Even though in principle we may "know better", we routinely succumb all the same to the incessant, often frantic and unexamined busyness of thinking we have to get somewhere else first before we can rest; thinking we need to get certain things done to feel we have accomplished something before we can be happy.
Jon Kabat-ZinnIn any given moment we are either practicing mindfulness, or defacto, we are practicing mindlessness.
Jon Kabat-ZinnYou can bring together the body's various systems to fine tune the body and mind in order to navigate life's ups and downs in a way that minimizes stress and maximizes well-being and satisfaction.
Jon Kabat-ZinnMindfulness meditation is the embrace of any and all mind states in awareness, without preferring one to another.
Jon Kabat-ZinnWhen 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 standingโa knowing that comes directly from the cultivation of mindfulnessโwe 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.
Jon Kabat-ZinnItโs interesting to look at your children as line-in Zen masters who can put their finger on places where youโre resistant, or thinking narrowly, in ways noone else can. You can either lose your mind and your authenticity in the process of reacting to all that stuff, or you can use it as the perfect opportunity to grow and nourish your children by attending to what is deepest and best in them and in yourself.
Jon Kabat-ZinnThe only time you ever have in which to learn anything or see anything or feel anything, or express any feeling or emotion, or respond to an event, or grow, or heal, is this moment, because this is the only moment any of us ever gets. You're only here now; you're only alive in this moment.
Jon Kabat-Zinn