Living in a chronic state of unawareness can cause us to miss much of what is most beautiful and meaningful in our lives. Jon Kabat-Zinn More Quotes by Jon Kabat-Zinn More Quotes From Jon Kabat-Zinn Most people don't realize that the mind constantly chatters. And yet, that chatter winds up being the force that drives us much of the day in terms of what we do, what we react to, and how we feel. Jon Kabat-Zinn mind wind people Life on earth is a whole, yet it expresses itself in unique time-bound bodies, microscopic or visible, plant or animal, extinct or living. So there can be no one place to be. There can be no one way to be, no one way to practice, no one way to learn, no one way to love, no one way to grow or to heal, no one way to live, no one way to feel, no one thing to know or be known. The particulars count. Jon Kabat-Zinn unique animal life There are certain ways in which I cultivate awareness, both through mindful yoga and taking care of my body and taking time to actually drop as deeply as possible into stillness, into whatever is unfolding in the present moment. Jon Kabat-Zinn care yoga body Paying attention and awareness are universal capacities of human beings. Jon Kabat-Zinn awareness capacity attention A lot of harm has come in all eras from people attached to one view of spiritual “truth.” Jon Kabat-Zinn spiritual views people Most 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-Zinn special people thinking I was very much a tough New York street kid. I went to a school where you had to learn how to get along with everybody or fight with everybody, and I did my fair share of both. Jon Kabat-Zinn new-york kids school 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 tree animal fall You don't need the iPhone: you have the most exquisite apparatus in the known universe sitting right in your head - the most complex organization of matter in the entire universe. And here are we, feeling a little depressed, feeling like we're not getting where we need to be, when really you might be exactly where you need to be. Jon Kabat-Zinn iphone feeling you universe The notion that the mind and body are actually different sides of the same coin goes all the way back to the origins of medicine. For most of its history, the practice was not separated from other aspects of human activity. Jon Kabat-Zinn practice mind history way Science gave me a cosmic religious feeling, and I would get the same feeling when I was dragged to the Met and the Museum of Modern Art. Jon Kabat-Zinn feeling me science art Mindfulness is often spoken of as the heart of Buddhist meditation. It's not about Buddhism, but about paying attention. That's what all meditation is, no matter what tradition or particular technique is used. Jon Kabat-Zinn tradition matter heart attention I started the Stress Reduction Clinic in 1979. The idea of bringing Buddhist meditation without the Buddhism into the mainstream of medicine was tantamount to the Visigoths being at the gates about to tear down the citadel of Western civilization. Jon Kabat-Zinn down being medicine stress It is what makes us human, what distinguishes us from other animals. We can be aware of being aware. Jon Kabat-Zinn animals us human being
