Too much of the education system orients students toward becoming better thinkers, but there is almost no focus on our capacity to pay attention and cultivate awareness.
JON KABAT-ZINNThe 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.
More Jon Kabat-Zinn Quotes
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In letting go of wanting something special to occur, maybe we can realize that something special is already occurring.
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If you look at people out on the street, if you look at people at restaurants, nobody’s having conversations anymore. They’re sitting at dinner looking at their phone, because their brain is so addicted to it.
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You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.
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Intelligence is the door to freedom and alert attention is the mother of intelligence.
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Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.
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Living in a chronic state of unawareness can cause us to miss much of what is most beautiful and meaningful in our lives.
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Stillness, insight, and wisdom arise only when we can settle into being complete in this moment, without having to seek or hold on to or reject anything.
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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.
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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.
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He who dies before he dies does not die when he dies.
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Practice sharing the fullness of your being, your best self, your enthusiasm, your vitality, your spirit, your trust, your openness, above all, your presence. Share it with yourself, with your family, with the world.
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Breathing is central to every aspect of meditation training. It’s a wonderful place to focus in training the mind to be calm and concentrated.
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No one can listen to your body for you. To grow and heal, you have to take responsibility for listening to it yourself.
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In any given moment we are either practicing mindfulness, or defacto, we are practicing mindlessness.
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Dying without actually fully living, without waking up to our lives while we have the chance, is an ongoing and significant risk.
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Practice moment to moment non-judgemental awareness.
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Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.
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Perhaps the most “spiritual” thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness.
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Mindfulness is not about getting anywhere else.
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Writing can be an incredible mindfulness practice.
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Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.
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Arriving someplace more desirable at some future time is an illusion. This is it.
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There are a lot of different ways to talk about mindfulness, but what it really means is awareness.
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We must be willing to encounter darkness and despair when they come up and face them, over and over again if need be, without running away or numbing ourselves in the thousands of ways we conjure up to avoid the unavoidable.
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Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life, and your actions happen in accordance with that.
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The real meditation practice is how we live our lives from moment to moment to moment.
JON KABAT-ZINN