Wherever You Go, There You Are

by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.

If we are not fully present for many of those moments, we may not only miss what is most valuable in our lives but also fail to realize the richness and the depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation.

mindfulness has little to do with religion, except in the most fundamental meaning of the word, as an attempt to appreciate the deep mystery of being alive and to acknowledge being vitally connected to all that exists.

“When I was a Buddhist, it drove my parents and friends crazy, but when I am a buddha, nobody is upset at all.”

Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.

Many Tibetan statues and paintings are of grotesque demonic beings, all respected members of the pantheon of honored deities.

Scary things-bad things- are not u desirable, or something to be feared but to be faced

We must be willing to encounter darkness and despair when they come up and face them, over and over again if need be, without running away or numbing ourselves