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Awareness Quotes

    “The difficulty is to learn to perceive with your whole body, not with just your eyes and reason. The world becomes a stream of tremendously rapid, unique events. So you must trim your body to make it a good receptor. The body is an awareness; and it must be treated impeccably.”

    Carlos Castaneda, via Sunbeams (Page 95)

      “The point of awareness—and the point of meditation, for that matter—is to know what’s happening.  We have to be awake.  Otherwise we fall into lethargy, which is one step away from sleep.  Without awareness, meditation will lead nowhere.  In the first stages of peaceful abiding, awareness acts as a spy who watches us meditate, alerting mindfulness to bring us back to the breath when we stray.  For a while it might be clumsy and intrusive, because as beginners we need to be watching constantly.  But as we practice, awareness continues to develop.  The mind becomes more stable, and our ability to know what’s happening becomes stronger.  Awareness becomes the sheriff who can sense that our mind is about to become distracted and remedy the situation before it even occurs.  We don’t see the sheriff running around everywhere; we just know he’s there.  Because we have more confidence, awareness no longer feels intrusive.” ~ Sakyong Mipham, Turning the Mind Into An Ally (Page 107)

        “We have problems perceiving nonevents.  We are blind to what does not exist.  We realize if there is a war, but we do not appreciate the absence of war during peacetime.  If we are healthy, we rarely think about being sick.  Or, if we get off the plane in Cancún, we do not stop to notice that we did not crash.  If we thought more frequently about absence, we might well be happier.” ~ Rolf Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly

          “What is the secret to the art of life?  The secret is this – live in full awareness.  Don’t grope in the darkness; don’t walk in sleep; walk in awareness.  Whatsoever you do, no matter what it is – even if it is as insignificant as opening and closing your eyes – do it thoughtfully, do it with awareness.  Who knows, everything may depend on that tiny action, on opening and closing your eyes.  You may be walking along the road and see a woman, and you may spend your whole life with her!  Even opening and closing your eyes, stay alert.” ~ Osho, The Art of Living and Dying

            “Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.” ~ James Thurber