Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Authors: Jon Kabat-Zinn
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PREFACE
I often catch myself feeling that language has intrinsic limitations that frustrate my impulse to fully express my feelings, my passing thoughts and insights, in a word, my experience. Words cannot, and probably will never, replace the richness of life—no matter how articulately or artfully they are conveyed. In the past, it has been said that meditation teachers sometimes transmitted their knowledge to their students through mental telepathy to avoid misinterpretations. Exceptionally few have managed to capture the essence of their message through writing.
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Coming to Our Senses bears such testimony. Jon seems to be able to drop words right into our hearts, where they can resonate and reinforce our very being and well-being. Every subject that he touches upon suggests an in-depth meaning and perspective on our personal journey that we may not have felt or expressed as clearly or convincingly, even to ourselves. As one example, the use of the word “ Heartfulness,” as synonymous with mindfulness in Jon’s language, can offer up new and expanded ways of understanding and experiencing peace in one’s own life and in the world.
Jon’s work is to be savored slowly, as in the art of tea drinking ceremony. It is to be relished in every aspect: in the here and now—as mindfulness teaches us. In moments of unhurriedness and non-judgment, freed if only briefly from the ruts of habitual thinking, the truth in his language and what it is pointing to can touch our hearts. In moments of stillness and silent introspection, the wisdom inside and underneath his words gives purpose and hope to the world.
If not for Jon’s editorial oversight and discipline, this little book would have ended up with 300 longer quotes, which I religiously culled while reading Coming to Our Senses . I would have maintained them as they were because I felt them to be of great benefit to many. However, I am certain that when this strong distillation of the entire book arrives in your hands, your legs and your heart will invariably and uncannily, yet mindfully and eagerly, lead you to explore in depth the complete version of Coming to Our Senses . My utmost respect and gratitude to Jon and also Zareen Jaffery of Hyperion for their passionate work.
— Hor Tuck Loon
The time will come
when, with elation ,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror ,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome ,
and say, sit here. Eat .
You will love again the stranger who was your self .
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart .
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf ,
the photographs, the desperate notes ,
peel your own image from the mirror .
Sit. Feast on your life .
Derek Walcott, “Love after Love”
----
We take care of the future best by taking care of the present now .
----
----
As St. Francis put it: “What you are looking for is who is looking.”
----
----
Your awareness is a very big space within which to reside.
----
----
It is indeed a radical act of love just to sit down and be quiet for a time by yourself.
----
----
Even the briefest moment of silence is both a way of coming into the present and a way of moving on.
----
----
Could you possibly be here, wherever you are?
----
----
Maybe the fear is that we are less than we think we are, when the actuality of it is that we are much much more.
----
----
Arriving someplace more desirable at some future time is an illusion. This is it.
----
----
Gentleness is not a luxury, but a critical requirement for coming to our senses.
----
----
Extending the reach of our own heart lets us live in the world in ways that embody greater wisdom and compassion, lovingkindness and equanimity, and ultimately, the joy inherent in being
I often catch myself feeling that language has intrinsic limitations that frustrate my impulse to fully express my feelings, my passing thoughts and insights, in a word, my experience. Words cannot, and probably will never, replace the richness of life—no matter how articulately or artfully they are conveyed. In the past, it has been said that meditation teachers sometimes transmitted their knowledge to their students through mental telepathy to avoid misinterpretations. Exceptionally few have managed to capture the essence of their message through writing.
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Coming to Our Senses bears such testimony. Jon seems to be able to drop words right into our hearts, where they can resonate and reinforce our very being and well-being. Every subject that he touches upon suggests an in-depth meaning and perspective on our personal journey that we may not have felt or expressed as clearly or convincingly, even to ourselves. As one example, the use of the word “ Heartfulness,” as synonymous with mindfulness in Jon’s language, can offer up new and expanded ways of understanding and experiencing peace in one’s own life and in the world.
Jon’s work is to be savored slowly, as in the art of tea drinking ceremony. It is to be relished in every aspect: in the here and now—as mindfulness teaches us. In moments of unhurriedness and non-judgment, freed if only briefly from the ruts of habitual thinking, the truth in his language and what it is pointing to can touch our hearts. In moments of stillness and silent introspection, the wisdom inside and underneath his words gives purpose and hope to the world.
If not for Jon’s editorial oversight and discipline, this little book would have ended up with 300 longer quotes, which I religiously culled while reading Coming to Our Senses . I would have maintained them as they were because I felt them to be of great benefit to many. However, I am certain that when this strong distillation of the entire book arrives in your hands, your legs and your heart will invariably and uncannily, yet mindfully and eagerly, lead you to explore in depth the complete version of Coming to Our Senses . My utmost respect and gratitude to Jon and also Zareen Jaffery of Hyperion for their passionate work.
— Hor Tuck Loon
The time will come
when, with elation ,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror ,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome ,
and say, sit here. Eat .
You will love again the stranger who was your self .
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart .
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf ,
the photographs, the desperate notes ,
peel your own image from the mirror .
Sit. Feast on your life .
Derek Walcott, “Love after Love”
----
We take care of the future best by taking care of the present now .
----
----
As St. Francis put it: “What you are looking for is who is looking.”
----
----
Your awareness is a very big space within which to reside.
----
----
It is indeed a radical act of love just to sit down and be quiet for a time by yourself.
----
----
Even the briefest moment of silence is both a way of coming into the present and a way of moving on.
----
----
Could you possibly be here, wherever you are?
----
----
Maybe the fear is that we are less than we think we are, when the actuality of it is that we are much much more.
----
----
Arriving someplace more desirable at some future time is an illusion. This is it.
----
----
Gentleness is not a luxury, but a critical requirement for coming to our senses.
----
----
Extending the reach of our own heart lets us live in the world in ways that embody greater wisdom and compassion, lovingkindness and equanimity, and ultimately, the joy inherent in being
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