A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment

Several years ago, I read Venerable Thubten Chodron's book, Working with Anger, and I found it quite inspiring. A couple of months ago, her schedule finally allowed time to speak with me. We talked exclusively about anger, what it is, why it's harmful, and how we can work with anger in ways that heal relationships, rather than destroy them. She touches on anger's role in some of the most challenging situations, like gender bias and war protests, and how we can deal with these situations courageously and skillfully. Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, one of the first Tibetan Buddhist training monasteries for Western monks and nuns in the U.S. She teaches worldwide and is known for her practical and entertaining explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She's the author of many excellent books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Venerable Chodron is currently co-authoring, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an extraordinary multi-volume series of teachings on the Buddhist path, The Library of Wisdom and Compassion. Episode 165: Venerable Thubten Chodron on Working with Anger From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Tenzin Chogkyi talks to Scott Snibbe about his new book, How to Train a Happy Mind, at the Medicine for Nightmares bookstore in San Francisco. Episode 164: Tenzin Chogkyi & Scott Snibbe Medicine for Nightmares SF How to Train a Happy Mind From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

What do you do when you’re alone? When you’re scared, anxious, lonely, afraid, or feeling strong craving? In our guided meditation, we explore the Buddhist view on refuge and how to find a deep source of strength and peace within our own minds. Episode 112: Finding Refuge in the Mind—A Guided Meditation From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

What do you do when you’re alone? When you’re scared, anxious, lonely, or afraid, when you feel strong craving? What do you turn to? In this episode, we look at where our mind runs when we feel pain, when we don’t feel balanced or whole. We’ll examine the Buddhist view on this subject that reveals a deep source of strength and support within our own minds accessible to each of us any time we need it. Episode 14: What do You do When You're Alone? [re-record] From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Venerable Robina Courtin guides a beautiful Tara meditation on hope that uses visualization and Buddhist teachings. Episode 163: Tara Meditation on Hope—Ven. Robina Courtin From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Our very first podcast guest, Venerable Robina Courtin is back in today's timely episode on how to deal with the despair and hopelessness many people feel today about war, injustice, inequity, and the environment. Venerable Robina was ordained as a Buddhist nun in the late 1970s. She's worked closely with her teachers Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, to help spread Buddhist wisdom as an editorial director of wisdom, publications, editor of Mandala magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and the lively, charismatic touring-teacher of Buddhism. Episode 162: How to Heal Despair with Venerable Robina Courtin From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

In New York City, a couple months ago, I had the honor of sharing a public conversation with one of my Buddhist heroes, the renowned author and scholar Robert Thurman. In this episode's conversation, we share an edited recording from that evening, talking about everything from overcoming self-hatred, enjoying pleasure without attachment, getting ghosted by the Dalai Lama, and how one might come to have compassion for someone as dangerous and deadly as Vladimir Putin. Episode 161: Robert Thurman & Scott Snibbe: How to Train a Happy Mind From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

A meditation practice of self reflection, taking control of the mental cause and effect that's normally unconscious: the habits and activities conditioned by evolution, our upbringing, society and the media. This is a practice you can do at the end of each day: reviewing your day, rejoicing in the positive, and finding ways to sincerely forgive yourself for anything that you regret, so you can sleep better and be your best self the next day. Episode 12: Guided Meditation—Mental Cause And Effect Four years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation in a form that requires no belief beyond what science currently accepts. The first 40 episodes of the podcast gradually go through all of these topics, in order, beginning with appreciating the gift of our life and our place in the universe, and gradually moving up to cultivating boundless compassion for all beings and understanding the ultimate nature of our inner and outer realities. Over the next year, interspersed with new interviews, we are re-releasing updated versions of these topics. From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Science has greater and greater mastery in understanding and controlling physical cause and effect, from planets to particles, but we are only starting to understand cause and effect in our minds. Evolution, habits, and society all affect our behavior. How do we gain conscious control of our behavior, much less our thoughts? One method is a daily practice of self-appreciation and self-forgiveness that lets us release regret and pain to face each day with renewed presence and joy. Episode 11: Mental Cause and Effect Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation in a form that requires no belief beyond what science currently accepts. The first 40 episodes of the podcast gradually go through all of these topics, in order, beginning with appreciating the gift of our life and our place in the universe, and gradually moving up to cultivating boundless compassion for all beings and understanding the ultimate nature of our inner and outer realities. Over the next year, interspersed with new interviews, we are re-releasing updated versions of these topics. From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Yangsi Rinpoche's gave a beautiful talk a couple of months ago with the intriguing title "Contentment Plus Ambition." He was generous enough to sit down with me afterwards for an interview about the same topic in which he talks about how to practice real self-compassion and even how we can create the causes for world peace. Yangsi Rinpoche studied at Sera Jey Monastery in south India until 1995 when he graduated with the highest degree of Geshe Lharampa. Rinpoche now lives in Portland, Oregon where he's president and professor of Buddhist studies at Maitripa College, a Buddhist Institute of higher education, striving to integrate modern academics with ancient wisdom. Episode 160: Contentment and Ambition with Yangsi Rinpoche From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Restorative justice practitioner sujatha baliga talks to Scott Snibbe about his new meditation book, How to Train a Happy Mind. Episode 159: sujatha baliga & Scott Snibbe in conversation: How to Train a Happy Mind From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

A guided meditation on impermanence that helps us release fear and anxiety to embrace the constant change at every scale of reality: from particles, possessions, homes, and the environment, to our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, and relationships. When we embrace impermanence, we more easily take on challenges like today’s Coronavirus crisis. We become more fully present to those around us and we can even more deeply appreciate life’s impermanent pleasures. Episode 10. Guided Meditation - Embracing Impermanence Four years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation in a form that requires no belief beyond what science currently accepts. The first 40 episodes of the podcast gradually go through all of these topics, in order, beginning with appreciating the gift of our life and our place in the universe, and gradually moving up to cultivating boundless compassion for all beings and understanding the ultimate nature of our inner and outer realities. Over the next year, interspersed with new interviews, we are re-releasing updated versions of these topics. From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

We cling to things as if they won’t change, but change is the nature of reality. When we embrace impermanence, we prepare ourselves for big changes, and are able to let go of our fear and anxiety to become more fully present to those around us, to make the most meaningful choices day-to-day, and to more deeply appreciate life’s fleeting pleasures. Episode 9. Embracing Impermanence Two years ago, we created A Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment to share the rich tradition of Tibetan Buddhist analytical meditation in a form that requires no belief beyond what science currently accepts. The first 40 episodes of the podcast gradually go through all of these topics, in order, beginning with appreciating the gift of our life and our place in the universe, and gradually moving up to cultivating boundless compassion for all beings and understanding the ultimate nature of our inner and outer realities. Over the next year, interspersed with new interviews, we are re-releasing updated versions of these topics. From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

In this guided meditation, Stephen Batchelor invites you to unconditionally embrace your experience of the moment, to simply watch all thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and notice the ground of nonreactive awareness. This guides you toward a path rooted in freedom, openness, and love. Episode 158: Meditation on Embracing Life with Stephen Batchelor From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Nearly 30 years ago, Stephen Batchelor wrote a book called Buddhism Without Beliefs that's become a foundational work for those seeking to adopt Buddhism into a non-religious form while still maintaining the power and authenticity of its time tested practices. I had a chance to speak with Stephen Batchelor recently from his home in France, where he shared his own creative struggle with Buddhism: from his origins as an ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk to becoming a skeptical agnostic who admits that he simply doesn't know the answers to life's biggest questions. Episode 157: Buddhism Without Beliefs with Stephen Batchelor From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Derek Fagerstrom interviews Scott Snibbe about his new book, How to Train a Happy Mind, at San Francisco’s Book Passage. Derek is the co-founder of Pop-up Magazine, and has worked at Esquire, Interview, and Francis Ford Coppola's literary journal Zoetrope: All-Story. How to Train a Happy Mind is out now in paperback, e-book, and audiobook. You can find it anywhere you buy books. Episode 156: Book Passage Talk with Derek Fagerstrom From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Scott Snibbe leads a meditation from his new book, How to Train a Happy Mind, on how to make the most of our precious lives. Episode 155: Precious Life Meditation From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Scott Snibbe shares a chapter from his new book, How to Train a Happy Mind: The Precious Life. If you enjoy this episode, check out the whole audiobook on Audible, which includes guided meditations! Episode 154: The Precious Life—Chapter Reading from How to Train a Happy Mind From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

This is an exciting episode for the podcast because my book, How to Train a Happy Mind, comes out today. To celebrate its release, we're sharing a conversation I had with best-selling author Vicki McKenzie a couple of weeks ago at a book preview event in London, in front of a live audience. This podcast is where I developed most of the ideas for the book, based on more than a decade leading meditations that eventually formed many of our episodes. I want to thank all our listeners for your feedback and support over these four years. You've helped me develop the book's simple eight-step program that combines Tibetan Buddhism with modern science and psychology. I'm excited to hear what you think about it. If you'd like to buy How to Train a Happy Mind, you can find it anywhere you buy books. I've donated all my proceeds from the book to the Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment nonprofit. So your purchase helps support this podcast. If you end up enjoying the book, please consider reviewing it on Amazon or Goodreads, which will help other people discover it. Episode 153: How to Train a Happy Mind book launch conversation with Scott Snibbe and Vicki Mackenzi From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.

Meenadchi guides a meditation on discovering, playing with, and feeling the good things in your body through a light visualization. Episode 152: Meditation on Feeling Good with Meenadchi From August 8-11, I’m leading an in-person three-day retreat at California’s Vajrapani Institute. There, in the heart of California’s redwood forest, we’ll go through all of the analytical meditation topics from How to Train a Happy Mind, one by one. I’ll give lectures and guide meditations on each topic, and we’ll also have plenty of time for questions and group discussions. Learn more here. Support the Show.