#523. A Masterclass in Handling Yourself When Things Suck | Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Daniel Goleman

This episode is for anyone who has ever had a tough or tricky moment. In other words, everyone who is currently drawing breath on planet earth right now.

Today’s guests are powerhouse duo Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Daniel Goleman.

Tsoknyi Rinpoche is one of the greatest living Tibetan masters who has a whole toolbox of techniques for dealing with difficult moments, habitual patterns, and common meditation obstacles. He’ll be in conversation with Daniel Goleman, a trained scientist and science writer best known for his landmark book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Together, they have just written a book called Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice of Clarity and Compassion. 

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This is the fourth and final installment of our series called, The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together. In each episode we bring together a meditative adept or Buddhist scholar and a respected scientist. The idea is to give you the best of both worlds to arm you with both modern and ancient tools for regulating your emotions.

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In this episode we talk about:

• The single word that Rinpoche believes captures the most challenging aspect of modern life
• Two of the biggest obstacles for meditators
• What Rinpoche calls the “drop it” practice
• Rinpoche’s term, “beautiful monsters”
• The four steps of the “handshake” practice, which is meant for meeting difficult emotions and being OK with them
• Why reasoning with your feelings doesn’t work
• How to experience a fundamental OK-ness independent of external conditions
• A personal story from Rinpoche about being with one of his own difficult habits
• What Rinpoche calls the “three speed limits”
• And, “belly breathing”

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‍Where to find Tsoknyi Rinpoche and Daniel Goleman online: 

Website: www.danielgoleman.info & tsoknyirinpoche.org

Social Media:

• Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s Facebook 
• Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s YouTube
• Daniel Goleman’s Twitter
• Daniel Goleman’s Facebook

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Books Mentioned:

• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
• Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart
• Mind Whispering: A New Map to Freedom from Self-Defeating Emotional Habits

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Other Resources Mentioned:

• The Art and Science of Keeping Your Sh*t Together | Episode 3
• Tara Bennett-Goleman
• Richard J. Davidson
• Stanford research helps people with social phobia face their fears
• On Spiritual Bypassing and Relationship by John Welwood
• Internal Family Systems 
• ‘Kindness curriculum’ boosts school success in preschoolers
• The Healthy Minds Program Framework

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Additional Resources:

• Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install

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