Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg

Beloved teacher, coach and author George Mumford returns to the Metta Hour for episode 294 to talk about the 2nd edition release of his book, The Mindful Athlete.
George Mumford, a.k.a. The Performance Whisperer, is a globally recognized speaker, teacher, and pioneer in sports psychology and performance. Since 1989, he’s been honing his groundbreaking performance and mindfulness techniques with people from locker rooms to boardrooms, Yale to jail — as Phil Jackson’s ‘Secret Weapon’ to winning eight NBA Championships, helping Michael Jordan transform his leadership, and teaching Kobe Bryant to “just be.” George’s work incorporates principles based in positive psychology, mindfulness, philosophy, neuroscience, the recovery movement, group and organizational dynamics, and spiritual traditions from around the world. This is his third appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast.
In this conversation, George and Sharon speak about:
• The second edition of The Mindful Athlete
• George’s three-fold training
• Debunking mindfulness myths
• Mindfulness versus right mindfulness
• The Five Superpowers
• How George adapts teachings
• Compassion’s role in peak performance
• Dissolution of ego for team success
• Why George reads a book-a-day
• Circular learning style
• Ajahn Sumedho’s wisdom
• The resilience of the NY Knicks
• Finding our enthusiasm
• How effort creates energy
Additional Resources
The episode closes with a guided meditation from George. You can learn more about George’s work right here and get a copy of the second edition of The Mindful Athlete right here.
Related Metta Hour Episodes
Episode 71 George Mumford’s first appearance on the Metta Hour, released in 2018
Episode 214 George Mumford’s second appearance on the Metta Hour, released in 2023 as part of the Mental Health Series.
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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 ninth and final episode in the series, Sharon speaks with Shelly Tygielski. Philanthropist and social activist Shelly Tygielski has been hailed by individuals ranging from President Joe Biden to Arianna Huffington and Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn to Maria Shriver. She is the founder of the global, grassroots mutual aid organization, Pandemic of Love and the co-founder of Partners in Kind, a purpose in production equity fund that invests in projects that focus on social impact in entertainment. Her work has been featured in over 100 media outlets, including CNN Heroes, The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS This Morning, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. A Garrison Institute Fellow, Shelly has been called one of the “12 Powerful Women of the Mindfulness Movement” by Mindful.org and teaches self-care and resilience at organizations and to audiences around the world. She is also the author of several books, “Sit Down to Rise Up” and “How We Ended Racism.” This is her second appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast.
In this conversation, Shelly and Sharon speak about:
• What motivated Shelly to get her PH.D.
• The definition of Mutual Aid
• Mutual Aid across history
• Peter Kropotkin’s view of society
• Cooperation vs competition in society
• Thriving interspecies ecosystems
• How Shelly’s practice has evolved over time
• Finding a balance in our compassion
• Prioritizing self-care in engaged compassion
• How Shelly has let go of her caregiving guilt
• The signs that burnout is lurking
• Seeing resentment as a signal flare
• Shelly’s advice to change-makers
• Activism with our own sustainability in mind
• Asking for help before falling into burnout
• Joy is not an abandonment of responsibility
• How Shelly finds joy in nature and with music
Additional Resources
The episode closes with Shelly leading a lovingkindness meditation. Learn more about Shelly’s work and her different books right here. Learn more about Pandemic of Love right here.
Related Metta Hour Episodes
Episode 121: Shelly’s first appearance on the Metta Hour, released in 2020.
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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 eighth episode in the series, Sharon speaks with Rev. Paul Raushenbush. This is his first appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast. Rev. Raushenbush is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance. An ordained Baptist minister, Rev. Raushenbush is a longtime interfaith leader and renowned advocate for civil rights and religious freedom. Rev. Raushenbush has published two books and contributed essays to several volumes on faith in public life. He also hosts the weekly podcast and radio show “The State of Belief,” in partnership with Religion News Service.
In this conversation, Sharon and Paul speak about:
• How Rev. Raushenbush came to service
• The Social Gospel
• Rev. Raushenbush’s interfaith family
• How spiritual practice can fuel activism
• Insisting on joy in moments of great sorrow
• Embodying the future we hope for now
• Rev. Raushenbush’s POV that we are all neighbors
• Figuring out how to help
• What inspired this Engaged Compassion series
• How art can be resistance
• Where Rev. Raushenbush turns for inspiration
• The work of Interfaith Alliance
• The possibilities of lovingkindness
• Rev. Raushenbush’s husband’s new book, “Good Morning Moon”
Additional Resources
The episode closes with a reflection from Rev. Raushenbush. Learn more about Rev. Raushenbush’s work right here. Learn more about Interfaith Alliance right here, including its many local chapters.
Related Metta Hour Episodes
Episode 281: The first episode of the Engaged Compassion Series with Jerry Colonna, released in March of 2026.
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Author and teacher Oneika Mays joins Sharon for episode 291 of the Metta Hour podcast.
For over a decade, Oneika has brought yoga and mindfulness practices to people who have felt left out, judged, and alone— from correctional facilities to retreat centers, from Columbia Law School to Lincoln Center. She is the author of “Sit With Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation,” released by HarperOne in March of 2026, and the co-host of You Good? Podcast with Pamela Stokes Eggleston. This is her first appearance on the Metta Hour Podcast.
In this conversation, Oneika and Sharon speak about:
• How Oneika’s spiritual journey began
• Training with teacher, Kimberly Brown
• Metta’s impact on Oneika’s existing practice
• The challenges of metta for the neutral person
• Working at Riker’s Island Correctional Facility
• Oneika’s new book, “Sit With Me”
• The importance of forgiveness
• What inspired Oneika’s new book
• Loving people doesn’t necessarily mean liking them
• Lovingkindness for oneself as a starting point
• Working with the difficult person
• The gift of grieving what’s broken
• Navigating life within harmful systems
• Teaching lovingkindness in prison
• The NY Knicks and Collective Effervescence
Additional Resources
The episode closes with a guided lovingkindness meditation from Oneika with added visualization. You can learn more about Oneika’s work right here and get a copy of her new book, “Sit With Me,” right here.
Related Metta Hour Episodes
Episode 212: Kimberly Brown’s interview as part of our Mental Health Series released in 2023.
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Sharon comes together with Mark Epstein to remember the life of dear friend and colleague, Robert AF Thurman, for episode 290 of the Metta Hour.
Robert AF Thurman (August 3, 1941 – June 16, 2026) was an American Buddhist author and academic who wrote, edited, and translated books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics, and culture. He was the first Westerner to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University before retiring in 2019. He was the co-founder and president of Tibet House US in New York, New York, and Menla Retreat in Phoenicia, New York.
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there is a 49-day period of mourning after an individual dies, which is considered a transitional “bardo” time. This is a time to honor the individual and support them as they transition into their incarnation through ceremonies, offerings, and prayers. In that spirit, Sharon and Mark Epstein come together to share stories and reflections about Bob after his unexpected death.
Mark Epstein, M.D., a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City, is the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including “Thoughts without a Thinker” and “Going to Pieces without Falling Apart.” His latest work, “The Zen of Therapy,” was published in 2022 by Penguin Press. He has been a student of Vipassana meditation since 1974.
This episode also includes an excerpt of an archival recording of Sharon interviewing Bob from 2021. Originally aired on the Metta Hour in celebration of Bob’s book “Wisdom is Bliss,” this recording includes some classic zesty-Bob-banter with Sharon, as well as some wonderful teachings. The recording closes with Bob leading a guided meditation.
"When we opened the Insight Meditation Society in 1976, we discovered we had a near neighbor, about 40 minutes away in Amherst, MA: Professor Bob Thurman. I’ve felt so lucky to know him as a friend, to have the chance to teach with him through the years, and to collaborate with him on a book, “Love Your Enemies.” Though he was widely known as a dedicated scholar, I was always most struck by Bob as a person of faith in the best sense of the word— faith in each of our potential, in the very real possibility of freedom, in the blessings of lineage and the enormous gifts of people like HH Dalai Lama to the world. Before the sudden, unexpected news of his passing, I noted how much content he was putting on his Substack, what seemed to me almost like a drive to help as many people as he could, to remind us all of hope in these very troubled times. His impact on so many people and the light he spread is so clear right now." - Sharon
Please join us as we celebrate and honor a dear friend and dharma teacher who filled our lives with such joy, wisdom, and laughter.
Additional Resources
Learn more about Robert AF Thurman’s life and work right here. Read some of the tributes for Bob right here and via Tricycle Magazine. Tune in to the weekly prayers for via the website for Tibet House US right here. Learn more about the book Bob and Sharon co-wrote, “Love Your Enemies” originally released in 2013 with a tenth anniversary edition release in 2023 in hardcover and ebook formats.
Related Metta Hour Episodes
Episode 107 Robert Thurman and Mark Epstein recorded live at Tibet House in 2018, released in the Metta Hour in 2019.
Episode 164 Robert Thurman interview on the Metta Hour (partially included in today’s episode), released in 2021.
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