Myla Kabat Zinn Quotes

Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart. ~ Myla Kabat-Zinn

Peace is something that we can bring about if we can actually learn to wake up a bit more as individuals and a lot more as a species; if we can learn to be fully what we actually already are; to reside in the inherent potential of what is possible for us, being human. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Our ability to touch love and kindness and be touched by them lies buried below our own fears and hurts, below our greed and our hatreds, below our desperate clinging to the illusion that we are separate and alone. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Not get caught in their habitual patterning, to see thoughts for what they are, impersonal events, and instead be the knowing that awareness already is. Then, in that moment at least, we are already free, ready to act with greater clarity and kindness within the constantly changing field of events that is nothing other than life unfolding - not always as we think it should, but definitely as it is. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

I'm challenging everybody on every side of every divide to be more who they are, to cultivate their capacity for awareness. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

For mindfulness is the knowing quality of awareness, the core property of mind itself. It is strengthened by sustaining, and it is self-sustaining. Mindfulness is the field of knowing. When that field is stabilized by calmness and one-pointedness, the arising of the knowing itself is sustained, and the quality of the knowing strengthened. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Knowing what you are doing while you are doing it is the essence of mindfulness practice. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

To allow ourselves to be truly in touch with where we already are, no matter where that is, we have got to pause in our experience long enough to let the present moment sink in; long enough to actually feel the present moment, to see it in its fullness, to hold it in awareness and thereby come to know and understand it better. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

[R]emain open to not knowing, perhaps allowing yourself to come to the point of admitting, "I don't know," and then experimenting with relaxing a bit into this not knowing instead of condemning yourself for it. After all, in this moment, it may be an accurate statement of how things are for you. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

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. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

We must be willing to encounter darkness and despair when they come up and face them, over and over again if need be, without running away or numbing ourselves in the thousands of ways we conjure up to avoid the unavoidable. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

See If You Can Give Yourself Gifts That May Be True Blessings, Such As Self-Acceptance ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

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. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

I don't want people following Jon Kabat-Zinn. I want them following themselves. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Thich Nhat Hanh, the venerable and highly respected Vietnamese meditation teacher, poet, and peace activist, uses the image of cloudy apple juice settling in a glass to describe meditation. You just sit with whatever is present, even discomfort, anxiety, or confusion, with whatever is present, and the mind settles all by itself. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

One way to look at meditation is as a kind of intrapsychic technology that's been developed over thousands of years by traditions that know a lot about the mind/body connection. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

[W]hat seems to be happening at the moment is never the full story is really going on. [...] [F]or 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. Things are constantly unfolding on different levels. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

It's very important as a beginner that you understand right from the start that meditation is about befriending your thinking, about holding it gently in awareness, no matter what is on your mind in a particular moment. It is not about shutting off your thoughts or changing them in any way. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

The more you practice, the more skill you can develop in reducing pain or at least becoming more transparent to it, so that it is less eroding of your quality of life. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Research is showing that we can change our attitude, and thereby our relationship to our circumstances, in ways that can make a difference in our health and well-being, and possibly to our longevity. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

From the point of view of the meditative traditions the entire society is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Look at other people and ask yourself if you are really seeing them or just your thoughts about them ... Without knowing it, we are coloring everything, putting our spin on it all. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Give yourself permission to allow this moment to be exactly as it is, and allow yourself to be exactly as you are. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Group meditation according to Jon Kabat ~ Howard Zinn

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 ... We may only go in circles ... ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Perhaps the most "spiritual" thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will have to admit that we live out our lives in an ocean of fear. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

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. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Breathing is central to every aspect of meditation training. It's a wonderful place to focus in training the mind to be calm and concentrated. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

The mind that has not been developed or trained is very scattered. That's the normal state of affairs, but it leaves us out of touch with a great deal in life, including our bodies. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn