Mindfulness is universal

Although at this time mindfulness meditation is most commonly taught and practiced within the context of Buddhism, its essence is universal. Mindfulness is basically just a particular way of paying attention. It is a way of looking deeply into oneself in the spirit of self-inquiry and self-understanding. For this reason it can be learned and practiced... without appealing to Oriental culture or Buddhist authority to enrich it or authenticate it. Mindfulness stands on its own as a powerful vehicle for self-understanding and healing. In fact one of its major strengths is that it is not dependent on any belief system or ideology, so that its benefits are therefore accessible for anyone to test for himself or herself. Yet it is no accident that mindfulness comes out of Buddhism, which has as its overriding concerns the relief of suffering and the dispelling of illusions.

Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabbat-Zinn PhD, pg 12

Cultivating mindfulness

Cultivating mindfulness can lead to the discovery of deep realms of relaxation, calmness, and insight within yourself. It is as if you were to come upon a new territory, previously unknown to you or only vaguely suspected, which contains a veritable wellspring of positive energy for self-understanding and healing. Moreover it is easy to get to this territory. The path to it in any moment lies no farther than your own body and mind and your own breathing. And this territory is always accessible. It is always here, independent of your problems. Whether you are facing heart disease or cancer or pain or just a very stressful life, its energies can be of great value to you.

Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabbat-Zinn PhD, pg 12

Mindfulness

... live life as if each moment is important, as if each moment counts and can be worked with, even if it is a moment of pain, sadness, despair, or fear. This "work" involves above all the regular, disciplined practice of moment-to-moment awareness or mindfulness, the complete "owning" of each moment of your experience, good, bad, or ugly.

Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabbat-Zinn PhD, pg 11

Catastrophe

Catastrophe here does not mean disaster. Rather it means the poignant enormity of our life experience. It includes crises and disaster but also all the little things that go wrong and that add up. The phrase reminds us that life is always in flux, that everything we think is permanent is actually only temporary and constantly changing. This includes our ideas, our opinions, our relationships, our jobs, our possessions, our creations, our bodies, everything.


Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabbat-Zinn PhD, pg 6

Facing difficulties

There is an art to facing difficulties in ways that lead to effective solutions and to inner peace and harmony. When we are able to mobilize our inner resources to face our problems artfully, we find we are usually able to orient ourselves in such a way that we can use the pressure of the problem itself to propel us through it, just as a sailor can position a sail to make the best use of the pressure of the wind to propel the boat.

- Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabbat-Zinn PhD, pg 3

Stress, Pain, and Illness: Facing the Full Catastrophe

An excerpt from Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD (pg 2)

The problem of stress does not admit to simpleminded solutions or quick fixes. At root, stress is a natural part of living from which there is no more escape than from the human condition itself. Yet some people try to avoid stress by walling themselves off from life experience; others attempt to anesthetize themselves one way or another to escape it. Of course, it is only sensible to avoid undergoing unnecessary pain and hardship. Certainly we all need to distance ourselves from our troubles now and again. But if escape and avoidance become our habitual ways of dealing with our problems, the problems just multiply. They don't magically go away. What does go away, or get covered over when we tune out our problems or run away from them, is our power to grown and to change and to heal. When it comes right down to it, facing our problems is usually the only way to get past them.

Live Consciously Conscious

An excerpt from The Mind: Its Projections and Multiple Facets  by Yogi Bhajan (page 109)

Everything else you have been told so far is totally W-R-O-N-G! You are not a body, not a mind, not a soul, not God, and definitely not a devil. Every normal person thinks, imagines, and projects through his mind. He ultimately identifies with the mind and becomes dependent on the mind. The reality is that he should not depend on his mind. Instead, he should project from the point of view of his consciousness. When you live consciously conscious with mind and consciousness balanced, you develop a capacity for sensitivity we call reverence. Then relationships are healing, wise, and productive.