All quotes from Janetti's book
Our tendency is to compare how we’re doing against others and wrap
our identity around stories we tell about ourselves.
Basically, we can’t control life, we have difficulty with this lack
of control, and we take this inability personally.
From the wakefulness of awareness, the warmth of compassion, and the
wisdom of the journey comes connecting to others, caring for a larger whole,
and committing to your core values no matter what comes your way.
Mindfulness involves opening to the present moment just as it is,
without trying to hold on to what you like about it or get rid of what you
don’t like. Part of mindfulness is thus
“being with” yourself as you are, despite your desire to be otherwise.
It’s not what happens, but how you relate to what happens.
Rather than saying, I’m inadequate, you say, Ah, so this is what
inadequacy feels like!
Mindfulness teaches that life is to be experienced through the
senses, not through the mind’s running commentary.
Staying in the present shifts your focus from what’s wrong to what’s
not wrong.
With intention comes attention – looking deeply into who you really
are what life is all about.
Mindfulness takes you out of automatic patterns of behavior; rather
than mindlessly reacting, you consciously respond in more productive ways.
Acceptance doesn’t mean that everything is okay; it means
recognizing things are as they are and reducing your resistance to them.
Journaling allows you to slow down your thinking, step back, and
gain perspective, clarity, self-knowledge, and emotional healing.
By being aware of my thoughts and feelings and not letting them
define me, I was able to work from the inside.
Focusing on finding Band-Aids for your wounds creates a vulnerable
sense of self. In trying to fix a broken sense of self, you become lost to who
you truly are.
By using your breath as a constant, you learn how not to be swept
away by disaffirming thoughts, and how to smooth out the ups and downs of
believing you “should” be like this and “shouldn’t” be like that. As you learn to relax into your breath and
trust your mind to stay put, you begin to unhook from your conditioned state of
control and mistrust and to rest in awareness itself: a space that’s empty of
preferences and full of life.
Your body is a teaching manual of what you carry in your mind and
heart.
Yoga, meaning “to integrate” in Sanskrit, reestablishes the union
and balance of mind and body.
Learn to pay attention to the present moment and be the person you
already are. This ignites a change from a self-esteem driven by
“doing”—striving to be someone you’re not – to a self-esteem cultivated by
“being” -- witnessing your own unfolding nature.
Nonjudging implies that there’s no such thing as success or failure,
right or wrong, or winning and losing.
Mistakes simply happen.
Nonstriving means replacing the myth that life is happening
somewhere else with the belief that what’s happening now is what really
matters.
The seductive nature of thoughts reels you in because you believe
that you are the thought, and emotions like fear and anxiety confirm it.
When you constantly seek the comfort of a sense of control, you try
to impose your will on the world. Your
mind is seduced into an endless loop of judging, obsessing, planning,
fantasizing, and rehearsing that keeps you keeps you stuck in “doing” mode.
This depletes your energy.
Relaxing into the moment creates a space for you to unhinge from
your conditioned reflex of control, fear, and vigilance.
So much of what we do is driven by a desire for distraction from
ourselves.
Patience means experiencing life in process.
Mindfulness sets the conditions for your heart to become spacious.
Every time you notice a need to avoid suffering by shutting down and
losing touch with yourself, you can use the quality of openness to “be with”
what’s inside – your fears, faults, and failures.
See the emotion as a challenge or friend, rather than an obstacle or
enemy.
Joy means rejoicing in what is. Joy is freedom from regret,
resentment, and blame.
When feeling deprived in some way, we tend to hold tightly to what
we have, because it doesn’t feel as if there’s enough to go around.
Emotional baggage may be a way to disown yourself and deem yourself
unacceptable.
When your speech is true, useful, and timely, it’s intentional,
thoughtful, and effective.
