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.
JON KABAT-ZINNLiving in a chronic state of unawareness can cause us to miss much of what is most beautiful and meaningful in our lives.
More Jon Kabat-Zinn Quotes
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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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All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for.
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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.
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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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So, in meditation practice, the best way to get somewhere is to let go of trying to get anywhere at all.
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The real meditation is how you live your life.
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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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The real meditation practice is how we live our lives from moment to moment to moment.
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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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Meditation is not about feeling a certain way. It’s about feeling the way you feel.
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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.
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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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You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.
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If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will have to admit that we live out our lives in an ocean of fear.
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The awareness is not part of the darkness or the pain; it holds the pain, and knows it, so it has to be more fundamental, and closer to what is healthy and strong and golden within you.
JON KABAT-ZINN






