For episode 255, Sharon closes out the 2024 year in podcasts with an intimate conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert.

Liz is the New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic, the novels City of Girls and The Signature of All Things, and six other books of fiction and nonfiction — which altogether have sold over 25 million copies worldwide. She travels the globe giving talks and workshops that encourage people to lead brave, authentic, and creative lives, and her TED talk, “Your Elusive Creative Genius,” is among their most viewed talks ever. Liz is also the founder of both the Onward Book Club, and the Letters From Love project on Substack.

In this conversation, Liz and Sharon speak about:

• How Liz came to her spiritual practice
• What love said to Liz twenty years ago
• Sharon’s experience doing Letters from Love
• Cultivating a ministry of presence
• Liz’s twelve-step work with Love and Sex Addiction
• Two-Way Prayer
• The ability to receive
• Love is not a UPS package
• Earth School
• What is my next right action?
• The beginnings of resilience
• Why is not a spiritual question
• Acknowledging the interconnection of things

The episode closes with Liz leading a Letter From Love practice. You can learn more about Liz’s work right here.

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For episode 254, we are continuing the Fireside Chat Series on the Metta Hour with guest Ruth King.

This series features intimate conversations with longtime dharma teachers about the early days of their practice and the most impactful moments with their own teachers. Hosted by IMS Online, the sixth episode in this series. Ruth King is the Founder of Mindful of Race Institute, LLC, and is a celebrated author, educator, and meditation teacher. She teaches mindfulness meditation retreats worldwide and develops meditation practitioners at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, and the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. Ruth is the author of several publications including her most recent, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From The Inside Out.

In this conversation, Ruth and Sharon discuss:

• Ruth’s first invitation to meditation
• First hearing Jack Kornfield teach
• The deep calling to teach
• Initial misconceptions about meditation
• Ram Dass giving Joseph Goldstein his first teaching job
• Sharon’s first teaching retreat
• Ruth’s first teaching in the DC area
• Ruth’s life as a writer
• Artistry and mindfulness
• Ruth’s BIPOC teaching & online academy
• The season of eldership
• The process of downsizing and moving
• Letting go versus not holding on
• Nothing is permanent, perfect, or personal
• This episode closes with a guided meditation by Ruth.

You can learn more about Ruth’s work right here and get a copy of Mindful of Race right here. Learn more about IMS Online right here. Listen to Ruth’s first episode on the Metta Hour from 2018, Episode 87, right here.

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For episode 252, Cory Allen makes his first appearance on the Metta Hour podcast.

Cory Allen is an author, coach, podcaster, and influencer from Austin, Texas. He writes daily thoughts on mindfulness and mental clarity for his large Instagram following, reaching over a million people a week. Cory is the author of two books, his most recent, Brave New You, has just been released from Hay House in 2024 in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats. His podcast And Then It Hit Me, has over 300 episodes to date.

In this conversation, Sharon and Cory discuss:

• Meditation Barbie
• Cory’s origin story
• Opening to greater possibility
• Cultivating greater agency
• Story is everything
• Keeping language real
• Having an original mind
• The importance of self-trust
• How our faith evolves
• How Sharon challenges herself
• Intuition as an entryway to our deeper self

Cory closes the conversation with a guided meditation. You can learn more about Cory’s work right here and get a copy of his new book, Brave New You, right here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.