Jon Kabat-Zinn Attention Quotations

Paying attention and awareness are universal capacities of human beings.

Too much of the education system orients students toward becoming better thinkers, but there is almost no focus on our capacity to pay attention and cultivate awareness.

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention, on purpose and non-judgmentally, to what goes on in the present moment in your body, mind and the world around you.

You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.

The only time that any of us have to grow or change or feel or learn anything is in the present moment. But we're continually missing our present moments, almost willfully, by not paying attention.

From the point of view of the meditative traditions the entire society is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.

Mindfulness means moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is cultivated by refining our capacity to pay attention, intentionally, in the present moment, and then sustaining that attention over time as best we can. In the process, we become more in touch with our life as it is unfolding.