Consider your own experience of the acts and beings involved in memory and imagination—before science enters the picture. Consider what memory and imagination are like from your inner experience—not from the perspective or the studies of cognitive neuroscience or psychology. Science seeks truth and finds it, but the search here is for what supports that truth from within.
Say, for example, that a person weighs 170 pounds, measurable by a standard scale. She may find it difficult or even impossible to pick up 170 pounds of deadweight, if she is not a weightlifter. But how does it actually feel to be 170 pounds? It doesn’t feel at all like lifting deadweight. From the inside of her own experience of that 170 pounds, moving about in full health, she feels relatively light—maybe even light as a feather. This is the inner perspective of memory and imagination that we’re looking for. Our inner perspective does not cancel out the scientific perspective; they are complementary.
Memory is fascinating. I encourage you to get interested in the ways of your own memory. It has a unity, like our physical bodies or a landscape have a unity, and this unity can be touched or awakened at almost every part of point.
RITUAL—TRACKING MEMORY
This small, simple, but very potent daily mental cultivation ritual has its roots in the practices of ancient Greek philosophers and mystics, as well as in the mindfulness practices of Buddhist lineages. Variations of it are used in therapeutic contexts to support survivors of abuse, war, and trauma of all kinds.
This ritual serves two purposes. First, it heightens your awareness of your relationship to memory and to your experience of the present moments that are distinguishable from and underlie memory. Second, it attunes you to your everyday experiences.
Breathe in a blessing on your physical body. Exhale in gratitude.
Set your timer for fifteen minutes and record the events of the previous day, without comment or judgment. Start anywhere—with what happened in the morning, afternoon, or evening. There is no need to try to pick an interesting experience or “problem area” to focus on. Making breakfast, walking down the street, working in the office—all the little, seemingly unremarkable things that happened during the previous day are what you’re recording here.
Simply describe what happened or what you were doing in as much detail as possible, including the sights, sounds, and any other details that seem relevant. Don’t get into the mental or emotional details of these happenings, such as whether you were worried while you were walking down the street, or whether you were thinking or feeling something profound. Resist the temptation to comment on what happened.
Take your time. When the timer rings, put your writing implement down, even if you are not finished.
Breathe in a blessing on your physical body once more and on your willingness to show up for this work.
Briana Saussy is a teacher, spiritual counselor, and founder of the Sacred Arts Academy, where she teaches tarot, ceremony, alchemy, and other sacred arts for everyday life. She lives in San Antonio, Texas. For more, visit brianasaussy.com.
Buy your copy of Making Magic at your favorite bookseller!
Tami Simon speaks with Seane Corn, an internationally acclaimed yoga teacher who has been featured in nearly fifty different print and broadcast media. An active humanitarian and advocate for social change, she has conducted humanitarian work in India, Cambodia, and Africa. In this interview, Seane discusses the deeper dimensions of yoga practice and her unusual life story as an empowered and empowering yogini. (58 minutes)
From yoga luminary and artist Elena Brower, Practice You, is a sacred text of your own design.
Practice You is a map to your highest self; a field guide of your own creation. The pages of this Journal are full of potent prompts and inviting spaces, awaiting your contemplation and discoveries.
Within these pages you will find a series of Explorations, one for each of nine aspects of being. Each exploration offers instructions and inquiries to help you design new attitudes, fresh perspectives, and stay on track with your intentions.
Stories, dynamic meditations, and innovative writing exercises to spark creativity and spiritual awakening.
The best writers say their work comes from a source beyond the thinking mind. But how do we access that source? “We must first look inside ourselves and be willing to touch that raw emotional core at the heart of a deeper creativity,” Writes Albert Flynn DeSilver. In Writing as a Path to Awakening, this renowned poet, writer, and teacher shows you how to use meditation to cultivate true depth in your writing—so your words reveal layers of profound emotional insight and revelation that inspire and move your readers.
Your bucket list. Quarterly objectives. Strategic plans. Big dreams. Goals. Lots of goals and plans to achieve those goals—no matter what. Except …
You’re not chasing the goal itself, you’re actually chasing the feeling that you hope achieving that goal will give you.
Which means we have the procedures of achievement upside down. We go after the stuff we want to have, get, or accomplish, and we hope that we’ll be fulfilled when we get there. It’s backwards. And it’s burning us out.
With The Desire Map, Danielle LaPorte brings you a holistic life-planning tool that will revolutionize the way you go after what you want in life. Unapologetically passionate and with plenty of warm wit, LaPorte turns the concept of ambition inside out and offers an inspired, refreshingly practical workbook for using the Desire Map process:
Yoga begins with physical well-being. But it can also transport us—through meditation, self-awareness, and movement—into a lifelong exploration of presence, elegance, and deeper life purpose. With Art of Attention, Elena Brower and Erica Jago show us the way. Distilled from their acclaimed workshops and training programs, this multifaceted book can be used as:
• A step-by-step workshop for merging movement-based mindfulness with traditional yoga
• A “tool kit” of asanas, meditations, self-inquiry questions, and healing practices for creating your own daily spiritual practice
• An uplifting source of visual beauty and wisdom teachings for inner reflection and elevation
Experience a modern classic on writing as you’ve never heard it before. With nearly one million copies of Writing Down the Bones in print, Natalie Goldberg has helped change the way writing is practiced in homes, schools, and workshops across America. Through her heartfelt personal reflections and her ingenious Zen-based exercises, Goldberg makes writing available to you as a tool for personal expression, self-exploration, and healing.
Goldberg offers new commentary about the creative, spiritual, and practical dimensions of writing. Join her as she looks back on her life, sharing the story of how her meditation studies with Zen master Katagiri Roshi inspired her to develop practices for “writing down the bones”: the essential, awakened speech of the mind. Here is a treasury of tested ideas, suggestions, and exercises that help new writers get started, and seasoned writers keep going.
In The Writing Life, Cameron and Goldberg join forces for the first time in this revealing dialogue that speaks to our common search for an everyday spirituality.
Join these two creative giants as they explode cherished misconceptions about who should write, and why they should do it, opening the door to the writer’s world for everybody, not just a chosen few. Goldberg and Cameron take us inside their personal lives as committed writers and spiritual seekers, and explore the following questions: How can writing best be practiced? What is the difference between therapeutic writing and writing for publication? How do we conquer the twin dragons of mood and time? Is it dangerous or inspirational to dabble in different arts such as music, painting, and writing? How is addiction related to the writer’s life?
Edgy, surprising, and useful for its hard-won advice, The Writing Life is an invitation to a life-transforming act that requires no more than a pen, some paper, and the will to get started.
Happiness is often seen as a destination, but Sharon Salzberg reminds us that it is a practice we cultivate each day. Rather than seeking a life free from challenges, she encourages us to meet every experience with mindfulness, compassion, and an open heart. Her teachings offer a practical path toward greater peace and emotional resilience.
At Sounds True, we have been sharing the wisdom of trusted spiritual teachers for more than four decades, making transformational teachings accessible through audio recordings, digital courses, and programs that nurture personal growth and mindful living.
In this piece, we’ll discuss Sharon Salzberg’s perspective on real happiness, the myth of permanent happiness, and how loving kindness meditation and metta meditation can help cultivate lasting well-being.
Key Takeaways:
Happiness Is a Daily Practice: Sharon Salzberg describes real happiness not as a fixed emotional state but as a living practice grown through awareness, presence, and an open heart.
Metta Opens Your Heart: Loving-kindness meditation and metta meditation build a foundation for compassion, soften self-judgment, and deepen your connection with those around you.
Consistency Builds Resilience: A regular loving kindness practice, even just a few quiet minutes each day, can reshape how you move through difficulty and strengthen the relationships that matter most.
Sharon Salzberg on Real Happiness and the Myth of Permanent Happiness
Sharon Salzberg has been a student of Buddhism since 1971 and began leading meditation retreats worldwide in 1974. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of deep study with Burmese, Indian, and Tibetan teachers, her work centers on two foundational traditions: vipassana, also known as insight meditation, and the cultivation of lovingkindness and compassion, called the Brahma Viharas.
As one of the most respected insight meditation teachers, she brings ancient wisdom into language that is warm, accessible, and deeply practical for the rhythms of modern life.
The Foundations of Insight Meditation
Insight meditation is a practice rooted in direct observation of experience. Instead of trying to control or silence the mind, practitioners learn to witness thoughts, sensations, and emotions with steady, non-reactive awareness. That quality of clear seeing allows us to recognize that all experience, including the uncomfortable kind, is impermanent.
Sharon Salzberg says that expecting permanent happiness often creates unnecessary suffering. Joy and sorrow naturally come and go, and trying to hold onto pleasant experiences only leads to frustration. Rather than measuring life by how often we feel happy, she encourages developing the inner stability to face every experience with openness and care.
Real happiness, in Sharon’s view, grows from acceptance rather than control. As we grow more aware of our thoughts and emotions, we come to see that difficult moments do not define us. Sharon’s teachings on this topic are part of an ongoing conversation we host through the Insights at the Edge Podcast, where leading spiritual teachers share practical wisdom for navigating everyday life with greater awareness and heart.
Loving Kindness Meditation and the Path to Inner Peace
One of Sharon’s most influential teachings is loving kindness meditation. This practice invites us to cultivate goodwill toward ourselves before extending that same warmth outward to others. Rather than forcing positive emotions, loving kindness meditation strengthens our capacity to respond with patience and compassion, even when life makes that difficult.
Sharon’s Loving-kindness program gets at something essential about why this practice matters. Metta meditation is a way to dissolve the mental barriers that quietly separate us from the people around us, and from ourselves. Through consistent practice, we can release feelings of isolation and awaken real compassion. We free ourselves from cycles of needless suffering while learning to trust the loving, wise heart that lives within each of us.
Loving kindness meditation also helps soften self-criticism while opening the door to more connected, authentic relationships. The shift may be gradual, but it is real and lasting.
How Metta Meditation Supports Compassion and Connection
Metta meditation is a structured practice of silently repeating phrases of well-being directed first toward yourself, then extending outward to a close friend, a neutral person, someone with whom you feel friction, and eventually to all beings. The phrases themselves are simple, something like “May you be safe. May you be at peace.”
Sharon explains that these intentions may seem small at first, yet they reshape how we respond to ourselves and those around us. Rather than waiting for compassion to arise naturally, metta meditation gives us a way to practice it every day. With patience, kindness becomes less of an idea and more of a natural response to life’s changing circumstances.
To see how this works in real life, consider someone navigating tension with a family member after a disagreement. Compassion can feel out of reach in the middle of that kind of friction. A metta practice offers a place to begin, not by pretending the conflict does not exist, but by silently extending well-being first to yourself, acknowledging your own hurt, and then, when ready, to the other person.
Resources in our Meditation & Mindfulness collection bring together teachings from Sharon and other respected guides, exploring both the depth and the daily application of these traditions to help you build a sustainable practice.
Building a Loving Kindness Practice for Everyday Life
A loving kindness practice does not require long formal sessions. Even a few quiet moments offering kind wishes can create real shifts in daily life. Sharon encourages beginning where we are, knowing consistency matters far more than perfection:
Start With Yourself Each Morning. Kindness toward yourself is often the most challenging part of a metta practice. Sharon teaches self-compassion is the ground from which all other compassion grows. Try sitting quietly for five minutes, silently offering words of care: “May I be at peace. May I be well.”
Extend Kindness Into Your Relationships. Once the practice becomes familiar, extending it outward grows more natural. A few silent phrases during a commute or before a difficult conversation can shift the texture of an ordinary moment. Compassion is not demanded on a timeline. The practice simply sets the conditions for it to arise.
Build Consistency With Short, Daily Sessions. Five to ten minutes of metta practice each morning, paired with brief moments of conscious kindness throughout the day, creates more lasting change than occasional longer sessions.
Those looking to develop greater gentleness and emotional balance alongside their meditation journey will find resources in our Self-Compassion collection, which brings together teachings from some of the most respected voices in this space.
Final Thoughts
As Sharon Salzberg shares, real happiness grows through presence, compassion, and a willingness to meet each experience with an open heart. By embracing practices like loving kindness meditation and metta meditation, we can develop greater resilience, deepen our connection with others, and cultivate a more peaceful way of living.
If you would like to continue learning from Sharon and many other respected teachers, visit our All Teachers & Authors page to find teachings that support your own path toward greater presence and compassion.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sharon Salzberg on Real Happiness
What inspired Sharon Salzberg to begin teaching meditation?
Sharon Salzberg’s interest in meditation began during her studies in India, where she encountered Buddhist teachings that shaped her lifelong commitment to mindfulness and compassion.
Why has Sharon Salzberg’s work remained influential for so many years?
Her teachings combine timeless Buddhist wisdom with practical guidance that is accessible, compassionate, and relevant to everyday life, making them meaningful for both new and experienced meditators.
Is loving kindness meditation connected to Buddhism?
Yes. Loving kindness meditation originates from the Buddhist tradition and is based on cultivating unconditional goodwill. Today, it is practiced by people of many backgrounds, regardless of religious belief.
How long should I practice metta meditation each day?
Even five to ten minutes a day can be beneficial. Building a regular habit is generally more effective than practicing for long periods only occasionally.
Can beginners practice loving kindness meditation?
Absolutely. Loving kindness meditation is one of the most approachable meditation practices because it focuses on simple intentions of kindness instead of trying to quiet every thought.
Why do some people find it difficult to offer kindness to themselves?
Many people are accustomed to self-criticism and may initially feel uncomfortable directing compassion inward. Like any skill, self-kindness becomes more natural with consistent practice.
What is the difference between mindfulness meditation and metta meditation?
Mindfulness meditation focuses on observing present-moment experience with awareness, while metta meditation intentionally cultivates feelings of kindness, compassion, and goodwill.
Michelle Cassandra Johnson is an author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial equity consultant, and intuitive healer. She is the author of six books, including Skill in Action and Finding Refuge. Amy Burtaine is a leadership coach and racial equity trainer. With Robin DiAngelo, she is the coauthor of The Facilitator’s Guide for White Affinity Groups. For more, visit https://www.michellecjohnson.com/wisdom-of-the-hive.
Tami Simon speaks with Chloë Goodchild. Chloë is a teacher, composer, performer, and the founder of the Naked Voice foundation, a charitable trust devoted to healing suffering and resolving conflict through sound. With Sound True, she has created the three-CD program Your Naked Voice, and the audio learning course Awakening Through Sound: The Naked Voice Program to Access Your Deepest Wisdom. In this episode, Tami speaks with Chloë about what she calls “the sound before sound” and what the sound of the ether might be like. Chloë also leads us through a Naked Voice exercise for tuning into the sound of your own voice called One Breath, One Voice. (61 minutes)
The meditation practices passed down from the Buddha are beautiful, time-tested ways to awaken a compassionate, joyful, and loving heart. Buddhist psychology and research from modern neuroscience both show enormous benefits from using these methods as a regular practice or in conjunction with conventional therapy. With The Psychology of the Awakened Heart, master teacher Jack Kornfield invites mental health professionals and meditators alike to an eight-session online video course on the Buddhist psychology of well-being. Each session, Jack will present life-changing practices, wisdom teachings, and healing stories—offering a rich mix of practical and scientific information and experiential exercises based on the timeless principles of Buddhist psychology.
Learn more about this special online training opportunity, watch a video sample, and register here.
Briana Saussy is a teacher, spiritual counselor, and founder of the Sacred Arts Academy, where she teaches tarot, ceremony, alchemy, and other sacred arts for everyday life. She lives in San Antonio, Texas. For more, visit brianasaussy.com.
