Best 1901 quotes in «mindfulness quotes» category

There is really no natural limit to the practice of loving kindness in meditation or in one’s life. It is an ongoing, ever-expanding realization of interconnectedness. It is also its embodiment. When you can love one tree or one flower or one dog or one place, or one person or yourself for one moment, you can find all people, all places, all suffering, all harmony in that one moment. Practicing in this way is not trying to change anything or get anywhere, although it might look like it on the surface. What it is really doing is uncovering what is always present. Love and kindness are here all the time, somewhere, in fact, everywhere. Usually our ability to touch them and be touched by them lies buried below our own fears and hurts, below our greed and our hatreds, below our desperate clinging to the illusion that we are truly separate and alone. (…). Make sure that you are not trying to help anybody else or the planet. Rather, you are simply holding them in awareness, honoring them, wishing them well, opening to their pain with kindness and compassion and acceptance.

...there is something very vital happening when we breathe—without it we die—but trying to speed it up, force it, grasp it, push it away or control it tends to get in the way. As in breathing, so in life—we can learn a lot from the natural rhythm, pace, and un-fussiness of the way breath continues its work, without making a big deal out of it.

The remarkable thing about the world of insects, however, is precisely that there is no veil cast over these horrors. These are mysteries performed in broad daylight before our very eyes; we can see every detail, and yet they are still mysteries. If, as Heraclitus suggests, god, like an oracle, neither “declares nor hides, but sets forth by signs,” then clearly I had better be scrying the signs. The earth devotes an overwhelming proportion of its energy to these buzzings and leaps in the grass. Theirs is the biggest wedge of the pie: Why? I ought to keep a giant water bug in an aquarium on my dresser, so I can think about it.

There's a thin boundary between the light and dark side. Both are fervent to reign in the space of the other.

There's a vast space between being simply human to being truly humane.

there’s more to liberation than trying to avoid discomfort, more to lasting happiness than pursuing temporary pleasures, temporary relief.

There’s no denying that it takes effort to set the intention to see our fundamental connected-ness with others.

... The result, in this world view, is that real freedom comes not from the decisions of an ego-self’s “will” but from action without any Self whatsoever

The result of mindful awareness is the development of our virtues, which are the basic positive building blocks of our life.

There was once a time when information was the source.

There were so many sensations in his body that he couldn't feel them all at once, and each, as soon as he felt it, slipped away into the past.

There will be times of noise and there will be times of silence, both are necessary to hear your soul.

There will always be more questions. Every answer leads to more questions. The only way to survive is to let some of them go.

The sage is still not because he takes stillness to be good and therefore is still. The ten thousand things are insufficient to distract his mind - that is the reason he is still.

The same way we grow our bodies we must attend to our mind and spirit.

The search for security might translate into ways that you choose to guard your heart and emotions in romantic relationships.

The secure attachment of Western psychology is actually akin to Buddhist non-attachment; avoid-ant attachment is the inverse of being mindful and present; and anxious attachment aligns with Buddhist notions of clinging and grasping.

The Self, when finite, is Human and when infinite, is God.

The self, when confined into the usual wakeful state of consciousness, is human, but when enters into the transcendental state of Absolute Oneness, becomes God.

The simple act of being completely attentive & present to another person is an act of love, and it fosters unshakeable well-being.

The simple act of being completely present to another person is truly an act of love

The skill of mindfulness allows you to remain grounded in the present moment even when you face difficult stressors, so that your stressful feelings feel more manageable..

The Sleep Problem today is not as much about being able to sleep for 7 hours; it is more about being able to sleep when you are ready to.

The son needs the father to have access to his source, and the father needs the son to have access to the future and the infinite.

The societal preaching and creation wherein many people try to rationalize evil intentions and actions by making them appear noble and beneficial; that pursuit of power and wealth is the persecution of truth, justice, and love; that society is centered around selfishness and greed, having and consuming, instead of principles of love, respect, and integrity; that fame is an admirable quality, even if often not based on real achievements; that virtue means obedience, even if wrong, is all adversely impacting human inner being and existence as authentic and loving.” — from AUTHENTIC SELF-LOVE (2017)

The soul-Self doesn't follow the crowd. It encourages you to speak up when you need to and live by your truth.

the spirit is reflected in impeccable speech and behavior, refraining from anything that could potentially be considered hurtful. The spirit is reflected in confidence, happiness, good humor, fearlessness, kindness, and thoughtfulness. The quality of your inner dialogue is instantly obvious to other people, although it might not be recognized for what it is. When you practice positive inner dialogue, people will want to bond with you, help you, be near you. They want to share in the love, knowingness, and bliss that shines through your eyes and is reflected in your every action. This is true inner power.

The starting place for radical re-imagining of love is mindfulness.

The standard way of reducing stress in our culture is to put as much energy as possible into trying to arrive at a moment that matches our preferences. This ensures that we feel some level of stress until we get there (assuming we ever will) and worse, it makes the present moment into an unacceptable place to be.

The stiller you are the calmer life is.

The symphony true,' said Finesse. 'I think it's what's left when all the noise stops, when you get quiet and listen for your own true heart.

The teachings of the Buddha could be summarized in four short sentences. ... [The Buddha] said ... The bad things, don't do them. The good things, try to do them. Try to purify, subdue your own mind. That is the teaching of all buddhas.

The term spirit might have evolved in a mystical fashion, but in today’s civilized and thinking society, it refers to simply your inner self. Spirit is the self, and the self is the soul. Hence, a spiritual person is a person who is more interested in realizing his or her inner self, than giving in to any conformity of the society.

The thing may sound absurd to you, but you can do it if you will: standing back, as it were, from the vague and purposeless reactions in which most men fritter their vital energies. Then you can survey with a certain calm, a certain detachment, your universe and the possibilities of life within it: can discern too, if you be at all inclined to mystical adventure, the stages of the road along which you must pass on your way towards harmony with the Real.

The Third Precept, to refrain from sexual misconduct, reminds us not to act out of sexual desire in such a way as to cause harm to another... The spirit of this precept asks us to look at the motivation behind our actions. To pay attention in this way allows us, as laypeople, to discover how sexuality can be connected to the heart and how it can be an expression of love, caring, and genuine intimacy. We have almost all been fools at some time in our sexual lives, and we have also used sex to try to touch what is beautiful, to touch another person deeply. Conscious sexuality is an essential part of living a mindful life (86).

THE THIRD PRINCIPLE describes how your mind creates your reality—and how, by mastering your inner dialogue, you can literally transform reality to create abundance.

The traditional techniques used in getting sleep aren’t much effective any longer and our sleep techniques need to evolve as rapidly as our life style has, in order to cope with it.

The true battle is in your mind and the first step of success is to win that battle with right mindset.

The transcendental state of Absolute Oneness sets the human mind free.

The true miracle of life is not in the form in which it shows up, but the love that inspires it.

The truth about yourself is so near, so close, that it is very difficult to perceive. Just as it is difficult to style your hair, apply makeup, or shave without a mirror, we require a mirror of sorts to spiritually groom ourselves. For most, that mirror is relationships with others. People who wear masks of untrustworthiness, dishonesty, selfishness, and greed see those qualities reflected back from everyone they meet—even the most noble souls who cross their paths. But people who have put their masks aside are able to experience compassion, love, and wholeness in others, even in their adversaries—even in those who are still mired in a tangled web of fear, insecurity, and abrasiveness.

The truth is everything is impermanent. Nothing stays the same. Flowers wither. Our bodies grow old. Even our thoughts and emotions seem to dissolve over time. When we have a fixed concept of self, we lose ourselves in the past and don’t allow ourselves to just be who we are in the present.

The true self is that which is in touch with reality. The false self is the aspects of your personality that are adapted to threats and no longer consciously recognizes either the adaptation or the threat.

The truth is that all of the moments of our lives are magical because we are alive in them.

The truth of life is just to live.

The truth is that everything contains everything else. We cannot just be, we can only inter-be.

The ultimate experience of being mindful occurs when we forget about everything, even the mindful self and doing. In that mode we are full of energy, utterly self-generated.

The University Student who accessed Joy I once asked several university students at a mindfulness workshop why they were so stressed. Below is a conversation I had with a young student: “Why do you get yourself so stressed out?” “Because I have so much work to do in order to pass my masters degree”, replied the student. “Is the degree important to you?” “Of course it’s important. If I pass, I’ll have the chance to work for a law firm and eventually become a junior partner”. “Why do you want to become a junior partner?” “So that I can work my way up the ladder, have more influence and earn a lot of money”. “Why do you want to have a lot of influence and earn a lot of money?” I asked. “If I have a lot of money and influence, I will have enough financial muscle to provide everything for my future wife and children.” “Do you have your own family yet?” “Not at the moment. I’m single but I want to prepare myself”, the student replied. “So, why do you want a partner and children?” “Because, I’ll feel complete and satisfied”, the student replied. “Do you mean that you will feel happier if you have all of these things?” “Yeah, that’s it! I want to be happy and feel good about myself. I want happiness”. “Why don’t you just decide to be happy right now rather than spending most of your time desperately hoping to find happiness in something that hasn’t happened yet? You can still create your own reality and meet your dream partner but you can start to feel happy now before you meet her”. This conversation helped the student to see the futility of booking appointments in the future to be happy, when he could consciously make that choice in the present moment and also that he would have a much better chance of attracting his dream career and partner if he was vibrating joy in the present moment. The wonderful realization of mindful living is that we do not need an excuse to be happy and serene. Being joyful comes as a result of being mindful. Nothing more is required from us apart from honouring the nowness of life. What a startling revelation!!

The virtues of free enterprise can become distorted by greed & delusion.

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.