Joseph Goldstein On: Impermanence, Impersonality, And How To Use Mindfulness To Be More Creative
Joseph Goldstein, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, discusses his new poetry book, "Dreamscapes of the Mind." He explores how mindfulness can boost creativity, how to approach mortality, and deep Dharma topics like impermanence and non-self.
Deep Dive Analysis
12 Topic Outline
Introduction to Joseph Goldstein and His Poetry
Joseph's Unexpected Start in Poetry at 75
Reading 'The Muse' and the Nature of Creative Inspiration
Creativity as a Form of Dharma Practice
Impersonal Nature of Creativity and Non-Self
Reflecting on Mortality with 'A Distant Call'
'Lazy Day at 76' and the Nuances of Ordinary Experience
'Rebirth' and Buddhist Perspectives on Death
Exploring Nirvana and Non-Being with 'Ode to Non-Being'
Understanding 'Dreamscapes of the Mind'
'A Fall' and Embracing Impermanence
'The Sages Say' and the Wisdom of 'Being Less'
13 Key Concepts
Receptive Mode (Creativity/Meditation overlap)
Both creative inspiration and meditation involve a leaning back, a receptivity where magic happens, rather than forcing or militaristically trying to get somewhere. It's a process of opening to intuitions.
Intuition in Creativity
Creativity, like meditation, is an intuitive process that thrives in quiet, still spaces. It arises by itself when the mind is not filled with chatter, and requires giving space to hear this intuitive level of experience.
Creative Process (as Dharma overlap)
The creative process itself, not just the artistic output, overlaps with Dharma practice. It involves exploring experience beneath conceptual frameworks, like perceiving a tree as color/form or the body as an energy field, fostering intimacy with experience.
Poetic Mind Space vs. Meditative Mind Space
While both involve sensitivity to experience, the poetic mind space allows an experience to 'flower' and unfold in its fullness, appreciating and reflecting on it. The meditative mind space, in a classical sense, emphasizes noting and seeing the impermanence of phenomena as they arise and pass away.
Savoring the Moment (poetic)
This describes the flavor of poetry, where one relates to an experience by letting it emerge in its fullness, with a quality of reflecting and appreciating that moment, which differs from the more impersonal awareness in classical meditation.
Death as Birth Canal
This is a reframing of the dying process, particularly from a Buddhist cosmological perspective, where death is seen not as an end but as a channel leading to a new beginning or rebirth.
Thirst/Clinging (cause of rebirth)
In classical Theravada Buddhism, craving or desire is understood as the primary force that keeps beings on the cycle of dying and being reborn.
Compassion (cause of rebirth in some traditions)
In some Mahayana and Tibetan traditions, a high level of meditative accomplishment can lead to great masters choosing to be reborn out of compassion for suffering beings, with the intent to serve.
Nibbana/Nirvana (the unconditioned)
This refers to a Buddhist concept of an unconditioned reality, distinct from everything in our normal life which is conditioned by prior causes. It's described as a state of non-being or the unborn, where no phenomenon arises.
Dreamscape of the Mind
This concept suggests that everything arising in our ordinary life, our conventional world of things and beings, is like a dream—appearances that seem real but are ultimately impersonal, impermanent, and insubstantial, much like a rainbow with no true substance.
The Self is Real, But Not Really Real
An expression from a Tibetan teacher that captures the nuanced Buddhist understanding of self. On a conventional level, the self is real and functions, but on a deeper level, through meditative exploration, its ultimate reality is seen as empty and insubstantial.
Anything Can Happen Anytime (acceptance of impermanence)
This phrase encapsulates the truth that life is unpredictable. Acknowledging and embracing this truth can lead to acceptance and a vitalizing perspective, rather than paranoia, fostering a deeper understanding of impermanence.
Being Less, Not More (selflessness, detachment)
This wisdom suggests that true liberation comes from reducing the emphasis on self-aggrandizement and ego. It's about refining one's motivation to act from a place of service rather than personal gain or attachment, allowing one to engage fully with the world from a selfless stance.
2 Questions Answered
Yes, meditation cultivates the silence, stillness, and receptivity that allow creative intuition to arise naturally, making it easier to perceive and develop new ideas.
One can reframe death as a 'birth canal' leading to a new beginning, especially from a Buddhist cosmological perspective, where the dying process can be understood as propelling one towards rebirth.
25 Actionable Insights
1. Meditate When Stuck for Clarity
When feeling stuck on a creative endeavor, a difficult conversation, or any big decision, sit and meditate to quiet the mind. Clarity on the next step often emerges intuitively from that meditative space.
2. Approach Creativity Receptively
Avoid forcing or militaristically trying to achieve results in creativity and meditation. Instead, adopt a leaning-back, receptive mode where magic and intuitive insights can happen naturally.
3. Cultivate Selflessness, ‘Being Less’
Embrace the notion of ‘being less, not more’ by letting go of self-aggrandizement and refining your motivations from self-image to a feeling of service. This allows you to engage fully with the world from a selfless place.
4. Accept ‘Anything Can Happen Anytime’
Acknowledge and embrace the truth that ‘anything can happen anytime’ in life and meditation. This acceptance, rather than causing paranoia, can lead to peace, acceptance, and a vitalizing perspective.
5. Use Meditation to Boost Creativity
Engage in meditation to cultivate silence, stillness, and receptivity in heart and mind. This quiet space allows creative intuition to arise naturally without effort, fostering inspiration for various endeavors.
6. Embrace Revision in Creative Work
Understand that a major part of the art of writing and creativity is revision. This process allows for the exploration of greater subtlety in form, style, and content, contributing to the joy of the creative process.
7. Create Space for Intuitive Insights
In the busyness of daily life, consciously give yourself space to hear the more intuitive level of your experience. This prevents overriding these moments of insight and allows them to flower.
8. Reflect on Mortality Viscerally
Consciously reflect on death, not just intellectually but viscerally, to feel its immediacy and naturalness. This practice can bring forth insights and acceptance about life and its impermanence.
9. Cultivate Poetic Sensitivity
Beyond formal meditation, cultivate a ‘poetic mind space’ to let experiences, feelings, and emotions ‘flower’ and unfold fully. This allows you to appreciate the richness of moments rather than just noting their impermanence.
10. Find Beauty in Ordinary Experiences
Cultivate sensitivity to ordinary, common experiences, like simply sitting and doing nothing, to drop beneath usual perceptions and discover their richness and beauty. This prevents passing over them as boring or insignificant.
11. Savor Experiences Creatively
Engage in creative endeavors (poetry, writing, music) to ‘savor the moment’ and let experiences emerge in their fullness. This approach allows for appreciating and reflecting on moments, which can be a source of great beauty often overlooked.
12. Approach Death with Love
Contemplate mortality by cultivating an aspiration to approach death from a place of love, with the determination that if you return in some form, your purpose is to be useful to others. This can be a comforting aspiration in the face of fear.
13. Reframe Death as New Beginning
Consider reframing the dying process not as an end, but as a ‘birth canal for rebirth,’ leading to a new beginning. This perspective can transform a potentially fearful experience into one of anticipation and possibility.
14. Recognize Attachment to Beingness
Observe your deep attachment to ‘beingness’ and conventional reality, understanding that it is like ‘aging children playing with sandcastles’ that are constantly destroyed by waves. Yet, we cling to these impermanent constructs.
15. Engage Without Attachment
Engage in activities and pursue desires with delight, but ‘without hope’ (meaning without attachment or clinging). This allows you to participate fully in the world from a selfless place, without strengthening a sense of self-aggrandizement.
16. Observe Clinging Impersonally
When you notice the mind claiming ownership or clinging to an idea, simply observe it as another impersonal pattern arising. See it as ‘another star sparkling in the sky,’ without judgment or further entanglement.
17. Know When to Stop Revising
Be aware of when to conclude the revision process for creative work, as it could otherwise become an endless cycle of tweaking. Recognize when a piece has reached its complete and intended form.
18. Cultivate Quiet, Receptive Spaces
Seek out quiet spaces, especially during vacation or downtime, to be receptive to new experiences and creative inspiration. Joseph Goldstein found that absorbing poetry in a quiet space allowed poems to start coming out.
19. Seek Supportive Creative Feedback
Share your early creative attempts with supportive friends who can provide enthusiastic feedback. Their encouragement can help you overcome doubts and take your work more seriously, as Joseph experienced with his poetry.
20. Don’t Take Life for Granted
Recognize that what seems solid is not, and embrace the truth of impermanence to avoid taking things for granted. This perspective fosters a vitalizing appreciation for life and its fleeting nature.
21. Use Art to Expand Perception
Engage with art and creative expression to open yourself to new ways of seeing, perceiving, and feeling things. This practice fosters incredible sensitivity to the world, revealing beauty in ordinary things.
22. Embrace Truth of Impermanence
Beyond conceptual understanding, embrace the truth of impermanence on a deeper, visceral level. This acceptance can lead to peace and a vitalizing perspective on life and death, rather than fear or resistance.
23. Attend to Nighttime Intuitions
When alone at night, especially lying down, pay attention to the feelings and intuitions that arise. The quiet space allows new things to surface that are normally covered by the busyness of daily life.
24. Visit IMS & Barry Center
Consider visiting the Insight Meditation Society and the Barry Center for Buddhist Studies in Barry, Massachusetts. These two places are highly recommended for deepening one’s meditation practice and engagement with Dharma teachings.
25. Read Joseph Goldstein’s Poetry
Read Joseph Goldstein’s new poetry book, ‘Dreamscapes of the Mind,’ available through the IMS website. This book offers a unique way to explore the depth of his Dharma teachings through poetic expression.
8 Key Quotes
Something happened in my 75th year. A channel opened to oceans of space, where words sparkle in their sparse delight, calling, calling, calling.
Joseph Goldstein
a major part of the art of writing poetry is revision.
Joseph Goldstein (attributing Sylvia Ford Ryan)
One night, alone in bed, I heard the whispered call of death. Distant enough for now, but still. Regrets and repose embraced as my heart quickened in the dark.
Joseph Goldstein
Morning coffee and a first glimpse into the unknown day. Waiting for that pulse of life to push through the pale joy of sitting, doing nothing. Going for a walk is almost too much on this day of questionable ease. Is it simply resting up to save the world or the faint glimmer of decline? I'll decide tomorrow if I awaken in the morning light.
Joseph Goldstein
The birth canal of death propels us forward. Is it love that beckons or the grappling hook of hope, pulling, pulling towards the first crying breath?
Joseph Goldstein
What matrix keeps us wandering in the dreamscape of the mind? What if the matrix is beingness itself? Castles of sand at water's edge, where aging children play. And Shiva laughs as breaking waves turn castles into caves. In zero, all the numbers of the world are freed. Who will brave this embrace of peace? That mysterious absence. Terrifying at first. And then release.
Joseph Goldstein
A high forest stream. A slip, a fall, a twisted knee. And summer plans asunder. Why? Because anything can happen anytime. A night awake, grumbling. And in the morning, peace. Why? Because anything can happen anytime. Opens the heart to life, to death.
Joseph Goldstein
The sirens song, be more than you are, be everything you're not. The sages say, be less, not more, because all that we're not lightens the burden. The lighting without hope, our desiring hearts.
Joseph Goldstein