Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

The Buddha taught a path of awakened living, but how does that manifest in today’s world of constant connectivity and widespread suffering?
How do we keep our hearts open without being defined or hardened by the pain that surrounds us, whether personal, collective, or historical? How do we navigate the paradox of holding both pain and joy, without mistaking suffering for punishment or personal failure? Can we infuse our compassion with wisdom and perspective to find the agency to take meaningful action in our communities?
In her new series, Engaged Compassion, Sharon delves into these questions and more, engaging in candid conversations with a diverse group of teachers, activists, and changemakers. For the fourth episode in the series, Sharon speaks with Parker J. Palmer and Jerry Colonna.
Parker J. Palmer is a writer, speaker and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal. Parker holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as fourteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, and an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press. Parker is the author of ten books—including several award-winning titles—that have sold nearly two million copies and been translated into ten languages, including “On the Brink of Everything,” “Healing the Heart of Democracy,” and “The Promise of Paradox.”
Jerry Colonna is a renowned coach, writer, and speaker who specializes in leadership, business, and the practice of radical self-inquiry. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Reboot.io, a company inspired by the belief that work need not destroy us. He is also the author of two books: "Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up" (2019) and "Reunion: Leadership and the Longing to Belong" (2023). For more than two decades, Jerry has championed the idea that work should be non-violent to the self, the community, and the planet.
In this conversation, Sharon, Parker and Jerry speak about:
Parker’s approach to suffering
Responsibility is the ability to respond
John Rogers’ forms of suffering in the world
The pain of denying that which is true
Why humans are drawn to “othering”
The innate desire to grow
What it means to lead a fuller life
Looking for happiness in the wrong places
Deconditioning a control mindset
Is the world actually worse right now?
How to face our fears
How to reverse othering
We need stories about overcoming fear
It helps to do hard things together
Revamping institutions to support
Getting involved in your local community
Additional Resources
You can learn more about Parker’s work right here and check out his Substack right here. You can learn more about Jerry’s work and his organization, Reboot.io, right here. This episode is also being released on the Reboot Podcast, available right here.
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The Buddha taught a path of awakened living, but how does that manifest in today’s world of constant connectivity and widespread suffering? How do we keep our hearts open without being defined or hardened by the pain that surrounds us, whether personal, collective, or historical? How do we navigate the paradox of holding both pain and joy, without mistaking suffering for punishment or personal failure? Can we infuse our compassion with wisdom and perspective to find the agency to take meaningful action in our communities? In her new series, Engaged Compassion, Sharon delves into these questions and more, engaging in candid conversations with a diverse group of teachers, activists, and changemakers.
For the third episode in the series, Sharon speaks with Anu Gupta, marking his fourth appearance on the Metta Hour. Anu Gupta is an educator, lawyer, scientist, and the founder and CEO of Be More with Anu. His work has reached 300+ organizations, trained more than 80,000 professionals, and impacted over 30 million lives. As a gay immigrant of color, Anu came to the work of breaking bias due to lifelong experiences with racism, homophobia, and Islamophobia. He is a trained meditation and yoga teacher with over 10,000 hours of meditation practice and has a JD from NYU Law and BA in International Relations and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies. As a peer-reviewed author, Anu has written and spoken extensively, including on the TED stage, the Oprah Conversation, Fast Company, and Newsweek. His first book, “Breaking Bias” came out in 2024 from Hay House and he currently shares his writings via his Substack, Soul Force for the 21st Century.
In this conversation, Sharon and Anu speak about:
How to cultivate goodwill
Bearing witness to suffering
Working with anger and delusion
Teachings from the Bhagavad Gita
Compassion’s near and far enemies
Non-attachment in activism
Joseph Goldstein’s essential teachings
Equanimity in practice
Combining the spiritual, personal, and political
Collective consciousness as an ocean
Wisdom from Margaret Mead, Gandhi, and MLK Jr.
Boundaries around media
Buddha’s five remedies for anger
The lifelines of Sangha (community)
Additional Resources
To close out the episode, Anu leads a guided meditation. You can learn more about Anu’s work right here and check out his Substack writings right here.
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For episode 284, devon and nico hase return to the Metta Hour to speak with Sharon about their new book, This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership.
devon and nico serve as guiding teachers of the online dharma community Refuge of Belonging. They teach at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, and other centers, offer online and in-person retreats, and speak with students in one-on-one sessions. Their first book How Not to Be a Hot Mess, came out in 2020 and their 2026 release, This Messy, Gorgeous Love, is now available in paperback and audiobook formats. This is devon and nico’s second appearance on the Metta Hour.
In this conversation, devon, nico and Sharon speak about:
The motivation for the new book
After the “happily ever after”
Approaching relationship as practice
The healing of deep listening
Common myths of relationships
Buddhist personality types
Dukkha (suffering) in a relationship
Impermanence informing connection
Forgiveness practice
Different conflict styles
Learning how to repair after rupture
Making room for play and joy
Supporting each other’s joy
devon & nico's three-year retreat
This episode closes with a guided appreciation practice led by devon. Learn more about devon and nico’s new book, This Messy, Gorgeous Love, and other offerings by visiting their website right here.
Join Nico and Sharon virtually on May 9th, 2026 for a daylong teaching The Fire That Sustains.
You can hear devon and nico’s first appearance on Ep. 142 of the Metta Hour Podcast.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Buddha taught a path of awakened living, but how does that manifest in today’s world of constant connectivity and widespread suffering?
How do we keep our hearts open without being defined or hardened by the pain that surrounds us, whether personal, collective, or historical? How do we navigate the paradox of holding both pain and joy, without mistaking suffering for punishment or personal failure? Can we infuse our compassion with wisdom and perspective to find the agency to take meaningful action in our communities?
In her new series, Engaged Compassion, Sharon delves into these questions and more, engaging in candid conversations with a diverse group of teachers, activists, and changemakers.
For the second episode in the series, Sharon speaks with Valarie Kaur, making her third appearance on the Metta Hour.
Valarie is a renowned social justice leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, faith leader, mother, and best-selling author of See No Stranger, Sage Warrior, and World of Wonder. She leads the Revolutionary Love Project, building a movement to reclaim love as a force for justice. A daughter of Punjabi Sikh farmers in California, Valarie earned degrees at Stanford University, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale Law School and holds several honorary doctorates. She lives in LA in a multi-generational family.
Please note this conversation contains discussion of gun violence and ICE brutality.
In this conversation, Valarie and Sharon speak about:
Valarie’s Revolutionary Bus Tour
Embodying a world we want to live in
Engagement over Escapism
Wisdom from Angela Harrelson
Valerie’s recent time in Minneapolis
Redefining what it is to be a “neighbor”
Reclaiming the best of our ancestral wisdom
Shifting from either/our to both/and
Breathing to alchemize suffering
A future that leaves no one behind
Love as our birthright
How to love opponents without giving in
The importance of humanizing the enemy
The whole world is our family
We don’t go to battle alone
Community care versus self-care
Different forms of resistance
Mai Bhago and the 40 Liberated Ones
Additional Resources
The episode closes with a guided meditation led by Valarie.
Learn more about Valarie’s work right here. Here most recent book, Sage Warrior, is coming out in paperback on April 14th, 2026.
You can listen to Valarie’s first appearance on the Metta Hour in Episode 126, recorded in 2020 and her second appearance, Episode 218, recorded in 2023.
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For episode 282, Elisha Goldstein, PhD, returns to the Metta Hour to speak with Sharon about his new book, Tiny Shifts: How Emotional Health Transforms Stress, Relationships, and Longevity.
Elisha Goldstein is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and the co-founder of The Center for Mindful Living and Psychotherapy in Los Angeles. For over two decades, he has helped people break free from the conditioning that keeps them stuck in cycles of stress and overwhelm, uncovering how emotional health naturally transforms stress, relationships, and longevity. Elisha is the author of several books, including Uncovering Happiness, and The Now Effect, as well as hosting The Emotional Longevity Podcast.
In this conversation, Sharon and Elisha speak about:
Living in a culture of overwhelm
David Foster Wallace’s fish story
Insight alone doesn’t create change
Underlying conditioning of chronic stress
Realizing our natural intelligence
The challenge of practicing wisdom
How tiny shifts create lasting change
Interrupting stress patterns
Emotional regulation and impulse control
The 4R method: Recognize, Release, Refocus, Reinforce
How emotional health supports longevity
Listening to the body’s signals
Reclaiming our attention
This episode closes with a guided meditation led by Elisha.
Learn more about Elisha’s new book Tiny Shifts: How Emotional Health Transforms Stress, Relationships, and Longevity and his other offerings, by visiting his website right here. You can listen to Elisha’s first appearance on the Metta Hour from 2018 right here.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.