Quotes About Mindfulness

Contemplation is waiting patiently for the gaps to be filled in, and it does not insist on quick closure or easy answers.

Any time you surrender a negative, accusatory, compulsive, or self-serving thought, word, or behavior, the Buddhists describe this as "dying"! Power, self-image, and control do not give up without a fight, and this is first of all true inside of our minds, where the illusions begin.

To keep the mind space open, we need some form of contemplative or meditation practice. This has been the most neglected in recent centuries, substituting the mere reciting and "saying" of prayers, which is not the same as a contemplative mind, and often merely confirms us in our superior or fear-based system.

Before you speak of peace, you must first have it in your heart. —St. Francis of Assisi13

When you are present, you will know the Presence. It is that simple, and it is that hard.

Whenever we get defensive or go emotionally up and down, this is a sign that we are attached to a self-image.

Presence is experienced in a participative way, outside the mind.

Words and complex rituals almost get in the way at this point. All you can really do is return such Presence with your own presence.

All that each of us can do is to live in the now that is given. We cannot rush the process;

Contemplation is really the change that changes everything—especially, first of all, the seer.

It has been said that 90 percent of people seem to live 90 percent of their lives on cruise control, which is to be unconscious.

The human art form is in uniting fruitful activity with a contemplative stance—not one or the other, but always both at the same time.

To keep the mind space open, you need some form of meditative practice—something much more than saying prayers. In fact, if recitation of prayers does not lead to a change in consciousness, it is actually counterproductive.

she'd come to believe life was like that: you could enjoy almost anything if you gave it enough time.

When trying to write your way to a happier life, expressing gratitude is just the tip of the iceberg.

Awareness is the first objective - not action and change.

I noted too that I had on many occasions spoken on the subject of the pollution of the spirit (or so I told them), and how the spirit should not be polluted, and how I personally looked askance at, for instance, a latte.

You know, Magnus…sometimes it's best not to look as far as you're able to look, or to listen to everything you're able to hear.

My experience with Khonsu had taught me not be greedy about time. It was best to appreciate what you had and not yearn for more.

You can't hold on to hate forever. It won't do a thing to the person you hate, but it'll poison you, sure enough.

Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now, take what's left and live it properly. What doesn't transmit light creates its own darkness. Commodus

It was useless to whine and moan about what you could've had- what you deserved, what was fair. I was just happy to have this moment.

Chocolate should be savored, not rushed.

The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.