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What are mindful quotes?
A mindful quote is any quote to directly about the practice of mindfulness or that exhibits the experience or action from mindful thought on a subject.
Mindful thought is the minute-by-minute awareness of everything that is going on in and around you.
If you are taking a mindful walk, for example, you are not just getting from point A to point B.
You aware of, and controlling your breathing.
You are mindful of the nature around you and may be noting things like leaves falling and animals playing.
You are monitoring your thoughts, feelings and body sensations.
In other words, when you are being mindful, you are opening yourself up to the entire world that surrounds you. Not just a small corner or your personal universal view.
Mindfulness also means accepting your life. You are not critical when you are being mindful. You do not judge or even make decisions.
Mindfulness is about opening yourself up to the many paths available in life and viewing all the different choices dispassionately.
If you want to get a more complete view of exactly what mindfulness entails, please check out this article: What Is Mindfulness? That discusses everything you need to know about the meaning of mindfulness.
Mindful Quotes About Love
Love, relationships and even casual encounters with others can all be subject to the power of mindfulness.
Feelings of passion and love can make us happy and center our universe. When in love, or experiencing moments of love people are often mindful without thinking about it.
You remember the smells in the air from moments of deep love. You can remember songs playing in the background and many mindful details.
The opposite (bad) effect also brings easy minutes of mindfulness. Pain, suffering, and sadness.
These strong emotions like love and pain bring us closer to being mindful for short periods of time without giving us the tools to deal with the deal with these short bursts of mindfulness. Those tools will only come with deliberate practice and repeated mindfulness exercises.
This section features mindfulness quotes about love and relationships. These mindful quotes are by many of the greatest examples of mindful thinking you can find: The Dalai Lama, Jack Kornfield, Jon-Kabat Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh and more.
- “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”– Dalai Lama
“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.” – Jack Kornfield
- “When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.”– Jack Kornfield
- “Let go of your mind and then be mindful. Close your ears and listen!”– Jalaluddin Rumi
- “Look at other people and ask yourself if you are really seeing them or just your thoughts about them.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “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.”– Michelle May
- “The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Believe me, all of you, the best way to help the places we live in is to be glad we live there.”– Edith Wharton
- “Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the small uncaring ways.”– Stephen Vincent Benet
- “The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are moments when we touch one another.”– Jack Kornfield
- “The way to live in the present is to remember that ‘This too shall pass.’ When you experience joy, remembering that ‘This too shall pass’ helps you savor the here and now. When you experience pain and sorrow, remembering that ‘This too shall pass’ reminds you that grief, like joy, is only temporary.”– Joey Green
- “Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.”– Jack Kornfield
- “Each place is the right place–the place where I now am can be a sacred space.”– Ravi Ravindra
- 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.”– Jack Kornfield
- “Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.”– Roy T. Bennett
Mindfulness Meditation Quotes
When many people think about “mindfulness” they are actually thinking about mindful meditation.
Mindful meditation is where you sit down, get comfortable, pay deep attention to your breathing and let your mind wander, applying mindfulness and deep thinking to many aspects of your life.
Mindful Meditation is a bit more formal than simple “mindful thinking”.
You can find out more about how to practice mindful meditation, and many other tools for daily mindful living by checking out this book: 10 Minute Mindfulness, that gives you a complete rundown on how to increase mindfulness in your life with limited free time.
- “Meditation is essentially training our attention so that we can be more aware— not only of our own inner workings but also of what’s happening around us in the here & now.”– Sharon Salzberg
- “Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.”– Pema Chödrön
- “Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.”– Joseph Goldstein
- “Essentially, meditation allows us to live in ways that are less automatic. This necessarily means less time spent worrying, ruminating, and trying to control things we can’t control. It means we become less vulnerable to the throes of the fear-driven, older parts of our brains, and freer to use our newer and more sophisticated mental abilities: patience, compassion, acceptance and reason.”– David Cain
- Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.– Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Use every distraction as an object of meditation and they cease to be distractions.”– Mingyur Rinpoche
- “The mind is just like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand.”– Idowu Koyenikan
- “Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as the capacity of your mind to be calm and stable. Without calmness, the mirror of mindfulness will have an agitated and choppy surface and will not be able to reflect things with any accuracy.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.”– Amit Ray
- “We might begin by scanning our body . . . and then asking, “What is happening?” We might also ask, “What wants my attention right now?” or, “What is asking for acceptance?”– Tara Brach
- “Altogether, the idea of meditation is not to create states of ecstasy or absorption, but to experience being.”– Chögyam Trungpa
- “Meditate … do not delay, lest you later regret it.”– Buddha
Mindfulness Quotes for Work
When you think about it mindfulness quotes for work almost seem to be counterintuitive.
Mindfulness means doing things slowly and carefully. Mindfulness is about having the whole picture and understanding everything that is going.
On the other hand, being successful at work seems to be about how much you can accomplish. How productive you are. How well you manage time.
These things may not seem to go with the work slowly and enjoy the process philosophy that most mindfulness quotes advocate.
There is a difference, and work may not always be the best place to practice mindfulness if you are just getting started.
As you become more skilled, your mindfulness will help to give you a bigger picture of the process of your work, thereby helping you to be more efficient and speeding you up rather than slowing you down. It just takes time.
Enjoy some of these mindfulness & work quotes from some of the best mindful minds around.
- “I believe in not trying to control things that are out of my control or none of my business.”– Tobe Hanson
- “The basic root of happiness lies in our minds; outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favorable.”– Matthieu Ricard
- “Wherever you are, be there totally.”– Eckhart Tolle
- “If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner
- “If you clean the floor with love, you have given the world an invisible painting.”– Osho
- “Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Do not ruin today with mourning tomorrow.” – Catherynne M. Valente
- “Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.”– Jack Kornfield
- “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”– Chuang
- “Life is better when we don’t try to do everything. Learn to enjoy the slice of life you experience, and life turns out to be wonderful.”– Leo Babauta
Mindful Quotes for Learning (Teachers & Students)
Mindfulness is a lifelong process. One does not simply decide to be mindful and do it perfectly the next day. It is a skill that may take a lifetime to master.
However, the good news is that there are many pinnacles along the way that will help to improve your life.
You do not need to be a Tibetan monk like Thích Nhất Hạnh to improve your life by using mindfulness. These are skills that apply to help many of us lead a better and more fulfilling lives.
A big part of mindfulness is being self-aware and having a clear understanding of your own strengths and weakness. The more self-aware you are, the easier it is to be mindful, and vice versa, the more mindful you become, the easier it is to be brutally self-aware.
People who are learning mindfulness will also therefore also want to spend some time on learning about self-awareness. Many of the processes between building self-awareness and building mindfulness are exactly the same, due to the fact that these concepts are so tightly knit.
If you are interested in mindfulness, therefore, I strongly recommend that you practice some of these 33 self-awareness activities. These exercises will help improve your mindfulness while also working on your self-awareness.
For now let’s look at some of the great mindfulness quotes from teacher to student in the realm of mindful thinking. Included in these mindfulness quotes are also realizations from students as they begin to grasp some of the greater concepts of mindfulness.
- “Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing.”– Pema Chodron
- “In today’s rush, we all think too much — seek too much — want too much — and forget about the joy of just being.”– Eckhart Tolle
- “Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.”– Ramana Maharshi
- “Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.”– Amit Ray
- “In this moment, there is plenty of time. In this moment, you are precisely as you should be. In this moment, there is infinite possibility.”– Victoria Moran
- “Training your mind to be in the present moment is the #1 key to making healthier choices.”– Susan Albers
- “The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Observe the space between your thoughts, then observe the observer.”– Hamilton Boudreaux
- “One who is patient glows with an inner radiance.”– Allan Lokos
- “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.”– Mark Williams
- “Knowledge does not mean mastering a great quantity of different information, but understanding the nature of mind. This knowledge can penetrate each one of our thoughts and illuminate each one of our perceptions.”– Matthieu Ricard
- “Until you realize how easily it is for your mind to be manipulated, you remain the puppet of someone else's game.” – Evita Ochel
- “Don’t believe everything you think. Thoughts are just that – thoughts.”– Allan Lokos
- “Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” – Robin S. Sharma
- “It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”– Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
- “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
- “Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.” – Rumi
Mindful Eating Quotes
Mindful eating is one of the clearest ways to see how the practice of mindfulness can help us physically.
Many people struggle with their eating habits. Even though they understand the theory behind proper portion sizes, it can be hard to keep it up from meal to meal.
They rush eating, often not feeling full or fulfilled and possibly consuming quite a bit more than they anticipated or realize. This can lead to snacking and other poor food choices.
Mindful eating, however, makes a process out of eating, and eating properly. You do it slowly which helps with both digestion and satiation. The slow speed of food consumption and the nature of mindful eating also gives you enjoyment of the food, making it much less likely to feel the need to snack or overeat.
The concept of mindful eating is simple. Thích Nhất Hạnh said it best in his mindful eating quote, “Mindful eating means simply eating or drinking while being aware of each bite or sip.”
However, the health benefits far outweigh the simplicity of this ideal. Eating proper portion sizes in this manner is simply the best way to maintain healthy weight and diet.
Simply add the concepts of mindful eating with the idea of measuring out your food portions using some of the following tools:
Without further ado. Let’s look at the final section of mindfulness quotes – mindful eating quotes.
- “Mindful eating is a way to become reacquainted with the guidance of our internal nutritionist.”– Jan Chozen Bays
- “The path to healthy body and happy soul is based upon self-study, mindfulness, love, and awareness.”– unknown
- “Understanding our relationship to eating cultivates a lot of insights and help us start living our highest potential.”– Natasa Pantovic (Author, Mindful Eating)
- “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.”– Susan Albers
- “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; live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”– Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Training your mind to be in the present moment is the #1 key to making healthier choices.”– Susan Albers
- “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.”– Michelle May
- “Every moment nature is serving fresh dishes with the items of happiness. It is our choice to recognize and taste it.”– Amit Ray
- “Mindful eating is about awareness. When you eat mindfully, you slow down, pay attention to the food you’re eating, and savor every bite.”– Susan Albers
- “So often, even when we stop to say a blessing before a meal, we’re mentally preparing to spoon some pasta or potatoes onto our plates. We’re not usually focused on the present moment, simply placing ourselves before our food and entering into the still, slow space where eating is done for eating’s sake and not something we do simply to get to the next thing on our list.”– Mary Proust
- “When you bow, you should just bow; when you sit, you should just sit; when you eat, you should just eat.”– Shunryu Suzuki
- “Tea is an act complete in its simplicity. When I drink tea, there is only me and tea. The rest of the world dissolves.”– Thích Nhất Hạnh
Final Thoughts on Mindfulness Quotes
We hope these mindfulness quotes will inspire and encourage you to live more in the present and become more self aware in your daily life.
If you found these quotes helpful, be kind and please share these mindful picture quotes in your favorite social media platform (like Pinterest).
And if you want more quotes to inspire mindfulness, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- Deepak Chopra Quotes on Gratitude, Mindfulness, Life, Change, Healing and Happiness
- Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes on Mindfulness To Live a More Meaningful Life
- Inspirational Quotes About Living in the Moment
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then watch this free video that details the 7-minute habit for planning your day to focus on what's truly important to you..
