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These days, the word mindfulness has become a buzz phrase but very often people don’t know what the word actually means, much less how to practice it. One simple definition of mindfulness is the ability to see what’s happening in your mind without getting carried away by it. The benefits of doing so are vast and profound— from decreased emotional reactivity to being more awake to what’s actually happening in your life.
Today's guest Joseph Goldstein talks about a classic Buddhist list called the four foundations of mindfulness, which lays out various techniques for developing mindfulness within your practice.
Goldstein is one of the premier western proponents of Mindfulness. He co-founded the legendary Insight Meditation Society alongside Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. He also wrote a book called Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening.
In this episode we talk about:
- The historical context for the four foundations of mindfulness
- Why he thinks the Buddha loved lists
- Why the Buddha placed mindfulness of the body first on the list
- The steps to mastering mindfulness of the body
- The meaning of the word embodied and how that’s different from our usual mode of being in the world
- How and why to do walking meditations
- What are feeling tones and why are they important
- Practices for cultivating mindfulness of mind
- And we talk about some of the mantras that Joseph uses when teaching
Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-483
