Episode Description

For episode 242, Emma Seppälä, Ph.D. returns to the Metta Hour to speak about her new book, “Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty, and Chaos.” Emma is a best-selling author, Yale lecturer, and international keynote speaker. She teaches executives at the Yale School of Management and is faculty director of the Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program. She is also the Science Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. A psychologist and research scientist by training, Emma’s expertise is the science of happiness, emotional intelligence, and social connection.

In this conversation Emma and Sharon discuss:

• Emma’s definition of the word “Sovereign”

• self-loathing hiding out as self-criticism

• The toxic relationship with ourselves

• The myths of high-achievers

• Sharon’s story of facing self-imposed beliefs

• How Emma has worked with self-loathing

• Emma’s first meditation experience

• You have to name it to tame it

• Internalizing the stories told about us

• Awareness + courage

• Emma’s definition of the term “self-compassion”

• The disempowerment of shame

• The research around lovingkindness

• How intuition supports sovereignty

• What research reveals about meditation

• The science of happiness

• Emma’s study of breath-work for veterans

Additional Resources

Emma closes the conversation with a guided meditation. You can learn more about Emma’s work and get a copy of “Sovereign” on her website right here. Learn more about the Project Welcome Home Troops right here.

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