A Heart as Wide as the World: Navigating a Polarized World with Love

Guest: Sharon Salzberg Discover how the transformative power of loving-kindness can help bridge divides in our polarized world. In this heart-opening episode of the Add Heart Podcast, HeartMath CEO Deborah Rozman interviews Sharon Salzberg, who is perhaps best known for helping to make mindfulness and loving-kindness meditations accessible to mainstream America. Sharon is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, author of the bestselling Lovingkindness, and host of the Metta Hour podcast. Join Deborah and Sharon in this intriguing dialogue on how practicing loving-kindness can quickly improve our own lives and help society. They discuss how loving-kindness is an energetic antidote to fear that enhances intuition and our connection with others. Deborah shares HeartMath’s scientific discovery on how loving-kindness practices increase coherence in the heart’s rhythmic beating pattern. This helps to regulate and balance the nervous system while synchronizing the heart and brain to expand perception. Sharon shares that heart and mind are actually the same word in many Asian languages, challenging the Western concept of separation between the two. Both agree on the crucial need for humanity to unite, heart and mind, for people to be able to get along with each other — and that letting the mind lead without the heart has led to a growing divisiveness in society. Together, Sharon and Deborah explore what is meant by “a heart as wide as the world,” emphasizing that opening our hearts to others is the foundation for our own happiness and for addressing life’s challenges with wisdom and compassion. This engaging conversation between these two experts in their fields offers hope and practical wisdom for navigating a complex world with more heart and effectiveness, leading to transformative outcomes. About our guest: Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She was among the first to bring mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation to mainstream American culture 50 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. A co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, Sharon is the author of 13 books, including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. In 2023, Sharon released two new books: Real Life, available from Flatiron Books, and Finding Your Way, a small gift book available from Workman. Sharon’s popular podcast, Metta Hour, has amassed seven million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.