Joseph Goldstein discusses the nature of thought and the importance of mindfulness. He encourages noticing themes of thoughts and emphasizes that the past and future are conceptual models. The podcast also explores enhancing mindfulness through interest, guided meditation practices, and the importance of including thoughts within mindfulness and awareness.
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Quick takeaways
Being mindful of our thoughts allows us to create more freedom and space in our lives.
Recognizing thoughts as merely thoughts helps us cultivate mindfulness and respond skillfully instead of being carried away.
Deep dives
Ram Das Summer Mountain Retreat
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Making Thoughts the Object of Mindfulness
The podcast emphasizes the importance of being mindful of our thoughts and recognizing that they often dominate our lives. Thoughts are conditioned by our past, upbringing, education, and society. By becoming aware of our thoughts as they arise, we create more freedom and space in our lives, allowing us to see them more clearly. The podcast suggests noticing the point at which we become aware of thoughts, identifying predominant themes, and setting the intention to be mindful of them. It also explores the concept of past and future thoughts, encouraging us to see them as just thoughts rather than solid realities.
Investigating the Nature of Thought
The podcast invites us to investigate the nature of thought and its impact on our lives. Thoughts are described as energy blips, little more than nothing. When we are unaware of thoughts, they have a powerful influence on our lives. However, when we are mindful of them, they lose their power. The podcast offers a practice of curiosity by asking the question, 'What is a thought?' to directly cultivate mindfulness of thought itself, rather than getting caught up in the content. By recognizing thoughts as merely thoughts, we create space and freedom in our lives, allowing us to respond skillfully instead of being carried away.
In this episode of the Insight Hour podcast, Joseph Goldstein delves into the nature of thought and provides valuable insights on cultivating mindfulness.
This dharma talk from May 13, 2023, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.
Encourages us to notice when we become aware of our own thinking
Highlights the importance of recognizing the themes of our thoughts
Emphasizes that the past and the future are conceptual models
Examines the very nature of thought itself
“When we’re unaware of thoughts, unmindful, they have so much power in our lives, they;re really directing our lives. And yet when we are mindful of them, as I say, it is a little more than nothing.”