443 Mindfulness quotes

Now is the only reality. All else is either memory or imagination.

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of the present-moment reality. It wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments. 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.

Cultivating a generous spirit starts with mindfulness. Mindfulness, simply stated, means paying attention to what is happening; it’s about what is really going on.

We cannot force the development of mindfulness.

Use every distraction as an object of meditation and they cease to be distractions.

Visualize your highest self and start showing up as him/her.

Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.

When you focus on what works for you and what doesn’t, you step out of that comparison cycle and spiral into your real, beautiful life.

The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.

The body and mind are interdependent. They are inseparable in the art of introspection.

Become an alchemist. Transmute base metal into gold, suffering into consciousness, disaster into enlightenment.

The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.

Every day has its drama. If you are waiting for a day without drama, you are waiting for death. Mindfulness is what gives us the space to meet all drama without tension. While we can’t always be free of drama, we can be free from the effects of it. It’s called peace of mind.

Strong minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Weak minds discuss people.

That’s life: starting over, one breath at a time.

Take my hand. We will walk. We will only walk. We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere.

This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

The still waters of a lake reflect the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the self is reflected.

Life repeats itself mindlessly – unless you become mindful, it will go on repeating like a wheel.

When you can bear your own emptiness, you are free.

When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other part I lead them back again to the walk, the orchard, to the sweetness of this solitude, to myself.

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.

The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment.

If you get tired, learn to rest not to quit.

Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.

She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures and doubts, but because she continued on despite them.

With awareness, we can make conscious choices, instead of letting our habitual thoughts and patterns run the show.

Now is the only reality. All else is either memory or imagination.

The first important step into the now is to become aware of whatever surrounds you.

In mindfulness, we start to see the world as it is, not as we expect it to be, how we want it to be, or what we fear it might become.

When you learn to just sit and become completely present, you naturally become completely quiet, with none of that jazz going on inside. A person who can’t really sit as if there were nothing else to do also won’t be able to act because he’ll never be completely all here.

The way you speak to yourself matters.

When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.

The older you get, the more ‘mindfulness’ becomes about trying to remember why you came upstairs.

The past has no power over the present moment.

Mindfulness is a quality that’s always there. It’s an illusion that there’s a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you’re either mindful or you’re not.

Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and response: that’s where choice lies.

Every moment is an eminently suitable moment for unlimited profundity–if you allow it to be so.

If you think you’re too small to make a difference… try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.

Unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.

By silencing the mind, we can experience real peace.

One person feels quite secure with practically no money in the bank, another feels insecure even though he has millions. It isn’t the amount of money but their programming that makes the difference.

Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.

Right mindfulness is not a tool or an instrument, but a path. Right mindfulness is not a means that can be used to arrive at an end.

Look at yourself, observe yourself; do not beat yourself, but observe.

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

Observe the space between your thoughts, then observe the observer.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

There are many ways to come back to the here and the now, and to touch life deeply. But they all involve mindful breathing. If we are anchored in our mindful breathing, we can practice anytime. Otherwise, we risk missing our lives, our lives that are lived in the here and now.

It is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive, instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head.

Give your attention to the experience of seeing rather than to the object seen and you will find yourself everywhere.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.

Everything is created twice. First in the mind and then in reality.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

Mindful eating is a way to become reacquainted with the guidance of our internal nutritionist.

Watch, witness. Your body is not you; your mind is not you. You are just a pure witness.

Let that shit go.

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.

To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.

Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.

When I’m hungry, I eat what I love. When I’m bored, I do something I love. When I’m lonely, I connect with someone I love. When I feel sad, I remember that I am loved.

A few simple tips for life: feet on the ground, head to the skies, heart open…quiet mind.

He who has freed himself of the disease of ‘tomorrow’ has a chance to attain what he came here for.

If you can’t do anything about it, then let it go. Don’t be a prisoner to things you can’t change.

No thought, no mind, no choice – just being silent, rooted in yourself.

We try to fix the outside so much, but our control of the outer world is limited, temporary, and often, illusory.

Be where you are, not where you think you should be.

As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can’t see how it is.

When you step outside your mind you can relax and just witness the show.

The moment you try to correct what is, you are bringing disorder. But if you merely observe actually what is, then what is is order.

Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words, and actions.

You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.

Die in your thoughts every morning and you will no longer fear death.

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

When you focus on the good, the good gets better.

Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.

He said, ‘There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.

When you replace ‘why is this happening to me?’ to ‘what is this trying to teach me?’ everything shifts.

Being mindful means that we suspend judgment for a time, set aside our immediate goals for the future, and take in the present moment as it is rather than as we would like it to be.

If we are unduly absorbed in improving our lives we may forget altogether to live them.

Be happy in the moment, that’s enough, each moment is all we need, not more.

This is a very important practice. Live your daily life in a way that you never lose yourself. When you are carried away with your worries, fears, cravings, anger, and desire, you run away from yourself and you lose yourself. The practice is always to go back to oneself.

Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you– in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.

Happiness, not in another place but this place… not for another hour, but this hour.

Is it possible for the mind each day to be so totally aware that problems no longer exist?

Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

The inner peace of an alert and calm mind is the source of real happiness and good health.

The feeling that any task is a nuisance will soon disappear if it is done in mindfulness.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

It takes courage to say yes to rest and play, in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a symbol of status.

In today’s rush, we all think too much–seek too much–want too much–and forget about the joy of just being.

How you look at it is pretty much how you’ll see it.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

What is love? Love is the absence of judgment.

Deep breaths are like little love notes to your body.

The desire to know your own soul will end all other desires.

Suffering usually relates to wanting things to be different than they are.

You cannot control the results, only your actions.

To understand music, you must listen to it. But so long as you are thinking, “I am listening to this music,” you are not listening.

When the chest is opening, the mind is opening, and we feel emotionally shiny and stability comes.

Be devoted to heedfulness. Guard your mind.

The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use, even spirituality.

The wound is the place where the light enters you.

You must not hate those who do wrong or harmful things, but with compassion, you must do what you can to stop them – for they are harming themselves, as well as those who suffer from their actions.

The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.

If you’re too open-minded, your brain will fall out.

Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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’.

Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.

Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

A small action done repeatedly can make an enormous difference.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.

In trading the pleasures of an ordinary life for a meditative life, you’re trading candy for gold.

As the witnessing presence of Awareness, we stand in the background of experience; as the light of pure Knowing, we stand at its heart.

Sweetheart, you are in pain. Relax. Take a breath. Let’s pay attention to what is happening; then we’ll figure out what to do.

You begin by letting thoughts flow and watching them. The very observation slows down the mind until it stops altogether. Once the mind is quiet, keep it quiet. Don’t get bored with peace, be in it, go deeper in it.

To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.

This universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself: everything you want, you already are.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.

Yoga is a metaphor for life. You have to take it really slowly, you can’t rush. You can’t skip to the next position. You just have to breathe and let go.

Yoga does not change the way we see things. It transforms the person who sees.

When you practice yoga once a week, you change your mind. When you practice yoga twice a week, you change your body. When you practice yoga everyday, you change your life.

Yoga is the dance of every cell with the music of every breath that creates inner serenity and harmony.

Meditation is not about achieving anything. It’s about letting go, being at ease with whatever arises.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.

Mindfulness meditation doesn’t change life. Life remains as fragile and unpredictable as ever. Meditation changes the heart’s capacity to accept life as it is.

Breathe and let be.

When sitting in meditation, say, “That’s not my business!” with every thought that comes by.

Mindfulness meditation helps you tackle every little problem one by one with equanimity and presence rather than worry about 100 problems all at once and never do anything about anything.

Meditation is a way to be narcissistic without hurting anyone.

With meditation, you begin to relax in your seat and just watch the movie of life.

One of the great things about children is that they have no other concern than to be simply interested in things. It is the height of mindfulness to approach the world afresh like a child.

A serious mind can never be in the present. Only a playful mind, only children, are in the present. So be more childlike… play more.

It’s not a question of learning much. On the contrary. It’s a question of unlearning much.

Mindfulness practice is not an evasion or an escape. It means entering vigorously into life — with the strength generated by the energy of mindfulness. Without this freedom and concentration, there is no happiness.

Mindfulness means being aware of how you’re deploying your attention and making decisions about it, and not letting the tweet or the buzzing of your BlackBerry call your attention.

The first and best victory is to conquer self.

The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.

In today’s rush, we all think too much, seek too much, want too much– and forget the joy of just being.

Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.

To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid.

Training your mind to be the present moment is the number one key to making healthier choices.

The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.

Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.

When you focus on what works for you and what doesn’t, you step out of that comparison cycle and spiral into your real, beautiful life.

This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

Work hard in silence. Let your success be your noise.

A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it isn’t open.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes. Including you.

To produce at peak level, you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction.

The first important step into the now is to become aware of whatever surrounds you.

In mindfulness, we start to see the world as it is, not as we expect it to be, how we want it to be, or what we fear it might become.

When you learn to just sit and become completely present, you naturally become completely quiet, with none of that jazz going on inside. A person who can’t really sit as if there were nothing else to do also won’t be able to act because he’ll never be completely all here.

The way you speak to yourself matters.

When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.

The older you get, the more ‘mindfulness’ becomes about trying to remember why you came upstairs.

The past has no power over the present moment.

Imagine witnessing every situation, person, and thing just as it is.

Having some inspiration in the form of mindfulness quotes can help you see the benefits of the practice and give you the power to keep going.

Conscious breathing is my anchor.

He who has freed himself of the disease of ‘tomorrow’ has a chance to attain what he came here for.

If you can’t do anything about it, then let it go. Don’t be a prisoner to things you can’t change.

If your behavior is out of control, governed by mimetic desires, social signaling, mindless habits, impulsive anger, ignorance-induced anxiety, start watching all your thoughts, reactions, emotions, actions, be mindful of every moment of the day, and life will slowly get better.

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are moments when we touch one another.

How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience, and therefore, the quality of our lives.

You can’t be mindful when your mind’s full.

When the mind is nowhere it is everywhere.

All that is necessary to awaken to yourself as the radiant emptiness of spirit is to stop seeking something different, and to turn your attention inward to the awake silence that you are.

Things that have a consciousness are higher than those that don’t.

All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for.

The future is always beginning now.

Altogether, the idea of meditation is not to create states of ecstasy or absorption, but to experience being.

Mindfulness can help people of any age. That’s because we become what we think.

When you move your focus from competition to contribution life becomes a celebration. Never try to defeat people, just win their hearts.

Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom.

When you breathe in mindfully, there is a happy reunion between body and mind. This doesn’t take any fancy technique.

Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know this is the moment you most need to relax.

When the mind remains silent for yours, it becomes fresh, young, more creative, more sensitive, rejuvenated through rest.

The real question is not whether life exists after death. The real question is whether you are alive before death.

Today I will live in the moment. Unless the moment is unpleasant in which case I will eat a cookie.

It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive, day in and day out.

Every emotion is connected with the breath. If you change the breath, change the rhythm, you can change the emotion.

When you want to succeed, as much as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.

Meditation goes in. Prayer goes out. But both aim for the same place of union between you and the Divine.

Freeing oneself from words is liberation.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.

The stiller you are the calmer life is.

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

No matter how difficult the past, you can always begin again today.

Observe your reaction, do not call it good or bad.

To live in the eternal present there must be death to the past, to memory. In this death is timeless renewal.

Becoming awake involves seeing our confusion more clearly.

Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.

Don’t let life harden your heart.

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.

You cannot breathe deeply and worry at the same time.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.

The present moment contains the fullness of space.

The future is a concept – it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as tomorrow. There never will be because time is always now. That’s one of the things we discover when we stop talking to ourselves and stop thinking. We find there is only present, only an eternal now.

The mind is like water. When it’s turbulent, it’s difficult to see. When it’s calm, everything becomes clear.

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.

We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.

Mindfulness meditation is a matter of rewiring your brain so that instead of primarily being rewarded by the possibility of reward, you are intrinsically rewarded by all of the beauty that already exists at any given moment right in front of your eyes or in your rich imagination.

Enlightenment is ego’s ultimate disappointment.

Mindful eating is about awareness. When you eat mindfully, you slow down, pay attention to the food you’re eating, and savor every bite.

Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.

There is something wonderfully bold and liberating about saying yes to our entire imperfect and messy life.

In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake. Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.

It is the most beautiful moment in one’s life when there is neither confusion nor certainty. One simply is – a mirror reflecting that which is. With no direction to go anywhere, with no idea of doing something, with no future – just utterly in the moment, tremendously in the moment.

If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.

Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.

Mindfulness is a way of being present: paying attention to and accepting what is happening in our lives. It helps us to be aware of and step away from our automatic and habitual reactions to our everyday experiences.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.

Treat everyone you meet as if they were you.

In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.

Treat everyone you meet as if they were you.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

When the mind is completely aware it becomes extraordinarily silent, quiet; it is not asleep, but highly awake in that silence.

The secret of change is to focus not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

Buddhist mindfulness is about the present, but I also think it’s about being real. Being awake to everything. Feeling like nothing can hurt you if you can look it straight on.

Mindful eating emphasizes a spirit of exploration, experimenting and flexibility in finding ways to make use of nutritional information.

Work hard in silence. Let your success be your noise.

Non-doing has nothing to do with being indolent or passive. Quite the contrary. It takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing both in stillness and in activity.

Paradise is not a place; it’s a state of consciousness.

Only those who have cultivated the art of living completely in the present have any use for making plans for the future. For when the plans mature they will be able to enjoy the results.

As long as we’re rejecting ourselves and causing harm to our bodies and minds, there’s no point in talking about loving and accepting others.

Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.

The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.

Distraction addiction is the disease. Smartphones are just a delivery mechanism.

When you talk, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

No thought, no mind, no choice – just being silent, rooted in yourself.

We try to fix the outside so much, but our control of the outer world is limited, temporary, and often, illusory.

Be where you are, not where you think you should be.

As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can’t see how it is.

When you step outside your mind you can relax and just witness the show.

The moment you try to correct what is, you are bringing disorder. But if you merely observe actually what is, then what is is order.

Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words, and actions.

You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.

Die in your thoughts every morning and you will no longer fear death.

Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go.

Listen to silence. It has so much to say.

When you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat.

The art of living is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past and the known on the other. It consists in being completely sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of the present-moment reality. It wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments. 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.

Cultivating a generous spirit starts with mindfulness. Mindfulness, simply stated, means paying attention to what is happening; it’s about what is really going on.

Tea is an act complete in its simplicity. When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea. The rest of the world dissolves.

We cannot force the development of mindfulness.

Use every distraction as an object of meditation and they cease to be distractions.

Visualize your highest self and start showing up as him/her.

Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.

Become an alchemist. Transmute base metal into gold, suffering into consciousness, disaster into enlightenment.

The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.

Every day has its drama. If you are waiting for a day without drama, you are waiting for death. Mindfulness is what gives us the space to meet all drama without tension. While we can’t always be free of drama, we can be free from the effects of it. It’s called peace of mind.

Strong minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Weak minds discuss people.

That’s life: starting over, one breath at a time.

Take my hand. We will walk. We will only walk. We will enjoy our walk without thinking of arriving anywhere.

Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep on walking.

Mindfulness is the kind of light that shows us the way. It is the living Buddha inside of each of us. Mindfulness gives birth to insight, awakening, compassion, and love.

Every experience, no matter how bad it seems, holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.

The Way is not in the sky, the Way is in the heart.

Nothing is forever except change.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life.

Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep on walking.

Buddhist mindfulness is about the present, but I also think it’s about being real. Being awake to everything. Feeling like nothing can hurt you if you can look it straight on.

Mindul eating emphasizes a spirit of exploration, experimenting and flexibility in finding ways to make use of nutritional information.

The entire teaching of Buddhism can be summed up in this way: Nothing is worth holding on to.

Everyone loves something, even if it’s only tortillas.

The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle.

Sadness comes, joy comes, and everything passes by. What remains always is the witness. The witness is beyond all polarities.

Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.

The way you speak to others can offer them joy, happiness, self-confidence, hope, trust, and enlightenment. Mindful speaking is a deep practice.

Allowing the new to happen means putting aside your memory so the past does not interfere.

Never in human history have we had so many means of communication, yet we remain islands, with little real communication between us. When we cannot communicate, we suffer, and we spill our suffering on to other people. Mindfulness and insight can intervene.

With mindfulness we can see the poetry and beauty all around us. We can see the miracles of life.

If the present is burdened with the experience of yesterday there can be no renewal.

If you listen completely, entirely, wholly, at the actual moment of listening there is no confusion, and that moment is enough.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too.

Die each moment so that you are renewed each moment.

Empathy is the new mindfulness.

In meditation, I attempt to empty my–– oh that reminds me.

With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment.

Be aware of your breathing. Notice how this takes attention away from your thinking and creates space.

Just as water reflects the stars and the moon, the body reflects the mind and soul.

The art of peaceful living comes down to living compassionately & wisely.

The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is.

The mad mind does not halt. If it halts, it is enlightenment.

I will breathe. I will think of solutions. I will not let my worry control me. I will not let my stress level break me.

Inner emptiness is not a void to be filled with comforts; it is a window to be looked through.

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

Few of us ever life in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.

Observing not absorbing.

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.

Wherever you are, be all there.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

Clarity and decisiveness come from the willingness to slow down, to listen and look at what’s happening.

Mindfulness is clarity. Clarity of thought. Clarity of intent. Clarity of action. When you possess this level of clarity you are able to be in control of most levels of your life. And being in control is one of the most powerful feelings one can experience.

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

If you’re determined to think of yourself as limited, fearful, vulnerable, or scarred by past experience, know only that you have chosen to do so. The opportunity to experience yourself differently is always available.

To go out of your mind once a day is tremendously important, because by going out of your mind you come to your senses.

We are sitting under the tree of our thinking minds, wondering why we’re not getting any sunshine.

Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life, and your actions happen in accordance with that.

Worrying is stupid, it’s like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain.

If we want to become mindful, rather than just knowing about mindfulness, we need to establish our own regular practice.

Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go.

Listen to silence. It has so much to say.

When you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat.

Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.

The art of living is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past and the known on the other. It consists in being completely sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

Instead of thinking of food as the enemy, allow yourself to enjoy the process of planning and preparing meals or going out to lunch with a friend. Stay in the present moment and understand that the purpose of food is nourishment.

Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.

The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment.

If you get tired, learn to rest not to quit.

Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life.

She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures and doubts, but because she continued on despite them.

With awareness, we can make concious choices, instead of letting our habitual thoughts and patterns run the show.

Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.

Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.

It may look like I’m doing nothing, but in my head, I’m quite busy.

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then is an empty desk a sign?

What we believe can significantly affect what we can achieve.

Can this mind, which is the result of time, of various cultures, experiences and knowledge, look with eyes that are not conditioned?

Learning to pause is the first step in the practice of Radical Acceptance. A pause is a suspension of activity, a time of temporary disengagement when we are no longer moving toward any goal.

There is a great beauty in observation, in seeing things as they are.

Time is not a line, but a series of now-points.

The still waters of a lake reflect the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the self is reflected.

Life repeats itself mindlessly – unless you become mindful, it will go on repeating like a wheel.

When you can bear your own emptiness, you are free.

When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other part I lead them back again to the walk, the orchard, to the sweetness of this solitude, to myself.

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

Live life as if everything is rigged in your favor.

Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.

It may look like I’m doing nothing, but in my head, I’m quite busy.

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then is an empty desk a sign?

What we believe can significantly affect what we can achieve.

Can this mind, which is the result of time, of various cultures, experiences and knowledge, look with eyes that are not conditioned?

Learning to pause is the first step in the practice of Radical Acceptance. A pause is a suspension of activity, a time of temporary disengagement when we are no longer moving toward any goal.

There is a great beauty in observation, in seeing things as they are.

Time is not a line, but a series of now-points.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

When the mind is completely aware it becomes extraordinarily silent, quiet; it is not asleep, but highly awake in that silence.

The secret of change is to focus not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

Non-doing has nothing to do with being indolent or passive. Quite the contrary. It takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing both in stillness and in activity.

Paradise is not a place; it’s a state of consciousness.

Only those who have cultivated the art of living completely in the present have any use for making plans for the future. For when the plans mature they will be able to enjoy the results.

As long as we’re rejecting ourselves and causing harm to our bodies and minds, there’s no point in talking about loving and accepting others.

Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.

The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.

Distraction addiction is the disease. Smartphones are just a delivery mechanism.

When you talk, you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.

The body and mind are interdependent. They are inseparable in the art of introspection.

Imagine witnessing every situation, person, and thing just as it is.

Having some inspiration in the form of mindfulness quotes can help you see the benefits of the practice and give you the power to keep going.

Conscious breathing is my anchor.

Mindful and creative, a child who has neither a past, nor examples to follow, nor value judgments, simply lives, speaks, and plays in freedom.

You can discover truth only if you are willing to give your whole mind and heart to it, not a few moments of your easily spared time.

Mindful eating means simply eating or drinking while being aware of each bite or sip.

It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.

When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.

Wherever you go, there you are.

The ultimate source of my mental happiness is my peace of mind. Nothing can destroy this except my own anger.

Mindfulness meditation should be more than just watching what you are doing. What you really need to watch is your motivation.

The perfect moment is this one.

Learn to watch your drama unfold while at the same time knowing you are more than your drama.

Your life should be a continuous death and a continuous resurrection, so that you remain fresh to the very last breath.

Just because our eyes are open does not mean we are awake.

Truly, just sit…That’s all there is.

Step outside for a while – calm your mind. It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall continually.

The mind is just like a muscle– the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets, and the more it can expand.

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.

It is up to the most conscious person in the situation to break the chain of reactivity.

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.

For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.

Any moment can be a meditation if you are in control of your attention.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

Your actions are your only true belongings.

Your ability to love another person, depends on your ability to love yourself.

Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. So relax.

Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand melting like a snowflake.

Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.

What would it be like if I could accept life – accept this moment – exactly as it is?

The mindfulness revolution is not quite as dramatic as the moon shot or the civil rights movement, but I believe, in the long run, it can have just as great an impact.

Wherever you are, be there totally.

Look at things as they are, not as your emotions color them.

Compassion and kindness towards oneself are intrinsically woven into mindfulness.

In a world full of doing, doing, doing, it’s important to take a moment to just breathe, to just be.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow.

Rule your mind or it will rule you.

Observe without division.

It’s easy to be mindful when things are fine and dandy. It’s times of challenge, adversity and anxiety that we must face with mindful strength.

Look past your thoughts, so you may drink the pure nectar of This Moment.

Having no destination, I am never lost.

Open the window of your mind. Allow the fresh air, new lights and new truths to enter.

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.

Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you’re doing.

Only the soul knows what love is.

There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

One who is patient glows with an inner radiance.

Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften.

You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.

Let go of your mind and then be mindful.

Breathe in the good shit. Breathe out the bull shit.

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.

Mindfulness brings contentment not by consuming more externally, but by harvesting more from within and by sharing more without.

Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.

Pause practice creates an open doorway to the sacredness of the place in which you find yourself.

We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.

Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.