Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 327 – Uncovering Afflictive Emotions with Joseph Goldstein and Noah Markus

afflictive

Joseph Goldstein drops by Mindrolling for a conversation around investigating and uncovering afflictive emotions such as grief, loss, and anxiety, and how we can turn up the dial of intentionality.

Links from this episode: Joseph Goldstein on the Methodology of Mindfulness | Insight Hour Podcast
Uncovering Afflictive Emotions

Joseph begins the show by remembering some of his time with Ram Dass. He shares his thoughts on dealing with loss and grief, if one is so inclined to investigating and uncovering their afflictive emotions. Raghu and Joseph discuss attachment and impermanence, and the ephemeral nature of grief.

“I would really suggest beginning to separate out the experience of loss from the experience of grief, because for most people these two are conflated. It almost becomes the same thing. But when we look carefully they’re not the same thing at all.” – Joseph Goldstein

The Dial of Intentionality (23:18)

The conversation turns to mindfulness, and how it’s helpful to have a sense of humor about one’s own mind. Joseph talks about recognizing our most habituated patterns of conditioning by subtly turning up the dial of intentionality.

“It wasn’t about 20 years of practice and maybe I’ll get there someday, it was about setting the intention for a short period of time now. That actually effectively deepens the concentration quickly.” – Joseph Goldstein

Joseph Goldstein breaks down four aspects of mindfulness on Insight Hour Ep. 66
Working with Anxiety (46:05)

Noah asks Joseph about ways to work mindfully with anxiety. Joseph explains the practice of learning to become okay with feelings such as anxiety and fear. He talks about how the deepening of concentration helps alleviate afflictive emotions and suggests working with the Metta practice.

“When we’re doing Metta meditation and just sending loving energy outward, it can really lighten the heart.” – Joseph Goldstein

       

Image via Bruce Rolff