Mindfulness and courage

[JonW]

Here's a great quote from mindfulness teacher/author Ed Halliwell:

"Practicing mindfulness involves a willingness to be touched by life, and that requires courage. We so want to control our experience so that it’s pleasant. That’s habit mind. Some of us enlist mindfulness to that end. If only we can be mindful enough, difficulties won’t arise. You need the courage to ride the elephant.
"It’s so important to acknowledge the difficulties of living mindfully. I think they’re worthwhile difficulties to engage with because the alternative is trying to control them or ignore them. Engaging with them does require a courage, a willingness to move towards difficulties and actually experience them. If you pretend it’s easy, then you’re setting yourself up for unnecessary hardship. If you buy into the idea that meditation is all about achieving a state of bliss, that’s another delusion. Mindfulness does involve moving towards your own experience with courage."

That's from a new interview with Ed that I'll be putting up on the site very soon.
Ed's new book, Mindfulness: How to Live Well by Paying Attention, is out now. Highly recommended for beginners and more experienced meditators alike.
Cheers,
Jon, Hove

[Gareth]

Wholeheartedly agree.

[watson2182]

very nice mindfulness quotes.