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Jon Kabat-Zinn

Jon Kabat-Zinn Quotes

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Famous Jon Kabat-Zinn Quotes

“Once in awhile throughout the day...let go into full acceptance of the present moment, including how you are feeling and what you perceive to be happening... Give yourself permission to allow this moment to be exactly as it is, and allow yourself to be exactly as you are. Then, when you're ready, move in the direction your heart tells you to go, mindfully and with resolution.”

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Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“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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“But when we start to focus in on what our own mind is up to, for instance, it is not unusual to quickly go unconscious again, to fall back into an automatic-pilot mode of unawareness. These lapses in awareness are frequently caused by an eddy of dissatisfaction with what we are seeing or feeling in that moment, out of which springs a desire for something to be different, for things to change.”

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Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
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“Wherever you go, there you are. Whatever you wind up doing, that's what you've wound up doing. Whatever you are thinking right now, that's what's on your mind. Whatever has happened to you, it has already happened. The important question is, "how are you going to handle it?" .... Like it or not, this moment is all we really have to work with.”

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Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life
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“When your alarm goes off and you jump out of bed, what is the nature of the mind in that moment? Are you already like, "oh my God," your calendar pops into your mind and you're driven already, or can you take a moment and just lie in bed and just feel your body breathing. And remember, "oh yeah, brand new day and I'm still alive." So, I get out of bed with awareness, brush my teeth with awareness. When you're in the shower next time check and see if you're in the shower.”

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Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to be present; inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness, with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness, mindfulness, and equanimity right here and right now.”

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Book:Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in 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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“It is remarkable how liberating it feels to be able to see that your thoughts are just thoughts and that they are not 'you' or 'reality.' For instance, if you have the thought that you have to get a certain number of things done today and you don't recognize it as a thought but act as if it's the 'the truth,' then you have created a reality in that moment in which you really believe that those things must all be done today.”

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Book:Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
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“Mindfulness means moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is cultivated by refining our capacity to pay attention, intentionally, in the present moment, and then sustaining that attention over time as best we can. In the process, we become more in touch with our life as it is unfolding.”

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Book:Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting
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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.”

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Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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“Buckminster Fuller himself was fond of stating that what seems to be happening at the moment is never the full story of what is really going on. He liked to point out that for the honey bee, it is the honey that is important. But the bee is at the same time nature's vehicle for carrying out cross-pollination of the flowers. Interconnectedness is a fundamental principle of nature. Nothing is isolated. Each event connects with others.”

ImportantMomentsStoriesSeemsPrinciplesEventsFlowerMindfulnessHappeningsCrossesFundamentalsHoneyIsolatedVehicleBeesInterconnectednessFundamental PrinciplesBuckminster FullerHoney BeePollination
Author:Jon Kabat-Zinn
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