Chapter 8: A Parkinson’s Reading Companion on Mindfulness

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” Henry Miller

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” Dumbledore in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Précis: The students from my undergraduate course, “Biology of Blood Diseases”, submitted quotes about these words: hope, courage, journey, persistence, positivity, strength, adversity, mindfulness, and life (for further details click here). This blog post is Chapter 8 including all of their quotes about ‘mindfulness’ [click here to read Chapter 1 (hope); click here to read Chapter 2 (life); click here to read Chapter 3 (strength); click here to read Chapter 4 (adversity); click here to read Chapter 5 (positivity); click here to read Chapter 6 (courage); click here to read Chapter 7 (persistence)].

Mindfulness and Parkinson’s: Recently, I described mindfulness (click here to read post):  “The simplest view of mindfulness is to be aware of what is happening right now, unable to change this time but to embrace the current moment. Much of our lives are led at a pace where we fret for the future, remorseful of the past, and frequently, we are oblivious to the current moment.” Life with Parkinson’s is best lived in the current moment without either focusing on the past or dreading the future.  To my thinking, this comment by Michael J. Fox is a nice description of mindfulness in the presence of Parkinson’s where he embraces (accepts) the current moment, “There’s an idea I came across a few years ago that I love. My happiness grows in direct proportion [to] my acceptance and in inverse proportion to my expectations. That’s the key for me. If I can accept the truth of ‘This is what I’m facing — not what can I expect but what I am experiencing now’ — then I have all this freedom to do other things.” May these quotes on mindfulness allow you to focus on what’s happening right now, and they remind you to be mindful and thankful for what you have today.

Mindfulness:  I am pleased to present Chapter 8 about mindfulness with my co-authors: Angle, Hannah; Arthur, Kallie; Artov, Michael; Bagley, Kendall; Batista, Kayla; Blaylock, Allison; Byrd, Emory; Cabell, Grant; Catalano, Michael; Clark, Kendall; Cossaart, Kristen; Culpepper, Houston; Das, Snigdha; Davis, Eric; Defazio, Stephanie; Doudnikoff, Alex; Dua, Shawn; Evans, Jessica; Evick, Andrew; Farooque, Tazeen; Ford, Kelsey; German, Zachary; Gouveia, Katie; Hall, Nikita; Isler, Victoria; Kirkley, Joel; Koutleva, Elitza; Laudun, Katie; Le, Kevin; Little, Sarah; Mackey, Josselyn; Macon, Briana; Maddox, Kaity; Marquino, Grace; Mattox, Daniel; Mcknight, Kyle; Mcmanus, Brenna; Mcshane, Sarah; Monkiewicz, Caroline; Nguyen, Michelle; Nguyen, Teresa; Olinger, Emily; Patel, Darshan; Patel, Dilesh; Patel, Jenny; Perez, Abby; Peters, Daniel; Quirin, Julia; Rawlins, Shelby; Raynor, Nathan; Renn, Matt; Scott, Alicia; Sherry, Alex; Shin, Christine; Stanton, Kate; Story, Charlotte; Swango, Summer; Szyperski, Caroline; Windley, Taylor; Wooley, Caleb; Xu, Alice; Yang, Michelle.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein

“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.” Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh)

“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower. Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” William Blake

“Mind is a flexible mirror, adjust it, to see a better world.”Amit Ray

“You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.” Andrew Murphy

“Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.” Amit Ray

“Stop, breathe, look around
and embrace the miracle of each day,
the miracle of life.”
Jeffrey A. White

“So often, we become focused on the finish line that we fail to enjoy the journey.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“How to stop time: kiss. How to travel in time: read. How to escape time: music. How to feel time: write. How to release time: breathe.” Matt Haig

“Science and mindfulness complement each other in helping people to eat well and maintain their health and well-being.” Nhat Hanh

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” C.S. Lewis

“Nothing is more important than empathy for another human being’s suffering. Not a career. Not wealth. Not intelligence. Certainly not status. We have to feel for one another if we’re going to survive with dignity.” Audrey Hepburn

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” Thich Nhat Hanh

 “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” Kobe Bryant

“Make sure your worst enemy isn’t living between your own two ears.” Laird Hamilton

“Be gentle with yourself; you’re doing the best you can.” Unknown

“We’re all a little crazy. Some just hide it better than others.” Kermit the Frog

“We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, ‘why did this happen to me?’ unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way.” Anonymous

“Do not ruin today with mourning tomorrow.” Catherynne M. Valente

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” Bob Dylan

“Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.” James Thurber

“Quiet people have the loudest minds.” Stephen King

“The key to creating the mental space before responding is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of being present: paying attention to and accepting what is happening in our lives. It helps us to be aware of and step away from our automatic and habitual reactions to our everyday experiences.” Elizabeth Thornton

“Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.” Mother Teresa

 “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.” Frank Zappa

“Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated than that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.” Sylvia Boorstein

“There is plenty of time, but each moment counts.”  Billy Graham

 “For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When things are going well, be mindful of adversity.
When prosperous, be mindful of poverty.
When loved, be mindful of thoughtfulness.
When respected, be mindful of humility.”
Buddha

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” James Baraz 

Cover photo credit: http://www.wallpapers13.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Coast-beach-spring-flowers-HD-wallpaper.jpg

Mindfulness images: http://ritaharvey.counselling.co.uk/_sitedata/1398682330%206ZngCeReO/today.png; http://rootedreveries.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Mindfulness-quote.jpg; http://www.verybestquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Mindfulness-quotes-acceptance-joy-peace-and-love.-Thich-Nhat-Hanh-Quotes.jpg; http://static.oprah.com/images/201204/orig/quotes-thich-nhat-hanh-06-600×411.jpg.