A Gradual Awakening Quotes

“The basis of the practice is to directly participate in each moment as it occurs with as much awareness and understanding as possible.”
― Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening

“Often when we hear people speak about meditation, we hear about wisdom, we hear about knowledge. But what, actually, is the effect, what’s the use, of wisdom or knowledge? Understanding. When you understand mind, you’re not at its mercy. When you don’t understand, you’re lost in the midst of it.”
― Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening

“When you can accept discomfort, doing so allows a balance of mind. That surrender, that letting go of wanting anything to be other than it is right in the moment, is what frees us from hell. When we see resistance in the mind, stiffness in the mind, boredom, restlessness … that is the meditation. Often, we think, “I can’t meditate, I’m restless,” “I can’t meditate, I’m bored,” “I can’t meditate, there’s a fly on my nose.” That is the meditation. Meditation isn’t to disappear into the light. Meditation is to see all of what we are.”
― Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening

“Meditation is for many a foreign concept, somehow distant and foreboding, seemingly impossible to participate in. But another word for meditation is simply awareness. Meditation is awareness.”
― Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening