Skip to content

Think Again Podcasts — January 20, 2020

mindfulness and meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein – doubt comes masquerading as wisdom

In this first episode of 2020, beloved dharma teacher Joseph Goldstein is back for a conversation about struggle, doubt, and growth on the spiritual path.

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Freedom. Everyone wants it, but knowing where to look for it is another matter. And to make matters worse, the world is full of things that feel like freedom but might just get us more tangled up in everything we’re trying to escape. How much freedom can money buy? How much money? How free are you on a tropical vacation? Would uploading your consciousness into the cloud and downloading it into a robot avatar on Alpha Centauri make you more free? How about falling in love again? How about three margaritas with friends? Or six? How about falling in love again? A better government? Less government? No government at all?

I’m here today with Joseph Goldstein, a beloved teacher of Buddhist ideas and practice in the West and a personal inspiration to me, to talk about freedom of the mind and spirit—and the kinds of effort and insight that can lead there. Joseph is the co-founder of Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and the author, most recently, of Mindfulness: a Practical Guide to Awakening.

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Related

Think Again Podcasts

Joseph Goldstein – Lighten Up: mindfulness, enlightenment, and everyday life

One of the most influential Buddhist teachers and writers of the past half-century, Joseph Goldstein helped bring Vipassana (insight) practice to the West. We talk about love, pop-mindfulness, and how even a philosopher can learn to quiet the mind.

People walking on a city street with steam rising from vents create a scene reminiscent of an omics exposome research study. A woman in a white beanie looks back as buildings and traffic form the vibrant backdrop.

The next omics? Tracking a lifetime of exposures to better understand disease

Of the millions of substances people encounter daily, health researchers have focused on only a few hundred. Those in the emerging field of exposomics want to change that.

A silhouette of a person stands in front of three closed doors in a dimly lit room. White swirling lines surround the figure, adding a sense of motion and mystery to the scene.

Are your moral choices driven by logic or emotion?

In the 18th century, David Hume argued that we are only motivated to do good when our passions direct us to do so. Was he right?

A child stands defiantly holding a stone in front of a giant figure amidst a fiery landscape, embodying the spirit of the long game.

How to win the long game: Fight unfair fights

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

elements Cas A remnant Chandra X-ray

Starts With A Bang

How a nearby supernova could reveal dark matter

The last naked-eye Milky Way supernova happened way back in 1604. With today’s detectors, the next one could solve the dark matter mystery.

Up Next

Take the blame, all of it: Life lessons from the NFL blooper reel

Benjamin Franklin once wrote in a letter that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” As much as we admire Franklin’s wit, he forgot […]