Responding to a variety of dharma questions on meditation, effort, and impermanence, Joseph Goldstein explores the mystery of consciousness.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best selfThis week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein responds to questions on:The benefits of doing walking meditation versus traditional seated meditationCutting through our conceptual overlay and simply having raw experiencesPassive voice construction: removing the self as subject when narrating the world around usChanging “let it go” to “let it be” when we are struggling to let goBeing in the flow of changing experiences, the natural arising and passing away of all thingsThe fine line of wholesome energy/effort versus striving and strugglingRealizing the emptiness of thoughts and the suffering they bring to usThe first experience of nirvana, ‘the zero’, and uprooting the view of selfThis talk was originally published on Dharmaseed“This is the mystery of consciousness. There’s nothing there tangible to find; no color, no form, it can’t be found. Yet, the knowing is happening. It’s this union of emptiness and knowing.” –Joseph GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Ep. 253 – No Foothold: Integrating Relative & Ultimate Truth In Our Lives
Illuminating different ways to free the mind, Joseph Goldstein integrates relative and ultimate truth, revealing the emptiness of thoughts.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best selfThis time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discussesIntegrating the elements of both relative and ultimate truth in our livesThe natural compassion that emerges when we let go of self-identificationWhy our perception of reality isn’t always reliable or accurateOur attachment to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant Considering if the mind can remain unafflicted while the body is sufferingShifting awareness from what we want to how the wanting mind feelsOur capability to train the mind in a way that leads to greater freedomLetting thoughts arise without interference or judgment Developing nonreactivity through seeing how quickly thoughts arise and passRealizing that the past and future are only constructs of the mindThis talk was originally published on Dharmaseed“Our only experience of the past and future is as a thought in the mind. This is tremendously liberating to see because most of us carry the concepts of the past and future as a huge burden in our lives. All the worries, anxieties, hopes, fears—all of those are arising because we’re not seeing that they’re just concepts.” –Joseph Goldstein See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Ep. 252 – Equanimity: A Direct Path to Liberation
In part 2 of this Q&A session, Joseph Goldstein explores how to reach equanimity through investigating our mental states, recognizing when to let go, and approaching suffering skillfully.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best selfIn this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:Letting go of obsessive thoughts through insight and investigationHow the seven factors of enlightenment work together to support awakeningKnowing when to let go and when to investigate experiences for deeper wisdomStaying open to emotions while avoiding unskillful reactivitySocial activism on the Buddhist path and engaging with the world in a skillful wayFinding inner balance in the midst of turmoil, conflict, and sufferingMaintaining a deep historical perspective on the rise and fall of all civilizations Remembering how small our concerns are in the face of the stars and the vastness of all thingsHow equanimity enables us to be peaceful, to connect with suffering, and to offer compassion Considering if we can approach daily life with a motivation to help others and the worldGoing into the depths of non-self and allowing our life to be a representation of compassionate actionThis talk was recorded at Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center and distributed by Dharma Seed “In the midst of everything that’s going on, to come back to some greater place of equanimity, one way is just a deep historical perspective on things. This stuff has been going on forever. It’s not new to this time. It’s just part of the long historical unfolding and is inevitable. It’s not an aberration, this has been happening, always.” – Joseph GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Ep. 251 – The Selfless Path to Happiness
In part 1 of this Q&A session, Joseph Goldstein gives Buddhist-flavored insight on accepting impermanence, developing our practice, and loving selflessly.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best selfIn this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:The path from accepting impermanence to happinessLetting go of clinging and becoming attuned to the truth of changeThe stages we go through in Vipassana meditation practice Understanding meditation experiences—why difficult moments don’t mean a “bad” practiceHow developing a regular practice helps us approach life more equanimously Feeling the whole mind-body process within practice and how this helps us let go of our sense of self Walking meditation as an effective tool for immediate selflessnessThe challenge of engaging with the world without getting lost in itSeeing the clear possibility of loving without attachment and with pure generosity of the heartThis talk was recorded at Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center and distributed by Dharma Seed“On a conceptual level, being afraid of impermanence is like being afraid of gravity. It’s the way things are. The more we can see that and open to it, we get over that conditioned fear and we’re just in the experience and the acceptance of the flow. It’s actually quite easeful.” – Joseph GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Ep. 250 – Why Meditate?
Renowned meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, shares timeless insights on the mind, suffering, and the heart of why we meditate.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best selfIn this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:The many reasons why we meditateHow we all filter our experiences through our own particular conditioning and background Unpacking the Dhammapada’s teaching: “Mind is the forerunner of all actions”Using meditation to understand the patterns and nature of our own mindsStrengthening mental stability and inner resilience through practiceCultivating present-moment awareness instead of being swept away by emotionsConsidering what qualities of heart and mind are being cultivated in all that we doA powerful reminder: Don’t waste your suffering—transform pain into wisdomDeepening insight into the impermanent nature of all experiencesThe difference between attachment and commitment The Buddhist concept of nonself and freeing our minds from identificationThis recording from Spirit Rock’s April 2025 Insight Meditation retreat was originally published on Dharmaseed.“We meditate to come out of confusion, to come out of all our habitual reactions into a space of greater wisdom, of greater clarity. We begin to see much more clearly what actually is going on in our experience rather than being lost in it. We begin to see what it is that’s shaping our lives.” – Joseph GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Joseph Goldstein has been a leading light for the practice of Insight and Loving Kindness meditation since his days in India and Burma where he studied with eminent masters of the tradition. In his podcast, The Insight Hour, Joseph delivers these essential mindfulness teachings in a practical and down to earth way that illuminates the practice through his own personal experience and wonderful story telling.
New Zealand