Jon Kabat-Zinn on attention
Jon Kabat-Zinn62 quotes“Intelligence is the door to freedom and alert attention is the mother of intelligence.”
Filed under
More from Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness is not about getting anywhere else.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Mindful parenting is the hardest job on the planet, but it’s also one that has the potential for the deepest kinds of satisfactions over the life span, and the greatest feelings of interconnectedness and community and belonging.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness is a way of paying attention, on purpose and non-judgmentally, to what goes on in the present moment in your body, mind and the world around you.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn See for yourself whether letting go when a part of you really wants to hold on doesn’t bring a deeper satisfaction than clinging.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Paying attention and awareness are universal capacities of human beings.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Meditation is really a non-doing. It is the only human endeavor I know of being where you already are.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn When you’re walking, just walk. When you’re eating, just eat. Not in front of the TV, not with the newspaper. It turns out, that’s huge.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn The only time that any of us have to grow or change or feel or learn anything is in the present moment. But we’re continually missing our present moments, almost willfully, by not paying attention.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Dying without actually fully living, without waking up to our lives while we have the chance, is an ongoing and significant risk.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn But you cannot have harmony without a commitment to ethical behavior. It’s the fence that keeps out the goats that will eat all the young shoots in your garden.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn He who dies before he dies does not die when he dies.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn We take care of the future best by taking care of the present now.
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Note that this journey is uniquely yours, no one else’s. So the path has to be your own. You cannot imitate somebody else’s journey and still be true to yourself. Are you prepared to honor your uniqueness in this way?
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn Just watch this moment, without trying to change it at all. What is happening? What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear?
Jon Kabat-ZinnJon Kabat-Zinn
Original quotes
From our community writers
How strange that our hearts heal from the same thing that broke it -love.
Cailin HargreavesCailin Hargreaves The peak of intensity is numbness not emotionless.
Anamika GargAnamika Garg She is everything and nothing at all.
Ava NicoleAva Nicole She built her castle at rock bottom.
Harriet SelinaHarriet Selina Keep growing into yourself.
Sophia JoanSophia Joan They tell you to be grateful for what you have. But you are also allowed to be sad for what you have lost.
Sabina LauraSabina Laura what the sky is to a bird is like a dream for a dreamer.
Safna SulaimanSafna Sulaiman The Red Rose on my grave shows once I was in love.
Moses AlexanderMoses Alexander
Meet the writers
More on attention
Each day, focus your attention on what you want. Each day, take one step that will bring you closer to it. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! The key is to identify it, claim it for yourself, and believe that you are worthy to have it.
Iyanla VanzantIyanla Vanzant I just think that the media is just making things up. I don’t really pay attention.
Paris HiltonParis Hilton If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things.
Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.
Susan SontagSusan Sontag A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world.
Susan SontagSusan Sontag I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them.
Susan SontagSusan Sontag Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.
Susan SontagSusan Sontag You must all pay attention to your health first.
Swami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda
