10% Happier with Dan Harris

How To Use Psychology and Buddhism To Handle Your Inner Critic | Amita Schmidt

January 7, 2026

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  • Healing is a spectrum that effectively integrates both psychological modalities like Internal Family Systems (IFS) and spiritual practices like Buddhist meditation. 
  • The core of IFS involves accessing the 'wise self' (capital S Self) to lead the inner 'parts' (including the inner critic) rather than being controlled by them, which is analogous to spiritual concepts of awareness. 
  • States like depression, when deeply examined through a spiritual lens, can be seen as empty of inherent substance, a realization that can lead to profound unhooking and freedom, as exemplified by Amita Schmidt's personal experience following surrender and acceptance. 
  • Amita Schmidt's teachings and guided meditations are available for free on platforms like Dharma Seed (D-H-A-R-M-A-S-E-E-D dot org) and Insight Timer. 
  • Amita Schmidt authored the book "Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master," which details the inspiring life of a female Buddhist master who achieved high awareness while raising a child. 
  • Dan Harris promotes the 10% with Dan Harris app, offering a free 30-day trial and access to a seven-day meditation challenge featuring Joseph Goldstein. 

Segments

Introduction to IFS and Guest
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(00:00:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Internal Family Systems (IFS) posits that individuals have an inner cast of ‘parts’ that can be identified and worked with, preventing them from being constantly owned by these parts.
  • Summary: The episode introduces Amita Schmidt, who blends psychotherapy with Buddhist meditation, specifically utilizing IFS therapy. IFS, developed by Dick Schwartz, views the psyche as having various ‘parts,’ including the inner critic. The goal is to work with these parts so they do not dominate one’s experience.
Psychology and Spirituality Integration
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(00:05:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Psychology historically moved away from its spiritual basis for scientific validation, but modalities like IFS reintroduce a spiritual component through the concept of the ‘Self’.
  • Summary: Amita Schmidt notes that psychology became ’neutered’ from its spiritual roots due to the emphasis on scientific rigor, contrasting with figures like Carl Jung. IFS brings this back by centering on ‘self-leadership,’ where a wiser entity leads the internal family system. Healing is viewed as a spectrum encompassing both psychology and spirituality.
Defining IFS and the Self
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(00:06:44)
  • Key Takeaway: IFS is based on self-leadership, where the capital ‘S’ Self, described as wiser than the parts, drives decision-making, allowing other parts to inform but not control the direction.
  • Summary: Dick Schwartz founded IFS, which operates on the idea of an inner family of ‘parts.’ The wise Self acts as the leader, similar to the ‘wise self’ or ‘awareness itself,’ taking the steering wheel. The objective is to maximize self-leadership so the wise Self makes decisions, even while listening to input from other parts.
Amita’s Path to Integration
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(00:09:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Amita Schmidt’s decades-long combination of psychotherapy and Buddhist practice was driven by a personal quest to end severe, chronic suffering stemming from childhood trauma.
  • Summary: Having parents with mental illness and experiencing suicidal ideation from age five, Amita sought tools from both social work and Buddhism to end suffering. She achieved a pivotal insight after 20 years of effort, where chronic depression ‘unhooked’ following a moment of surrender and acceptance.
Insight on Depression’s Emptiness
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(00:12:50)
  • Key Takeaway: The pivotal insight that ended Amita’s depression was realizing that the struggle itself was empty of inherent substance, akin to seeing seven individual stars instead of the monolithic Big Dipper.
  • Summary: The insight was not an enlightenment experience but a clear seeing that the depression she fought for 20 years was empty, composed only of shifting energy and negative thinking. This realization caused the coagulation of the struggle to fall away, illustrating that seemingly solid emotional states lack inherent substance.
Dharma and Personal Journey
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(00:16:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The spiritual path, or Dharma, encompasses all experiences, including trauma and psychological struggle, meaning that the journey takes the time it requires and is never ’time lost'.
  • Summary: Amita emphasizes that one should not feel discouraged by the time taken for healing, as the journey is a ‘divine path’ where psychological work is inseparable from spiritual progress. Everything, from deep struggle to sipping tea, is considered Dharma now.
Tend and Befriend Inner Critic
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(00:18:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Working with the inner critic requires approaching it with compassion and curiosity, recognizing it as a protector part whose harsh job may mask an underlying caring intention.
  • Summary: The framework begins with ’tend and befriend,’ focusing on understanding the inner critic, which is often intensified by modern social media comparison culture. Instead of fighting it, the wise Self must engage with curiosity, asking what the critic fears would happen if it stopped its berating function.
Accessing the Wise Self
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(00:23:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Accessing the wise Self requires embodying qualities like compassion and curiosity without an agenda to change the part, often by asking what the part is afraid of.
  • Summary: To engage parts effectively, one must ensure they are speaking from the wise Self, characterized by the eight C’s (curiosity, compassion, calm, etc.), rather than a part trying to force change. A key question is: ‘What are you afraid would happen if you didn’t criticize me?’ which helps uncover the underlying fear driving the critic.
Building Self-Energy and Spaciousness
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(00:26:41)
  • Key Takeaway: When Self-energy is low (often around 20-30% access), techniques like visualizing the mind as wide as the sky or a night full of stars help build the necessary spaciousness to engage parts.
  • Summary: Many people lack sufficient access to their wise Self, making part work difficult; thus, building ‘self-energy’ is crucial first. Techniques include expanding awareness to be as broad as the sky or using visualization, such as imagining an 80-year-old version of oneself, to access a wise elder presence.
Labeling and Airplane Hanger
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(00:46:58)
  • Key Takeaway: Labeling difficult internal states, like the inner critic, moves the processing from the reactive amygdala to the reasoning prefrontal cortex, while the airplane hanger analogy illustrates creating mental spaciousness around parts.
  • Summary: Labeling a voice (e.g., ‘inner critic’) acts as a ‘cheat code’ to awareness, scientifically shown to shift brain activity to the reasoning center. The airplane hanger analogy suggests that even if difficult parts remain, increasing the spaciousness of awareness makes them less intrusive, like large furniture in a vast hangar versus a small apartment.
Psychology to Spiritual Shift
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(00:34:58)
  • Key Takeaway: Moving from psychological healing to spiritual insight requires first calming the system and relaxing tension through compassion before attempting transcendence to avoid spiritual bypass.
  • Summary: It is vital to use psychological tools like IFS to address pain and create safety before moving toward transcendent principles. Spiritual insight involves questioning the fixed, separate ‘I’ (the ego self), which can make issues less personal and more workable.
Aware Presence and the Screen
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(00:59:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Aware presence is the effortless, non-conceptual knowing faculty—the blank movie screen—that exists beneath all mental noise, thoughts, and emotional content.
  • Summary: Aware presence is not a belief or a thought but the simple, unforced state of being here, like the screen before the movie starts. When meeting the inner critic from this place, one can either engage with compassion (IFS style) or recognize the critic as an empty thought form that will default to silence, like noise in a stadium.
Amita’s Dharma Seed Talks
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(01:07:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Amita Schmidt’s extensive meditation talks are accessible via Dharma Seed dot org.
  • Summary: Dharma Seed dot org hosts numerous talks given by Amita Schmidt during meditation retreats over the years. Listeners can find these recordings by searching for Amita Schmidt on the site. Additional material from Amita is also available on the Insight Timer app.
Book Recommendation: Dipa Ma
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(01:07:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Dipa Ma, a teacher to major Western Buddhist figures, is profiled in a book highlighting loving kindness and wisdom.
  • Summary: Amita Schmidt wrote the book, “Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master,” detailing the life of a female teacher who was ahead of her time. Dipa Ma was a teacher to Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, and Sharon Salzburg. She achieved high states of awareness while remaining a householder and raising a child, serving as an inspiring example.
Podcast Wrap-up and App Promotion
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(01:09:07)
  • Key Takeaway: The 10% with Dan Harris app offers a free 30-day trial and access to a Joseph Goldstein meditation challenge.
  • Summary: Dan Harris thanks Amita Schmidt for her time on the ‘10% Happier with Dan Harris’ podcast. Listeners can try the 10% with Dan Harris app with a free 30-day trial. Signing up now grants access to the seven-day meditation challenge led by Joseph Goldstein.
Show Production Credits
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(01:09:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The theme music for the show was composed by Nick Thorburn of The Band Islands.
  • Summary: The episode credits list Tara Anderson and Eleanor Vasili as producers, with Lauren Smith serving as managing producer and Marissa Schneiderman as senior producer. DJ Kashmir is the executive producer, and Pod People handles recording and engineering. Nick Thorburn composed the theme music.
Sponsor: Lenovo Pro
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(01:10:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Lenovo Pro offers small business owners one-on-one advice, IT solutions, and customized hardware powered by Intel Core ultra-processors.
  • Summary: Lenovo Pro targets small business owners by providing professional-grade support for daily operations. Their offerings include customized hardware and IT solutions designed to keep businesses running efficiently. Businesses can sign up for free at lenovo dot com slash pro.
Sponsor: Vrbo Savings
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(01:10:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Vrbo provides savings of over $200 when booking weekly stays, ideal for remote work or family gatherings.
  • Summary: Listeners can save over $200 when booking a weekly stay through Vrbo this winter. This saving applies whether one needs a remote cabin for work or a location to reconnect with friends or family. Bookings should be made at Vrbo dot com to secure the discount.