Best Quotes from The Mindful Way Workbook by John D. Teasdale with Page Numbers

"If you’ve ever been deeply unhappy with your life for any length of time, you know how difficult it can be to do anything about it."

"You may come to believe that there must be something wrong with you, that fundamentally you are just not good enough."

"This book is written to help you understand how this happens and what you can do about it."

"What if your heroic efforts to prevent your feelings from getting the best of you are actually backfiring?"

"Mindfulness training teaches exactly these skills: it gives you back control of your attention..."

"Daily practice of mindfulness reduces the tendency to brood and worry about everything."

"We’ve seen the extraordinary consequences of their discovery that there is a way to live life more fully than they ever imagined."

"It is rare for such changes to come about just by reading about how we get entangled in emotional turmoil..."

"Inner transformation depends on a continuing back-and-forth dance between understanding, practice, and reflection."

"Since doing the program I have been able to actually enjoy and be in the present moment... so instead of constantly worrying about the future and my past failures, I can more evenly embrace the present moment."

Unhappiness itself is not the problem.

Left to itself, it will pass in its own good time, often surprisingly quickly.

It is those very attempts to get rid of unwanted unhappy feelings that get us stuck in ever-deepening unhappiness.

Our reactions to unhappiness can transform what might otherwise be a brief, passing sadness into persistent dissatisfaction.

Rumination just makes us feel even worse.

Far from freeing us from the downward spiral, our attempts to get rid of unhappiness by thinking our way out of it are the very things that can deepen and prolong our sad moods.

The core problem is how our minds react to feeling low, afraid, angry, or tired.

Driven–doing is the mode of mind where we feel we just cannot let go of trying to get what we want or get rid of what we don’t want.

With the right understanding and skills, we can break out of these mood-thought vicious cycles.

Cultivating an alternative mode of mind that allows us to respond more skillfully to sadness, unhappiness, and other unpleasant emotions and unwanted inner experiences.

"Doing is just one of a number of different modes in which the mind can work."

"We can free ourselves from any problems the doing mode creates by moving into another, different mode—we can learn how 'to shift mental gears.'"

"Being brings a freshness to our perception. We become fully alive and aware again."

"Doing starts up automatically whenever there is a mismatch between where we are now and where we want to be."

"Being allows experience to be just as it already is. We can be content with experience, even if it feels unpleasant."

"Thoughts don’t necessarily reflect reality but are just events in the mind—in that way it strips thoughts of their power to drive our mood down further."

"Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to things as they are."

"Mindfulness allows us to see clearly whatever is happening in our lives."

"True mindfulness is imbued with warmth, compassion, and interest."

"Mindfulness means we can know our mode of mind from moment to moment."

Mindfulness offers us a way to wake up from automatic pilot.

It’s always a good idea to consider letting friends or family know of your intention to complete the program.

When everything seems gray and thin, life is not much fun.

Finding time isn’t easy, so don’t blame yourself.

The problems we encounter are often driven by the doing mode that locks us into painful patterns.

When we encounter unpleasant experiences, we can learn to relate to them with openness, rather than aversion.

Treating all guests honorably, he would let them in, allow them to stay as long as they need to, and let them go when they are ready to leave.

Whichever way forward you choose, it’s always a good idea to consider letting friends or family know of your intention to complete the program.

The intention of the practice is to bring awareness to any sensations you detect.

Letting go of the struggle of needing to make things different is an important part of mindfulness.