Ready to begin or deepen your meditation practice? Join Dan Harris and world-class meditation teachers on the 10% with Dan Harris app here: https://app.danharris.com/membership What happens when someone hands Dan Harris a deck of cards and asks him questions he hasn't prepared for? This. Dan sits down with his old NPR colleague Rachel Martin on her podcast Wild Card — what she calls a metaphysical game show — and the cards take the conversation somewhere genuinely interesting. Rachel Martin is the creator and host of Wild Card and a longtime NPR journalist. She and Dan go back to their days covering faith and spirituality together at ABC News. In this conversation, they cover: - Why Dan does 10-day silent meditation retreats every year — and why loneliness, not silence, is the hard part - The story of Barry, the security guard who rode the elevator with Dan every time he came to the studio — and what that has to do with Barbara Fredrickson's research on micro interactions - Why Dan deleted Instagram — and what envy has to do with it - The "good-ish" concept from NYU professor Dolly Chug, and how it unlocked Dan's chronic defensiveness - The story Dan carried for decades about being a bad person — and how he finally put it down - What Buddhism actually says about the soul (spoiler: there isn't one) — and why that turns out to be useful rather than nihilistic - The five daily remembrances the Buddha recommended — and why Vinny Ferraro calls the fifth one "pulling the knife out" - Why Dan finds devotional practice and prostration both repulsive and fascinating - The experience Dan most wants every person to have: the knowledge that the brain is trainable and change is possible This episode is a feed drop from Wild Card with Rachel Martin, a production of NPR. Find Wild Card wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to watch more 10% Happier videos: https://www.youtube.com/tenpercenthappier Follow Dan Harris on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/danharris/ https://www.tiktok.com/@danbharris https://www.facebook.com/DanHarrisABC https://twitter.com/danbharris https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-harris-91ba5716b/ Timestamps: 0:00:00 Introduction and Dan's innovation to the dharma 0:01:00 Silent retreats and the loneliness that's harder than the silence 0:05:00 What retreats actually teach you: no feeling is final 0:07:00 Barry the elevator security guard and the science of micro interactions 0:12:00 When Dan found his people: smart weirdos in New York City 0:17:00 10 years of Ten Percent Happier — how the show evolved 0:19:00 The subtle aggression of self-improvement — and how to reframe it 0:22:00 The episode Dan would send a first-time listener to: Joseph Goldstein 0:24:00 What Dan complains about most: the voice in his head 0:27:00 Envy and why Dan deleted Instagram 0:29:00 The story Dan had to unlearn: I'm a bad person 0:31:00 The "good-ish" concept and the root of defensiveness 0:34:00 What Buddhism says about the soul — and why it's practical, not nihilistic 0:38:00 The five daily remembrances and Vinny Ferraro pulling the knife out 0:41:00 Devotional practice: prostration, revulsion, and what Dan is actually curious about 0:44:00 The experience Dan most wants every person to have: you are not stuck 0:46:00 Memory time machine: a warm Cambridge night and the feeling that everything's okay #meditation #mindfulness #Buddhism