Quotes from J. Mark G. Williams

This tendency to ignore the body can be reinforced by a sense that many of us have; that we do not like ours very much - they might not be as tall or as thin or as attractive as we'd like. Or perhaps they don't work as well as they used to. And, for some of us, there is a whisper at the back of our minds that one day they will let us down catastrophically; there will come a time when our bodies grow old and die, whether we're ready for it or not.

For example, if you feel threatened, the mind instantly digs up memories of when you felt endangered in the past, so that you can spot similarities and find a way of escaping.

The quality of mindfulness is not a neutral or blank presence. True mindfulness is imbued with warmth, compassion, and interest. In the light of this engaged attention, we discover it is impossible to hate or fear anything or anyone we truly understand. The nature of mindfulness is engagement: where there is interest, a natural, unforced attention follows.

once you see the difference that paying full attention can make to the small things in life, you start to get an inkling of the cost of inattention.

Is your speaking an improvement on silence?

Gradually, moment by moment, you may have come to realize that although you can't stop the unsettling thoughts from arising in your mind, you can stop what happens next. You can stop the vicious circle from feeding off itself.

Unhappiness itself is not the problem—it is an inherent and unavoidable part of being alive. Rather, it's the harshly negative views of ourselves that can be switched on by unhappy moods that entangle us. It is these views that transform passing sadness into persistent unhappiness and depression

It is actually okay to stop trying to solve the problem of feeling bad. In fact it is wise because our habitual ways of solving problems almost invariably wind up making things worse.

May you derive great benefit from engaging in this programme and its invitation to explore how you might be in a wiser and more fulfilling relationship to your 'one wild and precious life.' Jon Kabat-Zinn Boston, Massachusetts December, 2010

People genuinely believe that if they worry enough over their unhappiness they will eventually find a solution. They just need to make one last heave – think a little more about the problem … But research shows the opposite: in fact, brooding reduces our ability to solve problems; and it's absolutely hopeless for dealing with emotional difficulties.

The evidence is clear: brooding is the problem,not the solution.

But tension, unhappiness or exhaustion aren't 'problems' that can be solved. They are emotions. They reflect states of mind and body. As such, they cannot be solved – only felt. Once you've felt them – that is, acknowledged their existence – and let go of the tendency to explain or get rid of them, they are much more likely to vanish naturally, like the mist on a spring morning.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking out new landscapes but in having new eyes. (ATTRIB. MARCEL PROUST, 1871–1922)

Mindful awareness—or mindfulness—spontaneously arises out of this Being mode when we learn to pay attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment, to things as they actually are.

Mindful awareness – or mindfulness – spontaneously arises out of this Being mode when we learn to pay attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment, to things as they actually are. In mindfulness, we start to see the world as it is, not as we expect it to be, how we want it to be, or what we fear it might become.

Numerous psychological studies have shown that regular meditators are happier and more contented than average.1 These are not just important results in themselves but have huge medical significance as such positive emotions are linked to a longer and healthier life.

Everyday life offers endless opportunities for you to stop, to focus, to remind yourself to be fully awake and present to what is happening right now

thinking. And we don't need language to stand as an intermediary between us and the world; we can also experience it directly through our senses. We are capable of directly sensing things like the sounds of birds, the scent of beautiful flowers and the sight of a loved one's smile. And we know with the heart as well as the head. Thinking is not all there is to conscious experience. The mind is bigger and more encompassing than thought alone.

Mindfulness teaches us that thoughts are just thoughts; they are events in the mind. They are often valuable but they are not 'you' or 'reality'.

We re-live past events and re-feel their pain, and we pre-live future disasters and so pre-feel their impact.

Thirdly, the breath provides a natural, gently moving target to focus on in your meditation; it grounds you in the here and now. You cannot take a breath for five minutes ago, or for five minutes' time. You can only take a breath for now

If you could double the number of hours that you were truly alive each day then, in effect, you would be doubling your life expectancy.

use your restless and churning mind as an opportunity to look more deeply into it, rather than as an immediate reason to conclude that the meditation is "not working.

Relaxation, peace and contentment are the by-products of the work you are doing, not its goal.