Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. 

4/5 rating. 

Book #91 of 2019. Read July 30, 2019. 

Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the father’s of secular mindfulness and partially responsible for bringing meditation into the mainstream of American medicine and society. This beautiful book gives a great introduction to the practice, the difficulties one can face, and discussion on why YOU can benefit from it. Having personally started meditating in February, I found this book greatly insightful in truly moving language. If you are at all interested in trying meditation, give this book a read!

Quotes:

“Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing something about who that is.”

“Be a light unto yourself.” – Buddha

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

“Rather, we are simply inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness, with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness, mindfulness, and equanimity right here and right now.”

“If we are to grasp the reality of our life while we have it, we will need to wake up to our moments. Otherwise, whole days, even a whole life, could slip part unnoticed.”

“If we are unaware of what we are doing a good deal of the time, and we don’t particularly like the way things turn out in our lives, perhaps it’s time to pay closer attention, to be more in touch, to observe the choices we make and their consequences down the road.”

“Give more than you think you can, trusting that you are richer than you think. Celebrate this richness. Give as if you had inexhaustible wealth…I am not talking solely of money or material possessions, although it can be wonderfully growth-enhancing, uplifting, and truly helpful to share material abundance. Rather, what is being suggested here is that you practice sharing the fullness of your being, your best self, your enthusiasm, your vitality, your spirit, your trust, your openness, above all, your presence. Share it with yourself, with your family, with the world.”

“The point here is simply that it is useful at times to admit to yourself that you don’t know your way and to be open to help from unexpected places. Doing this makes available to you inner and outer energies and allies that arise out of your own soulfulness and selflessness.”

“Perhaps we just need little reminders from time to time that we are already dignified, deserving, worthy. Sometimes we don’t feel that way because of the wounds and the scars we carry from the past or because of the uncertainty of the future.”

“Maybe we are overdeveloped outwardly and underdeveloped inwardly. Perhaps it is we who, for all our wealth, are living in poverty.”

“If I can’t do anything useful, at least I would like to do as little harm as possible.”

“This elusive nature of a concrete, permanent, unchanging self is quite a hopeful observation. It means that you can stop talking yourself so damn seriously and get out from under the pressures of having the details of your personal life be central to the operating of the universe.”

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