10% Happier with Dan Harris · 2026-04-22 · 59 min · 9,849 words

How To Relax The Need To Control Everything | Rosa Lewis

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This is the 10% Happier Podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey gang, one of the most venerable spiritual cliches is the notion of being present. It may be a cliche and therefore slightly annoying, but it is also an incredibly important concept and skill, being awake and alive to your life during this limited period of time when you're here on this planet. So today we're going to talk about what being present actually means and then crucially,

how to actually do it. My guest is a meditation teacher and self-described mystic named Rosa Lewis. Rosa and I talk about why sadness and grief, which of course nobody likes, can actually enable presence, the difference between feeling sadness and getting lost in self-pity. why uh the so-called dark night of the soul is a very normal stage in spiritual practice, why, and this is counterintuitive, but why uh visualizing death can help you process the bad things that have happened to you, why saying no can be a spiritual practice, and much more. Before we dive in, I just want to say that if you want to meditate with me, I have two live in-person events coming up.

On May 17th, I'll be at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. I'll do a guided meditation and then I'll talk about how the practice can help you in this chaotic world and then I'll take your questions. It's going to be great. You should come May 17th, 92nd Street, why?

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