Allow your attention to gently alight on your belly, as if you were coming upon a shy animal sunning itself on a tree stump in a clearing in the forest. Feel your belly rise or expand gently on the inbreath, and fall or recede on the outbreath. Jon Kabat-Zinn More Quotes by Jon Kabat-Zinn More Quotes From Jon Kabat-Zinn Sometimes shutting off the sound on the television can allow you to actually watch the game and take it in in an entirely different and more direct way - a first-order, first-person experience - rather than filtered through the mind of another. Jon Kabat-Zinn games mind order There are a lot of different ways to talk about mindfulness, but what it really means is awareness. Jon Kabat-Zinn different mean way Stillness, insight, and wisdom arise only when we can settle into being complete in this moment, without having to seek or hold on to or reject anything. Jon Kabat-Zinn understanding moments wisdom When awareness embraces the senses, it enlivens them. Jon Kabat-Zinn embrace senses awareness 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. Jon Kabat-Zinn practice life mean Can you question who you are? And are you comfortable with not knowing? Jon Kabat-Zinn not-knowing comfortable knowing Perhaps ultimately, spiritual simply 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. Jon Kabat-Zinn individuality spiritual mean Mindfulness is so powerful that the fact that it comes out of Buddhism is irrelevant. Jon Kabat-Zinn buddhism powerful mindfulness Discipline provides a constancy which is independent of what kind of day you had yesterday and what kind of day you anticipate today. Jon Kabat-Zinn independent discipline yesterday When experience is viewed in a certain way, it presents nothing but doorways into the soul. Jon Kabat-Zinn awareness soul doorways From the perspective of meditation, every state is a special state, every moment a special moment. Jon Kabat-Zinn perspective meditation special It's the nature of the mind to drift away. The mind is like the Pacific Ocean, it waves. And mindfulness has been shown to drop underneath the waves. If you drop underneath the agitation in the mind, into your breath deep enough calmness, gentle undulations. Jon Kabat-Zinn wave ocean mind 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 knowing life people The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing. Jon Kabat-Zinn knowing life mean 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 darkness running life Once you have established yourself as a center of love and kindness radiating throughout your being, which amounts to a cradling of yourself in loving kindness and acceptance, you can dwell here indefinitely, drinking at this fount, bathing it in, renewing yourself, nourishing yourself, enlivening yourself. This can be a profoundly healing practice for body and soul. Jon Kabat-Zinn healing drinking kindness Non-doing has nothing to do with being indolent or passive. Quite the contrary. It takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing, both in stillness and in activity. Nor is it easy to make a special time for non-doing and to keep at it in the face of everything in our lives which needs to be done. Jon Kabat-Zinn meditation special courage 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. Jon Kabat-Zinn mind lying new-day When you're walking, just walk. When you're eating, just eat. Not in front of the TV, not with the newspaper. It turns out, that's huge. Jon Kabat-Zinn eating walking 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 spiritual kindness life
