who’ve done wonderful things for you. Expressing that gratitude continues to draw those people into your sphere.
9.Remember this thought from Maya Angelou: “When you learn, teach; when you get, give.”
10.Join forces to do good. If you have survived illness or loss, you may want to reach out to others to help them, as a way of showing gratitude for those who reached out to you.
“Radiate boundless love toward the entire world.”
—Buddha
Mindfulness is a word that for many has no real, solid definition. It’s all well and good to talk about paying attention to the world around you, but in real life, how practical is that, really? After all, we live in a world where we’re constantly connected—to work, to friends, even to that guy you met once in high school and who occasionally likes your tweets. What good is it to only sit and observe the places you go every day, when there’s so much else going on that you could be missing?
As many of the people quoted in this book would tell you, practicing mindfulness really does do a lot of good. In an age when practically everyone is struggling with some level of anxiety and depression, mindfulness can help you refocus. It can remind you that you likely have everything you really need. And if you don’t, practicing mindfulness can help you to accept the reality of where you are now, and help you move toward what you need, instead of allowing difficulties and hardships to bog you down.
Mindfulness is not a get-well-quick scheme. It’s a new way of life.
“The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.”
—Pema Chödrön
“Acknowledging the pain and the suffering that take place inside you, and allowing the feelings, will take time, but this new way of handling these feelings will change the way you relate to you and to the outside world.”
—Kelly Martin
“In fact, when you’re mindful, you actually feel irritation more keenly. However, once you unburden yourself from the delusion that people are deliberately trying to screw you, it’s easier to stop getting carried away.”
—Dan Harris
“By learning to allow different types of discomfort to simply stay in the room with you, without your scrambling for a button to push (real or metaphorical), you make discomfort matter less.
The pool of things you’re afraid of shrinks. It becomes a lot less important to control circumstances, because you know you can handle moments of uncertainty or awkwardness or disappointment without an
escape plan.”
—David Cain
“By identifying impermanence as a fundamental characteristic of existence itself, rather than a problem to be solved, the Buddhists are encouraging us to let go our hold on illusory solidity and learn to swim freely in the sea of change.”
—Andrew Olendzki
Be a Buddha
So to be a human being is to be a Buddha.
Buddha nature is just another name for human nature,
our true human nature. Thus even though
you do not do anything,
you are actually doing something.
You are expressing yourself.
You are expressing your true nature.
Your eyes will express;
your voice will express;
your demeanor will express.
The most important thing is to express your true nature
in the simplest, most adequate way
and to appreciate it in the smallest existence.
—Shunryu Suzuki
Power Thoughts: Mindfulness Mantras
from the Masters
“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.”
—Hab Chozen Bays
“Mindfulness has helped me succeed in almost every dimension of my life. By stopping regularly to look inward and become aware of my mental state, I stay connected to the source of my actions and thoughts, and can guide them with considerably more intention.”
—Dustin Moskovitz
“Paying attention to, and staying with finer and finer sensations within the body, is one of the surest ways to steady the wandering mind.”
—Ravi Ravindra
“Sati—sampajanna (‘Mindfulness and clear comprehension’) should be examined carefully from the point of view of the centipede who could not walk when she thought about how she moved her limbs. And also from the point of view of absorption in, say, artistic creation, and detached observation of it. Absorption in piano playing or painting seems to be ‘successful,’ but detached observation or enjoyment of ‘my playing’…seems to have the centipede effect.”
—Nanamoli Thera
“The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.”
—Pema Chödrön
Engage and Immerse: Quiet Observation Meditation (Five to Fifteen Minutes)
The quiet observation meditation is intended to bring you back to where you are and to what you already have, all round you. I use it when I want to remind myself of how much life has given me, and to appreciate it in a new and greater way.
Sit or stand in a maintainable, comfortable position. Begin by taking a deep breath in, and as you breathe out, slowly close your eyes. Take a few regular breaths and focus on your breathing, on how your body moves with each intake, on how your muscles soften each time you exhale. When you are ready, gently let go of that focus. Take a few moments to listen. What do you hear? Is there a faint buzzing from machinery? Can you hear the wind outside? Are people talking nearby? Be careful to observe your surroundings without judgment. When you are ready, open your eyes and slowly examine what you can see. Notice the details of every object around you. Acknowledge the existence of each and every thing that you can see and hear. When you have finished, let go of that observational focus, and mindfully resume your day.
“If you meditate in perfect peace, and then flash someone an irritable look because they make noise or their child cries, you are entirely missing the point.”
—Khandro
