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Home >> What Do People Say About Mindfulness?
What do people say about mindfulness?
"Mindfulness means creating new categories, welcoming new information, tolerating more than one view. It also means letting go of the demand for categories, disassociating from the craving for information, detaching from the need for a point of view. Mindfulness means present moment appreciation of our inner states of being and the world around us."
Claude Whitmyer, Author, Coach, Consultant
". . . mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness. It is cultivated by purposefully paying attention to things we ordinarily never give a moment's thought to. It is a systematic approach to developing new kinds of control and wisdom in our lives, based on our inner capacities for relaxation, paying attention, awareness, and insight."
John Kabat-Zinn, Psychologist
"In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the experts there are few."
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi
Mindfulness ensures that whatever you do will be done to the best of your ability. You can
develop mindfulness by concentrating your clarity and intelligence on your work. Simply observe how you go about doing a simple task. How do you begin? How do you proceed? Do you actually understand what you want to do? Are you looking ahead to where this task will take you? Consider the effects of your actions
from a broad perspective while observing every detail of what you do. Are you aware of
the effects of each step you perform?
As you develop mindfulness, you become able to observe how lapses in awareness affect the rhythm and tone of your work. When you work with mindfulness, your movements are fluid and graceful, your thoughts clear and well-organized, and your efforts effective. Because you are deeply in tune with each stage of your work
and the consequences of each action, you are even able to predict your results. You become aware of the motivation underlying your actions and learn to catch any tendency to forget or make mistakes. As you grow skilled at being mindful, you can penetrate to a profound understanding of yourself and your actions.
Tarthang Tulku, Rimpoche
mindful adj 1 : bearing in mind : AWARE 2 : inclined to be aware
aware adj [ME iwar, fr. OE gawær, fr. ge- (associative prefix) + wær wary more at CO-, WARY] 1 archaic : WATCHFUL, WARY 2 : having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge -- awareness n
syn AWARE,COGNIZANT, CONSCIOUS, SENSIBLE, ALIVE, AWAKE all mean having knowledge of something. AWARE implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences; COGNIZANT implies having special or certain knowledge as from first hand sources; CONSCIOUS implies that one is focusing one's attention on something or is even preoccupied by it; SENSIBLE implies direct or intuitive perceiving esp. of intangibles or of emotional states or qualities; ALIVE adds to SENSIBLE the implication of acute sensitivity to something; AWAKE implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert.
Typical Dictionary Definition
The ancient followers of the Tao were
subtle, mysterious and penetrating.
They were too deep to be fathomed.
All we can do is describe their appearance.
Hesitant, as if crossing a winter stream.
Watchful, as if aware of neighbors on all sides.
Respectful, like a visiting guest.
Yielding, like ice beginning to melt.
Simple, like an Uncarved Block.
Open, like a valley.
Obscure, like muddy water.
Who else can be still,
and let the muddy water slowly become clear?
Who else can remain at rest,
and slowly come to life?
Those who hold fast to the Tao
do not try to fill themselves to the brim.
Because they do not try to be full,
they can be worn out and yet, ever new.
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 15
More of what people say about mindfulness:
Check out an account about mindfulness from the popular press.
Another from Public Television.
Visit a web page full of testimonials from people practicing one kind of mindfulness meditation.