The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern

In a spontaneous episode, Ethan discusses grief and loss while processing multiple events. At a recent compassion meditation retreat, colleague and friend René Fay gave a presentation where she discussed the need to “Microdose Grief,” to take it in little by little so that we can honor the small moments of loss to develop familiarity with the experience when the big waves come. Through remembering the life and the recent death of a...

How can we embrace the limitations of time and the certainty of death and create real fulfillment that thrives on an honest assessment of our human predicament? These are the questions at the heart of this episode. Ethan welcomes back bestselling author and journalist Oliver Burkeman for a discussion of finitude, death, limitations, productivity, and dueling concepts of the meaning of meditation. 

In this episode, Ethan does what at least 40 people have asked him to do (special shout-out to Michele S. in Iowa who convinced him to devote a whole podcast episode to it!) - share his thoughts, as a Buddhist, on Season 3 of the Max streaming series The White Lotus. To do so, he explains three different ways to look at the concept of “Dharma Art,” along with a discussion of the three realms. He also ponders why pop culture seems t...

In this episode, Ethan links a crucial set of instructions from mindfulness meditation teachers of the past regarding how we carry our posture to what it means to show up in this world at a time of chaos. He discusses the instructions on mindfulness meditation from the “warrior” tradition of enlightened society, as well as decoding the qualities of the instruction to maintain a “strong back, and a soft front.”

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After tariffs were broadly imposed by the current American regime (including, apparently on uninhabited islands populated mostly by penguins) causing a nearly unprecedented crash of the stock market, and after attending the lovely and unexpectedly massive protest marches that took place on April 5, Ethan ponders how to deal with extreme states of mind with a world on a roller coaster marked by fear and greed. The key, he says, is t...

In light of revelations about the theft of countless authors' work by one A.I. company (guess which one), Ethan finally talks about a topic he's been requested to cover for a while: Buddhist views on artificial intelligence. He begins by positioning the conversation within the frame of View and Intention, asking the question of what "technology" is and why and how we even want it to progress, along w...

Ethan delves further into right action during a time of protest and chaos, using the recent examples of Tesla cars and cybertrucks being set on fire as a launching point. In The Power of Choice episode, he looked into the five precepts as guidelines for empowered and skillful action. In this episode, he looks into actions of mind as our guide: whether our actions are furthering our fixation on the three poisons of greed, hatred and...

Ethan delves into the Bodhisattva teachings on happiness, benefitting beings, and “idiot compassion,” or what happens when compassion becomes an ego construction. How do we tell the difference between helping others in a nourishing way, on the one hand, and doing things for others that we really don’t want to do that leave us burnt out and resentful? And what do you do if no one thanks you for the amazing charcuterie plate you made...

Ethan welcomes bestselling author and Dharma teacher Susan Piver for a discussion of the groundlessness of our current world framed through her new book Inexplicable Joy: On The Heart Sutra. If you'd like to read a translation of this classic Buddhist text, you can find that on Ethan's Substack.

Susan Piver is the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including The Four Noble Truths of Love: Buddhist Wisdom for Modern Re...

Ethan discusses the classic origins of the worldview of "Materialism," as well a framework developed by the Tibetan teacher Chogyam Trungpa called "The Three Lords of Materialism" for looking at how we can notice our tendency to chase peak experiences in the arenas of the physical world, intellectual experience, and of course, our spiritual paths.

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Ethan discusses a classic Buddhist concept, sīla (or shila), through the lens of knowing where to place our attention and action, knowing "what to cultivate and what to reject." Choices shift energy and energy can build power, and that power can be the difference between awakening and confusion. Ethan also argues, using the five precepts (or five mindfulness trainings) as a guide, that this might be the key to building new powerful...

Ethan is joined for an insightful discussion about Dharma Art with Academy Award-winning film editor and Buddhist meditator Andrew Buckland. They discuss the practice of filmmaking and creativity more generally, as well as Andrew's path, the film A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic which was Andrew's latest editing project. Finally, they discuss why working in the film profession sometimes feels like "A Cesspool of Ego."

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Ethan is joined for an insightful discussion about Entering the Study of Buddhism with the faculty of Dharma Moon's Yearlong Buddhist Studies program.

Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program (The first 6-Week module, Entering The Path, is open to all and starts January 28, 2025) and  Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training.

About the Faculty:

Lou Sharma has been ...

Ethan offers a lovingkindness (metta/maitri) meditation for all who are effected by the climate crisis, and discusses why when global crises require our action, our practice might be a privilege, but it's also a necessity.

The climate crisis recognizes no borders, and we are truly all in this together. Just a few links to help and get involved with the Los Angeles wildfires are: Global Empowerment...

Ethan discusses the difficulty with keeping a meditation practice going that is relevant for those who are new to practice as well as those who have been finding their seat for many years. He offers five keys to making your practice more sustainable this year.

Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dharma Moon, including the Yearlong Buddhist Studies program (starts January 28, 2025) and Mindful Meditation Teacher Training...

Ethan is joined again by friend, bestselling author, dharma practitioner and astrologer Juliana McCarthy. They discuss the various movements in astrology in 2024 and 2025 from a mindful perspective. Juliana gives her optimistic take on what is to come, calling Mid 2025 onward "Not A New Chapter, But A Whole New Book," why Ethan is praying for Star Trek aliens,and they discuss world events and how the US might avoid what appears to ...

Ethan is joined by Dharma Moon founder and award winning musician/composer David Nichtern for a true moment of Nichternity. They engage in a wide-ranging discussion (the only kind they know how to have) about Wicked, Ariana Grande, Ethan's issue with musicals, the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, the Kaliyuga or "dark ages," fear of impermanence, building an awakened environment of art and culture, and, finally, the elusive conce...

Ethan is joined by health journalist and podcaster Derek Beres to discuss the dominance of misinformation in the health, wellness and spiritual spaces, and how we might be able to understand and converse with the people—and the parts of ourselves—that have gone "down the rabbithole."

Derek Beres is a multi-faceted author, speaker, and podcaster based in Portland, Oregon. He has served in senior editorial positions at a number of te...

Ethan discusses the addiction concept of "rock-bottom" and how that concept can be transposed onto the worldview of individualism and individual power. In what ways, from a Buddhist standpoint, is individualism healthy and necessary? In what ways is it confused? Can we transition to a more collective or community-oriented worldview, and what is the role of the sangha in all this?

Check out all the cool offerings at our sponsor Dhar...