These 10 mindfulness quotes will help you relieve stress and inspire you to take life one moment at a time.
It’s easy to get swept away by stressful thoughts. Our minds are a noisy, chaotic place and constantly take us out of the present to worry about the future or ruminate over the past.
By just breathing and being present, we can start to realize that we’re more than merely our minds, and our thoughts are just that – thoughts. We start to realize that we’ll still be okay without constantly having to worry. We can relax into the present, let go of stress and overthinking.
These ten quotes are from renown authors and teachers of mindfulness. Many are personally my favorite teachers and have inspired me to live more mindfully in my own life.
10 Quotes on Mindfulness
Read on and let these ten mindfulness quotes inspire you to be calm and relieve stress. And to remind you of the importance of practicing mindfulness everyday.
1. “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher and author who was born in Germany. His books include The Power of Now, A New Earth, Stillness Speaks, and Guardians of Being. His book A New Earth became popular in 2008 Oprah Winfrey selected it for her Book Club. Oprah has many talks with Eckhart and even released a special web series based on it.
This quote reminds us how our thoughts create unnecessary additional suffering to painful situations. In every moment there’s what is actually happening and our internal mental commentary about what is happening. Eckhart Tolle teaches that the latter causes suffering because we’re resisting what is and fighting with our current reality.
2. “Many of us have been running all our lives. Practice stopping.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh is another world renown meditation and mindfulness teacher. He recently passed at age 95. As a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, he also founded the Plum Village Tradition which is a school of Buddhism based on aspects of Zen and Theravada.
He’s authored many insightful books on mindfulness and meditation. Some of my personal favorites are How to Sit and You Are Here. His work is both poetic and highly practical.
This quote reminds us of the nature of the mind to constantly try to escape from the present moment. Our minds constantly judge and resist what is. This only creates more stress in our lives. We feel like we’re always running from the present – from our own thoughts, feelings, and unpleasant circumstances. When we take the time to practice ‘stopping’ with mindfulness, we can finally feel at peace with where we are.
Read related: How to Mindfully Embrace Fear & Anxiety
3. “Life is not a goal and life can never be reduced to being a goal because it is not far away and it’s not in the future. Life is now and here, and life is within you.” ~ Osho
Osho is another one of my favorite authors and teachers on meditation and mindfulness. He lived from 1931 – 1990. He was the founder of the Rajneesh movement which began in India. His teachings are very direct and honest. They include: Awareness, The Path of Love, Courage, The Art of Living and Dying and many more.
Osho is a bit controversial because his movement gained a cult following which later led to some acts of violence/terrorism. While I definitely don’t condone this, I still find his teachings extremely profound and unique. He has a style of teaching that makes you question your beliefs and see from new perspectives.
I like this quote because it reminds us that life is more than a problem to be solved. We often forget about the present and become too attached to achieving our goals. While having goals is important, if we’re living only to achieve future goals we’re missing out on experiencing the essence of life that is only here and now.
Read Related: Finding Joy in Ordinary Moments with Mindfulness
4. “Mindfulness creates centered awareness. When you do one thing at a time, you’re guaranteed excellent results… Focus on one thing at a time.” ~ Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is a prominent leader in the fields of mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, New Age and alternative medicine. He has authored many books about meditation, spirituality, and alternative forms of healing. His books include, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Total Meditation, The Book of Secrets, and many more.
Mindfulness reduces the stress of feeling overwhelmed. Focus on one thing at a time and do it the best you can. Break your problems or goals down to small, actionable steps. Let go of worrying about the final end result and instead focus on the small step in front of you.
5. “Life is continuously changing, and if you’re trying to control it, you’ll never be able to fully live it.” ~ Michael Singer
Michael Singer is a New York times bestselling author, speaker, and successful businessman. His most famous books are The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment. His teachings center around themes of letting go and balancing spirituality with the pressures of modern day living.
This quote reminds us that living life is about more than trying to constantly control it. Life is something that is uncertain, uncontrollable and unpredictable. Our thoughts often create the illusion that we are in control of the outside world, when this is not true. It is scary to feel vulnerable and uncertain, but mindfulness helps us to overcome this fear and go with the natural flow of life. This mindfulness quote reminds us we don’t have to control everything which can help to relieve stress.
Read Related: 10 Powerful Ways Mindfulness Changed my Life
6. “Life is for living, not productivity.” ~ Leo Babauta
Leo Babauta is the creator and writer of the blog Zen Habits, one of the most popular and highest rated blogs on mindfulness, minimalism, and simplicity. He is also the author of many books including The Power of Less, Zen to Done, Focus, and more.
Focusing too much on productivity makes life become just one endless to-do list. I like this quote because it reminds us that although productivity has its role, there is more to living than just completing tasks and goals. We should not define our days by merely how much we accomplished but rather how well we truly lived and were present.
7. “…to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to revenge – that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic – this is the spiritual path.” ~ Pema Chodron
Pema Chodron is an American born woman who dedicated her life to being a Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained Buddhist nun, teacher, and author of countless books on meditation, Buddhism, and spirituality.
This quote summarizes the essence of mindfulness – being able to observe and embrace our painful emotions and experiences. It’s about becoming comfortable with uncertainty, chaos, and the unknown. Instead of judging ourselves – that we shouldn’t be thinking or feeling a certain way, through acceptance we become the watcher of our thoughts/feelings and no longer engage in this inner resistance that robs us of our peace of mind.
Read Related: How to Stop Letting Negative Emotions Control your Behavior
8. “There’s only one reason why you’re not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it’s because you’re thinking or focusing on what you don’t have… But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.” ~ Anthony de Mello
Anthony de Mello was a spiritual teacher, author, and psychotherapist (1931-1987). He authored many books based on themes of religion and spirituality, and helped to popularize the practice of mindfulness in the West that he referred to as ‘awareness prayer.’
He makes a pretty bold claim with this quote, but if we look closer there is truth in his words. If you have your health, loved ones, and your basic needs met, you have everything you need to be happy. Stop focusing on what you don’t have, or the present moment will never feel like it’s enough. Even wishing we felt happy is focusing on what we don’t have and resisting what is. Through mindfulness we learn to embrace even our unhappiness and practice ‘being with’ whatever is in this moment without having to negatively judge it.
9. “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” ~ Amit Ray
This next mindfulness quote to relieve stress is from Amit Ray, an Indian author and spiritual teacher. His books teach on topics of meditation, spirituality, yoga, and compassion. He teaches different meditation practices in his books including om chanting and Vipassana.
This quote reminds us to engage in the present moment to relieve stress and anxiety. Fear is a mental concept that is based on projecting ourselves into an imagined future. By bringing our attention back to the present, we become grounded again and stop worrying about the future.
10. “Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting.” ~ Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield is a best-selling author, meditation teacher, activist and founder of several meditation centers in the U.S. He trained as a Buddhist monk and helped spread mindfulness practices to the West by organizing international events and gatherings.
We often think of resistance and fighting as strength. We forget that vulnerability, acceptance and letting go is also a source of strength. Choosing to align with our experiences is not about giving up or being complacent. Rather, it is realizing that there is no benefit to internally resisting what is. When we come from an inner place of openness and acceptance, we’re free to react in a much more powerful way.
Conclusion
I hope these ’10 Calming Mindfulness Quotes to Relieve Stress’ reminded you to slow down and take a deep breath. Mindfulness is a daily practice and one that we don’t get perfect all the time. It’s easy to be mindful when everything is going smoothly in our lives, but when things get hectic we often forget about our practice entirely. I personally find it difficult to balance working hard toward future goals while staying focused in the present moment.
Daily reminders, like these inspiring quotes, remind us to practice mindfulness in our everyday lives. With practice, we can find joy in the ordinary and learn to relax into the present moment.
Read related: Why I (Finally) Chose to Become an Optimist & Why You should Too
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