In this episode, we speak to Mirjam Luthe about the importance of gratitude, appreciation, deep listening, and connecting to the natural world. She shares about rituals and strategies she has used with her children to​ develop ​skills of listening, compassion, and ​appreciation at home. We also explore the historical roots of trauma, cultural healing, and the deliberate choices she has made to help herself and her family cope during the pandemic. Mirjam Luthe has a masters degree in...

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 times in her own life. She describes how to work with the worrying brain using these tools to...

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 undermine our willingness to try new things. Listen in for insight on using parts work and...

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 intimacy and connection.   Daniel Ellenberg is an executive and leadership coach, organizational...

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 Zanesco is a cognitive neuroscientist who studies attention and mind wandering, their brain dynamics...

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 self-compassion and non-violent communication to marginalized and incarcerated youth. Michael...

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 Dr. Khong’s work integrating existential and Buddhist psychology and find out what’s missing from...

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, Dorothy Armstrong joins Kate and Alex to explain how she thinks about forgiveness and discuss...

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, Noble Mind hosts Katherine King, PsyD, and Alex Gokce, MSW, sit down to explain how...

In this episode, Lama Liz Monson discusses the Tibetan roots of crazy wisdom. She introduces us to 15th century Tibetan yogi Drukpa Kunley, describing his commitment to exposing religious hypocrisy and leveraging outrageous behavior to lead people to spiritual awakening. Liz also explores how crazy wisdom has been misunderstood in the West. Lama Liz Monson is the Spiritual Co-Director of the Natural Dharma Fellowship and author of Tales of a Mad Yogi: The Life and Wild Wisdom of Drukpa Kunley.

In this episode, Dr. Melissa Day discusses the science of pain and explains how the meaning we make of pain impacts what we feel. She describes how mindfulness can rewire the brain and shares her innovative Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain program. Dr. Day is an endorsed Clinical Psychologist and Health Psychologist in Australia, and Associate Professor at The University of Queensland. She is author of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain: A Clinical Manual...

In this episode, Willa Blythe Baker discusses the experiential divide between mind and body that serves as a source of our suffering, and four ways that the body can be a source of wisdom. Stay tuned until the end to hear Willa lead a grounding meditation practice. Willa Blythe Baker PhD is founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship, an authorized teacher (lama) in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and author of the new book The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom.

In this episode, Steven Hickman shares about his new book, Self-Compassion for Dummies, and describes his love of teaching self-compassion to skeptics. He explains what mindful self-compassion is, and how it can work as an antidote to our fight, flight, and freeze responses. He also explores what makes self-compassion a courageous act and how it helps us navigate difficult emotions. Dr. Hickman is the Executive Director of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.

In this episode, Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin discuss how the processes of Inner Relationship Focusing and Untangling facilitate healing and personal growth. They describe the personal experiences that led to the development of these methods and share how cultivating self-in-presence can help us hold space for our most challenging experiences. Listen in for Ann and Barbara’s take on the inner critic as someone who wants the best for you and how to work with this part in a radically...

In this episode of Noble Mind, Dr. Kristin Neff discusses her new book, Fierce Self-Compassion, explaining how fierce self-compassion gets expressed as protecting, providing, and motivating ourselves. She introduces us to the difference between fierce and tender self-compassion and how gender role socialization hinders our ability to access both. Listen in for Dr. Neff’s insight on self-compassion as a spiritual practice and learn how the expression of anger can serve as an act of compassion.

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, impermanence, and karma, can all help move us to practice and study with more commitment and enthusiasm.

The Franciscan tradition of Catholicism teaches about the interconnectedness of all beings and 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? In this episode, Hans Baars shares his insights and experiences as a former Dutch Franciscan Priest now living in Australia. We discuss how different languages can inform our understanding of these ideas as well as his own experiential approach to...

In this episode, Sydney Spears discusses how mindful self-compassion benefits BAME or BIPOC identified individuals and describes the power of practicing mindful self-compassion together in community. She shares from her personal and teaching experience, explaining how self-compassion can help people regain control of the narrative of their own lives. Listen in for Sydney’s insights about trauma, oppression, and how the human experience of suffering serves as a point of connection among us all.

In this episode, Kathryn Lovewell discusses applying the principles of self-compassion to daily life, the benefits of deep practice and retreat experiences, and how immersing yourself in mindful self-compassion is not self-indulgent but a true gift to the people you love and lead. Kathryn Lovewell is the cofounder of Kind Mind Academy and bestselling author of The Little Book of Self-Compassion, Every Teacher Matters: Inspiring Well-Being Through Mindfulness and The Voices in My Head.

In this episode, Richard Goerling shares his experience teaching the skills of mindfulness and compassion to police, military personnel, and other first responders. Listen in for Richard’s insights on occupational trauma, resilience, police/community relations, and the ideal of warrior humanitarianism. Richard Goerling is the Founder of Mindful Badge, an organization that delivers evidence-based skills training to support the health, humanity and performance of first responders.

In this episode, Janina Fisher discusses the physiology of trauma and what makes it a 'living legacy.' She explains why mindfulness-based treatments can help trauma survivors, offers insight on what it means to be triggered, and shares how paying attention to the body is central to healing. Dr. Fisher is an international expert on trauma, Asst Director of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, and author of the new book, 'Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors...

In this episode, Dr. Marcela Matos discusses shame and how it can serve an adaptive social function yet also cause great suffering. She explores why shame experiences become traumatic for some people and discusses her research on the range of resistances, blocks, and fears of compassion. Dr. Marcela Matos is a clinical psychologist and research fellow at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. She has extensive training in compassion-focused therapy and has authored numerous scientific papers.

In this episode, Chenxing Han shares about the diverse experiences of Asian American Buddhists and discusses how these voices get erased from the mainstream story of western Buddhism. We explore how to cope with anti-Asian violence, finding your path as an Asian American, and learning to create more inclusive communities. Chenxing Han is a Bay Area writer with an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union. She recently published Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian...

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 informs his meditation practice and how he thinks about sickness, old age and death. Charlesly...

In this episode, Noble Mind hosts Katherine King, PsyD and Alex Gokce, MSW share what self-compassion means to them and challenge us to build this reflex in response to our own suffering. They describe how the practice can make mindfulness possible and can deepen the way we give care to others. Listen in for insight on how self-compassion can make you braver and more active in the world. Noble Mind explores mindfulness, meditation, and psychology. More at www.noblemindpodcast.com.