Scammers, Getting Roasted, and My Impatient Ear

Your weekly dose of recommendations, podcast updates, and some behind-the-scenes stuff.

Fixations

I’m constantly falling in love with shit (meditation/dharma/happiness-related and otherwise). This is where I’ll endeavor to convert you to whatever benevolent cult I’ve recently joined.

As a motif, my colleague Marissa Schneiderman suggested we use the Buddhist notion of the “sense doors.” In the West, we have the five senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch. In Buddhism, they include a sixth sense: the mind. As my meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein likes to point out, at any given moment, whatever’s happening in your head, no matter how complex or operatic it may seem, is just some medley of these six senses.

See

Telemarketers, the new HBO documentary series, is both fascinating and extremely well done. One of the best parts is how long it took them to make it. The early scenes are shot on old school video cameras in the mid aughts, as the protagonists discover the scam. It’s not until many years later that they pick the cameras back up and bring this thing to a conclusion.

Taste

And I thought my son, Alexander, was a picky eater…On the flip side, I relate to this guy (but in my case, it’s oreos).

Hear

Need some new earworms? I’ve been updating my playlist the impatient ear.

Pod News

I’m really interested in how to stay sane in an increasingly warped online world. And our guest this week, Naomi Klein, has written a new book, Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World, all about how our digital world is messing with our minds and our culture. The net result for her seems to have been profound—and, surprisingly, calming. Have a listen.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a guest mess with me as much as Sarah Cooper did— in an awesome and hilarious way, of course. The comedian behind those viral Trump lip-sync videos joined me to talk about the wisdom that drives her new memoir, Foolish, and also to mock me mercilessly. She even convinced me to dance (a teeny tiny little bit). Check it out.

Also, another experiment we’ve been running on the show is called Deep Cuts, a new feature where you, the listener, get to choose your favorite Ten Percent Happier episode from the archives. It’s simple. Just give us a call and leave a voicemail that includes the episode you want to hear and, in a couple of sentences, why this episode hit home for you. Call +1 508-656-0540.

Upcoming Events

I’ll be in Armenia, NY at Troutbeck - a beautiful Hudson Valley estate hotel - doing a talk with Q&A and meditation. This event is for anyone - experienced meditator or just curious. Tickets are $30-$45 and available here via EventBrite.

I’m told there are a handful of tickets left for the meditation party retreat at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. It’s October 13-15. If you can’t make it in person, you can sign up for the live stream.

App

Want some guided meditations, teachings, daily features and community features to support your mindfulness journey? Check out the Ten Percent Happier app.