This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris.

Hello, my fellow suffering beings. How are we doing? In these chaotic times, it is so easy to lose your center of gravity, to outsource your equilibrium, to the gyre, to the miasma, to the phone in your hands. So today I'm talking to a brilliant Buddhist nun, Ayah and and a Bodhi,

about four simple ways to reclaim your center. You literally cannot hear this stuff enough. I think

of this as mindfulness 101. Instead of running away from your difficult feelings, like self-medicating

with booze or shopping or doom scrolling or denial.

The move, and this is counterintuitive, but the move is to feel your feelings fully, to let

them pass, and to make a sane decision on the other side. Respond, not react. It's one of the

venerable meditation cliches and a cliche I

actually like. And it's a decent recipe for becoming at least 10% happier. Aya Ananda Bodhi is the

spiritual director of the Pariana Vihara, a monastic residence in Port Townsend, Washington. She was

raised over in Wales in the UK.

She first encountered Buddhism in her early teens and started training as a nun at the age of 24.

In this conversation, we talk about what centering means and how to do it when you're in the

middle of a tough situation, and she'll have some very practical tips on this score.

We'll talk about the difference between centering and equanimity how to break out of old patterns in your life

the power of pausing she has this great thing which has really stuck in my head about how anger

can be justified but not helpful i love that think about that justified but not helpful we I love that. Think about that.

Justified but not helpful.

We'll do a quick but deep tour through the Four Noble Truths,

which is a foundational Buddhist list,

perhaps the foundational Buddhist list.

We tackle the tricky topic of our true nature from a Buddhist perspective.

...