This is NPR's Life Kit, I'm Elise Hugh.

Today we're talking mindfulness and meditation,

but maybe not in a way you're used to.

Imagine you're on a subway and these Martians come

and they zap the subway cars so that those of you who are in there are going to be together forever.

That's Sharon Salzberg.

She's a best-selling author and world-renowned meditation expert.

She really likes this alien subway example.

Her friend shared with her because it reminds us we're not alone.

We're all connected.

What do you do?

You know, if somebody's hungry, feed them.

If somebody's freaking out, you try to calm them down.

Not because you necessarily like them or approve of them,

but because you're going to be together forever, well guess what?

There's a kind of reality to that, we share.

This life, we share this planet.

We need to be responsive to one another.

As though what we do affects others and what others do will affect us

because that's the truth of things.

When the outside world feels so upside down,

like it often does these days,

...