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 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-ZinnThe real meditation practice is how we live our lives from moment to moment to moment.
Jon Kabat-ZinnToo 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.
Jon Kabat-ZinnMost people think that to meditate, I should feel a particular special something, and if I don't, then I must be doing something wrong.
Jon Kabat-ZinnEven 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-Zinn