Meditate on the Breath (Without Driving Yourself Nuts) | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein

Summary

Podcast Summary: 10% Happier with Dan Harris

Episode: Meditate on the Breath (Without Driving Yourself Nuts) | Bonus Meditation with Joseph Goldstein
Release Date: April 25, 2025
Host: Dan Harris
Guest: Joseph Goldstein

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Introduction

In this bonus episode of 10% Happier with Dan Harris, host Dan Harris collaborates with esteemed meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein to guide listeners through a specialized meditation practice. This session is part of an extensive eight-hour series on the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, developed in partnership with the Waking Up app. The focus of this episode is to teach meditative techniques centered around mindful breathing without falling into the common pitfall of over-concentration that can lead to unnecessary stress.

Guided Meditation with Joseph Goldstein

Calming the Mind and Collecting Attention ([03:34])

Joseph Goldstein initiates the meditation by emphasizing the foundational practice of calming the mind and gathering attention. He explains that focusing on the breath is a natural and convenient starting point because breathing is an ever-present, effortless process.

“Settling into the awareness of the breath we can see as a foundational meditative exercise.” – Joseph Goldstein [03:50]

Avoiding Over-Control of Breathing ([04:45])

Goldstein addresses a common issue among meditators: the tendency to control or influence the breath, which can disrupt its natural rhythm. He clarifies that vipassana meditation is not a breathing exercise but an exercise in awareness. The goal is to observe the breath as it occurs naturally without interference.

“It's not a breathing exercise, it's an exercise in awareness.” – Joseph Goldstein [05:10]

Expanding Awareness to the Whole Body ([06:15])

To facilitate a more relaxed and natural breathing pattern, Joseph suggests expanding the focus from the breath alone to encompass the entire body. By maintaining a broader awareness, practitioners can prevent the tendency to fixate too narrowly on specific breath sensations.

“There is a body.” – Joseph Goldstein [07:05]

He encourages repeating the phrase “there is a body” as a gentle reminder to remain grounded in full-body awareness, allowing the sensations of breathing to occur within this larger context.

Use of Mental Notes ([08:20])

Joseph introduces the technique of using soft mental notes or labels, such as “in,” “out,” “rise,” and “fall,” to gently anchor attention to the breath without being intrusive. These notes help sustain focus throughout the breathing cycle without forcing concentration.

“If you're using the noting, remember to keep it very soft. It's almost like a whisper in the mind.” – Joseph Goldstein [08:50]

Handling Wandering Thoughts ([09:32])

Acknowledging that the mind will inevitably wander, Joseph advises practitioners to simply notice when their attention drifts and gently redirect it back to the breath. This process of recognizing and returning is a core aspect of developing mindfulness.

“Simply notice that and very gently return to the breath.” – Joseph Goldstein [10:19]

Key Elements for Steadiness of Mind ([11:31])

Joseph outlines two essential qualities for maintaining a steady mind during meditation:

1. Connect and Sustain: Link awareness to the beginning of each breath and maintain attention throughout its duration.
2. Relaxation: Embrace a relaxed state within full-body awareness to support natural breathing.

“Connect with the beginning of the breath and sustain the attention for the duration. Relaxation is an important part of the practice.” – Joseph Goldstein [12:05]

Insights and Conclusions

Dan Harris wraps up the meditation session by highlighting the collaborative effort in producing the Noble Eightfold Path series with Joseph Goldstein and Sam Harris. He invites listeners to explore the full range of meditations available on the Waking Up app, offering a 30-day free trial and emphasizing the accessibility of the app for all interested individuals.

Notable Quotes

• “It's not a breathing exercise, it's an exercise in awareness.” – Joseph Goldstein [05:10]
• “There is a body.” – Joseph Goldstein [07:05]
• “If you're using the noting, remember to keep it very soft. It's almost like a whisper in the mind.” – Joseph Goldstein [08:50]
• “Simply notice that and very gently return to the breath.” – Joseph Goldstein [10:19]
• “Connect with the beginning of the breath and sustain the attention for the duration. Relaxation is an important part of the practice.” – Joseph Goldstein [12:05]

Conclusion

This episode serves as a practical guide for meditators seeking to enhance their breath-focused practices without succumbing to over-concentration. Joseph Goldstein's instructions provide a balanced approach to mindfulness, encouraging natural awareness and gentle redirection of attention. Dan Harris effectively situates this meditation within a broader framework of accessible mindfulness practices, making it a valuable resource for both seasoned practitioners and newcomers alike.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, introductions, and outros to focus solely on the content of the meditation session.

Transcript

[Dan Harris]

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[Joseph Goldstein]

The beginning practice of many meditations is calming the mind and collecting the attention as the first step and very often very convenient object of awareness, as we are first beginning to calm the mind and collect the attention is to work with the breath. It's a very natural process. Everybody's breathing, we don't have to particularly look for it. So settling into the awareness of the breath we can see as a foundational meditative exercise. But sometimes people find that by focusing on the breath too much, they sometimes find it difficult not to control it in some way or influence the breathing process. And in this particular practice of vipassana, it's not a breathing exercise, it's an exercise in awareness. And so we want to let the breath find its own natural rhythm. There's no such thing as a wrong breath. One way that helps allow the breath to find its own natural rhythm is instead of initially zeroing in on the breath wherever we may be watching it, whether it's the air passing the nostrils or the movement of the chest or the abdomen, instead of zeroing in on the sensations of the body breathing, for many people it's helpful to use as the frame for this the awareness of the whole body. And a phrase that is actually found in the discourse the Buddha gave on mindfulness of breathing, mindfulness of the body. There's a phrase in which he says, be mindful and then in the equivalent of quotes, there is a body. So it's almost as if that phrase there is a body could be used something as a mental note or a mental label or gentle reminder. There is a body settling into the awareness of your body, sitting, sitting, and perhaps occasionally repeating that phrase, there is a body. And then within that larger frame, simply become aware of the sensations of the body breathing, not necessarily narrowing the attention, but letting the awareness of those sensations happen within the larger frame, the awareness of the whole body. It's sometimes helpful to make A very soft mental note or mental label with each breath. In, out or rise and fall. If you're feeling the sensations of the abdomen or the chest moving as the body breathes, the noting is a way of helping to connect the attention to the breath and sustaining the attention for the entire duration of the breath. Resting in the larger frame there is a body and then within that simply be aware of the sensations of the body breathing, perhaps with a soft mental note. In, out, rising, falling. If you're using the noting, remember to keep it very soft. It's almost like a whisper in the mind. The primary attention should be on the feeling of the sensations of the breath. Wherever you may be feeling and occasionally repeating that phrase, there is a body as a way of reminding yourself to settle back into a full body awareness within which the feeling of the breath is happening.

[Sam Harris]

It.

[Joseph Goldstein]

You may notice at times that the mind begins to wander gets lost in thought. As soon as you become aware that the mind has been carried away with some other object, simply notice that and very gently return to the breath. It's a question of simply beginning again.

[Sam Harris]

It.

[Joseph Goldstein]

The key elements of developing greater steadiness of mind with the breath involves two particular qualities. The first is the connecting of the attention or the awareness with the beginning of each breath and then sustaining the attention for the duration of that half breath. So connect and then sustain the attention. Connect with the beginning of the out breath and sustain the attention for the duration. Relaxation is an important part of the practice so we want to relax into the awareness of the whole body. There is a body. The body will be breathing naturally by itself, so there's nothing we have to do in order to breathe. Simply be in the awareness of the whole body and feel the sensations of the body breathing, connecting with the beginning of the breath, sustaining the attention until the end of that half breath, connecting with the out breath, sustaining the attention. And when you're enlightened you can open your eyes and reconnect with everyone around you.

[Dan Harris]

Thank you to Joseph Again, the meditation you just heard is part of a series that I was part of producing over on the Waking Up Apple all about the Noble Eightfold Path. Joseph, Sam and I spent a work week together in Maine recording that series and it's just been posted. If you're interested in a full on app experience which I cannot yet provide over on danharris.com you can sign up for the Waking up [e-mail] 10% that's wakingup.com T E N P E R C E N T and you'll get a free 30 day trial. I'll put a link in the show notes just so you know. If you buy a subscription via that URL, you will be supporting me in my new little venture because Sam and I have a profit sharing deal and if you can't afford the app, just let them know over at Waking Up. They'll hook you up for free. Which is of course the same policy I have on my substack. Before I go, I just want to thank everybody who works so hard on this show. Our producers are Tara Anderson, Caroline Keenan and Eleanor Vasily. Our recording and engineering is handled by the great folks over at Pod People. Lauren Smith is our Production Manager. Welcome back to Lauren. She just got back from maternity leave. Marissa Schneiderman is our Senior producer, DJ Cashmere is our Executive producer and Nick Thorburn of the band Islands wrote our theme.

[Sam Harris]

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