15 Mindfulness Quotes to Inspire You to Live in the Moment

Mind Full, or Mindful?

1. The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing. -Jon Kabat-Zinn 

2. Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t). -James Baraz 

3. The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life, reaching far beyond the people and places you can see. -Earon Davis 

4. The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers. -Thich Nhat Hanh 

5. Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes. -Nhat Hanh 

6. Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment. We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing. – Jon Kabat-Zinn 

7. Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it. – Sylvia Boorstein

 8. With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment. -Nhat Hanh 

9. Mindfulness helps us freeze the frame so that we can become aware of our sensations and experiences as they are, without the distorting coloration of socially conditioned responses or habitual reactions. -Henepola Gunaratana 

10. You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life of peace, you inspire hope for a future of peace. -Thich Nhat Hanh 

11. Mindfulness is not just a word or a discourse by the Buddha, but a meaningful state of mind. It means we have to be here now, in this very moment, and we have to know what is happening internally and externally. It means being alert to our motives and learning to change unwholesome thoughts and emotions into wholesome ones. Mindfulness is a mental activity that in due course eliminates all suffering.-Ayya Khema 

12. Mindfulness of oneself cultivates wisdom. Mindfulness of others cultivates compassion. -Stonepeace 

13. Mindfulness practice means that we commit fully in each moment to be present; inviting ourselves to interface with this moment in full awareness, with the intention to embody as best we can an orientation of calmness, mindfulness, and equanimity right here and right now. - Jon Kabat-Zinn 

14. When we perform an act mindfully--be it meditating, vacuuming or playing Scrabble with a child--we nourish ourselves, as well. Rather than scattering our concentration on a dozen things at once, we focus. We slow down. We give ourselves time to calm down from the inside out and the luxury of saying: Nothing is more important right now than this moment, this deed. We may not get as much done by day's end, but we can feel more peaceful and satisfied with the work itself. That's a good way to think of it: Mindfulness is quality time for the soul. -Shana Aborn 

15. Mindfulness asks us to simply see, to open to ourselves and, in so doing, to open to the world, learning to be with whatever presents itself. - Saki Santorelli

Effective Ways to be Mindful

To be mindful is to live in the moment, conscious of what you are doing, paying complete attention to your work or having fun freely and fully.

·         Eat and do nothing else: Take a deserving break and get out of the office to take your lunch, don’t eat and work. It does not help digestion and it is not productive. At home just enjoy your breakfast and don’t read newspapers.  Have dinner with the whole family and don’t watch TV. The most important thing is to enjoy your meals by eating slowly.

·         Immerse in your work: Be prepared mentally to work with full concentration. Don’t think of anything else except the task at hand. Get into the flow while you are at work. Work in a conducive environment and with minimum distractions. In this way, you get a thing done meaningfully and productively.

·         Enjoy family life without bringing homework: Be smart when you are at home, it is time exclusively for the family. Share household chores and find out more from your children about school. When your children are doing homework, turn off the TV and do reading instead. Attend to your family and do nothing else.

·         Meditation to promote concentration and live in the moment: Do yoga or Tai Chi to boost the calmness in your mind. You develop mindfulness when you do meditation.  

·         Have fun without thinking of your work: Can you enjoy yourself totally when your mind is about the work in the office? By the way, what can you do now? You are not going back to the office now. Be free from worry and relax fully now.

·         Erase the past from your mind and stop worrying about the future: According to Babatunde Olatunji, yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery and today?  Today is a gift.  That's why we call it the present. The past has gone and there is nothing you can do about it, the future is not here yet, but you have the power to do the best you can now. Treasure every precious present moment.

·         Participate fully: Be involved fully when you are in a   conversation, attending a meeting, holding a discussion, reading or watching YouTube (no fast forward).  Get the most out of what you do.

·         Go slow: Drive slowly to be safe. Work a little slower to avoid stress and mistakes. Be with nature, take a moment of your time and go outside to admire and look at the green field and the surrounding trees, the river and the boats cruising along, the blue sky with the slow-moving clouds and feel the fresh air and sunshine. Slowing down is the way to be in the present.

“The secret of health for both the mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

 Buddha