This special bonus episode features an in-depth conversation with Margaret Cullen, a licensed psychotherapist, longtime meditation teacher, and author of the new book Quiet Strength: Finding Calm, Clarity, and Resilience in a Turbulent World.

Margaret has spent more than four decades studying and teaching mindfulness, compassion, and emotional resilience. She was one of the early certified teachers in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and helped develop Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) at Stanford School of Medicine alongside Thupten Jinpa. She is also a fellow of the Mind & Life Institute and an advisor to the Global Compassion Coalition.

In this thoughtful conversation, we explore the often-misunderstood quality of equanimity — the capacity to meet life’s joys and challenges without becoming overwhelmed, reactive, or emotionally shut down.

We discuss: • What equanimity really is (and what it is not) • How equanimity works alongside mindfulness • Why suppressing emotions increases suffering • How emotions move through the body when we don’t interfere with them • The role of “feeling tones” in emotional reactivity • Staying emotionally engaged without burnout • Practicing compassion while maintaining boundaries • Finding inner steadiness in an increasingly turbulent world

The episode concludes with a gentle guided equanimity meditation, offering listeners a direct, experiential way to cultivate calm, clarity, and emotional balance.

📘 Quiet Strength: Finding Calm, Clarity, and Resilience in a Turbulent World 📅 Publication date: March 10 📖 Available now for pre-order HERE:

Learn more about Margaret’s work, access free mindfulness and equanimity practices, and sign up for her newsletter at: www.margaretcullen.com

This bonus episode is offered as a reflective companion to your regular programming — an invitation to pause, listen deeply, and reconnect with a sense of inner steadiness.