Simply Begin Again

The three most important words in mindfulness meditation: Simply Begin Again. Joseph Goldstein has been leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974.

Transcript

The three most important words in mindfulness meditation are simply,

Begin again.

We give the mind a simple object of meditation,

Like the breath.

Then we find before too long our mind gets lost in thoughts,

Fantasies,

Or daydreams.

This is not an unusual phenomenon.

We hop on these trains of association.

And often we don't know that we've hopped on the train.

We have no idea where the train is going.

And then sometime later,

It may be a minute or two,

It may be five minutes,

It may be ten minutes,

We wake up to the fact that we're thinking.

It's as if we hop off the train.

In that moment of becoming aware that we're lost,

We can actually delight in that moment of awareness,

Of remembering,

Rather than judge ourselves for having been lost.

And in that moment,

We recollect the breath and simply begin again.

We'll begin this meditation by again sitting in an upright posture,

The back erect but not stiff or tense,

Gently closing the eyes,

Softening and relaxing the eyes,

Relaxing the shoulders,

Softening the belly.

Settling into the awareness of the body and the body posture to sit and to know that we're sitting.

As we're aware of the body posture,

As we've settled into the body,

You will become aware of the sensations of the body breathing.

Connect with the sensations of the breath at whatever place in the body you feel it most clearly.

When it might be the sensations of the breath at the nostrils or the sensations of the movement of the chest or abdomen.

If you're feeling the sensations of the air passing the nostrils,

You can use a soft mental note of in,

Out,

In,

Out.

If you're feeling the sensations of the breath in the rise and fall of the abdomen or the chest,

You can make the soft mental note of rising,

Falling,

Rising,

Falling.

If you've noticed that the mind has hopped on trains of association,

Gotten lost in a train of thought,

As soon as you become aware the mind is thinking,

Notice that,

Reconnect with the breath and begin again.

Staying aware of the body posture and become aware of the sensations of your body breathing.

Feeling the sensations of the air passing the nostrils or the sensation of the movement of the chest or abdomen.

Breathing in,

Know you're breathing in.

Breathing out,

Know you're breathing out.

When you notice that the mind has wandered or gotten lost in a thought,

Simply reconnect with the world around you.

In this meditation we've practiced the art of mental noting.

This is using a soft word in the mind,

A soft mental label,

To acknowledge what the present moment experience is.

So for example,

If we're being mindful of the breath,

We might make a soft mental note along with each breath,

In,

Out,

In,

Out.

The note should be done very softly,

It's almost like a whisper in the mind.

But the note can help to frame the object so that we can be mindful of it more clearly.

Many people have found this tool extremely helpful to strengthen the continuity of mindfulness moment to moment.

Others may find that the simple awareness without the note serves just as well.

I look forward to continuing with you tomorrow.

Reviews

Wonderful and simple! Perfect way to ease u to meditation again.

Begin again feels like kindness to my self. Thank you 🙏🏾 💛

The concept that we all must “simply begin again” is so easy yet so impactful. It applies to many areas of life, not just meditation or mindfulness. Thank you for this track!

The complex simplcity of three words for staying in and relocating mindfulness during insight meditation.

Joseph's meditations are always spot-on. That is no surprise considering hi role in popularized insight (mindfulness) meditation in the US. Thank you Joseph; we need it now more than ever.

Truly perfect. His gentle reminders to “Simply Begin Again“ are precisely and ONLY - all we need. Always. Again. And again. Thank you.

fabulous! i was looking for something like this for those moments in my day where i needed to start over or to begin again. saving to my favorites 🤍🕊️🪶🤍🕊️🪶🤍🕊️🪶🤍

Simply begin again. It doesn't get simpler than that!
Thank you.

Simple and effective. I will return to this simplicity again. 🙏

It's easy to judge oneself. Grace is a gift not just given to others. Thank you.

Thank you for this session, very good technique, will do it again.
Namaste

The most practical nuts and bolts help for simple mindfulness.

Thank you for sharing this technique; it aids in maintaining a focused mind.

This got to me in the most positive way! This was an excellent reminder and review of staying in the present. The act of noting the thinking and letting it go, was something I needed to hear in this moment. Much Gratitude for your voice, peace

So grateful for all insights that Joseph Goldstein has to offer. His grounded presence, his wisdom, his patience and his sense of delight are an inspiration. Thank you, Mr. Goldstein.

ALWAYS important, clear, wise Wisdom. Of all the dhamma & meditation teachers, Joseph, YOU are my favorite since 2005.
Thank you deeply 🙏

Very practical guidance and a helpful introduction to mindfulness for beginners. Thank you!

Thank you Joseph, that was wonderful. I found the explanations and instructions really helpful 🙏

I return to your teachings again and again.
Thank you for the beauty of your journey shared.
Noting is helpful to me.

Always a pleasure to be guided by the best of the best! Thank you 🙏