Quotes from Jon Kabat-Zinn

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." MBSR

It helps to have a focus for your attention, an anchor line to tether you to the present moment and to guide you back when the mind wanders. The breath serves this purpose exceedingly well. It can be a true ally. Bringing awareness to our breathing, we remind ourselves that we are here now, so we might as well be fully awake for whatever is already happening.

Remember, now is the only time you have for anything. You have to accept yourself as you are before you can really change. Your choosing to do so becomes an act of self-compassion and intelligence. When

Right in that or any moment of non-doing, you are already OK, already perfect, in the sense of perfectly who and what you are. And therefore, right in that moment you are already at home in a profound way, far beyond who you think you are and the ideas and opinions that may so shape and sometimes severely limit your view of the larger whole.

We are not meditating to make anything go away, any more than we are meditating to attain some special state or feeling. Whether we are basically healthy at the moment or have a terminal illness, none of us knows how long we have to live.

Be a light unto yourself.

Even the tiniest manifestation of mindfulness in any moment might give rise to an intuition or insight that could be hugely transforming.

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.

Through it all, we attempt to bring balance to the present moment, understanding that in patience lies wisdom, knowing that what will come next will be determined in large measure by how we are now.

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.

You have to actually make the time to practice every day, because otherwise you will not find it.

Non-doing simply means letting things be and allowing them to unfold in their own way.

Cierpliwo?? to rodzaj mÄ…droÅ›ci. Dowodzi, ?e rozumiemy i akceptujemy fakt, i? czasami sprawy muszÄ… siÄ™ rozwija? we wÅ'asnym tempie. Dzieci próbujÄ… czasem pomóc motylowi wydosta? siÄ™ z kokonu, rozbijajÄ…c go. Zwykle motyl nie wychodzi na tym dobrze. Ka?dy dorosÅ'y wie, ?e motyl wylatuje z kokonu, dopiero kiedy nadejdzie wÅ'aÅ›ciwy czas i nie mo?na tego przyspieszy?.

Mindfulness has been called the heart of Buddhist meditation.

The power of mindfulness is the power to examine those self-identifications and their consequences and the power to examine the views and perspectives we adopt so reflexively and automatically and then proceed to think are

The power of mindfulness is the power to examine those self-identifications and their consequences and the power to examine the views and perspectives we adopt so reflexively and automatically and then proceed to think are us.

Knowing that we don't know is just as important, if not more so, than anything else we might know.

Meditation is more rightly thought of as a "Way" than as a technique. It is a Way of being, a Way of living, a Way of listening, a Way of walking along the path of life and being in harmony with things as they are.

I am indebted to Alan Wallace for the view of the Buddha as a great scientist, and for the metaphor of the telescope and the need to stabilize and calibrate it before viewing.

The point here is simply that it is useful at times to admit to yourself that you don't know your way and to be open to help from unexpected places. Doing this makes available to you inner and outer energies and allies that arise out of your own soulfulness and selflessness.

you be aware of this as you practice?

Meditace je opravdu jediná lidská ?innost, ve které se nesnažíte dostat nÄ›kam jinam, ale prostÄ› si dovolíte z?stat tam, kde jste, a takoví, jací jste. Je to hoÃ…â"¢ká medicína, která se Å¡patnÄ› polyká, když se vám nelíbí, kde jste a co se kolem vás dÄ›je, ale v takových pÃ…â"¢ípadech je její užívání obzvláÅ¡Å¥ užite?né.

The virtues of getting up early have nothing to do with cramming more hours of busyness and industry into one's day. Just the opposite. They stem from the stillness and solitude of the hour, and the potential to use that time to expand consciousness, to contemplate, to make time for being, for purposefully not doing anything. The peacefulness, the darkness, the dawn, the stillness - all contribute to making early morning a special time for mindfulness practice.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE SCIENCE OF MINDFULNESS The Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness The Art and Science of Mindfulness The Mind's Own Physician The Emotional Life of Your Brain Fully Present Healing Emotions Destructive Emotions Visions of Compassion The Mindful Brain Buddha's Brain Full Catastrophe Living, 2nd edition