Well, Welcome to the Joseph Goldstein Insight Hour.

This podcast is an expression of our shared interest in self-discovery.

Join Joseph as he shares his deep knowledge of the path of mindfulness.

If you are interested in supporting this podcast,

please go to be here now network.com slash Joseph. So given the explosion of interest in mindfulness during these past few years. I thought it would be helpful to explore some of the

nuances and subtleties of what mindfulness actually is and what it isn't.

Because there's often some confusion

about actually what mindfulness means.

And it's important to understand the meaning or essence of it as a methodology for

liberation. That's why we're practicing it. So as you know the practice of

mindfulness has its roots in the teachings of the Buddha 2,600 years ago and it's quite amazing to see its relevance

and its application these thousands of years later.

So clearly there's something of critical importance

in understanding this mind state.

I was once asked to describe mindfulness in just a few words.

And that's a bit like asking to describe in a few words what is art, you know, or what is love. It's not easy to

break it down into into you know just a few brief sentences.

And the first response that often comes to mind

for most people when asked, well, what is mindfulness?

Very common response is, well, it's living in the present moment. You know not

being lost or carried away by our thoughts not living in the past not living in

the future.

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