logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
1h 7m

A Radical Buddhist Approach To Making Th...

10% Happier
About this episode

Contemplating your own death can feel like a massive bummer at first, but there's good news: how you react to that inescapable fact really matters. 

Vinny Ferraro has practiced insight meditation (vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He's the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco and has led a weekly sitting group for almost two decades.

As a fully empowered Dharma Teacher thru Spirit Rock/IMS, he has taught residential retreats at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and the Esalen Institute. Currently, he leads Spirit Rock's Year to Live course and teaches retreats and daylongs through Big Heart City and meditation centers across the country.

He is a respected leader in developing and implementing interventions for at-risk populations. leading groups in schools, juvenile halls and prisons since 1987. He has led emotional intelligence workshops for over 100,000 youth on four continents.

 

In this episode we talk about:

  • Why it's important to think about your own death even if you're not expecting it anytime soon
  • The distinction between the actual conditions of your life and how much you suffer
  • A practice called the five Daily Remembrances, which Dan started doing himself right after we recorded this — and which has made a real difference for him
  • And some of other practices they do in the class, including the "life review" and "housekeeping"

 

Related Episodes:

Three Buddhist Practices For Getting Your Sh*t Together | Vinny Ferraro

How Thinking About Death Can Improve Your Life | Alua Arthur

Join the waiting list for A Year To Live at Spirit Rock.

 

Find out more about the Young Adult Retreat at Spirit Rock (taught by Vinny Ferraro, Matthew Brensilver, Cara Lai, and Hakim Tafari).

 

Use code TENPERCENT for 10% off these two courses at Spirit Rock:

Anxiety as Teacher: A Dharma and Yoga Daylong

Cultivating the Beautiful Factors of Mind

 

Sign up for Dan's weekly newsletter here

Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok

Ten Percent Happier online bookstore

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes

 

Full Shownotes: www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/vinny-ferraro-a-year-to-live

 

Additional Resources:

Up next
Today
Why Work Feels So Hard — And What to Do About It
<p dir="ltr">We're bringing you an episode of one of our favorite podcasts, <a href= "https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos"> The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos</a>, on which Dan was a guest.<br /> <br /> We can spend a lot of time working ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 21
The Dharma of Anxiety and Depression | Leslie Booker
<p dir="ltr">Anxiety. Depression. Perfectionism. Dan and meditation teacher Leslie Booker get real about how these challenges show up in their own lives — and how mindfulness, community, and sometimes medication can actually help. Recorded live at New York Insight, this conversat ... Show More
31m 12s
Nov 19
How To Get Out Of Your Head: Joseph Goldstein and Sam Harris on Nirvana, Non-Clinging, Non-Duality, and the Best Way to Meditate
<p dir="ltr">Which is the best path to freedom?</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein/">Joseph Goldstein</a> is a cofounder of the <a href= "https://www.dharma.org/">Insight Meditation Society</a> and the <a href="https://www.buddhistinquiry.o ... Show More
1h 31m
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Hosting Your First Mindfulness Retreat, with Cory Muscara
<p>Mindfulness retreats are a valuable opportunity to step away from routine and apply ourselves to deepening our mindfulness. We may devote a single day or multiple days to retreat, either at home or at a retreat center. </p><p>Meditation teachers who have completed retreats of ... Show More
16m 39s
Jul 2022
10 Benefits of Meditation for Transforming the Mind and Body w/John R. Miles EP 160
<p>The ancient practice of meditation is as pertinent today as it was two millennia ago when it was discovered. Amid the turmoil of life, we all could use the scientific benefits of meditation which provides a simple yet effective and convenient way to relax your body, calm your ... Show More
24m 37s
Aug 18
Mingyur Rinpoche: A Meditation Master on Anxiety, Awareness, and Awakening
Dr. Rick and Forrest are joined by Mingyur Rinpoche, a renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher, to explore calming anxiety with awareness, relaxing unhealthy wanting, and finding a deeper sense of our innate goodness. Rinpoche shares how a near-death experience during his four-year “wa ... Show More
1h 8m
Dec 2024
SPECIAL: How Two Hard-Charging Busy Entrepreneurs Turn Off Their Brains, Meditate, De-Stress, Relax & Raise Kids: Anxiety Hacks & More With Katie Krimitsos
Today I have something a little different for you that I think you’ll love. It’s an interview I did with the incredible Ben Greenfield and I’m sharing it with you here because our conversation was so pure and full of insights on how to navigate the holidays - and your whole life ... Show More
59m 52s
Apr 2025
A Forgiveness Meditation with Will Schneider
Forgiveness is a cornerstone practice of mindfulness, and it’s also one of the most difficult. Extending forgiveness to others and to ourselves requires a kind of awareness and vulnerability that can feel deeply uncomfortable, especially if we are carrying heavy stories of shame, ... Show More
17m 42s
Sep 12
How to Feel your Feelings: Step-by-Step Exercise and full debrief w/ Thomas McConkie, Mindfulness
<p>Together we're going to do a Meditation for Emotions with Mindfulness Instructor Thomas McConkie. We're going to talk about how to work with the embodiment of emotions and how to create space for all our feelings, even the ones that are painful or frightening. You can learn mo ... Show More
43m 23s
Sep 5
Top 5 Ways to Thrive Not Survive! How Meditation, Somatic Work & Building Interpersonal Trust Can Dramatically Improve How You Feel Each Day w/ Dan Harris
Exclusive Substack Release! We originally posted this episode to our Substack Breakers ONLY and we thought it was time we shared with YOU! Subscribe at bialikbreakdown.substack.com for more exclusive content like this and more! We sat down with our friend Dan Harris (author of 10 ... Show More
52m 11s
Sep 2023
Inner Peace Mindset 8 Minute Meditation
<p>Simple and beautiful!</p> <p>Paul guides you through a serene 8-minute meditation designed to help you better connect with a sense of inner peace.</p> <p>Do you want access to even deeper, even more powerful subconscious training content without the intros, exclusive invites ... Show More
10m 6s
Oct 3
What to Do When You Feel Stuck in Your Mindfulness Practice
<p>At some point in practice, many of us wonder: Why does it feel like I’m not growing anymore? </p><p>In this excerpt from our Community Gathering Q&amp;A, a student opens up about reaching a plateau after years of mindfulness and healing work.</p><p>Sean Fargo offers a compassi ... Show More
7m 34s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami