For episode 279, Jack Kornfield returns to the Metta Hour to talk about his new book, “All in This Together: Stories and Teachings for Loving Each Other and Our World.”

Jack trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India and has taught worldwide since 1974. He is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West. He is the cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology and has written more than fifteen books, including The Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and more.

In this conversation, Sharon and Jack speak about:

• The impetus for Jack’s new book
• The universe is made of stories
• Beginner’s Mind as the goal of practice
• Ajahn Chah’s squirrel story
• How repetition factors into storytelling
• Trusting the gifts of interconnectedness
• Ram Dass as the great public neurotic
• The glance of mercy
• The Bodhisattva Vow
• Envisioning generosity to change the world
• Working with our expectations
• Despair is not the end of the story
• Mindful Service as a source of happiness
• The Insight Meditation Society's 50th anniversary
• The founding of IMS told by Jack
• How the Dharma evolves across cultures

This episode closes with a guided meditation from Jack. Learn more about Jack’s many offerings right here and get yourself a copy of his new book All in This Together.

Join the IMS 50th anniversary online celebration on February 14th, 2026! Learn more and register right here.

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For episode 278, Sharon sits down with author and friend, Parvati Markus, the editor of the new Ram Dass book, “There is No Other: The Way to Harmony and Wholeness.”

Parvati is a developmental editor who has been midwifing non-fiction books and memoirs since her first efforts with Ram Dass’s classic Be Here Now. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Love Serve Remember Foundation and has helped with many other spiritual organizations and events. Parvati is also the author of numerous books, including Whisper in the Heart and Love Everyone. This is Parvati’s first appearance on the Metta Hour.

In this conversation, Parvati and Sharon speak about:

• How Parvati found her path
• Meeting Neem Karoli Baba
• Ram Dass and Parvati’s friendship
• Parvati’s contribution to “Be Here Now”
• The inspiration for “There is No Other”
• Moving past “us” and “them”
• Balancing real life & spiritual life
• Substituting noticing for judging
• Neem Karoli Baba’s directive of service
• Ram Dass learning to accept help
• Moving from Role to Soul
• How to be here now in times of difficulty
• Community as the future Buddha
• Joseph Goldstein’s fateful meeting with Ram Dass
• What is Loving Awareness
• Ram Dass’s final public appearance

This episode closes with a guided meditation from Ram Dass that invites us to let go of the heaviness of confusion and our rigid models of who we are and how it is.

Learn more about Parvati’s many book projects right here and get yourself a copy of Ram Dass’s new book “There is No Other” right here in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats.

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For episode 277, we are continuing a new series on the Metta Hour, centered on kids, in honor of Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl, released on December 9th!

Written with Jason Gruhl, this illustrated picture book is for 4-8 year-olds and is a children’s adaptation of Sharon’s beloved book Lovingkindness.

For this podcast series, Sharon speaks with educators, caregivers, and researchers about the ways meditation, mindfulness, and lovingkindness can impact children of all ages and the family systems that support them. For the sixth episode of the series, Sharon speaks with Richie J. Davidson.

Richie 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.

In this conversation, Sharon and Richie speak about:

• Richie’s pillars for human flourishing
• Free Kindness Curriculum app
• How to nurture enduring traits
• Lovingkindness as a training
• Our whole being is malleable
• Flourishing is contagious
• Temporary states vs lasting traits
• We are born to be kind
• The Born to Flourish book, coming in March
• Changing our narratives
• Affective Neuroscience
• Six basic emotional styles
• Evolving the K-12 education space
• Supporting Healthcare providers
• Community as contemplative intervention
• What is Contemplative Neuroscience?

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 access the free Healthy Minds Kindness Curriculum right here in English or Spanish.

You can learn more about Sharon’s brand-new children’s book, Kind Karl, right here.

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