shares about her work teaching mindfulness and self-compassion. She shares how she has learned to live these principles during challenging...

In this episode of Noble Mind, hosts Alex and Kate explain where our internalized messages of self-criticism come from, exploring how it can show up up as a running negative commentary in our heads or a general feeling of demoralization. They discuss why it's useful to identify our patterns of self-criticism, describing how the inner critic can either push us to be perfect and hyper-productive or...

In this episode, Dr. Daniel Ellenberg explains how the gender roles we internalize from an early age can cause difficulty in our personal lives and even impact the world at large. He describes the "man box" and how it often ignores the complexity of individual men and diverse masculinities. He also describes his work helping men and couples develop comfort with vulnerability to cultivate more inti...

In this episode of Noble Mind, Anthony Zanesco discusses research on the effects on meditation and the experiences of mind wandering and spontaneous thought. He explains different aspects of mindfulness and shares insights about why most people find meditation to be a difficult task. Listen in to learn more about mysterious microstates that our brains cycle through all day long. Dr. Anthony Zanesc...

In this episode, Michael Pringle discusses the healing power of self-compassion, describing how it helped him learn to better navigate moments of duress in his personal life. He explains how he was introduced to mindfulness through martial arts and explains how practices like kung fu have helped him develop a range of positive character traits. Michael also shares about his experiences teaching se...

In this episode, Belinda Siew Luan Khong shares her thoughts about the connections between secular mindfulness and its Buddhist roots. She describes the training that teachers and therapists need to skillfully introduce the Dharma to a Western audience, offering anecdotes from her own clinical work in teaching meditation and mindfulness to diverse individuals and groups. Listen in to learn about D...

How do you respond to difficult feedback? Our first instinct is to defend ourselves or our organization, but that only amplifies the frustration of the person who feels wronged. So, how do we change the way we field criticism and complaints? What does it look like to offer a meaningful apology? And how do we work through the process of forgiving ourselves and others? In this episode of Noble Mind,...

Would you like the opportunity to begin again in 2022? Since ​Noble Mind began two years and 50 episodes ago, we have all faced significant challenges. Challenges that may have gotten in the way of achieving our goals. So, what does it look like to slow down, step back and begin again? And how might the skills we practice in meditation help us start fresh in the new year? On this milestone episode...

Buddhist yogi Drukpa Kunley is the embodiment of crazy wisdom. And while the stories of his behavior seem crazy to us, Drukpa Kunley's outrageousness comes from a place of insight. From his point of view, we're the crazy ones—trapped in our thoughts about reality and unable to see things as they actually are. In this episode, Lama Liz Monson joins Kate and Alex to discuss the Tibetan roots of craz...

When pain persists, over time it changes our brain. As pain-related neural connections grow stronger and stronger, ultimately our experience of pain worsens. But what if we could leverage mindfulness-based interventions to rewire our brains and reduce the impact of pain over time? On this episode of Noble Mind, Dr. Melissa Day joins Kate and Alex to discuss the neurological roots of pain and expla...

In this episode, Willa Blythe Baker joins Kate and Alex to discuss the experiential divide between mind and body that serves as a source of suffering. She describes the difference between the conceptual and feeling body and explains four ways that the body can be a source of wisdom. Listen in for Willa's insight on bringing together body, mind, and breath and stay tuned until the end to hear Willa...

In this episode, Dr. Steven Hickman shares about his new book, Self-Compassion for Dummies , and describes his love of teaching self-compassion to skeptics and beginners. He explains what mindful self-compassion is, and how it can work as an antidote to our fight, flight, and freeze responses. He also describes the more fierce side of self-compassion, exploring what makes self-compassion a courage...

The inner critic seems like an enemy, viciously attacking our character and fostering self-doubt. But what if that critical voice is really just worried about us? What if we could relate to our inner critic differently by recognizing its fears? In this episode, Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin discuss how the processes of Inner Relationship Focusing and Untangling facilitate healing and pers...

We tend to think of self-compassion as an act of gentleness, and the tender side of self-compassion is all about soothing, reassuring and accepting ourselves. But sometimes getting angry, saying no and taking action is the most compassionate thing you can do for yourself, and that's where fierce self-compassion comes in. In this episode of Noble Mind, Dr. Neff joins Kate and Alex to discuss her ne...

In this episode, Noble Mind co-host Katherine King, PsyD describes the Four Reminders, a traditional Buddhist teaching that can inspire us to engage more fully in mindfulness, meditation, and other meaningful practices. Sharing from her own experiences, she describes how appreciation of the preciousness of life, awareness of our own freedoms and privileges, as well as the realities of death, imper...

The Franciscan tradition of Catholicism teaches about the interconnectedness of all being. It's about seeing the divine in ourselves and all of creation. So, what do meditation and mindful self-compassion look like from a Franciscan point of view? Hans Baars is a former Dutch Franciscan Priest who served in Pakistan from 1959 to 1986, before leaving the priesthood and returning to the Netherlands....

Systems of oppression establish a hierarchy, giving one group power and privilege over others. And people who identify as BAME or BIPOC carry feelings like shame, grief, and anger as a result. So, how can marginalized communities use mindful self-compassion as a tool to fight oppression from the inside and respond to challenging situations, thoughts, and emotions in a new way? In this episode, Syd...

In this episode of Noble Mind, Kathryn joins Kate and Alex to discuss what it looks like to apply the principles of self-compassion in daily life, describing how the resistance to rest shows up and what we can do to overcome it. She explains how our bodies are easily forgotten when our minds are filled with chatter and shares the consequences she suffered from neglecting her own self-care. Listen...

In this episode, Richard Goerling joins Kate and Alex to share his experience teaching the skills of mindfulness and compassion to police, military personnel, and other first responders. He discusses healthy and harmful aspects of police culture and the impact of  occupational trauma on men and women in law enforcement. Listen in for Richard's insights on resilience, the ideal of warrior humanitar...

In this episode of Noble Mind, Dr. Fisher joins Kate and Alex to discuss her new book, describing the physiology of trauma and what makes it a 'living legacy.' She explains why mindfulness-based treatments are helpful to trauma survivors, offering insight on what it means to be triggered and how we remember traumatic events with our feelings and bodies—not just our minds. Listen in for Dr. Fisher'...

In this episode, Dr. Marcela Matos joins Kate and Alex to define shame, describing how the emotion serves an adaptive social function but can also cause us problems when it is too pervasive and shapes our identity. She explores why common shame experiences become traumatic for some people and goes on to explain how compassion, love and acceptance function as powerful antidotes to shame. Listen in...

In this episode of Noble Mind, Chenxing Han shares about the diverse backgrounds and experiences of Asian American Buddhists that she encountered while conducting interviews for her new book, Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists . She discusses how these voices get erased from the mainstream story of western Buddhism and the history and important stories that get lost as a...

In this episode, Dr. Charlesly Joseph joins Kate and Alex to discuss his spiritual journey from growing up Episcopalian to embracing the dharma and finding his way to back to church and sangha in a time of personal difficulty. He explores the parallels between Buddhism and Christianity and reflects on the power of engaged Buddhism to address racial injustice. He also shares how being a physician i...

Understanding self-compassion in theory is one thing, but practicing self-compassion in your daily life is another. If you commit to regular practice, you can learn to recognize your pain and respond with care and kindness. Better yet, self-compassion gives you the courage to navigate challenging experiences. So, how do we develop self-compassion and make it part of our everyday lives? In this epi...

​In this episode of Noble Mind, Deirdre Fay, MSW joins Kate and Alex to discuss the practical skills that help people healing from trauma and attachment pain. She discusses how our longing for connection provides important guidance about unmet attachment needs. She explains how the skills of mindfulness and concentration can help trauma survivors, challenging us to see our triggers as messages fro...