What are some quotes or ques that help you get mindfulness?

[nameless]

Im going to share some I know I hope you can add to that list so together we can have a big list.

1) Everything is as it should be

2) With strong desire mindfulness will take many years with low desire it can happen right away. (master talking to enthusiastic student)

3) Resist nothing

4) Pay attention to your breathe

5) Dont judge anything, (story with this one usually involves bad things turning out good and vice versa meaning we cannot accurately judge anyway)

6) If you feel you cant let go, let go.

7) Surrender

[JonW]

I'm wary of statements that are dogmatic or absolutist.
I'd go for:
1. Everything is as it is. That's undeniable. But there is no 'should' about it.
2. The implication here is that mindfulness is akin to the Buddhist notion of 'enlightenment' which is attained and never lost. Mindfulness is always a work in progress. It's not something that we 'get' and never lose. We can only be mindful in the present moment. We can't be mindful next week. Besides, everybody's experience is unique. The origin of the Zen story you quote is really about cautioning re. getting attached to specific outcomes and striving for a specific result. The universe rarely delivers exactly what we wish for.
3. Easier said than done. Mindfulness is more about softening our resistance to what comes up, learning to respond openly to situations rather than react out of old, unexamined habits.
4. This is just one way we can anchor ourselves in the present moment. There are many others.
5. Life is full of judgments. The idea that we can avoid them completely is a pipe dream. But we can learn to be less judgmental.
6. Sounds like a command, rather than an invitation. Mindfulness isn't about commands. It's all a gentle invitation.
7. Surrender to what? I'm sure none of us want to surrender to anything and everything. As well as paying attention and cultivating self-compassion, mindfulness is about spacious awareness and skilful, discerning action. I much prefer the idea of 'being' in the moment, rather than surrendering to everything.

Cheers,
Jon

[Spaceofawareness]

For me I practice mindfulness more in daily life, and I find my triggers or cues for mindfulness are:

1. Noticing when I have been lost in a train of thought. This has become a trigger in itself to become more meta-aware, there seems to be a moment either in between thoughts, or after thoughts when you can realise you have been thinking, at that moment, you can access and notice WHAT you have been thinking, and this seems to pull you out of the train of thought and more into observation of thought arising.

2. Noticing I am tense in my body. When I have a feeling of tenseness in my body, this has become a trigger to become aware of that tenseness. As I become more aware of the tenseness, it naturally relaxes usually with awareness of the tenseness. Tenseness seems to be an unconscious habit, which will continue if not observed, the way I conceptualise what I do is the observation reroutes the direct unconscious signal from motor cortex to the muscles, via the awareness pathways, which require deliberate effort to control muscles. Without that deliberate effort, the muscular area relaxes naturally as the system returns to a natural homeostasis. Once you notice you are tense, you could then use your awareness to observe any other areas of tenseness you feel and relax those.

3. Noticing when I am feeling anxious or fearful. When I notice my heart beating faster than normal, I will train my awareness on the breath, which seems to subside feelings of anxiety. You could also notice the source of the anxiety. For example any negative thoughts which might be arising. Simply noticing these and being aware of them, takes away their power, as the unconscious mind gets its power by remaining unconscious, awareness of these automatic trains of thought interrupts them and subsides the process. But focusing on the breath seems to be key here.

BTW, I am fairly novice at these practices, these are just my observations so far.

If mindfulness is carried into your daily life, nearly anything can become a cue or trigger of mindfulness, anything which grabs your attention, you can either allow the unconscious mind to take care of it, or bring it into conscious awareness.

[JonW]

Great points, one and all. Thanks Spaceofawareness.
It's all in the noticing. Open-ended noticing. If we are preoccupied with what will happen in the noticing or too goal-oriented, then it seems to come undone. Shaking off the habit of thinking how things ought to be takes time and patience.
Jon