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Jon Kabat-Zinn

Jon Kabat-Zinn Quotes

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Famous Jon Kabat-Zinn Quotes

“When we let go of wanting something else to happen in this moment, we are taking a profound step toward being able to encounter what is here now. If we hope to go anywhere or develop ourselves in any way, we can only step from where we are standing. If we don't really know where we are standing—a knowing that comes directly from the cultivation of mindfulness—we may only go in circles, for all our efforts and expectations. So, in meditation practice, the best way to get somewhere is to let go of trying to get anywhere at all.”

IfsKnowsWayTryingMayMomentsHappensAbleHopeEffortStepsPracticeKnowingMeditationLetting GoMindfulnessExpectationsStandingProfoundCirclesBest WayEncountersCultivationMeditation Practice
Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
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“"What is my job on the planet?" is one question we might do well to ask ourselves over and over again. Otherwise, we may wind up doing somebody else's job and not even know it. And what's more, that somebody else might be a figment of our own imagination, and maybe a prisoner of it as well.”

KnowsWellsMayMightJobsAsksImaginationPlanetsWindPrisonerFigments
Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
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“The importance of the development of the emotional body is hardly recognized today. We are pretty much left to our own devices to come to full adulthood, whether man or woman. Our elders may have become so denatured themselves from a lack of such nurturance that there is no longer a collective knowledge of how to guide the awakening emotional vitality and authenticity of our young people, our children. Mindfulness may contribute to a reawakening of this ancient wisdom in ourselves and in others.”

PeopleMenMayChildrenBodyTodayYoungLeftEmotionalDevelopmentMindfulnessImportanceOur ChildrenAncientGuidesAwakeningAuthenticityCollectivesDevicesAdulthoodVitalityEldersAncient WisdomCollective Knowledge
Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“Generosity is another quality which, like patience, letting go, non-judging, and trust, provides a solid foundation for mindfulness practice. You might experiment with using the cultivation of generosity as a vehicle for deep self-observation and inquiry as well as an exercise in giving. A good place to start is with yourself. See if you can give yourself gifts that may be true blessings, such as self-acceptance, or some time each day with no purpose. Practice feeling deserving enough to accept these gifts without obligation-to simply receive from yourself, and from the universe.”

IfsGivingWellsMaySelfEnoughFeelingsMightSpiritualPurposeSpiritualityUniverseQualityAcceptingPracticeAcceptanceJudgingExerciseBlessingLetting GoMindfulnessFoundationExperimentsObligationBeing TrueObservationGenerosityEach DaySelf AcceptanceVehicleInquiryDeservingCultivationGood PlaceSolid FoundationSelf Observation
Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life
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“Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing something about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely, the path that is your life. Meditation may help us see that this path we call our life has direction; that it is always unfolding, moment by moment; and that what happens now, in this moment, influences what happens next.”

MayMomentsHelpingHappensNextRealizingKnowingPathOur LivesMeditationInfluenceBeing YourselfUnfoldingYou Like ItKnowing Something
Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
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“As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than there is wrong, no matter how ill or how hopeless you may feel. But if you hope to mobilize your inner capacities for growth and for healing and to take charge in your life on a new level, a certain kind of effort and energy on your part will be required.... It will take conscious effort on your part to move in a direction of healing and inner peace. This means learning to work with the very stress and pain that is causing you to suffer.”

IfsFeelsKindMayMeanLongMatterPainMovingCertainSufferingEnergyGrowthLevelsEffortHealingMeditationConsciousCapacityStressIllInner PeaceBreathingHopeless
Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“When people say "Let it go," what they really mean is "Get over it," and that's not a helpful thing to say. It's not a matter of letting go - you would if you could. Instead of "Let it go," we should probably say "Let it be"; this recognizes that the mind won't let go and the problem may not go away, and it allows you to form a healthier relationship with what's bothering you.”

PeopleIfsShouldMindMayMeanMatterProblemFormLetting GoBotherHelpfulOver ItGoing AwayGet OverLet It GoReally MeanBothering You
Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“Initiate giving. Don't wait for someone to ask. See what happens - especially to you. You may find that you gain a greater clarity about yourself and about your relationships, as well as more energy rather than less. You may find that, rather than exhausting yourself or your resources, you will replenish them. Such is the power of mindful, selfless generosity. At the deepest level, there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient . . . only the universe rearranging itself.”

GivingWellsMayHappensUniverseAsksEnergyWaitingLevelsGreaterGainsResourcesClarityGenerosityAbout YourselfSelflessOur RelationshipGiverExhaustingInitiatePower Of The MindRearranging
Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
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“See if you can give yourself gifts that may be true blessings, such as self-acceptance , or some time each day with no purpose. Practice feeling deserving enough to accept these gifts without obligation - to simply receive from yourself, and from the universe.”

IfsGivingMaySelfEnoughFeelingsPurposeUniverseAcceptingPracticeAcceptanceBlessingObligationBeing TrueEach DaySelf AcceptanceDeserving
Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
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“Most of the time, if you're not really paying attention, you're someplace else. So your child might say, "Daddy, I want this," and you might say, "Just a minute, I'm busy." Now that's no big deal-we all get busy, and kids frequently ask for attention. But over your child's entire youth, you may have an enormous number of such moments to be really, fully present, but because you thought you were busy, you didn't see the opportunities these moments presented. . . . People carry around an enormous amount of grief because they missed the little things.”

PeopleIfsWantMayChildrenLittlesMomentsBigsMightKidsAsksOpportunityDealsNumbersGriefAttentionMinutesAwarenessYouthAmountOur ChildrenBusyEnormousPay AttentionYour ChildrenOver YouLittle ThingsDaddyBig Deal
Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“In its outward manifestation, meditation appears to involve either stopping, by parking the body in a stillness that suspends activity, or giving oneself over to flowing movement. In either case, it is an embodiment of wise attention, an inward gesture undertaken for the most part in silence, a shift from doing to simply being. It is an act that may at first seem artificial but that we soon discover, if we keep at it, is ultimately one of pure love for the life unfolding within us and around us.”

IfsGivingFirstsMayBodySeemsWalksAttentionSilenceCasesWiseMeditationJourneyMovementWalkingPureActivityOneselfWanderManifestationStillnessArtificialGesturesHikingInwardStoppingUnfoldingTrekkingStrollingParkingEmbodimentSaunteringPure LoveLife Unfolding
Book:Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness
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