Inner Stability in an Unstable World: Margaret Cullen on Equanimity (296)
Therapist Uncensored Podcast
Sue Marriott LCSW, CGP & Ann Kelley PhD
4.7 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 April 2026
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Explore the role of equanimity, mindfulness, and compassion in navigating an increasingly complex world. Special guest
Margaret Cullen alongside co-host Sue Marriott discuss the evolution of mindfulness in modern culture, the foundations of compassion-based practices, and how these approaches can support resilience and emotional balance. Grounded in both clinical insight and lived practice, this conversation offers a thoughtful, accessible perspective on cultivating steadiness and clarity in the midst of ongoing challenges.
“Equanimity is love meeting vulnerability.” – Margaret Cullen, LMFT
Timestamps for Inner Stability in an Unstable World: Margaret Cullen on Equanimity (296)
02:10 The evolution of mindfulness in western culture
06:29 Cultural backlash and the search for peace
09:44 The role of social media in our lives
19:09 Equanimity: A deep dive into its meaning
26:00 Recognizing equanimity in daily life
30:13 Practices to cultivate equanimity
37:16 Resources for mindfulness and equanimity
About out Guest – Margaret Cullen, LMFT
Margaret Cullen is a licensed psychotherapist and a pioneer in bringing contemplative practices into mainstream settings. She was one of the first ten people to be certified as an MBSR instructor and has taught around the world. As a therapist, she facilitated psycho-social support groups for cancer patients and their loved ones for over 30 years. She has led research studies on the impact of contemplative programs for a wide variety of populations across the US and co-developed the Compassion Cultivation Training with Thupten Jinpa at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Mindfulness and Compassion Training for military spouses with Amishi Jha at University of Miami. She is the founder of Compassion Corps, a program which brings compassion programs to underserved populations around the world. She also developed Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance and co-authored a book about it with Gonzalo Brito Pons. She was a Senior Teacher and Curriculum Developer for Humanize, a contemplative-based dyad program founded by German neuroscientist Tania Singer. Margaret is a Mind and Life Institute Fellow, on the advisory board of the Global Compassion Coalition, and has been a meditation practitioner for over 40 years.
Resources for Inner Stability in an Unstable World: Margaret Cullen on Equanimity (296)
Margaret’s Website – Additional information, resources, and opportunities
Quiet Strength – Margaret’s newest book, purchase your copy HERE!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We're trying to step out of this mode where the self is ginormous and taking up all the airspace |
| 0:11.2 | and be in a more reasonable relationship to the rest of the world. |
| 0:18.1 | That means that our narrative, our story, our catastrophe, our tragedy, our victimhood, our worry about |
| 0:26.1 | everything going to hell in a handbasket gets back in perspective and we're in nature |
| 0:32.4 | and we're part of something much bigger that always helps. |
| 0:38.3 | And drawing on wisdom that is beyond our narrow identity is fantastic. |
| 0:50.2 | Welcome to Therapist Uncensored. |
| 0:52.8 | Building on decades of professional experience, this podcast |
| 0:55.7 | tackles neurobiology, modern attachment, and more in an honest way that's helpful in healing humans. |
| 1:01.7 | Your session begins now with Dr. Anne Kelly and Sue Marriott. |
| 1:17.5 | Hey, you guys, why we know relationships are wonderful, they are also really hard. |
| 1:22.7 | Many of us believe that they shouldn't be, that if we have good connection and good communication, |
| 1:28.3 | things will just go smoothly. But it's really that belief that can make us feel stubborn and even more hopeless. |
| 1:35.0 | So relationships take work. It does for Sue and I. We can make it look easy. It's not. And one of the ways is because many of us, we differ. We differ in what activates us, what makes us feel threat, |
| 1:40.2 | the expectation. And it's these differences that are held in our body, not our thoughts, |
| 1:44.9 | and they influence how we talk, how we love, how we fight. So holding that belief, |
| 1:49.9 | if he or she or they could just understand me, if they love me, they do something different, |
| 1:54.7 | is not really true. And we're talking about relationships with your partner, your teenager, |
| 2:01.9 | your mother-in-law. |
| 2:08.5 | So soon I've created an online course that can help you understand yourself and those you love in a different way. |
| 2:11.5 | This is not just for therapists, it's for everyone. |
| 2:15.9 | Although the good news is if you're therapists, you can get CEs along the way. |
... |
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