“The mind which is created quick to love, is responsive to everything that is pleasing, soon as by pleasure it is awakened into activity. Your apprehensive faculty draws an impression from a real object, and unfolds it within you, so that it makes the mind turn thereto. And if, being turned, it inclines towards it, that inclination is love; that is nature, which through pleasure is bound anew within you.”
“We have negative mental habits that come up over and over again. One of the most significant negative habits we should be aware of is that of constantly allowing our mind to run off into the future. Perhaps we got this from our parents. Carried away by our worries, we re unable to live fully and happily in the present. Deep down, we believe we can t really be happy just yet—that we still have a few more boxes to be checked off before we can really enjoy life. We speculate, dream, strategize, and plan for these conditions of happiness we want to have in the future; and we continually chase after that future, even while we sleep. We may have fears about the future because we don t know how it s going to turn out, and these worries and anxieties keep us from enjoying being here now.”
“You actions are your only true belongings.”
“As much as I can, I avoid using the word spiritual altogether. I find it neither useful nor necessary nor appropriate in my work at the hospital bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and healthcare, nor in other settings in which we work[.] [T]o my mind, the vocabulary of spirituality creates more practical problems than it solves. [...] The concept of spirituality can narrow our thinking rather extend it. [...] Perhaps ultimately, spiritual means experiencing wholeness and interconnectedness directly, a seeing that individuality and the totality are interwoven, that nothing is separate or extraneous, If you see in this way, then everything becomes spiritual in its deepest sense. Doing science is spiritual. So is washing the dishes. It is the inner experience which counts. And you have to be there for it.”
“If you take life as a battle, be ready for the bruises. If you take it as a game, be ready to experience highs and lows. If you take it as a circus, sit back and watch different acts being performed by everyone.”
“Listening happens when you don t use your head.”
“If you know how to be happy with the wonders of life that are already there for you to enjoy, you don t need to stress your mind and your body by striving harder and harder, and you don t need to stress this planet by purchasing more and more stuff. The Earth belongs to our children. We have already borrowed too much from it, from them; and the way things have been going, we re not sure we ll be able to give it back to them in decent shape. And who are our children, actually? They are us, because they are our own continuation. So we ve been shortchanging our own selves. Much of our modern way of life is permeated by mindless overborrowing. The more we borrow, the more we loser. That s why it s critical that we wake up and see we don t need to do that anymore. What s already available in the here and now is plenty for us to be nourished, to be happy. Only that kind of insight will get us, each one of us, to stop engaging in the compulsive, self-sabotaging behaviors of our species. We need a collective awakening. One Buddha is not enough. All of us have to become Buddhas in order for our planet to have a chance. Fortunately, we have the power to wake up, to touch enlightenment from moment to moment, in our very own ordinary and, yes, busy lives. So let s start right now. Peace is your every breath.”
“If you really want to remove a cloud from your life, you do not make a big production of it, you just relax and remove it from your thinking. That s all there is to it.”
“[Mindfulness] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for excising the tumor of metaphysical belief. (130)”
“Whether you are unhappy, purposeless, or just unsatisfied with where you are in the moment, you have hope as happiness is a learned emotion.”
“Stop, breathe, look around and embrace the miracle of each day, the miracle of life.”
“A mind set in its ways is wasted. Don t do it.”
“The next time you feel a sense of dissatisfaction, of something being missing or not quite right, turn inward as an experiment. See if you can capture the energy of that very moment. Instead of picking up a magazine or going to the movies, calling a friend or looking for something to eat or acting up in one way or another, make a place for yourself. Sit down and enter into your breathing, if only for a few minutes. Don t look for anything - neither flowers not light nor a beautiful view. Don t extol the virtues of anything or condemn the inadequacy of anything. Don t even think to yourself, I am going inward now. Just sit. Reside at the center of the world. Let things be as they are.”
“...it is often more difficult to remember to be mindful than to be mindful itself. (p. 47)”
“Two thoughts cannot coexist at the same time: if the clear light of mindfulness is present, there is no room for mental twilight.”
“Without energy being invested in resisting the unwanted or dueling with fears, we have more energy and attention available for noticing not only the disturbing, but the wonderful...When we are not fixated on threat and defending ourselves, when we re not exhausted and burned out from chronic stress, we are able to see the daily evidence that we are in the midst of a mind-blowing miracle called Life....Then we will experience breathtaking, heart-rippling moments that counterbalance every trial and tribulation. When we re fully conscious of the universe s artistry and generosity, who needs psychodelics or Prozac?”
“We all have limitations. They are worth befriending. They teach us a lot. They can show us what we most need to pay attention to and honor. They become our cutting edge for learning and growing and gentling ourselves into the present moment as it is.”